This article is one small part of a long effort by MixedMartialArts.com to understand what really works in martial arts. The primary focus is on what happens on the street, rather than in the arena. If you enjoyed it, check out the library on:
•Martial Arts on The Street
•Style vs. Style
•Dojo Storms
Of all the martial arts out there that are potentially applicable in self-defense situations, Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) appears to be the most effective, based on security camera footage gathered worldwide over the past 20+ years. While there are videos of many other arts working, even Aikido, once, the volume of successful jiu-jitsu use against attacks tells the story without bias.
If this is false, if there are dozens of videos of for example Kenpo or Wing Chun techniques working on the street, please share them in the comments, and that story will be told honestly. In fact, if there is even one video of a Wing Chun technique working in a similar circumstance to what is seen below, it will be highlighted.
What makes BJJ different is that the students are constantly practicing skills hard against fully resisting opponents during training, with a focus on using technique and leverage instead of brute force. The techniques you see in the video below are extremely basic, practiced in literally every jiu-jitsu class, every time, against resistance.
Below we see a BJJ-trained security guard, successfully able to use his skills to defend himself and control a larger, out-of-control attacker. The good little guy’s name is Fatih Aydogan and he trains out of Checkmat Wimbledon, in London, England. This is what he had to say about the incident:
“I was on my duty (when a) drunk man came to me and try to punch me, but he couldn’t. BJJ works. I would like to thanks a lot my bjj coach Carl Fisher and Checkmat family.”
What Happened
We see the security guard working the door when a drunk approaches. The two speak when suddenly the man attacks with multiple punches, before walking away, briefly.
Aydogan intelligently radios for backup while he can, and then the drunk returns for round two. The BJJ-trained man level changes slightly, closes the distance, secures a body lock, and dumps the drunk on his sorry butt. He then immediately transitions to mount, and holds the man.
After being attacked like that, many people in his position would choke the attacker out, or worse, with good reason. Instead, Aydogan holds the man safely, in a position where he can do no more harm to himself or to others, and waits until help arrives.
Most popular martial arts are striking-based. If you practice karate or Wing Chun or boxing or any other striking art, what would you do in this circumstance? Exchange punches and trust that yours are so much better you are either unscathed or punch proof? Knock the drunk out while standing on pavement, which can and has killed from a fall? The true beauty of jiu-jitsu is not that it is so effective (although it is). The beauty is that it is so safe.
Hopeless arts like Aikido claim to promote peace, but the techniques taught cannot end an unprovoked physical attack peacefully, because they do not work. Jiu-jitsu is authentically peaceful, not in hollow words, preached to the harmless, but in deed, on the street, as you can see.
