What are we doing here?
We are practicing people handling skills.
The study of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (Bjj) can cover a wide range of subjects and uses. Most of the work takes place on the ground. We omit striking and focus on carefully controlled joint locks and chokes. Our curriculum covers 23 positions, each position has hundreds or even thousands of correct ways to approach. From standing, we borrow heavily from Judo and Wrestling. You are also allowed to “pull guard” and go to the ground without being taken down as long as you have a grip on the other person. This changes many things, and offers a safe alternative to being taken down by a superior wrestler/judoka.
Every position is a study of leverage, weight shifts, traps, and transitions to other puzzles. People can study this for their entire lives and never stop learning new things.
Good training is a game of unlimited tries.
You should be able to win without hurting your opponent, and lose without hurting yourself. There will be several walls of losses to get through in order to find the next level, but everyone should leave in good condition every day.
What is the purpose?
There are many uses for the study, but these are some common examples:
This offers an active hobby for adults with reasonable amounts of social interaction.
My goal for Bjj is to draw 1% of the population. One in ten people will do something eccentric to stay in shape. One in ten of those people will enjoy the study of handling people.
Bjj draws people from all walks of life who can come from all over the world. Most are simply looking for an adult hobby that holds their attention. Everyone is here to improve themselves and help those around them to do the same. You can train and not speak to anyone for months, or you can make friends who you would never have met anywhere else.
Fundamental self defense.
Fighting should always be avoided. Bjj is one of few martial arts where you have the option to handle someone without hurting them. There are many reasons to put someone into a position where they cannot hurt you without hitting them. If you work with your hands, you don’t want to risk breaking them. It is never a good look to hit a smaller person or a minor, even if they are out of control. Hitting a bigger person is also an obvious risk.
Professional people handling.
A professional who may encounter an out of control person should seek professional training. If you are in the medical profession, I have been told that it is frowned upon to cause people harm. In police work, anything unnecessary can be bad for public relations. Teachers are also occasionally in situations where a student needs to be restrained in an orderly manner.
MMA
Many years ago, most of us got into this to learn how to fight. The first four UFC tournaments were a fascinating display of Bjj vs the other martial arts of the time. As mixed martial arts slowly became legal in the United States, many of us found ourselves studying Bjj. My last fight was 14 years ago, but we will still occasionally help the curious to explore this subject as safely as possible.
**Please note that we are not here to assist you in hurting people for fun. These types should seek professional help.**
Is this safe?
Every school has its own unique philosophy and balance of safety vs realistic resistance levels. I can only speak for my own school, but have enough faith in the greater community that I regularly encourage my students to train everywhere they can. Vacations and business trips are fantastic opportunities to see different approaches to the game.
In my school, I encourage everyone to seek mutual benefit training. Our rules are straightforward and posted on the wall.
Please spare me tough guy talk.
There is a lot of tough talk online about leglocks and takedowns. Falling bodies and complicated leg entanglements are the highest risk things we encounter. We do work these things, but I have a specific philosophy about what to focus on.
I encourage everyone to put thought into what we are doing before trying anything at a level of resistance.
I want this to work on two types of people: first day people with no training, and other black belts.
If a technique works on other black belts, but injures my first day training partner, I just lost my unlimited tries. If something I do only works on white belts but not black belts, I am dependent on cheap tricks.
What about competition?
Competition allows us to test ourselves against a theoretical evenly matched opponent under pressure. Everyone is not required to compete. Only about 10-20% of people in most classes are in a pre competition training cycle.
Competition calms you down.
If you see the training room as your competition, or if you are regularly the best in the room, I may ask you to test yourself from time to time. Your training partners are here for mutual benefit. Never allow yourself to be confused about that.
If you are doing this for self defense in any way, competition is imperative.
The addition of adrenaline can cause paralysis by analysis, overspending of energy, and a host of other problems. Facing these issues in a controlled environment is much better than realizing these problems in a life or death situation. That said, it’s still not advisable to let competition success build a false sense of confidence.
Competition allows us to find our division.
Back to finding even matches. You will meet World and Pan American champions in their divisions all over the place. A 50 year old purple belt is not expected to be the same as a 20 year old. Having a master 5 (50-55 year old) division allows us an actual measure of about how good we can expect you to be. They can both enjoy training together, and potentially be among the best in their respective divisions.
What about kids?
Kids can learn the basics and have a great foundation for later in life. This offers many benefits and important life lessons. Please be cautious. This is not teeball. Being an adult does not qualify you to give any advice at all. Bad advice can be anywhere from incorrect to dangerous.
If your child trains and you don’t, they will likely be able to handle you easily during their early teenage years. You will want to have a good relationship and communication with them so that you don’t create problems for yourself.
I don’t push competition until kids are 12 or older. We have kids who like to compete, but this is something that they can enjoy for their entire lives. There is no reason to burn them out early.
The kids who do this long term have a strong sense of confidence, balanced with realistic expectations of their abilities. It’s not an easy path at any age. These kids know how to earn respect in the face of adversity.
Training regularly helps to cut out drama.
This is an activity that forces us to remain in the moment without trying as hard as we can. Accomplishing tasks with a cap on the high highs and the low lows is a huge mental benefit for practitioners of all ages.
If you have read this far, you or someone you know may be interested in training. Contact us and we will be happy to help you get started.
Enjoy your training!