One of the most important aspects of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is the sparring. This is what separates it from lesser martial arts as it involves hard sparring. The result of this is that it acts a pressure test and shows who has been training and who hasn’t. At the same time, sparring isn’t exclusive to BJJ. Other martial arts such as boxing, Judo and Muay Thai all involve sparring. In that sense, BJJ sparring isn’t anything spectacular or new.
What is a sparring partner called in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu?
In BJJ, sparring partners are usually called rolling partners. The reason for this is that in BJJ, sparring is often called rolling. Why is this? If you’ve ever sparred then it literally involves rolling, as in forwards rolls, reversals and other movements. Therefore, people will often as ‘do you want a roll?’ which is basically them inviting you to spar.
Sometimes though, sparring partners are literally called sparring partners, or even training partners. Really, there’s no formal name and it’s up to you.
What is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Randori?
In Judo, sparring is referred to as Randori. The rough translation from Japanese means ‘chaos’ which is actually a good term to refer to sparring. If ever you’ve been in a tough spar, you will understand that it can be chaotic and intense.
In BJJ, Randori is once again called rolling. As a general rule, Judo has a lot in common with BJJ. From throws to submissions, there is a lot that both martial arts share. However, usually Judo goes with traditional Japanese terms, whereas BJJ has more modern terms that are a combination of Portuguese and English.
What is Kata in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu?
In Karate, Kata is a commonly used term and means to practice moves that you would apply in sparring (also referred to as Kumite in Karate). Basically, there’s a lot to be said for practicing moves without resistance over and over again. The result is that when it comes to sparring, your technique should be more crisp and sharp as a result. Like Judo, Kata is a Japanese term which is not surprising as the art also comes from Japan.
In BJJ, Kata is called drilling. As mentioned previously, this idea is based on the English language and has origins of military training. The term ‘drill sergeant’ is someone in the US army who will train you. Here, soldiers will repetitively train exercises and drills over and over again to simulate real life and get moves sunk into muscle memory.
The same is said for BJJ where moves are ideally drilled to perfection. Although the terminology is different from Karate and Judo – essentially it’s the same thing and is aimed to improve technique. One big difference though is that often Kata is trained in private. There’s actually very few moves you can train in private in BJJ and most of this is trained alongside a willing partner.
Where does the term sparring come from?
Apparently, the term sparring comes from France and Italy from the 1400s. This apparently translates as to ‘kick, strike or thrust’. In short, it translates to aggressive behavior which is effectively what sparring is when compared to drilling.
Others have claimed that the term sparring comes from Spartan times in ancient Greece. However, this may just be hearsay. It’s no secret though that the Spartans would fight and train hard, so perhaps there is some truth in these stories?
Conclusion
When it comes to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, sparring partners are usually referred to as rolling partners. This emphasizes the casual undertones of BJJ that are often missing from other traditional martial arts. In general though, this is just a case of semantics and whatever you’re comfortable with is really up to you as an individual.
If you want to learn more about BJJ slang then feel free to check this article out here that is dedicated to unusual BJJ terms.
