If you’re familiar with grappling, then you’ll have probably seen the video of a young Khabib Nurmagomedov wrestling with a bear cub. Here, the Russian MMA champion successfully takes down the bear, with the bear responding with a takedown of its own. Of course, the bear is only playing and is also tied to a chain and somewhat domesticated. However, this begs the question…would Brazilian Jiu Jitsu work on a bear in a real fight?
Below, we shall be looking at BJJ against a bear in an MMA setting – as well as a BJJ competition to see how a human would do.
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Would BJJ work on a bear?
Let’s be realistic, against a real bear – even the best BJJ practitioner would get quickly mauled to death. Bears are no joke and realistically unless you have a gun then you’re in big trouble with an adult bear. The below comic strip from Bearmageddon shows a neat presentation of how BJJ would go down against a bear in reality. Although this is a joke, it’s also very real.
Bears are some of the strongest animals on the planet and you could not physically move any part of their body, no matter how strong you are. Similarly, the bear could easily swipe you with its claws or bite you, causing extreme damage. Fear not though, it’s not just BJJ that would struggle. Every single martial art would not stand a chance against a bear. This brings us on to our next question which is a bit less straightforward.
Would BJJ work on a bear cub?
Imagine you’re a grown man who is attacked by a wild bear cub – similar to the one that Khabib fought in the above video. This is where things get more interesting. Firstly, in a realistic scenario, a baby bear would not attack you as it’s not in their nature. Secondly, as a general rule wherever bear cubs are, their parents are near. Be warned.
However, if it was some kind of bizarre MMA hybrid match that saw you face off against a cub then BJJ could work. Having said this, if a cub stands up fully, it is still around 6 feet which is taller than the average man. Further, if it was fully enraged then its claws could still cause serious damage, as could biting.
Nonetheless, if the athlete was incredibly skilled then they would stand a chance. For instance, if someone like Gordon Ryan fought the bear then he could win, so long as he was smart. Potentially, you could try a heel hook on a bear that could break its knee, and then slowly pick it off from there. Even still, that tactic is dangerous as the bear could still slash you with its claws, or even bite your leg.
A different tactic would be to try a quick arm drag and rush past the bear cub onto its back. Even still, it may have to strength to easily defend a choke and scratch your arm in the process. If you could somehow lock a rear naked and hold it for long enough, then you could possibly win. Even still, this isn’t exactly easy to do.
Having said this, BJJ against a cub in a BJJ setting would favor the human. Even though the cub would be strong, they would lack strength and would struggle on their back. Therefore, a skilled adult could beat a cub in a BJJ competition if they got it tactically correct.
In summary, even against a fairly young bear – Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in an MMA setting would struggle but victory would be possible in a competition.
What is the best animal at Brazilian Jiu Jitsu?
Whilst we’re on the subject of animals, a lot of people claim that gorillas would be the hardest to beat at Jiu Jitsu. This is because they possess extreme strength but also have BJJ-like movements due to sharing similar traits with humans.
However, the best animal at BJJ is probably the gibbon. There are numerous videos online of gibbons play fighting with other animals and proving their incredible technique. With speed, athleticism, flexibility and strength, they make for incredibly tough BJJ players. As seen below, the level of guard retention by the gibbon is undeniable.
As it happens, BJJ has a longstanding history with animals. Over the years, a number of moves and techniques have been named after animals. From squid guard to the anaconda choke – the list is actually quite big.
