In recent times there has been a debate comparing American Jiu Jitsu to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. With this said, most people still consider the art to be from Brazil, and the term American Jiu Jitsu (AJJ) is still fairly unknown. However, it should be noted that this term has definitely become more common in recent times. So, what is the difference between the two? Is it just semantics and petty names based on pride, or is there more to it than that? We will take a look into the world of American Jiu Jitsu and see if it really is any different from Brazilian Jiu Jitsu or whether it is just a flashy marketing gimmick.
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Where did the term American Jiu Jitsu originate from?
Firstly, there is no certain way to pinpoint the exact term or origins. However, some gyms in the USA that practice BJJ have had ‘AJJ’ on their doors for some time. This means the term is certainly at least a few years old. Up until recently, most of these gyms weren’t very known compared to the creation of Keenan Cornelius’s Legion AJJ gym, but more on that later.
For example, MIT college have technically been teaching American Jiu Jitsu since 1994. This is stated on their site and is a blend of BJJ with other grappling forms such as Japanese Jiu Jitsu. Why they chose this name is unknown, but in the big scheme of things, the MIT definition is quite underground and isn’t what most people think of with the term.
Perhaps the first real origins of the term come from Jake Shields. The MMA and BJJ veteran is primarily known for his training in no gi and combines his Jiu Jitsu with wrestling. As a result, this is what Shields came to call American Jiu Jitsu. In his own words, it was a blend of ‘the best of both worlds’. For Shields, this term was very serious and wasn’t just for shock value. You can see this with his tattoo which he proudly displays on his forearm which reads ‘American Jiu Jitsu’ next to an American eagle.
So, what is American Jiu Jitsu then?
Well, according to the definition of Shields, it is a mixture of BJJ and wrestling. Interestingly, wrestling nor BJJ didn’t originate in America, but nonetheless the country has adopted both martial arts heavily over the years. The exact roots of wrestling probably date back to ancient Greece, albeit similar styles have been found all over the world even in parts of China.
Having said this, in modern history at least, most of the wrestling styles used in no gi actually come from the United Kingdom. Here, Catch wrestling legend Billy Robinson taught the likes of Josh Barnett and Kazushi Sakuraba submission wrestling. Since then, it’s fair to say that Catch wrestling has declined in influence, whereas college wrestling and other forms have flourished in the USA.
Funnily enough, this isn’t the first time that someone has put their own twist on BJJ either. Back in 2006, Dave Camarillo also coined the term ‘Guerilla Jiu Jitsu‘. According to his philosophy, this is a subset of BJJ that highlights takedowns, submissions and aggression. Sound familiar?
To summarise, perhaps what Shields means by AJJ is his own style which he used throughout his grappling career. This typically meant no gi, emphasizing a lot of respect on wrestling takedowns combined with BJJ submissions such as heel hooks.
So, is this any difference from Brazilian Jiu Jitsu?
The answer is a grey area, kind of. It’s fair to say that BJJ has also had a history of no gi as Brazilians have dominated ADCC for years, especially in the earlier days. With this said, it would be unfair to say that Brazilian’s didn’t know how to wrestle. Similarly, even in the gi, BJJ guys have always used a combination of Judo and wrestling for takedowns.
However, perhaps what Shields was specifically talking about is the recent explosion of no gi matches and the EBI ruleset in North America. In fairness to Shields, this culture isn’t as commonly found in Brazil. Glancing at most promotions in the modern day, those in Brazil still favor the gi and are more traditional in that sense. Further, the rules that are popular in Brazil tend to go towards conventional IBJJF settings.
This differs from most US super fights where points may not even exist, whereas there is a big emphasis on submissions. Ironically, in the earlier days of BJJ, there was a similar culture that seems to have become more concentrated on points and advantages over the years. Nonetheless, it’s not like Brazilians like Marcelo Garcia and Wallid Ismail weren’t doing a similar style to Shields, these guys weren’t really pulling guard and have a big emphasis on takedowns, wrestling and the aggressive pursuit of submissions.
Recently, American Jiu Jitsu has threatened to become a culture of its own
It’s fair to say that Shields may have had a point when it comes to the slight differences between the two. That being said, we’ve already looked at some of the similarities too. However, more recently the AJJ movement has started to take shape. This has been in part due to the influence of Keenan Cornelius. Cornelius has never been afraid to shake things up and do his own stuff.
This can be seen with his use of lapels and systems such as the Worm guard which went against the grain of BJJ at the time. In recent years, his latest venture was the opening of his gym, Legion. It should be noted that he also added the words ‘AJJ’ after Legion, making it ‘Legion AJJ’, or Legion American Jiu Jitsu. This was a clear statement by Cornelius and wasn’t a coincidence. So, what did it mean?
As said earlier, Cornelius isn’t the first North American gym to use to AJJ tag, but he’s certainly the biggest. In terms of influence, it’s fair to say he is more than your average teacher in a backwater town. Interestingly, unlike Shields however, Cornelius is probably known more for his gi game and innovations. Of course, he is also a stellar no gi player in his own right, but possibly due to his lapels, he is known for the gi.
With this said, his style doesn’t fit in as well with the Jake Shields definition. Cornelius actually hinted at what his definition of AJJ meant when he said in a 2019 interview “I’m going to try to find the scattered Americans around the world, and pull them together to form the Avengers.” This may have been said in gest, but the point remains that by naming his gym AJJ – Keenan shed the tag of BJJ from his school.
In the big scheme of things, does anyone really care about AJJ vs BJJ?
The reality is that outside of a few core groups, no one is not really that bothered. Over the years, Jake Shields hasn’t received any grief for his views, nor was Cornelius condemned either. It seems that in modern day, most people genuinely don’t care. As said at the start of the article, the term could be used for branding or semantics but ultimately not that many people pay attention to it. For now at least, most of the world still view it as Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. This is because the art originated there and spread beyond the country.
At the same time, submission wrestling has been around a lot longer than BJJ and even BJJ had its roots in both Judo and Japanese Ju Jitsu. Nonetheless, it is good for humans to name things for the sake of ease and to avoid confusion. Whether this is what happened with AJJ or whether it’s based on the opposite concept is up for debate.
Is the US better at marketing BJJ, than Brazilians themselves?
Since 2020, BJJ has overtaken Judo in terms of popularity. This means it has firmly entered the mainstream and now has global stars such as Gordon Ryan and others. It could be argued that this global explosion was due to the US influence. With all respect to Brazil, the USA has always been a business-focused country that is good at marketing and branding. Because of this, you could claim that the US became something of a hub for the best minds in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
For instance, many aspiring Brazilians will leave their homeland to seek better financial opportunities in the US. The likes of Andre Galvao and Bernardo Faria are testament to this. Both have built up empires in the US, with Galvao making a top competition team and franchise of ATOS gyms. Elsewhere, Faria used the US as a platform to create his popular BJJ Fanatics business which changed the landscape of video instructionals.
Put simply, there is a reason they went to the US. It may be due to the English language, but it may be more than that. From BJJ clothing companies to competitions, it is apparent that in modern day, the USA is the place to be. This doesn’t just apply to BJJ either, but the US in general has always been influential on the world. Further, with the amount of US celebrities training and its spread on social media, it’s yet another reason why the art has spread out of obscurity into the mainstream. With this in mind, it’s no surprise that the term ‘American Jiu Jitsu’ has came about and may be a nod to the fame that the US has given to the sport.
Draculino – “There is no American Jiu Jitsu, there is no Brazilian Jiu Jitsu”
This was a quote from the legendary Draculino who is yet another Brazilian living in the US. He claimed that these labels are somewhat pointless and ultimately, there is only Jiu Jitsu and grappling in general. Back in the early 2000s, there was a debate against various grappling arts as to which was superior. Since then, these arts have often combined to get the best of both worlds. This may have been the thoughts of Draculino on the matter who was looking at the bigger picture and using Jiu Jitsu as an umbrella term.
Interestingly, he also claimed that if one man could claim the term for AJJ, it would be Eddie Bravo. Based on our comments above, this actually makes sense. If anything, Eddie Bravo is typical of the culture-side of AJJ which is based on a different kind of marketing and image. Bravo created new, zany terms for established moves and uses his own system.
Since its inception, Bravo’s 10th Planet has gone worldwide and has gained a lot of influence in the world of BJJ. This is in some part down to its image. With bright colors, a unique culture and lack of the gi, it’s clear that 10th Planet is different. It just so happened to come out of the USA too, so Draculino may have a point.
The US may one day overtake Brazil in terms of top athletes
For now at least, Brazil still dominates BJJ for the most part. However, there is a shift that is happening. For instance, the best no gi grappler at the moment is Gordon Ryan who happens to be American. Before him, other no gi legends were mostly Brazilian, with the likes of Galvao, Marcelo Garcia and Braulio Estima coming to mind. Further, if you look back at the earlier days of Worlds and ADCC, most medalists were Brazilian.
However, this is definitely changing in recent times. Whilst Brazilians still make up the overall medalists, there’s undoubtedly more US competitors in there than ever. The most recent ADCC was testament to this and proved that the US is on the rise. With this in mind, it’s only reasonable to assume that this trend will grow and within 10 years or so, the US may replace Brazil as the dominant country where top medalists are concerned. To some, this idea may same trivial, but to others it proves the growth of Jiu Jitsu in the USA.
Summary
Overall, it could be argued that in modern day, there is little difference in style between BJJ and AJJ. As mentioned, the term may lend towards a change in culture rather than the definition given by Jake Shields.Of course, BJJ will always be the original art, but since then BJJ has exploded in popularity in the US which has helped spread its influence around the world.
Interestingly, most people these days often use the term grappling. In fact, there is even a saying ‘good grappling is good grappling’. This means that whether you do Judo, wrestling, Sambo or BJJ – it doesn’t matter as long as the fundamentals are there. In conclusion, there’s nothing wrong with the term American Jiu Jitsu but at the same time the entire debate does seem a little pointless in parts.
