Royler Gracie, part of the renowned Brazilan Gracie family who started the sport, is in the city for the weekend for some coaching and spreading the word about the martial art.
Jiujitsu, sometimes called Brazilian judo, is a martial art which emphasises technique and movement rather than brute strength.
This can be done by joint-locks and chokeholds to defeat opponents.
The sport started in Brazil through the Gracie family or, more specifically, brothers Carlos and Helio, in the 1920s.
Helio had nine children, one of whom who was Royler, and they have all spread word of the sport which is now all over the world.
Royler (46) has been around the sport all his life, and moved to San Diego three years ago to grow the sport in the United States.
He was in Dunedin to train some prospects, and meet his New Zealand representative, Ryan Henry, of Dunedin.
Gracie said the sport was growing all the time, and that was because it could be done by anyone and did not involve punching and blows.
"We make sure the time people have doing their sport is enjoyable and they go away to do their jobs.
"They can be doctors, engineers, anything and can go about their lives," he said.
"A lot of martial arts are focused on competitions but jiujitsu is just not like that.
"It is good for fitness and does not involve a lot of violence.
"It is very mellow.
"There is no punching, no elbows and no kicking, like a lot of other sports."
Jiujitsu can be done from the age of 3 to 80, while in mixed martial arts, you can start out at 17 and by the time you are 35 you're a veteran and past it."
He no longer competes but is a seventh degree red-black belt and was a four-time world champion.
Gracie did not compete in mixed martial arts competitions, although juijitsu skills are dominating MMA.
His brother, Royce Gracie, dominated the first UFC competitions - the dominant version of MMA - and helped revolutionise the sport with jiujitsu holds and grapples.
Gracie said a pure boxer would not measure up against a jiujitsu-trained fighter in a fight of MMA, as the jiujitsu fighter could lock the boxer down.
The sport may be growing quickly across the world but Gracie is not expecting it to get a call-up to the Olympics.
It probably needed to have more competitions around the world.
It would be great to have jiujitsu in Rio de Janeiro at the next Games, as the Brazilian city was the sacred home of the sport, but the Olympics no longer had any space for additional sports or allowed demonstration sports.
Despite being a member of the sport's first family, Gracie stayed grounded and said he just loved seeing people getting thrills out of the sport.
"I do not think my father realised how popular jiujitsu could be and how it could go all over the world ... But we are not special, or anything.
"We are just like everyone else out there."
