Not everyone looking to get into martial arts does it for self-defense. Perhaps you are looking for something fun to do, or you are looking to get into better shape, or you desire to be a part of an awesome community. But, because Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art, you may want to know…is it good for self-defense? That depends on the situation.
There is no doubt that Jiu-Jitsu will help you become more capable in any self-defense situation. You will become more agile, more flexible, more fit. These attributes will help you whether you are being attacked by multiple assailants, or when being attacked with a weapon. When you are confronted by multiple assailants, or if your assailant has a weapon there isn’t any martial art that is effective enough to walk away unharmed. But, let’s talk about why Jiu-Jitsu is the most effective in a one-on-one attack.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) is a grappling-based martial art that utilizes holds and tactics involving leverage rather than striking. This allows a smaller, weaker person to defend themselves against a much larger, stronger opponent. Because we are not using strikes, we can train as often as our body and time will allow without fear of brain injury from concussions. Some BJJ practitioners will train a couple times a week, some will choose to train a couple of times per day. Imagine how good you can get?
You can train everyday with no more risk of injury than going to a gym to workout, or playing basketball. This allows practitioners to develop very high levels of skill. At Renzo Gracie Ponce we split our classes into fundamentals and advanced classes. New students will begin in our fundamentals program which will develop your foundational understanding of position and technique. This allows you to escape from pins and holds, defend against strangles and joint locks, and understand how to take down your opponent. These are all necessary skills to defend yourself against an attack. Our advanced classes will begin to focus more on Jiu-Jitsu as a competitive sport.
Jiu-Jitsu will make you a much more capable warrior if you are ever in a self-defense situation. There are few (if any) other martial arts that will give you the true confidence in your ability to defend yourself against a larger, stronger opponent. Training Jiu-Jitsu will give you the tools needed to defend yourself. This is because in Jiu-Jitsu you will practice against real resisting opponents every single day. You cannot do that with striking arts, because you would suffer brain injuries from the constant strikes to the head. If you are looking for a fun, safe, effective form of martial arts for self-defense look for a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu school in your area. Here at Renzo Gracie Ponce we don't require any long-term commitment. Try it out and if you don't believe in its effectiveness, go try something else. What do you have to lose?
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