I’ve Been Doing it Wrong for 30 Years!!!

Ego. That darn thing, the Ego.

I was a smaller, shyer, not very athletic kid. When I discovered that martial arts could benefit people like me (via the movie “The Karate Kid”…um original one, not the Jaden Smith one!), I was interested. I took classes and loved the fact that there was a linearprogression involved (the colored belts), and, the fact that you could practice all by yourself and develop some skills (katas — solo routines where you drill the fundamentals).

I became hooked and a very dedicated practitioner. I went onto study Kung-Fu (Chinese martial arts), primarily because of watching Bruce Lee. It was all very inspirational, all the books, magazines, movies, and TV shows. The martial arts media gave me a feeling that I was connected to something larger than myself or my community.

So both Karate and Kung-Fu are striking based martial arts. That is, their primary strategy for self defense was to block any incoming attack from an opponent, and then with the perfect distance, timing, strength, and speed, deliver punches and kicks that would incapacitate the opponent.

I practiced this strategy for years. I got to a place where I was OK with it. In general, with this strategy, I found that aggressiveness wins.

Then comes this family, the Gracies. The Gracies created Gracie or Brazillian Jiu Jitsu. They created the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship). The Gracie’s single handedly defeated high level practitioners of Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Wrestling, Kung-Fu, Boxing, and Kickboxing! It was a little disconcerting to watch! I’ve known about Jiu Jitsu for years. But not Brazillian or Gracie Jiu Jitsu.

It all seemed like this undecipherable magic that they were doing, that looked very bizarre. Of course, it became popular, and the people who were most apt to doing it were the more athletic and competitive martial artists (am I allowed to say Meatheads?).

Because of the whole Meathead appeal, and alpha-male culture that it wound up becoming intertwined with, I avoided it. And a lot of the traditional martial arts communities were scoffing at it, which helped me to also scoff at it.

Then comes Rener and Ryron Gracie, the Grandsons of the creator of Gracie Jiu Jitsu and the sons of the founder of the UFC. When they became adults, they were put in charge of the Gracie Academy. What they found was that people (like me), who were curious about it, were turned away because of the culture that Gracie or Brazillian Jiu Jitsu attracted. So, they decided to change the way they presented the material. They wanted to create a very different culture and mindset, to appeal to the mainstream for learning it.

That’s when they got me! They started talking a lot about the philosophy, mindset, and strategies that sets Gracie Jiu Jitsu apart from everything else.
What they talked about is one key central idea:
If you manage the distance, you can manage the damage done to you.

If you are 2 arms length distance away from your attacker, you are safe. Also, if you are all the way in, literally hugging your opponent, you are also safe! They cannot hit you with any real leverage from that position.
But if you are 1 arm length distance away from the attacker, that is the danger zone. Yes, you can hit them from there, but, they can also hit you back! And if they are bigger, stronger, and more athletic than you are, it is the worst place to be.

Let me say that again — IT IS THE WORST PLACE TO BE.
It is the worst place to be because you will get hit there. One arm’s length distance is the WORST place to be when facing an attacker.

Do you know where all striking based martial arts like, Karate, Kung-Fu, Taekwondo, Boxing, and Kickboxing tend to place you? One arms length distance away from your attacker — THE WORST PLACE TO BE!

Gracie Jiu Jitsu specializes in getting in close, literally hugging your opponent, taking them to the ground, keeping close, riding their energy, neutralizing their punches and erratic behavior, letting them exhaust their energy, and if they haven’t given up by then, when they are exhausted, and demoralized because everything they tried did not work, you can apply a submission via joint locking their arm to the point of hyper-extension, or doing a vascular choke on them, to end the fight.

This strategy is scalable. That is the most amazing thing about it, is that it is scalable. Kids, Women, Men, people who are not athletic, big, or strong, can all do this. It is a mindset and strategy, that gives way to techniques that do not require any special physical attributes. In other words, it is based on very natural body mechanics.

After learning about this, I had come to realize, that when it comes to self defense, I’ve been doing it wrong for 30 years! I am now a Blue Belt in Gracie Jiu Jitsu, and continuing to learn. I am also sharing the knowledge with all my Kung-Fu students. I want anyone who comes into my world to learn the most effective self defense strategies. And that means, learning the strategies, mindset, and philosophy of Gracie Jiu Jitsu.