Body composition, isometric hand grip and explosive strength leg – similarities and differences between novices and experts in an international competition of Brazilian jiu jitsu

Abstract

Background & Study Aim: Brazilian jiu jitsu (BJJ) is gaining thousands of practitioners in all countries; however, there is a lack of scientific research related to this sport. We wanted to establish the indicators approached by BJJ athletes to sporting excellence, which is the reason why we divided the subjects into two groups: experts and novices. Additionally, the aim of this study was to knowledge about the body composition, and similarities and differences in the performance of BJJ athletes focusing on two variables: isometric hand grip and explosive strength leg. Material & Methods: Fifty six BJJ players, who were contestants in the European Open Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2013 in Lisbon (Portugal), took part in this study. Novice group (n=24; age: 29.9±5.8 yrs), Expert group (n=32; age: 30.5±4.7 yrs). Body mass was measured with Bioimpedance, and handgrip strength was measured with a dynamometer. Explosive strength leg was measured from a force platform with the Countermovement Jump (CMJ) test. Differences between experts and novices were established with the t Student’s test or Mann-Whitney U test for the parametric and non-parametric variables respectively. Results: Experts obtained significant differences over novices on isometric hand grip strength in both hands; as for the variables of CMJ, significant differences were found in Height of jump, peak power, velocity at peak power and average power. Conclusions: BJJ athletes with higher experience, training, and level (expert group) have more adaptations and improvements than the novice group. This can be seen by their higher records in isometric handgrip and the higher explosive strength in their legs.

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Body composition, isometric hand grip and explosive
strength leg – similarities and differences between
novices and experts in an international competition
of Brazilian jiu jitsu
Francisco Javier Diaz-Lara1ABCDE, José Manuel García García1ACDE, Luis Fernandes
Monteiro2ABD, Javier Abian-Vicen1ABCD
1 Sport Training Laboratory, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Castilla La Mancha, Spain
2Faculty of Physical Education and Sports, Lusófona University, Lisbon, Portugal
Source of support: Departmental sources
Received: 4 July 2014; Accepted: 18 August 2014; Published online: 31 August 2014
ICID: 1121905
Abstract
Background Brazilian jiu jitsu (BJJ) is gaining thousands of practitioners in all countries; however, there is a lack of scien-
tic research related to this sport. We wanted to establish the indicators approached by BJJ athletes to sporting
excellence, which is the reason why we divided the subjects into two groups: experts and novices. Additionally,
the aim of this study was to knowledge about the body composition, and similarities and dierences in the
performance of BJJ athletes focusing on two variables: isometric hand grip and explosive strength leg.
Material & Methods: Fifty six BJJ players, who were contestants in the European Open Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2013 in Lisbon
(Portugal), took part in this study. Novice group (n=24; age: 29.9±5.8 yrs), Expert group (n=32; age: 30.5±4.7yrs).
Body mass was measured with Bioimpedance, and handgrip strength was measured with a dynamometer.
Explosive strength leg was measured from a force platform with the Countermovement Jump (CMJ) test.
Dierences between experts and novices were established with the t Student’s test or Mann-Whitney U test
for the parametric and non-parametric variables respectively.
Results:
Experts obtained signicant dierences over novices on isometric hand grip strength in both hands; as for the
variables of CMJ, signicant dierences were found in Height of jump, peak power, velocity at peak power
and average power.
Conclusions: BJJ athletes with higher experience, training, and level (expert group) have more adaptations and improve-
ments than the novice group. is can be seen by their higher records in isometric handgrip and the higher
explosive strength in their legs.
Keywords: art of defence · combat sports · Countermovement Jump · force platform · sport performance
Author’s address: Javier Abian-Vicen, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Avda. Carlos III s/n. Toledo, 45071 Spain;
e-mail: javier.abian@uclm.es
Authors’ Contribution:
A Study Design
B Data Collection
C Statistical Analysis
D Manuscript Preparation
EFunds Collection
& Study Aim:

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

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Original Article
IntroductIon
e Ju-jitsu is believed to have its roots in India.
Buddhist monks, who were concerned for their own
defence, developed techniques based on the prin-
ciples of balance, body knowledge, their joint lim-
its, and avoiding the use of arms. is art of defence,
together with Buddhism, travelled across Asia, reach-
ing Japan. Once there, it was modied by adapting it
to the needs of these people and was called ju-jitsu.
In 1914, this Japanese art arrived in Brazil thanks to
the teacher Mitsuyo Maeda (Conde Koma), expert in
judo and ju-jitsu. He taught Carlos Gracie the tech-
niques he had learned in Japan. Helio Gracie, Carlos’s
brother, learned this type of ght and modied its
techniques, adapting them to their slim and small bio-
type, with the aim of making it become as eective
and ecient as possible. ese two brothers created
and promoted what is currently known as Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) [1, 2].
Nowadays, sports BJJ is a type of ght in which a
uniform or gi is used; its main purpose is to project
or take your opponent down. Once on the ground,
you must seek to control your adversary with dierent
techniques (immobilizations, chokes, joints locks). In
the absence of submission at the end of the ght, the
winner is declared by the number of points won [3].
Despite BJJ is currently getting thousands of fans and
practitioners worldwide, only a few scientic studies
are trying to understand the physiological and condi-
tion demands required by this sport [4-6].
ere are many studies that have used the novice-
expert paradigm in dierent sports since the 1970s.
If we focus on combat sports, we can nd an investi-
gation by García et al. [7] in judokas. ese authors
compare dierent levels of judokas, thanks to some
performance tests done to these athletes (maximal
isometric strength, VO2 max. etc.). e purposes were
to nd nonspecic conditional values that do not have
any direct impact in competition, and to delimit the
important indicators approached by athletes to sport-
ing excellence.
Body composition is an essential component for the
control and denition of the weight categories in
combat sports modalities. BJJ athletes have a predom-
inantly mesomorphic component, low fat percentages
similar to other combat sports such as wrestling and
judo [3, 8].
e hand grip strength is the result of the maxi-
mum force that each individual is able to exert under
normal mechanic conditions through the voluntary
exion of all nger joints, thumbs, and wrists [9]. In
many sports, it is common to get information about
more useful strategies to develop specic training pro-
tocols and increase the strength of athletes’ hands to
prevent injuries due to their sports practice [10, 11]. If
we focus on a BJJ ght, the athlete is in contact with
the opponent most of the time. During this period
of combat, the athlete needs to perform successive
grip movements to maintain this grip, to control the
opponent or so as to perform new ways of attack,
defence, counter-attacks etc. [12]. en, static and
dynamic strength grip, and gripping endurance are
vital to competitive success [13].
Countermovement Jump (CMJ), is a test of phys-
ical performance, which is a dynamic weight bear-
ing movement skill that utilizes multiple muscles and
joints of the lower limbs [14]. It would be interesting
to evaluate the explosive movements like CMJ, due
to the high-intensity actions performed in BJJ were
predominantly short (less than 3 s). Consequently,
muscle power exercises should be included in physi-
cal training, since the decisive moments of the ght
(scores and submissions) require explosive muscle
power actions [15], Moreover, the explosive force
manifestation results from the combination of the
contractile capacity, that is understood as the con-
centric action of the agonist muscles without use of
the stretch shortening cycle and the capacity to syn-
chronize muscle bre contraction [16, 17].
e aim of this study was to knowledge about the
body composition, and similarities and dierences in
the performance of BJJ athletes focusing on two vari-
ables: isometric hand grip and explosive strength legs.
MaterIal and Methods
Subjects
Fifty-six athletes of BJJ, participants of the European
Open Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2013 in Lisbon
(Portugal) from 16 dierent countries, took part
voluntarily in this study. ey were divided into
two groups, novices and experts. e criteria used
to divide the groups in our investigation were the
experience and level of training at this discipline.
Considering experts those who had been more than
4 years training BJJ and had a graduation from pur-
ple to black belt; whereas novices were those who had
been training for less than 4 years and were gradu-
ates from white to blue belt. e novice group con-
sisted of 24 athletes (16 blue belts and 8 white belts).
e expert group was formed by 32 athletes (17 black
belts, 7 brown belts and 8 purple belts) (Table 1). All
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu – is a type of
ght in which a uniform or gi
is used; its main purpose is to
project or take your opponent
down. Once on the ground,
you must seek to control
your adversary with dierent
techniques (immobilizations,
chokes, joints locks). In the
absence of submission at the
end of the ght, the winner
is declared by the number of
points won [3]
Hand grip strength – is the
result of the maximum force
that each individual is able to
exert under normal mechanic
conditions through the voluntary
exion of all nger joints,
thumbs, and wrists [9]
Countermovement Jump
(CMJ) – is a test of physical
performance, which is a dynamic
weight bearing movement skill
that utilizes multiple muscles
and joints of the lower limbs
[14]

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participants were informed about the nature and the
purpose of this study, as well as the measurements
which were going to be taken. After that, partici-
pants signed a consent form to allow the researchers
to take the measurements and use their data for sci-
entic purposes. e study was approved by the local
Research Ethics Committee in accordance with the
latest version of the Declaration of Helsinki [18].
Protocols
e European Open Championship 2013 (IBJJF)
was celebrated in Casal Vistoso Pavillion (Lisbon,
Portugal). e organization provided us a room near
the mat to complete all the tests before the competi-
tion started. On arrival, the participants got familiar
with the measuring instruments corresponding to the
maximum intensity tests (counter movement jump
and hand grip strength), signed the informed consent
document and lled out another one on information
regarding their years of practice, hours of training per
week, best result obtained in competition that year,
years of practice in BJJ and dominant hand. en,
height (SECA Ltd, Germany with a sensitivity of
±0.1 cm), body mass (Radwag, Poland with a sensi-
tivity of ± 0.05 kg scale) and body composition with
Bioimpedance (BC-418. Tanita Corp, Japan), were
measured using established standards to calculate the
body fat and the body muscle composition of each
subject [19]. All subjects nished all the tests before
their rst ght and after a specic warm-up of 20
minutes. In the hand grip strength test, the subjects
had to grip a manual dynamometer (Takei Scientic
Instruments Co, Japan) as hard as possible. Two
attempts were made with the elbow extended, the
arm parallel to the body and the wrist in neutral posi-
tion according to the indications of several authors
[20-22]. ere was a 1 minute break between both
attempts and the highest value was chosen for the
analysis. In the CMJ test, the participants jumped on
a Quattro Jump force platform (Kistler, Switzerland)
with their hands on the waist at all times. e angle
of knee exion during the CMJ was freely chosen
by the each subject. e highest jump achieved out
of three valid attempts with a 1 min rest between
them was chosen for the analysis. For the jump test,
a leg maximum power output during the jump was
determined from ground reaction forces (F). For this
calculation, we set the initial vertical velocity of the
system at zero. Vertical ground reaction forces were
recorded at 500 Hz and were divided by the mass
of the system at each time point in order to deter-
mine instantaneous acceleration (a
inst
= F
inst
/ mass).
Gravity acceleration was subtracted from the calcu-
lated acceleration to ensure that only the acceleration
produced by the participants during the jump was
used to determine velocity. e instantaneous verti-
cal velocity (v
inst
) was integrated from the accelera-
tion. e integration constant was zero because there
was no initial movement. Instantaneous power (Pinst)
was calculated as the product of the velocity and force
(P= Finst × Vinst) at any given point. e power average
from the impulse phase (concentric part of the jump)
was used for the statistical analysis. Jump height was
determined by the ight time. e ight time is the
dierence between the rst instant of take-o and
the rst instant of landing, we assume the height of
the jumper’s centre of mass at the instant of land-
ing is the same as at the instant of take-o, and we
used the equation to calculate the jump height pro-
posed by Linthorne [23]. e height of the centre
of gravity was calculated by the double integration
method (work-energy) of the force-time record based
on Linthorne [23]. In total, we evaluated 8 dierent
variables: Jump height (H) calculated from the ight
time measured in cm; Position of the centre of grav-
ity at the highest point in the ight phase (Hf ) mea-
sured in cm; Peak power during the push-o phase
normalized for the mass of the player (PP) mea-
sured in W/kg; Velocity at peak power (V
pp
) mea-
sured in m/s; Force at peak power (Fpp ) measured in
N; Average Power (AP) measured in W/kg; Vertical
path of the centre of gravity between the instants of
take-o and rst time of the landing (Lr) measured
in cm; Second peak vertical force in landing (F2)
measured in BW.
Statistical analysis
e SPSS v. 19 program (SPSS Inc., USA) was used
to perform the statistical calculations with descrip-
tive and inferential statistical tests. Initially, normality
was tested in all variables with the Sahpiro-Wilk test.
After that, the t Student’s test for independent sam-
ples was used to establish the dierences in the nor-
mally distributed variables between groups (experts
and novices). For the non-parametric variables dier-
ences between experts and novices were established
with the Mann-Whitney U test. e criterion for sta-
tistical signicance was set at p < 0.05. All the data
are presented as mean ± standard deviation.
results
Regarding the characteristics of the subjects, sim-
ilar results were observed in most variables (age,
weight, height, body mass), but signicant dierences
(p≤0.01) were observed between experts and novices
in relation to years of experience and training (hours
per week) (Table 1).

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Original Article
Table 1. Characteristics of novices and experts Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu athletes
Variables Novice (n = 24) Expert (n = 32) Δ (%) P value Eect Size
Age (years) 29.9 ± 5.8 30.5 ± 4.7 1.95 0.341 0.1
Weight (kg) 75.7 ± 9.3 77.4 ± 11.3 2.2 0.276 0.2
Height (cm) 177.1 ± 5.8 175.6 ± 6.6 –0.8 0.187 –0.2
Body Mass (kg) 69.4 ± 6.9 70.6 ± 9.7 1.7 0.307 0.1
% Fat 9.3 ± 3.7 9.1 ± 4.6 –2.1 0.432 –0.0
Experience (years) 3 ± 1.1 9.5 ± 4.6 217.2 0.000* 2.2
Training (hours per week ) 9.4 ± 2.6 13.1 ± 3.8 39.3 0.000* 1.1
* Dierences at p < 0.05
Experts obtained higher values in isometric hand grip strength than novices. Signicant dierences (p ≤ 0.01)
were found both in right and left hand (Table 2).
Table 2. Isometric strength grip Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu athletes
Variables Novice (n = 24) Expert (n = 32) Δ (%) P value Eect Size
Left hand grip (kgf) 43.3 ± 6.6 49.1 ± 7.0 13.4 0.001* 0.8
Right hand grip (kgf) 43.6 ± 7.1 48.6± 6.1 11.4 0.004* 0.7
* Dierences at p < 0.05
In relation to the variables of (CMJ), signicant dierences were found between experts and novices in height
of jump; position of the centre of gravity at the highest point in the ight phase; peak power; velocity at the
peak power; average power and a greater tendency was found in the expert group for vertical path of the cen-
tre of gravity. However, no signicant dierences were observed in force at the moment when the PP was
reached (Table 3).
Table 3. Variables Countermovement Jump Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu athletes
Indicators Novice (n = 24) Expert (n = 29) % Dif. P value Eect Size
H (cm) 29.7 ±5.0 34.2 ±5.1 15.2 0.002* 0.9
Hf (cm) 39.2±4.5 44.6±4.8 13.8 0.000* 1.1
PP (W×kg-1) 45.2±4.9 51.6±7.6 14.0 0.001* 1.0
Vpp (m s-1) 2.3±0.2 2.4±0.2 7.1 0,001* 0,9
Fpp (N) 1534.1±234.3 1575.8±221.9 2.7 0.512 0.2
AP (W/kg) 23.8±3.5 26.9±4.9 13.1 0.014* 0.7
Lr (cm) –13.5±7.8 –18.1±8.7 33.3 0,056 –0.5
F2 (BW) 5.4±2.0 4.9±1.8 –10.0 0.318 –0.3
* Dierences at p < 0.05; H= Height of jump from ight time; Hf = position of the centre of gravity at the highest point
in the ight phase; PP = peak power; V
pp =
velocity of the centre of gravity
at which PP was reached; F
pp
= force at the
instant which PP was reached; AP= Power average during the jump; Lr= vertical path of the center of gravity between
the instants of take-o landing; F2 = second peak vertical force during landing.

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dIscussIon
Analysing the characteristics of the sample, regard-
ing to body composition (Table 1), as we men-
tioned before, there are no dierences observed in
body composition between our experts and novices.
In the bibliography, there are two studies that anal-
yse body composition of BJJ ghters. e results
of our study are lower than those found by Del
Vecchio et al. [3] (9.8±4.2 kg) and Andreato et al.
[8] (10.3±2.6 kg). is may be due to the moment
of the sports season, in our study athletes were
measured just before they had their rst combat
in an international championship, with everything
it entails (competition period, weight adjusted to
the maximum in their category, etc.), whereas the
other two studies were carried out one during the
rst preparatory period and the other investigation
period is not recorded.
Experts, novices and hand grip strength
Our results may suggest that athletes with some
degree of experience, expertise and continuous
training in BJJ developed adaptations and improve-
ments related to the isometric handgrip strength.
We found signicant dierences between experts
and novices in both hands (right, p= 0.004 and left,
p = 0.001). We have only found three studies in
the bibliography in which BJJ expert athletes are
compared to lower-level athletes. Borges-Junior et
al. [11], analysed the handgrip in 29 men athletes
practicing aikido, judo, rowing, BJJ and non-ath-
letes. In this research, only signicant dierences
between BJJ athletes and aikido athletes, and BJJ
athletes and non-athletes were found. Oliveira et al.
[12], compared 21 athletes graduated as black and
brown belts, with 29 graduates from blue to purple
belts, these authors nds no signicant dierences
in relation to hand grip strength. While data from
their experts are similar, these novices have bet-
ter results than ours, it may be because their nov-
ices have twice as many years of experience (5.8 ±
1.5) [12] versus (3.0 ± 1.1 years) the ones in our
study. Although, these authors found no signicant
dierences, they obtained higher values for their
expert group (black and brown belts) compared
to their non-expert group. Nonetheless, the same
authors did nd signicant dierences between BJJ
athletes and non-athletes (other 50 subjects were
used as a control group) for the left hand. Finally,
Corrêa da Silva et al. [24] performed a study with
20 BJJ athletes, we found many parallels with our
research. Firstly, in this study, there are dierences
between elite and non-elite athletes. Secondly, the
criterion of dierentiation between both groups is
very similar to the one we have established in our
research. However, these authors did not measure
hand grip strength with a dynamometer because
they carried out two specic tests of hand grip. e
last similarity between both studies is that these
authors also found signicant dierences between
elite and non-elite BJJ athletes.
If we analyse our data of isometric handgrip strength,
novices (LHG= 43.3 ± 6.6 kgf; RHG= 43.6 ± 7.1
kgf ) and experts (LHG= 49.1 ± 7.0 kgf; RHG=
48.6± 6.1 kgf ) and compare them with the bibliog-
raphy, the data obtained from our experts and novices
are higher than those obtained by BJJ elite athletes
by Andreato et al. [6]. If we only compare the data
recorded from our experts, they are above those
obtained by BJJ adult athletes in Andreato et al. [15],
close to those obtained by BJJ brown and black belts
in Oliveira et al. [12], as above mentioned, and lower
than those obtained by Franchini et al. [4, 25] in BJJ
black belts and BJJ athletes respectively. Moreover,
when compared to other similar sports, which have
been researched, like judo, the data of both our experts
and novices would be close to the data obtained by
Franchini et al. [26] from Brazilian national judo. If
we only focus on the data from our experts and com-
pare them with judokas, our data are clearly below the
senior judokas in Little [27] and the Canadian judo
team in omas et al. [28].
Most authors who have studied hand grip strength in
BJJ have concluded that athletes of this sport do not
have high hand grip strength results [4, 6, 12, 15], we
agree with this statement, especially if we compare
data with high level judokas. However, observing our
results, we think that it is very important that BJJ
athletes reach minimum values, necessary to compete
eectively in high level of this sport. Some authors
suggested that the percentage of grip strength loss
could be related to the corresponding initial maxi-
mum isometric strength [29, 30]. Bonitch-Gongora
et al. [31] are in the same line in their study done with
judokas elite and non-elite, their ndings suggest that
elite judokas are able to develop higher levels of hand-
grip strength and they also have better strategies to
resist successive contractions. erefore, we can state
that having high maximum hand grip strength may
be necessary to improve gripping endurance. ere
is a consensus in the specic bibliography about the
importance of this ability (gripping endurance) [4-6,
12, 15], since the more continuous grip actions per-
formed in BJJ, require the higher resistance in main-
taining constant levels of force over a longer period
of time.

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Experts, novices and explosive force
Vertical jumping performance is not described in other
studies regarding BJJ athletes. However, observing our
results, it seems that the jump performance can be a
factor that discriminates between two groups with dif-
ferent levels of training and experience [32, 33].
anks to the results obtained in CMJ jump, we
observed higher explosive strength in the legs of
experts than in novices; this is reected in the sig-
nicant dierences found in relation to three per-
formance variables in the jump: height of jump
(H), peak power (PP), and average power (AP).
Furthermore, regarding the moment when the peak
power was reached, we observe that there are signi-
cant dierences in velocity (V
pp
), but there are not dif-
ferences in force (F
pp
). is means that higher records
in the variables discussed by experts (height, peak
power and average power) are mainly due to their
ability to generate more speed in the CMJ, maintain-
ing strength levels.
We are aware that BJJ is a sport in which the mani-
festations of strength endurance are very important
[6, 13]. However, as we have seen in the results of our
research, athletes with more expertise and experience
also have a good base of explosive strength. is state-
ment is based on authors who explain that the deci-
sive moments, that determine the result of the ght
(guard passes, sweeps, submissions etc), require explo-
sive strength and power. erefore, these skills must
be trained specically in BJJ to improve them [3, 15]
and plan your training, not only to improve your abil-
ities but also so that the athlete has no performance
losses at any specic period of training [5].
Looking at the three performance variables obtained
in CMJ by our experts (H, PP and AP) and com-
pared with other studies found in the literature, our
data are very close to those obtained by Spanish stu-
dents of the Faculty of Sports Science [34], but are
clearly below most explosive athletes such as partic-
ipants of the Spanish National badminton champi-
onship [35]. If we compare the data obtained about
jumps in combat sports such as judo (due to the lack
of evidence in BJJ) to our jump height data, they are
below judo athletes [32], but they are very similar to
Greek trained judokas [33].
To sum up, BJJ athletes have not achieved very high
results in CMJ, especially when compared to highly
explosive athletes like badminton players. However,
observing our data, which led us to dierences
between experts and novices, and considering that
the explosive actions often decide the outcome of
the ght in BJJ, it would be very interesting to fur-
ther investigate in this direction, both in the analysis
of the explosive strength of legs and arms.
Limitations of the study
Since these athletes performed the tests about an
hour before the competition, we selected interest-
ing tests toinvestigate, which would not aect their
subsequent performance during theght. It would
have been interesting to measure the hand grip-
pingendurance and the explosive strength of arms,
as well as to perform a test of repeatedjumps in dif-
ferent level groups just before an important competi-
tion (or ata closestage during the season).
Practical applications
Based on the literature review and the data obtained
in our research, BJJ competitors could include exer-
cises of this type within the specic stage: Work to
improve the isometric handgrip strength, statically
(i.e. sustain grip holding on the gi rolled around the
bar) and exercises to improve the gripping endur-
ance, dynamically (i.e. with chin ups with gi or series
of trx with gi). Furthermore, they should work the
leg power (i.e. box jumps between 80 and 100 cm,
repeated sprints, legs power drills).
conclusIons
BJJ athletes have less fat percentages, which is quite
similar to other combat sports such as wrestling and
judo.
It is suggested that BJJ athletes with higher experi-
ence, training, and level (experts), have adaptations
and improvements related to the isometric hand-
grip strength, if we compare them with other ath-
letes with less training time and lower levels (novices).
ese results are also interesting because some authors
have established a direct relationship between isomet-
ric hand grip strength and gripping endurance. e
gripping endurance seems a key factor in the perfor-
mance of BJJ athletes and appears as an essential in
the specic literature.
Moreover, it is suggested that expert athletes have
more power and explosive strength in their legs than
novices because they are able to generate more power
and height in the CMJ test. According to the avail-
able research bibliography, power actions in BJJ are
the ones which often determine the nal result of
the ght.

Diaz-Lara FJ et al. – Body composition, isometric hand grip and explosive strength leg...
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SCIENCE OF MARTIAL ARTS 2014
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acknowledegMents
We are grateful for the athletes who took part in this
study and for the cooperation of the Camilo José
Cela University, Federação Portuguesa de Jiu-Jitsu
Brasileiro (FPJJB), International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
Federation (IBJJF).
coMpetIng Interests
e authors declare that they have no competing
interests.
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Cite this article as: Diaz-Lara FJ, García JMG, Monteiro LF et al. Body composition, isometric hand grip and explosive strength leg – similarities and dierences
between novices and experts in an international competition of Brazilian jiu jitsu. Arch Budo 2014; 10: 211-217