Can you tell me about Jiu Jitsu?

It’s for self defense, not for being able to get in fights. Any good sensei will refuse to teach you.

I’m not telling the Sensi what I post here, we will keep that between us ok…oh and thank you for the heads up on what to tell him.

As Wikipedia says:
“Japanese jujutsu systems typically place more emphasis on throwing, immobilizing and pinning, joint-locking, choking, and strangling techniques as compared with other martial arts systems such as karate.”

Practicing any martial art is good for exercise, close study with a good teacher is good for self-discipline. Proficiency in a martial art isn’t necessarily going to turn you into bad-ass. Getting into fights is a Bad Idea, and any worthwhile teacher will discourage that.
Jiu-jitsu has evolved quite a bit over the years, and forked several variants. Judo and aikido are both descended from jiu-jitsu, as is the somewhat notorious Brazilian jiu-jitsu as practiced by the Gracie school. BJJ is heavily into grappling and ground-fighting. It’s not as “pretty” as some other martial arts to watch. It sees a lot of use in competitive-fighting tournaments like UFC and that ilk.

Traditional and Brazilian jiu-jitsu variants are not likely to be especially easy to take up. There will most likely be some hard physical training involved to get “up to speed”. Judo and especially aikido are likely to be easier in this regard, although any martial art will be challenging physically if you are out of shape.

Effectiveness against multiple attackers is dependent on the level of skill you have. Running away is always the best defense. Judo is pretty useless against multiple attackers, since it is a formalized one-on-one sport. Of the various jiu-jitsu variants I’ve looked at, only Aikido focuses on defense against multiple attackers (Aikido is entirely defense-based, and is one of two arts I usually recommend for beginners, the other being tai chi.)

@XOIIO Now then, there’s no need to be mean or call names here. You’re better than that. We don’t know for sure that Eggie is an Ed Gruberman…

@Eggie Don’t be this guy.

I am no expert on martial arts, but I did take a class in Aikido. I highly recommend it. As @rexacoracofalipitorius points out, Aikido is purely defensive. I was much older than you when I took the class and was, and still am, overweight. The class was wonderful. I am sure there are more advanced moves than what I was taught, but the elementary ones are easy to learn and very effective. The movement in Aikido is very smooth. It is almost like dancing. When you come up against someone applying Aikido, you feel like you are in control, because your own movement is subtly applied against you, up until the final moment when you find yourself slammed to the ground with no idea of how you got there.

My martial arts instructor used to say: “simple, but not easy” There is no easy way, except to get a gun and shoot anyone who bothers you (ref @XOIIO ) You will have to work hard to keep up in Ju Jitsu, but you will end up mentally, emotionally, and physically stronger.

If I was looking for pure self defence I’d be looking at something like systema, krav manga or kali. As interesting aside when I took up kali beginners started practising with live weapons (knives and sticks) almost imediately. I finished every session with multiple wounds from grazes and bruises to lacerations.

I studied Gracie/Machado Ju Jitsu for over six years. Yes, practicing regularly can help you lose weight and get in shape. It is a grappling style so it probably isn’t great for defending against multiple attackers. It is easy to start Ju Jitsu, it is hard to get good. No, you are not too old for it.

@Lightlyseared is right, if you are all about self defense try Krav Maga. It is pretty bad ass stuff. If you are interested in a more traditional, Asian martial art for self defense I suggest Hapkido. My black belt is in Hapkido and though I haven’t practiced in a while there is no doubt in my mind I could defend myself if I was attacked. Hapkido would also lend itself better to taking down multiple attackers then Ju Jitsu.

@XOIIO‘s point is a good one, most traditional martial arts are taught as a way to avoid conflict rather than a way to bulk up and kick ass. That being said, in every decent size city you will probably be able to find at least one dojo completely detached from those roots that is all about teaching students to kick ass. (Think “sweep the leg” from the first Karate Kid movie). These instructors are usually in it for the money and have very little interest in teaching the spiritual lessons that should go along with any martial arts training. I don’t think you should use @XOIIO‘s information as an excuse to be less than forthright with your instructor. Use his advice, along with your own research, as a way to decide exactly what you want out of your training and what environment would be best for that outcome.

If you want to straight be able to take out a thug go with @SuperMouse, take up Krav Maga. To me it is the closest to defense and attack in actual street fighting situations.

Hey, thanks to supermouse, I think I will take up Hapkido. I found a really good dojo that I am really impressed with. I will still keep jiu jitsu in mind, but the instructor there has shown me a great demo of the techniques. I am sure this will help me achieve my goals. Now my mom would think twice about calling me soft and not being able to fight with anyone. I would be able to really cause some havoc—of course the sensi wouldnt know this though—

I’ve only taken about a year of brazilian jiu jitsu, so feel free to take my opinion with a grain of salt, but if your only motivation for learning a martial art is to prove to your mother that you’re not a wimp and fight people, you are doing it for all the wrong reasons.

That being said, I loved learning jiu jitsu and I would do it every day if I had the time and the money. It was great exercise, and I’m sure it could be part of a balanced weight loss program. Is it effective against multiple attackers? Probably not. The last place you want to be when facing multiple opponents is on the ground. Is it easy to take up? Yes, but it will take consistent, dedicated practice if you want to get good. It’s never too late to start. My class had a local university professor in his 80s who regularly attended.

cool @Aqua Can you tell me what belt you are at? Have you ever been in a real fight situation with it and how much times do you train for a week?

@Eggie I was just a white belt. I never got anywhere close to moving up to blue. I trained probably 3 times a week for about 3 months, then things got busy and I probably went once a week or once every other week after that. It’s been over a year and half since I’ve done anything regular :(. I’ve never been in a real fight, so I don’t have any personal experience for you.