[imagesource: youtube/VicMikheev]

Have you ever heard of Car-Jitsu?

Well, we sure haven’t, but by the looks of this video, it appears to be a strange mix between Jiu-Jitsu and Saturday nights in the back of a Beetle on Signal Hill. Well, that last part is the closest I have come to try out the new ‘sport’ that is growing in popularity across the US and Russia.

Created by Russian-born Vik Mikheev, the sport entails a bizarre grappling style of fighting as you use your seatbelt, steering wheel and even the windows to subdue your opponent.

This sounds eerily familiar to the fights we used to have over shotgun when I was young – this was before the missus and I used to drive up Signal Hill to ‘look at the city lights’.

Mikheev is a black belt in Judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and even holds a PhD in Math. His YouTube channel features 80 such videos which have racked up millions of views.

“In 2020, I came up with the idea of doing competitive grappling in vehicles. Since October of 2020, I and my friends run small tournaments of Car Jitsu to study the aspects of jiu-jitsu application in such a confined space.”

Naturally, there has been an interest in the sport due to similarities to self-defence techniques for carjackings. Gracie Anti Automobile Abduction Strategies have a youtube channel that covers scenarios in which someone needs to defend themselves in a confined space, like a car.

And just in case you think it’s a free-for-all, Car-Jitsu has its own set of rules.

Both competitors start in the front seats with seatbelts fastened. Generally, a match has two main periods of 3 minutes each. After each period or round, competitors then switch the drivers and passenger seat sides.

The general idea is to ‘subdue’ your opponent by using everything at your disposal – safety belt, steering wheel, gearstick and even the windows are all fair game as you trash about like a bag full of feral cats.

Look at the video below and decide for yourself if this is your kind of sport. If not your cup of tea, may I suggest a less violent form of rofstoei, preferably with a nice view.

[source: rollingtimes & youtube]