The BJJ Glossary: Common Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Terms Explained
You shouldn't need a translator to understand what's happening in your first BJJ class.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has its own vocabulary.
Some terms come from Portuguese or Japanese. Others come from wrestling, judo, or modern submission grappling.
If you're new, it can feel like everyone around you is speaking a different language.
Your instructor tells you to shrimp, recover guard, establish an underhook, and watch for a sweep.
Meanwhile, you're still trying to figure out why everyone keeps talking about a shrimp.
This glossary is designed to make the terminology easier to understand.
Bookmark it. Refer back to it. And don't worry about memorizing everything immediately.
General BJJ Terminology
BJJ: Abbreviation for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, a grappling-based martial art emphasizing positional control, leverage, escapes, and submissions.
Grappling: A broad term for close-contact physical techniques involving grips, clinches, takedowns, positional control, and submissions.
Gi: The traditional jacket-and-pants uniform worn during gi-based BJJ training.
No-Gi: Grappling practiced without the traditional gi, usually in rash guards and athletic shorts.
Rolling: The common BJJ term for live sparring against a resisting training partner.
Drilling: Repeated practice of a movement or technique, usually with a cooperative partner.
Positional Sparring: Controlled sparring that begins in a specific position with defined objectives.
Open Mat: A training session that typically allows participants to practice techniques, drill, or roll without a fully structured class.
Tap: A physical or verbal signal indicating that a practitioner wants an action stopped immediately.
Professor: A title commonly used for BJJ black-belt instructors in some academies.
Oss: An expression used in some martial arts communities to communicate acknowledgment, respect, or enthusiasm. Usage varies considerably by gym.
Academy: Another name for a BJJ school or training facility.
Fundamental Positions
Guard: A family of positions where a practitioner uses the legs and body positioning to manage an opponent, often from underneath.
Closed Guard: A guard position where the bottom practitioner has their legs wrapped and closed around the opponent's torso.
Open Guard: Guard positions where the legs aren't locked around the opponent's torso.
Half Guard: A position where the bottom practitioner controls one of the opponent's legs between their own.
Butterfly Guard: A seated guard variation that uses the legs and positioning to influence balance and movement.
Mount: A dominant position where one practitioner sits or kneels over the opponent's torso.
Side Control: A top-control position where one practitioner controls an opponent from the side.
Back Control: A dominant position where a practitioner establishes control from behind the opponent.
North-South: A positional configuration where the practitioners face opposite directions, with one controlling from above.
Turtle: A defensive position where a practitioner is on their knees and elbows or hands, generally facing the mat.
Knee-on-Belly: A top-control position where a practitioner uses a knee or shin across the opponent's torso while maintaining balance and mobility.
Movement and Control
Shrimping: A fundamental hip-movement exercise used to develop space creation and positional recovery.
Bridge: A movement involving elevation of the hips, commonly used in defensive and transitional grappling.
Frame: The use of body structure to help manage distance, pressure, and movement.
Underhook: An arm position where a practitioner places an arm underneath an opponent's arm to establish a form of upper-body control.
Overhook: An arm position involving control over an opponent's arm.
Grip Fighting: The process of establishing, maintaining, or removing grips during grappling.
Posture: The alignment and positioning of the body during a grappling exchange.
Base: A practitioner's ability to maintain stability and balance.
Pressure: The application of body weight and positioning to restrict or influence an opponent's movement.
Scramble: A dynamic exchange where both practitioners are moving rapidly to establish a favorable position.
Transition: Movement from one position to another.
Guard Retention: The ability to maintain or recover guard while an opponent attempts to pass.
Guard Recovery: Returning to a guard position after an opponent has established or nearly established a dominant position.
Sweeps, Passes, and Takedowns
Sweep: A technique that reverses the positional relationship, commonly allowing a guard player to move from bottom to top.
Guard Pass: A movement or sequence that allows a practitioner to move beyond an opponent's guard into a controlling position.
Takedown: A technique used to bring an opponent from standing to the ground.
Single-Leg Takedown: A wrestling-based takedown category involving control of one leg.
Double-Leg Takedown: A wrestling-based takedown category involving control of both legs.
Foot Sweep: A technique that uses coordinated movement and leg contact to disrupt an opponent's balance.
Throw: A standing grappling technique that brings an opponent to the ground through controlled movement and balance disruption.
Sprawl: A wrestling-related defensive movement used in response to certain takedown attempts.
Breakfall: A trained falling or landing movement intended to reduce injury risk.
Guard Pull: The deliberate transition from standing into a guard position, commonly used in sport BJJ.
Submission Terminology
Submission: A technique intended to cause an opponent to concede, usually by tapping.
Joint Lock: A submission category involving pressure on a joint or its surrounding structures.
Choke / Strangle: A submission category involving neck compression that may restrict blood flow or breathing.
Armbar: A joint-lock submission involving the elbow.
Kimura: A rotational shoulder-lock submission.
Americana: A shoulder-lock submission commonly encountered from top positions.
Triangle Choke: A neck-compression submission commonly associated with leg positioning.
Rear-Naked Choke: A neck-compression submission commonly associated with back control.
Guillotine Choke: A neck-based submission commonly encountered in standing and ground grappling.
Omoplata: A submission and control system involving shoulder rotation using the legs.
Heel Hook: A leg-lock submission that can place significant rotational stress on the knee and may be restricted by competition rules.
Straight Ankle Lock: A leg-lock submission primarily involving the ankle and foot.
Submission Chain: A sequence of connected submission attempts or positional threats.
Submission techniques should only be practiced under qualified supervision. Some can cause serious injury or unconsciousness before a beginner recognizes the danger.
Competition Terminology
Points: Scores awarded for specific actions or positions under a competition's ruleset.
Advantage: A scoring concept used in some competition formats to recognize certain near-scoring actions or submission threats.
Penalty: A sanction issued for violating competition rules.
Disqualification (DQ): Removal from a match or event due to a rule violation or other disqualifying circumstance.
Weight Class: A competition division based on participant weight.
Absolute Division: A division that generally combines competitors from different weight categories.
Bracket: The structure used to organize tournament matchups.
Round Robin: A competition format in which participants face multiple opponents within their group.
Submission Only: A competition format emphasizing submission outcomes, although specific overtime and decision rules vary.
IBJJF: International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation, an organization that administers major BJJ competitions and maintains competition and rank-recognition regulations.
ADCC: Abu Dhabi Combat Club, an organization associated with major submission-grappling competitions.
Belt and Training Terminology
White Belt: The introductory adult rank in BJJ.
Blue Belt: The second primary adult belt rank.
Purple Belt: The third primary adult belt rank.
Brown Belt: The fourth primary adult belt rank.
Black Belt: The fifth primary adult belt rank and a significant milestone in BJJ progression.
Stripe: A marking sometimes used to recognize progress within a belt rank.
Promotion: Advancement to a new belt rank or stripe.
Seminar: A special instructional session often led by a visiting instructor.
Drop-In: Attending a training session at an academy where you aren't a regular member.
Competition Camp: A period of focused training intended to prepare practitioners for an upcoming event.
Flow Rolling: A form of lighter, cooperative sparring that emphasizes movement and transitions rather than maximum resistance. Interpretations vary by academy.
Technical Rolling: Sparring that emphasizes deliberate technique and learning objectives over intensity.
Common Portuguese and Japanese Terms
Jiu-Jitsu: A term derived from Japanese martial arts terminology, commonly translated along the lines of "gentle art."
Judô / Judo: A Japanese martial art emphasizing throws, grappling, and controlled physical techniques.
Sensei: A Japanese term for teacher, used in some martial arts environments.
Dojo: A Japanese term for a training place, used by some martial arts schools.
Uke: In Japanese martial arts terminology, the person receiving a demonstrated technique.
Tori: In Japanese martial arts terminology, the person performing a demonstrated technique.
Kimono: A term sometimes used in Brazilian BJJ communities to refer to the training gi.
Faixa: Portuguese for belt.
Raspagem: Portuguese term commonly used for a sweep.
Passagem de guarda: Portuguese for guard passing.
Finalização: Portuguese term for a submission or finishing technique.
Terminology and pronunciation can vary between academies and grappling traditions.
Five Terms Every Beginner Should Learn First
If you're new, start with these:
1. Tap: Know how to stop an exchange immediately.
2. Guard: Understand one of BJJ's central positional concepts.
3. Mount: Recognize a common dominant position.
4. Frame: Understand how body structure helps manage pressure and space.
5. Escape: Recognize that recovering from a bad position is just as important as attacking.
Everything else can build from there.
The Forward Assist Perspective
Learning terminology helps you understand instruction, communicate with teammates, and develop technical awareness.
But memorizing definitions isn't the same as developing skill.
You still need to practice.
Ask questions when something doesn't make sense.
Learn from experienced practitioners.
And don't be embarrassed when you forget what a technique is called.
Knowledge gives you direction. Training turns that knowledge into capability.
Be an asset. Not a liability.