[anathem]

Totally agree on this. I've been training for 5 years. It has a very low barrier to entry (you get to spar on your first day) and nearly infinite variations on a small set of moves.

A really cool thing about it is that, unlike most martial arts, it's not attribute based (eg: boxing, were you need speed and strength and weight) that it's possible to see 125lb players going against 205lb opponents and winning (or at least surviving)

It's very pragmatic, all the mystical components have been stripped out (it's actually a disadvantage in BJJ); in my opinion, the only other martial art that could go toe-to-toe with a BJJ practitioner would be a Muay Thai fighter - but then if the fight goes to ground (which is almost a given for almost any fight) then it's over.

BJJ is akin to playing Chess.