Does Captain America Know Brazilian Jiu Jitsu?


I’ve been training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for more than 7 years now. And this short period of time (7 years is not much in BJJ) I have received all kinds of questions from my friends. However, this week I’ve been asked the funniest question of all. The son of a friend asked me: does Captain America know Brazilian Jiu Jitsu?

Captain America is well-versed in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and a Rear Naked Choke specialist. In the MCU, Steve Rogers showed great knowledge of at least 10 martial arts and fighting styles, such as: BJJ, Boxing, Taekwondo, Muay Thai, Judo, Krav Maga, Savate, Wushu, Shurikenjutsu and Wrestling.

Fortunately for the little boy, despite not being a super geek about the MCU, I really like the movies. So I remembered the scene of Steve trying to apply a Rear Naked Choke in the Winter Soldier. But even after saying him that Captain America loves Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (he does), I’ve extended my research to understand the fighting background of Steve Rogers.

Captain America and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

After laughing for a few seconds at the question: “Does Captain America Know Brazilian Jiu Jitsu?”, I’ve decided to dig deeper into this subject. And doing so I was positively surprised to discover that Captain America’s history with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu goes well beyond the most recent great movies from the MCU. As I mentioned before, my first memory on this subject was Steve Rogers applying a rear naked choke on the Winter Soldier. But after a short research, I realized that it wasn’t the only one. He also uses that same submission in one of the most epic scenes in the Avengers Endgame. More than submissions, something that Steve does very well in the movies is takedowns and transitions to attack. Also, the research was extended to cartoons, where I found an epic scene of Captain America doing flying armbars!

A Rear Naked Choke Specialist

Does Captain America Know Brazilian Jiu Jitsu?

Every fighter has a favorite position. That one submission that when the opponent opens the breach, you know: he’s going to tap or get hurt. A good example of this kind of dominant position in MMA was Ronda Rousey’s armbars. A real show of technique, transition and dominance. When she attacked the arm, it was gone. The fight was over. With Captain America, it’s possible to say that his favorite position is the Rear Naked Choke. It’s the submission that he uses the most in the MCU. In the US, almost all the chokes attacking the neck from behind without the use of the lapel ends up in the category of the rear naked chokes. Here in Brazil, it’s a little bit different, as we have names for the variations. Just for curiosity, in Portuguese, the exact name of the submission that he uses in the movies is “esgana-galo”.

Armbars and Takedowns

Does Captain America Know Brazilian Jiu Jitsu?

In addition to using some chokes very well, another thing the Captain does masterfully in the movies are takedowns. Some of them are original from Judo, but which are also common in Jiu-Jitsu. The favorite technique takedown used by Steve is the Ippon Seoi Nage. The reason for this is probably the fact that it’s a very plastic movement, beautiful for the cinema (but also super effective in real life). Finally, the coolest thing I found doing my research to write this article was that in the cartoons there are a lot of fight scenes involving BJJ. By the way, even some of the Captain’s enemies use Jiu-Jitsu techniques. The best scene, in my opinion, was the Flying Arm Lock from Steve Rogers on Iron Fist. But it doesn’t end there. The defense of submission used by Iron Fist was also impeccable, which leads me to believe that there was a Jiu-Jitsu specialist who was part of the team of writers and cartoonists.

Captain America: 10 Different Martial Arts

After my research, I think it’s fair to say that Captain America would do very well in MMA, as he has vast experience in various fighting styles, not just Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. One of the main articles I use as a source for my research describes all the fighting styles Captain America knows. It’s very surprising, but there are at least 10 that Steve has a background on (based on this study). Actually, the article talks about 11 martial arts, but it’s probably a typo, as only 10 styles are described in the content. If you wanna learn more about this subject from the point of view of people who really understand cinema (and MCU), it’s a good read. In short, the main fighting styles that Steve Rogers knows are the following:

  1. Boxing
  2. Taekwondo
  3. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
  4. Muay Thai
  5. Judo
  6. Krav Maga
  7. Savate
  8. Wushu
  9. Shurikenjutsu
  10. Wrestling

Related Questions

Who proved the efficiency of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu? The efficiency of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu as the most effective martial art was proven by the Gracie Family, especially Royce Gracie. In the early days of UFC, Royce beat opponents twice his size from different fighting backgrounds using only BJJ.

Is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu aggressive? Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is not an aggressive martial art. The goal of BJJ is beating opponents using leverage and technique. Giving the adversary the chance of giving up without getting hurt. Although there are aggressive athletes, in general, Jiu-Jitsu is not.

Why is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu so addictive? As a general rule, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is addictive because it’s fun and challenging. Also, as it’s a physical activity, training BJJ releases endorphine, the hormone that causes the feeling of well being. This can be a reason why Jiu-Jitsu is addictive.

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