INSIDE THE BIZARRE WORLD OF CARJITSU: SEAT BELT CHOKES AND CONFINED BRAWLING THRILL FANS

Matt Case - August 8th, 2024 - 10:22am PDT 

Road Rage Goes Mainstream with Carjitsu: The Bizarre Combat Sport Gaining Popularity

Carjitsu, a sport where professional fighters battle inside the confined space of a sedan, is the latest bizarre combat sport gaining traction. Fighters use anything within the car to their advantage, including seat belts for choking out opponents.

Though the claustrophobic concept may sound slightly insane, Carjitsu is burning virtual rubber on social media, with an average of 5 million views per week. Celebrity fans include Keenan Thompson and Kevin Hart, and New Jersey has already approved it for gambling. ESPN aired the phenomenon for the first time on the Ocho, the network’s annual weekend celebration of obscure sports, on Sunday.

The sport was created by Vik Mikheev, a Russian graduate student at Kansas State University, who was in the United States to earn his Ph.D. in mathematics. A black belt in judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Mikheev came up with the idea of competitive grappling inside a vehicle in 2020. The league, where fighters are crushed into seats and dashboards, became official two years ago and now has 30 regular contenders.

Early matches were typically filmed inside a 2005 Toyota Scion, chosen for its safety, size, and affordability, in a warehouse in Branson, Missouri. However, other locations and cars are now being used.