Jiu-jitsu tournament shelved after police claim it's illegal

The competition was set to take place in Montreal. (REUTERS/Christinne Muschi)

For almost a decade, the annual Canadian championship in Brazilian jiu-jitsu has gone off without a hitch.

That changed this past weekend when officials called off the event at the last minute upon discovering that it was illegal in the eyes of police.

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In a Facebook post on Saturday, a day before the event was to take place in Montreal, the Canada National Pro Jiu-Jitsu group announced the competition would be postponed until March 5 because police had threatened to arrest the 240 registered participants, aged 9 and up, reports the CBC.

The reason: Canada's Criminal Code states only combat sports recognized by the International Olympic Committee are allowed in the country. Jiu-jitsu is not in the IOC's program.

However, event organizers say Brazilian jiu-jitsu isn't a combat sport at all according to the Criminal Code definition of "an encounter or fight with fists, hands, or feet." While punching and kicking is allowed in Japanese jiu-jitsu, Brazilian jiu-jitsu involves grappling, an organizer explains.

"For us, it was a huge shock because it was never a problem before," he says.

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