The North American Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation was founded in Los Angeles in 2005 by Professor Joao Silva, Professor Patricia Silva and Sam Aschidamini.

Since its inception, the aim of the NABJJF has been to create quality, reliable competitions that administer the rules fairly to all competitors. The NABJJF’s inaugural event, the 2005 North American Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Tournament saw the implementation of a style of rules that are familiar to every experienced Jiu Jitsu competitor but eliminate a significant amount of the problem of referee bias from competition.  The NABJJ Tournament continued to run annually, being a popular end-of-summer event in the Jiu Jitsu dense area of California’s South Bay.

By 2010 the NABJJF expanded its calendar of tournaments to include the All Americas Tournament and the Los Angeles International Tournament.  The Los Angeles International Tournament was a landmark for Jiu Jitsu as the first paperless tournament.  At the 2010 LA International Open, the NABJJF became the first federation to have weigh-ins and brackets performed entirely on a digital network and the first federation to feature a live team scoreboard with team scores projected in the gymnasium that update constantly as matches are won and lost.

In 2011, the NABJJF expanded and hired staff dedicated to tournament business and ran its first out of state tournament in Dallas, Texas, the Lone Star Championship.  The 7th Annual North American Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Tournament in the Cal State Long Beach Pyramid was the largest NABJJF tournament to date and established itself as one of the largest Brazilian Jiu Jitsu events in California.

For 2012, the NABJJF significantly expanded its tournament calendar and its aim.  It began to develop a federation system to unite different tournament leagues and develop a system to standardize, guide and recognize grading internationally in the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu community. The scope of the NABJJF expanded coast to coast in North America but its aims expanded to unite the sport internationally with rules, regulation and style that conforms to Olympic standards and embodies the Olympic spirit.
The goal of the North American Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation is to put on tournaments where all competitors have an excellent experience. Months in advance, we plan extensively to ensure NABJJF tournaments always run smoothly.

If you have questions regarding a specific tournament or your registration, please check our FAQ page. If you still need to reach us, email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.