Does Jiu Jitsu Have a Moral Code?

I thought this article from The BJJ Mind made an excellent historical and biological case that it should. I think it would be a shame if Jiu Jitsu became just another sport comprised of self entitled "athletes" rather than Martial Artists.

Is Jiu Jitsu Only a Fighting Art?

Throughout history the majority of martial arts have operated within a culture of honor. Warrior classes from Vikings to Medieval knights to modern military personnel have shared this tendency as well. The ideal has always been to combine martial skills with ethical codes of behavior.

In Japan this ethical code of conduct was called Bushido (

 

bjj to me is about learning how to hurt someone. everything and anything else is up to interpretation.

 

the earliest practitioners weren't great people from most accounts.

i don't know where this holier than thou attitude came from regarding bjj. i like the wrestling attitude better

 

I don't think BJJ would be BJJ without the moral obligations that people like the Gracies and Machados (among others) instilled in their students. Anything else is just grappling.

 

People who just learn "how to hurt someone" without a moral compass to balance out those skills often commit atrocities and find themselves in a heap of trouble.

 

when people sign up to bjj they sign up because they want to learn how to break bones and choke people out-- you know... hurt people. they did not sign up to learn how to be a good boy or how to meditate. they pay $120+ a month to learn how to hurt people.

 

yup, its up up down down left right left right b a select start.

 

It's just something fun to do. Learn that stuff from life outside the mat.

 

I know many people that never learned a "code" of behaviour while training BJJ whom never committed an "atrocity". Actually, every person I've met who has trained BJJ has never acted in such a manner. Teaching a one-size-fits-all code of conduct to students is not necessary for garnering a school filled with kind people and upstanding citizens. The discipline and sportsmanship that you learn from training helps you become better person without the need for guidelines. The rare class of disturbed people who would use their training to harm innocent people in any manner of horrific ways should be weeded out by the instructor.

 

I started BJJ to learn how to fight, and now I just do it because I love it. on my way from there to here, I've learned some serious life lessons on the mat. moral lessons about, diligence, responsibility, stoicism, compassion, courage...

I honestly didn't believe that there were so many meatheads in BJJ until about a week ago. kinda sad that so many are doing it wrong.

 

bjj is a mystery to you because you have never trained even one time.

 

Moral obligations like stomping on their opponent's head after submitting him, throwing water bottles at referees, and exploiting their family name for as much profit as possible?

BJJ was designed to kick your ass, the 2 reasons the Gracies introduced it to America were to make money and to get their style out there as the most effective method of fucking people up with your bare hands.

The rest is sugar coated bs. Arbitrary morals don't make you a better martial artist. No martial artist who's ever done anything noteworthy as a martial artist did it by being preachy and holier than thou.

 

Bushido is part of the DNA of Jiu Jitsu. Both come from the samurai

 

I don't really care about being a better martial artist. I care about being a better person and having good BJJ because it interests me. Maybe they're not all saints, but the things I see put forward by Rener and Ryron, Carlos Machado and all the black belts I've trained under have been valuable and important. They've never shown me anything other than a good sense of community.

What's better, being the best BJJ practitioner in the world or being a mediocre BJJ practitioner who taught people valuable things that genuinely improved others lives?

 

This is good stuff. Finally someone who doesn't have the perspective of a disturbed teenager

 

No, it doesn't.

It's the same with almost every martial art in that most will realize you don't want to hurt people once you know you can but that isn't attached to the MA itself, it's just a personal thing most inevitably learn and many coaches preach it. It's the same with weapons, money, knowledge etc.

 

1) That's fine but being a better person as opposed to being a better martial artist are not the same thing. They are not mutually exclusive, but they're not the same either. If you favor one over the other that is simply a personal preference.

2) Neither is "better" than the other. As for which one you personally prefer, that's a matter of personal values and beliefs.

 

1. But they can come hand in hand, if that's how you're taught.

2. And that's the point.

 

That's more or less what "they're not mutually exclusive" means.

My rant was geared toward those who act like morals and preachiness makes you a better martial artist. Those with more level-headed and realistic views who happen to want to be better people first and practice martial arts second are not the ones I'm talking about.

 

Bjj doesn't have a moral code besides "respect the tap"

Every other code varies by instructor and honestly I have no interest in the "moral" codes in most of the old school instructors.