The British Ju-Jitsu Association was originally founded in 1956 by Soke James Blundell (22/12/1921 to 13/11/1989) and was later re-constituted in 1988. It included other affiliated Ju-Jitsu associations from around Great Britain.

Together, these clubs and associations approached the British Sports Council (now the UK Sports Council) to establish a single Governing Body for the Martial Art of Ju-Jitsu in this country and as a result, since 1993, the BJJA became the British Ju-Jitsu Association Governing Body, or BJJA GB.