Is bjj affective in a street fight?

I've been taking bjj for about a month now. I really like it and don't really care about "street fights". However, when I read the comments on youtube when I watch jiu jitsu spars, I keep seeing the occasional person saying jiu jitsu is useless in a street fight. I understand there isn't any striking with bjj, but it would seem to me in the event of a street fight it would be good to know how to grapple so I'm not just flapping around like a flounder when I get knocked down. I plan on learning muay thai as well so I get the best of both worlds.

So is bjj good to know for fighting out side the ring? It would seem to me it is. I get the impression most the people posting on youtube have never grappled, and are not impressed with what they see on youtube, or are just idiot high school kids.

What do you think?

Thanks.

One on one it is very effective.

Two or more on one and you are fucked.

This about covers it. Even as a brown belt, there is still No way I'd use it in a street fight–– I'll backpedal and throw fists.

That about sums it up.

More than one? Stay on your feet or you will get kicked in the head.

Someone good at any fighting style should be better than when they were not.

I have seen a couple of fights where the karate kid gets his ass handed to him by a good'ol boy but it would have been much worse if they didn't have any skills.

I have also seen it the other way around.

You wouldn't use it one on one?

That ain't no shit

as long as you can get the guy down it is.

Well I guess if you can get his pants down and hold him there a BJ would be a great defense.

You 100% sure that it's 1v1?... Most likely not 100% sure eh?... Getting your grape stomped is bad times. Even 1v1––> Do they have a knife? You sure? Groundfighting + Knife can go bad real quick.

I'm more comfortable on my feet boxing ( 3years more boxing than Grappling experience), So my opinion is biased.

BJJ can be useful as long as you take control to get the attack to that level,
but many factors including weapons can alter the outcome wildly.

If I have a mind set to hyperextend your arm and I have to put my thumb in your eye to get there so be it,
there is no such thing as a fair fight only who is going to the hospital and who is going to jail.

So you wouldn't knock the guy down. But it is good to know in the event the other guy knocks you down. So it is useful.

I'm a police officer in a rough place. I do my best to avoid fights, but they happen. Now, my aims are probably different than yours in a fight, but I use Judo, Boxing, and BJJ consistently. Knowing good joint manipulation will get you places.

In the heat of the moment I prefer the 'bend one way, if it bent to easy bend the other way menthod'!

Would you ever assume that it is going to be one on one? Street fights are not sanctioned BJJ or MMA fight with rules. You are in a dynamic environment, end it as quick and violent as possible.

BJJ is a cool martial art in that you get to practice how good you are in a live environment. Some martial arts don't have that same feedback mechanism. In a situation where I need to use it, I think someone would have gotten too far inside my comfort zone. I personally don't envision myself fighting just to fight. I kind of figure if it's worth going to fists over, then it's probably worth going to guns.

You can play all kinds of hypothetical situations where it would work or it wouldn't work. It would literally be the worst martial art if you were fighting in lava or a pit of snakes. If you like it, then do it. You'll gain some self defense skill up, probably get some cardio and have a good time.

Pit of snakes or lava!

Shit bro where do you come up with this stuff! Luv it!!!

IN before Krav Maga crowd.

The one thing about bjj that has always bugged me is that someone could simply use their teeth on you and mess you up. Take the triangle choke for instance. You could be missing a nutsack because of it.

Real Tier 1 guys master Systema.

I think that the most important grappling work you can do is training to stay up, or get back up as quickly as possible (including escapes). I have been fortunate enough that I have never really needed to fight outside of work. However, working as a cop, I have seen a lot of street fights, and the ground is a bad place to be.

An ironic caveat, I suppose, is that with the popularity boom that BJJ has seen since the 90s, the ground is sometimes safer. You find that there are a lot of people who think that watching MMA on TV has taught them how to fight on the ground. Really, they are just sloppy messes, so you end up with guys hugging it out on the ground. Of course, that is still a place that I wouldn't want to be.

do what I do and just don't waste your time with the comments

Any skill is better than no skill. No amount off realistic training will really allow you to fight off multiple attackers like in a movie. You versus four guys, they dogpile you and stomp you out. Bjj will end a fight with one guy guy fast and end it hard.

One on one? When the fight to the ground I had the upper hand for a little bit till 7 of his friends show up and stomped on head smashing it into pavement. Ended up with a severe concussion.

If you dont know BJJ then you will be defeated by BJJ. Period. I have used it (literally)on the street against, multiple attackers (2) and yes it is extremely effective. I have boxed since I was 16, fought amateur and had hard sparring with some of the biggest names in the sport. You use a skill like that on the street and there is no way you can control the outcome. You stand a good chance of knocking somebody out cold. With BJJ you can put on a submission and given the situation, decide whether or not you want or need to proceed with finishing the move i.e armlock, kimura choke etc. Light someone up with a right uppercut and you will almost assuredly be standing in front of the judge. In my case I just held the dude in a belly down kimura while I waited for the po-po (which took 8 agonizing minutes)

In a real fight you never want to go to the ground.

Then why does the entire US military teach ground fighting?

I think everyone should have some basic Judo skills. It would help your takedown defense and possibly give you the option off dropping some clown on his head.

In case it DOES go to the ground. You yourself stated "if you don't know it, you're screwed".

Regardless of your one anecdotal experience of a 2v1, for 99% of people out there, 2v1 on the ground is an EASY way to get stomped. It takes 3-7 seconds of a FULLY sunk RNC to cause a boy to pass out. So that's 3-7seconds of his homeboy stomping the shit out of you.

Mobility is your friend in a fight ESPECIALLY with multiple assailants. What if there's a knife involved? Go to the ground? If that's your answer, you're a f'n retard. The probability of getting serious damage initiating a takedown with a knife-weilder, not to mention closing the distance, and then trying to manipulate his weapon once ON the ground?... Like I said––> Retarded.

Screw "having to go in front of the judge". If your fight was justifiable, why worry?

Lose your BJJ hard-on. It's not the end-all-be-all. It has it's place.

To make you a more well rounded fighter in case it does go to the ground.

The OP said he planned on learning Muay Thai as well. Knowing BJJ and a striking technique will make you a well rounded fighter.

One of the nice things about BJJ is you can spar at 100% and not get too banged up, gets you used to fighting. Judo would be a better choice though I think. Been trying to find somewhere that teaches it, seems to be a lot less common than BJJ.

I got pretty messed up when some over zealous dude decided to use the can opener on me while sparring. There is some stuff in bjj you shouldn't be going 100% with or even doing at all.

Like 100 mph leg locks. We used to have one of those guys at our gym.

Knife fighting? Really? One anecdotal experience? I can give you dozens and dozens of examples why grappling is the most important skill in self defense. So whats your best martial arts move for taking on a knife wielding thug and 7 of his buddies? answer- There is none. You are f'ed either way.If you are lucky you wake up in a hospital bed. And creating these impossible scenarios in your head to downplay the importance of grappling is sheer stupidity on your part. Practically every fight goes to the ground. Every single military and police agency teaches BJJ of some sort. There is a reason.

As for what will I do when some homeboy tries sinking in his best version of a RNC he learned from UFC or his buddy? Well simple. Exactly what I do in the gym 10 or 15 times a week when rolling with some of the top grapplers on the east coast. And when Im done with escaping his half assed RNC I will execute my REAL brazilian jiujitsu on him and things will be over with alot faster than you think. If you think some punk ghetto trash has the ass to knock my lights out that too my friend is a mistake on your part.

While I agree with everything you posted, I'm reminded of one of my favorite quotes:

"Just because you are the better fighter, it doesn't mean you are going to win."

Just remember, even homeboys, thugs, and punks can get lucky.

You may not want to go to the ground. But it will.

I am not saying bjj is the best. But its my best skill.

I am going to use what I know, and what comes automatically to me.

-Dan

Just because you can 'take care of them fast', doesn't mean you're not vulnerable while doing so. You're stationary, on the ground, and have 3-4limbs tied up when you're doing any submission. Even if the thug is HORRIBLE at grappling, He still is tying up your limbs while you "Kimura him for 8 minutes"... and should Thug 2 roll around the corner and see you cranking on his boy? You get stomped.

It's not me making scenarios just to defeat grappling, it's me being realistic. Knives happen. Friends happen. and I'll be Damned if I'm gonna roll around on the ground as anything other than a 'last resort'.

Continue your blind worship of grappling as the ultimate self defense, continue to train with 'the best on the east coast', but remember, you're training a SPORT...

Or you could take what I say, think critically about it, and realize: 1) I agree in a controlled 1v1 environment, your purple belt will most likely be good enough for grappling skills against 90% of people out there. 2) Getting thumped on while grappling is totally different than BJJ. and 3) Mobility is key with multiple assailants, and when there are UNKNOWNS such as weapons or backup, why risk being tied up on the ground, however brief of a time that you think you'll be there.


ETA:

I'm not just talking out of my ass and ripping on BJJ. I've been boxing for nearly 15 years, doing Muay Thai for 13, and did BJJ/MMA for ~10? before I 'retired' due to injury. I'm MUCH better groundfighting than standup, but I have no illusion that it's smart to go to the ground with so many unknowns.

They absolutely can.

BJJ builds some great attributes. So does boxing, judo, FMA and a whole slew of other disciplines. People are looking for one-stop-shopping and it doesn't exist in this case.

Oh, shit. I thought I logged back into Sherdog for a second.

Does nobody in SDF train Krav Maga? They can disarm 15 attackers wielding guns and knives.

This is why I quit visiting the MMA forums... 5? years ago...

LOL! MMA is the one sport that brings out mouth breathers. You'll never hear a sane person say "You know what, I bet I could beat Kobe 1v1". Go to any sports bar on a UFC night and you'll hear "GSP is so washed up. I could wrap up his body kick and take him to the ground".

This video is lovely. I wish I would have turned the sound off first, though.

CCW trumps BJJ in a 'street fight'.

Seriously, why do people keep asking this kind of shit? If the 'fight' doesn't merit deadly force, you should NOT be in it. If it does, you should be shooting the motherfucker in the face.

If you want to compete in MMA, then a groundfighting base is very important, but the best MMA guys are obviously very good at both grappling and striking.

That looks like that no touch knockout shit.

Don't worry, Systema is real.

True but their are times a fist fight can be unavoidable. And a fist fight doesn't always warrant use of your CCW.

burlysoldier, I am curious as to where you train? Have you ever competed? I am really interested in the big names you train with. I am not calling you a liar or anything I am just curious. Also the guy that said just use your CCW. 1. I am pretty sure you have to be 21 to carry, at least in VA you do. 2. What if your gun has a malfunction. 3. What if you don't have your gun?

Copyright © 1996 - 2013 :: AR15.Com LLC :: All Rights Reserved.
Any use of this content without express written consent is prohibited.