Brazilian jiu-jitsu has become a widely trained style of martial arts, especially since the explosion in popularity of mixed martial arts. If you want to learn Brazilian jiu-jitsu as a self-defense method, you need to know how to distinguish between those techniques that are very helpful in an actual fight and those that are effective in a sport setting. Competitions involving Brazilian jiu-jitsu or mixed martial arts typically come with rules, but street fights don’t. When you are practicing a Brazilian jiu-jitsu technique, you will find it worthwhile to focus on a larger set of them rather than those typically used in competitions. bjj for kids

Benefits and Drawbacks of Going to the Ground

Brazilian jiu-jitsu is at its core a ground fighting style. Royce Gracie’s amazing success in early mixed martial arts tournaments proved that various other fighting arts didn’t teach ground fighting styles that were effective. Because many fights usually end up on the ground, grappling skills can give the key to successful and effective self-defense, especially when you are fighting with a single opponent. Nevertheless, going to the ground is not effective against multiple enemies. Balanced self-defense systems don’t depend on taking the enemy to the ground in every situation. It is generally important to learn the skills or techniques of protecting vital areas, including striking techniques, in addition to grappling techniques.

The Guard

The guard is one of the Brazilian jiu-jitsu techniques that allows for control of an enemy from the bottom position. In a closed guard, the person on the bottom positions his legs around the enemy’s waist, with feet crossed at the ankles. Many fighters using Brazilian jiu-jitsu are extremely skillful at controlling the opponent and applying submissions from the guard. jiu jitsu classes for kids

The Mount

In any fight, match, or self-defense situation, the main concerns are protecting important areas from the attack and then resolving the fight as fast as possible, within lawful and suitable limits. If you have taken your enemy to the ground, attaining the mount position offers important benefits and provides you a good position to defend yourself while finding a way to nullify your attacker. In the perfect mount position, you should straddle your enemy from your knees, with your knees close to the armpits to put extreme weight on his upper chest. Focus your weight downward on top of the challenger. From this position, you can attack downward to the head of the opponent, use an arm bar, or find other submission opportunities.

Taking the Back and the Rear Naked Choke

When you have the mount, in many instances a challenger will attempt to turn onto his belly. This will allow you to take his back. This position is beneficial because it eliminates the danger of being hit. In addition, a range of submissions become available such as chokes and arm locks. Once you have successfully obtained the back mount position, make sure your ankles are not crossed as this can leave you open to getting them broken in a counter attack. The rear naked choke provides you with several available and effective techniques that will enable you to apply a submission on an attacker from behind. Also, it can be executed while you are standing or from the back mount position on the ground. Quickly put your arm around your opponent’s throat so that the crook of your elbow is straight in front of the Adam’s apple. You should have your arm below the chin. Position the choking arm’s hand on the bicep of your other arm. Make sure that the hand of the non-choking arm is positioned at the back of the enemy’s head. Bring the elbows together to do the choke.

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