Does Jiu-Jitsu work in a street fight? Yeah, the age-old question…
But does it, really?

Well, Demian Maia – former UFC fighter and one of the best BJJ competitors of all time – spoke about the topic in a recent “Pura Connection” podcast episode.
Here’s what he had to say [translated from Portuguese]:

When talking about self-defense, one thing that bothers me is that it is almost always very separate from Jiu-Jitsu.
Jiu-Jitsu is self-defense. Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art. People talk as if Jiu-Jitsu was just a sport.

And another thing, people think that self-defense is that part where you hold your neck, do this, hug me from behind, I do this defense.
No, the ground game, after the fight is on the ground, is also self-defense.

Demian continued:

There is no point in a student arriving at the gym and teaching him things like that, because in a real situation, he falls to the ground and the guy punches him in the face, he opens his guard and gets punched in the sac*.

A girl falls, she thinks about putting the other person in a headlock and gets punched in the ribs.

Maia explains that there’s a time and place for everything:

First, the person has to understand when or not to stay on the ground.
She has to, first of all, defend herself and stay safe.

There is no Armbar, no sweep if I get punched in the jaw.