Keenan Cornelius: Brazilians are not ‘the originators of jiu-jitsu as it is today’

Decorated competitor and Legion AJJ founder Keenan Cornelius spoke about the history of jiu-jitsu in America.

Never one to shy away from a controversial topic, retired competitor Keenan Cornelius recently detailed the history of jiu-jitsu in the United States and why he chooses to use the term American Jiu-Jitsu, rather than Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

An IBJJF no-gi world champion and multiple-time ADCC medalist, Cornelius is widely recognized as one of the best and most innovative American competitors ever. While he is no longer actively competing, he remains an important figure in the jiu-jitsu community. In 2019, he opened Legion American Jiu-Jitsu in San Diego, which is home to a number of high-level competitors.

Cornelius recently released the first episode of the Dojo Storm podcast and spoke at length about jiu-jitsu history.

According to Cornelius, Mitsuyo Maeda – a Japanese judoka who is often credited with introducing jiu-jitsu to the Gracie family – came to the United States before traveling to Brazil. It was in America, says Cornelius, that jiu-jitsu first gained popularity in the western hemisphere.

“[Maeda] went to America, 1904, and he introduced Teddy Roosevelt, the f****** president of the United States to jiu-jitsu. Theodore Roosevelt has many quotes about how jiu-jitsu is so awesome… The entire American police force was being taught American jiu-jitsu through Maeda and [his student] Yamashita, and all of their students that they trained in America.”

Cornelius explains that Americans were largely interested in learning jiu-jitsu because they viewed it as a necessary tool in war.

The Russo-Japanese War took place in 1904-1905, and the Japanese emerged victorious in large part due to their ability to win hand-to-hand skirmishes in trench warfare. Americans saw this and felt compelled to learn jiu-jitsu.

“In America, it’s becoming popular. Everyone is training it… It was becoming institutionalized because they thought it was a war technology… It was being institutionalized and popularized because it was deemed as a necessary war technology for Americans to stay competitive…

“These Japanese guys with samurai swords and basic guns were winning trench warfare with martial arts, so it was actually believed, holy s*** we need to know this.”

However, while jiu-jitsu was gaining popularity in the U.S., it wasn’t the only grappling art in America. Catch wrestling – the forebearer to modern professional wrestling – had been around for decades and was gaining notoriety. Catch wrestling borrowed techniques from jiu-jitsu, just as jiu-jitsu borrowed techniques from catch wrestling.

“The American wrestling culture was still here. So there was all sorts of fights between the judo guys, the jiu-jitsu guys, the catch wrestlers. What ended up happening was a melding of the techniques. Catch wrestling kinda became the American version of jiu-jitsu, but they still called it jiu-jitsu.”

Jiu-jitsu’s rise in popularity came to an abrupt end in 1941 following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and World War II. As Cornelius explains, all things Japanese, including jiu-jitsu, were demonized in American culture.

“Then Pearl Harbor happened. Pearl Harbor created a lot of Japanese xenophobia and all of their cultural impact that had made so much ground was basically erased because of the propaganda of the state. They feminized it. They were like, ‘Oh, it’s for girls. Jiu-jitsu is for women.’ After World War II, it became a self-defense for women thing.”

Cornelius goes on to acknowledge the subsequent explosion of jiu-jitsu in Brazil as well as the impact of the Gracie family on the worldwide growth of the art.

Ultimately, though, he stands firm that American jiu-jitsu existed long before Brazilian jiu-jitsu – and Brazilians are not the true originators of the art as it’s practiced today.

“I’m not saying Brazilian jiu-jitsu doesn’t exist. It does. I’m just saying American jiu-jitsu did exist. Literally, it’s there, the word American jiu-jitsu, all throughout 30 years from 1900 to 1930s… You can no longer claim as a marketing tactic that Brazilians are the originators of jiu-jitsu as it is today…

“I can call my gym American jiu-jitsu because there is a valid claim to the techniques that I’ve created and all the other Americans.”

Ben Coate

Ben has been involved with grappling, whether through wrestling or Brazilian jiu-jitsu, essentially his entire life. After wrestling throughout his childhood, Ben found Brazilian jiu-jitsu as a young adult and quickly fell in love. He has been training for over ten years and holds the rank of black belt, and remains involved in both the MMA and BJJ scene. Ben has been writing about combat sports since 2017. He has interviewed and profiled some of MMA's biggest stars, including multiple UFC champions.

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