TEN BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU

The Ten Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Moves Every Cop Should Know
By Brad Parker

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu burst onto the scene in America when a quiet, good-looking Brazilian named Royce Gracie shocked the martial arts world by winning the first Ultimate Fighting Championship in a seemingly effortless fashion. What the rest of the world didn’t know is that the Gracie family had been developing this art for the past 75 years in Rio de Janiero. What’s become known as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) proved to be a dominating factor in mixed-martial arts tournaments throughout the 1990s’.

The public safety sector picked up on its success and now agencies such as the FBI, DEA, and LAPD and various elite groups of the military including the Rangers, Delta Force and Marines have included the techniques of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in their curriculum.

"With this you are able to survive long enough for help to get there," says Pat "Hawk" Hardy, long-time law enforcement officer and current assistant district attorney and criminal investigator for Jasper County, Texas. "The thing that makes it great for law enforcement is that it’s easy to learn, you don’t have to be super athletic and it is effective."

Hardy should know what he is talking about – he has 35 years of martial arts experience with a national full-contact karate championship title won in 1975. In 1977 he fought for the world full-contact karate title.

"What I like about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is that it’s easy to do," he says. "Most of your criminals out there have plenty of time to workout and get strong, a lot more time than you or me with a family and trying to make a honest living."

BJJ Reduces Injuries, Claims
According to Sgt. Greg Dossey of the Los Angeles Police Department, the adoption of Brazilian Jiu- Jitsu into its arrest and control curriculum is good for LAPD officers, arrestees and the community. LAPD now has a curriculum that consists of ground techniques based on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, as well as the traditional joint locks and "pugilistics" or striking techniques.

In the first two years the techniques were introduced, Dossey says there was a 19 percent reduction in injuries to arrestees and a 8.5 percent reduction in injuries to officers. There was a 13 percent reduction on excessive force claims against the department and a nine percent drop in civil actions filed against the city.

He says 6,400 officers have been through the 40-hour program and they receive continuing training three times a month as well as bi-annual divisional training and an annual recertification. "We don’t try to make them the world’s most skillful grappler," says Dossey, "but we definitely give them enough skills to develop confidence on the ground." He attributes a 24 percent decrease in the use of force reported in all arrests to that increased officer confidence.

Advantages for Public Safety Personnel

The reality-based techniques and the emphasis on controlling the subject makes Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu perfect for public safety personnel. The techniques put you into a position where your opponent cannot strike you, but you could, if you chose to, strike him. This gives officers and public safety workers an option to increase the escalation of force. The techniques also allow a smaller officer to wear out a larger and more aggressive subject. The techniques do not rely on pressure points for pain compliance. The bulk of the techniques center on joint locks and carotid restraints. This means that the officer does not have to be stronger than the suspect, they only have to be stronger than the suspect’s weakest point –usually his elbow, shoulder, ankle or neck.

The techniques are relatively easy to perform and are quickly picked up by students. In fact, we’ve had students with as little as two training sessions report using the techniques successfully in securing an arrest. The responses of opponents to the techniques and strategy of BJJ practitioners are amazingly predictable, allowing skilled practitioners to appear almost magical in their ability to maneuver the subject.

Many martial artists and defensive tactics instructors tell their students to "never go to the ground" with a subject because of the dangers to be found there. However, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners aim for the exact opposite outcome – their goal is to always take the fight to the ground. Both LAPD statistics and the Gracie family assert that between 65 to 85 percent of altercations eventually end up on the ground anyway. The Gracies have made a career of training to live and feel comfortable in the position which has the greatest probability of occurring. Conversely, when you stand up in an altercation, the variables for you concerning distance, weapons, strikes and movement are theoretically infinite. Unfortunately, the momentum of any fight can be reversed instantly by your opponent when he lands a lucky punch or kick, but on the ground everything slows down and the opponent cannot generate much force behind his strikes.

Here are the ten Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu techniques you should know:

1. The Clinch

The most dangerous distance in any altercation is kicking and punching range. Unfortunately, most social interaction is done within punching range. The BJJ practitioner wants to either be all the way outside of hitting range or all the way inside of hitting range. Therefore, most often the BJJ practitioner will close the distance between himself and the opponent to the clinch, which controls the subject and limits his punching and kicking ability. Often an attacker is surprised when you close with him instead of backing up which is what most people do when attacked.

To safely close the distance into the clinch, you must get your head against the opponent’s chest which puts you inside of his punching range, effectively negating his punches.

- Get your hands up to your forehead with your forearms protecting your face like a train’s cowcatcher. Your fists tightly are locked against your forehead and your elbows are leading forward, protecting your face against a punch.

- Move into your opponent by leading with a leg check or a distracting kick to his leg.

- As you close the distance, sweep your hands out like you are swimming the breastroke to block both of his biceps on each arm. Trap his arms by hooking your hands over his triceps and using your forearms to control his arms. You have your forehead tight gainst his chest while hooking over the back of his triceps. By pulling in on his arms and pushing with your head against his chest, you develop isometric tension, which limits his punching and movement.

Now, complete the clinch by reaching around his back with one arm and moving to that side. For LEOs, move to your gun side. Trap his other arm tightly under your armpit and protect your face by burying it in the biceps of his trapped arm. Pinching your thighs on his leg closest to you limits his ability to turn and knee you to the groin.

Now I have control of the subject with one arm around his waist, which I can secure by holding his belt or clothing. This should be my gun arm. I can release my hold to either protect my sidearm or to draw it as needed. With my other arm I am trapping his arm under my armpit and holding the back of his elbow to hold it and use it as a shield for my own face.

Finally, I am controlling his leg closest to me to limit his movement and to protect against a knee to the groin.

2. The Rear Takedown 

Often, the next move from the clinch is the rear takedown, but this takedown can also be effective when used during a standard search with the subject against a wall or vehicle.

- If the suspect begins to resist, clasp him around the waist from behind much like you did in the clinch with your head down to avoid any elbow targeted at your face.

- Move your foot out block his far foot (for example your right foot steps out to the right to block behind his right heel).

- Sit down to drag the suspect to the ground, tripping him over your outstretched leg. He can’t catch his balance because you are blocking his foot from stepping back.

- Roll on top of him for the mount.

3. The Mount

The mount is one of the trademark positions of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. The position allows you to control your opponent with a minimum of effort by using your body weight. Opponents often exhaust themselves trying to desperately to escape this position. You also have the advantage of being able to strike your opponent, but they have very little leverage to strike you.

- Sit astride of your opponent’s chest.

- Put both knees on the ground and slide them as high into his armpits as possible.

- Both of your hands should be spread out wide braced on the ground for balance and to counter your opponent’s attempts to roll over. Guard your duty weapon by sliding your gun side hand under the suspect’s arm on that side. Stretch your gun hand high above the suspect’s head to force his arm up and away from your weapon.

- Relax your body and become dead weight on the suspect. You can pin his head to the ground to limit his body movement by pushing your stomach against his face.

4. The Back Mount

This is exactly like the mount with the exception that you are astride the suspect and he is face down You will find yourself in this highly advantageous position a surprising number of times when you start mounted on an opponent as in #3 above. In their effort to escape, almost everyone rolls onto their stomach. Relax the grip you have with your knees when you are mounted and allow them to roll onto heir stomach -- it’s a better position for you to begin cuffing anyway. Wrestlers are especially susceptible to this since they have trained to stay off their backs.