Jujutsu as sport

Jujutsu as a competitive sport is somewhat controversial. According to some practitioners, what makes jujutsu jujutsu, is the fact that every conceivable technique to win in combat is allowed - there are no rules or limitations, surviving the fight is what counts.

This includes some very dangerous techniques, such as throwing a person from a standing position while having an arm in a jointlock, which can result in serious injuries.

Vale Tudo ( Anything goes ) competitions were taylor made for Jujitsu. Unfortunatly serious injuries occurred in these early compotitions so some rules had to be set down.

In order to safely compete in jujutsu, rules have to be made and techniques limited. According to many, this takes away the very heart of what jujutsu is. They claim this would turn jujutsu into a combination of judo and karate, while it is so much more.

The most popular competition method is called 'fighting system'

This system consists of one round of combat with different phases. In the first phase, only atemi (striking) are allowed. In the next phase, grappling and throwing are added, but continuing on the ground (newaza) is not allowed. In the last phase, ground fighting is allowed, including chokeholds.

There is only what is called 'half-contact' between opponents, which means it is allowed to actually hit your opponent, but you're not supposed to hit for a knockout (like boxing). Judges award points for techniques used and the fighter with the most points wins.

Another, less known system, is called 'practical'.

In this system, 2 defenders will take their places in the center of the mat surrounded by 4 attackers, 1 on each corner of the mat. The attackers will choose who and how to attack. A defender can therefore be faced with 0 to 4 opponents. Attacks must be straightforward, without feints.

This is also 'half-contact'. Combat is one round of 2 minutes. There are 3 judges who will indicate at the end of the round which defender did the best job of defending himself.

The judges watch not only for effectiveness of individual techniques, but also how the defender keeps oversight and control of the situation when faced with multiple attackers.

Taking down one opponent with a difficult technique but leaving yourself open for the other attackers will not score very well, while using a simple one throwing your attacker in the way of the other(s) will.

A third competition method is called 'duo system'.

During such a competition, a couple of fighters (same sex or mixed) has to present defences for different predetermined attacks. These defences can be freely chosen and are awarded with points from judges. The attacks are divided into 4 groups of 5 attacks each. The 4 attack groups are gripping, embracing/neck locks, punches/kicks and weapons.