Imagine being lifted off your feet in a flash, floating above another person dressed for the occasion. Your opponent holds you by one foot being jabbed into your stomach, while their arms are clenched around yours in order to hurl you around.

This is only a sliver of what it is like to participate in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, a self-defense martial art and combat sport. Jiu-jitsu is not a prominent sport, especially not in the eyes of the public. However, those devoted to it see it as a wonderful opportunity to better oneself. 

To explore this idea further, I decided to interview Hunter Soep, a senior at Austin Preparatory School. Hunter has been participating in Brazilian jiu-jitsu for over a year now and has expressed extreme interest in it ever since he started. 

The following is a sequence of answers from him regarding his knowledge of jiu-jitsu as he wishes to share his experience with the sport with as many people as possible.

How long have you been doing Brazilian jiu-jitsu?

“I started in January of 2023, and for a while, I was just going in once a week to a place in Boston. However, in December of 2023, there was a jiu-jitsu gym that opened five minutes from my house and I have been going on an average of five days a week ever since. Often, I teach a kid’s class and I also take part in adult classes.”

What got you interested in Brazilian jiu-jitsu?

“I have always liked watching combat sports, watching wrestling, WWE, and this led to watching UFC, which is mixed martial arts. Inside of that, there is this grappling aspect and I always thought that was interesting. It was something I wanted to try.”

What does it take to participate in Brazilian jiu-jitsu?

“It is mostly mental. That being said, most of the battle is showing up, which is definitely not easy to do. In my opinion, it is similar to working out because some days you do not want to go but it takes discipline to show up.”

“While I [Hunter] am good at guitar, others are good in other areas, but jiu-jitsu is a hobby where you are constantly losing. There is always someone who is better than you and will beat you often. Since the learning never ends, people can be doing it for 20+ years and still be learning new things.”

How does it compare to other sports?

“In jiu-jitsu, you have an opponent (one vs another). Jiu-Jitsu has competitions where you can sign up for all different types.”

Hunter adds, “For example, you could have a very large tournament or a smaller one. The rule set is the same, but different competitions have different rule sets. The one goal is the same: to get pins or make your opponent submit. In basketball, a travel is a travel. Jiu-jitsu competitions have different rules that separate them from other sports where some rules are legal and others are not.”

Furthermore, Hunter says, “As you increase in talent, you can earn higher rankings in the form of belts. The belt system consists of white, blue, purple, brown, and black, but those advancements take much longer than other belt-based sports. That brings a lot more reward when you earn a new belt because of the time spent; the blood and sweat bring a lot of satisfaction to me. Even on nights where I am beat pretty badly, I still walk away satisfied because not a lot of people can go through that.” 

How does the scoring system work?

“To get points, a certain grappling position must be held for three seconds. Looking at the BJJ Success page’s scoring system, knee-on-belly is two points, takedowns are two points, sweeps are two points, guard passes are three points, back controls are four points, back mounts are four points, and mounts are four points.”

Any parting words about Brazilian jiu-jitsu?

“I think everyone should try it, kids or adults. Where high school sports will eventually come to an end, you will see adults go on for decades and still perform well and get better. It never hurts to learn jiu-jitsu, it has given me much more confidence and made me a more confident person.”

Interviewing Hunter was a fantastic experience. It is clear that he possesses great knowledge of the sport and shows extreme passion regarding all aspects of it. His message that everyone should at one point try jiu-jitsu is one that resonates with several people that he talks to, and is something I would be willing to try myself.