So says former Navy SEAL and MMA trainer Jocko Willink, who earned his BJJ black belt from Dean Lister.

If someone attacks me and they want to punch or kick me, I can just run away. They’re not holding onto me. I can get away from them. It’s when someone grabs you that you need some technique to get out of there, or someone takes you to the ground, that’s when you need some technique to get out of there. If someone just wants to punch me, well, I’ll walk away from them or run away from them. That’s OK.

Obviously, I’m a fan of jiu-jitsu. Number one, It’s very practical, like I said, for self-defense. And again, the goal of jiu-jitsu in self-defense isn’t to take someone down to the ground. The goal in jiu-jitsu for self-defense is actually to be able to defend yourself on the ground, get up, and get away from an attacker. That’s what the goal is.

Now, some people might think: ‘Well, Jocko, I don’t want to run away if somebody wants to fight me. I want to fight them.’ Well, let’s think about where that might end up for you. Number one, you don’t know if this person has a weapon or not. What if they have a knife? What if they have a pistol? What if they’ve got three or four friends? And now you’re getting either shot, stabbed, mutilated, or otherwise maimed and killed. That’s not what you’re looking for on a Friday night as you’re walking down the street.

https://middleeasy.com/brazilian-jiu-jitsu/jocko-willink-self-defense/