In an effort to draw a distinction between training and competing in sports martial arts and the reality of self defense, I make the analogy: training for sport is to self defense as NASCAR is to parallel parking.

I did sport karate when I was in college, and it was fun. But I stopped because I believe I was developing bad habits which would score in the ring, but make me more vulnerable in self defense. MMA and any other sport martial art fits.

While no analogy is perfect, this one holds up pretty well. Here’s how I break it down:

I’m sure you could keep going with comparisons of your own.

I have a lot of respect for the Gracie family – and Hélio Gracie in particular. Here I’ve found this Youtube video, purportedly of Hélio Gracie doing a self-defense demonstration.

What I find interesting about this video is that there are almost no ground-fighting techniques demonstrated – something the Gracies are famous for. The video shows clearly Gracie Jiu-Jitsu’s Judo origins.

Gracie Self Defense

Here are some more videos from the Gracie archive – again notice the Judo (and some of the famous ground technique).

If I had to make a point about these videos it would be to emphasize the difference in training for sport and training for self-defense. This is something I’d like to believe most instructors recognize.

It was like something out of karate kid: Here is a stunning video showing Lyoto Machida’s victory over Randy Couture in the recent UFC 129. The amazing thing is that the knockout blow came from a jumping front-snapping kick landed perfectly on Couture’s jaw. According to Lyoto, he was coached to perfect this kick by martial arts and movie legend Steven Seagal. Interesting was Anderson Silva’s recent UFC victory using a similar kick, also coached by Seagal.

Admittedly I do not follow the UFC much. The practice of MMA for sport is on the far end of the spectrum from what I teach as a self-defense oriented art. However, this win is interesting for several reasons:

Many chairborne warriors who frequent disparaging martial arts discussion boards seem to hold the following opinions:

• The UFC or other sporting event is the ultimate gauge of whether a martial art “works”
• That all fights wind up on the ground so the ground game is where it’s at
• That certain techniques, “never work”

With all due respect, all three of these opinions are crap.

The UFC is the Ultimate Measure of a Martial Art Style

First, MMA matches measure which competitor does best in a particular MMA match – nothing else. These guys are amazing combative athletes, and there is a hack of a lot of training involved. A good portion of their success relies upon conditioning, timing and reflex. Another portion relies upon mental state. Yet another on their skill at executing the systems they are trained in.

Yes, certain systems of training are better suited for combat sports within the rules and arena of the UFC.

Sports events have almost nothing to do with self-defense. Yes, a competitive MMA fighter will have conditioning and skills that will give him or her an advantage over an untrained person in a self-defense situation. But to be good at MMA competitions, it means you probably don’t dedicate a lot of time to training against multiple armed opponents. Some of the things that work exceptionally well in wrestling matches can and have gotten people killed in real self-defense situations.

All Fights Wind Up on the Ground

I have covered why this idea is pure BS rather extensively here. It’s also important to understand that the US Army, after analyzing real hand to hand combat battles, agrees with me. Further, this UFC fight was won before either gentleman went to the ground. Machida only went to the ground to continue attacking Couture who had already lost. No grappling was necessary.

Technique X will never work …

Sometimes I hear people say, “that would never work on the street.” Never is one of those tricky words, it’s an absolute. It means not even once. I bet a lot of people held the opinion that a UFC match would never be won with a front-snapping high-kick to the face, and now it’s been done twice. So if you believed that – you were wrong. Suck it up.

You can quote me on this: The technique that works is the technique that works.

I personally know a guy who fought off multiple opponents with knives with a combination of round-house kicks to the head and running and screaming. I know someone who kicked a knife out of someone’s hand. I’ve been kicked on top of the head with an axe kick in a karate tournament. I’ve personally witnessed a ton of crazy stuff that worked in the moment.

If you are a martial artist, I don’t think it pays to limit your mind.

There are many reasons one could study a martial art: for sport, for exercise, to relax, build self discipline, or because you think the costumes are cool. All reasons are valid. In my experience, most people start training in martial arts because at least one of their goals is to learn how to defend themselves. All martial arts will do this to some degree.

Do not be fooled by the haters with low self esteem on the Internet who need to feel good about themselves by insulting other systems, or teachers. Lack of respect is a lack of self-discipline and it is a clear sign of mental weakness. Even if you dislike what another martial art teaches, keep your mouth shut. Those who speak out on internet message boards under the guise of “educating others” are being ridiculous, since only their fellow chairborne-commando haters read those things.

Self-defense (or self-defence if your British) training, ultimately, is not about style or system or what you wear or what you call it. It isn’t even about ultimate deadly unstoppable techniques culled from the jungles of some war-torn country by special operations commandos. That stuff is exciting, but it’s mostly marketing puffery.

True self-defense training is about one thing only (in the very humble opinion of this author) – transforming the individual into someone with skills and attributes to survive and escape danger. And, no two human beings will have identical skills or attributes, so throw out the silly notion of the ultimate best system on the planet to turn you into a superhuman fighting-machine.

In computer programming two skilled programmers can create exactly the same software using two different languages, two different development processes, and deploy them onto two different platforms. Which one is the “best”? Neither – just live with the fact that in life there are no absolutes. Thinking things are either all good or all bad is lazy thinking which is unbecoming of a true martial artist.

First, let’s talk about attributes that will help you survive a violent attack. In my opinion attributes are more important than skills.

Speed, endurance, coordination, agility, and strength are physical attributes which will help you whether you choose to run away or stand and fight. The physical training of most MMA fighters is simply incredible and gives them the advantages that conditioning brings. Pain tolerance, and the ability to carry on when injured relates to resilience. Boxers and special forces soldiers have excellent resilience due to their training regimens. Timing and awareness of distance almost always trump speed and other physical attributes. Weapons arts like kenjutsu, Kali, Arnis, silat, and fencing are incredible to imparting this level of skill.

The key attribute, more important than all the others is awareness. The ability to be aware of your physical surroundings will mitigate most attacks and make you less of a target. No skill or attribute will work if you are completely unaware of an attack until it lands. Snipers, drones, and smart bombs are effective weapons of war in part because they are hard to detect. You cannot defend against what you can’t detect.

So, a lot of self-defense oriented training will be geared towards developing advantageous attributes. In our school, due to our traditions, we look at timing and angles, off-balancing, body alignment and awareness as primary attributes. We teach understanding of concepts and principles. Here is the important thing – other schools have different foci and are completely effective.

All martial-arts schools tech skills. Skills are the technical lessons, the specific vocabulary with which you express your attributes. A skill may be punching, parrying, blocking, etc. Many schools are technique-oriented, having hundreds or thousands of techniques. Some may teach forms, some drills. All are equally valid teaching methods.

Our school focuses on teaching self-defense. What that means for us is the following:

• We focus on building attributes and understanding that we have found effective for real-world self-defense
• We throw away dogma, tradition, and ceremony where it doesn’t suit is
• We place less emphasis on archaic weapons than on modern weapons
• We focus on what happens to the human body and mind under extreme stress
• We do our best to train honestly, yet safely so we don’t develop bad habits
• We strive to understand local self-defense law and how it applies to us

This is not to say that our school or our system is better than anyone else’s. It isn’t. It is the best school and system for me and the people who choose to train with me because it makes sense to us, and we feel we can dedicate ourselves to the training. The best system for you is going to be the one you can stick with and train in for a long time.

I

Self Defense vs. Martial Arts

It’s a question that comes up quite frequently: Can you defend yourself against someone who is bigger and stronger? And: How important is size and strength in martial arts? The answer requires a bit of a breakdown:

1. Don’t confuse sport with self defense. Combat sports like MMA, boxing, and wrestling have weight classes for very good reasons. Being larger and stronger offers distinct advantages to punching power, grappling ability, and reach.

However, combat sports are not self defense. They are pre-arranged fights, within a controlled environment, with specific goals, and specific rules. Generally combative athletes train and condition specifically for these fights. In Sumo (pictured left) the goals are to knock the opponent out of the ring or to force him or her to touch the ground with a body-part other than the feet. Having a great deal of body-weight makes it more difficult for an opponent to move you. I can’t imagine a 700 pound Sumo wrestler doing well in a Tae Kwon Do point sparring match.

Contrast combat sports with self defense. Generally you will be unprepared, it won’t be pre-arranged. There may by multiple opponents and weapons in an uncontrolled environment. Running away may be your best option. There are no rules. The tactics that are the most effective actually have a higher chance of causing injury – but would be illegal in sport.

2. Fitness provides a self defense advantage. Strength, speed, dexterity, balance, flexibility all provide self defense advantages. Endurance is extremely important for running away, or surviving a physical attack. However, these things alone cannot be relied upon. Here are some reasons why:

• You may need to defend yourself  when you are sick or injured.
• You may need to defend yourself against someone who is larger, stronger, and faster than you are.
• You may need to defend yourself against a weapon – you are not faster or stronger than a bullet.
• You may want to be able to defend yourself when you’re 90.

3. Self defense is about escape, not beating up your opponent. For civilians, self defense is about 1 thing only: escape. A few years ago, Boston had a serial rapist running around it’s North End. I spoke to a police captain in the area and he told me that the perpetrator ran away at the first sign of resistance, and that included simply screaming. One woman got away after stomping on his foot and screaming.

None of these scenarios involved a toe-to-toe fist-fight. Yes, there are attackers who are more persistent, but this is where training comes in. Putting the emphasis on escape means that you train to survive. It means you can use whatever force (from none to lethal) required by the situation. You can use improvised or actual weapons, you can run, you can scream, you can poke an attacker in the eye.

The majority of people I speak to get their complete understanding of self-defense from TV and movies. Most of the time it’s completely unrealistic.

My sensei was asked once, “what would you do in a fight against Royce Gracie?” His answer, “I don’t know, probably take out my knife and stick it in him.” The person was appalled, but my sensei’s answer was wise as he explained: Since I don’t train for sport and have no beef with Royce, the only reason I would be in a fight with him would be if he was threatening my life or the life of my family. If that were the case, then there are no rules and I would use whatever means necessary. However, the scenario is very unlikely since Royce is, by all accounts, a very nice guy.

This question, and one’s like it are the product of a lazy thinking paradigm. It goes back to the whole, “who would win in a fight, Bruce Lee or Batman?” silliness that surrounds martial arts discussion boards and magazines. People are looking for easy answers: If I can bench-press 300 pounds, nobody can defeat me. Nothing in self-defense is ever that simple.

There’s no secret to effective self defense, but here are some essentials:

• Awareness of your surroundings will mitigate most issues before they arise
• Train honestly and build your tactical repertoire based on large muscle movements
• Don’t escalate verbal assaults unless you believe there is absolutely no other way
• Escape
• Build good muscle memory by practicing at variable speeds (slow for learning, medium for practice)

Let me start by saying that nothing here is meant to denigrate BJJ or MMA in any way. As a rule, I do not criticize other systems. The BJJ guys I know are amazing martial artists and great athletes. My issue with the name Brazilian Jiujitsu (or Jiu-Jitsu) is a personal hangup, but bear me out here.

As a practitioner of jujutsu (the way we happen to spell the same word), when people hear what I do, they frequently assume I do something else. “Oh, you do that rolling around on the ground stuff right?” I get that all the time. Recently a fellow student of my teacher who has just started teaching complained about the same thing.

With the popularity of the UFC, and the BJJ domination of that sport, it is easy to understand that most people’s exposure to jujutsu has been nearly 100%. Koryu and gendai styles (like Ketsugo Jujutsu) are not generally used for sport and you don’t see them on TV very much.

The basic historical background of BJJ si that it is derived from Kodokan Judo. However, at that time, Judo was sometimes still referred to as Kano Jiu-Jitsu after Jigoro Kano, the father of Judo. It was 1914 when Mitsuyo Maeda brought Judo to Brazil, and it wasn’t until 1925 when the Japanese government declared that the art be called Judo. The Gracie family studied under Maeda in Brazil, and continued to refine and spread their art up to today.

So, there is indeed a historic reason, not that they need one, to call their art Jiu-Jitsu.

For us, ground fighting is not something we choose to do. It usually means you are about to lose your life. So, to be confused with a system that has become synonymous with ground-fighting sometimes takes us back a bit. We practice ground-fighting, but not for sport, and we use tactics which would be illegal in any sport competition (unless you believe the movie Bloodsport was a true story).

So, my personal wish was that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was called Brazilian Judo, or something different. I’m lazy and I’d have less explaining to do. In the end, labels are just that. After all, the name “Ketsugo Jujutsu” (also spelled jujitsu) was created by an American in the 20th century, and it is an eclectic art.

Someone once asked my sensei what he would do if Royce Gracie attacked him and tried to take him down. My sensei’s answer, “I dunno, probably pull out my knife and stick him.” The questioner was awestruck at the answer. My sensei went on, “I don’t train for sport, this is a school of combat. Since I don’t compete, if Royce Gracie was attacking me, it would mean he intended on doing my family harm and I would defend myself. Since Royce Gracie seems like a nice person who doesn’t assault people, this seems like an unlike scenario.”

I am sure that this person was not totally satisfied with the answer. What the person was looking for was akin to the age-old mental rat-hole that we see time and time again, “which martial art is the best.” Let me be up front, there is no such thing. If there was, everybody would learn that one, and it would cease to be effective. On to the question at hand:

There is nothing wrong with sport-oriented martial arts schools. I don’t denigrate other systems or teachers. Sport schools simply have a different focus. As a practitioner of combat-oriented jujutsu, I would undoubtedly get wasted stepping into a ring with a seasoned MMA competitor. I have no idea even what the rules our. My training, which involves killing and crippling techniques, would not carry over legally into the ring. I would be unprepared.

Does this mean that my art sucks? For MMA competition, yes. However, I personally have used my jujutsu to stave off a couple of assaults. My teacher, and fellow students have used this exact training to survive knife and gun assaults, muggings, attempted rapes, and other violent encounters. Our training works, and I have confidence in it.

Does this mean that an MMA competitor would do crappy in a self defense situation. Who knows? It really depends on the person, the situation, and the encounter. Surely MMA practitioners have combative skills and a high fitness level that may be helpful in a combat situation. Some tendencies of MMA fighters (such as the focus on a single adversary, going to the ground, and a lack of weapons training) might be shortcomings in certain situations unless there has been some cross training.

One thing I have learned over the years is that combat effectiveness is less about the art and more about the artist. I’d like to think that our training has been tweaked by real world survival situations enough that it provides a significant advantage in self-defense. I can tell you that there is no training like ours in Maine. But, if you come here expecting to learn how to grapple for points, you’ll be disappointed.