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Rio De Janeiro has just beat out Chicago, Tokyo, and Madrid to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.
MMA fans around the world know Brazil to be the birthplace of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and arguably the breeding ground of Mixed Martial Arts.
Now that Rio will take center stage 5 years from now, one question will be on the minds of many of Jiu Jitsu & MMA fans: Can the International Olympic Committee be swayed to include BJJ, or even MMA, to be be included as an Olympic sport?
BJJ, the more likely candidate, faces an uphill climb due to its comparison to Judo. Many consider Jiu Jitsu to be a 'sub-set' of Judo, which is already practiced as an Olympic sport.
Now that the games are to be held in Rio though, BJJ, a widely practiced and famed sport in the country, can finally get some much needed publicity. Key BJJ and MMA players like Demian Maia, Jacare, Anderson Silva, and the Nogueria Brothers, among others, can help to publicize the sport and push it toward the IOC.
BJJ certainly possesses the international weight to make it a worthy Olympic event, with competitors from all corners of the globe. The recent ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship proved the international facet of BJJ, as competitors from various backgrounds and training camps showed off their grappling skills.
There are certainly a number of hurdles to jump and questions to answer before an Olympic Jiu Jitsu event becomes a reality. I only have one question though: Gi or No-Gi?
Comments
Jiu Jitsu MUST be in Rio 2016.
BJJ in my opinion is still too niche in the world for it to be an olympic sport. I think the better chance and option would be to push the IJF to make unlimited newaza (ground grappling), without standing them up 9/10 times after a non ippon takedown. Basically, to adopt rules similar to "Kosen" judo. This way the BJJ practitioners will be able to compete with an advantage in their realm (newaza) while the traditional Judokas will (I assume) have a better advantage standing and winning through ippon.
Another route would be no-gi submission grappling under FILA rules (FILA recognises sub. grappling). Interdisciplinary too :)
... again consider the fact that the IOC has to make money and revenue as well. The only reason Judo has rules to stand fighters up after most takedowns when no submission is attempted or locked is because newaza makes absolutely no sense to people who are not educated in Judo. And seeing as fights will very often end up and continue on the ground, it would be seen as "boring" or pointless to the eyes of the average spectator.
I fear that if BJJ were to ever make it to the olympics it would suffer the same fate as Judo - watered down rules and the ripple effect it has throughout teaching the art all over the world.
No-gi sub wrestling on the other hand is faster paced (as it is without the gi), would make sense to wrestlers, judoka, bjj, sambo etc and hence interdisciplinary. But still very niche. But if wrestling gets olympic exposure then IMO sub grappling should.
Gotta have BJJ at Rio!!
Oh god I hope its no-gi.
In a go that's true bjj
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