Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a very brutal martial art when you’ve come to master it. It may take ten years to become a seasoned black belt but the pay-off is well worth the wait and effort. People who dare agree should just look at the professional BJJ fighters participating in MMA tournaments.
BJ Penn is one of the most renowned BJJ fighters in the world and is one of the only people to have earned the black belt in just three years. He has since switched to MMA after his appearance in UFC and his historical ladder of success has been a reminder to the world how powerful BJJ can be in the right hands.
There are many others like the members of the Gracie family who started Brazilian Jiu Jitsu after learning and altering the original art of Judo, Antonio Rodrigo Noguiero, Nick Diaz, and Jake Shields. If you need proof that BJJ is a formidable art, all you need to do is look at the masters.
Size and Strength No Longer Matter
One of the main issues with striking arts like Karate is that the force of an impact depends greatly on size and strength of the practitioner. A small person always a disadvantage compared to a hulking brute. In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, this problem is eliminated.
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is designed so that grabs, submissions, and locks are the most important techniques. Even a small person can throw and arm-lock a bigger opponent into defeat. The advantage of size and strength are gone because even a smaller, weaker opponent can outsmart their foe with a quick counter-lock and grapple.
This is mostly because of the use of the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu gi. The gi allows any opponent a chance to grab and manipulate their foe.
Of course this is also why some critics call it impractical on the streets – in real life, people don’t wear gi or Brazilian Jiu Jitsu belts to distinguish skill and experience so how are you going to fight them then?
Fighting Outside of the Ring
Without the gi, without the belts, you would think that the techniques of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu fall on the side. However, as any experienced Jiu Jitsu fighter would tell you, that misconception of the art is very wrong.
For one thing, people wear shirts, jackets, pants, and others. It’s illegal in just about every place in the planet to roam the city naked. If by some chance the person is wearing something that isn’t easily grabbed, Jiu Jitsu teaches its practitioners how the moves are done empty handed.
This means every technique is easy to manipulate so that they can be done in the real world. All the brutal throws, submissions, locks, and others can be done for self-defense and more.
