If you're doing striking in you BJJ program then it's MMA.

If you're doing striking in you BJJ program then it's MMA.

If you're doing striking in you BJJ program then it's MMA.

If you're doing striking in you BJJ program then it's MMA.

I am guessing would apply to modern bjj. Old school Gracie Jiu Jitsu always had striking. Not muay thai or boxing but punching, pisao kicking, elbows and headbutts were always a thing we trained to use, defend and also used in sparring. Not every class but at least once a week. I can't speak for anyone else but it has always been part of my training since I started and we continue to teach and train it every other week in class and in rolling. We are doing Jiu Jitsu definitely not MMA. Jiu Jitsu Defined: an art of weaponless fighting employing holds, throws, and paralyzing blows to subdue or disable an opponent

Yes We don't do strikes properly cause we have plenty of great kickboxing and muaythai gyms round and i encourage people to train it, even a little bit. Also 2/3 of my student have a decent striking level, they generally come from those discipline and want to check wrestling/grappling aspect... when i show technique, i always try to explain varient/conséquence with strikes, sport bjj, and no-gi. To me a blue belt must be able to défend and apply basic techniques even if he/she's under strike and also if the opponent do not wear a gi.

Old school Gracie Jiu Jitsu had BAD striking. Why learn bad striking when you can learn good striking?

Yes We don't do strikes properly cause we have plenty of great kickboxing and muaythai gyms round and i encourage people to train it, even a little bit. Also 2/3 of my student have a decent striking level, they generally come from those discipline and want to check wrestling/grappling aspect... when i show technique, i always try to explain varient/conséquence with strikes, sport bjj, and no-gi. To me a blue belt must be able to défend and apply basic techniques even if he/she's under strike and also if the opponent do not wear a gi.

That depends if you are training the sport or the Martial Art. All of Gracie Jiu Jitsu at its core is rooted in Self Defense, Combat and sport. If you train all three then it's the Martial art. It's like asking do you play the North American soccer or the way the Mayans played with the severed heads of the loosers hahah

I am of the unpopular opinion that jiu jitsu is for fighting first and for sport second.

The striking need not be perfect. It's just used to setup the transitions or subs. I think striking in jiu jitsu has come along way from the old Gracie in Action vids. Jiu jitsu is a martial art and if people only want sport thats great but they need to stop acting like fighters. I am of the unpopular opinion that jiu jitsu is for fighting first and for sport second.

Yep, if you are using strikes as a force multiplier to make your grappling more effective then the 'technique' may not look as polished as a kickboxer. But when is the last time you saw a polished kickboxer (not in MMA) striking on the ground to transition positions or techniques? We encourage our students to cross train in kickboxing, because if you have the opportunity it will help develop your well-roundedness and preparation to train in some fundamental technical striking. That's why our kickboxing class isn't geared toward developing competitive boxers or kickboxers. Our school is very aware of its identity, and so we teach sound fundamentals and develop good striking. If a student expresses their interest in competitive striking, then I usually refer them to one of two very solid local fight coaches. I'll happily hold their water bottle in the corner, but they are best suited getting coaching leading up to their fight from someone who specializes in that. There are numerous motivations for training in martial arts. I think it's extremely important to identify and state your purpose, and then set up your training to address the unique needs for your purpose. You can have more than one, but just stay real to your reason. I train for my job (which incorporates the need for self-defense application) but also for fun and passion. I'm a lifetime martial artist, and plan on doing BJJ until I can't move anymore. With a dual purpose, I have to ensure that within my training sessions I train in a way that is conducive to self-defense, and then also incorporate rolls that are specfically geared toward my BJJ development. To each their own, just be real to yourself. BJJ for life!

Which makes sense, given your lineage and time in BJJ. I'd agree it used to be, back in the early to mid 1990s when you could go straight from a BJJ school into an MMA fight and not be woefully unprepared. Today, I don't think that's true: both MMA and BJJ have changed so much that I struggle to think of a BJJ school that could safely send its students directly to a legit MMA promotion with no cross-training. Though yeah, the question of whether a BJJ school can prepare you sufficiently for a real fight is a whole other thing to MMA. My main reservation on that is most BJJ schools I've seen don't focus at all on the 'soft skills' of self defence, which I think are way more important than adding strikes. E.g., verbal de-escalation, dealing with chemical change (alcohol and adrenaline especially), understanding legal ramifications, being aware of your environment, etc. All that aside, one of the many good things about BJJ is that it is broad enough to appeal to lots of different people. So, somebody like me who doesn't care about self defence or competition can enjoy BJJ, people who are concerned about self defence can find schools suited to them too, so can the people who are 100% focused on winning medals.

As for the verbal deescalation and dealing with drunks etc.. we cover that in our fundamentals class. Makes me laugh when we are working on it but the student is mute and does not use any verbal communication to negotiate with the aggressor. You'll hear me yelling from across the mat, "You have to talk to them!" Lol

That's very good to hear! I wish every BJJ instructor who claimed to teach self defence followed your example. :)

The striking need not be perfect. It's just used to setup the transitions or subs. I think striking in jiu jitsu has come along way from the old Gracie in Action vids. Jiu jitsu is a martial art and if people only want sport thats great but they need to stop acting like fighters. I am of the unpopular opinion that jiu jitsu is for fighting first and for sport second.