Welcome to the gentle art: Jiu-Jitsu
Vivek Chaudhary
Last Updated: May 07. 2008 9:49PM UAE / May 7. 2008 5:49PM GMT
“Jiu-Jitsu is not about power,” says Carlos Santos as he places an armlock around my neck. Philip Cheung / The National
Standing at 1m 88cm and weighing in at just over 120 kilos, Carlos Santos is not the sort of man you want to punch. Particularly if you happen to be me, a pacifist not through choice but natural selection, given my 1m 7cm frame and 66 kilos of flesh and bone.
Still, Santos insists I give him my best shot and aim anything else I have in my armoury at him: kicks, elbows to the face and even knees to his groin.
I take a deep breath and my body tenses. I clench my fists and launch into a full frontal attack on the man mountain standing before me in an attempt to bring him down.
Santos has me on the floor within milli seconds as I feel the full weight of his huge frame on top of me, his trunk-like legs wrapped around my neck.
Barely able to scream out the words, “I give up,” and feeling as if my eyes are about to pop out of my head as Santos squeezes his legs around me, I slap my hand on the floor, signalling an end to our brief encounter.
Welcome to the world of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
“It isn’t about power,” says Santos. “Jiu-Jitsu is known as the gentle art.”
He places an armlock around my neck and it is difficult to believe him as I am barely able to breathe, but he adds: “Jiu-Jitsu is like chess for the body. It involves a lot of thinking, tactics and strategy. If you try to rely on power or size, you will lose.”
To prove his point, Santos gets me to take on one of his students, 13, who is half my size and weight. Within seconds he also has me on the floor, squeezing my arm in a body lock so hard it feels as if it is about to break. Now I am really feeling like a punch bag.
Brace yourself for more grappling, elbowing and chokeholds, not to mention screams, as the Abu Dhabi International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament, the largest of its kind in the Middle East and Asia, gets under way tomorrow. It promises to be a pulsating exhibition of the martial art’s finest points.
Santos, 32, is a good person to give you a taste of what Jiu-Jitsu involves. A three-time former world champion, he came to the UAE six years ago for a month to teach the sport but never left and is now head of the country’s fledgling Jiu-Jitsu national team. He is also responsible for spreading the sport throughout the region.
Around 150 fighters from 30 countries will take part in the tournament, including 50 Emiratis as the sport becomes increasingly popular in the Emirates.
When Santos first came here, Jiu-Jitsu was barely known. Now he trains up to 50 people each week at the Abu Dhabi Combat Club, based at the capital’s race track, where this weekend’s competition takes place.
Plans are also under way to form a women’s team and establish an Emirates Jiu-Jitsu federation, as well as stage a world championship next year.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, is a huge fan of the sport and patron of this weekend’s tournament.
“Abu Dhabi is now the home of Jiu-Jitsu in the Middle East,” says Santos. “We have some excellent fighters who are improving and we have ambitions that they will go on to take part in competitions all around the world.
Matches are won either by submission, points advantage or a referees’ decision. A throw to the floor scores two points, as does a knee to the stomach.
To mount an opponent while they are on the floor is four points, while locking your opponent’s arms behind his back, leaving him motionless, is another four points. No prizes for guessing how many points I scored.
Jiu-Jitsu was developed in Japan more than 250 years ago during the feudal wars. It was originally designed for warfare, but after the fighting ended it was modified so it could be used for peaceful means.
Judo, karate and aikido all grew out of Jiu-Jitsu around this time, but one of its greatest proponents, Esai Maeda, wanted to keep it in its purest form.
Maeda, known as the godfather of Jiu-Jitsu, went to live in Sao Paulo in Brazil in the 1900s, where he taught the martial art to a local man, Carlos Gracie, and his four sons. They, in turn, adjusted some of the techniques and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was born.
It is considered one of the best means of self defence and, in Brazil, with its high crime rate, Jiu-Jitsu has proved incredibly popular over the years.
Santos is also being backed by senior UAE officials in his plan to introduce the art to every school in the country and hopes one day to have a network of coaches to train young Emiratis.
“It’s better than children spending time in shopping malls every day,” says Santos.
“Jiu-Jitsu is not just about fighting, it’s excellent exercise, it focuses the mind and it also makes you a very peaceful person. I think it would be very beneficial for the young people of the UAE.”
Having spent an evening getting a taste of Santos’s awesome power, who am I to argue?
Vivek Chaudhary
Last Updated: May 07. 2008 9:49PM UAE / May 7. 2008 5:49PM GMT
“Jiu-Jitsu is not about power,” says Carlos Santos as he places an armlock around my neck. Philip Cheung / The National
Standing at 1m 88cm and weighing in at just over 120 kilos, Carlos Santos is not the sort of man you want to punch. Particularly if you happen to be me, a pacifist not through choice but natural selection, given my 1m 7cm frame and 66 kilos of flesh and bone.
Still, Santos insists I give him my best shot and aim anything else I have in my armoury at him: kicks, elbows to the face and even knees to his groin.
I take a deep breath and my body tenses. I clench my fists and launch into a full frontal attack on the man mountain standing before me in an attempt to bring him down.
Santos has me on the floor within milli seconds as I feel the full weight of his huge frame on top of me, his trunk-like legs wrapped around my neck.
Barely able to scream out the words, “I give up,” and feeling as if my eyes are about to pop out of my head as Santos squeezes his legs around me, I slap my hand on the floor, signalling an end to our brief encounter.
Welcome to the world of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
“It isn’t about power,” says Santos. “Jiu-Jitsu is known as the gentle art.”
He places an armlock around my neck and it is difficult to believe him as I am barely able to breathe, but he adds: “Jiu-Jitsu is like chess for the body. It involves a lot of thinking, tactics and strategy. If you try to rely on power or size, you will lose.”
To prove his point, Santos gets me to take on one of his students, 13, who is half my size and weight. Within seconds he also has me on the floor, squeezing my arm in a body lock so hard it feels as if it is about to break. Now I am really feeling like a punch bag.
Brace yourself for more grappling, elbowing and chokeholds, not to mention screams, as the Abu Dhabi International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament, the largest of its kind in the Middle East and Asia, gets under way tomorrow. It promises to be a pulsating exhibition of the martial art’s finest points.
Santos, 32, is a good person to give you a taste of what Jiu-Jitsu involves. A three-time former world champion, he came to the UAE six years ago for a month to teach the sport but never left and is now head of the country’s fledgling Jiu-Jitsu national team. He is also responsible for spreading the sport throughout the region.
Around 150 fighters from 30 countries will take part in the tournament, including 50 Emiratis as the sport becomes increasingly popular in the Emirates.
When Santos first came here, Jiu-Jitsu was barely known. Now he trains up to 50 people each week at the Abu Dhabi Combat Club, based at the capital’s race track, where this weekend’s competition takes place.
Plans are also under way to form a women’s team and establish an Emirates Jiu-Jitsu federation, as well as stage a world championship next year.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, is a huge fan of the sport and patron of this weekend’s tournament.
“Abu Dhabi is now the home of Jiu-Jitsu in the Middle East,” says Santos. “We have some excellent fighters who are improving and we have ambitions that they will go on to take part in competitions all around the world.
Matches are won either by submission, points advantage or a referees’ decision. A throw to the floor scores two points, as does a knee to the stomach.
To mount an opponent while they are on the floor is four points, while locking your opponent’s arms behind his back, leaving him motionless, is another four points. No prizes for guessing how many points I scored.
Jiu-Jitsu was developed in Japan more than 250 years ago during the feudal wars. It was originally designed for warfare, but after the fighting ended it was modified so it could be used for peaceful means.
Judo, karate and aikido all grew out of Jiu-Jitsu around this time, but one of its greatest proponents, Esai Maeda, wanted to keep it in its purest form.
Maeda, known as the godfather of Jiu-Jitsu, went to live in Sao Paulo in Brazil in the 1900s, where he taught the martial art to a local man, Carlos Gracie, and his four sons. They, in turn, adjusted some of the techniques and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was born.
It is considered one of the best means of self defence and, in Brazil, with its high crime rate, Jiu-Jitsu has proved incredibly popular over the years.
Santos is also being backed by senior UAE officials in his plan to introduce the art to every school in the country and hopes one day to have a network of coaches to train young Emiratis.
“It’s better than children spending time in shopping malls every day,” says Santos.
“Jiu-Jitsu is not just about fighting, it’s excellent exercise, it focuses the mind and it also makes you a very peaceful person. I think it would be very beneficial for the young people of the UAE.”
Having spent an evening getting a taste of Santos’s awesome power, who am I to argue?
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