This may be a bit of blasphemy, and the title is more to catch people's attention while I take an extreme perspective, but I've always wondered this:
Why is self defense stressed so much? Especially in these "Street Fight" topics?
Yes, it may be true that many of us got into BJJ because of some self defense motive, or through watching MMA and wanting to learn how to fight. However, after training for a while, doesn't self defense become secondary, if not tertiary to your training motives? I believe staying in BJJ for the pure reason of self defense limits your BJJ experience, and takes you away from a lot of new and innovative elements that make this such an exciting art.
If you ask someone "why do you train BJJ" I rarely hear self defense as the first answer, if at all.
Why? I believe it is because we know it is efficient, and the confidence that comes along with being fit (and training a combat sport) carries over into everyday life. If some untrained guy wanted to fight one on one, I believe most blue belts and above could handle themselves fine - everything else being equal.
Don't get me wrong. I understand the roots of BJJ, but I truly believe that most people enjoy the game and the competition over the theoretical self defense scenarios that may never even occur. So when someone puts down a school for being "sporty," I just shake my head.
In the end, you're going to get much more excitement, training, and development from embracing the sporting aspect. Nothing says that you can't defend yourself in a one on one scenario. Could someone that trains purely in self defense do better? Most likely yes, but how often will they get to enjoy this... if you can call it enjoyment at all?
Why is self defense stressed so much? Especially in these "Street Fight" topics?
Yes, it may be true that many of us got into BJJ because of some self defense motive, or through watching MMA and wanting to learn how to fight. However, after training for a while, doesn't self defense become secondary, if not tertiary to your training motives? I believe staying in BJJ for the pure reason of self defense limits your BJJ experience, and takes you away from a lot of new and innovative elements that make this such an exciting art.
If you ask someone "why do you train BJJ" I rarely hear self defense as the first answer, if at all.
Why? I believe it is because we know it is efficient, and the confidence that comes along with being fit (and training a combat sport) carries over into everyday life. If some untrained guy wanted to fight one on one, I believe most blue belts and above could handle themselves fine - everything else being equal.
Don't get me wrong. I understand the roots of BJJ, but I truly believe that most people enjoy the game and the competition over the theoretical self defense scenarios that may never even occur. So when someone puts down a school for being "sporty," I just shake my head.
In the end, you're going to get much more excitement, training, and development from embracing the sporting aspect. Nothing says that you can't defend yourself in a one on one scenario. Could someone that trains purely in self defense do better? Most likely yes, but how often will they get to enjoy this... if you can call it enjoyment at all?
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