When you end up fighting no one but yourself

I was out of town training several security and police agencies when I noticed a certain individual trolling my social media accounts and posting negative comments. Mainly he was criticizing the techniques I teach. I don’t mind people disagreeing with me, but I have an issue with cyber bullies who feel they can say and do whatever they want from the safety of their computer. Mind you that this individual has zero idea who I am, what I do, where I come from, or what drives me.

Turns out this individual runs a Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) school in my state. And one thing I learned about BJJ practitioners in general, and instructors in particular, is that they are very protective of their chosen style. I don’t blame them. We have all seen the tremendous growth in popularity and public reach of the style. MMA, and specifically via UFC, has done wonders for a style that has been around for thousands of years and is finally coming to its own. Now, it is important to say: I have nothing against BJJ. As matter of fact I am a big fan of the style. I trained in it on and off over the years, I have many friends who are accomplished BJJ practitioners, and several students in my own school who came after studying BJJ for years and have helped me learn more about it, and even develop and refine ground techniques for our system.

I will mention that several of these students of mine who came from a BJJ background had what can only be referred to as a “come to Jesus” moment when they realized that BJJ did not adequately prepare them for the realities of a violent encounter. Namely police officers and tactical operators who we trained, and realized that their gear prohibits them from executing many of the skills they depended on. It is hard to roll on your back and maneuver when you are wearing body armor with pouches and gear all over. Ever tried executing BJJ skills while holding on to a slung weapon? I did. It changes things. Does that make BJJ an obsolete style? Absolutely not! It has tremendous merits from body awareness to the skills it preaches. But we will be remised if we didn’t at least acknowledge a few of the limitations of the system(or any other grappling art for that matter), namely:

• The ground in a real fight is unforgiving. We do not have the luxury of fighting on a mat when trying to defend our lives. No matter how good you are in a grappling art, such as BJJ, Sambo, wrestling, or another, you will still get chewed up by the pavement.

• Defending against multiple attackers is problematic. And let’s face it, anyone who watches any footage of true fights can see that fights are rarely one-on-one. The “gang mentality” prevails and chances are that while you are tied up with one person another will be stomping your face.
• Defending against weapons, and especially edged weapons are an issue. To properly address a blade one has to create space, which you cannot do when stuck under another person. Who has not seen the video of the police officer forcing an arm-bar on a suspect only to have the suspect pull a knife with his free hand and stab the officer to death?
• Time. To become proficient in any martial arts, and BJJ is not excluded, one needs practice, and lots of it. Skills are technical, fine motor skill oriented, and precise. Reality is that most people, and especially tactical operators don't have that much time. Most have to be trained in matter of hours to be able to defend themselves. And under stress, as in when someone is trying to kill them, when adrenaline dumps and senses are all messed up gross motor skills will win over minute dexterity.
• And lastly, the presence of rules. BJJ has rules. You can’t do this move or execute that technique because it would disqualify you. I honestly don’t believe that any assailant on the street could give a rats a$$ on what your rules are. And while a BJJ practitioner is trying to execute a beautiful uma-plata the attacker will be using bricks, eye gauging, biting, blades, etc. 

So yes, I am somewhat partial. But I will also be the first one to admit that there isn’t one “perfect” self-defense or martial arts system. Each system can toot its own horn all day long, but reality is that each comes with its own flaws. Even my self-defense system isn’t perfect. My goal is not to be the prettiest or most technical system out there. I try to provide people with the skills that will work for most people most of the time. Nothing, and I do mean NOTHING, works 100 percent of the time. period. If one of my students was to get on the ground with a BJJ expert would he/she lose? Most likely. But if they fight that same BJJ person in a back alley my student will probably win. That’s how it goes. To be truly great one has to be open to different ideas, well versed and well rounded, and never dismiss another system or skillset.

In my system I make warriors. I don’t teach martial arts. My goal is not finesse. My goal is to have my students get back home to their loved ones at the end of every day! To accomplish that we borrow skills from various disciplines, developed a few in-house, and concentrate on real life applications, specifically via execution of aggression and violence of action. My students heard me say this many times: the one who will win the fight is not the one with the cleaner skill, but rather the one who didn’t quit!

If anyone out there, no matter the style they practice or teach, believes their system is the ONLY way of doing things they are delusional, most likely have an inflated ego of themselves, and I won’t be surprised if they feel they have something to prove. Most of us who have been there are done that recognize that we far past that point. I have nothing to prove to a person who thinks can take me on a mat playing by his rules. When that individual comes back and tells me what he did in combat, how he subdued a suspect, or defended himself when his life was on the line then I will be more inclined to take note.

Lastly, purely a personal point of view: every person who feels the need to belittle others and pass judgment on social media just to reassure themselves that their skills are better shows nothing other than immaturity, lack of professionalism, and to some extent fear. That is my opinion.

The last straw was an online challenge issued to fight him or one of his instructors. How much would you like to bet that any fight would have to be executed under his rules? Do you think that if I suggested fighting on pavement with no rules he would still go for it? I doubt it.

To all my BJJ friends and practitioners out there, this is not an attack on your system. Please go on rolling and grappling. It is amazing to watch you guys do what you do. I am eager to learn more from you.

Stay safe and watch your six!

BK Blankchtein. Masada Tactical Protective Services, LLC

www.dhirubhai.net/company/masada-tactical 

www.facebook.com/BlankchteinBK