Techniques in Brazilian jiu jitsu

Bjj is a grappling based martial art that uses joint locks and choke holds to defeat the opponent. Opponent that is getting submitted has a chance to save his limb by physically or verbally tapping. If he taps three times with his hand or says 'tap' verbally the opponent will let go of the submission but it means that he lost. If the warrior has a lot of pride he might not tap to a submission for example a choke but then he will loose consciousness for a short period of time. It still means that he lost.

An introduction to Brazilian Jiu Juitsu

How was a small and fragile man able to defeat more athletic men who were twice the size of him? Helio Gracie is a pioneer of one of the most deadly martial arts on the planet - The Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Helio Gracie together with his brothers and then the next generations of Gracie family, have developed this unique grappling style. As a young man Helio Gracie had a lot of health problems and was advised by the doctors not to do any physical activity. In addition to that he was not as athletic as his brothers and only weighted about 65 kilograms. His older brother Carlos met a jiu jitsu and judo expert called Mitsuyo Esai Maeda from Japan.He would train with him and quickly became his top student. Anything that Carlos learnt from Maeda he would try to pass onto his brothers. They would spar regularly however, Helio was not allowed to be a part of the fighting team as he was too frail, instead he would stand aside and try to understand the mechanics of the Jiu Jitsu game.

Fast forward few years in 1925, Carlos Gracie was able to fulfil his dream to open a first jiu juitsu academy in Rio de Janeiro. He invited the rest of his brothers including Helio to help with the academy and also he wanted to take his brothers out of their abusive environment. Helio was secretly sparing with brothers Oswaldo, Gastao and George - he was hiding this from Carlos who was too worried about his younger brother's health. Due to his little size Helio struggled and would often get beaten up by his brothers. That's when he started modifying the techniques to accommodate his weak body. He emphasized on leverage and timing, rather than strength and speed. Over the course of the next few years he developed what is now known as Brazilian or Gracie Jiu Jitsu.

To prove the effectiveness of his new fighting system Helio has challenged all the best martial artists in Brazil. The word has spread and he attracted attention of top fighters from all around the world in disciplines like boxing,judo and wrestling. He managed to win or draw even if the opponents were much bigger than him.

Folk wrestling in Mongolia

Wrestling dates back to prehistoric times and most of the cultures have developed different forms of grappling. Today I would like to write about traditional Mongolian wrestling and it's significance to the Mongolian culture. Originally it was called Bökh, and it was a military sport that improved the soldiers strength and stamina. Mongolian emperors were very supportive of this sport so it was often featured on the festivals. The results of the matches had an influence on military rankings and outstanding wrestlers were entitled to high honours. Wrestling together with horseback riding and archery belongs to traditional 'Three Manly Skills of Mongolia and are the country's most popular sports.

The wrestling competition had no weight or time limits. Before and after the match each wrestler performed an Eagle Dance that symbolised power, bravery, grace and invincibility. The costumes had a lot of significance, especially the hat. The four sides of the hat symbolised the four major provinces that Mongolia was used to dived into.The carved animals on the hats showed the rank of a wrestler.They went in in order of Falcon, Elephant ,Lion and Titan. Also there were streamers attached to the wrestler's hats on which yellow stripes indicated how many times the competitor has reached the final bouts. The hats were treated with dignity and were never put down on the ground.In traditional Mongolian wrestling women were not allowed to compete. The wrestlers had to wear an open chest vest because the legend says that once a woman won the whole competition and embarrassed the rest of male competitors. She was able to hide her identity because the vests used to cover the chest area.

Today's sketches are taken from a documentary called Chapter 13 - Naadam - Mongolian Wrestling: From the Heart of Asia - Mongolia Documentary  

Sketches from a wrestling match

In order to understand wrestling better and learn how to better portray this discipline as an artist 

I decided to make some quick observational sketches while watching a wrestling match between Andrew Howe and Jordan Burroughs . My sketches show different techniques and moves that are involved in wrestling : wrestling clinch, opponent trying to break a grip, attempt for a take down, pin down and more. I chose to make these sketches with coloured pencils that cannot be erased rather than with pencil because I wanted the lines to be more free and unpredictable. The outlines are more immediate rather than thought through. I purposely chose two different colours to sketch each fighter so that their techniques and grips are more visible. I think that making observational sketches from each martial art will help me to create better illustrations in the future, because I will learn how body movements and mechanics work behind each martial art. By drawing from observation I will get a better understanding of anatomy and how two fighting bodies relate to each other.

 

Wrestling caricature

In the next couple of posts I will be analysing visually martial arts disciplines that go into MMA. Today I will start with wrestling. The drawing I made today is a light caricature of a Olympic wrestler's body and his characteristics. Wrestlers most often have big necks, arms and legs because of the type of training they do : I exaggerated these features in my drawing because they are usually very noticeable and are a topic of inside jokes in the mma community. Other noticeable features are cauliflower ears, swollen eyes and bandages. 

Broadening the research field

Originally I planned to only research illustration for mma fight wear. However after speaking to my colleagues and tutor at University I decided that by telling myself that the end goal has to be designs for mma clothing, I am limiting myself from other possible outcomes . In mma illustration is also used on posters, logos and books. I will keep on doing my research into how art is used for mma with an open mind for the final outcome. Perhaps I could make a short comic with funny stereotypical characters that you would find in mma gym or I will decide to come back to my first idea and print beautiful designs on textiles.

The sketches that I am posting today are inspired by fun posters that I have seen around the mma gyms. The first picture is a poster made by an unknown to me artist. The image is titled 'bad sports' it is taken out from series of posters that show stereotypical mma characters. In the illustration the artist mocks how some fighters come to the practise with bad breath, ill- fitting clothing, wounds with infections that can spread etc.

I made two sketches in similar cartoony style. The first sketch shows a stereotypical bjj-brazilian jiu jitsu 'geek' and the second one portrays an angry dragon holding a gorilla in a choke hold because he interrupted his coffee break.

First artwork

I would like to start my research by looking at the current most popular design subjects. One of them is a Japanese demon mask. This mask amongst many other was used in Japanese theatre in 14^th Century. They represented different characters .

As a beginner to fight wear design I would like to start my artistic practise by drawing or painting simple designs and eventually increase the detail. This gradual process will help me to understand how these illustrations are created.

Eventually I will move into experimenting with different art forms, styles and themes and see if I can create something unusual.

However for now this is my first painting :

A research into illustration for martial arts fight wear

Attire design is a big part of today's mixed martial arts culture. It is much different to what it use to be. The fight wear no longer has to be traditional (white and plain) . Nowadays fascinating designs give the competitors and fighters more confidence and individuality. Their clothing now consists of amazingly illustrated designs. These illustrations are often very dramatic, expressive, vibrant and decorative. The influences for the designs are often taken from traditional Japanese art ,tales, cartoons, animals etc and each designer adds their own little twist.

For this project I would like to research the current fight wear designs as well as different contemporary and past art forms and illustration styles to help me create my own ideas. The end goal is to produce several finished illustrations that could be printed on the martial arts clothing.