What makes BJJ one of the best martial arts? It was established in UFC 1 back in 1993 that Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was one of the most effective martial arts for Self Defense. It was established even before that with several of the Gracie Challenge matches showing the martial art of BJJ triumphing over all other disciplines of martial arts. What is it about BJJ that makes it so effective? Why do all MMA fighters have Jiu Jitsu as part of their training regiment? And why does everyone claim that in terms of pure Self Defense, BJJ is the one martial art to rule them all?

Most other martial arts: Karate, TaeKwondo, Aikido, Hapkido, and even Muay thai and boxing have a heavy focus on self defense from the standing position. Whether you’re a boxer and trying to knock your attacker out or an Aikido expert attempting to break the attacker’s wrist, most of if now all of your attacks are done from a standing, neutral position.

There are a few martial arts that focus a little (or a lot) more on Ground fighting such as Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Judo, Sambo, and wrestling. These martial arts are so powerful for self defense because very few people have ever trained in the art of defending themselves on the ground.

BJJ Classes are primarily focused on fighting on the ground whether you are on top and holding your opponent down or even if you are on the bottom and on your back. BJJ offers you options and a way out even from the worst, most inferior positions. Knowing this, it’s fairly obvious that once the BJJ fighter is able to bring the fight to the ground (which we are also trained to do), they have an extremely significant advantage over the average, unskilled individual and even against a trained striker.

If your main goal in martial arts is to learn to defend yourself, then look no future. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is the martial art for you!