A Nod To BJJ...
In Street Self-Defense
There's an often misquoted statistic that "90% of street fights end up on the ground."
This number has mysteriously gotten higher and higher since it was originally published in a 1988 study on 'Police use of force' incidents, which found that 62% of cop related physical altercations ended with the 'suspect' on the ground getting handcuffed.
...a statistic that means nothing, unless you're a cop.
(Even then, I humbly request that you just use the stupid taser so we can all go to jail in peace. No one needs to sweat through the undies that we're going to wear in jail for the next three days.)
In an analysis of 383 actual fights caught on video, it was found that 119 of them ended up on the ground... so about 31%.
Roughly 1 out of 3 fights can be effected by having skill in the realm of Jiu Jitsu.
Sorta like when Black Belt Sergio Hernandez caught a home burglar sneaking through his back yard... Jiu Jitsu served as a convenient means of restraint. (he breaks down the sequence he used to get into that triangle choke as well... cool video).
Now, much like the study on police use of force, this number will change depending on your goals. Much the same way that cops "need" to toss people on the ground to get the cuffs on 'em, Jiu Jitsu fighters "need" to get to the ground to use their Jiu Jitsu.
Otherwise... they tend to sorta flail their arms around unimpressively.
(While the dialogue in that video is horrible, the guy wisely uses elbows instead of breaking his hands on the back of a skull. Even with MMA gloves on, punching the back of a head is dangerous.)
I digress...
YOU control where the fight goes... not statistics. If you want the fight to go to the ground, be prepared with some high % takedowns.
If you want to stay standing... practice your takedown D, and build your balance... because out of the 119 fights that ended up on the ground, only 41% were from a deliberate takedown.
In other words, in 59% of the cases, one or both parties fell accidentally.
The real world is not a ring. There are curbs, and contours, and occasionally one your buddies kneeling down behind you so that someone else can push you over and chuckles will be had by all.
The ground may be unavoidable. Do Jiu Jitsu.
One more statistic before I wrap this up...
A lot of folks avoid learning Jiu Jitsu because they are convinced that "most fights are against multiple people"... and therefore the ground should be avoided at all costs.
According to the data, this is false.
Multiple attackers were only an issue in 3 out of 119 of those fights that ended up on the ground.
So... less than 3%. And even then, if you end up on the ground, Jiu Jitsu is going to be useful.
(I do have access to a much larger database which suggests a slightly higher percentage of attacks involve multiple opponents, but this also includes stand-up fights; and there's a chance that this effects the data.)
Perhaps folks are less likely to jump in, if they don't have that convenient sucker punch available to them...
The bottom line is this: Jiu Jitsu is good.
Now go invent a vaccine for this stupid virus so we can all get back to it.
Have a fantastic weekend!
-Trav
Great one.