s BJJ just a sport, or will it teach me self-defence?
^ Being a sport does not mean it’s ineffective. The “just a sport” argument is a common accusation levelled against certain combat sports (judo gets this criticism too sometimes), and a rather ignorant one at that. Taking part in competition (a defining characteristic of a sport) does not automatically mean a style is no good for self-defence. It merely means that it’s possible to use the techniques of that style in a regulated environment, which conversely can result in people who are capable of defending themselves using those same techniques, presuming it’s trained with ‘aliveness’ (in short, progressive resistance: if you’re not familiar with the term, read this). Certain people place great stock in statements like “that’s just a sport, whereas MY martial art is far too deadly for competition”. What they really mean is that they never train their techniques under pressure, and therefore lack any verification that what they’re learning or teaching actually works. In a sport like BJJ
