Our mission statement clearly focuses on bridging the gap between competitive, sport jiu jitsu and Combatives / Defensive Tactics for Military and Law Enforcement professionals.  The focus of training for these groups are not mutually exclusive and should be synchronized to create a well rounded training program. The fault lies in academies that focus solely on one focus area at the expense of the other, most often in the name of advertising. School X wants to be the best at “Street self defense” and minimizes competition techniques while, school Y wants to have the most medals (for advertising) training mostly for competition rulesets. Either way both academies limit their students abilities while restricted their mental perspective to their ruleset.

This is where combative programs must different if they wish to be successful. Successful here does not mean monetarily rather, building confident, effective officers and soldiers. Think about that brand new first week student that begins to spar with experienced grapplers. I’ve seen people get frustrated and sometimes lose their cool because the new guy is labeled as bat shit crazy.  No, the guy is untrained and guess what? That guy on the street is more than likely untrained as well and definitely will be bat shit crazy. When shit hits the fan there won’t be any time to “keeping it playful.” Front time to time you should make an effort to grab the newer, inexperienced guy and try playing only from closed guard or focus on techniques that are more applicable to the streets.

Combatives programs must train for the unexpected; guns, knives, multiple attackers, confined spaces (elevator, car), limited mobility, and the list goes on and on. However, just because combatives and defensive tactics programs are designed for military and law enforcement personnel the mindset and training scenarios are extremely beneficial for the civilian as well. Everyone who trains is not only training for the confidence to protect themselves but also to protect their family, their neighbors, and even strangers under certain conditions. Mass shootings and random acts of violence are increasingly on the rise and possessing the skills to be an asset during one of these scenarios is invaluable.

Attempt to identify gaps in your training and address them in order to become more well rounded. Reach out to your instructors and question your teammates. You are the customer and your voice should be heard. Fact – people who train in martial arts are not shy about letting people know. Fact – people are inherently like sheep. This means that because you train Jiu Jitsu you are the sheepdog, like it or not. When something goes bad you will be the one people will turn to for safety and they don’t want to hear that you have only trained for IBJJF or submission only tournaments or are a guard puller. Ask for your training partners to assist you and walk through different what if scenarios. Sure we can’t be prepared for everything or the unknown but by expanding your mind the area of the unknown become smaller.

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