Many believe that Luta Livre is just no-gi grappling, however this is very far from the truth

Location: Orlando, FL.

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Photo by: micagalvaojj

Though many BJJ practitioners often mistakenly believe that Luta Livre is simply the No Gi version of BJJ, this couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, any BJJ grappler that has had the chance to train in a legit Luta Livre academy will have noticed distinct differences in both the style of grappling as well as techniques used.

The main similarity between Luta Livre and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is their roots; both come from Brazil and are heavily focused on ground fighting. However, their histories are vastly different. BJJ started with the arrival of Japanese Judoka Mitsuyo Maeda, who arrived in Brazil to spread the art of Kano Jiu-Jitsu (also known as Judo) at the beginning of the 20th century.

Luta Livre, meaning “wrestling” in Portuguese, is based on Catch Wrestling or Catch as Catch Can, which originated in the United Kingdom. It was founded in Brazil by Euclydes “Tatu” Hatem and is still a fringe combat sport – not nearly as popular as its cousin Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

When it comes to accomplished Luta Livre grapplers, 6x ADCC vet, and Luta Livre black belt Nicolas Renier from France makes a great example. Alongside his 6 participations in ADCC competitions, he is also a Fila World champion and an IBJJF medalist. Renier teaches at his academy, nrfight.com, in Paris and has produced a series of videos showcasing the main stylistic differences between BJJ and Luta Livre. He emphasizes that Lula Livre is more focused on submissions than the classic BJJ principle of position before submission and aims to work on different transitions from various positions. To find out more about the history and style of Lula Livre, be sure to check out Renier’s videos!

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