Photo: David Gauthier Photography
Guest post by Mathias Jardin, a Judo and BJJ Black belt BJJ competitor and instructor from GFTeam France.
Hello BJJ community, I am often asked why I do not teach the self defense aspect of Jiu-Jitsu.
I will try to answer in 3 brief points.
– 1 And this is for me the most important, I have never been taught self defense, and I never teach something that I do not know.
Before showing a technique I have to work on it, know its variantions, its defenses, its sequences. It’s my job as a teacher. So I will not improvise become a self defense teacher by watching YouTube videos …
– 2 I do not believe in it at all…
I started judo at 5 years old, I never really stopped, then the BJJ since I was 20 years old. I started to hear about self defense at 15 when I did my katas for the black belt of judo. In the sporting world of judo it is very quickly explained to you that it is more choreography than anything else and most judokas will tell you the same thing. Then I heard about it a little more often without telling me. I naturally forsake this part.
But above all I do not believe it at all. I’m not interested in getting ready for almost unlikely situations.
Matias Jardin
– 3 The BJJ that I teach, is sports BJJ
Of course the goal is to submit but the students must know the rules and know how to use them wisely at the time of the competitions. We try to train the best possible jiu jitsu practitioners but also and especially the best competitors possible, self defense does not really belong there. I gladly leave all the glory to the professor of Bullshido etc …
