Is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Street Effective?

BJJ player, Chris Crossan, analyzes his martial art’s application in a real life street scenario and finds the hype very different from the reality...

I believe many BJJ practitioners have a false sense of security in believing their art will save them in a real life street encounter. I love the grappling arts but after many years of experience as head doorman on a busy nightclub, I have been involved in and observed many live situations.

BJJ in the gym on soft mats, and grappling outside on hard concrete are worlds apart. Concrete is an extremely unforgiving surface and may also be slippery, uneven and you may have walls, cars or people obstructing your techniques.

In a fair one-on-one street fight, of course BJJ will work, but must be refined to suit each situation as the majority of fights will happen on the spur of the moment, when you are not warmed up and everything will seem much faster than in the gym or a competition when the adrenaline kicks in, as you are now fighting for survival and not for pleasure. There will be no referees or time limits and, when fighting on the floor in this arena, the chances are you will be kicked as soon as you attempt to use your BJJ, plus a lot attackers may be armed, as fair fights in this day and age are few and far between. I have also noticed that most BJJ academies in the UK and Brazil start to spar from their knees - in doing so, they neglect the importance of sparring from a standing position and utilising throws which could be a great aid in a street encounter. How many world class BJJ competitors repeatedly jump guard? Do you think this would work outside a pizza shop, 3am on a Saturday morning? Vertical grappling helped me a lot more and was much safer than ground work when working as a doorman.

When grappling on the concrete many things change - using your head for base in the gym is fine but a huge no when rolling about on a hard surface. When grappling for real, your adversary will appear much stronger as their movements will be quick and erratic - they are fighting for survival, may be under the influence of drugs and alcohol and could also be much larger than you, as there are no weight divisions in street fights.

I have witnessed two BJJ guys who have won many pro MMA bouts by submission get into trouble outside in a street encounter when trying to apply arm locks from the guard against strong, aggressive, streetwise opponents with no martial arts experience.

Take downs can also be a danger area as you are at great risk from landing on your own head and being knocked out. Also shooting for a double leg take down on the pavement can damage your knees - trust me! Try doing the duck walk next time you are in the pub car park and you will realise the difference the surface can make. A good example of this would be the playing surface of professional footballers - even world class players can be made to look terrible playing on astro-turf, rather than the grass surface they are used to.

Try practising BJJ on a concrete surface wearing normal clothes and also introduce dummy knives and multiple attackers and you will become aware of the need to cross-train in striking, weapons and with an instructor who has real combat experience and knows what will work outside. Multiple attackers are an even bigger danger if you are attacked whilst out with your family. Who is going to protect them while you are grappling on the floor? Another important factor is being aware of our own grappling capabilities - what works for the Gracies definitely won’t work for you after just six months training twice-a-week, in the comfort of a friendly gym environment.

With the rising popularity of grappling and MMA, I have noticed the rise of what I refer to as ‘cage fighter syndrome’ - young lads out in the town, who may have competed in a couple of amateur MMA bouts against novice opponents, wearing the latest ‘Tapout’ t-shirts, sporting huge egos with their arms flared like they are carrying a television set under each arm, and often pumped full of anabolic steroids. Some of these guys have never actually taken a punch in the gym, nevermind the street, and are suffering with delusions of grandeur. In my humble opinion, these people suffering from ‘CFS’ are only partly to blame for their behaviour. Surely their instructors should have the sense to warn them that behaving in this manner in the wrong environment could attract trouble? I also believe that it does not help when many of their idols are trash-talking, egotistical athletes. Professional fighters are role models who influence youngsters who idolise them. It would be great if all professional fighters had a professional attitude and showed good sportsmanship...

BJJ is a wonderful art which I greatly enjoy and use as a great tool for teaching dysfunctional youths humility and respect. I believe BJJ can give you many positive attributes such as confidence, flexibility, fitness, co-ordination, discipline and aspects of it can certainly aid you in a real life self-defence situation, though only as a support system. Therefore I urge every BJJ practitioner to train realistically and take into consideration the many dangers of using sport BJJ as effective street self protection. So, is BJJ effective street self defence?
Chris Crossan

Photos courtesy of Terry Blackburn ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )