Why jiu jitsu will never be in the olympics

Sounds great, right? Unfortunately, there are several significant reasons why BJJ still has a long journey to make it to the Olympic Games. There is interest from fans and fighters alike, but the sport as a whole has not done much to make progress that would grant it eligible in the eyes of the IOC International Olympic Committee.

A lot of high personalities express their feelings about this move and not everyone is actually happy. Nothing has been decided until this moment. That is a big problem in the eyes of the IOC, which requires all governing bodies to be independent, not for profit and have a chairman chosen by election every year. In order to make Jiu-jitsu appealing to the masses, the rules need to be simpler, so the fighters are pushed to go for submissions and not stalling.

The combat sports already in the Olympics, like wrestling and judo, have already been forced to change their rules to stay relevant and included in the Games. For example, IBJJF does anti-doping tests only on the black belt level, just for the winner of the category. BJJ is one of the most dynamic martial arts on the planet.

Unlike many other styles it is still quite young and competition techniques are evolving rapidly. Judo had to change or water down many of its more dangerous moves for safety in order to be included in the Olympic games and many old time judoka suggest that entering the Olympics was the worst thing to ever happen to judo as an art. Unless the viewer is a skilled practitioner as well, there is often significant action that goes unrecognized.

One second people are hugging in their pajamas and the next second a man is standing with his hand raised. While many Olympic sports seem to only appeal to narrow fan base, I think pajama hugging matches could quite possibly be the smallest. I actually firmly believe that going to the Olympics for both would be a terrible move. While it may mean that the organizations running them made more money, it would almost certainly take away from the current appeal they have.

For both sports I think the best thing they can do is steer clear of the Olympic debacle. CrossFit photos courtesy of MarySianiPhotography. Check out these simple workouts and fun exercises that can be done at-home with makeshift or no equipment at all. Breaking: Craig Jones Vs. Rafael Lovato Jr. Stuck In S-Mount? ADCC: Aging gracefully?

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