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BJJ and MMA Are Not Self Defense • Martial Arts Explored

BJJ and MMA are widely considered the most efficient martial arts for self defense, yet beneath this image there is a big misconception which may prove to be fatal if it will be misunderstood. Hi, my name is Rokas and in this Martial Arts Explored episode we will take a look at why BJJ and MMA are not self defense. Here is a link to Iain Abernethy’s Martial Map podcast that I highly recommend listening to: https://iainabernethy.co.uk/content/martial-map-free-audio-book Martial Arts Explored episode on how MMA Exposed Traditional Martial Arts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ap0Z1sqPrM0&t=286s — Welcome to the Martial Arts Journey YouTube channel! My name is Rokas. I’m a Lithuanian guy who trained Aikido for 14 years, 7 of them running a professional Aikido Dojo until eventually I realized that Aikido does not live up to what it promises. Lead by this realization I decided to make a daring step to close my Aikido Dojo and move to Portland, Oregon for six months to start training MMA at the famous Straight Blast Gym Headquarters under head coach Matt Thornton. After six months intensive training I had my first amateur MMA fight after which I moved back to Lithuania. During all of this time I am documenting my experience through my YouTube channel called “Martial Arts Journey”. Now I am slowly setting up plans to continue training MMA under quality guidance and getting ready for my next MMA fight as I further document and share my journey and discoveries. — MMA and BJJ Is Not Self Defense • Martial Arts Explored Martial arts can be practiced for various reasons such as health and fitness, or a social activity, yet most people who start some type of martial art – initially do it for self defense reasons. None of us want to be mugged or beaten up and a martial art may bring a great sense of self confidence, which may already help avoid conflict. In reality though – not all martial arts are created equal and it is important to choose the right martial art for the right reasons. If you will search online for which martial art is the best for self defense, many conflicting answers may appear, yet most of the dominating answers will most likely lead you to the direction of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, AKA BJJ, or Mixed Martial Arts – MMA – alongside a couple of other options. Generally speaking there is a good reason why many people promote BJJ and MMA as the best martial arts for self defense, yet within it there is also a huge misconception, which if believed in – may have life threatening effects. Hi, my name is Rokas and I welcome you to another Martial Arts Explored episode, where with my gathered experience of practicing martial arts for over a decade, I do my best to apply critical thinking to the martial arts world in order to shed light on important misconceptions and fallacies. And in this Martial Arts Explored episode we will take a look at why MMA and BJJ Is Not Self Defense. To best explain what I mean with this argument, first of all, we have to take a deeper look at the fact which is commonly misunderstood. And that is – that martial arts, fighting and self defense are three different fields. Yes – they are related and interconnected, but their essential purpose and the means of serving that purpose are immensely different. Years ago, my eyes were opened up to this fact by a self defense and practical Karate instructor Iain Abernethy who uses a venn diagram, which he calls a martial-map, in order to explain this very common misunderstanding. If you haven’t listened to his podcast on the subject, I highly recommend it, as he explains it in great detail and clarity. You will find the link to the podcast in the description bellow. Yet to break down the essentials in this video and to present the problem – as you see in the venn diagram designed by Iain, and as mentioned before, the three subject interrelate, yet are also occupying their own fields. In order to understand what this diagram stands for I will give you a couple of examples. First of – learning certain movements in martial arts may make you more capable in fighting, as some of the learned skills may be applied if someone will attack you, yet a lot of others aspects of martial arts have nothing to do with actual fighting – such as traditional Japanese clothing, ancient movements, asian names, traditions and other similar parts, which often consist a large part of various martial arts. As another example – martial arts tend to increase the awareness of a practitioner, which may help one avoid a dangerous situation, or that same awareness may be used to be more capable in a fighting situation, yet in cases where the three fields do not interrelate is where the main confusion arises. — SUBSCRIBE to see when the next videos will come out: ► http://bit.ly/1KPZpv0 Check the video “Aikido vs MMA” which started this whole Martial Arts Journey: ► https://youtu.be/0KUXTC8g_pk #BJJ #MMA #SelfDefense

Comments

Martial Arts Journey says:

Here is a link to Iain Abernethy's Martial Map podcast that I highly recommend listening to: https://iainabernethy.co.uk/content/martial-map-free-audio-book

Frede Uhrbrand says:

You are becoming more and more intelligent to listen to as you progress. I skipped a lot of your "angry at aikido/MMA bjj is all I know/like"-videos. I feel like you are opening up again. I don't fault you that faze though 😉 – you keep questioning and it is refreshing with this honest approach and insight into not only technical but intellectual martial development

I am looking forward to your further progression

Suggestion – I am interested in you pursuing knowledge on the difference between school/style and the pedagogy/ teaching style of all the styles. You already talked a lot about resistance training. That's not a school or a school specific thing. What about other pedagogical aspects of training ? Does schools matter ? What is a style? So on so forth. Inspiration might be found in Ramsey Dewey s talk on tai chi)

Peace

GuitarsRockForever says:

I'm not disagreeing with you in general. But I do think we have different definition.
For you, self defence = self protection. For me, self protection = do whatever to keep self safe. Self defence = the physical action (can be anything) part of self protection, so in general, the physical fighting.
Martial art = an art of functional fighting skills (again, doesn't need to be hand to hand combat, eg using firearm properly is martial art). Martial art without martial is fake/fraud.

Luke Hobbs says:

Interesting video. I think a lot of it comes down to how we frame the terminology and what "MMA" and "BJJ" mean to people. I know BJJ is a very different beast altogether in its Martial form, with a lot of weapons training to boot. I think the key are the words "Martial" and "Sport", each able to fill in gaps that each might present.

But a heck of a lot is going to come down to how the person teaches. A big downfall of all Martial/Sports Combat is very few "Coaches" actually do Coaching/Teaching courses and don't necessarily know how to recognise their coaching / teaching style to match that of the learner. Not everyone is kinesthetic, not everyone is audio/visual… If I teach Firearms using a single teaching method, only the students who learn in that way will get the most out of it. I need to know how the communicate effectively to ALL students.

James Care says:

The greatest crucible of hand to hand combat is the prison system. Watch prison fights to understand real fighting. No rules. No refs.

James Murray says:

Critical to self defence is understanding our inner chimp! You can't really manage conflict until you realise how threat and conflict affect peoples thinking. This book explains… https://chimpmanagement.com/books-by-professor-steve-peters/the-chimp-paradox/

Sidney Fein says:

The best defense is a good offense.

jeff knox says:

If MMA guys think they're training something for the street, I've got a bridge in London to sell you.

1.2.3 says:

Great analysis of common misconceptions! the best "self defense" has always been "human discerment, understanding and intelligence" . So enjoy martial arts for health and fun , making you feel good about yourself , being in the present moment ! Happiness is the real "self defense" Thanks!

Orkar Isber says:

Reminds me of my first silat self defense course
"So a guy with a knife stnads infront of you demanding your wallet. What do you do?"
"Fight?"
"You give him the wallet. No matter whats in there it aint worth dieing over….so the guy has your wallet but isnt satisfied he wants to kill you…what do you do now?"
"Fight?"
"RUN! Run and scream for help. Run as fast as you can…now you ran into a corner and cant escape what do you do now?"
"Fight?"
"Yes….since you are pretty much dead now anyway you might as well try"

dma 974 says:

The problem i am trying to resolve right now is how do you teach to pregnant women, the elderly, and people in wheelchair an effective way to defend themselves in the worst situation that can happen out there, like multiple opponent. Also, i think if you want to teach self-defense, you have to consider the whole spectrum of conflict and violent situation, if you kick your neighbor's ass when he try to steal something from you, you have protected yourself at the moment ? But what happens next ? He is still your neighbor, he still live two block from you, and next time maybe he will try to bring his friends to confront you again.

Another example that we should consider : sect. Those movement often use real psychological strategy to get to the most fragile of people. Shouldn't self-defense teach prevention against that ?

Apologize if my english isn't clear, i tried to do my best, but it isn't my maternal tongue.

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