BJJ in India: The Complete Guide to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 2026
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in India is no longer a secret kept by a handful of grapplers in a few cities. It is a fast-growing movement — academies are opening across the country, national competitions are filling up months in advance, and a generation of Indian practitioners is beginning to travel abroad and compete on the world stage.
We are Knots & Collar, Delhi's most complete BJJ and martial arts studio. We have been on the mat every single day, watching this community grow. This is our guide to BJJ in India — where it came from, where it stands today, and why there has never been a better time to start.
What is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu — known as BJJ or simply Jiu-Jitsu — is a ground-based martial art and combat sport built around grappling, positional control, and submissions: chokes and joint locks that force an opponent to tap out. Unlike striking arts like boxing or Muay Thai, BJJ is built on a single foundational idea — that a smaller, weaker person can defeat a larger, stronger opponent through superior technique and leverage.
That idea is not theoretical. It works. And it is why BJJ has spread to every corner of the world.
It was developed in Brazil in the early 20th century by the Gracie family, who refined Japanese Judo and ground-fighting into a system tested through decades of real challenge matches. Today BJJ has an estimated 6 million practitioners worldwide, a number that continues to grow rapidly, driven by the explosion of MMA and the UFC bringing submission grappling into mainstream culture.
There are two main forms of training:
Gi Jiu-Jitsu — practiced in a traditional uniform called a Gi, which both partners grip and use as part of technique. Gi BJJ is technical, methodical, and deeply strategic.
No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu — practiced in shorts and a rash guard, without the uniform. No-Gi is faster, more dynamic, and closely resembles MMA grappling. Events like ADCC — the Olympics of submission grappling — have made No-Gi one of the fastest-growing disciplines in combat sports globally.
At Knots & Collar, we offer both — seven days a week.
India's Grappling Heritage: The Root That Was Always There
Here is something most people do not realise: India does not need to borrow grappling culture from Brazil. We have had it for thousands of years.
Kushti — also known as Pehlwani — is a form of wrestling that has been practiced on the Indian subcontinent since ancient times. Its roots trace back to Malla-Yuddha, an ancient Indian combat system referenced in the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, which included takedowns, joint locks, pins, and ground control techniques that would feel familiar on any modern BJJ mat.
When the Mughal Empire arrived, Malla-Yuddha absorbed Persian wrestling influences to evolve into the Kushti tradition we know today. Kushti wrestlers train in an Akhara — a wrestling school — under an Ustad, a master, with deep codes of respect, discipline, hierarchy, and care for training partners. The Akhara culture demands humility, patience, and consistent daily practice over years.
If you are Indian, you already understand BJJ at a cultural level. The philosophy of the Akhara — show up every day, respect your teacher, take care of your training partners, build skill slowly over a lifetime — is identical to the philosophy we teach at Knots & Collar. We did not import these values from Brazil. We grew up with them.
BJJ is not a foreign art being awkwardly adapted to Indian culture. For India, it is a homecoming.
The State of BJJ in India Today
The growth of BJJ across India over the last five years has been significant. Several forces have converged at once.
The UFC and MMA effect. Indian viewership of the UFC has grown enormously, introducing millions of people to the concept of submission grappling. When a rear-naked choke finishes a main event, people want to understand what that is and how to do it. That curiosity drives people to BJJ.
The fitness shift. Indians across age groups are moving away from conventional gym routines in search of something more meaningful — a workout that challenges the mind as much as the body, builds real skills, and creates genuine community. BJJ delivers all three simultaneously.
The academy growth. Where there were once only a few places to train, there are now academies in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, and beyond. The infrastructure for the sport is taking shape.
Made in Bharat. Perhaps most excitingly, Indian BJJ is developing its own identity. At Knots & Collar, we manufacture our BJJ Gis entirely in India — from thread to packaging — under our "Made in Bharat" line. This is not a compromise. Our 380 GSM Gi is built to the standard of the best in the world. India does not need to import excellence. We can build it ourselves.
What is missing from this picture — and this is important to say honestly — is consistent quality. As BJJ grows, it attracts everyone, including people who want to profit from the name without understanding the art. The most important thing any aspiring BJJ practitioner in India can do is find a legitimate academy with a credible instructor lineage and a genuine training culture. We will say more about this below.
What Makes a Legitimate BJJ Academy in India
This is the most important section of this guide, and one that most similar articles do not address.
As BJJ grows in India, so does the number of academies using the name without the substance. Instructors from other martial arts backgrounds — with minimal or no genuine BJJ training — are increasingly opening "BJJ classes" to capitalise on the sport's popularity. This is not unique to India; it happens in every country where BJJ grows quickly. But it is a real issue here and one that every prospective student should understand before committing to an academy.
Here is what to look for when choosing a BJJ academy in India:
Verifiable lineage. Every legitimate BJJ instructor should be able to tell you exactly who promoted them to each belt, and who promoted that person, tracing back to a recognised international black belt. This lineage should be transparent and verifiable. If an instructor cannot or will not explain their lineage clearly, that is a serious warning sign.
Belt authenticity. BJJ belts cannot be self-awarded. They are granted by a higher-ranked practitioner with legitimate standing in the art and a lineage that traces back to a recognised source. Many great BJJ practitioners — including instructors at Knots & Collar — began in other martial arts before finding their way to Jiu-Jitsu. That is not the warning sign. The warning sign is an instructor claiming a BJJ black belt without ever having trained BJJ properly under a legitimate lineage, or an organisation handing out BJJ rank without genuine ground-fighting instruction behind it.
The quality of the sparring. In a legitimate academy, sparring — called rolling — is a daily practice done with control, mutual respect, and genuine technique. If you visit an academy and the sparring looks like it belongs to a different martial art, trust that observation.
The culture on the mat. Ego, aggression, and injury are signs of a poorly run academy. Genuine BJJ culture — worldwide, not just in India — is characterised by respect, patience, and the understanding that your training partners are also your teachers. Every roll is a conversation, not a fight.
At Knots & Collar, our lineage is transparent, our instructors are genuinely trained in BJJ, and our culture is built explicitly around the idea that kindness and technique are not opposites. They are the same thing.
Why We Started Knots & Collar
Knots & Collar was founded by Professor Binish Sukhija, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under the De La Riva lineage — one of the most respected and technically influential lineages in the history of the sport, founded by BJJ legend Grandmaster Ricardo de la Riva. Professor Binish was promoted to black belt on October 25, 2025, at KC Manthan, Knots & Collar's first Jiu-Jitsu retreat held in Mukteshwar, Uttarakhand. The promotion was awarded by Professor Waqar Ahmad, himself a black belt under Grandmaster de la Riva.
This lineage matters. As we explained above, the single most important thing to check before joining any BJJ academy in India is whether the instructor's belt traces back through a verifiable, legitimate chain to a recognised source. At Knots & Collar, that chain is transparent: Professor Binish Sukhija, black belt, promoted by Professor Waqar Ahmad, black belt under Grandmaster Ricardo de la Riva.
Professor Binish's path to the black belt was not a short one. He has spent close to 17 years in martial arts — starting out training Karate and Muay Thai in public parks in Delhi with no instructor, no mats, and no formal structure, working takedowns and ground positions on open grass before ever stepping onto a real mat. That early grappling curiosity eventually pulled him fully into Jiu-Jitsu, and along the way he built a broader foundation in Wing Chun, Filipino Kali, and freestyle wrestling — all of which still shape how he teaches today.
Knots & Collar itself began during the Covid-19 lockdowns, when Professor Binish — working multiple jobs at once — started teaching himself how to build a website, design a logo, and put together merchandise from nothing. After months of searching, he found a second-floor space in Defence Colony in July 2021, and Knots & Collar opened its doors to the public on October 31, 2021.
We are based in Defence Colony, New Delhi — a second-floor studio that has become something much larger than a gym. It is a community. Students come in as strangers and leave as training partners, friends, and in many cases, people whose lives have been genuinely changed by what they found on the mat.
Our name carries meaning. A Knot is what you tie in your belt — it represents ownership of your journey, the discipline of showing up, the knot that holds everything together. A Collar is what your training partner grips in Gi Jiu-Jitsu — it represents connection, the relationship between student and art, between training partners, between teacher and student.
We teach Jiu-Jitsu the Kindness Over Toughness way. Not because toughness does not matter — it does — but because real toughness comes from the inside. It comes from facing your limitations with honesty, from tapping out a hundred times to learn a single technique, from coming back to the mat on days when everything in you wants to stay home. That kind of toughness cannot be manufactured through aggression. It grows slowly, through consistent, humble practice.
Our students range from 3 years old to professionals in their 50s. We have kids who started shy and timid and are now confidently navigating their school environments. We have entrepreneurs who told us the mat is the one place they can completely switch off from everything else. We have women who came in uncertain and stayed because of what BJJ gave them: not just self-defence, but self-knowledge.
What We Offer at Knots & Collar
Gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu — Our adult Gi programme runs seven days a week across Basic, Fundamental, and Pro levels. Whether you have never trained before or are a seasoned competitor, there is a class that meets you where you are.
No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu — Our No-Gi programme runs three to four days a week, focused on building a technically sound foundation in submission grappling. With the global rise of No-Gi competition through events like ADCC, this is one of the most exciting and relevant skills you can develop on the mat.
Kids Jiu-Jitsu — Our kids' programme runs Monday through Saturday for children from age 3 through to teenagers. We focus on confidence, discipline, character, and what we call being Bullyproof — teaching children to protect themselves without becoming bullies themselves. Every class is carefully structured for the age group. It is one of the things we are most proud of.
Boxing — Our boxing programme is open to all levels and focuses on technique, conditioning, and mental toughness. Boxing is one of the best complements to BJJ for developing a complete martial arts foundation.
Kickboxing — Multiple sessions per week, suitable for all levels, focused on the full striking toolkit — punches, kicks, defensive movement, and conditioning.
Fitness — Strength and conditioning classes built around functional movement, kettlebells, TRX, and bodyweight training. Designed for practitioners of all levels who want to get stronger, move better, and build the physical foundation that supports everything else.
We are open every day — 6:30 AM to 12 PM and 3 PM to 9:30 PM. We also offer virtual learning through our Patreon for practitioners who cannot train with us in person.
BJJ for Kids in India: Why It Matters
India is a country where children face real social pressures — bullying, academic stress, confidence struggles, the difficulty of finding peer groups that value the right things. BJJ addresses all of these in ways that conventional sport and exercise simply cannot.
A child who trains BJJ learns that they can control a bigger, stronger opponent without aggression. They learn to stay calm when someone is trying to physically dominate them. They learn that showing up consistently, even when it is hard, produces results that shortcuts never can. They learn respect — for their teacher, their training partners, and themselves.
They also learn something harder to name but impossible to miss once you see it: a certain quietness that comes from knowing they are capable. Not arrogance. Capability. There is a big difference.
Our Kids programme at Knots & Collar starts from age 3. We have designed it to be safe, structured, joyful, and genuinely educational. Parents tell us regularly that what they see at home after their children begin training is nothing short of a transformation.
The Future of BJJ in India
The trajectory is clear. India is in the early stages of what will almost certainly be a decade of significant BJJ growth. The country has a population of 1.4 billion people, a deep cultural relationship with grappling that stretches back thousands of years through Kushti and Malla-Yuddha, a growing MMA audience, and a rising middle class looking for meaningful physical pursuits.
What it needs — what the sport genuinely needs here — is more academies built the right way. Not academies chasing numbers or repurposing credentials from other arts. Academies that take the lineage seriously, teach the curriculum honestly, build cultures of respect, and produce practitioners who genuinely understand what they are doing.
That is what we are trying to build. One training session at a time.
If you are in Delhi, come and train with us. The first class is free, and we genuinely believe it will change something for you — even if you cannot yet say what.
If you are in another city, find an academy with verifiable lineage, a transparent instructor background, and a culture that feels right when you walk through the door. Trust your instincts. The mat tells you everything.
Frequently Asked Questions
BJJ is growing rapidly across India, with academies now established in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, and many smaller cities. Growth has accelerated significantly since 2020, driven by MMA viewership, the wellness movement, and the development of genuine training infrastructure.
More than most people realise. India's Kushti and Malla-Yuddha traditions — which include ground control, joint locks, pins, and submission holds — predate BJJ by thousands of years. Indians have always been grapplers. BJJ is a natural fit.
Ask the instructor about their belt lineage — who promoted them and under which international black belt. Legitimate BJJ instructors will answer this transparently. Be cautious of academies claiming BJJ credentials without a verifiable international lineage rooted in actual BJJ training.
Absolutely — and beginners are welcome at every reputable academy. You do not need fitness, flexibility, or any prior martial arts background. The learning curve is steep and the early days are humbling, but this is true for everyone. Every black belt was once a white belt who felt lost.
A realistic timeline for a dedicated beginner training three to four times per week is one and a half to two and a half years. BJJ belts are not given lightly. Each one represents genuine ability that has been tested in live sparring.
Yes. Call us at +91-9717956687 or visit knotsandcollar.com/pages/schedule-a-visit to book your free trial at our Defence Colony studio in New Delhi. No experience required. No commitment needed. Just come and roll.