FAQ

If you are looking for the best Brazilian Jiu Jitsu instruction in the Fresno, Rivalry Jiu Jitsu should be at the top of your list. Rivalry offers world class Jiu Jitsu instruction 6 days a week taught by Victor Cervantes. Furthermore, the Rivalry Jiu Jitsu community is extremely welcoming to members of all skill levels. The culture of our gym is second to none and we place a significant emphasis on cultivating an environment conducive to success. Your peers will help to support you at every step of the way as you progress in the sport.

Popularized by Royce Gracie who dominated throughout UFC 1 and put grappling in the spotlight, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a martial art/combat sport based on the concept of ground fighting, in which opponents attempt to “submit” each other using any one of or a combination of joint locks and chokes. A submission occurs when an opponent is forced to tap to a joint lock or choke, or they are choked unconscious.

Some of the most common submissions in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu are the following:

Rear naked choke

Triangle choke

Arm triangle

Guillotine choke

Armbar

Kimura (Gyaku ude garami)

Leg locks

In Gi Jiu Jitsu, all members wear a two piece garment consisting of a jacket and loose fitting pants that are tied together by a belt. The color of the belt denotes the practitioner’s skill level. The techniques used in this style of jiu jitsu are largely centered around using the Gi as a tool. In the Gi, grabbing onto the Gi pants, using the lapels or tails, or using your belt are all viable options that practitioners take advantage of to gain a favorable position. Gi users will often complete movements, guard passes, or chokes by utilizing their own Gi or their opponents Gi. This differs greatly from some of the techniques used in No Gi jiu jitsu, where users wear tight clothing. Furthermore, Gi competitions have stricter rules than No Gi in that certain techniques, such as heel hooks are banned.

No Gi Jiu Jitsu is characterized mainly by the absence of a Gi. Instead, members wear tight fitting rash guards and some form of athletic shorts or more often, grappling shorts. This prevents users from grabbing onto the clothing of their opponents and in turn, speeds up the pace of sparring and competitions. Heel hooks and twisting knee locks are allowed under most rulesets in No Gi Jiu Jitsu. As a result the lower half of the body is a much larger focal point for No Gi techniques and submissions.

While the techniques and rulesets between Gi and No Gi can vary greatly, many who do jiu jitsu practice both in order to become more well rounded. For those that would like to learn the details of jiu jitsu as a whole, this is certainly recommended.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is an outstanding martial art for beginners as it teaches practitioners to use technique and strong fundamentals to manipulate opponents and attackers of various sizes and strengths. Rivalry Jiu Jitsu offers Jiu Jitsu technique and fundamentals classes. These classes offer a strong foundation in Jiu Jitsu that will enable the participants to expand their conceptual knowledge of the sport and dramatically improve their abilities.

As a beginner, the most important thing is long term sustainability. While it is easy to tell yourself that you can commit to 2 hours a day, 6 days a week when you’re just starting out, it is much more difficult to make that a reality. Factors such as psychological and physical burnout play a large role in whether or not you continue with your training in the long term. For this reason, it is recommended that beginners start slower, to instill good training habits before they start to push their limits. Thus, a good schedule for a beginner would be roughly 1 class a day, 3-4 days a week, for the first 6-12 months.

This depends on what type of Jiu Jitsu you will be practicing.

For Gi Jiu Jitsu, you will need to train in a Gi. Our uniform policy for Gi Jiu Jitsu is a white, blue or black Gi and a black rash guard or athletic shirt worn underneath the Gi jacket.

For No Gi Jiu Jitsu, members are expected to wear a black rash guard, and black athletic/grappling shorts.

The International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) is the governing body for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu globally. They serve as the standard for all BJJ federations around the globe. The federation was created by Carlos Gracie, Jr., who is the head of one of the largest Brazilian jiu-jitsu associations, Gracie Barra. The IBJJF hosts some of the largest Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tournaments in the world.

The IBJJF recognizes the following belt colors as ranks in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu:

White Belt

The white belt is the first belt that a beginner receives upon starting Jiu Jitsu. There is no prerequisite for this belt.

Blue Belt

The blue belt is the second belt awarded in Jiu Jitsu. At the blue belt level, students gain a wide breadth of technical knowledge and undertake hundreds of hours of mat time to learn how to implement this knowledge efficiently. This is generally when students begin to learn a large number of techniques that they were unable to grasp at the beginner level.

Purple Belt

The purple belt is the intermediate level belt in Jiu Jitsu. Generally, purple belts possess a large amount of experience and knowledge in the sport. This is the level in which practitioners can begin to teach lower level jiu jitsu classes.

Brown Belt

The brown belt is the last belt before reaching the rank of black belt in Jiu Jitsu. Brown belts are almost experts in the sport of Jiu Jitsu and oftentimes will teach lower jiu jitsu classes.

Black Belt

Black belt is the rank of expert in Jiu Jitsu. Black belts are often referred to as professors or coaches in most academies. Once reaching the rank of Black Belt, practitioners attain additional ranks in the form of “degrees”. According to the IBJJF, the degrees of black belt are the following:

The 1st (First) Degree can be requested after a minimum period of 3 (three) years of proven activity in the Black Belt under IBJJF.

The 2nd (Second) Degree can be requested after a minimum period of 3 (three) years from the previous graduation or with 6(six) years of proven activity in the Black Belt under IBJJF.

The 3rd (Third) Degree can be requested after a minimum period of 3 (three) years from the previous graduation or with 9 (nine) years of proven activity in the Black Belt under IBJJF.

The 4th (Fourth) Degree can be requested after a minimum period of 5 (five) years from the previous graduation or with 14 (fourteen) years of proven activity in the Black Belt under IBJJF.

The 5th (Fifth) Degree can be requested after a minimum period of 5 (five) years from the previous graduation or with 19 (nineteen) years of proven activity in the Black Belt under IBJJF.

The 6th (Sixth) Degree can be requested after a minimum period of 5 (five) years from the previous graduation or with 24 (twenty four) years of proven activity in the Black Belt under IBJJF.

The 7th (Seventh) Degree (Red and Black Belt) can be requested after a minimum period of 7 (seven) years from the previous graduation or with 31 (thirty one) years of proven activity in the Black Belt under IBJJF.

The 8th (Eighth) Degree (Red and White Belt) can be requested after a minimum period of 7 (seven) years from the previous graduation or with 38 (thirty eight) years of proven activity in the Black Belt under IBJJF.

The 9th (Ninth) Degree (Red Belt) can be requested after a minimum period of 10 (ten) years from the previous graduation or with 48 (forty eight) years of proven activity in the Black Belt under IBJJF. The red belt is reserved for, according to Renzo and Royler Gracie, “those whose influence and fame takes them to the pinnacle of the art”.

The 10th (Tenth) Degree (Red Belt) was given only to the pioneers of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: Carlos, Oswaldo, George, Gastão e Helio