Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is one of the most popular fighting styles and considered the most efficient martial art in the world. Currently, with the popularization of Competitive Jiu-Jitsu, some people may be led to believe that Jiu-Jitsu only teaches ground techniques. This is not true. For example, a common question about BJJ these days is: does Brazilian Jiu Jitsu have punches?
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu does have punches, despite being a martial art that focuses on ground control. One of the pillars of BJJ for beginners is self-defense, including teaching how to punch and defend from striking attacks. However, in competitive Jiu-Jitsu and sparring (roll) punches are not allowed.
Some schools and training centers currently focus only on competitive Jiu-Jitsu. I respect that because the sport is for everyone. But disregarding self-defense is forgetting the history of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and one of the main reasons why it started being taught. Fortunately, most major gyms still focus heavily on self-defense in addition to the sporting part. In Gracie Barra schools, for example, the first-ever BJJ class of a student involves a punch defense and counter-attack technique.
Competitive Jiu Jitsu Is Not All
The first point to demystify the about punches in Jiu-Jitsu is the clear separation between the martial art and the sport of Jiu-Jitsu. In competitions and sparring, some rules need to be followed, such as not punching. This is not a bad thing. It helps to standardize techniques and prevent accidents that have occurred in the past due to incorrect and dangerous movements. On the other hand, the martial art of Jiu-Jitsu is not limited to teaching techniques for championships and rolls, but life. In this sense, the self-defense pillar is essential for a complete BJJ student. In life, there are no rules, so any practitioner (and pretty much everybody) need to learn the best ways to defend, attack, and counterattack himself and others in real combat situations.
Looking back at the history of BJJ, you’ll realize that this martial art was invented (adapted) with a very clear goal: give a weak person the possibility of defending himself and others, beating up bigger and stronger opponents. That’s exactly what Jiu-Jitsu represented for Helio Gracie, the most important name in the history of martial art. As he was skinny and not as stronger as his brothers, he was not allowed to train the Jiu-Jitsu brought to Brazil by Conde Koma. But through time, after watching probably hundreds of classes, he created and showed the family his variation of the martial art, what became known as the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. That’s a signal that competitive Jiu-Jitsu is not all. The grandmasters of the art created it with a clear purpose that should be respected. It doesn’t mean that competitive Jiu-Jitsu should not exist, but the roots of BJJ must be respected and taught to the new generations of athletes.
Punches In BJJ: Essential For Self-Defense
The main goal of BJJ is overpowering an opponent in the cleanest way possible, giving him the chance to give up without getting hurt too bad. However, life is not a tournament with judges and rules, and Helio Gracie knew that well. One of the most beautiful things about Jiu-Jitsu is that the art was adapted by Helio to be the best and most effective self-defense martial art, making it possible for a weak and small person to beat a stronger adversary twice his size. Every BJJ student must have at least basic striking skills to be able to defend himself and others in case of need. In most cases, punches and kicks are only used to open space or manage the distance to connect and use BJJ with more safety, but there are cases where striking may be a better idea than transitioning to a takedown and ground control (combat with multiple attackers for example). That’s why in traditional schools defending punches and neutralizing the opponent using Jiu-Jitsu is one of the first techniques that the student learns. Here is a great example of a BJJ self-defense technique that includes punching for distance control:
This is just one of many examples of striking in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, using punches and kicks for distance control and applying Jiu-Jitsu techniques more safely. In addition to being very useful for self-defense in dangerous situations, these techniques are constantly used in MMA fights to take the fight to the ground, whether to go for the ground and pound or try a submission.
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Is Not A Ground Martial Art
People often refer to Jiu-Jitsu as a ground martial art and that’s a huge mistake. The same way that saying that there are no punches in BJJ is not true. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is not (and never was) a ground martial art, it’s a distance management martial art. It’s a different concept that is very important for a student to understand, especially for self-defense purposes and for the effectiveness of BJJ. For example, a simple and major thing to learn is how to position yourself in a fight in a way that you can’t be hurt (or get hurt less) by your opponent. There are only 2 safe distances for a BJJ fighter: away from the adversary, where you can’t be hit; or super close to the opponent, where you can be hit but the strikes will not be as damaging as they would be from a higher distance (no space to strike hard). This is the kind of thing you learn while training BJJ that does not involve ground techniques and is essential.
Related Questions
Do you kick and punch in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu? Kicks and punches are not allowed in competitive Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. However, striking techniques are an important part of the curriculum of legit BJJ schools, as learning how to throw and defend from kicks and punches is essential for any practitioner.
Does Brazilian Jiu Jitsu use weapons? Brazilian Jiu Jitsu does not use weapons. BJJ is a distance management martial art that focuses on overpowering the opponent using leverage, chokes, and immobilizations. Despite not involving weapons, a well-versed BJJ black belt can be as dangerous as a gun.
Can you kick in Jiu Jitsu? As a general rule, you can’t kick in Jiu-Jitsu. However, for self-defense purposes, kicks are very useful, so traditional BJJ schools teach how to kick and punch for real combat situations, despite the fact that striking skills are not allowed in competitive BJJ.