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Reaching peak performance takes time, effort, and dedication. Anyone who has tried to obtain mastery of any skill, whether it’s a martial art, musical instrument, or professional ability (e.g., surgery), knows that there are no shortcuts to becoming great and that you can only achieve peak performance through a combination of knowledge and practice.

Most people decide to learn a martial art because they want to be able to defend themselves in a real-world fight. Similarly, many parents decide to enroll their children in martial art classes because they want to be sure they have the tools and the confidence to stay safe. Those who start training with the sole goal of entering competitions or becoming a professional fighter are in the minority.

Since so many people take these classes for reasons of safety, it makes sense to ask: What is the best martial art for self-defense?  

Training jiu-jitsu is not solely about learning moves and evolving your technique. These are no doubt central elements to becoming better, but making improvements as a fighter also involves conditioning your body to endure the rigors of martial arts. This means strength training, improving your flexibility, cardio workouts, and taking care of yourself outside of the gym—eating clean, avoiding excessive drug and alcohol use, and getting the right amount of rest.

Learning a martial art is a lot like learning how to play an instrument. It takes time and dedication to develop a talent, and people can spend their entire lives refining techniques that they typically learn within the first few months of their training. Constantly performing the same or very similar movements helps to establish muscle memory, but it also allows one to discover subtle variations in these techniques that are then used in a variety of different scenarios.

No one ever wants to hit a plateau when they’re trying to develop a skill. It doesn’t matter if that skill is a martial art like jiu-jitsu or a new language. More than just a pause in progress, the feeling of being in a rut can be deeply frustrating and make training feel like a chore.

Most people start training jiu-jitsu to learn self-defense. As they progress through the program and become more comfortable on the mat, they come to recognize some of the additional benefits beyond just learning moves that can help keep you safe. They may lose a few pounds, feel stronger, sleep better, and become more confident.

Jiu Jitsu is not necessarily hard to learn, but it does require dedication and effort. It involves complex techniques that require practice to master, and the sport can be physically demanding. However, with the right approach, anyone can learn Jiu Jitsu. Here are some tips to help you get started:

Jiu-Jitsu, is a martial art and combat sport that focuses on grappling and ground fighting. It is a highly effective form of self-defense, and is also a great form of exercise and a way to develop strength, flexibility, and discipline.

Conditioning does not always get the attention it deserves in jiu-jitsu classes. As Firas Zahabi of Tristar Gym in Montreal notes in the below video, a lot of jiu-jitsu gyms keep their classes to an hour, spending half an hour on technique, and then half an hour rolling. For Firas, this is problematic because he feels that you cannot be a successful fighter without conditioning. 

Getting to your blue belt in jiu-jitsu is a major achievement. Going from a beginner’s level to intermediate shows that you can dedicate yourself to goals and make a serious commitment. This is not very common. Only around 10% of people who start training jiu-jitsu are awarded their blue belts.

As you grow as a jiu-jitsu fighter, it is natural to want to train with people who are at your level or who are more experienced. If you’ve been at the same gym for several years, you’ll likely be friends with other people with whom you’ve grown as a fighter, and you may be most comfortable training with them. Meanwhile, you may recognize that training with more advanced fighters means an opportunity to learn something new. 

With any sport, there is a risk of injury. Jiu-jitsu is no different. In most cases, injuries are limited to minor bruises and scratches. On occasion, however, some can be severe enough to keep you from training for more than just the day.

As you train jiu-jitsu, you will inevitably want to push yourself more and to get better and better. Even if you’re just there to learn self-defense and to stay healthy, you will almost certainly experience a moment when you are frustrated with some fault that you recognize in yourself. As a white belt, most of these faults will be a lack of training—you simply don’t know the techniques well enough. This may hinder your ability to perform them correctly or it may translate into an inability to defend against them.

Many of us have spent a lot of time at home for the past two years. Though blanket lockdowns are largely a thing of the past, most people will still have to make decisions about the level of risk they are comfortable with when it comes to potentially exposing themselves to the virus. For example, people who are immunocompromised or caring for someone who is going through a procedure that leaves them severely weakened (like chemotherapy) are going to be far more cautious than a young and healthy person who is living on their own.

Coach Firas Zahabi from Tristar Gym in Montreal teaches mixed martial arts classes. While he incorporates several disciplines to give his students a well-rounded understanding of different martial arts, he still feels that jiu-jitsu gives students the foundational tools they need to effectively defend themselves. Consequently, new students typically begin learning jiu-jitsu on their very first session. As he explains in the below video, he tends to then move on to boxing, to striking marital arts that use both the arms and the legs, and finally wrestling.