Has your jiu jitsu ever let you down?

[Ric]

In the past month I've had conversations with 2 friends who were disappointed that their jiu jitsu wasn't well suited to the self defense situations they were faced with. In both cases, the victim was jumped by more than one person and the victim realized that their BJJ training hadn't dealt with much self defense training. Both have decided to continue BJJ training, but one of my friends added Krav Maga to his schedule.

Having come from a Karate background, I always feel I'm sort of prepared for the street. The mix of karate and BJJ that I would use in a fight would hopefully be enough. I could be deluding myself though. I've never been in a self defense situation, so I don't really know how I would react.

Has anyone else here ever been in a situation where they were ultimately disappointed in their BJJ training?

[Greg W]

Used it twice, worked perfectly both times. Gang banger beating a little white kid up in my yard, warning, double leg, he turned, RNC, hauled him out of my yard, friends pulled up and loaded him in the back and drove away. Other time in Salt Lake city, eating ice cream late at night minding my own business, huge drunk native american gets up from the curb and met me in the middle of the street, ducked under the huge slow drunk haymaker right, double leg, mount, arm bar, dislocated elbow, screaming indian in the middle of the road, two buddies running leaving thier buddy. I was pissed, he made me drop my ice cream!!!

[David Rosado]

Nah.

For one, Coach Zog teaches a very MMA based style of BJJ. Even if you're in a position that's considered not applicable to MMA, he'll give pointers on how to make it work for MMA. So, my lessons don't just teach me sub defense, but gives me a decent base for punch defense.

2ndly, I'm realistic about BJJ's applications. In a multiple fighter situation, BJJ won't help too much. Regardless of which martial art you choose, the odds are literally against you.

Either way, I don't really look to any martial art for self defense. I look to weapons and tactics. Running into a crowded area is a smart move. If you're lucky, people may help you making the odds somewhat favorable. If they don't, at least there are witnesses and security/police will come to your aid. Also, don't underestimate the power of pepper spray. Bare handed against multiple opponents, I'll resort to dirty tactics like eye pokes, ear popping, and throat strikes. It's not so much about martial arts as much as it is about survival. I guess krav maga does try to address this, but I feel like a situation like that gives people a misplaced sense of confidence. Truth is, against multiple attackers, you're mostly likely going to take the L. The best you can hope for is to get away. The second best you can hope for is to ruin as many guys as you can before you take the fall.


All that said, no, BJJ has not let me down. It works perfectly for what it was designed for.

[derrick ikwueme]

the gracie stand up self defense is pretty user friendly

[Andrew Alexander]

i used a cross choke on a drunk guy in the parking lot of my work lol saw sean roberts hit it earlier that day!

[Isaac Atley]

i think it work in small ways u dont think of. ive noticed that with myself and the guys i train with, we dont have many problem because training gives us more confidence which stops most fights before they begin. even in a group people will try and pick off a weak one.

another part is keeping my calm when something does happen. i had a guy try rush me once and i went to sprawl but it stayed standing, muay thai clinch with a couple knee to the gut and he wasnt really interested anymore. i think the fact that we get guys in our face, helps us get over that initial shock quicker and react in better ways.

not always gunna work and tbh in a street fight u probly wanna keep it standing especially if its mutiple guys against you but it all helps.

[Aaron Gustaveson]

For self defense, against multiple attacker? What do people expect? Train striking for the love of god. If you have to keep it grappling only, then get your Judo, Jujutsu, and Sambo dialed in. I know choking people is super fun but have you ever blasted someone with a kick and seen them slowly melt to the ground? Its pretty fun too.

Krav Maga is a pretty non-bullshit filled SD system. Dealing with being attacked by multiple attackers is usually dealt with later in training and relies heavily on having well developed fighting skills in general and a few common sense principles.

I carry a knife everyday, everywhere and I practice drawing it. Oh yeah, you can fucking die out there so just runaway if you can.

[Johnnie McIntyre]

I would forget Karate, Krav Maga and 80% of jiu jitsu learned in the gi! I don't want to be disrespectful to any art, they are good for conditioning, fitness etc but do tend to give practitioners a false sense of security. Watch a Karate/Krav Maga guy spar in any full contact combat sport...I was that guy once! (I have never seen sparring in a Krav Maga class though) IMO Learn to Box first, some fundamental Thai Knees and Kicks and some Wrestling and pressure test it all! If you can add some real self defence on top of these skills its a bit more realistic. Worse comes to worse if you can't get away jiu jitsu will help if it ends on the ground against a single attacker.

[Aaron Gustaveson]

I would forget Karate, Krav Maga and 80% of jiu jitsu learned in the gi! I don't want to be disrespectful to any art, they are good for conditioning, fitness etc but do tend to give practitioners a false sense of security. Watch a Karate/Krav Maga guy spar in any full contact combat sport...I was that guy once! (I have never seen sparring in a Krav Maga class though) IMO Learn to Box first, some fundamental Thai Knees and Kicks and some Wrestling and pressure test it all! If you can add some real self defence on top of these skills its a bit more realistic. Worse comes to worse if you can't get away jiu jitsu will help if it ends on the ground against a single attacker.

Thats why I said Krav Maga is a pretty non-bullshit filled SD system. Anything without full contact is obviously BS. Plenty of Krav maga people seriously throw down but not much in the USA. Muay Thai and boxing would be much better choices. It is nice to have some good disarming techniques though.

[Isaac Atley]

ive had some krav maga classes where its full contact. and ive seen two of the trainers go at it too. its just like any other sport. its not going to help if u only do it a couple of times. but krav maga toughens people up. a lot. maybe over in america its different but al the classes ive seen and been in have been really helpful and a hard workout