How Good Is Jujitsu For Self-Defence...really

Hmmm, considering Jujitsu was developed by the Samurai warriors of war-torn Japan for un-armed combat, I think we can safely say it's not too bad for self-defence!

Many of the techniques in Jujitsu don't require any strength, so that again makes Jujitsu ideal for self-defence, even against much stronger and larger opponents.

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How Can It be So Good?

Since Jujitsu covers techniques for punching and kicking, joint-locks, throws, ground-fighting, and even weapons, you'll obviously learn defences against all of these. Once you get to a suitable skill level in the art, you will notice your confidence grow, simply because you know several techniques to get out of the most common attacker situations.

Some clubs will even go as far as to teach defences against a gun! Although you should obviously try to settle every violent situation by talking first, especially if a gun is, or could be, involved.

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What About 'Dirty' Tactics?

Some Jujitsu clubs will teach eye-gouging, fish-hooking (putting your finger/thumb in someones mouth to turn their head on the ground), along with many other 'dirty' techniques to defeat an attacker when fighting on the street.

The only real problem with this, is that you can't really practice this when you're training. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't be keen on someone practising gouging my eyes out during a class!

This is always one area that crops up alot when talking about street self-defence. In my view, those sorts of techniques shouldn't be needed, you should be able to defeat an attacker with the 'standard' techniques of the art, but this depends on your skill level, and obviously... it's not a perfect world.

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What About Karate, Isn't That Any Good For Self-Defence?

The same can be said about just about every other martial art. What you should always look for in any art is what they teach.

Take Karate for example, a strong striking art. So... what happens if your attacker grabs you and you both fall down? Well now you've got no power in your punches or kicks since you're on the ground.

However, with Jujitsu or even Judo, you'll have some basic ground-fighting experience, and know how to take advantage of even this bad position, bearing in mind however that your attacker doesn't have 10 of his/her friends standing round to give you a kicking of a lifetime!

For more detailed ground-fighting information and techniques, you may wish to cross-train in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, which concentrates almost explicitly in take-downs and ground-fighting.

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