Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) is a grappling art that places an emphasis on
ground fighting. It is based on the practical application of technique
and leverage to overcome a larger and stronger opponent. The BJJ
practitioner's goal is to gain a dominant position on the ground and
then use joint-locks and chokeholds to force an opponent to submit.
Derived from the Japanese arts, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu developed into its
own unique art in Brazil, by the Gracie family over the last seventy
years. 

Today, BJJ is established worldwide, and it continues to gain popularity
as an exciting sport and one of the most effective methods of
self-defence. Training and competitions involve gaining dominant
positioning and submissions without the use of any strikes allowing
practitioners to safely practice at full speed and full power.
In the early 1990's, BJJ exploded in popularity because of its success
in realistic open-rules tournaments such as the Ultimate Fighting
Championships(r) <http://www.ufc.tv/> . In these competitions, athletes
could use any style or technique to compete against one another. In
early competitions, Royce Gracie defeated the champions from various
other arts, in a no-rules format, and won three of the first four
competitions decisively by submission. 

Now these no-rules competitions have evolved with rules and safety
standards and have become the exciting sport of Mixed Martial Arts
(MMA). It is well known that that all MMA competitors train in BJJ in
some capacity in order to remain competitive within the sport. The
effectiveness of BJJ has become so convincing in MMA events, that the
United States government has even incorporated BJJ into the core of the
hand-to-hand combat curriculum for the United States Armed Forces, the
FBI, and other law enforcement agencies