Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Japanese Jiu Jitsu, American Jiu Jitsu and Aki Jitsu. Over the years you may have heard of these terms and others that end in Jitsu. However, what about Guerilla Jiu Jitsu? You may be naturally skeptical as the term sounds odd. However, fear not as Guerilla Jiu Jitsu is about as legit as you can get. Created by Dave Camarillo, an old school Ralph Gracie black belt – it is his own hybrid system of Judo and BJJ. Because of this, you could say it’s a perfect style for grappling and there is plenty of proof to back this up.
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So, what is Guerilla Jiu Jitsu exactly?
To understand the origins of Guerilla Jiu Jitsu, it’s important to understand the origins of the man behind it. Dave Camarillo came from a family of Judokas. In his earlier days, he was an active competitor alongside his brothers, whilst his dad owned a Judo school. Here, he even trained in Japan and was fully emerged in the martial art. After years of training he picked up an injury during stand up (Tachi Waza) – because of this, he turned to BJJ under Ralph Gracie.
Six years later, Camarillo became a black belt and has been teaching his style ever since. The best way of describing his Guerilla style is that it’s a mixture of Judo and BJJ. However, it is also considered quite aggressive with its practitioners focusing heavily on submissions as much as positions. This idea is often associated with 10th Planet which strays away from traditional BJJ where positions are held in high regard. Whilst Guerilla Jiu Jitsu isn’t as loose as 10th Planet, it is somewhat similar in that sense.
Having said that, it also uses the Gi like most mainstream schools. To sum it up, Guerilla Jiu Jitsu can be described as a combination of BJJ and Judo with an emphasis on hunting out submissions. Although it encourages competition, it strays away from sport BJJ in focusing on combatives and self-defence which is not always found in modern BJJ schools.
Perhaps the original origin of the name can be traced back to his 2006 book, ‘Guerilla Jiu Jitsu‘. As the book says, ‘Revolutionizing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu’ – it also offers a route to beating those who only train BJJ. Today it is more than a book or stand-alone gym. Although the original gym is based in Pleasanton, CA, Guerilla Jiu Jitsu has various affiliate schools across the globe.
Proof of Guerilla Jiu Jitsu working
In martial arts, there is a big culture of show and prove. That is if someone claims their method of fighting is superior – then it has to be pressure tested. Thankfully, Guerilla Jiu Jitsu is tested and Dave Camarillo’s school has an active competition scene. Camarillo is a testament to his system and was a solid BJJ competitor in his younger days.
Elsewhere, Guerilla Jiu Jitsu has seen success in MMA. Unsurprisingly a system that offers stand up and ground fighting is of use when fighting in an MMA setting. The likes of Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch are black belts under Guerilla Jiu Jitsu – both of these were top UFC fighters in their prime. Oddly, both lost out on UFC welterweight title by losing to the legendary fighter Georges St Pierre. Because of this, it is clear that the GJJ system is successful in transitioning over to MMA.
Is it a better style of grappling compared to BJJ?
One of the biggest criticisms of modern BJJ is that it lacks stand up grappling. It is often said that pulling guard is over-emphasized and that this takes away from the roots of BJJ which was meant as a fighting style. However, with GJJ this is not such a concern.
Because of the strong Judo influence, GJJ breeds those with a strong stand-up game. Whether in sport Jiu Jitsu whilst competing, or whether in self-defence or MMA – there is no denying that Guerilla Jiu Jitsu is better than a lot of schools in offering comprehensive grappling on both the ground and the feet. It should also be added the GJJ heavily lends into Wrestling; something which has become more popularised in recent years of BJJ training.
At the same time, this isn’t knocking BJJ at all. In fact, if you think about it – most of BJJ should be similar to GJJ. By this, we mean that it should offer both competition training and self-defence strategies. The issue is that in terms of modern BJJ, some practitioners have lost the way in straying from the fundamentals and avoiding the origins which made BJJ so dominant. In other words, you won’t find butt scooting in GJJ or stalling for advantages when competing. Whilst butt scooting has its place in certain scenarios, it simply isn’t part of the GJJ curriculum.
The belt system is the same. Kimura’s aren’t allowed for white belts
As mentioned, GJJ is basically BJJ with an old school mentality and heavy emphasis on stand up. It should also be noted that it has the same belt system. In other words, going from white to black belt is the same as training under most regular gyms. The time to get to each belt is roughly the same, as are the skill levels required.
However, perhaps the one thing which is different is that Kimura’s are banned at white belt level. This is interesting as Camarillo believes they are too dangerous for beginners. Shoulder injuries are arguably one of the most common injuries in BJJ so maybe he has a point.
Summary
To answer the original question, Guerilla Jiu Jitsu is a variant of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Whilst it is similar in most ways, it differs by offering a more aggressive philosophy. The idea of GJJ is to train grapplers good in all areas who don’t waste any time in attacking their opponents. With this said, depending on who you talk to, GJJ is either BJJ under a similar name – or arguably what BJJ was meant to originally represent in being used as a tool to win fights and dominate opponent’s through superior grappling.
