Visible vs. invisible jiu-jitsu

What is invisible jiu-jitsu after all? Will I even know it when I come across it? Am I already doing it? These are all fair questions, but you don't have to wonder any longer. As we continue running down the questions from the special live webinar by Rickson Gracie from a couple of years back, we find this question from a student: "How different is invisible jiu-jitsu to the regular Gracie jiu-jitsu and Brazilian jiu-jitsu taught in schools?"

Here's what the master answered:

"The regular jiu-jitsu is the same jiu-jitsu—there's no two jiu-jitsus—but the thing is: the invisible jiu-jitsu, you don't show; you feel. So, when I tell about invisible jiu-jitsu, it's when you have the perception of how you can be relaxed, how you can be in control of a situation by shifting maybe a little bit of your weight distribution. And you're gonna say, 'Wow! Such a difference based on— That's it? Just this little thing gave me so much effect!' 

"So the effectiveness increasing, and the relaxing, and the amount of effort decreasing—that gives you the sense of the invisible power you should have in every position. So the search for the invisible is basically the search for diminishing effort and maximizing results. And it has to be invisible, because it's something you have to feel between choking somebody like this (he may tap, but it's a lot of effort); it's different from choking somebody with your chest, which reduces the effort and gives more effect. 

"So the search for the invisible is the search for what people cannot see; but when you feel it, you say, 'Wow! Now I've found gold here.' And this invisible feeling's in every position in jiu-jitsu—I guarantee that. So, keep searching for the invisible, and you're gonna enjoy it—for life."