If you’re new to the world of grappling and Jiu Jitsu, then you may have seen people talk about the differences between Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Gracie Jiu Jitsu. Further, if you’re looking for a new gym to train at then you may be trying to pick between the two.
In brief, whilst both these styles are very similar and fundamentally the same, there’s a few nuances and differences. As a result, it’s good to distinguish the main areas that separate each system. This will be explained in further detail below.
Table of Contents
What’s the main difference Between Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Gracie Jiu Jitsu?
Gracie Jiu Jitsu places a bigger emphasis on self defense
Firstly, the biggest difference is that Gracie Jiu Jitsu prioritizes self defense above all else. In other words, it doesn’t teach anything that is deemed too sports based or competition techniques. This is interesting, as most of BJJ is meant to be for practical self defense anyway. However, some GJJ students believe that somewhere along the way, mainstream BJJ became too competition focused and lost its practical elements as a result.
For instance, even though the worm guard is proven within competition – GJJ students would argue that this move is irrelevant in a real fight. The reason is that you probably wouldn’t be able to set up a lapel wrap successfully without being punched in the face. Similarly, if it may be difficult to sweep someone with strikes involved.
Expanding on this, a lot of GJJ focuses on the founding ideas of Helio Gracie. This means your techniques shouldn’t be muscled on and should be able to work on bigger, stronger opponents. In GJJ, they call this the ’36 principles’ that are 36 key techniques and theories that flow throughout Jiu Jitsu.
This is the main difference between the two, with GJJ focusing on a select core of moves that they deem necessary. For instance, a pendulum sweep from closed guard is seen as effective in self defense. Therefore, it would be used in GJJ and BJJ. However, as worm guard isn’t seen as effective in self defense, it’s used in BJJ but not GJJ. Overall, it is this philosophy that separates the two but it’s also fair to say that they share a lot of crossover.
Gracie Jiu Jitsu doesn’t allow sparring until blue belt
Perhaps the second biggest difference is the way in which both schools of thought believe sparring should be used. In GJJ, it’s believed that practitioners shouldn’t spar until blue belt. That’s right, usually blue belt takes anywhere from 1-3 years to achieve, depending on your own circumstances.
The reason for this stance is that supposedly the first belt should be dedicated to drilling and pinning down the basics. This lessens the chance of injury but also makes sure you’ll dedicate time to drilling and really try to nail down the movements. There’s two sides to this argument, however most BJJ gyms will let you spar from day one. Therefore, by the time you’re a GJJ blue belt – you’ll have never sparred. However, a new BJJ blue belt should have a bit of experience under their belt.
Gracie Jiu Jitsu used green mats and have set uniforms
Lastly, Gracie Jiu Jitsu gyms usually have distinct green mats, whilst BJJ gyms have whatever mat color they want. Further, GJJ gyms also use white gis and no other color. Again, regular BJJ gyms usually allow a mixture of colors and there’s no set dress code.
This means that if you drop into a GJJ gym, then it will probably be similar and closer to other GJJ gyms. Having said this, the same cannot be said for BJJ gyms as there’s more likely to be differences from place to place.
Is Gracie Jiu Jitsu legit?
This is a commonly asked question, and really it depends on your stance. On the one hand, some argue that not allowing students to spar until blue belt is counterproductive. On the other hand, GJJ will argue that it’s a necessary step and after obtaining blue belt most of the rules are actually the same.
In terms of self defense though, after training GJJ for a couple of years it will be beneficial. This is because you’ll have nailed down the key movements of Jiu Jitsu and probably have some sparring under your belt as well. Compared to many other forms of martial arts, GJJ is certainly effective and is legitimate with this in mind.
As well, Gracie Jiu jitsu also spar with other methods too. For instance, in GJJ you can spar imitating strikes, similar to what is done in MMA. This only adds to the argument that GJJ is effective and mimics the fighting in a realistic setting.
However, there is yet another counter argument from BJJ practitioners. They argue that most BJJ moves are practically the same. For instance, GJJ practitioners will not use 50/50 as it’s not from Helio Gracie’s original principles and is fairly modern. However, in BJJ, you can heelhook and seriously hurt people from the position. Therefore, this asks relevant questions about GJJ as it effectively neglects some big parts of Jiu Jitsu that are not gimmicky yet are still effective in defending yourself.
On a similar note, some Gracie Jiu Jitsu gyms do not believe in their students competing as they believe some of the moves are not practical in real life. Arguably, competition is one of the best activities that you can do for self defense as it sharpens you and simulates the adrenaline and nerves of a real fight.
Does Gracie Jiu Jitsu do nogi?
Whilst GJJ may be oldschool, it has embraced nogi. Arguably, this is in line with its self defense ideas as nogi is a common way of fighting. Not everyone does streetfights wearing a baggy coat. Therefore, nogi is deemed realistic enough to practice. In fact, you could argue that in most fights, they are done in a nogi setting anyway. Because of this GJJ schools do teach nogi as part of their curriculum.
Conclusion
In summary, Gracie Jiu Jitsu differs from Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in several ways. Many of these aspects stem from a differing philosophy that emphasizes self defense and oldschool principles above everything else. Whether for better or worse, the result is that the two are quite different. Having said this, often a gyms behavior is down to its owner and even though these are generalizations, some training aspects will differ from gym to gym.
If you’d like to learn more about Gracie Jiu Jitsu then check out this book which documents the points made here and much more!
