Is bjj effective in real life situations?

[CroSpartacus]

Some background:

I am 26 years old and have black belts in Tae Kwon Do and Kyokushin, started Tae Kwon Do at 13 and finished kyokushin at 20. I have been inactive in martial arts for the past 5-6 years, but I have been staying in shape throughout the years by focusing entirely on strength training.

I want to get back into martial arts and I think working towards a belt in BJJ is something I want to achieve while I am still young, and I know it will take nearly 10 years to earn a black belt in BJJ. That being said, for those of you that have been studying bjj over the years; do you find it effective in a real-world fight?

While it's true that most fights end up on the ground, I want to confirm from students of bjj if the art has a strong correlation to real world situations. My main goal is to be able to handle myself against the average joe if I have no other choice. I am not interested in competing or turning pro.


Thanks in advance. Btw: Any recommendations on schools in the south-side Chicago area would be appreciated.

 

[kimble09]

yes, it's effective.

 

[Ishaq]

As long as you stay away from the sport techniques, it's effective.

 

[SMillard]

not as effective as running.

If you are looking for a good and fun sport to take part in, yes do it.

 

[Unipres]

Stay with the Gracie stuff over sport Jits for self defence. Watch UFC 1-5. All will be revealed.

 

[Kozbot]

This thread makes me want to break your arm

 

[lechien]

Effective in real life situation.

Hell yeah.

Sometimes, you just cannot head kick people or punch them in the sternum.

Just take to the ground and calm them down via knee on belly and a few slaps.


Edit: Also, if you think you gonna get a BB in another MA, I sugget you try something else. BJJ BB takes soooooooooooooo long.

 

[Dynassty]

if you did TKD and karate for that long you should be able to defend yourself without much problem unless they were total mcdojos

I've seen some terrible boxers look like muhammed ali when being attacked in a street fight lol

we are so used to training against people who know how to defend themselves that it'd be quite simple to take someone out but that doesn't take into account weapons and their friends lol

so as someone else said, you want the best self defense, learn how to run

 

[Uchi Mata]

Yeah, it works. The biggest issue with BJJ is that a lot of BJJ guys can't take anyone down, but as a Kyokushin guy I'd think you'd mostly want to stay standing anyway and only use grappling if forced to. Honestly if you're just interested in pure self defense grappling I'd probably just spend some time at an MMA gym. You'll learn good TDs and all the necessary basics of grappling, plus you'll get some experience at being punched while on your back. It definitely won't be any tougher than full contact karate. There are plenty of good MMA and BJJ gyms all over Chicago, find one that fits your schedule where you like the instructor.

 

[BJJ_Rage]

well, walk in a bjj gym, roll with some blue belt about your size, ask him to go 100%, see how you feel, now think this, if that guy can do all that without having to beat you up, imagine what he could do if he can strike, now think other ways, would have you been able to do anything else to stop this guy from molesting me on the ground even if I could strike (once on the ground of course)? I can assure you something, you will not walk out of the gym thinking "this shit doesnt work, If I wanted to go hard I probably wouldve beat this guy up"... this is a feeling you get A LOT in striking Martial arts, so you probably know the feeling and in kyokushin probably seen it live (a noob walking in the gym and beating lots of more experience guys based on pure strenght and toughness), this will rarely happen in bjj (if ever) even if weight and strength discrepancy is huge... so yeah, it works, despite that some idiots think we all walk 24/7 on broken glass, HIV infected needles and of course, on lava...

 

[shunyata]

well, walk in a bjj gym, roll with some blue belt about your size, ask him to go 100%, see how you feel, now think this, if that guy can do all that without having to beat you up, imagine what he could do if he can strike, now think other ways, would have you been able to do anything else to stop this guy from molesting me on the ground even if I could strike (once on the ground of course)? I can assure you something, you will not walk out of the gym thinking "this shit doesnt work, If I wanted to go hard I probably wouldve beat this guy up"... this is a feeling you get A LOT in striking Martial arts, so you probably know the feeling and in kyokushin probably seen it live (a noob walking in the gym and beating lots of more experience guys based on pure strenght and toughness), this will rarely happen in bjj (if ever) even if weight and strength discrepancy is huge... so yeah, it works, despite that some idiots think we all walk 24/7 on broken glass, HIV infected needles and of course, on lava...

When does this happen in kyokushin? It's not Tai Chi, those mofos go hard.

 

[Nozza]

BJJ, Judo or wrestling - any of them are going to give you a massive advantage in the grappling side of things. Coupled with your existing standup skills (assuming you bother to keep them up to date) you should have things covered for an imaginary altercation that will almost certainly never happen.

 

[soda_popinski]

If you got into a physical altercation, yes it would be a great asset for you to have a ground game. It will also be awesome when your at a family gathering and your drunk uncle needs to be held down until he calms down. But really just ask a police officer or bouncer how much bjj helps them in their jobs...I can tell you they use it a lot - to control someone and basically have total control over them without injuring them and them injuring you is a pretty cool skill. Sure it doesnt always work out that way but I have seen it happens tons and tons of time when its bjj vs nothing.

 

[ganssle]

Some background:

I am 26 years old and have black belts in Tae Kwon Do and Kyokushin, started Tae Kwon Do at 13 and finished kyokushin at 20. I have been inactive in martial arts for the past 5-6 years, but I have been staying in shape throughout the years by focusing entirely on strength training.

I want to get back into martial arts and I think working towards a belt in BJJ is something I want to achieve while I am still young, and I know it will take nearly 10 years to earn a black belt in BJJ. That being said, for those of you that have been studying bjj over the years; do you find it effective in a real-world fight?

While it's true that most fights end up on the ground, I want to confirm from students of bjj if the art has a strong correlation to real world situations. My main goal is to be able to handle myself against the average joe if I have no other choice. I am not interested in competing or turning pro.


Thanks in advance. Btw: Any recommendations on schools in the south-side Chicago area would be appreciated.

Your question is about whether or not BJJ is applicable to self defense against the average joe. Jesus christ.

 

[sosy1325]

Thanks in advance. Btw: Any recommendations on schools in the south-side Chicago area would be appreciated.

There is Mota Martial Arts in the western part of Bridgeport. They're cool guys but it's still a very small school (both in mat size and student body).

Uflacker Academy a little west of Midway and is a good size school and their guys compete a lot and do fairly well so that might be an option for you.

Valko BJJ (my gym) is not in the south side but easily accessible via the Red Line (I come from the south side myself and that's how I get there).

 

[IS NORM4L]

BJJ was first designed for "REAL SITUATIONS"

It was designed for the smaller, weaker guy to defend himself in a REAL FIGHT with no time limits.

Designed to defend intelligently while the bigger, stronger attacker gasses himself. ONLY then does the smaller BJJ guy use his knowledge of anatomy and leverage to get the big guys back and choke him the fuck out until he dies or taps for mercy.


Obviously with the explosion of BJJ it turned into a sport with 5 minute rounds and IBJJF rules. Athleticism and strength is much more important now and its less of a self defense martial art and more of a judo/wrestling like competition.



But classic BJJ is extremely effective in "REAL SITUATIONS" probably the most effective. Ill take a solid 185lb purple belt in BJJ who has been training 5-6 years over any other single martial art or brawling experienced street fighter in a street fight.

 

[raty tat tat]

BJJ was first designed for "REAL SITUATIONS"

It was designed for the smaller, weaker guy to defend himself in a REAL FIGHT with no time limits.

Designed to defend intelligently while the bigger, stronger attacker gasses himself. ONLY then does the smaller BJJ guy use his knowledge of anatomy and leverage to get the big guys back and choke him the fuck out until he dies or taps for mercy.


Obviously with the explosion of BJJ it turned into a sport with 5 minute rounds and IBJJF rules. Athleticism and strength is much more important now and its less of a self defense martial art and more of a judo/wrestling like competition.



But classic BJJ is extremely effective in "REAL SITUATIONS" probably the most effective. Ill take a solid 185lb purple belt in BJJ who has been training 5-6 years over any other single martial art or brawling experienced street fighter in a street fight.

I`am curious about something is it possible for a smaller fighter to beat someone
bigger then them if they the same amount of training?

As far as BJJ do you mean sub. only BJJ or MMA BJJ.

 

[Rod1]

In my personal experience, there is nothing that takes the fight out of someone than a good leg kick.

Dont know how your kyokushin training quality was, but if you can do a proper leg kick i wouldnt worry about the self-defense aspect of things. On the other hand BJJ is a really cool sport/martialart/hobby, definitively give a try.

There is also judo/wrestling/MMA/sambo which will also teach you how to keep a fight standing and will make you able to take people into the ground.

 

[deadlizard]

But classic BJJ is extremely effective in "REAL SITUATIONS" probably the most effective.

All of which you can learn on your own in an online self-study course.

 

[lechien]

But classic BJJ is extremely effective in "REAL SITUATIONS" probably the most effective. Ill take a solid 185lb purple belt in BJJ who has been training 5-6 years over any other single martial art or brawling experienced street fighter in a street fight.

I would choose a judoka and see how your purple belt fares on concrete.