Xande Ribeiro: American Jiu-Jitsu isn’t a martial art
“It’s a style someone invented,” says the seven-time world champion, who argues every grappler should know how to take people down
A seven-time world champion who now leads Six Blades Jiu-Jitsu in Austin, Texas, Xande Ribeiro told VF Comunica in a 2022 interview that AJJ, short for American Jiu-Jitsu, is just one style within Jiu-Jitsu. In his view, the debate is more about the market than the sport.
“I think this fight is more for FloGrappling to sell memberships. AJJ, to me, is wrestling with Jiu-Jitsu. The first one to talk about AJJ was Jake Shields. AJJ isn’t a martial art. It’s a style someone invented. Like Six Blades Jiu-Jitsu, Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu, Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, Alliance, Atos. Everyone has a style inside one mother, which is Jiu-Jitsu.”
Why every grappler should know takedowns
Xande, who was training wrestling, Greco-Roman and judo at the time, said a complete fighter must know how to fight standing. “You don’t know a judo rule? You don’t know what a koka, a yuko, a waza-ari is? The difference between ippon seoi nage and morote seoi nage? What’s the problem with educating yourself?”
Where today’s Jiu-Jitsu came from
“Someone said judo came from Jiu-Jitsu. No, my son, the Jiu-Jitsu practiced today came from Jigoro Kano, because some people didn’t know how to do takedowns. It was taught to Hélio Gracie, and Hélio said: ‘Brother, I can’t take this guy down, so I’ll stay on the ground.'”
Is AJJ a style of its own, or just another branch of Jiu-Jitsu?
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