When Jigoro Kano first synthesized Judo, he had no weight divisions, as the belief was that size didn’t matter. In the end of course, size mattered. Olympic Judo tried a number of weight divisions from four to eight, and now has seven weight divisions for men, and seven divisions for women.
A generation after the founding of Judo, top exponent went across the world, including Mitsuyo Maeda, who taught members of the Gracie family in Brazil, which led to the founding of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. In the 1960s a rules system was codified, and the IBJJF now recognizes nine weight divisions for men, and seven for women, plus an open division.
The spirt of Kano lives on in the Open Division in both gi and no-gi. It is based on the belief that with sufficient skill, a good little man can sometimes beat a good big man.
That spirit could be seen on Saturday, July 2, at the King of the Beach tournament in Holland.
Muujig Altantugs is a Mongolian-born, purple belt Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitor from the famed Roger Gracie Academy in London. He weighs just 132 pounds, and in a massive display of confidence, he entered the Open division. There he was matched with Jessie Gibbs.
Gibbs is a monster of a man at 264 pounds, with a 10-6 MMA record, who has fought the likes of Aleksander Emelianenko and Fabio Maldonado. AND he’s a 2nd degree black belt in BJJ.
Altantugs acquits himself well, but the big man eventually catches the smaller man. Or maybe it’s more accurate to say the black belt eventually caught the purple belt. Still, Altantugs gave an excellent exhibition of how technique allows you to stay in the game and even how to attack and threaten. And remember, if Gibbs had simply been a big guy, he would have been quitting in seconds.
King of the Beach is the biggest outdoor grappling event in Europe, with some 350 competitors this year. It is located on a beach, near the center of Eindhoven, The Netherlands. If you like chokes, joint locks, beach, sun, BBQ, and beautiful custom medals, then check it out. And the winner of that open division, Jessie Gibbs, got €1000 and was crowned king!
