Brazillian Jiu Jitsu

[Poolcue]

Hi folks,

I'm based in the UK where the practice of BJJ by police is non existent, certainly in a professional capacity. I only know of a handful who train and compete in their spare time.

I have been training for 1.5 years and I am currently a 2x stripe white belt. Progression for me, whilst important comes second to my absolute need for self confidence. I am part of the GFT Team, led by world champion black belt Rdolfo Viera.

Does anyone else train? It would be good to connect with other LEO's who practice BJJ.

Thanks,
Pete

[tanksoldier]

BJJ's main disadvantage as a law enforcement system is that if focuses on grappling and ground fighting.

It's great for a one-on-one fight, not so great when the guy you're trying to arrest has 3 friends.

At least here in the US you can't afford to be tangled up with one subject that long.

If it works for you, great... but I'd suggest keeping in mind when the BJJ techniques will work on the street and when they won't.

[usmc_0352]

To add to what Tanksoldier said, here in the states since its legal, everyone carries a pocket knife, or in my case 3 Knives. So even in a one - on - one fight, it is highly likely that an edged weapon will come into play. Something to really keep in mind when deciding which, if any BJJ techniques will be appropriate.

[USMCPOG]

BJJ's main disadvantage as a law enforcement system is that if focuses on grappling and ground fighting.

It's great for a one-on-one fight, not so great when the guy you're trying to arrest has 3 friends.

At least here in the US you can't afford to be tangled up with one subject that long.

If it works for you, great... but I'd suggest keeping in mind when the BJJ techniques will work on the street and when they won't.

What belt are you? This is the biggest myth in all of BJJ. You do know BJJ was derived from Judo right? It also teaches throws, trips, sweeps, escapes, and reversals which I gurantee you all would come in handle if you get put on your back in a fight, which happens in most fights as soon as someone gets hits. The better you are at BJJ or wrestling, the less chane you'll end up on your back. With a striking art like boxing or muay thai, its great for having a chance in multi opponent situations too. Note how I said "chance", but I've no doubt if your a high level blue belt or purple belt and above who trains regularly and is athletic that you would have no problem taking on multiple opponents barring there are no weapons involved (besides yours).

Trust me, the best thing you can do besides weapons training as a cop is to regularly practice BJJ. When I was in the academy, I was the only guy in my class of 30+ to have actually trained before (was a 1 stripe blue, but had been out of training for 1-2 years) and after sparring with my classmates, I noticed how timid they were and easy to control. BJJ doesn't just make you a better fighter, it strengthens you mentally too and teaches you to fight your way out of unfavorable situations.

I'm hoping to get back into it soon myself and eventually take an amateur fight one day (was my original plan for training in the first place.)

[brownj21]

I have trained and am still training in BJJ, as a part of a MMA curriculum and agree that it can really help an officer out. I highly recommend all officers work on ground AND standing offense and defense.

[Langford PR]

I highly endorse BJJ and any of the arts mentioned above, and more.....I don't care what 'art' you choose.....its what works for you. No 'technique' from any of the 'arts' is perfect for LE but they are ALL better than nothing. Do what you like and become as proficient as possible.

[judoka]

I've competed in folk/freestyle/greco wrestling, submission wrestling and judo. I've trained mma and boxing. Currently I'm ikkyu in judo. As much as I like bjj, I stay with judo because I like throwing people.

[tanksoldier]

What belt are you?

In which art? Over the years I've studied Akido, Uechi-Ryu Karate, Tae Kwon Do and Krav Maga.

Just because I haven't practiced an art doesn't mean I have nothing to offer on it.

You do know BJJ was derived from Judo right?

Relevance? In any case Judo I think would be a far better art than BJJ for law enforcement.

Akido I think is very good, all of my hands-on incidents have involved things I learned from Akido, but an arm lock is pretty much an arm lock no matter what style teaches it.

The problem with BJJ is the philosophy, which encourages taking fights to the ground. In LE you may end up there but you don't want that to be your default.

The better you are at BJJ or wrestling, the less chane you'll end up on your back.

There are dozens of arts that provide the same benefit. High-school wrestling provides that benefit.

I didn't say BJJ was worthless, I said there are better options available.

If BJJ is your thing, it's better than nothing. Just THINK about what you're doing and why you're doing it in a real fight.

[ArmyVet]

I highly endorse BJJ and any of the arts mentioned above, and more.....I don't care what 'art' you choose.....its what works for you. No 'technique' from any of the 'arts' is perfect for LE but they are ALL better than nothing. Do what you like and become as proficient as possible.

I agree with this completely. What works best for one person, may not be as effective for someone else and vice versa. There are so many other benefits to training regularly such as reading body language, reacting faster, and learning to fight through.

The better you are at BJJ or wrestling, the less chance you'll end up on your back.

You can be in a dominant position on your back in BJJ and I know some who prefer to fight from there. Wrestling...not so much. I know plenty of people who transition from wrestling to BJJ and have a difficult time accepting this concept. The other thing to keep in mind when studying BJJ is that it's a sport. Even when practicing a striking art you're using control, but I caution people who study BJJ to not wait for a tap in self defense situations.

[Resq14]

I like how our state training curriculum "cherry picks" LE appropriate defensive tactics moves from across the spectrum of martial arts, wrestling, boxing, and fighting. Simplicity and commonality in technique are emphasized in selecting moves to teach, along with the reality of the street: weapons, no referee, multiple opponents, no tapping out, how a UOF looks, size/weight differentials, varied experience, etc. The lead instructors determine the state curriculum based on their extensive LE and competition experience.

In an instructor class I just completed (the best class I've ever taken btw), it was suggested that if we were interested in learning an art, BJJ was at the top of their list for the average street cop. I have no formal training, but I'm very interested in it.

[HappyP]

I am not a police officer yet, but I'd like to chime in. I have trained BJJ off and on for two years (currently a white belt) and recently began training in Muay Thai. I would never take a fight to the ground if I expected to have more than one opponent; that's just dangerous. However, in a one versus one situation, BJJ has made me feel comfortable in almost any position I get into.

If you're claustrophobic, BJJ really helps that (or it has, in my experience). It forces you to control your breathing, slow down, and think logically. A big thing for me has always been a fear of the "ground and pound" position. BJJ has taught me enough to 1) not put myself in that position and 2) methods of escape if I ever find myself in that position.

You see it all the time. Someone is getting wailed on in the ground and pound and they just lay there covering their face, because they have no clue what to do. That's a bad situation to be in. Let's also be realistic about this...most people don't know jiu-jitsu; they may have wrestled, but the two arts are very different.

I began Muay Thai earlier this year to learn stand-up and I believe that the two arts work quite well together.

[Roller2200]

Well said HAPPYP

[IAM Rand]

Dang, again I mistook this thread for something else. I though you were talking about another way women get waxed. Oh well.

Never mind, carry on.

[Kris396]

Just because you train BJJ doesn't mean you always HAVE to adopt the mentality of taking a fight to the ground. It's very useful if you end up on the ground though (not by choice). To know you are experienced and comfortable with ground fighting can be very helpful if you end up on your back. Just like krav maga, just because they teach you 958 ways to de-man somebody doesn't mean you have to use it in every physical confrontation. I firmly believe that every form of martial arts has some strong advantages in certain situations and disadvantages in others and one should be aware of them when using them in the real world (and not just sparring those with the same discipline in a controlled environment). Take the skills you learn and apply them with discretion.

As far as being pertinent to law enforcement, I think ANY martial arts form that teaches you self defense will be useful in a deadly physical force situation. That said, something like Akido may be more useful in other ways other than just defending your life in a DPF scenario.

that's my opinion anyway and everyone's got one