Google Says

 

I am a long-time student of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu (13 years), and have noticed a recent upswell of people putting the art down.

I used the good-old Google to help me understand. I asked “What are the downsides of Jiu-Jitsu?”

It instantly came back with a lovely little list. Google said;

Cons

• The lack of striking techniques means that jiu-jitsu cannot be regarded as a complete fighting system.
• Jiu-jitsu is often taught as a sport for competition as opposed to self-defence which can result in injury if applied in a real-life altercation.
• Jiu-jitsu typically requires a partner.

I found this a very interesting set of responses, as Google normally just gives a list of web sites that refer to things people ask. My guess is that it is a common question that people want answered.

It is actually a pretty smart list of questions.

The first cites the lack of striking done in Jiu-Jitsu. Typically, this is very true. In sport-based schools they don’t have anything to do with hitting and are totally focused on grappling within the rules of Jiu-Jitsu competition. This, however, is not the complete picture.

In schools that focus more on self-defence students will learn how to handle strikers from day one. It is a huge part of the curriculum. However, even here the focus is not on how to become a striker.

Let’s look at the first well-known public display of a Jiu-Jitsu student going up against an accomplished striker in North America. It happened at the very first UFC event in 1993. A top-ten ranked boxer named Art Jimmerson faced off against Royce Gracie. Jimmerson’s record at the time was 29-5 and he would eventually go on to compete for the WBF world title.

For a little while the two circled each other. Gracie then blitzed in and took Jimmerson down to the mat, and climbed on top. Royce took his time, and just controlled the fight from the top. After about a minute of this, Jimmerson surrendered by tapping out. He later stated that he felt totally helpless, and couldn’t do anything about the situation. The total match lasted 2 minutes and 18 seconds.

In modern MMA this would no longer be the case. All the competitors are well versed in punching, kicking, wrestling, and grappling submissions.

The type of Jiu-Jitsu that Royce Gracie was an expert in had nothing to do with any kind of sport Jiu-Jitsu. He was all about self-defence fighting. He was very well prepared for some guy trying to punch him in the head.

This leads us to Google’s second answer about the weaknesses of Jiu-Jitsu. It is, “often taught as a sport for competition as opposed to self-defence which can result in injury if applied in a real-life altercation.”

Most Jiu-Jitsu schools are focused on sports techniques. While there is a significant overlap between sport fighting and self-defence, they are certainly NOT the same thing.

Let’s say you lock up one of Jiu-Jitsu’s signature moves on a sport partner; a triangle choke. Your partner stands up, lifting you up to his shoulder height. The sport answer to this will be to keep choking, as it is illegal to slam an opponent on the floor. In self-defence you NEVER let an opponent pick you up. Imagine being smashed down with all your and your opponent’s weight hitting concrete pavement.

Sometimes this happens in UFC fights. Although the mat is somewhat forgiving, the slammed competitor is often rendered unable to continue.

This is only one example. What will happen if you are trying to grapple with somebody who is trying to punch your face in at the same time? It is no big deal if you’ve trained and practiced for this eventuality, but horrendous if you have not.

At a school like mine, the entire focus for beginners is self-defence. They never free roll with anybody until they have a good, understanding of techniques that focus on the most likely real-world threats. The absolute minimum time spent on this is 8 months of training. After completing a comprehensive test they are then welcome to join our advanced group which focuses on sport as well as on self-defence. This not only gives students the skills they say they want when they first join up, it also reduces the chance of injury greatly.

The final Google Con to Jiu-Jitsu is one that I can’t argue against at all. It does require at least one training partner. Personally, I’ve tried working with dummy partners, but they are of extremely limited use. Some martial arts are full of drills and katas that work very well solo. Jiu-Jitsu does not. I’d say the most useful thing that can be done solo is watching instruction videos.

Anyhow, that’s what Google says is wrong with Jiu-Jitsu.