BJJ For Self Defence in London/East London

[Liyad1990s]

Hi to all my fellow Sherdog members,

I am keen to start learning BJJ for self defence purposes (not competition purposes) and am on the search for a gym to learn BJJ (& Muay Thai too).

The thing is, from my research and brief knowledge, I can see that a lot of places that teach BJJ place an emphasis on training BJJ for competition purposes, rather than self-defence.

Now, I know that there will be a cross-over and you can apply what you learn for competitions in "real life", but I would be more drawn to a place that teaches BJJ moreso for learning it in a self-defence purpose rather than competition way, if that makes any sense.

Can anyone please recommend me any places they know which they recommend for this, preferable in East London/ if not Central London. It would be very, very much appreciated.

Warmest Regards

 

[Human Bass]

Bjj for competition also works damn well for self-defense, you will get used to deal with resisting opponents, most of them in good shape. Self-defense is more of a mindset/strategy than specific techniques. Of course a good instructor will be able to show some sd oriented techniques, but I assure you just for knowning the positional hierarchy of the ground game and what to avoid, you will be more prepared than 98% of the population

 

[Liyad1990s]

Bjj for competition also works damn well for self-defense, you will get used to deal with resisting opponents, most of them in good shape. Self-defense is more of a mindset/strategy than specific techniques. Of course a good instructor will be able to show some sd oriented techniques, but I assure you just for knowning the positional hierarchy of the ground game and what to avoid, you will be more prepared than 98% of the population

Hi, Thanks for your feedback and input, can you recommend any good places based in East London?

 

[Concrete Whale]

I used to train at Diesel gym at Limehouse and it was good. Not a huge gym so you can get to know people quickly.

 

[Submission]

Roger Gracie Gymbox, in Farringdon.
LFF
Fightzone

 

[Darwinambrosius]

Diesel Gym. I visit London a few times a year and that's where I drop in.

 

[Was at Pride GP 2000]

Reading through these post I would say those thay think competition bjj is good for self defense probably never
A. Have been in a street fight or
B. Really learned both of the disaplines.

I would check out gracieacademy.Com. see if there is any gracie garages near by.
Also if Roger is anywhere close that is the best there is. His competition jiu jitsu has such a high level of fundementals he can beat the very best with stuff you learn the first day of school.

 

[Liyad1990s]

Reading through these post I would say those thay think competition bjj is good for self defense probably never
A. Have been in a street fight or
B. Really learned both of the disaplines.

I would check out gracieacademy.Com. see if there is any gracie garages near by.
Also if Roger is anywhere close that is the best there is. His competition jiu jitsu has such a high level of fundementals he can beat the very best with stuff you learn the first day of school.

Hi, thanks a lot for your advice, i will definitely check out that website. In your opinion, then, does Roger focus more on self defence in jiu jitsu rather than competition? As i heard the roger gracie gym in farringdon focusses more on competition, rather than self defence?

 

[Liyad1990s]

Roger Gracie Gymbox, in Farringdon.
LFF
Fightzone

Hi, thanks alot for your feedback. Have you been to the roger gracie gymbox in farrigdon, if so what is your opinion on it?

I have heard that it is a really good gym, but places more emphasis on competition rather than self - defence, is this true from your experience/what you've heard?

 

[Submission]

I don't know, I train in Roger HQ and the fundamentals are very well covered there. I don't know how exactly is the training in Farringdon, but I know it's one of Rogers best affiliates alongside Mill Hill

 

[Liyad1990s]

I don't know, I train in Roger HQ and the fundamentals are very well covered there. I don't know how exactly is the training in Farringdon, but I know it's one of Rogers best affiliates alongside Mill Hill

Thanks for your reply. Is the jiu jitsu at the HQ more emphasised on self-defence or competition? I have read online , particlularly here as a reference http://sachaking.com/ - that it is better to learn something such as gracie combatitive jiu jitsu, rather than brazilian jiu jitsu, for self defence purposes. Your thoughts?

 

[anaconda]

Reading through these post I would say those thay think competition bjj is good for self defense probably never
A. Have been in a street fight or
B. Really learned both of the disaplines.

I would check out gracieacademy.Com. see if there is any gracie garages near by.
Also if Roger is anywhere close that is the best there is. His competition jiu jitsu has such a high level of fundementals he can beat the very best with stuff you learn the first day of school.

I totally disagree. Training solely for sport, with the intensity of sparring and the rigors of competition training, will prepare you much better than training solely for self-defense.

Sure, training hard and in as real as possible situations with a self defense aspect would be better. But to choose one I would go for the best sport school around. A gracie garage? Worst possible option. Unless you want to join up with a bunch of guys that aren't tough enough to last a week in a real gym.

 

[Liyad1990s]

I totally disagree. Training solely for sport, with the intensity of sparring and the rigors of competition training, will prepare you much better than training solely for self-defense.

Sure, training hard and in as real as possible situations with a self defense aspect would be better. But to choose one I would go for the best sport school around. A gracie garage? Worst possible option. Unless you want to join up with a bunch of guys that aren't tough enough to last a week in a real gym.

Hi, thanks alot for your input. Can you please advise me on what schools you recommend in the East/Central London area?

 

[Was at Pride GP 2000]

I totally disagree. Training solely for sport, with the intensity of sparring and the rigors of competition training, will prepare you much better than training solely for self-defense.

Sure, training hard and in as real as possible situations with a self defense aspect would be better. But to choose one I would go for the best sport school around. A gracie garage? Worst possible option. Unless you want to join up with a bunch of guys that aren't tough enough to last a week in a real gym.

Young grasshopper your narrow minded views keep you sheltered from reality. The reality is most people do not want to train for competition. When you are young, dumb and full of piss and vinegar go for it.
I have trained hard for 20 years and will continue to train hard. Luckily my first 4 years were under the program Royce and Rorion were teaching. It didn't have the marketing that it does now but same stuff.
Then I moved and switched schools. More focused to competition. It took me a couple months to fit in with people who trained as long as me but I also passed those people. They missed the foundation of jiu jitsu.

As I got older I realize the new guys are all a lot younger than me. People my age are not trying jiu jitsu or if they do its for 1 class. Problem is not the class is too hard it is thay they have expectations of what class will be like but instead of math 101 they show up to algebra. The knowledge flies over their head with no background and no foundation.
I am at a point where if a guy is older or even a kid that looks lost. I take them to the side and do the basics
You think self defense is not the basics you are wrong. Most people that walk into a jiu jitsu school for the first time will never compete in a tournament. So why are they there????? You think a person like that needs to understand spider or inverted guard, hell no. They just need to have enough to come back the next time.

If they keep with the basics odds of them staying and then moving into competition type training increases. However it's not necessary. We need everyone to learn jiu jitsu. The world is better this way.
You want to throw a person who is looking for a self defense class into a competition focused jiu jitsu class you are going to lose a student and make someone believe jiu jitsu is not for them. There are not a lot of 50 year olds competing. Almost 0 60 year olds. But you can still train if you learn the right way with a solid foundation. The way jiu jitsu was developed and intended

 

[Liyad1990s]

bump

 

[Liyad1990s]

bump

 

[Edmundus]

http://forums.sherdog.com/threads/mindset-of-bjj-vs-gjj.2924361/#post-102833325

You may wish to take a look at this thread, particularly the post by TrumpetDan that I'm linking here. It'll clarify why you should check out a 'sports BJJ' school even if your prime motivation is self defence.

I trained at what is now called Roger Gracie Gymbox for a few years. In my experience it's an excellent school with a welcoming atmosphere and many tough students. I'd encourage you to check it out sometime. If you'd like any more info, feel free to PM me.

 

[Was at Pride GP 2000]

http://forums.sherdog.com/threads/mindset-of-bjj-vs-gjj.2924361/#post-102833325

You may wish to take a look at this thread, particularly the post by TrumpetDan that I'm linking here. It'll clarify why you should check out a 'sports BJJ' school even if your prime motivation is self defence.

I trained at what is now called Roger Gracie Gymbox for a few years. In my experience it's an excellent school with a welcoming atmosphere and many tough students. I'd encourage you to check it out sometime. If you'd like any more info, feel free to PM me.

Thanks for wasting my time reading that post. I 100 percent agree you could take up 3 martial arts, sports jiu jitsu, wrestling and MT. Who has Fuckin time for that. Most people who think like this are less than 30 with no kids. If I'm 50 with 3 kids you think I have time to take 3 martial arts. Of course you will. UFC 1 was td us thay if you had to choose a marital art it would choose Gracie Jiu Jitsu. The examples given were a lot of his opinion. The interview with Carlson is a bunch of bullshit. You think if Rorion lied right to them they would not have beat the shit out of this non champion. He like others are angry the Rorion figured out how to make money and they didnt. Jealousy is a bitch.

 

[Edmundus]

The first few minutes of this vid might be of interest also.

 

[Submission]

Thanks for your reply. Is the jiu jitsu at the HQ more emphasised on self-defence or competition? I have read online , particlularly here as a reference http://sachaking.com/ - that it is better to learn something such as gracie combatitive jiu jitsu, rather than brazilian jiu jitsu, for self defence purposes. Your thoughts?

For me Roger has what I think it's close to the "ideal jiu jitsu", that is, Jiu Jitsu that works both for fighting and competition. That being said, at Roger HQ the basics are very well covered, you have basics classes everyday and there are many coloured belts attending many of the classes. That kind of old school self defense stuff like punch defense, takedown+submission, etc is covered sometimes, especially when Mauricio (Roger's father) is here teaching, but as I said before the basics are very well covered here and you learn a style that is efficient for both scenarios.