Jiu-Jitsu & MMA

Jiu-Jitsu, often translated from the Japanese Kanji as 'the gentle art,' is arguably the oldest form of martial art. It has also been defined with terms like yielding, softness, subtleness, and pliability. The essence of Jiu-Jitsu is the continual application of techniques that utilize your opponents' strength and movements against them until they are rendered helpless.  Along with most martial arts, Jiu-jitsu's origins date back to India more than 2,000 years before Christ. From there it spread throughout Asia and eventually settled in Japan.   In Japan it was refined to allow Samurai who lost their weapons in battle to continue to successfully fight.  Interestingly, at the same time more than half the world away, many of these same basic holds were being taught to the Greeks with the same purpose as a part of the weapon-less Pankration study that all warriors (Spartans particularly) were required to be trained in.  So you can see that from a common central Asian base, the moves that are now being utilized so commonly in the "new" sport of MMA are actually ancient Jiu-jitsu techniques from India that were refined in different ways as martial artists around the world worked to improve their style of warrior art.

Jiu-Jitsu is a devastatingly effective self-defense system as well as being amazingly effective in Sport or MMA situations. While the actual number of techniques may be relatively small (around 50), the variations and flexibility within the system is limited only by the practitioner's ability to understand and apply the techniques. Jiu-Jitsu is now undergoing somewhat of a rebirth as its effectiveness is being demonstrated so regularly in MMA events and as people re-discover the numerous benefits, both practical and personal, of this dynamic and effective Combat Art.

During the 20th century, Muay Thai Kick-boxing became commonly recognized as the best of the striking arts for its vicious use of elbows, knees and shins, in addition to the more common fist and foot strikes.  At NTMMA we combine the ground techniques of BJJ with the strikes of Muay Thai to provide a devastating and rapid attack of strikes that open the opponent up for a submission.  By training in both stand-up and ground styles of martial arts, NTMMA students can be confident that they have the skills required to recognize their opponents weakness and use that knowledge effectively in a self-defense or sport combat situation.

Japanese Jiu-Jitsu

Jiu-Jitsu is one of many "Martial Arts", a term which refers now to a wide variety of Asian styles of hand-to-hand combat. Although there is much dispute concerning the exact beginnings and history of the martial arts as we know them, and although we also know that Japan may have been one of the last of the Asian countries to acquire the martial arts, it is the Japanese forms and styles which are most widely practiced in the Western World.
Jiu-Jitsu, or literally translated "Flexible Art", developed from many individual martial art systems that either originated in japan, or were taken to Japan from neighboring countries. The practice of Jiu-Jitsu has been traced back in history as far as 2000+ years. Evidence shows us that Jiu-Jitsu techniques, although not necessarily under that name at the time, were included with warrior training circa 1100AD.

With the passing of the Tokugawa era (ca. 1800), Japan became somewhat united and there were many changes in Japanese society. One of the results of these changes was the reduction of the Samurai warrior to the status of the common citizen. In his new position, the Samurai could no longer carry a sword. He was forced to rely solely on empty-handed techniques as a means of defending himself.

In the 1880s, Jigro Kano developed Judo, or "the Gentle Way", from the harsher techniques of Jiu-Jitsu in an effort to popularize the martial arts and to provide a safe sport. Kano is credited with the first development of the modern Belt-System. Judo was based on selected techniques taken from Jiu-Jitsu. With modern emphasis on sport Judo, self-defense and other intrinsic elements embodied in the original Judo have been all but overlooked.

In the 1920s, Morihei Ueshiba developed the art of Aiki-Jitsu, once again drawing on the techniques of Jiu-Jitsu and refining them into a more specialized and esoteric art. In 1942, he began to teach a fully-developed form called Aikido.

Jiu-Jitsu, as an art unto itself, made its way into the west in the early 20th century as well. While there is no single style of Jiu-Jitsu that predominates in North America today, most practitioners seem to cover the same material in their studies, although there are a number of variations in the emphasis, be that towards the impact, throwing, or locking sides.