Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art that subdues, restrains, and immobilizes an opponent in a matter of seconds. It is a non-lethal system of self-defense that focuses on grappling and groundwork. Practitioners learn various takedowns, chokes, holds, and locks that can de-escalate and control a situation with a violent attacker. Here are our top 3 reasons why It is the perfect martial art for a police officer to learn.
It Trains Both Body and Mind
From the very beginning, techniques are learned through fight simulation, which trains the student mentally and physically. This is overwhelmingly important as altercations, even before they turn physical, will trigger the fight or flight response, but regular training helps to deal with and overcome this impulse. Mentally, it builds self-confidence in potentially dangerous situations and teaches self-awareness, which reduces the ego getting involved in a conflict.
It De-escalates Violent Situations
In the line of duty, a police officer will use force when necessary, but it does not always need to be deadly. The majority of altercations will, at some point, head to the ground, and the regular suspect will be utterly defenseless to a trained grappler. BJJ diffuses a volatile situation in a way that protects both officers and opponents without the use of weapons and can be escalated or de-escalated as needed.
It’s Effective but Easy to Learn
BJJ is both easy to learn and quick to put to practice. Some police academies have already adopted the sport as part of officers’ annual training but soon realized that training little and often was a far better approach. All of the participants felt more confident in their fighting abilities. Furthermore, BJJ is incorporated by the US military combatives program, which teaches soldiers a mix of striking and grappling to be effective in hand to hand combat.Understandably there are different laws all across different countries on which techniques can be used on suspects but regardless of this, there are still many techniques that can be used to restrain someone successfully.
Watch below to see how Brazilian Jiu Jitsu can be used by a police officer:
Now that the practical and tactical application of BJJ for police forces is more widely recognized, plenty of schools are willing to offer private seminars and classes for officers at an affordable price. Alpha Jiu Jitsu Academy Richmond offers a unique program specific for police officers and front line workers, you can find more about these programs here.
