Does BJJ Work In Real Life ( Is BJJ Overrated For Self-Defense and MMA? )
If you are looking to get started in martial arts then you have probably considered BJJ. After all, jiu-jitsu is the fastest growing martial art in the United States and perhaps even the world. That said, you might wonder how practical BJJ is for self-defense or even MMA.
BJJ works in real life and can be an efficient form of self-defense. That said, not everything you learn in sport jiu-jitsu will work in real life or MMA and can even cause you harm. For example, you would never want to pull guard in a street fight but might in a BJJ tournament.
Pulling guard in real life exposes you to strikes from your aggressor and gives them the potential ability to slam you on the concrete. So does BJJ work in real life? It does but you have to be smart about it and know what will and won’t work in real life or in a street fight.
Why Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Works In Real Life
Though most people know of BJJ through MMA, it was originally taught first as a self-defense art. Historically, BJJ evolved from Judo. However, Helio Gracie modified the art to be more effective for someone who is not as big and strong as their opponent.
Helio Gracie was not as big as some other family members. Because of this, he put much more focus on how to master the art of leverage. That way a much smaller person who understood leverage could defeat a stronger opponent who only utilized strength.
For this reason, BJJ is an excellent choice for self-defense for many people who are not naturally big and strong. This is exactly why I believe it is great for women to learn the basics of self-defense jiu-jitsu.
BJJ Was Founded On Self Defense Principles
Though most people know of BJJ through MMA, it was originally taught for self-defense. Historically, BJJ evolved from Judo. However, Helio Gracie modified the art to be more effective for someone without as much size or strength.
Helio Gracie was not as big as some other family members. Because of this, he put much more focus on how to master the art of leverage. That way a much smaller person who understood leverage could defeat a stronger opponent who only utilized strength.
For this reason, BJJ is an excellent choice for self-defense for many people who are not naturally big and strong. This is exactly why I believe it is great for women should learn the basics of self-defense jiu-jitsu.
Find A BJJ School With A Self-Defense Program
A good self-defense jiu-jitsu school should teach you more than simply how to choke someone out. They should also teach the basics of situational awareness and training on how to de-escalate a situation.
Of course, this is not always possible. That said, the best form of self-defense is to avoid a hostile situation if it is possible.
The problem with some self-defense martial arts is that they might give people too much confidence to deal with a situation. In turn, they might choose to fight instead of avoiding a bad situation that could have been prevented.
It is important to realize that even though BJJ is effective, dealing with a much larger and stronger opponent is still very dangerous. Getting into a fight with anyone has risks that are better to avoid if you can.
Some BJJ Schools No Longer Focus On Self-Defense
One thing I want to talk about in a little more detail is the difference between traditional BJJ and sport BJJ. At one time practically all BJJ schools put a major focus on self-defense.
However, as the sport of BJJ has become more popular, some schools have shifted their focus on competition BJJ. So you might join a jiu-jitsu academy that does not have a self-defense program at all.
Many jiu-jitsu academies have shifted their focus away from traditional self-defense BJJ to focus more or completely on the sport of BJJ.
That said if self-defense is important to you, then make sure you pick a BJJ school that focuses on self-defense. If you find a school that is considered Gracie Jiu-Jitsu this is a sign that they still focus on self-defense.
Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Focuses On Self-Defense
Many schools still run by the Gracies teach what is called Gracie Jiu-Jitsu or GJJ. Gracie jiu jitsu is still founded on the principles of self-defense. So if there is a Gracie Jiu-Jitsu school in your area you might want to check them out.
In addition, you might want to do a Google search for BJJ schools that focus on self-defense in your area. Of course, it is still best to go to school and ask around yourself.
Even many schools that focus on competition might have self-defense written on the windows or websites of their academy to help draw more people in. But then you get there and never learn the first thing about self-defense.
BJJ Works In Real Life But You Need To Be Realistic
Simply put BJJ works in real life but you need to be realistic about it. If you are 4’9 and 85 lbs you probably should not go pick a fight with a 4oo lbs powerlifter even if you are a black belt. Yes BJJ is a fantastic martial art and does work but like everything it has limitations.
Of course, I am not saying that all other arts fall into these categories. There are amazing martial arts such as BJJ, judo, full-contact karate, Muay Thai, and many more.
Even though BJJ works in real life and is a legit martial, people can still have too big of expectations of what this art can do for them.
No martial art is going to give you the skills you see in a movie where one guy walks into a room of 20 large men and wipes the floor with them.
Does BJJ Work In The Streets Against Multiple Attackers?
One criticism from many people about BJJ is that it does not work in real life against multiple attackers. I understand what these people are saying and they are not wrong.
After all, you probably do not want to bring someone to the ground to choke them out if they have friends standing by. That’s just gonna allow one of their friends to hit you over the head with a beer bottle.
That being said, there is no perfect martial art to use against multiple attackers. After all, at some point, all martial arts have their limitations. People are not going to stand back and attack you one at a time like they do in the movies.
If you have to fight off multiple attackers you are at a huge disadvantage no matter what martial art you practice.
That said, if you are interested in self-defense then you probably want to mix in a striking art such as boxing to supplement your BJJ training. You also should learn some street-effective takedowns and throws from arts like judo and wrestling.
BJJ like any martial art can not accommodate every situation. But you do have to start somewhere and to me learning to deal with one person first is a good place to start. Then once you have a basic grasp of that self-defense system you should supplement your training with something else.
Is BJJ Still Effective In MMA?
The Gracie family proved that BJJ was effective in the early UFCs. But what about today almost 30 years later? Is BJJ overrated in MMA today?
BJJ is still a very effective martial art to learn for MMA. Of course, today you probably see more top-level fighters coming from a wrestling background than a BJJ background.
One thing you need to realize about that is these wrestlers still need to learn quite a bit of BJJ for their wrestling to be effective against BJJ fighters. Or they at least need to learn how to defend against the BJJ fighter.
But if a wrestler with no experience outside of wrestling wanted to go against a BJJ practitioner they would likely find themselves in a submission fairly quickly.
BJJ is such an established martial art in MMA that you have to learn BJJ to be effective in MMA. But you will also need to excel in striking and wrestling as well.
In other words, BJJ is not overrated in MMA but it is not effective enough on its own like it was 30 years ago. Today you need to be good at BJJ, wrestling, and striking to become a high-level UFC fighter.
A Few Closing Thoughts
BJJ works in real life but it won’t turn you into an action star you see in the movies. No martial can do that in the real world. That being said, BJJ is a very effective form of self-defense.
Some BJJ schools do not focus at all on self-defense but only focus on the sport. You need to understand that much of what someone would do in a BJJ competition or when rolling might not be ideal for real life or MMA.
That said, all combat athletes are going to be more dangerous than your average human being. So yes BJJ athletes who only focus on sport jiu-jitsu are likely going to be able to handle themselves in a real-life altercation.
You just simply need to understand that not everything you do rolling in BJJ class should be used in real life. Most of what you should and should not do is common sense. However, sometimes common sense is not as common as you think.
So if your biggest goal is self defense then just make sure the academy you choose is the right fit for you.
