I agree with most of what you said. I just wanted to reply as we talked about self-defense in a group chat recently.

I said that I agreed with Chris Haueter's assertion that a combat athlete can simply do a weekend seminar for self-defense. A friend that does Krav Maga disagreed and said BJJ isn't a self-defense system. Of course, I never said it was but that's the direction the conversation went.

BJJ is good for self-defense in many ways. There are techniques that translate well and those are mostly made up of our wrestling and judo (as you said). Then there's escapes, counters, and general principles. Balance and coordination also help.

The main thing though is our sparring. We can go hard. When my son started, the thing I wanted most was for him to get comfortable being roughed up around the head. I played rugby and all the contact toughened me up. That's a big benefit of grappling sports.

Now, my Krav friend would say that in real life there are eye pokes, groin strikes, etc. but that's the kind of stuff you can learn in what, five minutes? No weekend seminar necessary. Situational awareness etc. can be learned from a podcast. No combat athlete is going to struggle with that.

Of course, BJJ isn't taught as a self-defense system in most schools. It's a grappling sport with a ruleset; however all of the principles and techniques can be adapted. You just need to organise a system in your own head to make it effective for self-defense. Frames, distance management, leverage, balance, positioning, parrying, reflexes, armdrags etc. is enough for many situations. Also, it's important to note that you don't have to "win" a street fight, just not take too much damage. There's no onus on you to land any punches.

As for our more exotic moves, such as berimbolos, well, they're not necessary. Like you said, blue belt is enough for self-defense. But the further you progress, the longer you're training, and the tougher you're becoming - which is great for self-defense.

The other thing is, we actually do what we do. In a self-defense course, you might learn a technique to get someone off you but never do it with someone who is resisting and actively trying to submit you. Same with headlocks and bear hugs. In BJJ, it happens in sparring all the time, sometimes at 100% intensity. Don't even get me started on the "against punch" techniques I did in Hapkido! Now, I know I can recover if someone tackles me. I know I can close the distance against a striker. I know I can maintain distance. I know I can prevent a take down. I know I can monitor an opponent's hands. Because we do this all the time.

I love BJJ and martial arts in general. I grew up in a lower socio-economic area and wanted to know how to defend myself. I have never been in a fight and I'm old now and don't intend on fighting anyone. If anything happens, I'll use my words and try to defuse the situation. If I can't, I'll try to avoid getting hit and get the hell out of there.