I know it may be perceived as a “band-aid” to an open, scathing, much deeper societal wound, but hear me out:  All law enforcement should be REQUIRED to train Jiu Jitsu minimum 3 days a week.

Why BJJ?

Jujutsu (/dʒuːˈdʒuːtsuː/ joo-joot-soo; Japanese: 柔術, jūjutsu  listen) is a Japanese martial art and a method of close combat for defeating an armed and armored opponent in which one uses no weapon or only a short weapon.

“…for defeating an ARMED and ARMORED opponent…”  meaning THEY have a sword(s)/armor and you don’t.

Think about that for a minute.  A furious, trained soldier is coming for you armed with a Samurai sword with the intention of cutting you in half…and you MUST fight him.

*image was taken from Wikipedia, I do not own it

What do you do?

If this were today and you were a cop, your heart rate would sky rocket, you’d panic, you’d pull out your gun and shoot this lunatic with no hesitation.

Rightfully so.

But if you DIDN’T have a weapon – gun, sword, bat, mace, taser,  bad breath – you’d have to fight this person with your hands and technique (or lack thereof).  Running away means you’re definitely getting your back sliced down the middle.  It’s your job to destroy him or else your village, family, food, water and all livelihood will be taken away – what do you do?  During the Sengoku times of Japan, people fought and Jiu Jitsu was born.  It’s time to fight!

In modern times, it’s become routine for police officers administering force to control a physical altercation.

Typically, what I’m seeing in these “police brutality” videos are frightened, untrained cops freaking the hell out when there is a physical altercation and immediately reaching for their firearm.  I believe, judging from body language and the screeching of their voices, that they are scared beyond belief and truly fear for their lives – I do believe an element of extreme fear is present in most of these, if not all of these, horrific shootings.  Someone that panic-stricken needs proper training and as a society we need to ask ourselves:  Do we as citizens WANT this person who gets THAT petrified to be “serving and protecting” us?

If a soldier at war, under live fire, screeched and screamed the way most of these police officers do, not only would they get themselves killed, but they would get their squad killed.  They wouldn’t cut it in the military.

I know what you’re going to say “most of these cops are ex-military”.  OK fine, but were they ever on the front lines under fire or were they mechanics (nothing wrong with that btw, not all soldiers have to fight) in the military?  If under fire, I’m inclined to think they would be able to handle a stressful confrontation with a citizen of the US, but sure anything is possible.  But even THOSE officers/soldiers should be required to train BJJ.

As a blue belt, I trained BJJ with a drill sergeant for a short while and initially, even HE was lost on the ground.  But with some dedication and practice over several months, he became a formidable Jiu Jitsu practitioner.  I currently train with an ex-detective who was initially astonished at how calm I was when we 1st started rolling (sparring).  He was used to people struggling and being tense during a physical altercation.  I wasn’t doing that with him, yet was able effectively control him without anger or extreme use of frantic, physical violence.  He was blown away at 1st, but since then has become more calm in his practice and understands the power of this type of training and technique.

If we all agree to live in a civilised society, then civil servants must act civilised despite being in the face on uncivil acts.  Police officer base salary is roughly $40k a year – $20 bucks an hour.  That tells me these men and women WANT this job that actually makes a difference.  They WANT to help people, so I do believe there are more good than bad out there.  But it’s more than just enlisting in the police force.  These people need proper and continual training.

To further protect the good cops and to not give the bad cops ANY excuses and more importantly to protect civilians, Jiu Jitsu should be in the toolbox.  It was initially developed centuries ago – tested on the battlefield – against trained soldiers armed with swords.  80 years ago, it was developed even further for street effectiveness in Brazil by Carlos/Helio/Carlson Gracie (and other Brazilian families but that’s another post).  In the 90s BJJ came to America, and through UFC #1 was introduced to the world.  They say it takes 100 years for a sport/idea to become part of a culture, so BJJ is still in it’s early stages in popular culture.  Of all martial arts practiced in the world, only 6 percent practiced is BJJ.

What Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is today makes it one of the more complete martial arts on the planet.  It empowers a smaller person with technique to control and restrain a larger person fighting against them on the ground.  9 times out of 10 that’s were most fights happen.

Eric Garner went to the ground, but the officers were NOT properly trained and didn’t realise when to release the (illegal) choke hold they had on him.  If they were trained properly, they would have known he was in trouble.

Also, training in BJJ, you routinely spar at close to 100% – it’s the only martial art/fight style where a practitioner can do that.  That type of training keeps you calm in uncomfortable situations.  In a real fight, yes your heart rate would increase, but overall a person would be calm and collected, instead of immediately going nuclear.  Here is a PERFECT example of what Jiu Jitsu is in real life situation used by law enforcement:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNAS1BRuvIw

What we just saw was a typical altercation between law enforcement and a civilian resisting arrest.  The fight went to the ground where the officer went to a mounted position we learn in Jiu Jitsu, got his feet under the legs of the civilian, dropped his hips and had an “over-under” control of his head and arm.  Yes the officer did use his taser briefly, but ended up holding the man down using an arm triangle.  By that time other officers arrived on scene, but the man was already subdued – essentially unharmed, DEFINITELY not shot or dead.  Everyone went home or to jail that night with a few bruises, but lived.

Jiu Jitsu saved BOTH their lives.

Is it 100% effective 100% of the time?  No.  Nothing is.  Guns aren’t 100% effective 100% of the time either.  They can jam, mis-fire or be inaccessible.  What if he has a knife? What if he has a grenade launcher?  What if… *insert common sense here*

What does this situation tell our community?  To me it says #1 this officer is a badass, #2 this officer was clearly doing his job, unafraid, without appearing malicious or racist, and #3 this officer clearly trains Jiu Jitsu (or some type of grappling art) and should be the model on how to handle these unfortunate situations.

The officer had the confidence to control the situation, the humility to understand when he COULDN’T control the situation, the clarity to know when he NEEDED extra force, and the respect for himself and his own given power and the respect of the civilian to NOT pull his gun and shoot this man.  All lessons we learn on the mats from our respected instructors.  This is the type of law enforcement we need and deserve.  This is Jiu Jitsu.

I don’t know what led up to this altercation, perhaps a routine traffic stop, perhaps profiling – I don’t know.  I’m specifically discussing when things get physical and how to better prepare those who serve so they don’t panic under extreme circumstances.  Perhaps Eric Garner would still be alive if that officer trained Jiu Jitsu.  Perhaps Philando Castile would still be alive if that officer was confident in his training, enabling him to subdue a resisting citizen without the use of deadly force.

Deadly force should be the absolute LAST option – not the immediate and only option.

I know I wasn’t there during these altercations, and those involved are the only ones who truly understand what occurred.  I try to reserve judgement based on the sole fact that I wasn’t there.

But one thing I do know for sure, is the systemic illness our country World suffers from is something that Jiu Jitsu could help with.  It is much more than how to dismantle a human being.  It’s a culture, lifestyle, family, club, support and brings an eclectic group of people together.  At minimum our law enforcement officers, agents and soldiers should be trained in BJJ, but ultimately I would love to see it offered as an alternative to Physical Education in schools.

Getting people in “the hood” to step onto the mats would make a massive change from within as well.  The mats keep everyone honest.  There’s no room for ego and the lesson of humility is learned on the 1st day.  Road trip!

Perhaps I’m wishful thinking, however, if we need an answer this is a tangible, pro-active, healthy start.

See you on the mats.

#BlackLivesMatter – the word “only” is NOT implied.

I wrote this for those who do not train or know what Jiu Jitsu is, for law enforcement officers, and those in the Jiu Jitsu community to share insight, brainstorm, open a dialog and help come up with a collective response to a bigger social issue.  Thanks to my coaches and training partners for all the life lessons this special sport has taught me.

*** I do not own any images or video posted on this particular “BJJ Saves Lives” blog entry***

#BJJ #JiuJitsu #BrazilianJiuJitsu #Training #Police #ProperTraining