KARACHI: From the eyes of a layman there were these pairs throwing each other and then trying to keep each other from getting up as they rolled around on the white and blue mats laid out side by side on the green AstroTurf for simultaneous fights. But from an expert’s viewpoint there were ju-jitsu matches for both men and women in various weight categories under way at the 3rd Brazilian Ju-Jitsu Festival organised by the Embassy of Brazil in Islamabad in collaboration with Carlson Gracie Team Karachi (CGTK) at Foundation Public School Junior Campus here on Saturday.

The contestants in black, white and blue gi (traditional martial arts attire) only wore a white belt or a red one while sparring. “The belts don’t indicate that the one wearing white is a beginner, or the one wearing red is a killer martial artist,” Shehryar Sajid, coach of Team Energetics, one of the men’s team taking part in the competition, pointed out.

Differentiating between ju-jitsu and karate, he said that basically the latter was “stand up fight” and the former “ground fight”. He also said that they were all following Brazilian ju-jitsu rules which is a combination of wrestling and judo, including positions and manoeuvres such as chokes and submissions. “It is a great form of martial art for self defence,” he remarked.

The female contestants on the white mat seemed not to be moving after entangling their limbs. One of them looked in pain as she reached for her right arm. The fight was stopped as she left the mat still holding on to her arm.

Sarah Jamshed from the CGTK explained that the manoeuvre was called “arm bar” and not an arm lock like they have in wrestling.

‘My family started this sport in Brazil in 1920. It is great to see it develop all over the world’

Meanwhile, the young lady, Neelum, who had used arm bar to overpower her opponent, was being feared by all the other female contestants.

Alisha Ahmad from the CGTK said that the third Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Festival was their first big event in Karachi. “Previously, we have had our first edition in Lahore and the second in Islamabad. For the third edition now we have contestants from all the three cities,” he said.

About Brazilian ju-jitsu or BJJ as he referred to it, he said that Mixed Martial Arts, or MMA, was the fastest growing form of martial arts in the world “and BJJ is what introduced MMA to the world”.

He also pointed out a foreign gentleman going around the mats and enjoying the fights. “That’s Master Carlson Gracie Jr, cousin of the great practitioner Royce Gracie, considered the most influential person in the history of MMA and ju-jitsu in Brazil,” he said.

Speaking to Dawn, Master Carlson Gracie Jr said that this was his first time in Pakistan and he was really liking the country and its people. “I moved to Chicago from Brazil and that’s where I flew in from to witness this event today. I’m very impressed,” he said.

Asked how he felt about so many women also participating, he smiled and said there were still room for more. “Brazilian ju-jitsu is still relatively new in Pakistan and there aren’t too many female practitioners here at the moment. But I expect it to build up in a five years,” he said.

“My family started this sport in Brazil in 1920. It took us 100 years to reach where we are today. It is great to see it develop all over the world now,” he said.

Published in Dawn, November 25th, 2019