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The Ten Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Moves Every Cop Should Know
By Brad Parker
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu burst onto the scene in America when a quiet, good-looking Brazilian named Royce
Gracie shocked the martial arts world by winning the first Ultimate Fighting Championship in a
seemingly effortless fashion.
What the rest of the world didn’t know is that the Gracie family had been developing this art for the past
75 years in Rio de Janiero. What’s become known as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) proved to be a dominating
factor in mixed-martial arts tournaments throughout the 1990s’.
The public safety sector picked up on its success and now agencies such as the FBI, DEA, and LAPD
and various elite groups of the military including the Rangers, Delta Force and Marines have included
the techniques of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in their curriculum.
"With this you are able to survive long enough for help to get there," says Pat "Hawk" Hardy, long-time
law enforcement officer and current assistant district attorney and criminal investigator for Jasper
County, Texas. "The thing that makes it great for law enforcement is that it’s easy to learn, you don’t
have to be super athletic and it is effective."
Hardy should know what he is talking about – he has 35 years of martial arts experience with a national
full-contact karate championship title won in 1975. In 1977 he fought for the world full-contact karate
title.
"What I like about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is that it’s easy to do," he says. "Most of your criminals out there
have plenty of time to workout and get strong, a lot more time than you or me with a family and trying
to make a honest living."
BJJ Reduces Injuries, Claims
According to Sgt. Greg Dossey of the Los Angeles Police Department, the adoption of Brazilian Jiu-
Jitsu into its arrest and control curriculum is good for LAPD officers, arrestees and the community.
LAPD now has a curriculum that consists of ground techniques based on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, as well as
the traditional joint locks and "pugilistics" or striking techniques.
In the first two years the techniques were introduced, Dossey says there was a 19 percent reduction in
injuries to arrestees and a 8.5 percent reduction in injuries to officers. There was a 13 percent reduction
on excessive force claims against the department and a nine percent drop in civil actions filed against the
city.
He says 6,400 officers have been through the 40-hour program and they receive continuing training
three times a month as well as bi-annual divisional training and an annual recertification.
"We don’t try to make them the world’s most skillful grappler," says Dossey, "but we definitely give
them enough skills to develop confidence on the ground."
He attributes a 24 percent decrease in the use of force reported in all arrests to that increased officer
confidence.
Advantages for Public Safety Personnel
The reality-based techniques and the emphasis on controlling the subject makes Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
perfect for public safety personnel. The techniques put you into a position where your opponent cannot
strike you, but you could, if you chose to, strike him. This gives officers and public safety workers an
option to increase the escalation of force. The techniques also allow a smaller officer to wear out a larger
and more aggressive subject. The techniques do not rely on pressure points for pain compliance. The
bulk of the techniques center on joint locks and carotid restraints. This means that the officer does not
have to be stronger than the suspect, they only have to be stronger than the suspect’s weakest point –
usually his elbow, shoulder, ankle or neck.
The techniques are relatively easy to perform and are quickly picked up by students. In fact, we’ve had
students with as little as two training sessions report using the techniques successfully in securing an
arrest. The responses of opponents to the techniques and strategy of BJJ practitioners are amazingly
predictable, allowing skilled practitioners to appear almost magical in their ability to maneuver the
subject.
Many martial artists and defensive tactics instructors tell their students to "never go to the ground" with
a subject because of the dangers to be found there. However, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners aim for the
exact opposite outcome – their goal is to
always
take the fight to the ground. Both LAPD statistics and
the Gracie family assert that between 65 to 85 percent of altercations eventually end up on the ground
anyway. The Gracies have made a career of training to live and feel comfortable in the position which
has the greatest probability of occurring. Conversely, when you stand up in an altercation, the variables
for you concerning distance, weapons, strikes and movement are theoretically infinite. Unfortunately,
the momentum of any fight can be reversed instantly by your opponent when he lands a lucky punch or
kick, but on the ground everything slows down and the opponent cannot generate much force behind his
strikes.
Here are the ten Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu techniques you should know:
1. The Clinch
The most dangerous distance in any altercation is kicking and punching range. Unfortunately, most
social interaction is done within punching range. The BJJ practitioner wants to either be all the way
outside of hitting range or all the way inside of hitting range. Therefore, most often the BJJ practitioner
will close the distance between himself and the opponent to the clinch, which controls the subject and
limits his punching and kicking ability. Often an attacker is surprised when you close with him instead
of backing up which is what most people do when attacked.
To safely close the distance into the clinch, you must get your head against the opponent’s chest which
puts you inside of his punching range, effectively negating his punches.
z
Get your hands up to your forehead with your forearms protecting
your face like a train’s cowcatcher. Your fists tightly are locked
against your forehead and your elbows are leading forward,
protecting your face against a punch.
z
Move into your opponent by leading with a leg check or a
distracting kick to his leg.
z
As you close the distance, sweep your hands out like you are
swimming the breastroke to block both of his biceps on each arm. Trap his arms by hooking your
hands over his triceps and using your forearms to control his arms. You have your forehead tight
against his chest while hooking over the back of his triceps. By pulling in on his arms and pushing
with your head against his chest, you develop isometric tension, which limits his punching and
movement.
z
Now, complete the clinch by reaching around his back with one
arm and moving to that side. For LEOs, move to your gun side.
Trap his other arm tightly under your armpit and protect your face
by burying it in the biceps of his trapped arm. Pinching your thighs
on his leg closest to you limits his ability to turn and knee you to
the groin.
Now I have control of the subject with one arm around his waist,
which I can secure by holding his belt or clothing. This should be
my gun arm. I can release my hold to either protect my sidearm or
to draw it as needed. With my other arm I am trapping his arm
under my armpit and holding the back of his elbow to hold it and
use it as a shield for my own face.
Finally, I am controlling his leg closest to me to limit his
movement and to protect against a knee to the groin.
2. The Rear Takedown
Often, the next move from the clinch is the rear takedown, but this takedown can also be effective when
used during a standard search with the subject against a wall or vehicle.
z
If the suspect begins to resist, clasp him around the waist from behind
much like you did in the clinch with your head down to avoid any elbow
targeted at your face.
z
Move your foot out block his far foot (for example your right foot steps
out to the right to block behind his right heel).
z
Sit down to drag the suspect to the ground, tripping him over your
outstretched leg. He can’t catch his balance because you are blocking his
foot from stepping back.
z
Roll on top of him for the mount.
3. The Mount
The mount is one of the trademark positions of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. The position allows you to control
your opponent with a minimum of effort by using your body weight. Opponents often exhaust
themselves trying to desperately to escape this position. You also have the advantage of being able to
strike your opponent, but they have very little leverage to strike you.
z
Sit astride of your opponent’s chest.
z
Put both knees on the ground and slide them as high into his armpits as possible.
z
Both of your hands should be spread out wide braced on the ground for balance and to counter
your opponent’s attempts to roll over. Guard your duty weapon by sliding your gun side hand
under the suspect’s arm on that side. Stretch your gun hand high above the suspect’s head to force
his arm up and away from your weapon.
z
Relax your body and become dead weight on the suspect. You can pin his head to the ground to
limit his body movement by pushing your stomach against his face.
4. The Back Mount
This is exactly like the mount with the exception that you are astride the suspect and he is face down.
You will find yourself in this highly advantageous position a surprising number of times when you start
mounted on an opponent as in #3 above. In their effort to escape, almost everyone rolls onto their
stomach. Relax the grip you have with your knees when you are mounted and allow them to roll onto
their stomach -- it’s a better position for you to begin cuffing anyway. Wrestlers are especially
susceptible to this since they have trained to stay off their backs.
5. The Closed Guard
Conversely, the BJJ practitioner
stays
on his back to control you with his legs in the closed guard, a
position that the Gracies are particularly adept. It is primarily a defensive position, but allows you to
control a suspect that has overpowered you.
z
When you are on your back, face the opponent and
wrap both of your legs around your opponent so that
his body is in between your thighs. The higher on his
torso you can wrap your legs the better.
z
Use your legs to pull the suspect towards you.
z
Capture one of his arms by trapping it under your
arm and grabbing behind his elbow. This could be
the arm he is trying to punch you with, but the LEO
will probably have to secure the arm closest to his
own weapon for safety.
z
Use your other hand to hold his head down both to limit his ability to sit upright and to guard
against his using it to headbutt you. Block his punches to your head with your elbow and punches
to your ribs with your elbow and knee.
Hold him here until the cavalry arrives. Be cognizant of your weapon. You can keep him from reaching
it by either holding his arm tight under your armpit or using your knee in his bicep to push his arm away
from your holster.
6. The Kimura
Used as either a weapon-retention technique or an armlock when you have the suspect in your guard,
this move is not named by the Gracies, but many BJJ circles call it the "Kimura" after a Japanese judo
champion.
z
Grab the wrist of the hand reaching for your holster.
z
Unhook your legs and place both feet on the ground.
z
Sit up and reach all the way over his shoulder of
the arm that you have trapped. You will have to
scoot your hips back away from him to have
enough room to reach over his shoulder.
z
Reach in between his arm and his ribs to grasp the
wrist of your arm that has seized the suspect. This
grip is sometimes called a "Figure 4".
to the same side which has the armlock.
z
Using the leverage of your feet on the ground and
the Figure 4 grip you have on his arm, drive his
head forward toward the ground as you scoot out
z
Control the suspect by holding his arm tight to your chest so that it is bent in a shape like an ‘L’.
One of your legs will be under the suspect. Place your other leg over him and cross your ankles to
keep him from escaping.
Now that you have the suspect controlled and his arm bent behind his back, you have the option of
holding him until backup arrives or you can continue to scoot out from under him and begin cuffing
him.
7. The Open Guard
If the suspect is too large or too strong to contain in your closed guard, you will need to switch to an
open guard to push him back.
z
As he sits up to begin punching you, thrust both of your knees into his chest.
z
With your head back on the ground and your hands up
to protect your face, arch your back and push him back
to keep the distance you need to keep from being
struck.
If he reaches for your weapon, be prepared to pull him into
your closed guard and perform the Kimura noted above.
If he stands up, you might need to switch to an alternate open
guard position:
z
Put your back on the floor and your feet on his hips,
using them to control his distance.
This also works well for someone trying to choke you from
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