BJJ Training

Porrada Meaning in BJJ: Understanding the Culture

January 16, 2025 2 min read

If you’ve been around Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) for any length of time, you’ve probably heard the term "Porrada." Porrada's meaning holds deep significance in the BJJ community and encapsulates a mindset essential for success in this demanding sport.

In this blog post, we’ll explore what porrada means, its significance in BJJ, and how to incorporate this mentality into your training.

What Is Porrada's Meaning in BJJ?

"Porrada" (pronounced poe-hada)

Porrada is a Portuguese term that translates to "brawling." Made famous by Team Renzo Gracie's unofficial slogan, "Everyday Porrada," it embodies the mindset of training hard and giving 100% effort on the mats. In BJJ, porrada is about pushing yourself to your limits, both physically and mentally, to improve and grow as a grappler.

In Brazil, “Porrada” has even deeper meaning. It's not just a word, it's a lifestyle. It represents grit, tenacity, and the spirit of the people.

It embodies a spirit of intense effort, perseverance, and an unwavering commitment to pushing oneself to the limit. It’s about giving everything you have on the mat, embracing the grind, and striving for continuous improvement.

Porrada in BJJ: Embracing the Grind

Mindset of Porrada

Relentless Effort: Porrada is all about giving 100% in every training session. It’s about pushing through fatigue, pain, and discomfort to achieve your goals.
Resilience: BJJ is a tough sport, and setbacks are inevitable. Embracing the porrada mindset means bouncing back stronger after every defeat.
Discipline: Consistency is key in BJJ. Porrada encourages a disciplined approach to training, ensuring you show up and give your best, day in and day out.

Porrada in Training

Intense Sparring: Porrada is often associated with hard sparring sessions. These sessions help you test your techniques under pressure and build mental and physical toughness.
Technical Drilling: While intensity is crucial, porrada's meaning focuses on the technical aspects of BJJ. Drilling techniques with precision and purpose is essential for progress.
Conditioning: Physical conditioning is a big part of the porrada mindset. Strength and cardio training are necessary to maintain the intensity required for effective BJJ practice.

Applying Porrada in Competition

Aggressive Strategy: In competition, porrada translates to an aggressive and relentless approach. Pushing the pace and imposing your game plan on your opponent can be the difference between winning and losing.
Mental Fortitude: Porrada helps you stay mentally strong during matches. The ability to remain focused and composed under pressure is a hallmark of successful competitors.

Benefits of Embracing Porrada

Improved Performance: Consistent, intense effort leads to noticeable improvements in technique, strength, and endurance.
Mental Toughness: Embracing porrada cultivates a resilient mindset, helping you overcome challenges both on and off the mat.
Sense of Achievement: Pushing your limits and seeing progress is incredibly rewarding. The porrada mindset helps you achieve goals you once thought were out of reach.

Conclusion

Porrada is more than just a word; it’s a way of life in the jiu jitsu community. By knowing the meaning of porrada and embracing the mindset in BJJ, you commit to giving your best effort, showing resilience in the face of adversity, and continuously striving for improvement.

Whether you’re training for fun, fitness, or competition, adopting the spirit of porrada will undoubtedly enhance your BJJ journey. So next time you step on the mat, remember to go all out, embrace the grind, and embody the true essence of porrada.

If you want more tips and guides to BJJ Training, check out our posts by clicking here.

Stay strong, train hard, and keep pushing your limits! Porrada!

FAQ

Porrada is a Portuguese term commonly used in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) and Brazilian culture to describe a tough, intense, and gritty style of training or fighting. The direct translation of porrada from Portuguese to English is "beating" or "brawl." It embodies the spirit of going all out, giving your maximum effort, and pushing through challenges. In BJJ, practicing porrada means training with high intensity and determination.

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There are two main ways you can get started with training: 1) You can find a BJJ gym near you and do a trial day, or 2) you can create your own mini home gym and start training with friends. Option #2 is how our team at Porrada got started! We ordered 1-inch thick puzzle mats in a 10’x10’ square and began training using online resources. If you do start with the second option, we recommend eventually finding a gym down the road in your career. It will help you by allowing you to roll with more people and receive high-level instruction.

BJJ is quite similar to wrestling. Both start standing and use takedowns as a method to score points. Both use very similar mechanics overall. The main differences are that there are no pins (you can be on your back in Jiu-Jitsu), BJJ involves submissions, and the points system for each is very different. BJJ grants points for takedowns/sweeps, back control, mount, guard passes, and knee on belly. Wrestling grants points for takedowns, escapes, and back points (back exposure for freestyle).

BJJ is a very unique sport in many ways. There are so many incredible benefits to training Jiu-Jitsu. The biggest reasons we advocate for it are the mindset training and the added ability to defend yourself. In BJJ, you are forced to humble yourself over and over again, every single day. This sport is a great way to mature rapidly and generally become a better person (in our opinion). You will also have a better ability to defend yourself than 99% of the population—a pretty big bonus.

You’re never too old to start training! We see people on the mats of all ages and sizes. Large and small, old and young can, and should, train BJJ. If you are on the older side, it is perfectly acceptable to take it slow and learn at your own pace. You don’t always have to go full speed—don’t worry. There are typically also classes that separate people by goals. Certain classes are for those who want to compete, some are for general instruction, and some are specifically for self-defense teachings. There is a place for everyone on the mats.