BJJ for Street Self-Defense

[warriors13]

I'm currently taking Muay Thai and want to add BJJ for self defense purposes to my arsenal. I can't fit the time to study both arts fulltime and found a school under Rickson Gracie that teaches a Street Self Defense class on Saturday from 11:00-2:00. My question is how effective is BJJ for street?

[MrPoopy]

There used to be this fat old guy that went by the name "Spankmesensless" or something like that. I understand that he recently reviewed a book put out by Gene Simco on BJJ self defense techniques. He is the man/thing you want to talk to.

[MrPoopy]

Oh wait, that was not a book. It's a series of DVD's.

[warriors13]

Actually I saw the review on themartialist.com. by Danny "Spanky" Rowell on Gene Simco Self Defense Made Easy DVD's. You can see it here:

http://www.themartialist.com/0604/sdme.htm

[MrPoopy]

Yes, that's the guy. "Spanky". Anyhow, those DVD's are supposed to be pretty good.

[CKD]

I will put it like this. Here is an comparison of grappling styles.
BJJ
Groundfighting Very Good
Throwing, Clinch and Takedowns- weak
Striking-Most teach none. The ones that do only use them as fakes to close the distance not harm. so that would classify it as weak.
Self defense techniques-Only about 4 schools teach bjj weapon defense. They do not teach multiple opponent defenses standing up or ground. They teach a few defense against common empty handed attacks but some people question even the empty handed stuff.

Judo
Groundfighting-O.k but most schools do little ground.
Throwing,Clinch, and takedowns-Throws with a gi are emphasized. They are very good.
Striking-There are atemi waza strikes but not a whole lot of schools train them
Self defense-No multiple opponent defenses, a few weapon defense in a form but I am not sure of there effectiveness.

Wrestling
Ground-O.k but there are no submission or guard techniques.
Takedowns, Clinch, and throwing-This is what wrestling is famous for and what enables some wrestlers to do good in mma. It is very good in this area.
Strikes-none
Self defense techniques-none

Sambo-its not really a grappling or striking art it is a complete art with equal emphasis on all areas but I thought I would add it.
Groundfighting-Very good groundfighting. It is equal and some say it even surpasses bjj in one on one groundfighting. It is known for its wicked leg locks. It also includes things BJJ does not have such as groundfighting against multiple attackers or one with a weapon.
Throwing,Takedowns, and clinch- Takes the best from wrestling, judo, and native soviet styles. It has very good takedowns. Sambo also is famous for its throws that lead into subs. It also includes stuff wrestling and judo do not have in this area such as striking in the clinch, defense against multiple attackers and weapons in the clinch.
Striking-Takes techniques from muay thai, boxing and a few other styles. Its striking is very good and includes what to do against multiples and weapons.
Self defense-Defenses against multiple attackers, weapons and other street things in all ranges. For self defense stuff look no further.
*Note the self defense meant techniques against multiple opponents, weapons and other things not allowed in sport.

[EmptyneSs]

i dont think bjj is that great for self defense. if ur attacked on the street and somene tries to grapple with u, then its good, but i personally think muay thai will serve u much better for self defense. u know, i actually watched a gracie video that covered the self defense aspect of bjj. all the self defense stuff was standing up. they covered stuff like what to do if somosne grabs ur shirt or tries to choke u and whatnot. there was also some techniques that resembled judo in it. the teqchniques however didnt resemble the bjj that ive seen being taught here. the bjj u will most likely learn in CA is competition oriented.focus on ur muay thai if u want self defense. or if u want to take another art, i reccomend judo. the self defense aspect of judo isnt really seen immediately because it will take some time and practice until u are good enough to use judo for self defense, but it makes u really good on ur feet, and it makes u good at stopping takedowns, as well as executing them. black belts in judo can just stand there and tool with people like its nothing. when i was training, the black belts would toss us around without even trying, it was rediculous. also, when u watch 2 blackbelts do randori, u see how good they are on their feet, its almost impossible for someone to take them to the ground since they train so hard to stay on their feet. judo + muay thai = awesomeness

[MrPoopy]

The self defense aspects of Judo are in the clinches and holds. You may have seen demonstrations of some corny wrist locks when someone comes at you with a knife or some crap like that, but trust me, it's in the clinches and holds. Do Judo for a while and you'll see. Once you establish a good hold on his clothing or tie up with him, he'll be on his ass when he tries to punch and kick you.

[EmptyneSs]

oh btw, my judo instructor made us start with grappling. we started from the ground up, so there actually was a good deal of grappling in the judo i learned. i got a realy good base in grappling. i dont know if other schools are like this. i know that my insctructors judo was more of a european kind so it may be different from other instrucors, but grappling was a huge part of judo. i mean, in judo a way of scoring in competition or is to pin the person for like 20 seconds or so, or armlock or choke him. judo grappling isnt in depth as bjj, but its not bad. i know a blackbelt in judo who joined bjj and was wiping the mat with everyone, even the bluebelts with ease. he got his bluebelt recently even though he only been training for a little while, and he goes to competitions and destroys people with the grappling he learned in judo.

[CKD]

The self defense aspects of Judo are in the clinches and holds. You may have seen demonstrations of some corny wrist locks when someone comes at you with a knife or some crap like that, but trust me, it's in the clinches and holds. Do Judo for a while and you'll see. Once you establish a good hold on his clothing or tie up with him, he'll be on his ass when he tries to punch and kick you.

What I meant by self defense is the defenses against multiple opponents and weapons. Not the what judo is best at. I told what judo is best at in the throwing and clinches. Oh and the video tapes Spanky reviewed. They are a combination of a few arts besides BJJ and you are only likely to learn them if you train under Gene Simco. Most schools do not train in those defenses. I would suggest looking at the chart I made. Those are the facts about the techniques in the arts not the opinions. Look and decide which one you would like.

[CKD]

oh btw, my judo instructor made us start with grappling. we started from the ground up, so there actually was a good deal of grappling in the judo i learned. i got a realy good base in grappling. i dont know if other schools are like this. i know that my insctructors judo was more of a european kind so it may be different from other instrucors, but grappling was a huge part of judo. i mean, in judo a way of scoring in competition or is to pin the person for like 20 seconds or so, or armlock or choke him. judo grappling isnt in depth as bjj, but its not bad. i know a blackbelt in judo who joined bjj and was wiping the mat with everyone, even the bluebelts with ease. he got his bluebelt recently even though he only been training for a little while, and he goes to competitions and destroys people with the grappling he learned in judo.

Then your school is unique. Most schools start standing up, heck even bjj schools start standing up but they teach you about 4 takedowns and then all you do is ground. Most judo schools concentrate mostly on standup with little ground and moslty do pins on ground. But judo is not the all end in stand up grappling as you seem to suggest.Wrestlers have done well and sambo players could stand up with the judo players and really revoulutionized judo.

[warriors13]

Thanks for all the advice! Sambo looks the most interesting to me from reading the chart by CKD. As a matter of fact, just yesterday I did a search on Yahoo and found a school in the Sacramento area that teaches Judo and Sambo. I live about 55 minutes from the place however, my brother lives just a few minutes away and said he might check it out. As for the BJJ Self Defense class, I'm going to pass on it for now. I still might pick up the Gene Simco DVD's though.

[Szczepankiewicz]

BJJ is an excellent martial art. It is mechanically sound and the principles are universally applicable.

The problem in the past has been junior lackys get on forums and preach that it is the do all end all for everything.

Self-defense is not an art, but a mind set. As Rich Dimitri says in the latest issue of The Martialist, it's 90% mental.

Finally!!! Gene Simco has put out a truly excellent DVD set on how to take the mechanics of BJJ and apply them in self-defense situations, with the proper mind set. It's not about winning or losing, submitting or tapping... it's about gettin' that muthafokka off of you and getting home safe to mama.

It's good stuff hombres.

Spanky

[gregimotis]

SPANKY'S back! We missed you spank (sniffle).

[Thai Bri]

Adding BJJ to youre arsenal is a god idea. Making it your only weapon is not.