Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for Self Defense

I would like to talk today about something that is not usually discussed often in the martial arts world today, that is, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for self defense. Usually I hear people who have done traditional martial arts for years, such as Karate, Tae Kwon Do, and various striking arts talk about how Brazilian Jiu Jitsu does not work on the streets, often times they talk about how ground fighting would be useless in a street fight if you have to fight more than one person. Well, it turns out that Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has an array of self-defense techniques from the standing position, and I can tell you these techniques are quite efficient. Many people who study striking systems often say that they will knock someone out before their attacker can grapple them, but truth is, it is quite difficult to keep someone from closing the distance between striking and grappling range even if you are quite proficient in striking. In reality, it is not always necessary to grapple on the floor when defending yourself, but it is necessary to learn how to fight in close-quarters, even when standing, since so many people still try to headlock their victims in the street, or grab their clothes before punching them, and sometimes try more sophisticated techniques like choking you from behind. Fortunately with a little bit of practice you can learn some awesome self-defense techniques from Brazilian Jiu Jitsu that are not only effective but very easy to learn. One such technique is doing a shoulder throw against someone who is trying to attack you, or getting someone in a straight armbar when they attempt to grab you by your shirt. All of these techniques are good choices when someone attacks you, and if you can pull them off, there is no need to fight on the ground.

Lastly, I would like to mention a few defenses against weapon attacks, first and foremost however, I must mention that nearly all martial arts instructors tell you to run away if an attacker has a weapon, use distractions, negotiate with your attacker, and so on, but if you must fight an attacker with a weapon there are some options as well. I will go ahead and talk about defense against a club, I have seen some techniques from Brazilian Jiu Jitsu that are good, but with a little bit of modification you can make these better. The first example is when attacked with a club it is usually better not to block the arm with the club, as they may pull their arm close to their body and hit you anyways, but if you sidestep the club and then apply an armlock, it would be much more efficient. In this case, using an armlock against a club is incredibly effective, and you can also disarm the club as well, and finish with a strike against the enemy using their own club. All in all, if you want to learn some great self defense techniques, check out what Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has to offer, if you have trouble finding this information in a school, just search the internet, you will no doubt find some great videos and books on the subject of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for self-defense that can come in handy if you are ever attacked.