Your friends view of BJJ or Grappling

[snakeybizz]

Most of mine think what I do is gay and ineffective...

"bro if you came in on me I'd just push you away and knock you out"

"bro you do wrestling, you think you can just tombstone piledrive me? that shits fake"

I don't think 1993 changed anything for the vast majority, most seem to think a fight plays out like a movie with the action star blocking punches and fucking multiple guys up in a room

They truly believe they could just disengage a grappler at will, bro I wouldn't just let you take me down and choke me out wtf is this shit?

Me on the other hand my whole opinion of toughness or as we say in the north of england "being hard" has completely changed.

I use to think I was a fairly tough dude before any training, not a beast like I could knock people out but at least I could stand and bang with most people...the reality is I'm not tough at all, my coach is just one of many who could full on MURDER me... not beat me in a fight, the guy could full on end my life...that's both amazing and scary at the same time, I'm not okay with the fact someone could end my life with there barehands...its one of the reasons I train...along with other aspects like fitness and fun etc

ignorance is bliss huh? Joe Rogan brought it up the other day on his Robin Black podcast about people thinking some how if it came to life or death they could beat a trained martial artists using there toughness and mentality lol

what do you friends and family think about BJJ/Wrestling?... do they respect what you do is legit or do they question why you roll around with other dudes in pajama thingys

 

[D1wrestla]

Most of my friends are/were wrestlers so they understand. Your friends sound like tools.

 

[mj12]

 

[Was Exiled]

Interesting point you made, it's actually a huge motivator for me as well - The fact that there are so many better grapplers than me, that just means there are THAT many people out there who would literally kill me if it came to it hypothetically, and I don't like being bad at things I like, in this case hand to hand combat.

 

[ShinkanPo]

My relatives and other friends think its too dangerous and physically demanding. While my other set of friends thinks all wrestling is pro wrestling where finish your opponents by jumping and stumping them for jumping from the corner post shit with a chair.

 

[snakeybizz]

Interesting point you made, it's actually a huge motivator for me as well - The fact that there are so many better grapplers than me, that just means there are THAT many people out there who would literally kill me if it came to it hypothetically, and I don't like being bad at things I like, in this case hand to hand combat.

yep its something I've been thinking about a lot...there's tons of people out there that can kill me and I don't like that!

every time I tap I'm like god damn that guy could of murdered me...that's essentially what a tap signifys for me...congratulations you could of just ended my life...its a great motivator too get good at something I've found

keep tapping me, I need to know I can be tapped so I train hard

 

[Was Exiled]

My relatives and other friends think its too dangerous and physically demanding. While my other set of friends thinks all wrestling is pro wrestling where finish your opponents by jumping and stumping them for jumping from the corner post shit with a chair.

Yeah my dad's a doctor and when I told him about it he thinks it sounds like the most brutal thing ever, when it obviously isn't. So now if I ever tell him about any ailment I have (most recently it's turf toe from when I toe-bogged a football barefoot) his immediate reaction is "Oh you should definitely stop that wrestling stuff anyway, preferably for good".

 

[peytonlucy]

My father taught me what a kimura is in 1967 or 1968. He didn't know what it was called. Learning what a kimura is during a fight is not a good experience. I can't grapple on any serious level but I can see that certain things are highly effective against those with zero training. For example, leg kicks to those who don't know how to a check one. Look at Hughes vs. Renzo. Renzo had a lifetime of training, has trained countless fighters and police officers but he was helpless against a third -rate leg kicker like Hughes.

The opposing argument is that the typical emergency room report is person A has a broken jaw and person B has a broken hand (one punch ko breaks jaw and hand.)

 

[RJ Green]

people that don't grapple aren't your real friends.

 

[cms9690]

Your friends sound like pretentious douchebags.

All of my friends have grappled a little and respected it, even if it was just a one of experience like attending bjj for the first and only time.

 

[snakeybizz]

well its not just my friends, the view they have represents the majority imo...I usually drill in the back of a gym which is next to the cardio suite...so people have to walk past the mats to get to the cardio machines and you get some super funny faces lol like wtf these guys doing?

I'd say the majority of uneducated people out there don't recognize the effectiveness of grappling

 

[georgejjr]

Those who aren't in grappling themselves have almost no opinion on the subject. Seriously, grappling (and even MMA) are very niche activities, and don't warrant a second thought from most folks. Of course, I'm middle aged, and work in engineering, so combat sports isn't exactly on the radar with my co-workers/friends/family.

People take more interest if I talk about a pick-up game of hockey or baseball then anything to do with combat sport. Though I guess you could argue that hockey is a combat sport.

I suppose that's a good thing; better no opinion than some of the bad opinions I've read hear - WWE etc.

 

[Gojujutsu]

I've been a grown adult and living on my own for years and my mother is still concerned that I'm doing something too dangerous. On the other hand my dad wrestled in school and every so often when he's in town he'll show me a wrestling move or two I can try to work in. He's even been to watch me compete. I also work for my uncle, who can't seem to understand that I train jiu jitsu and not "UFC".

 

[biscuitsbrah]

Most people dont know anything about grappling. Its pretty bizarre and hard to understand if you have no experience with it.

Im also pretty insecure about knowing someone could easily kill me by locking up a RNC or Guillotine... Get caught in those 24/7

 

[ijustwannasurf]

people that don't grapple aren't your real friends.

Selah.

My people train currently, have trained, or have been involved in enough dumb shit to know the value of keeping yourself safe on the street.

 

[Was Exiled]

Also yeah, ever since Conor Mcgregor burst onto the scene all my friends have a pretty good idea what grappling is and that it's effective.

 

[Kingbedlam]

I don't think 1993 changed anything for the vast majority, most seem to think a fight plays out like a movie with the action star blocking punches and fucking multiple guys up in a room

Its not just the untrained masses. Some of things MA practitioners say to me just really blow my mind. A lot of these guys are absolutely clueless, and it really makes me wonder what's being taught at dojos and gyms around the country. I've met guys who don't spar because their art is "too deadly". I've met people who thinking biting and eye gouging can save you from getting snatched up by a person who wants to wrestle you to the ground. I've met guys who think that pretty forms and demonstrations translates into fighting ability.

What really bothers me the most are all the women taking MA who aren't really learning how to fight or protect themselves. They're just learning an Asian dance routine that won't amount to a hill of beans when their drunken boyfriend lays on top of them. I know that kind of veered off topic, but I walked past a Kukki TKD class the other day and saw so many women practicing it that it really surprised me. In both my Judo and Bjj classes there are almost no women present.

I wonder why that is...

 

[snakeybizz]

Its not just the untrained masses. Some of things MA practitioners say to me just really blow my mind. A lot of these guys are absolutely clueless, and it really makes me wonder what's being taught at dojos and gyms around the country. I've met guys who don't spar because their art is "too deadly". I've met people who thinking biting and eye gouging can save you from getting snatched up by a person who wants to wrestle you to the ground. I've met guys who think that pretty forms and demonstrations translates into fighting ability.

What really bothers me the most are all the women taking MA who aren't really learning how to fight or protect themselves. They're just learning an Asian dance routine that won't amount to a hill of beans when their drunken boyfriend lays on top of them. I know that kind of veered off topic, but I walked past a Kukki TKD class the other day and saw so many women practicing it that it really surprised me. In both my Judo and Bjj classes there are almost no women present.

I wonder why that is...

you have to experience it...I'm convinced of that, until you experience it in someway then you will believe in action film fight scenes...I was introduced to it fairly early when I was 16 and my 55kg girlfriend could fucking launch me about with me fully resisting

...her dad was black belt in judo and taught her everything he knew lol...I knew then how effective grappling could be...although I don't do judo same thing applies...I didn't train for another 6 years after that but still made me aware of grappling and its effectiveness..until then I was like the masses pfft if my gf tried to throw me i'd just punch her and knock her out...in 100 attempts maybe I would once...the other 99 times I'm going for a ride

 

[Irenaeus]

They think it's a little weird, but we're mostly supportive of each others' interests.

I have pretty good friends.

 

[chunglii]

If I ever encounter skeptics, where they are my friends or people I've just met, and they say the things you described in the OP, I find the best thing to do is just smile and laugh it off, OR better yet, invite them to train.

"I would just push you away if you tried to grab me."

"Would you like to come to the academy with me one day and you can try? My school offers a free first class."

"Oh, well, uhh... Uuuuh..."

I've yet to have any skeptics, doubters, or naysayers accept the offer to come to the academy with me.