There is still a reasonably large contingent on the internet who don’t believe that BJJ works. For those people, they already have the answer in their own minds, they will “see red” and just win the fight.
Of course, if you were attacked by a seasoned MMA fighter (but still a BJJ specialist) such as Demian Maia or Vanger Rocha it would be over very fast. However, if in a bizarre reality you were attacked on the street by a sport BJJ specialist such as Paulo Miyao who continuously butt-scooted towards you, what would be the best way to defend against his BJJ?
Table of Contents
Wrestling
The best way to defend against jiu-jitsu might be simply to learn wrestling. If the opponent cannot take you down then they cannot control you on the floor. If they cannot control you on the floor then it is going to be very difficult to submit you.
It is not by chance that the fighters with the best takedown in the UFC have some of the best records ever in MMA. Most notably Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier are #1 & #2 on the list. Jon Jones, who only has 1 loss from DQ has only ever been taken down twice, whilst Daniel Cormier has never been submitted either.
If we look at their wrestling backgrounds, Cormier wrestled at the Olympic level (but failed to compete because of kidney problems) and Jones was NJCAA champion in 2006.
So if in the theoretical example you were to be attacked by a BJJ expert, with good enough wrestling skills you would simply be able to stay standing and walk away.
Striking
Striking arts such as Muay Thai and traditional western boxing are not so many counters to Jiu-Jitsu as they are a different art. Perhaps in a situation where the striker has absolutely no takedown defense at all, the BJJ expert would have an advantage. But if the boxer had some kind of knowledge around takedowns then this can quickly change the odds in their favor.
Being able to knock someone to the floor with a punch, kick or knee could stop a fight immediately, especially if they are knocked out. Another point to make is that if you keep your opponent at a far enough range, then they will not have the closeness needed to complete a takedown. This is why distance management is such a crucial part of MMA. If the striker is able to keep the grappler away, he has a very good chance of winning. If he fails to do so and has poor BJJ defense on the floor, then it could be all over very quickly.
Judo
Following on from wrestling, Judo is also a great stand up martial art and lends a lot of it’s techniques to BJJ. Whilst BJJ has borrowed a lot from Judo, in the past 50 years or so, the ground game has become a lot sharper with Judo competitions mostly focussing on who can ippon their opponent at any cost. As a result, the Judo ground game has suffered, whilst their stand up is noticeably much better – especially when a kimono is worn.
Due to their superiority of stand up knowledge and great balance. It would be very hard to take down a Judoka. Because of this if a Judo player did not want to engage in the guard of a BJJ expert then there is no real way to submit them. The only scenario a Judo athlete would be in trouble against a BJJ athlete is if they actively engaged the guard. If they were to stand up the entire time I really doubt they would have any problems at all. However in a competition format obviously this would lead to penalties from stalling.
Weapons
BJJ is not a bulletproof system, both figuratively and literally. This is why if you are confronted in a street situation it is almost always best to disengage or run away. BJJ will not stop bullets, knives or anything else. At best it might increase your chances of survival by a couple of percentage points but certainly isn’t a win-all situation.
A lot of martial arts that teach self defense against weapons are complete bullshido. If attacked by a knife it would be almost impossible not to get slashed at the very least. If the attacker has a gun then it’s pretty much up to them whether you live or die since you aren’t faster than a bullet.
So back to the theoretical example, if you were attacked by a group of 4 sport BJJ experts, then a weapon will almost certainly keep you safe.
Learning BJJ Yourself
This may sound obvious, but if you were to actually learn and practice BJJ yourself, then you would know more about which positions are good and bad, therefore be able to defend yourself better. If you haven’t started BJJ then you will have no idea what it is like to be in a ground situation. If you are a colored belt, I am sure you can remember when you were a white belt. Even against someone with 6-7 months’ experience, on your first lesson you cannot believe how much better than you this person is.
You may not ever become a world champion but at least you can learn how to defend basic submissions and avoid obvious mistakes such as leaving your arms and legs exposed.
Being Much Larger Than Your Opponent
Whilst this isn’t a win-all solution either. Being much bigger than your opponent in terms of height and muscle mass is certainly a big advantage. Technique can certainly overcome strength and weight as Mikey Musumeci showed us. However, if you add in strikes on the ground, being big certainly helps. You could have all of the techniques in the world but if you’re faced with a monster such as Martyn Ford then your chances of winning a fight are massively decreased.
If you don’t allow the smaller opponent to enter a leg lock position then they won’t be able to get much started. However, this would also require at least a basic knowledge of BJJ.
