Special Focus: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Tuesday 19 July 2022
As many students will already know, Meiji Martial Arts has fairly recently added Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to its portfolio of courses, under the tutelage of Coach Abel Martinez. There are some key aspects of this discipline which are particularly unique.
Firstly, more than any other martial arts discipline, it focuses on turning an opponent’s weight, energy, size and strength against them. There’s nothing necessarily wrong, of course, in being big, heavy, energetic or strong. But against a Jiu-Jitsu practitioner, those qualities might not be an advantage. Indeed, they can be made to work to an opponent’s disadvantage. For example, it’s an obvious fact that a big, heavy person falls more heavily than someone lighter. So, knowing how to bring them down, using their superior weight against them, can be devastatingly effective.
The same is true when there’s a size difference. The smaller person can more easily and quickly access and exploit a larger opponent’s vulnerable spots with the right knowledge. Equally, a stronger person with a lot of energy rushing at you may at first appear daunting, until you learn how to redirect and leverage their own energy against them instead of you.
The net result is that students of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu progressively lose their fear and apprehension, being able to recognise the weaknesses in any opponent, and knowing how to exploit them to their own advantage.
But the road to that kind of confidence isn’t a walk in the park. You have to be prepared to fail, in order to open your eyes to the path of success. As they say, there’s no such thing as a free lunch. Any ego you have is quickly dispensed with, because it gets in the way. Putting the theory into practice takes time and commitment.
The great thing about it, though, is that you’re with kindred spirits, all on the same journey, and many students become lifelong friends and teachers. Dealing with adversity on the mat is a shared experience, and you will learn so much from practising and developing with each other, under the watchful guidance of Coach Abel.
And then you break through to the other side. You know you have the confidence to handle so many situations, inside and outside the Dojo, with skills that will stay with you for the rest of your life.