At the dawn of the 20th century JiuJitsu was booming across the United States. The oriental style of throws and locks had made it to the mainstream. But was this Jujitsu the close combat method used in Feudal Japan? According to Tsunejirō Tomita, legendary competitor and mentor of Mitsuyo Maeda… not exactly.

In a news article titled “The Gentle Art of Judo” Tomita stated:

An erroneous impression existed in this country as to jiu-jitsu. Jiu-jitsu is an almost extinct art, the real art of self-defense is Judo.

I’m sure Professor Tanabe, a known rival of the Kodokan would have strongly disagreed, but one thing holds true: Many of the Japanese submission experts who captivated the imagination of the west with their mystical way of doing grappling were in fact Judokas.

The popularity of JUDO, the martial art introduced by Jigoro Kano was on the rise thanks to some of its foremost exponents, like Yamashita who taught the art in the White House. In a news article about his upcoming position as combat instructor at the United States Naval Academy he stated:

This physical culture is not JuJitsu as popularly supposed, but is known in Japan as the Judo culture.

A 1905 news article about prominent flyweight judoka Katsukuma Higashi, known for his masterful use of the guard, states:

The system of Jiujitsu that he teaches is the Kano, which is the official system of Japan taught to every officer and enlisted man of the Japanese army, navy and police departments. It is this system that was shown to the President of the United States. The Kano system of JiuJitsu or Judo is superior to all other systems.

Another great Japanese Submission Expert, Tokugoro Ito, a choking wizard who took part in historic style vs style grappling matches and NHB fights, was a Judo Black Belt and proud ambassador of the Kodokan, as was the legendary Mitsuyo Maeda, who traveled across the Americas taking on all comers and sharing his knowledge. The Judoka finally settled in Brazil where he taught a young Carlos Gracie, giving birth to the Gracie version of Kano’s Judo. By the way, Gracie was not the only one he taught in Brazil, but that is a subject for another time.

Maeda, as many of his fellow Kodokan graduates, was known for his meticulous technique. At only 5’5 he didn’t exactly muscle his way through countless victories against bigger opponents.

Does this sound familiar to you?

The proper use of the fighting methods of Judo enables a smaller and weaker man to successfully combat a bigger and stronger one.

So if you are wondering, isn’t judo just about throws and tosses? and BJJ about the ground? This is nothing but a misconception.

Judo is divided in Ground Techniques and Standing Techniques. With the inclusion of Judo in the 1964 Olympic games and a set of rules that favored the latter, many schools and competitors decided to concentrate on the standing game, neglecting the ground. Many, but not all. There are well rounded Judokas like Olympic Champion Hidehiko Yoshida who seemed to do pretty well in his Judo vs Jiu Jitsu Super-Fight against Royce Gracie, an event that commemorated 50 years since Masahiko Kimura’s submission win over Helio Gracie.

Judo’s richness on the ground and Kano’s detailed classification of it are remarkable. Take the Sankaku-jime for example. The Japanese art has dozens of variations of this technique and that’s just one instance.

BJJ has evolved, it has adapted, it has incorporated techniques from other styles, and there is no doubt that the present level of specialization is up to par with that of those superstars that with grappling alone used to fill up stadiums and regularly made headlines in the sport sections.

Everything comes from something else, there is no arguing about that. BJJ is awesome… claiming innovation over a more complete martial art is not.

Tomita Jiu Jitsu, the only authorized Jiu Jitsu in America! Rock my new tshirt design like it’s 1909 and become an honorary member of the Tomita Jiu Jitsu Academy… well, actually Judo Academy, but you know what I mean. Thank you for your kind support that allows me to continue making these videos.

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