Feeling the practice of Brazilian jiujitsu: A sensory ethnography

Resolutely inductive, this article has a simple ambition: to offer a “thick description” of the rich sensory universe of jiu-jiteiros (Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners) to shed light on the meanings they attribute to their sensations, be they visual, auditory, olfactory, tactile, or even gustatory. Brazilian jiu-jitsu is a form of grappling where the objective is to employ a variety of techniques (joint locks, strangleholds, etc) to subdue your opponent. Based on ethnographic work begun in 2016 in two French Brazilian jiu-jitsu clubs, this article provides an insight into combat that goes beyond the practice of grappling itself and offers a glimpse of the inner workings of this sport.