Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) is not Capoeira. It is Jiu Jitsu re-engineered by Brazilians. In the 1920s, Mitsuyo Maeda from Kodokan taught Judo to the Gracies in Brazil. Since then, the Gracie family as well as others have transformed what they learned into what is now the fastest growing martial art. What separates BJJ from other martial arts is that everything is based on it's effectiveness in a fight. There are no katas or forms. If it doesn't work against a resisting opponent, it's not Jiu Jitsu. BJJ is primarily based on ground fighting. The idea is take your opponent to the ground and then to submit them once there. Judo in the old days was not just about throwing your opponent, there was a lot more newaza back then and that is what the Brazilians took to another level.
Our club, Montreal BJJ, was started by Koji Murakami back in 1999. Since then, we have added another school representing Bjj Revolution Team WAZA DOJO. I'd recommend this "gentle art" (a translation of jiu-jitsu) to absolutely everyone. We're a relaxed group who love to have fun, yet we're still serious when it comes to Jiu-Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts. Our team is affiliated with the BJJ Revolution Team . A typical class consists of a 20-30 minute warm up, followed by 30 minutes of closely supervised techniques, and ends with 30-45 minues of sparring. Check out our sites for more details.
The sport of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), previously known as no holds barred fighting (NHB), or full contact fighting, has come a long way since the days of UFC 1 (many more rules for starters) and will hopefully replace boxing one day. Montreal has represented Canada superbly with athletes like Ivan Menjivar, Georges St-Pierre and David Loiseau. All three have fought in the UFC and other events world wide and continue to climb the ladder in their respective weight classes.
The biggest MMA forum on the net:
MMA.tv.
A great database for grappling schools is at :
Grapple Arts
A site maintaining the list of brown and black belts in the country: BJJ Canada