Self Defense
I believe self defense is what starts most people in their martial arts journey and that is no different for Jiu Jitsu. Other reasons to start a martial art would be for stress relief, a workout or social reasons. I feel a small percentage start an art to compete. And of those who compete maybe one percent reach the elite level.
That said. Self defense is the essence of Jiu Jitsu. I always say in my classes, if you know how to do these three moves you can do Jiu Jitsu. Sport or self defense.
1. Stand up in base: standing up in base literally is what it sounds like. You are standing up from the floor. As adults we have to be taught the technique but watch and baby/toddler stand up and they naturally do it and do it perfect. Now just add in a kick to make space from your opener and you’re all set.
2. Shrimping/Hip Escape: the shrimp isn’t just a warm up that countless Jiu Jitsu schools do up and down the mat to break a sweat. Some say standing up in base is a shrimp where you stand up. Think about it. Same hip movement. There are different shrimps also. Reverse shrimp, seated shrimp (Marcelo Garcia), butt scoot etc... The shrimp is movement in Jiu Jitsu and mainly used as an escape and to make space for transitions and complete techniques.
3. Bump and roll: the bump and roll or upa is sometimes called the bridge and roll. The first part is similar to a wrestling bridge but not done on bridging up on your head. You actually move your head out of the way and roll up on your trap area to complete the roll. In Jiu Jitsu you’re not worried about being on your back and getting pinned like a wrestler. Basically you’re are using the upa to escape from mount in sport or a self defense situation where someone is on top of you. Another use is to bridge in bottom side control to make space to go back to guard position. You can also use the bridge in combination with the shrimp. You’ll notice that all movements in Jiu Jitsu are centrifugal and May go back to the starting point.
These movements are the basis of all Jiu Jitsu and they just scrape the surface of self defense. It would be take a very long time to break down every self defense move (standing, seated, knife, gun etc...) and there are already many good books, videos and instructionals out there. I took the liberty to attach in my opinion the best self defense video and link out there.
~ Steve
https://youtu.be/wuseBnhydrc