2023 will by far be the biggest year for Jiu Jitsu, more so than anyone could imagine. The year kicked off when Renzo Gracie was awarded his Coral Belt, where he joined the Jiu Jitsu gods of the seventh degree. The year has barely started and it is already moving fast. Last year was the start up year, but now we have new event hosts, conventions, awesome superfight tournaments. There are lots of new soap bars and deodorant businesses popping up, maybe even merging. There are jiu jitsu card games and books available online and we will see a shift towards the Jiu Jitsu community supporting these creators, authors and designers. In the spirit of the coming year, here are 7 things to expect from Jiu Jitsu in 2023.
1. Gordon Ryan Canonizes American Jiu Jitsu
Gordon Ryan, the American Grappler finally surpasses the legends of old to etch his name among the gods of Jiu Jitsu. This in turn, has allowed the American culture to realize that they can win in what was once a Brazilian dominated sport. Ryan has put America on top of the Jiu Jitsu leaderboard.
The biggest star in no gi grappling has signed a historic contract with one of the sport’s biggest streaming providers. Ryan agreed to the multi-fight deal to compete under FloGrappling Who’s Number One (WNO) tournament series.
2. BJJ Legends moving into NoGi and MMA
Legends from all the top Jiu Jitsu Federations are making their move into NoGi and MMA. Yes, we agree, these two deserve their own spotlight on this list but we felt it would be redundant. So, here they are combined. Champions who competed in the traditional Gi will turn focus to No-Gi training and competition. For instance, Pedro Marinho of Gracie Barra will be focusing this year on No-Gi Competition. He is one of many who will turn to No-Gi. The No-Gi tide is rising.
In addition, we will see an increase of Jiu Jitsu practitioners getting into the octagon. Some of the pioneers who already made the move to MMA include Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida, and Charles Oliveira to name a couple. But, more are on the way.
3. ADCC TakeOver
The Abu Dhabi Combat Club is taking over the NoGi scene and expanding to more cities than ever before, all while growing the size of each event. This year ADCC announced an exclusive multi-year streaming agreement with UFC Fight Pass. This deal will be the sport’s newest and first full integration of Jiu Jitsu into daily tv programming. Be on the lookout for an ADCC Night near you.
4. Jigoro Kano’s Concepts in New Book: Jiu Jitsu is My Ethos
On May 4th 2023, Jiu Jitsu is My Ethos will be published and Jigoro Kano’s educational concepts regarding Visualization in Martial Arts will live on forever. This book will highlight some of the imagination and visualization concepts that the elders always saved for those private conversations with the Coral belts. Now, some 85 years after his death, his legacy continues and you can capture a piece of the secret in this book. Jiu Jitsu is My Ethos, co-authored by the Perezbrain Brothers,is the second book in The Adventures of Sebastian and Sunday, achildren’s book series about manifesting greatness. Look for it on Jigoro Kano’s May 4th anniversary.
5. Micro-Influencers take the Stage
Micro-Influencers are now the most influential marketers for small businesses on social media, mainly because they achieve better sales conversion rates with their sponsored products. Micro-influencers are said to have between 1k and 10k followers on social media. So, in Jiu Jitsu we have various micro-influencers and we predict we will see them take center stage in social media. There are a mad bunch of these creators, but here are a few to check out for now: @Mike_Gianelli_, @Danielino_gb72, @The_Jedi_01. Stay tuned, the Micro-Influencers will take center stage.
6. The Jiu Jitsu Workbook Takeover
We’ve done the research and the results are in. Etsy’s Complete Jiu Jitsu Competitor Workbook is, by far, the most comprehensive workbook available. In addition to the Competition sections, there is a Recovery section that is extremely important if you plan on competing long term. These workbooks and those alike have taken over the Etsy marketplace. With the rise of the IDP, the Individual Development Plan knowledge that comes from the other sports communities, Jiu Jitsu has begun to embrace it. These types of workbooks are helping the Average Joe become top competitors.
7. Custom Rash Guards and Gear
It is now cheaper to find yourself a custom made rash guard maker on Ebay or on Etsy than it is to buy the Shoyoroll Rash guard at full price, if you can even get one. The sport now has these new blue belts walking into the tournaments with a complete custom rash guard and spats with sponsors on them and embroidered belts. You can get the same quality and capture that “ultra rare” feel, for half of the price of a regular rash guard.
Final Thoughts
Doesn’t everyone need more Jiu Jitsu in their life? The Jiu Jitsu community is moving towards supporting innovators and creative products related to the sport. As we predict the future year to come, we could never really be 100% exhaustive of what will happen in the sport, these are just 10 things that caught our eye, that the Jiu Jitsu community can expect.
