Monthly Archives: November 2012

5 Reasons Why Jiu Jitsu is The Gentle Art.

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Nothing is so strong as gentleness. Nothing is so gentle as real strength. – St. Francis de Sales

Jiu Jitsu is a Japanese phrase that is commonly translated as “the gentle art.”

At first glance this might seem misleading.  After all, the goal of Jiu Jitsu is to control and submit a resisting person. Limb attacks are designed to damage soft tissue and dislocate or break bones.  Chokes can render an opponent unconscious, and have the potential to kill.

It can seem there is nothing “gentle” about Jiu Jitsu.

At the same time, the Japanese were known for coming up with very descriptive names.  So lets take a look at 5 reasons why Jiu Jitsu is the Gentle Art.

Jiu Jitsu is based on using skill over strength.  Jiu Jitsu is the gentle art because it does not meet force with force.  When engaged in a close struggle, Jiu Jitsu maximizes the role of skill and science over strength and aggression.  The best practitioners operate with a relaxed ease, and are adept at using their opponents force against them.

“Jiu means gentle or to give way, Jitsu, an art or practice, and Do, way or principle, so that Jiu-jitsu means an art or practice of gentleness or of giving way in order to ultimately gain the victory; while Judo means the way or principle of the same.” – Jigoro Kano

Jiu Jitsu is less violent than the striking arts.  Another reason why Jiu Jitsu is the gentle art is because it is substantially less violent and injurious than other forms of combat or martial arts. 

Effective martial arts for real world self-defense require a component of “live” sparring.  Sparring in Jiu Jitsu requires less violence and results in less serious injury than sparring with strikes.  With Jiu Jitsu there is an agreement to stop a technique short of permanent injury – which cannot be done with a punch or a kick.  This “gentler” approach to live training means sparring can be done on a daily basis – with much less risk of permanently damaging yourself or your training partner.

Jiu Jitsu promotes longevity.  The third reason why Jiu Jitsu is the “gentle art” is because it is more forgiving than many other athletic activities.  When done intelligently and at an appropriate intensity, it builds the body up without breaking it down.  So despite its capacity to inflict harm, Jiu Jitsu does not chew up the body like many western sports or other martial arts. Grandmasters Helio and Carlos Gracie embodied this principle, continuing their training into their 90’s.

Gentleman rules.  The fourth reason why Jiu Jitsu is the gentle art is because it abides by “gentleman rules.”  These rules are universally adopted in other forms of grappling as well.  They include no punching, slapping, kicking, biting, eye gouging, fishhooking, pinching, hair grabbing or individual finger locks.

Jiu Jitsu decreases stress and anger.  The fifth reason is that Jiu Jitsu generally promotes an easy-going, laidback attitude.  That is because Jiu Jitsu is known to reduce stress, anger and insecurities.

“A coward is much more exposed to quarrels than a man of spirit.” -Thomas Jefferson

Conclusion.  

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu emphasizes the use of science over strength and aggression.  This results in greater control, and allows the intensity to be varied to a level appropriate to the situation.  But this is not the only reason why Jiu Jitsu is the “gentle art.”

Although reality-based martial arts that include sparring will never be completely “gentle,” much of the appeal of Jiu Jitsu is centered around it being substantially less violent and injurious than other forms of combat or martial arts.

The techniques of Jiu Jitsu are geared towards incapacitating another person in the most effective and efficient way possible, yet Jiu Jitsu can still be a very pleasurable activity, and “gentle” enough to train on a regular basis for the rest of one’s life.

The softest things in the world overcome the hardest things in the world. - Lao Tzu

An Ancient Take On Gi Vs Nogi.

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The ancient Greeks utilized training methods similar to our modern day no-gi and gi training.

The better a wrestler is at imposing and negating grips, the more effective they will be.  It is easier to make grips on a dry coarse surface.  Conversely it is harder to make grips on a smooth, slippery surface.  This reasoning led ancient Greek wrestlers to utilize oil and konis (a talc-like powder) as training tools to accelerate their progress.

Dusty.  The ancient Greeks did not wear Gis. Instead, they applied “konis” – a talc or coarse, sandy powder – to their bodies to remove slipperiness, and provide a more grippable, dry surface.  This made it difficult to escape from holds.  Training with konis, or “Dusty” training, was believed to improve ones ability to break grips.

Oily.  In a separate area of the palestra (wrestling school), wrestlers trained with expensive oil applied to the bodies – making them more difficult to grip.  This was believed to increase strength and trained the wrestler to become adept at imposing grips, even in the most unfavorable of conditions.

Ancient Text.  The following is an excerpt from an essay that was written by Lucian of Samosata in 170 c.e.  It is translated by Stephen Miller, from his book, Arête: Greek Sports from Ancient Sources. Stephen Miller writes, “The essay is set in Athens and purports to be a conversation between Solon, the Athenian lawgiver, and the Skythian Anacharsis who had come to Greece from his home on the Black Sea in quest of wisdom.”

Solon:  The mud and the konis, which seemed so ridiculous to you in the beginning, are put down for the following reasons.  First, so that they may fall safely on a soft surface rather than a hard one.  Next, they are necessarily slipperier when they are coated with sweat and mud.  Although you compared this to eels, it is neither useless nor ridiculous; it makes a considerable contribution to strength when they are slippery and one tries to hold on while the other tries to slip away.  And don’t think that it is easy to pick up a man who is sweaty and muddy and has on oil as well.  As I said earlier, all this is useful in war in the event that one has to pick up a wounded comrade and carry him out of the fight, or grab an enemy and bring him back to one’s own lines.  For such reasons we train them to the limits and set the most difficult tasks so that they can do the lesser ones with greater ease.

We believe that the konis is useful for the opposite purpose, to prevent a man from slipping away once caught.  Once they have been trained with the mud to hold on to what would get away because of its oiliness, they are taught to escape from the opponent’s hands when they are caught in a firm grip. In addition, the konis is thought to stop profuse sweating, to prolong strength, and to prevent harm to their bodies from the wind blowing on them when their pores are open. Finally, the konis rubs off the filth and makes the man cleaner.  I would like to take one of those white-skinned fellows who live in the shade and put him next to any athlete you might pick out of the Lykeion after I had washed off the mud and konis, and then find out which you would rather resemble.  I know that you would choose immediately, without even waiting to see what each could do, to be firm and hard rather than soft and like a marshmallow with thin blood withdrawing to the interior of the body.

 Conclusion.  Training in the oily mud and dry konis were thought to compliment each other, resulting in a grappler that is skilled in both imposing and negating grips.

What do you think?  Can the same be true for modern day Gi and No Gi training methods?