JIU-JITSU FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health research found that between 2012 and 2017, an estimated 303,500 officers were treated in U.S. emergency departments for nonfatal injuries and the main leading causes were workplace assaults: when officers were interacting, detaining, or pursuing a suspect. And since the 1780s to 2023, over 25,000 United States law enforcement officers have died while on active duty, or due to injuries and illnesses obtained while on duty. Gunfire is responsible for over half of all total law enforcement deaths recorded.

That’s where Jiu-Jitsu appears as a tool for prevention.

A study made with 564 police officers that train Jiu-Jitsu mainly in the United States, by a collective of thousands of officers in the USA called Invictus, pointed out that 78% of the interviewed noted that Jiu-Jitsu literally saved their lives (or from serious injuries) while working. The vast majority declared that “Jiu-Jitsu allowed me to control a violent suspect with little to no harm to the subject while giving me the confidence in my abilities.” There were several answers that included very dangerous situations where Jiu-Jitsu was able to immediately control or incapacitate a suspect thus saving them from harm.

Also, 92% of officers stated that knowing Jiu-Jitsu has “allowed them to articulate their use of force better and more accurately, because now they understand concepts like base, angles, leverage, balance as well as body mechanics and range of motion”. This is a way of preventing more serious confrontations and injuries because the officials who know Jiu-Jitsu are less likely to strike or use weapons.

The list of incredible benefits of this martial art for law enforcement officials goes on, and our next observation is that it has a meaningful impact on their psychology with their job. Many cops suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, for example, and Jiu-Jitsu was shown to be a tool to manage it, because they tend to feel mental clarity and more powerful after training.

They all must deal with stress, worries and fear all the time and Jiu-Jitsu, besides being a mental health tool, by releasing beneficial hormones that decreases tension and uplift the life quality, is also a strengthening of self-confidence, very required in this type of job position. The word “confidence” was used 390 times by the officers to describe Jiu-Jitsu gaining in the interview cited above.

Furthermore, learning this martial art is an incredible way for them to increase the cardiorespiratory capacity, very much needed in police operations, and also to get fit, considering high caloric expenditure.

At GB Thousand OAKS, in addition to our GB1 fundamentals classes, in which we teach the guidance of Jiu-Jitsu’s self-defense, law enforcement officers can also participate in seminars that occur about this specific topic. Come join us!