Car-Jitsu looked like a practical joke when it first appeared a couple of years ago, but the concept appears to have caught on in Russia, at the very least.
One of the matches in the Car-Jitsu Moscow event which took place in front of a large and excited audience displayed a beautiful example of a seat belt choke. Literally.
Car-Jitsu is a, well, sport, that involves two fighters grappling inside a parked car. the car has no roof, allowing both spectators and the two referees to look at the action as it happens.
In terms of rules, both fighters start in the front seats, with seatbelts on, and can use whatever they can in terms of the car inventory, like, in the latest example, actual seat belts. The match lasts two rounds and there are points awarded if a match does not end by way of submission.
In one particular match, a Car-Jitsu fighter managed to make full use of the seatbelt, and the fact that he was on top of his opponent (in the half guard?). The grappler in question took advantage of the tied seat belt and used it to choke his opponent, who did try to hold out but eventually had to concede and tap out.
Seatbelt submission from latest CarJitsu episode pic.twitter.com/wrW018HrzH
— Matysek (@Matysek88) November 16, 2022
Car-Jitsu was invented by a Judo and BJJ black belt named Vik Mikheev who came up with the concept during the Covid lockdowns:
“In 2020, I came up with the idea of doing competitive grappling in vehicles. Since October of 2020, I and my friends run small tournaments of Car-Jitsu to study the aspects of Jiu-Jitsu application in such a confined space.”
Russia seems to have a knack for making up crazy variations of combat sports that catch on even more than the original sports they were born out of. From Car-Jitsu, through parkour MMA to pop MMA (where people with no training pop up and fight in a cage) there’s no telling what Russians will come up with next.
And it might just be fun to watch as much as Car-Jitsu is!
Some more crafty seatbelt work from Punch Club CarJitsu pic.twitter.com/kbrEd4uPz2
— Matysek (@Matysek88) November 16, 2022
