Recently we have been working with groups of students at the University of Scranton teaching then jiu-jitsu for self defense. Call me partial but I firmly believe that Gracie jiu-jitsu is the most effective and complete form of self defense. While some may still argue the value of other martial art styles, when it comes to real fights it is more than likely going to the ground one way or another. Therefore if you’re serious about self defense you need to have some quality jiu-jitsu training in order to understand the ground game. Below we present a brief look at the points you need to consider when electing to defend yourself with Gracie Brazilian jiu-jitsu Jitsu.
BJJ is a fight strategy centered on the concept of POSITIONAL DOMINANCE. When you first begin training don’t get tunnel vision on learning a lot of submissions – or worse yet striking. If you focus on your positional control and escapes then submission and striking will come to you much easier because you will better understand when and from where you can strike and submit.
You must become physically and psychologically comfortable with the close proximity of grappling and ground fighting. While it is admittedly cool to see superheroes taking out scores of villains with wicked awesome kung fu moves but that is just fantasy. When it comes to real world self defense you will be grabbed, clutched, pushed, and pulled. Unless you train grappling and desensitize yourself to this contact, you can freeze up, panic, and make mistakes that will be very costly in a real fight.
It’s always better to be on top than on bottom. If however you find yourself in the bottom of a fight the only position in which you are not ‘losing’ is guard, a position from which you can use your legs to control the opponent, manage the distance from which they can strike, and ultimately finish the fight from with submissions.
You can learn all the self defense techniques you want, but unless you actually spar in practice you will never develop the ability to use the techniques in real life fight. The secret to the success of BJJ is the ability for its practitioners to repeatedly practice technique over and over again with high levels of resistance from a training partner.
About the Author:
Jeff Reese, Gracie Jiu-jitsu black belt, has had the honor of learning from two generations of Gracie family members including Royce, Royler, Rodrigo, Rolker, Ralek, Rener, and Ryron; he teaches at Gracie NEPA in Scranton, PA
