Today during our Our Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) class we worked a potential self defense scenario. We started from the clinch and then worked a simple yet effective take down. In BJJ or MMA the clinch is how we describe the position where two people are grabbing onto each other while standing up. Understanding the Clinch is essential for being able to get your attacker( or in BJJ class, your training partner) to the ground where the BJJ practitioner has the advantage. Today’s take down was the Hip toss, a basic Judo throw that has been modified so that we are making sure we protect ourselves against strikes. Judo is an amazing Martial Art however when practiced as simply a sport when your opponent will not try to hit you certain details can be over looked. So it is essential to make sure you are aware that an attacker will be trying to attack you in a self defense situation and in most cases an untrained person will attack you by trying to hit you in the face.
Once we were on the ground we started working from the bottom position, working from a bad position where our training partner has multiple attack options to a better position where our opponent can not strike effectively or try to submit us. Today we worked moving from the bottom of side control to one of the most well known positions in BJJ among MMA fans, the guard. From here we continued with the trend of working high percentage finishes, the Guillotine. The guillotine is essentially a sleeper hold when you are forced to defend yourself off of your back. In BJJ the fight isn’t over just because you are on the bottom, you can actually win!