BJJ VS OTHER STYLES
IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR SELF DEFENSE, CONSIDER THIS:
According to the FBI, 95% of all fights end up on the ground. With this in mind, one would think that the logical formula for
Martial Arts training would be to train 95% on the ground and 5% standing up, right? Well maybe not quite that lop sided, but oddly enough most traditional schools are still doing just the opposite, training almost all stand up, with little or no work on the ground. Would you believe that some
Martial Arts schools don't even have
ground fighting in their curriculum? Talk about living in the stone ages!
Why is this? Well, most of the blame could be placed on the movie industry. Hollywood makes more movies about strikers than grapplers because the average American thinks that punching & kicking is more exciting to watch than grappling. From a movie producer's perspective, punching & kicking sells more movies, more movies means more money, and you know the rest of the story. Unfortunately, after years of being "brainwashed" by these types of action films, the American public now believes that a good striker can beat a great grappler, when in fact it's the other way around. In my opinion, a so-so grappler can beat a great striker.
The striking arts are nice additives but incomplete by themselves. In today's world of mixed martial arts if you don't know how to grapple you are at an extreme disadvantage. In a real fight, a grappler is favored to win, and in the world of grappling
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is king.
A skilled Jiu Jitsu fighter will force the fight to the ground and gain total control of his opponent in a relatively short period of time, even appearing somewhat relaxed as he does it.
The Jiu Jitsu fighter will often dictate the tempo of the fight, forcing his opponent into perplexing, awkward positions while he himself seems to be almost relaxed.
The Jiu Jitsu fighter always seems to be maneuvering for some position, all the while safely defending himself, and is always ready to "catch" his opponent in some submission hold. The essence of
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is not to trade strength with the opponent, but rather to out position him/her.
THE DRAW BACK WITH OTHER STYLES
KARATE PRACTIONERS: Good with hands and feet, but most karate systems don't put enough emphasis (if any) on ground fighting.
BOXERS: Have far superior hand skills than a Karate man or a Wrestler but boxers don't address ground fighting at all.
WRESTLERS: Great at takedowns and pinning your shoulders to the ground but lack the submission knowledge necessary to finish a tough opponent.
Now this is not to imply that all other styles are useless. On the contrary, there are significant benefits to be gained from practicing any Martial Art, however one needs to understand the difference between sport and street. Sport has rules, time limits, referees, and gear for safety - street does not. Most Sport systems make great hobbies, but lack real world effectiveness from a self-defense standpoint. In my opinion Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is the only Sport Martial Art that effectively transfers to the street without making any significant changes.
Any Martial Art system not addressing groundwork is an incomplete system. Bottom line is that most non-grappling styles just don't prepare you for the real thing. Most attacks happen fast and kind of clumsy, which makes a knockout very unlikely, and a grappling match very probable.
FOR INSTANCE: A typical street fight will start off with an exchange of blows, go into a clinch, and end up on the ground. If neither of the fighters are experienced grapplers, the bigger (or sometimes the stronger) person will often end up on top and try to overwhelm his opponent with a barrage of wild punches. When its over, both fighters will be gasping for oxygen, and more often than not, one if not both of them, will have injured their hands from repeatedly striking the other person and/or the ground.
With Jiu Jitsu, it is actually possible to defeat an opponent without throwing a punch, thereby reducing the chance of injuring your opponent, and most importantly, yourself. The secret to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu lies in its powerful leverage and chess-like strategies. Contrary to other styles, you don't have to be athletic to be good in Jiu Jitsu. You also don't have to be strong to defeat a strong opponent even if your opponent is an experienced grappler. For any given attack, you have dozens of possible counter attacks to answer back with. Your opponent attacks, you counter his attack with a move of your own, he counters your counter, you counter that, etc., etc.
The choices of moves and combination are endless. Jiu Jitsu has thousands of joint locks, chokes, and sweeps, all of which can be tailored to suit your own particular body, and because of that each person will develop their own personalized style, slightly different then anyone else because it's built around their own particular strengths and weaknesses.
IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR A HEALTHY WAY TO STAY IN SHAPE
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is easy to learn, fun to do, and as good a
cardio workout as you'll ever find. If you want to lose weight or gain muscle, get fit or stay fit, learn self-defense, or just get some stress relief, then
BJJ is the
martial art for you. It's so simple that anyone can do it, almost regardless of age, weight, or body type. If you have any doubts come try a couple of our classes. I am so confident that you will fall in love with BJJ that I am willing to give you two free classes - no obligations - no strings attached. Give us a call and let's get started.
