Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) does not have an established canon (formalized set of techniques), with significant regional variation seen in both application and naming. Brazilian jiu jitsu initially consisted of judo katame-waza (newaza) techniques, but has since evolved to encompass a far greater variety by absorbing techniques from amateur wrestling, catch wrestling, sambo, and Japanese jujitsu (not to be confused with Brazilian jiu jitsu). Due to its status as an eclectic martial art, much controversy surrounds the renaming of techniques derived from other martial arts. Many of these martial arts including Brazilian jiu jitsu's parent art of judo, was itself a collection of adopted techniques from other older forms of martial arts before developing unique techniques. In recent times however, technical innovations exclusive to Brazilian jiu jitsu (e.g. worm guard, inverted guard) have been developed, setting it apart from its predecessors.
Unlike its direct predecessor judo, which categorizes techniques on the basis of mechanism, Brazilian jiu jitsu techniques are frequently eponyms, which leads to confusion among practitioners. Examples include:
Below is a partial list of techniques categorized by type.
(not to be confused with foot sweeps which are standing techniques)
