BJJ TALK: THE A-Z BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU ALPHABET (PART 2)

Do you understand the language of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu? Are you confused by the sheer number of crazy names that come in several different languages, from Japanese to Portuguese? Well, you’re not alone. Jiu-Jitsu is vast, and we like to name things. So, you get plenty of different names for just about everything that happens. Yet, if you are a beginner, you shouldn’t worry too much about all the BJJ talk. Instead, focus on learning the Jiu-Jitsu alphabet first, so that you can converse in the language fluently one yourself.

The concept of the BJJ alphabet is a really cool one. For beginners, it may prove to be the bridge they need to start understanding exactly what older students are talking about most of the time. With that in mind, we connected each letter of the English alphabet to a corresponding BJJ phrase, word, move, etc. in order to help beginners find sense in the Gentle Art. It may turn out to help even older students though.nnHow To Talk The BJJ TalknIt often happens at BJJ seminars, or camps, that people can’t talk to each other because of language barriers. And still, they can train together, they understand what’s going on at the seminar and can communicate perfectly through BJJ. Jiu-Jitsu is a language in itself, one that helps people who know it has some of the most meaningful “conversations” they will ever have.nnAnd still, if we take a look at the more practical side of Jiu-Jitsu as a language, you’ll see that there’s too much stuff in there to be able to categorize in any meaningful way. The freedom of BJJJ allows people to constantly name things in ways that make sense to them. While at a gym level that’s not a big deal, for those that have a huge influence on the sport, coming out with original nomenclature can have worldwide consequences. Just look at Eddie Bravo as the perfect example. Half the time nobody knows what 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu folks are talking about, with everything having its own (weird and funny) name.nnThe same holds true for others, like Danaher for example. He just likes to use old-school Japanese terms much more than crazy names that make people laugh. As BJJ evolves, people keep adding to the language, both in terms of moves and names that correspond with them. However, just like any other language, BJJ talk is based on some common foundations. Those are the letters of the BJJ alphabet. And, since it is really hard to categorize BJJ in any sort of way, we took the alphabet format to try and make things make more sense for people that are just starting out in the art.

THE BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU ALPHABET FOR BEGINNERS

What exactly is the BJJ alphabet? Who knows. It may be different for everyone out there. However, in terms of the alphabet we all know and use every day, we can offer you 26 BJJ talk phrases and terms, that will help you understand just what is happening on those mats. After all, you only need the basics – you’ll start speaking Jiu-Jitsu in a short time for yourself, and you’ll be able to understand literally every grappler in the world.

BJJ TALK: THE A-Z BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU ALPHABET (PART 1)

O: Open Mat

A concept that’s I think specific to BJJ. There’s one at least once a week in every academy in the world. It is a time when the gym is open for you to do whatever you want. While people have the option of drilling, stretching, or doing whatever an open mat is a synonym for having a lot of time to do as many rolls as you can.

P: Position Sparring

Contrary to all-out sparring, positional sparring is one of the best tools to help you learn Jiu-Jitsu better and in less time. The concept is that you should spend some time training every position you learn, with a partner trying to resist you. These should be at the end of every class but are often times skipped in favor of all-out sparring.

Q: Question everything

This ties in with Innovation. BJJ is highly individual, and your own character needs to shine through in order tor you to build a functional Jiu-Jitsu game. Whenever you need to ask something of your instructors, or training partners, do it! Questioning things is how the art came to be, and it is how it is going to keep moving forward constantly. Ask things!

R: Roll

Remember the all-out sparring I mentioned? Well, the BJJ talk for that is rolling, given that it is literally what people do. Rolling is the most fun part of Jiu-Jitsu and one that sets it apart from everything else that exists in the world. Expect rolling to become a huge part of your life.

S: Submissions

What exactly is a submission? It is every move that will cause an opponent to surrender. In Jiu-jitsu, those are joint locks on the extremities, whether it is arms or legs, and all the attacks on the neck. While they are mostly chokes and strangles, you could also attack joint lock on the neck as well. Those are the moves everyone hunts for, which also makes them the moves that are the hardest to achieve.

T: Tap

Tapping is what you do when you’re caught in a submission. The moment you feel you’re in discomfort, or you know you’ve been caught, you tap. Tapping means slapping two-three times on the mats or on your opponent’s body. Remember that you should tap early and often if you want to prevent needless injuries.

U: Uniform

The BJJ uniform nowadays comes in two different versions. One is the Gi or Kimono, similar to that of other martial arts, but still unique. BJJ Gis feature specific characteristics and come in different shapes and sizes. You could also train BJJ without a kimono, which in BJJ talk is referred to as No-Gi. That means you’re wearing a t-shirt and shorts, or rashguards and spats for training. Going No-Gi completely changes the intensity, grip fighting and many other aspects of the game.

V: Videos

It is a modern world and BJJ is adoptable if nothing else. Given the amount of information available in video format, why not learn Jiu-JItsu that way? Anything, from Youtube videos to full-blown instructional BJJ DVDs is a great tool for sharpening up your game. The choices out there are endless.

W: Warm-up

The one part of training everyone wants to skip but shouldn’t. Usually, Jiu-Jitsu warm-ups are different from your usual physical activity ones. However, they can get monotonous and boring if instructors don’t switch them up from time to time.

X: X-guard(s)

A position that is fundamental in the modern BJJ game. The X guard has several variations and you can expect to spend a lot of time trying to figure it out both form top and bottom. It is a variation of open guard and you absolutely need it in your arsenal. The more variations you can master, the better.

Y: Yoga

The perfect compliment to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. In fact, plenty of gyms have regular yoga classes, and might even have short routines as part of warm-ups or cool-downs. Simply put, yoga helps your body get back in order after all the fun abuse it has to go through while rolling and practicing JIu-Jitsu. Highly recommended.

Z: Z-guard

Another guard that you’ll have to figure out at one point or another. The Z Guard is just BJJ talk for placing a knee between you and your opponent when you’re on the ground, in order to keep them away from you. While playing it is not quite so easy, understanding what this guard is about is not more complicated than this explanation.

Closing Arguments

You’ll learn how to talk Jiu-Jitsu on your own. That’s inevitable. However, you can start exploring all the BJJ talk by using the BJJ alphabet we put together in order to spend less time trying to figure out what things mean. Once you have all the letters down, you ‘ll soon be able to start making words and putting sentences together. They’ll be no shutting you up afterward!

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