Top 5 Most Famous Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Movies Ever

If you are a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioner, then you must have thought many times that there are any movies based only on BJJ. Solving your confusion or clearing your thoughts, yes, there are movies based on this martial art. In fact, there are a lot of movies that are based on BJJ. Now you might have confusion about which movies you should watch first because there are always mixed movies. Some get very popular, and people rate them much higher. But as a beginner in the field, it also makes you confused about the movies you need to get started. But as the first confusion is solved, the next confusion must also be solved so that you can watch the best movies based on Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. The article dives into the list of the top five BJJ movies, which are very highly rated and have become very famous in a short span of time.

The first BJJ film you all should watch as a BJJ practitioner or aspirant is The Choke, which was released in 1999. The movie is more like a documentary, or you can also say a biography. It is based on the famous Brazilian Jiu Jitsu legend, Rickson Gracie. He belonged to the Gracie family, who were the founders of BJJ. Besides him, the movie also follows two other BJJ grapplers, Koichiro Kimura and Todd Hays.

• The film showcases the No Holds Barred or everything goes fighting. In this type, the fighting is very brutal and intense, as both grapplers can do everything they can to win against their opponent. The main role or primary focus of the movie is of Rickson, but the other two fighters also have important roles, such as American Olympian Kickboxer Todd Hays and Japanese fighter Koichiro Kimura.

• The film exposes the fighting preparations of the fighters before the match. All are prepared for the Vale Tudo championship, which is like a no-holds-barred hands championship. The tournament has no rules, which simply means that the participants in the match can do everything they want to do. They will try all their strategies against their opponent. It does not matter whether such strategies are intense and brutal or not.

• So this tournament preparation also involves intense training sessions, or behind the scenes, and this film is based on all such scenes.

• The chokes were part of the film, the training sessions, and the matches. These were introduced many decades ago into the art. So this serves as the historical element of mixed martial arts (MMA). Moreover, it also showcases the dominance of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu over other martial arts in MMA because of the chokes, which can be very brutal and intense.

• Overall, the film was a very outstanding display of Rickson’s legendary journey in the Vale Tudo Championship 1995, his preparatory sessions, and his true master class. All practitioners should watch this film because they can learn deeply how someone can become a master, defeating everyone and winning the championship.

The second film all BJJ practitioners should watch is the Gracies and the birth of vale tudo. This is, in fact, a documentary rather than a movie.

• The film was all focused on the Gracies and how they discovered and spread Brazilian Jiu Jitsu across the world. The documentary showcases the struggle of Gracies, particularly Carlos Gracie, who learned Jiu Jitsu in 1914, and this started the journey of something very great. The Gracies, particularly Carlos, discovered BJJ and then went on a mission to spread their newly invented martial art in the world. He participated in many matches, which were free for all, meaning anyone could join in an attempt to beat Gracie. He was trying everything just to prove that his newly discovered martial art is the best and most effective in the whole world, and no one can beat him.

• The film starts with Carlos Gracie, who learns Japanese Jiu Jitsu. Soon after he starts teaching his own brothers, they made changes and made it perfect. They initiated Gracie challenges in which they won many matches, proving the effectiveness of art.

• Helio was very weak, and he had to depend entirely on techniques to win against anyone. So this further strengthened their art because this was more focused on the technique rather than the strength. These challenges later on laid the foundation of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and many other mixed martial arts (MMA) events.

The third movie that any Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioner should watch is the roll: Jiu Jitsu in SoCal, which was released in 2019. The word SoCal is a combination of two words: So and Cal. So, Southern and Cal refer to California, which is a state in the United States. So this movie is all about the arrival and popularity of BJJ in America, specifically in Southern California.

• The film involves everything about how BJJ became popular in the US from the start. The Gracies arrived, and they initiated the Gracie challenges, in which anyone with any martial art can compete against them just to prove their martial art as the most effective in the world.

• These challenges involved not only Carlos Gracie and his other family members but also their students, who were also improving their art. They dominated their opponents successfully. The movie explains how and why the people of America started accepting this new martial arts and adapted it into their training. This features a raw period before UFC-like events when BJJ arrived in California and became popular. So it is more like the history of BJJ in Southern California.

Stuard Cooper is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt. He has produced many films about Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and its practitioners. Many of his films have gained popularity among practitioners. His films are of very high quality, focusing on martial arts, their training, and the practitioners. But unlike traditional or other films, Stuart Cooper produces short films mostly.

• If you want to have a deep or real insight into professional Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, how it is played, how it is trained, and why it is so unique, you should watch Stuard films because they will provide you with a much updated, recent, and refreshing view of BJJ.

• In his films, he presents the point of view of different persons who are mostly big names in the sport, such as Marcelo Gracie, Ryan Hall, and Joe Rogan. All of these present their thoughts and how they see the universe of Jiu Jitsu.

• Well, many people can like this, but others can still dislike it. The reality is that the Cooper’s films are mostly five to twenty minutes in total duration. These look very short. But these are so interesting and fascinating, especially for the BJJ aspirants or practitioners, that they can capture your interest in themselves very deeply. You will love watching more of his films after watching just one film.

• In his films, you will find the start of the movie with a fun or light introduction and some very exciting, interesting, and thrilling or maybe intense fighting clips.

The last film on the list of top five BJJ movies ever is Jiu Jitsu vs. the World. This is a documentary that was released in 2016. To watch this documentary, you can search on YouTube or Amazon Prime Video.

• The movie is very different from the other movies mentioned in the list. The only big reason is that you will not find this movie as a biography of a big name in BJJ or a documentary of their journey in a tournament. Instead, it focuses on the everyday lives of normal people who are not big names in martial arts. The movie explores the lives of people who are working in offices or have other kinds of jobs, but they are practicing BJJ along with their jobs.

• If you are a beginner or just thinking about starting BJJ training, then this movie is perfect for you because it is beyond the BJJ on the mats. It showcases the normal people who do not take it as a career but still do it just for self defense and other physical benefits. These people get many other benefits, and the film shows how these people are enjoying them in their daily lives. Everything they learn in the BJJ training translates to their entire lives, and this makes their lives even better.

There are a lot of BJJ movies that you can watch. All these are mostly the same. Some of them are documentaries, while others are biographies, whereas the remaining are related to the common man's life. So the important point to understand here is that no matter which movie you are going to watch, you will get a lot of knowledge from it. The most important thing you can get from watching BJJ movies is the motivation to do BJJ and excel in your career.

There are a lot of BJJ movies that you can watch. The important point to understand here is that no matter which movie you are going to watch, you will get a lot of knowledge from it. The most important thing you can get from watching BJJ movies is the motivation to do BJJ and excel in your career.

The following are the best BJJ movies ever released, you should watch:

• Choke 1999

• The gracies and the birth of vale tudo (2010)

• Roll: jiu-jitsu in socal (2019)

• Stuart cooper films

• Jiu jitsu vs. The world (2016)