In traditional African wrestling there are holds designed to break the arm, neck, leg and collar bone, there are also takadown techniques and chokes. Martial arts in Africa existed thousands of years before JuJitsu, as evidenced by drawings of martial arts on the walls of Beni Hasan in Egypt!

In Africa we have our own martial systems that have existed for thousands of years. In Nigeria there is a fighting system called Dambe which consists of kicking, punching, headbutting and knees. In Senegal there is Borey it consists of punching, kicking, headbutts, grappling and joint locks. Gwindulumutu is a headbutt style of combat from Kongo, and Musangwa is from South Africa consisting of punching, headbutting, earslaps and knees. The list is endless but this is just the tip of the ice berg.

Richard Khamesse,
A researcher on ancient and contemporary traditional African martial arts.