One of the most prominent martial arts out there today is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ). Jiu Jitsu is a martial art that focuses on grappling/submission, rather than striking, using joint locks and chokes. Examples of such submissions are the rear naked chokes, arm bars, shoulder lock, and the triangle choke among many others. The main difference with Jiu Jitsu is that it focuses more on technique than it does power as opposed to other martial arts. Jiu Jitsu is truly a sport for the little guy. Brazilian Jiu- Jitsu was a martial art that was invented by the Gracie Family, but how did it come to be? In 1904, Judo black belt Mitsuyo Maeda left Japan and traveled around the world to give Judo demonstration's and accepted fights from fighters that trained other martial arts such as boxing and wrestling. Maeda's travels would eventually bring him to Brazil in 1914.There, he performed for many Circuses, one of which was a show owned by Gastao Gracie. In 1917, Gastao's eldest son, Carlos, saw Maeda at a show and immediately took in interest in Judo and asked if Maeda would train him. Maeda accepted and trained Carlos for a couple of years, who in turn would eventually pass down the knowledge to his brothers. However, one of his brothers, Helio, had trouble with some of Judo's power-based moves and so he would go on to develop a more technique-based version of the discipline known today as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. This new martial art would focus more on technique, immobilization and flow as opposed to Judo which focused more on power and slams. There are many differences from the two which make it two completely separate martial arts. Jiu Jitsu has grown so much over the past century that it has become one of the most popular martial arts around today. Jiu Jitsu has a very strict and Lengthy belt system. There are 5 main belts in Jiu Jitsu. White, Blue, Purple, Brown and Black. However, students that practice the martial art have to earn four stripes within each belt to graduate to the next belt. To make matters more difficult, Jiu Jitsu promotions are typically only held twice a year for most Jiu Jitsu schools which means that in order to be a Black Belt, you need to train at least Ten years to get there. Graduations or promotions are typically done in one of two ways. The first is a formal test in which the student will show their skill by performing the move that the Professor asks of them. The second way promotions are held is there will be a formal graduation day where the professor will promote you based off skills exhibited within class and training. I started training Jiu Jitsu in 2014. The way I was introduced to Jiu Jitsu was actually through church. I had a piano teacher (who still teaches me to this day), who invited me to his church on a Friday. He was a youth group leader at the time and so one day I went and enjoyed going so I continued to go every week and after six months of me going he had an announcement to make. He announced that in a month he would be starting a Jiu Jitsu program within the church on Saturday mornings. My piano teacher was a Blue belt at the time and started the program as something fun for people to do. After my first class, I Immediately fell in love with it and have been doing it ever since. Even though the program at church ended a year ago, I was still able to find a school near me and have been training There since February under a Black Belt named Rodrigo Almeida and in May I earned my very first stripe. Jiu Jitsu has helped me in so many ways in my life, the main one being weight loss. When I first started Jiu Jitsu, I was 190 pounds. Today I am 150 pounds which is the lightest I've been in ten years. Jiu Jitsu has been one of the most fun things I've done in recent years and its been an awesome ride so far. For something so aggressive, its actually quite calming. I always joke around with people and say that I'm ironically at my calmest when I'm choking someone half to death, but there is actually a lot of truth in that statement. Jiu Jitsu keeps me grounded. The mats are my paradise. For anyone that wants to lose weight, wants to have something to do, or has been looking to train martial arts for the first time, I strongly recommend Jiu Jitsu. While it can be a lot to handle at first, as soon as your body gets used to the physically demanding nature of it, it will gradually become easier for your body to handle. It's a very demanding and aggressive sport but its also one of the most fun things you will ever try.