An Introduction to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Quiz

Answer: Mitsuyo Maeda

Mitsuyo Maeda was a 7th dan black belt in judo who travelled widely, teaching judo in a number of countries before settling in Brazil in 1914. He was also a successful prize-fighter and mixed martial artist who participated in no holds barred competitions, frequently challenged practitioners of other arts and sports. In Brazil, he trained Carlos Gracie, who passed on his knowledge to his brothers Oswaldo, Gastão Jr., George, and Hélio Gracie. The Gracie brothers adapted what they learned into their own style that placed more emphasis on ground fighting rather than throwing as Hélio found the throws difficult to master because of his smaller size and the greater strength required by throwing.

Kano Jigoro was the founder of Kodokan Judo and ran the school in which Mitsuyo Maeda trained. Tomita Tsunejiro was the earliest disciple of judo and personally trained Maeda. Bruce Lee, of course, was a practitioner of kung fu, not judo.

Answer: Ultimate Fighting Championship

The first ever Ultimate Fighting Championship event, which was later to be known as UFC1, was held at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado, on November 12, 1993. The concept was that it would feature martial artists from different disciplines such as boxing, kickboxing, sambo, wrestling, Muay Thai, karate, taekwondo, and of course Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, facing each other in no-holds-barred combat to determine which style was most effective. This first tournament had no weight classes, rounds, or judges. Methods of winning were knockout, tapout (submission by a fighter), or corner stoppage (a fighter refuses to continue, also known as "throwing in the towel"). There were only three rules: no biting, no eye gouging, and no groin shots. Wearing gloves was optional. There were eight contenders who progressed through three rounds in a knockout style tournament where only winners of each bout would progress to the next round, until the final bout between two fighters. Royce Gracie won the final bout by defeating savate and karate practitioner Gerard Gordeau using his ground fighting skills and successfully choking him into submission. Gracie's win was particularly notable as he was able to defeat opponents who were larger and stronger than himself. Gracie went on to win two other Ultimate Fighting Championship events, namely UFC2 and UFC4, and played a large role in popularizing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu among mixed martial artists.

Although the Ultimate Fighting Championship continued holding fights in the original "no hold barred" format for several years, the company eventually came under pressure from the US government and sporting authorities to require more restrictions on what techniques fighters could use to reduce the violence of the sport. Additionally, weight classes and time limits for combat rounds were later introduced.

Global Fighting Championship, Cage Fury Fighting Championship, and Maximum Fighting Championship are the name of other organizations that have promoted mixed martial arts.

Answer: Rolling

During rolling, students practice grappling with each other to test and improve their skills. This is done on special mats. Students may practice particular techniques such as joint locks and chokeholds or focus on other skills such as practicing defence from specific situations or submissions. If a student is caught in a submission hold, they may tap on their opponent's body to submit; if unable to touch their opponent, they may yell "tap, tap, tap."

Answer: Guard

There are several variations of the guard position that allow one to attack with various joint locks and chokeholds. For example, transitioning directly from standing to the guard position is known as pulling guard. Once on the ground, there are various ways to apply the guard position depending on the situation. The combatant who does not have their back to the ground may attempt to "pass the guard," that is, assume the guard position themselves to gain a more dominant position, or they may attempt to strike their opponent from above if their hands are free.

Side control, full mount, and back mount are different grappling techniques that are not performed with one's back on the ground.

Answer: Triangle choke

The triangle choke, also known as the figure 4 choke (a rough translation of the Japanese judo term "sankaku-jime"), is typically performed from a lying position with one's back to the ground. More advanced practitioners may apply it from other positions, even by taking a flying leap from a standing position for those who are very daring! Although commonly referred to as a chokehold, some people use the term choking to refer strictly to cutting off a person's air supply, whereas this technique is technically strangulation as it involves putting pressure on the carotid arteries of the neck to block blood flow to the brain rather than blocking the airway. The technique works by using one leg to put pressure directly on one side of the opponent's neck and using the other leg to press their arm to the other side of their neck. The legs therefore form a triangular shape, hence the name.

Rear naked, anaconda, and north-south choke are all real names of other distinctive kinds of choking techniques.

Answer: Shrimping

This defensive technique, which is also known as the "elbow escape" and "hip escape," is so-named because one aims to curl one's body into a shape that looks somewhat like a shrimp. This technique is particularly used when one's opponent is attempting to gain control through a back mount, in which they are grappling on the ground from behind from a position atop oneself. The elbows are kept close to the body to prevent the opponent from trying to pin one's arms, while the hands are held high and close together with the chin tucked in to protect one from being strangled. The aim is to create space between oneself and one's opponent and use one's arms to break free of their grip while attempting to roll one's back onto the ground so that the opponent can no longer attack from behind. Once one's back is to the ground, a number of grappling counterattacks become possible.

Lobstering, seahorsing, and spidering are just words that I made up!

Answer: Coral

Beginning practitioners wear a white belt, then typically advance through blue, purple, brown, and finally black belt, although some organizations may have their own variations and a different color scheme may be used for children practitioners. Modern Brazilian jiu-jitsu organizations recognize nine different black belt levels, similar to the "dan" system used in judo.

Individuals who reach the seventh level receive an alternating red-and-black belt that is referred to as a coral belt, after the coral snake, which has black and red markings, presumably because they are considered to be as deadly as this animal. Eighth level practitioners receive an alternating red-and-white belt, also called a coral belt. Practitioners who reach the seventh and eight levels are entitled to be referred to as "master," while the very few individuals who advance to ninth level receive a red belt and the title of "grandmaster." These highly advanced levels, which require decades to achieve, not only recognize an individual's experience but their impact on Brazilian jiu-jitsu in the wider world.

The pioneers of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, including the Gracie brothers, Carlos, Oswaldo, George, Gaston, and Helio, were recognized as tenth level black belts, but there are no living practitioners at this level, which is no longer conferred.

Answer: True

Norris has black belts in several styles of martial arts and became a third degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 2015. He first learned Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in the 1980s from Carlos Machado, a former world master's champion who is a relative of the Gracie brothers and who trained under them. Norris has been instrumental in promoting Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in the United States and helped bring over several members of the Gracie and Machado families to teach the sport.

Answer: Shoulder lock

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu includes a number of submission techniques that include the suffix "plata," starting with "omoplata" (Portuguese for scapula), a kind of armlock, as well as the "gogoplata," a type of chokehold that utilizes the shin bone ("gogo" is Portuguese for adam's apple), and the "monoplata," a type of shoulder lock. Rafael de Freitas is known by the nickname "Barata," Portuguese for "cockroach," a name which he claims was given to him as a young soccer player because of his quickness and frenetic pace. Accordingly, when he developed a novel kind of shoulder lock, he named it the "baratoplata." The technique is based on isolating the shoulder joint via immobilizing the elbow.

The user traps the opponent's elbow between their legs and threads one of their arms behind the opponent's elbow, while grasping their own thigh.

When successful this produces a painful hold that is difficult to escape.

Answer: Yvone Duarte

Yvone Duarte was born in 1963 in Rio de Janeiro. She began training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 1978, being at first coached by her older brother Pascoal Duarte, who would later go on to earn a coral belt (7th degree black belt). She was instrumental in encouraging the Rio de Janeiro federation to open a female division, which held the first competition with a female category in 1985, which she won. Duarte was also the first woman to start her own team in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in the 1980s. She was awarded a first degree black belt in 1990 by her master Osvaldo Alves. In January 2020, she was awarded a 6th degree black belt by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation, becoming the first woman to attain this grade and therefore the highest ranked woman in the world at the time. (Another woman, Patricia Lage, was awarded this grade in April the same year.)

Mackenzie Dern, Rikako Yuasa, and Tammi Musumeci are also prominent practitioners who have reached the black belt level.