Many people ask how Jiu Jitsu for Self defense works. The truth is that most practitioners never want to get involved in a fight and are going to do whatever they can to avoid a fight, instead Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is about knowing that you are prepared when something does happen, it is about feeling confident in your ability to defend yourself.
With Jiu Jitsu for Self Defense you can fight someone twice your size.
People often wonder why BJJ training is considered much better than some of the other self-defense strategies that are available. The reason for it is that Jiu Jitsu neutralizes any strength and size advantage that a potential assailant has over you. For example, if you are a 5’4 woman it can be empowering and great for your physical fitness to take a boxing class, but if you find yourself coming across a male assailant who stands at 6’3 and weighs close to 200 pounds, the boxing technique is not going to be helpful to you.
Jiu Jitsu for self defense is different because it provides you with the ability and expertise to bring a fight to the ground, once on the ground it does not matter if the person is stronger or taller than you are…because any strength or size advantage is negated once you reach the ground.
One of the problems with most self-defense classes that happen in a real life struggle is that people often cannot use what they practiced in the ‘real world’. After all, if you have been training in boxing there is no guarantee that your assailant is not going to attack you from behind or kick you – suddenly your training becomes useless. However, most real fights have a tendency to end up on the ground anyway and that is where your experience with BJJ is going to become beneficial to you.
If you live in the Portland, OR area and decide that you want to start training in Jiu Jitsu be sure to find a school that meets your needs. Ultimately, BJJ training is amazing for fitness, self-defense, and discipline. However, you are only going to have as many benefits as your school can offer you. That is why it is important that you decide upon a school that meets your requirements.