Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is famous for teaching effective self-defense on the ground, but is it possible that BJJ can also improve your stand-up fighting skills?
YES! At least it sure helped me! Of course, martial artists love arguing about one style being better than another, but the way I see it—
Each style gives you insight into every other style!
In that spirit, let me share six ways that BJJ changed how I use my punches and kicks. If you’ve had the same experience, let me know!
If the video doesn’t play, try this link! You can find a transcript below.
How BJJ Improved My Stand-Up Fighting
TRANSCRIPT
Howdy! Ando here from Happy Life Martial Arts.
Today, I’m going to share six ways that training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has improved my stand-up fighting skills from Kung Fu and Karate. Some of this is practical, some is more philosophical.
Either way, spoiler alert— if you’re primarily a standup martial artist, I’m going to recommend that you give BJJ a try.
Before we start, I should tell you that I didn’t want to take BJJ. But, like everyone else living in the age of the Gracie revolution and the UFC, I knew I had to give it a shot at some point. When I finally did, my goal was not to give up what I was already doing, or to even be good at BJJ, my goal was simply to stop doing the stupid things that untrained people do when they hit the ground, like sticking your arms out, or rolling over, or crying.
I hated the idea of losing a fight on the ground to someone who only knows a little bit more than I do.
So, I just wanted to train BJJ long enough to learn the basics. I figured it would take about six months.
WRONG!
Turns out, 10 years later, I’m still making stupid mistakes. But over time, I figured out that the mistakes I make aren’t really “groundfighting” mistakes… they’re flaws in my character—my fears and my ego.
By giving me a different way to train fighting, BJJ has given me a different way to see myself, which gives me a different way to improve myself, which is why I think you should try it, too. But before we get too philosophical, let’s get back to the practical.
Here come six ways BJJ has helped me improve my stand up skills and my living skills.
6 Stand-Up Improvements
IMPROVEMENT #1. Confidence
Many martial artists lean away from their strikes or stop from following up because they’re afraid of getting countered. But when you’re not afraid of being grabbed, tackled, or pinned on the ground, that can really add some pop to your punches and kicks.
So, train your stand up art as hard as you can, but train a little BJJ for a back up plan. It’s a lot easier to stand your ground when you’re not afraid of falling on the ground.
IMPROVEMENT #2. Structure
Obviously, punching and kicking require good balance, alignment, and posture. But on the ground, when you get stuck under someone’s entire body weight, you really respect how to set your bones in place to manage the pressure and keep from getting crushed. That deeper level of awareness of how to line up my skeleton has made my punching, kicking, and takedowns even better.
To my sparring partners, I may look the same, but I sure don’t feel the same!
IMPROVEMENT #3. Grip
BJJ improved my grip. I don’t mean stronger, I mean smarter. In my first year or two of BJJ, I was grabbing too hard and hanging on for too long. I was terrified of letting go of a bad situation because I thought that would just make it worse. As a result, I jacked up my fingers big time. The solution?
Stop trying to muscle my way out of every problem and start trusting my wits instead. That led to an even bigger lesson—learning when to hold on to an idea when you know it’s helping you and when to let go of an idea when it’s holding you back or hurting you.
If you can figure that out, you’ll reach your goals on and off the mats. Plus, you’ll save a lot of money on athletic tape.
For more on this topic, check out my podcast, JUST LET GO…AND WIN!
IMPROVEMENT #4. Fighting small battles to win big wars.
In BJJ, when you’re getting choked or crushed, the amount of relief you can gain by just sliding up or down a half-inch is profound. Sure, small, technical details make a big difference in striking, too, but BJJ really slowed me down to respect the little things even more.
Now, I don’t mind throwing an extra jab or two to set up a better position to throw a big punch. BJJ helped me to see that as long as I’m moving forwards towards my goals, even one half-inch at a time, I have a chance to win the war.
IMPROVEMENT #5. Timing
Or picking the right moment. I thought I was in good shape. But on the ground, you’ll find out that good shape is not good enough. You’ll watch in horror as you gas out, lay out, pass out, and not be able to fight back at all!
But good news—burning up all your energy forces you to figure out when to exert yourself and when to relax. When to explode and when to take a breath and fight for something smaller.
BJJ is great for getting your priorities straight and using your energy wisely. If you don’t, well—you’ll end up tapping, breaking a leg, or puking all over yourself.
IMPROVEMENT #6. Contact
Look, I had been doing stand-up fighting—sweeps, locks, and takedowns—for a long time before BJJ, so I thought I was cool getting close to people. But BJJ is just closer.
You don’t just bump and slam into each other for a second or two. Nope! You might end up with someone’s sweaty chest grinding on your face for five or 10 minutes.
But funny thing—over time, that doesn’t bother you anymore. And that’s a good thing because when you stand back up, if someone grabs you or picks you up, you don’t freak out as much.
In contrast, if all you do is point sparring, you might train yourself into believing that anyone touching you is instant death.
Point! Game over.
But in grappling, you don’t fear being touched. If anything, you welcome it because your know that’s your opportunity to control the situation. Let me go a little deeper on this one.
When your main focus is striking, it’s easy to feel disconnected from your opponent. You want to keep them away from you to avoid their strikes, and you only want to get close enough to land your strikes. And even when you do connect with a strike, you only touch your partner for an instant before pulling back to the safety and comfort of being all alone. Grappling is the complete opposite.
Grappling is all about connection. You have to be okay touching someone and you have to be okay with someone touch you. I know that might sound a little weird, but get over it.
Being comfortable touching other human beings is a much healthier mindset than walking around trying to keep everybody away from you all the time.
It’s one thing to feel okay hugging people you love, but when you feel okay hugging people who hate you or are trying to hurt you, you have a very powerful tool in making this world a better place. Either by controlling someone to calm them down and let them go… or pick them up and throw them on their head.
All right! I can talk about this subject all day, but that’s enough for now.
To be clear, I’m not telling anyone that you need to be a black belt in BJJ. But I would encourage you to be open-minded enough to try other martial arts, not to replace what you’re doing, but to enhance what you’re doing. And if that means trying a BJJ class to improve your stand-up fighting skills, go for it… at least for six months.
If you liked this video, thanks for sharing with a friend who you think might like it, too. Until next time, reach out and touch somebody and keep fighting for a happy life.
