Brazilian jiu-jitsu is one of the most popular fighting styles today. Utilizing leverage and a system that focuses on control and positional hierarchy, Brazilian jiu-jitsu is regarded as one of the premier self-defense martial arts. However, even with a proven track record in self-defense situations, some people may still ask: Is jiu-jitsu good self-defense? This is because there are valid reasons why jiu-jitsu might not be ideal for a street fight scenario. This article will examine the use of Brazilian jiu-jitsu in self-defense situations and give you a clear answer to some of the questions you might have. Stay tuned and enjoy the article!
Is Jiu-Jitsu Good for a Street Fight?
Street fights are quite an ordinary way of solving conflicts, especially among kids and younger adults. While most of them can be pretty harmless and, at most, leave you with a bruise or two, some street fights can be pretty dangerous and result in severe injury or, in the worst-case scenario, death. This is why you should approach them with humility and avoid them or defend yourself if you find yourself in a street altercation.
In a street fight, there are three possible scenarios:
- The first is a regular 1-on-1 altercation that does not involve weapons; this is the most common situation, and jiu-jitsu can be very effective here.
- The second is a 1-on-1 fight with weapons involved. Many martial arts show different types of weapon defense, and although some can be helpful, you should always avoid fighting someone with a weapon.
- The third scenario is a fight where multiple people are involved. Because you never know what to expect, and you don’t know whether someone is armed, this is a hazardous scenario.
Should you be heavily outnumbered, Brazilian jiu-jitsu will not save you. However, no other style of empty-hand fighting will save you either. The martial arts world is full of overinflated claims. One of the most common is that one unarmed man can defeat multiple attackers simultaneously. Claims like this are the stuff of fantasy and belong more to the realm of martial arts movies than self-defense.
Ever wondered how karate and BJJ stack up against each other? Check out our BJJ vs. Karate article!
How to Use BJJ in a Real Fight
When it comes to the use of grappling in a street fight, there are various opinions. Some find grappling very important for street altercations, claiming that most fights end on the ground. On the other hand, many people think that going to the ground in a street fight can be a horrible idea. By going to the ground, you can expose yourself to being kicked, landing hard on concrete, eye gouging, biting, etc.
Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners advocate the use of grappling in a real fight. Nonetheless, this does not mean that you should always take the fight to the ground. People tend to underestimate the versatility of Brazilian jiu-jitsu because when they see it in a mixed martial arts match, they mostly see ground fighting. However, Brazilian jiu-jitsu has various standing clinch techniques that can help you defeat the aggressor. Let’s look at the overall Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighting strategy that you can use for self-defense.
Observe the Situation/Prayer Stance
The prayer stance is an effective way to handle many factors that occur before physical violence. This stance is of no use in an MMA fight, but it can be helpful during verbal precursors to actual fighting that erupts in bars, clubs, the street, and so on. The biggest advantage of this stance is that it is non-threatening and safe. In other words, it does not lead to escalation and keeps you protected if you get attacked. Also, this stance allows you to observe the situation and see if you can avoid physical contact.
How To Do The Prayer Stance
The prayer stance involves you standing in front of your opponent with one leg slightly forward between your opponent’s legs. This position helps protect your groin from any cheap shots. Keep your legs flexed, rear heel off the ground—this is an important detail. If you are flat-footed, you are vulnerable to being shoved backward. Your two hands are pressed together as a person does in prayer. The tips of your fingers are around chin height.
The advantage of this stance is that it looks submissive. It doesn’t give the attacker the need to attack you physically, and thus it can prevent a potential outbreak. Not only is this a great way to calm the situation, but it is also an excellent way to gain an advantage if the fight starts. When you hold your hands together as though in prayer, you have the advantage of inside control. With your hands inside your opponent’s hands, you can control his upper body and quickly transition to the clinch, where you can perform takedowns or strikes. Another important detail regarding the prayer stance is your head position. You should tuck your chin, and your eyes should be fixed on your opponent’s collarbone. This lets you see if your opponent will go for a sucker punch.
Offensive Moves From the Prayer Stance
If the situation escalates and you manage to get to the clinch from the prayer stance, you can use various techniques to either end the fight or take it to the ground and control your opponent. When it comes to street fighting, it is important to be quick; you don’t want to procrastinate and give your opponent the chance to use biting, eye gouging, hair pulling, etc..
Very often, street confrontations are not so serious. What is needed here is something that will not injure your opponent and leave him unconscious. The best thing to do is to step inside with your lead foot and grab a double underhook clinch. This is an excellent control position that can lead to takedowns if needed. If the situation is more dangerous and you need to end it fast, step outside your opponent’s legs and perform an elbow strike. If you decide to elbow strike someone, be careful and be ready for a follow-up. Another great thing that you can do from the clinch is to perform a simple throw-by and get behind your opponent. This is great for control and takedowns.
Controlling an Opponent on the Ground
Discussing is jiu-jitsu good self-defense should always consider its vast number of ground techniques. After all, most Brazilian jiu-jitsu academies focus heavily on ground fighting. There is a large number of ground techniques that you can use to control your opponent without injuring him. Positions like the rear mount, full mount, and knee on belly can keep you safe on the ground and protected from strikes. Just maintaining these positions for some time can end the conflict. When people are put in these positions, they realize that fighting is not the best way, and most of them will stop. However, if your opponent continues to be aggressive, you can always go for some sort of choke to put them out. Avoid going for joint locks because people don’t know how to react, which can lead to severe injuries.
Best BJJ Techniques for Self-Defense
Brazilian jiu-jitsu has a large number of techniques. This is why jiu-jitsu is good self-defense. Some of them can be used only in sports jiu-jitsu situations, but others can be a great tool to defend yourself. Techniques like the double leg takedown, rear naked choke, headlock escape, and guillotine defense are essential for a street fight scenario, as these situations can often happen. If you want to learn more about self-defense, I recommend buying John Danaher’s DVD for takedowns.
Double Leg Takedown
A crucial skill in a real fight is closing the distance on your opponent and taking him to the ground. If you can take down your opponent successfully and land in a good position, you have a massive advantage. Once your opponent is on the ground, you can negate most of his offense and set him up for a finish. The double leg takedown is one of the best ways to do this. You can do it from the clinch position or a distance, and it involves you tackling your opponent’s legs. However, you don’t want to do a standard wrestling double leg with your knee hitting the ground (that can be bad if you are fighting on concrete); instead, you want to do a high double leg and tackle your opponent. Here is a video of a double leg for self-defense.
Defending the Guillotine Choke
When going for takedowns (especially double legs), even an unskilled opponent can try and wrap his hands around your neck and go for a guillotine. This is why you should know how to defend this choke. When you feel that your opponent has wrapped your head, control his choking hand to loosen the strangle, and after that, go over his back and take him down. Here is a video that shows how to defend standing guillotines.
The Rear Naked Choke
The rear naked choke is one of the classic submission holds of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. In a real fight, it can be one of the safest and most effective means of controlling and subduing a powerful attacker. In the heat of real combat, a strong and intoxicated person can endure a lot of pain. However, if a rear naked choke is well applied, the fight is over. Keep in mind that strangleholds can sometimes be dangerous, and lead to fatalities if held for too long. A regular stranglehold will put your opponent to sleep in around ten seconds. Make sure to let go after that. Here is a video of a perfect rear naked choke.
Headlock Escape
Headlocks are perhaps the most common technique used in street fights. Skilled grapplers can use this because most people use it ineffectively. To an inexperienced fighter, even a poor applied headlock can be intimidating. While even poorly applied headlocks can be uncomfortable, there are very easy counters to this technique. Here is a video of a basic headlock escape.
Non-BJJ Techniques for Self-Defense
Street fighting is not just grappling and controlling your opponent. There will be times when you have to use strikes to get the victory. The problem with striking in a street scenario is that even well-conditioned hands can be injured in bare-knuckle fights. Let’s look at two striking techniques you should know for self-defense.
Side Kick
One of the most effective attacks in the standing position is the side kick to your opponent’s knee. This technique is simple, does not require athleticism, and does not expose you to many counters. Royce Gracie used it in the early UFC. It can be used as a direct attack or as a distraction that enables you to go for a takedown.
Elbow Strikes
As mentioned earlier, using strikes in a street fight can injure your hand. A good alternative to punching with your fists is the elbow strike. The elbow and forearm are much sturdier than the hand and, in addition, can severely cut your opponent. Moreover, the elbow is a great weapon for the grappler since it can be easily used from the clinch position.
Is Jiu-Jitsu Better Than Kickboxing for Self-Defense?
Kickboxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu are both great martial arts that you can use in street fights. However, they are very different from one another. In kickboxing, we use only striking techniques, whereas, in BJJ, we can only grapple. Kickboxing is a good option when facing multiple attackers, but jiu-jitsu is the best option for 1-on-1 combat. When it comes to sparring, jiu-jitsu has a clear advantage. Kickboxers rarely go all out in their sparrings because it can be dangerous. Because Jiu-jitsu does not involve strikes, and everything ends in a submission, practitioners can go 100%. If you want to be a great martial artist, you should learn both. Pick one you want to master, but learn the fundamentals of the other one. This will be great for your development.
Examples of Times Bjj Has Been Used in Real Life
There are many videos online where people used Brazilian jiu-jitsu in self-defense scenarios. This shows the value of grappling in a street fight and shows that jiu-jitsu is good self-defense. I will leave some videos below so you can see them for yourself.
- BJJ street fight compilation
- Guillotine ends a street fight
- Jiu-jitsu against a bully
- Jiu-jitsu professor detaining a man
- Matt Serra handles a drunk guy
- Ryan Hall handles a drunk guy
Conclusion
To finish this article, let’s answer the question one more time. Is jiu-jitsu good self-defense? Yes, it is. Brazilian jiu-jitsu is a great martial art that can help you in a street altercation and sometimes even save your life. However, you should know that street fights are not like regular sparring, and you should know your limits. Thank you for reading!
My name is Milos, and I am a brown belt and head instructor of Fort Jiu-Jitsu! Check us out!