Wrestling Vs Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ): A Complete Breakdown

Will BJJ (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) Help With Wrestling?

If you were ever wondering if BJJ (Brazilia jiu-jitsu) could help you with your wrestling, you have come to the right place. In this article, we will show you exactly how those two different martial arts supplement each other. So, will Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) help you with your wrestling?

Being a grappling sport itself, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu will highly improve your wrestling skills. Some techniques and skills that you learn by doing Jiu-Jitsu can transcend very well to wrestling.

Keep reading to find more how exactly will BJJ help you with wrestling and what to focus on.

About BJJ (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu)

Brazilian jiu-jitsu gained international recognition in the world of martial arts in the 1990s, when Brazilian jiu-jitsu master Royce Gracie won the first, second, and fourth UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) which was an elimination martial arts tournament at the time. He often fought against much larger opponents who practiced other styles, including Boxing, Shoot-fighting, Karate, Judo, Taekwondo, and Wrestling.

Since then, BJJ has become a basic skill for many MMA fighters and is considered responsible for directing great attention to the ground fighting aspect. BJJ sports tournaments are gaining increasing popularity around the world and have started numerous gi and no-gi submission grappling competitions as the ADCC World Submission Grappling Championships.

The system evolved from a modified version of Judo practiced before World War II including some techniques from classical jiu-jitsu and with a focus on ne-wazu (floor techniques). It promotes the principle that a smaller, weaker person can successfully defend against a bigger and stronger attacker using balance and technique. BJJ can be trained for self-defense, sports grappling tournaments (gi and no-gi) and mixed martial arts (MMA).

About Wrestling

Wrestling is a martial art, but also a standard Olympic sport. It is a fight between two opponents whose goal is to defeat the opponent using different grappling-techniques, but in doing so, blows of any kind are prohibited. Wrestling is one of the oldest sports in general, which was practiced in the days of ancient Greece, and is in the program of the modern Olympic Games from the first days until today.

As a traditional sport, wrestling has evolved in a wide variety of styles and rules, from sumo wrestling, judo to various freestyle variants. It is often used in soldier training, so-called chest to chest fights. All these styles have in common that it is forbidden to hit an opponent with their hands, feet, elbows or head, as well as unsportsmanlike moves such as scratching, bites, genital strikes, etc. The difference between individual styles is the duration of the fight (number and duration of the period), scoring of individual actions, the list of permitted actions, etc.

The goal of wrestling, depending on style, can be:

  • to make such an act of bringing the opponent to the floor and bringing him into a subordinate position. The most commonly known procedure is a pin. To pin your opponent you have to hold his shoulder blades on the math for at least two seconds.
  • topple your opponent to the floor
  • get the opponent to touch the floor with any other part of the body except the feet or push him out of the space provided for the fight (this is the rule in sumo wrestling)
  • raise the opponent above head height
  • bring the opponent’s body into a subordinate position in another legitimate manner

There are many wrestling styles and we have an article about the best wrestling styles for MMA and why are they so effective in Mixed Martial Arts combat.

How BJJ (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) can help with Wrestling

Off-season wrestling would probably help you the most, but you can also train it in combination with BJJ. Here are a few reasons why we think BJJ (Brazilian jiu-jitsu) can help with wrestling.

  • for any grappling sport, the most important aspect is awareness of your own body, especially in relation to someone else’s (positioning). While the goals of BJJ and wrestling are different, that key awareness and control cross over any grappling sport
  • if you want to switch from classic wrestling to MMA, then there are even more reasons to start with BJJ. Those in wrestling cannot use submissions or work on their backs in their wrestling match. That is where BJJ comes in play
  • BJJ schools are often full of great wrestlers. You will get great training partners with wrestling guys already training BJJ. You will definitely get better at wrestling after BJJ training
  • BJJ builds you physically and mentally in a similar way wrestling does
  • also, you will learn some new, different stuff, that can surprise your opponents in wrestling, and MMA especially

Are there some better martial arts to combine with wrestling?

There probably are, like judo and even sambo, but it all depends on what your goal is. If you are trying to get into the world of MMA, then BJJ would be a great choice as well. Also, if you are preparing for your opponent in MMA, then you have to learn other techniques as well so you can be prepared for him the right way. You can also find out what are the best martial arts for MMA so you can combine them with wrestling if you like.

Raffaello Sambiagio, A black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, he is one of the members of Tribe Jiujitsu Roma Nord, one of the most prestigious in the capital.
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Raffaello Sambiagio

Raffaello Sambiagio was born in Rome in eighty-nine. He approached martial arts through his local Judo gym, but everything changed with Brazilian jiu Jitsu. A black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, he is one of the members of Tribe Jiujitsu Roma Nord, one of the most prestigious in the capital. Parallel to his competitive career, Raffaello dedicated himself to teaching discipline first to children and then to adults. Our testing and reviewing method.
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