Brickbat: Thrown for a Loop

Jose Gil / Dreamstime.com

For almost a decade, Montreal has hosted the Canadian championship in Brazilian jiu jitsu. But organizers had to cancel this year's tournament at the last minute after cops told them it would violate a Canadian law that says that only combat sports recognized by the International Olympic Committee are legal. The police threatened to arrest every athlete who took part in the event. Making things even more confusing, the law cops cited defines combats sports as those involving striking with the hands or feet. Brazilian jiu jitsu is a grappling sport that doesn't allow strikes.

Comments

[Radioactive]

throat punching?

[Rich]

Nut punching?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Organizers say they tried to inform police of the difference between the two disciplines.

At which point police began striking organizers with their batons, which, despite not being recognized by the Olympics, is completely legal.

[Radioactive]

what kind of scoring does the police union recognize for baton whacking? 10 point using 3 judges? We can't have arbitrary standards in place when the police are beating the piss out of someone.

[Fuck you, Shikha (Nunya)]

7 jurors on the grand jury, give or take a few jurors. All cops always win with the case not moving forward.

[SomeGuy]

thank you...you made my day!

[Jerryskids]

"For Entertainment Purposes Only" - it's not a sport, it's a demonstration. Like the WWE.

[Libertarian]

Or snuff films.

[buybuydandavis]

Making things even more confusing, the law cops cited defines combats sports as those involving striking with the hands or feet. Brazilian jiu jitsu is a grappling sport that doesn't allow strikes.

It's always cute when people think actual laws matter.

Nothing confusing. They were shutting down the show. BFYTW.

[Libertarian]

You guys are a bunch of extremists. Listen, I'm a libertarian at heart, but what if a toilet fell out of the sky and hurt someone during the match? We need laws like this to keep people safe.

[AlmightyJB]

They don't care about the children

[Fuck you, Shikha (Nunya)]

Me either! Children suck.

[SomeGuy]

They are nothing but a liability now. The laws made it where i don't get near kids or dare have any. Not worth the hassle.

[AlmightyJB]

+ culture appropriation

[Libertarian]

In all fairness to Canada, without cultural appropriation it would be nearly impossible to live a normal life there. Snow, pine trees, and rodent pelts only take you so far.

[Brandybuck]

Especially when their poutine mines start drying up...

[TigerSurprise]

Actually, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu does allow strikes in real life, self-defense combat. This martial art is eclectic, utilizing any self-defense move from any other martial art system that works efficiently without the use of strength. The SPORT of tournament Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is far less violent and dangerous than boxing, which the IOC recognizes. The IOC is a lot like the U.N., worthless and dishonest.

[Robert]

The IOC is like that, but not on that acc't. They recognize sports on the basis of their being thought by them to be fun.

[Catatafish & Woodchips]

I don't understand the "...that works efficiently without the use of strength..." component. Anybody who has ever attempted a triangle choke or omiplata realizes that you absolutely need to employ muscle power in order for it to be effective.

[Robert]

they would proceed to enforce the section to arrest any participant in the tournament

They may have a little trouble doing that, huh? I'd like to see them try!

[Dan S.]

the Canadian championship in Brazilian jiu jitsu

Which is of course a variant of a set of techniques originating in Japan. This would have been a true demonstration of how cultures around the world contribute to and enrich each other. I am wondering how Brazilian jiu-jitsu differs from the Japanese variety. But it's clear that if today's ideas about "cultural appropriation" had been around a few decades ago, such a thing as Brazilian Jiu Jitsu could never have come into existence. (The linked article brings Abu Dhabi into the mix somehow as well, although it's not really clear to me how.)

[Catatafish & Woodchips]

There is a world grappling championship in Abu Dhabi.

[Butler T. Reynolds]

I guess the Canadians can just cross the border (if Trump lets them). If it works for heart surgery, why not jiu jitsu?

[Longtobefree]

Why no comments (yet) abut the horrible cultural appropriation of Brazilian jiu jitsu in Canada??! That is what should be against the law.

[Cynical Asshole]

The SJW's are probably a hard time figuring out whose culture was appropriated: Brazilians or Japanese. Then they can figure out how offended they are by this.

[TigerSurprise]

Dan S: The Gracie Family created Brazilian Jiu Jitsu by "appropriating" traditional Japanese Jiu Jitsu and modifying it by excluding all techniques requiring strength. They then refined the techniques that remained.The whole point of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu as a self-defense system is to be able to defend one's self against an opponent who is bigger, stronger and faster than you. There are no weight classes, not to mention rules, in a real street fight. This is the essence of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

[epeeist]

Actually - and don't rely on this if you run afoul of Canadian criminal law, this is from memory:

1. Canadian criminal law is federal, but the criminal law about martial arts sports says that amateur sports recognized by the IOC, AND sports that a province allows, are okay and not criminal - it was changed a few years ago to allow for more sports including MMA in addition to boxing, all IOC recognized sports PLUS all sports a province allows.

2. Therefore the province of Quebec could, if they wanted - and some other provinces have done with a blanket authorization - allow sports like this. So blame Quebec, much more than Canada as a whole, the federal government made the law significantly more permissive. From something I read from a spokesperson, Quebec has no intention of explicitly allowing sports like this anytime soon.

3. One possible wrinkle is that except for boxing and MMA, only amateur sports are exempted or can be exempted by a province, and this organization has "pro" or "professional" in its name?

[Nick W B]

This story is a bit old. They just rescheduled it in Ottawa, away from the Nazi Frenchie police.
http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/ca.....-1.4006203

[TigerSurprise]

C&W:
I have to respectfully disagree with your comment that you "absolutely need strength" to execute a triangle. Of course you need to exert some strength to do anything physical, including walking or standing up, but I wouldn't describe either of these efforts as strength moves. I weigh 131 lbs and I'm not particularly strong even for a man my size (I have almost NO strength) but I have triangle-choked out men bigger and stronger than myself precisely because strength isn't necessary in this move. As Jiu Jitsu Master Rorion Gracie say's, "In Jiu Jitsu, if you use your strength you're doing it wrong." Timing, gravity and inertia are the tools a weak person employs in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, not strength.

[TigerSurprise]

A wrestling match is, I believe, 3 minutes long. Both combatants are exerting considerable strength pretty much the whole time and are physically spent by the end of the match. In a Jiu Jitsu match, or street fight, you can go for 15 minutes, sometimes much longer, and this would be extremely difficult if you were to exert your strength as is done in a wrestling match. If you are not an athlete or your physical conditioning is less than optimal (i.e., you're out of shape) you need to conserve energy during your fight, especially if your opponent is stronger than you.

At the Gracie Jiu Jitsu Academy you are taught to let your opponent get tired while you rest. That's right, you rest while you fight. They tell you to relax, rest, rest, until you're sick of hearing it. You can win a street fight by getting your opponent so tired he can't defend himself, then you finish him off. This is why you conserve your strength, so you can endure and ultimately persevere.