MMA in Fairfax - BJJ as Your Primary Ground Combat Discipline

In many of the mixed martial arts schools in Fairfax, BJJ or Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is the preferred system for handling ground combat. This particular martial art allows a skilled practitioner to use any and all opportunities to trap an opponent in a series of inescapable locks and chokes. This also has the advantage of turning an apparent disadvantage into a surprise victory.

But why Brazilian Jiu Jitsu? What makes it so ideal for ground combat in the first place?

Focus on Mounts, Locks and Chokes

Anyone who has seen - much less practiced - MMA knows how up-close the combat can be. This is something that MMA schools anticipate, especially the more competitive ones in Fairfax. BJJ follows a training regimen which focuses on a) learning how to mount an opponent to provide the most leverage, b) locking the joints of opponents to inflict pain that could lead to a tap-out while preventing counterattacks and c) choking an opponent to either force a tap-out or to render unconscious those opponents with high pain tolerance. These techniques are particularly effective when you and your opponent are down on the ground and are chest-to-chest with one another.

Option for No-Gi Practice

Practitioners of MMA prefer to fight bare-chested since this minimizes the chances that an opponent will grab their uniforms, therefore denying leverage in the process. This is why many MMA schools do not encourage their practitioners to wear unnecessary clothing. In the best school in Fairfax, BJJ practitioners train early on how to apply all their techniques on an opponent's body instead of his or her clothing. This gives them a distinct advantage over other techniques that mandate their practitioners wear uniforms.

Integration of Strikes

One unique advantage of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is that many of its mounting techniques allow practitioners to choose between locks or strikes. If you manage to trap an opponent in a top mount, then you can basically demolish him or her with a rain of gravity-fuelled punches. This is but one of many situations where BJJ becomes useful as it can help you defend yourself against counterstrikes by pinned opponents as well. There are various positions where you can trap an opponent's joints in such a way that you prevent your opponent from gaining leverage for strikes. The result: your opponent will throw punches, elbows or knees that have barely - if any - power behind them.

Technique over Power

One final asset that makes Brazilian Jiu Jitsu so effective in MMA is that it relies more on technique than power. In combat, a modest amount of power applied to the weak points of the human body is all that is needed to cripple opponents. Mixed martial arts, however, is still a sport. This means that strikes need to be directed away from vital points and will need significantly more power to become effective. This why MMA strikers rely heavily on powerful blows; Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, on the other hand, has many techniques that disable opponents without causing lasting injury. This allows MMA practitioners with slighter body builds to use their techniques to incapacitate their taller, heavier opponents with the right mounts, locks and chokes.

If you are looking for a solid ground combat discipline to master from MMA schools in Fairfax, BJJ is ideal. Keep this in mind and you'll be able to trap overconfident opponents with your dangerous groundwork.

If you’re looking to learn Martial Arts, Pat Tray is chief instructor at the Trident Academy of Mixed Martial Arts, the premier training and instruction centre in the region. In Fairfax, BJJ, Jeet Kune Do, Filipino Martial Arts, Combat Submission Wrestling and Karate, can all be studied under the best martial arts instructors from across the NOVA and DC area.

Writer and Online Marketing Manager in London.