JIU JITSU SELF DEFENSE

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is one of the most potent forms of Martial Arts in the world that can be used in a self defense aspect. What makes BJJ so good from a self defense perspective, is that the art is extremely versatile, and this is because of its ground fighting, and stand up skills. Even though there is no striking in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, it does give the athlete an incredible platform to be able to execute its game style. 

What this article covers:

• Why Do People Need Self Defense
• Why Is BJJ the Best Self Defense Art
• How to Improve Jiu Jitsu Self Defense

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is highly effective, and is one of the most functional styles of Martial Art, because of its ability to control an opponent without striking. There is a chaotic nature to striking an opponent, which can be dangerous for both people in a street altercation. Using a comprehensive control system like Brazilian Jiu Jitsu will help to neutralise an attacker, rendering them helpless at the hands of a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu specialist. 

Jiu Jitsu has long proven itself to be an effective self defense system.  Learn more from expert Paul Sharp and BJJFanatics.com!

Learning such a complicated Martial Art to use in a self defense capacity will always raise questions like is jiu jitsu offensive or defensive. What makes Brazilian Jiu Jitsu such an outstanding form of combat is not just its defensive purposes, but how offensive it can be. BJJ is more than just neutralising an opponent, it is also learning the art of how to submit an attacker with choke holds, and joint locks. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu will teach students how to hyperextend arms, and legs, along with a comprehensive list of different choke holds. BJJ also specialises in Gi and No G disciplines, which means a person can learn to manipulate their opponents on the street by using the fabric of their clothing, or just controlling them by their wrists, and their neck.

WHY DO PEOPLE NEED SELF DEFENSE

The world has always been somewhat of a sinister place, with many violent altercations happening in countries all over the world. Nowadays more than ever, the escalation of violent attacks in war torn countries, or just generally on the street has risen to a whole new level. It is hard for someone that has had no training to get from one place to another in certain places in the world, without receiving unwanted attention. Attackers are always looking to rob or injure, kidnap, sexually assault or kill a person, and this is an unfathomable, but a very real prospect that happens in the world every day. Now more than ever, people need to learn comprehensive ways to defend their life, or the lives of their loved ones. Even children that go to school can get bullied, or attacked by other classmates, or other people close by the school. So it is vital that parents help their kids to learn self defense principles.

Most people in a street altercation sense do not have the necessary training to either defend themselves, or even attack someone else. Most types of attacks are fuelled by emotion, or a drug field state, where an attacker will simply react to a situation, or an environment. This is why someone who does have training has an extremely good chance of not only surviving an attack, but actually controlling a situation before help can arrive. Of course there will always be attackers that may also be trained, or have a more gifted style of combat, but even against this type of attacker a person that has a solid base of self defense skills may be able to save themselves. At the very least they will forge a great conditioning base, which may result in them being able to escape from the situation.

WHY IS BJJ THE BEST SELF DEFENSE ART

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is one of the best forms of combat that a person can learn to help themselves defend their life. Learning any form of grappling art like judo or jiu jitsu for self defense, will help someone drastically improve their chances of survival. What makes Brazilian Jiu Jitsu such a great form of combat is the ability they will learn in controlling an opponent. Using striking, or other attacks like this may not always put a person in a good position to defend themselves. This is because they are left open to counter attacks, and during an altercation an attacker may have a knife, or a gun. This is why Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has such an impeccable record, because of the nature of how they can control their opponents.

Many of the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu techniques use heavy top game pressure with ways to control their opponents. A BJJ specialist has the ability to submit their opponentIs with uncomfortable chokes, or highly dynamic joint locks. Furthermore, if a victim winds up on the bottom during an altercation, they will have an efficiency of skills to be able to turn the tables, and either escape or sweep their opponent to get back on top. Learning Brazilian Jiu Jitsu also helps dramatically in escaping from chokes, as this can often be one of the most common things that happens when an assailant attacks someone. Other Martial Art styles look down upon BJJ, and say well you can't strike, so how can this possibly be the best self defense. The beauty of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is having the ability to throw, control, dominate, and submit an opponent, and all a practitioner has to do is add their own striking into the mix if they want to. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has many great positions like the mount, side control, back control, and the knee ride that offer a great position to attack with elements of striking. 

There are some forms of Jiu Jitsu that incorporate striking, like sanuces ryu jiu jitsu techniques. This is a stand up self defense system that involves elements of traditional Jiu Jitsu techniques, and an adaptive hand to hand close quarters combat. The initial concept for Jiu Jitsu was for self preservation, as Helio's art form had different striking elements attached. This was evident during the rise of Gracie Jiu Jitsu, as many practitioners would use heavy striking during their Vale Tudo matches in Brazil. Royce Gracie would showcase the evidence of how adaptive Jiu Jitsu was with striking, during his Mixed Martial Arts career in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Nowadays many law enforcement agencies choose to use modified Brazilian Jiu Jitsu techniques to help many of their officers deal with their day to day conflict scenarios.

HOW CAN BJJ CONDITION SOMEONE FOR THE STREETS

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a high calibre Martial Art, which involves dynamic movements, and a strategic mindset. BJJ gives a practitioner the ability to make better decisions, while under extreme amounts of pressure. This is evident with how a practitioner will endure crushing pressure from an opponent, as they learn how to survive. This is one of the key factors in how a practitioner will be able to withstand heavy pressure from their opponents, it's about becoming comfortable with the uncomfortable. Training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu will give someone extreme confidence, but unlike some Martial Arts that give out false confidence, BJJ has a realistic system that can be applied to high conflict situations.

When a practitioner has been training in BJJ for long enough they build up significant strength and conditioning. This is due to the rigorous training regimes that all students of the art will go through. In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu the warm ups are designed to activate all muscle groups, get the blood flowing through the body, and to mimic many of the arts' different positions, and techniques. What makes BJJ extremely good for street application is how a practitioner can practise the art in a full contact sparring session. Other striking arts struggle with full contact, due to the dangers of head trauma, but Jiu Jitsu can be trained relatively safely at high speed, and with full contact pressure, throws, and choke holds. This is a concept that separates a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu artist from many other combat athletes across the globe. 

In a street fight most altercations end up on the ground, and if someone trains consistently in striking, then there is only a small window of opportunity to win the fight. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has a comprehensive ground fighting system that not only allows a practitioner to neutralise, and keep their opponent subdued, but will also give them the ability to escape back to their feet, or use sweeping mechanisms to move their opponents. These factors, along with the ability to submit an opponent, gives a practitioner of BJJ a very real chance of winning any altercation they may have on the streets. When a fight happens between a trained, and an untrained fighter, it is the trained athlete that has a definitive advantage, and will almost always win. Of course there is always a chance that an attacker also has Jiu Jitsu training, but in most cases bad people rarely last in such a complicated, and honourable combat sport.

THE UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTH FOR WOMEN

One of the major problems with society is how a woman is treated out in the world. Violence against women is real, and despicable people will often pray on what they think are easy targets. Men usually have more lean muscle mass, a larger heart, and a larger set of lungs than a woman, which translates into a stronger, and faster athletic person. This can make life difficult for a woman that has had no training, trying to defend herself. This is why it becomes even more imperative that women should be training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Women can also become fast and strong, but they need to be consistently training in order to achieve this. A woman may not become as strong as an attacker they may face, but knowing how to use Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, she will be able to outmaneuver, or outhink her attacker.

There is a common misconception that a woman can watch a couple of self defense videos, or even participate in a few classes, and think she can be safe in a real life dangerous situation. The fact remains that a lot of self defense videos online will only give false confidence to a woman, meaning she might attempt some of the moves she has seen, and will only get herself in more danger. The only way that a woman can really achieve any of those self defense moves is to train consistently for a long time. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is all about repetition, and conditioning the body to be used to full contact combat. If a woman can spend longer times on the training mats, then she will have a much better chance of survival, or defeating an attacker, in most cases though the best option is to become supremely fit, and just run away.

HOW TO IMPROVE JIU JITSU SELF DEFENSE 

Obviously the best way to improve any practitioner's self defense is to train more consistently. Keeping up a good level of fitness, strength, and fight conditioning takes constant repetition, and if a practitioner's ability becomes inert, then they will become extremely rusty. All practitioners must keep up a good level of training, so they can maintain their self defense ability. There are six main areas that all students must practise consistently, and they are danger awareness, defending a strike, defending a takedown, using submissions, positional control, and escaping positions. All of these aspects are extremely important for someone who is wanting to improve their Jiu Jitsu self defense.

The biggest problem that victims will encounter from the beginning is their inability to identify a danger. This is an extremely important concept that all people must become aware of. Understanding things like who is around, what are their intentions, and what are the surroundings, are all equally important factors. A part of good self defense principles is avoiding dangers all together, and this can come down to the small things like staying in groups, staying away from isolated areas, knowing where the exits are, and even wearing appropriate clothing or shoes, which can help someone escape danger. Staying highly aware of everything around becomes more than a skill, it really does become instinctive, like a spidey sense. 

All street altercations start with an attacker attempting to punch, or take a victim down to the ground. Students will need to work on their spatial awareness, maintaining distance, the right footwork, and good posture. Sometimes having skills like this may divert any attention from an attacker, because traditionally most attackers will give up if the attack becomes too hard. Knowing how to block punches, and then redirect them into controlled grips is an important facet of all self defensive combat. Using good footwork, and keeping a strong postured base, will help a victim from being taken to the ground, where they might find themselves at a strength disadvantage. Training in BJJ will give practitioners a comprehensive system of base, that will allow them to stay on their feet, and ultimately avoid dangerous scenarios.

Once the fight has hit the ground it becomes all about the scramble for positional control. This is an extremely important factor, and one that must not be overlooked. Any person who thinks they can punch their way out of a fight is considerably foolish, because there are many variables that go into a fight. There is one certainty in a street altercation, and that is for a person to gain the ability to control their attacker. When an attacker has a weapon of some kind, it is important to subdue them, and control the arm that is wielding the weapon. This may result in a victim needing to gain considerable control positions like the mount in order to stay heavy, and stopping their attacker from accessing a dangerous weapon. Of course the best, and most appropriate action is to avoid the danger, or run away, but there are always instances where scrambling for position on the ground is unavoidable. Improving Jiu Jitsu self defense means to understand every position, and how to maintain pressure,while being able to control the limbs of the attacker.

Learning how to escape from positions, or submissions in Jiu Jitsu is one of the most important aspects of all. During training, choke defense, or surviving the choke is not just a technique that a student will learn, it is a long process of conditioning the neck, and developing the right movements to access windows of escape. Using frames, which are forearms and knees, to be able to create space from underneath an attacker is vital to the survivability of any grounded fighter. There will always be moments in a street altercation where a victim may find themselves under the control of an attacker, and in this moment it becomes all about knowing how to escape from this position. Good self defense principles means that a student will not expose their neck to an attacker, instead they will maintain good posture, and keep the structure of their defense systems in place at all times. This is a skill that is learned over time, and can only become highly advantageous if a student trains consistently.

Jiu Jitsu has long proven itself to be an effective self defense system.  Learn more from expert Paul Sharp and BJJFanatics.com!

Overall sticking to these concepts will help a student considerably in achieving a better self defense system. The biggest aspect of all of these concepts is consistency on the mats, and this means that a student must train a few times a week so they can keep their skills relevant to the situation at hand. It is quite easy to become complacent, and let every excuse under the sun stop someone from going to training. In terms of becoming a better athlete, and having a better self defense structure, students must continue to push themselves beyond their limitations, and keep up with all of their hard work on the mats. This is the only way to achieve results in a real life altercation, and if anyone reading this has not had a street fight before, it is something that is not for the faint hearted. Training in a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu academy is how they can toughen themselves up, become braver, fitter, stronger, more skillful, and learn to trust in their abilities. 

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