The BJJ Way

The Good

I have mixed feelings about mixed martial arts (MMA).  One one hand, it keeps the martial arts honest.  Before Royce Gracie fought in the first UFC, most martial artists would tell you that their system was the best.  If you opened up Black Belt magazine, every month there would be one article that would compare two styles.  “Tae Kwon Do vs. Shotokan: Which is better?”  Open up the magazine, and in one set of photos, the Tae Kwon Do guy wins.  In the other set of photos, the Shotokan guy wins.

I started learning Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at the Ann Arbor YMCA when I was a student at the University of Michigan.  One day I was walking though the CCRB (recreation center), and I saw a Ninjitsu class.  The lights were off, everyone was facing a wall, less than a foot away from the wall, with their eyes closed.  No one was moving.  Later I spoke to the instructor or assistant instructor, and the topic of sparring came up.  He said that they can’t spar, otherwise they would kill people.

My first reaction was that he was living in a dream world, suffering from a false sense of security.  But I couldn’t say for sure, I would have to see them in action.  I always believed in the reality of experience over the theory of words.

After I opened my martial arts school, I was invited by one of my students who was having a meeting of different martial arts instructors and students to get together and train.  Like a UFC, but with light to no contact.  One of my matches was with a Black Belt in Ninjitsu.  At first, I was moving conservatively (he might kill me!)  But it didn’t take me long to see that he could barely block a punch.  I started to feel bad for him, and I was embarrassed for him, so I started to slow down my strikes.  We ended up on the ground and he knew even less.  I was surprised to see a Black Belt that was a White Belt in terms of self-defense.

I’m sure there are many Ninjas who can defend themselves.  But this guy would probably get hurt in any self-defense situation.  How far had the martial arts become detached from reality when a Black Belt could barely block a punch!  After the UFC’s had been around for a few years, at least people stopped saying their style was “unbeatable.”  It became for more difficult to live in delusion in the face of the mounting evidence that you have to know how to do at least basic ground grappling, takedowns and defending takedowns is important, and fancy techniques are generally not useful in real situations.

That is the good news about the UFCs.  It has become a proving ground to see what works and what doesn’t work in a real situation.  But it is not the final test.  There are many, many, techniques that would work in a realistic self-defense situation that I have never seen even attempted in the cage.  And I believe that most of the best martial artists in the world do not enter the cage to fight.  However, it is a great way to see what works without getting into street fights and real self-defense situations.

The Bad

Here’s the bad news.  As a school owner whose school offers Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Boxing, Wrestling, Judo, MMA classes, you would think that MMA becoming so big would be great for my business.  It has helped a bit, but I am now getting more phone calls from people wanting to get in the cage than ever before.  Not too long ago someone called and told our front desk manager “I want to learn to hurt people.”  I didn’t call him back.

The growth of MMA has brought with it an ugly monster.  It is a culture of violence and ego.  It is so removed from martial arts that I don’t believe it can even be called martial arts.  Martial arts has two parts to it.  “Martial” means war, fighting, and self-defense.  “Art” means to create something beautiful, something with meaning.  The motivation of most fighters has nothing to do with art.  For 90% of the fighters, it is to get in the cage and hurt someone, get the respect and fear of others, to look good, to make money, and to feel good about themselves.  Having spent time around fighters and the MMA world, I can say with confidence that it is not uncommon to hear a guy openly admit that he loves to fight, and it is a dream come true that he can fight, get paid, and not end up in jail!

For this reason I don’t like calling cage fighting MMA.  I think it is more accurate to call it NHB- no holds barred fighting.  For many competitors, it is not an art.

This is not to say that all NHB fighters are violent ego-maniacs.  There are a few that I believe have higher motives.  A good example is Randy Couture.  He wrestled his whole life, almost making it to the Olympics several times, and loved competition.  Wrestling may have become a little stale to him, and NHB was a great way to push him self through competition.

I don’t believe Couture competes to hurt anyone.  He wants to set a difficult goal and push himself to reach it.  I think he wants to see what he is capable of.

When he is interviewed before a match, he is respectful of his opponent.  After the match, he is respectful.  After a loss, you can’t easily tell that he just lost.  He remains even minded because his purpose is not just to win, but to compete.  It is a zen like attitude to not be attached to the outcome, the product, but to enjoy the process.

Compare that to other fighters.  Before the match, they say terrible things about their opponent.  They make threats and violent promises.  One fighter said something to the effect that with his right leg, he’ll send you to the hospital.  With his right leg, the cemetery!

What ever happened to martial arts being for self-defense?  What about the development of body, mind, and spirit?  The point that I am making that either extreme of the martial arts is bad.  The Ninja probably had a lot of art in him, and little self-defense.  The NHB fighter has a lot of self-defense in him, and little art.  Don’t call it martial arts if there’s no self defense value- call it an art.  And don’t call it martial arts if it’s all fighting- call it fighting.

I have a big problem with low minded people learning how to fight effectively.  I think it is the responsibility of instructors to teach those that they feel will not abuse their skills.  In the Shaolin Temple in ancient China, students would have to prove themselves before being accepted as a student.  They may make them wait outside the temple for weeks or months before letting them in, then making them clean the temple and grounds for a period of time, then just showing them difficult exercises to strengthen their body and mind.  I the mean time they were seeing how bad the student really wanted to learn, and seeing if they were humble.

It is different today.  As a business owner, each student that wants to sign up means more money for the school.  But what I have found is that one bad apple will scare away 5 or 10 good students.  They are bad for business.

Recently I have been thinking about police officers.  The chances of an officer having to arrest someone who is trained in NHB at some point in their career is high.  What about when they go to arrest someone who knows how to fight, and doesn’t live a life of self-control, and this guy shoots in, slams the officer, and ground and pounds him?  I was talking to a guy in a foreign currency trading class, who is from Temecula, California.  He said, “You can’t get in bar fights anymore.  Everyone in Temecula trains in some fighting gym!”

My concern is that people with no self-control, the violent, the low minded, are now learning some of the most effective fighting techniques in the world.  It does not take a lot of practice to learn the rear naked choke, or guillotine, for example.

I had a student who learned at an incredible rate.  He is highly intelligent, extremely creative, and tremendously focused and disciplined.  He earned a Black Belt at East West, and quickly rose to the level of a very good grappler (at least Purple Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu).  We were watching a UFC, and the fighter he had trained with lost.  He then announced that he was going to face the guy who just beat his friend and teacher in 4 or 5 years.

This student has the focus, dedication, and discipline to do it.  I believe if he sets his mind to it, he could get to a high level in NHB competition.  The question is why would he want to?

This student is from a good family.  He does not have a painful childhood like many NHB fighters, and he doesn’t like to hurt others.  He has Black Belts in 4 different martial arts.  I believe that this person wants to challenge himself.  The thing that may hurt him is that he is an evolved person, and I believe some part of him won’t like hurting others.  In boxing and fighting, it helps to have a “mean streak.”  I don’t believe this person has this.

It made me ask myself, “Is this the highest goal of the martial arts?”  My answer is an absolute no.  I believe that much greater things can come out of one’s training than hurting and dominating someone publicly.  I believe NHB has it’s place in the world of martial arts.  It isn’t inherently evil or bad, but I believe most are using it for harmful goals.

It is sad, because the martial arts used to have a bit of a mystical glow to it.  Now that it is associated with getting into a cage and beating someone, the glow has become more faint.

I believe that training in the martial arts makes one powerful.  Your focus, confidence, discipline, and physical skills grow.  You develop the skills to control others.  You then come to a crossroads: do you use it to control others, or do you use it to control yourself?  I have found that dedicated martial artists, wrestlers, and others that can fight usually become either very humble, down to earth, and kind, or they become egomaniacs.  In the worst cases, they become chronically violent.

I have heard of school owners with restraining orders on them from their wives.  I have seen high level fighters losing all control of themselves in their personal lives, becoming drug addicts.  Very sad.

In it’s highest most beautiful form, effective physical skills are taught along with a philosophy of respect, discipline, control, humility, and kindness.  It is modeled by the teacher and the high ranking students.

BJJ

If I had to pick a “favorite” martial art (even though I don’t believe that there really are different forms, they are all just based on principles of movement, leverage, and strategy), I would choose Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.  Sadly, it is one of the worst offenders of teaching the techniques without the philosophy.  They say they teach it, but it is rarely taught.  I have trained in many different BJJ schools with many different teachers, and I can say with confidence that there is a lot of ego and a lack of the teaching of the highest principles of the martial arts.  It is not to say that all BJJ schools are like this.  But it is not uncommon.

I was just looking today at the website of a BJJ teacher that was saying that he teaches the philosophy of martial arts in his school.  I have heard stories of him cursing at students and throwing things at them in anger.

Another well known teacher called a friend of mine, who is his student, and said that one of his students tripped him in his own school, and that the other students laughed.  He was sad that his students weren’t respectful, and my friend told him, “It’s your fault.  You don’t teach them the philosophy, how can you expect them to live it?”

A cop in California was recently telling me that he cannot train in a certain school, because there are known felons training there.

If the philosophy of the martial arts is not taught, and a good example is not set by the instructors, and the high values of the martial arts are not being practiced, it cannot be expected of the students.  If a student has violent tendencies, they should not be taught.  If one slips through and an instructor finds out after they are already a student, they should be kicked out.  There is a reason that students bow when they enter and leave the mat or school, and before and after matches in a traditional martial arts school.  It is to practice the virtue of respect, appreciation, and humility.  Like a technique, the more you practice it, the more it becomes a part of you.

It is much greater to take the confidence, discipline, focus, and will power developed from training and turn those skills on yourself.  Use it to get rid of your bad habits in all areas of your life.  Use it to stop smoking, or drinking a lot, and being a slave of your bad habits.  Use it to set and achieve goals.  Learn a language, become financially free, become a professional martial artist, or become a successful business owner.  Or use it to excel in your spiritual life and find peace.  Use it in relationships.  I have found that when martial artists become confident, they are less afraid of others.  They are then either proud that they can hurt and control others, or they will be kinder and more open because they do not feel threatened by others.  So martial arts training can actually make relationships better.

This is why ancient warriors often went from fierce fighters in their early life, to monks in their middle and late life.  Miyamoto Mushashi is the most famous swordsman in Japanese history because he was the greatest swordsmen in all of Japan.  He fought in dozens of death matches, and often killed his opponents with a wooden bokken, when they had live blades.  He spent the last part of his life as a wondering monk and artist.

Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido, which is one of the most peaceful and philosophical martial arts, was a tough and brutal fighter in his early years.

There are many stories of fighters becoming saints and mystics.  They get to the point where others fear them, respect them, and they still feel empty.  They can’t sleep at night because of the pain they have inflicted.  They reflect on the pain they have caused others and the lives they have taken, and they see the futility of violence.  Lao Tzu said, “The triumph of violence ends in a festival of mourning.”

I am not saying this to say that NHB is bad.  My point is that there are goals to be achieved that will result in much greater happiness than being a NHB champion.  If you have a desire to fight, find out what your motives are.  If you are honest with yourself, and you want to test yourself, to discipline your body and mind in preparation, fine.  Try a grappling competition.  If you like it, look into NHB.

Even still, you can discipline your body and mind and test yourself without fighting.  But if you examine your motives, and you find that you want to express some anger you have towards the world, or you are doing it for glory, or to hurt others, this is not the therapy that will help you.  You will feel a temporary relief, like you would from drinking or another drug, but your issues will return.

Of all the goals you can achieve in your life, the greater will always be the ones that result in the greatest benefit to yourself and others- win/win situations.  Win/lose situations are actually lose/lose.  Whatever you do to others, you are actually doing to yourself.