How Judo in Brazil Became Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
The road from Japanese jujutsu to modern BJJ was anything but tidy. It involved Judo, travelling fighters, challenge matches, Brazil and a fair bit of history getting simplified along the way.
Understanding the history of BJJ means following several connected traditions rather than one perfectly straight origin story. Modern Brazilian Jiu Jitsu developed through Japanese jujutsu, Kodokan Judo, travelling fighters such as Mitsuyo Maeda, and the systems later developed in Brazil. This article follows that path before connecting it to the history of BJJ in New Zealand.
Today, we trace the art from the final days of samurai Japan through its early international spread and the development that unfolded in Brazil. For the local continuation of that story, read our History of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in New Zealand.
The End of Feudal Japan and the Early Origins of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
When the Meiji Restoration began in the late 1800s, Japan shifted rapidly from a feudal, samurai-dominated society into a modern industrial nation. With the abolition of the samurai class came the decline of classical martial systems known as jujutsu ryu-ha — schools that had preserved centuries of battlefield grappling, joint locks, chokes, throws, and armed combat.
These ancient arts were highly sophisticated, but they were also fragmented, inconsistent, and difficult to preserve. It was during this cultural shift that a young educator named Jigoro Kano stepped in to modernize Japan’s grappling traditions. Drawing from multiple ryu-ha including Tenjin Shinyo-ryu and Kito-ryu, Kano created a new, systemized martial art in 1882: Kodokan Judo.
Judo preserved the essence of samurai grappling while removing dangerous techniques, introducing structured training, and emphasizing education, philosophy, and live sparring (randori). Kano believed Judo could become an international art — a bridge between cultures.
But the world did not welcome it immediately.
Early Attempts to Spread Judo Overseas
In the early 1900s, Kano sent some of his earliest high-ranking students to North America on what he called the Judo Mission. Their goal: demonstrate the art, challenge wrestlers, and open schools.
This first wave included figures like:
- Tsunejiro Tomita
- Akitaro Ono
- Katsukuma Higashi
- Yoshiaki Yamashita
These were legitimate Judoka — but the mission turned into a series of unexpected failures.
Challenge Matches Exposed Weaknesses
In public demonstrations and challenge bouts, these early emissaries met American catch-wrestlers and freestyle grapplers. Grappling in the U.S. was already a strong, athletic, fully live system where large, powerful wrestlers trained nothing but resistance.
The result?
❌ Multiple Japanese representatives lost their matches
Under wrestling rules, they were outmaneuvered, pinned, and overpowered. Newspaper headlines mocked “Jiu-Jitsu,” and American crowds quickly adopted a belief that wrestling was superior.
These failures contributed directly to the rise of American professional wrestling, which absorbed elements of catch-wrestling, spectacle, and performance that were used to promote shows across the country.
Meanwhile, Judo in the U.S. grew only in small pockets — respected by intellectuals, but not embraced by the general public.
World War II and a Changing Era
After Japan’s defeat in World War II, the country entered a new cultural phase. Martial arts were initially banned, then slowly reintroduced. Judo became a national sport and eventually entered the Olympics — but the overseas expansion was still slow and fragmented.
Kano’s vision of a truly global martial art needed someone different — someone who could succeed where the others had failed.
That person was Mitsuyo Maeda.
Mitsuyo Maeda and the Triumph in South America
Maeda was not just a teacher — he was a fighter. A student of Kano with deep experience in newaza (ground fighting), Maeda traveled the world participating in:
- challenge matches
- prize fights
- exhibitions
- demonstrations
- cross-style contests
He adapted Judo for real combat scenarios, learning from the failures of the earlier mission. Unlike Tomita and Ono, Maeda embraced fighting under any ruleset.
When he arrived in Brazil in 1914, everything changed.
South America Embraced What North America Rejected
Brazilian audiences admired real fighting skill. They loved throws, chokes, and submissions. They respected technical mastery. And Maeda’s style was exactly what earlier Japanese representatives lacked: practical, adaptable, and pressure-tested.
Maeda eventually settled in Belém and taught Carlos Gracie, which led to the creation of what would become Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu — an evolution of Judo’s ground fighting, refined by generations of practitioners who emphasized leverage, timing, and live rolling.
This is the direct lineage:
Samurai Jujutsu → Judo → Maeda → Gracie → BJJ
Want to follow the story into Aotearoa?
The global history is only half the story. See how Brazilian Jiu Jitsu took root in New Zealand and developed into the community we have today.
Read the NZ BJJ HistoryThe Unexpected Path That Created Modern BJJ
The global spread of BJJ wasn’t a straight line. It was a story of:
- cultural transformation
- failed missions
- successful adaptation
- and the right teacher in the right country at the right time.
Judo struggled to take root in North America, but its greatest expression — Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu — was born from that struggle and refined in the heat of Brazil’s early fighting culture.
If you want to explore how these historical roots affect modern gis, training, sizing, and materials, check out our cornerstone buying guide:
BJJ Gi Buying Guide 2025: How to Choose the Best Gi for Beginners, Competitors & NZ Rollers.
For anyone who wants to dive deeper into the global story that shaped modern BJJ, these Wikipedia articles provide straightforward, unbiased background:
– Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
– Mitsuyo Maeda
– Gracie Family
– Judo
