The Best Self-Defense Weapon You Have

Just because you’re familiar with flying arm bars or rear naked chokes, doesn’t mean that you should use them. Many experienced grapplers know that sometimes the best self-defense you can use in a altercation is to walk away. Let’s look at the reasons why.

Reason #1 to Walk Away: There Could Be Multiple Opponents

If you’re at a public venue and get into a physical altercation, you never know just how many opponents you’re dealing with. The person you’re fighting may have friends who, while not around now, may get involved in the fight later. While self-defense oriented martial arts like Brazilian Jiu jitsu are perfectly suited for a single attacker, they are horrible against multiple opponents. There may be times when you simply can’t help but fight, but as a general rule of thumb, always try to avoid sketchy situations like these.

Reason #2 to Walk Away: You Could Go to Jail

Not only can you go to jail, but also if there are not witnesses, you might end up being accused as the attacker! This is where being able to restrain your BJJ abilities come into play. If you gain a dominant position when in a fight against an attacker, do your best not to severely injure them.

For example, if you break one of their bones or pound on their face, the police are going to arrive and automatically accuse you as the attacker and them the victim. Most BJJ enthusiasts and experts already know the consequences of misusing your skills during a fight, which is why they recommend walking away if you get the chance.

Walking Away – The Best Self-Defense Weapon You HaveWhat to Say and How to say it

99% of the time, you’ll know before a physical altercation actually begins. It’s very rare that you’ll get sucker punched out of the blue. With that being said, make sure that you use this “grace period” to demonstrate to the surrounding witnesses that you don’t want to fight (even if you really do want to fight). Very loudly say, “I don’t want to fight! I don’t want to fight!” Have your hands up as though you want to walk away.

Now, if your opponent does decide to attack, they’ll be the one who ends up getting into trouble. And remember, if you have the chance to walk away, then take it – the last thing you want is to get into a fight unnecessarily (even if you are the better fighter).