Ever wonder just how effective Jiu-Jitsu can be in a real world situation? Well one man put it to the test by subduing a would-be gunman in a French cinema, preventing a potential massacre.
Rosny, France. Fouad Ben Ahmed was preparing to watch the movie “Man of Steel” (Superman) together with his 2 children in a cinema on Wednesday night at 9:40 pm. A man is then introduced himself into the cinema, armed with a shotgun. “He first threatened the cashier before heading towards the clients lining up to buy tickets inside the cinema” says Fouad. The 37 year old father of two states that in this moment he was “very afraid for [his] children.” Immediately, he decided to follow the man quietly before controlling him and subduing him with a jiu-jitsu technique.
“I was lining up with my kids to buy our tickets for the ‘Man of steel movie’. I then saw a man walking towards the cashier with a shotgun. It was obvious that he wasn’t a police officer. The cashier immediately called for help. As the man was walking towards the other clients with his gun, I told my children to relax and that I would be back. As the man approached us, I hid behind him and followed him for 10 meters as he was walking. When I felt ready I applied a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu choke hold on him from the back and put him to sleep and then put him to the ground and controlled him there. The security and police then came and arrested the man. I had to do something as my children and other children were there. We always of of these massacres with shootouts in public place. We actually went and watched the movie after all that.”
Everyone knows that BJJ private lessons are available at every single school with pretty much every teacher, but most people don’t take them because they can be quite pricey. However, it’s not just a matter of money, it’s a matter of prioritization. Like with any expensive purchase, if you want it bad enough, you can find ways to afford it. This quick list is meant to help bump those of you that are indecisive about them, in the right direction to possibly invest in some private lessons. It doesn’t have to be weekly, it can even be once a month, but either way the benefits can be very useful.
1. You get an instructor’s full attention.
Sure, group classes are great because you get to train with all sorts of different people. However, with that benefit comes a major down side; a good teacher has to divide his time as fairly as possible between everyone in the class. So if you’re in a school full of 30-50 people per class, you’re going to have a hard time getting the most detail out of your professor. That’s why having his full attention in a private for 30 min to an hour is really valuable.
2. Learn as much deep detail as needed.
Another thing that’s great about private lessons is that you can take the time to dissect certain details that you would never have the chance to really get into in regular classes. As many people know, jiu-jitsu is all about detail, a slight angle change in any position can be a world of difference. So this is your chance to really get the details that your game has been missing.
3. Customizable help.
Usually, in regular classes, your professor does not take individual questions – there is a program that is followed and everyone sticks to it, and sure, you can ask your professor questions about what he is demonstrating, but you won’t have the chance to really look into your own game. In a private lesson, it’s all about you. You can write down a list of things that have been frustrating you and you can really work out those personal techniques you’ve been thinking about.
4. Get rolling time with your professor.
Another benefit of getting undivided attention is that you can get to roll with your teacher during your private lesson. A lot of teachers like to roll with their students during the regular group classes, however, in larger classes it will almost be impossible for the instructor to really get a chance to be with everyone. A private lesson will guarantee time where you can test yourself against your teacher and have him/her analyze your game better by feeling you roll.
5. Time flexibility.
Do you have a scattered work schedule? Can’t make it to as many classes as you’d like because of it? Well, a private lesson can be booked when it’s convenient for both you and your professor. Even if your professor has a tight schedule, your options are still better – you can book an extra quality training session whenever possible.
Discovering Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was a life-changing event for me, and while I wouldn’t trade my career in BJJ for anything, thinking back on that time makes me a little sad, because it all started with an act of inexplicable violence. The year was 1993, and I was a young police officer on a metropolitan gang unit in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. I had never heard of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, but I was definitely athletic. I wasn’t that long out of college, where I’d played football both as an inside and outside linebacker. I was also doing competitive weight lifting – going on later that year to break the police weight-lifting record for the state of Texas with a bench-press of 450 lbs.
Prof. Herman Young broke the state policeweight lifting record in 1993, also the year he discovered the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
A Fatal Stabbing
Being on the gang unit was risky business. In fact, for a period in 1989-1990, the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex had the dubious distinction of having the nation’s highest per-capita homicide rate. One of my best friends on the unit was Big Darrell, also a defensive tactics instructor for our department. One afternoon, Big Darrell responded to an emergency dispatch – there had been a violent crime at an IHOP in a gritty corner of the Metroplex, where, tragically, a man had stabbed his own father.
When Big Darrell arrived at the scene, the stabbing suspect was still armed, and violently aggressive. As the suspect rushed him, knife in hand, Big Darrell left his .45 holstered. He chose instead to draw his ASP bat, a non-lethal extendable baton, central to the defensive tactics methods being taught at the time. Using the ASP bat, Big Darrell deftly flicked the knife out of the charging suspect’s raised hand.
But the man continued to charge, tackling Darrell & knocking him to the floor, where they grappled until the suspect managed to wrench the ASP bat out of Big Darrell’s grasp. Next, he began strangling him with it. On his back, with the violent suspect pinning and choking him, Big Darrell somehow managed to draw his .45 semi-automatic from its holster. He struggled to pull the weapon between him and the violent man whose life he had tried to protect, but who now left him no choice. He drew the trigger once, then twice. The pressure on Big Darrell’s throat lessened. He started to be able to breathe again, as the stabber drew in his last gasps and went lifeless.
Blood-stained and shaken, Big Darrell arose from the restaurant floor, as grateful restaurant patrons surrounded him & began thanking him.
Big Darrell’s role that afternoon was an act of consummate bravery – he placed his own life in jeopardy to protect everyone in that restaurant, valiantly putting himself at even greater risk by forgoing the use of deadly tactics until the suspect left him no other choice. He was a hero, and everyone on the unit and throughout the department praised him.
“I Lost Control of the Situation”
But one fateful night, I had come into the office late, hoping to take advantage of the evening quiet to get caught up on paperwork. The office was seemed empty, but as I approached my cubicle, I began to hear a quiet sobbing noise. Concerned, I looked around to find its source. I found Big Darrell crumpled at his desk, head in hands, struggling to hold back tears that would not cease.
I sat down. “What’s wrong?” I asked with concern, drawing a chair up to see if I could help my friend.
“Everyone keeps saying I’m a hero,” he said. “But I lost control of the situation – one that I thought I could control easily. But defensive tactics training doesn’t teach you what to do, when you’re down on the ground, and your own life is in the balance. I didn’t want to take that man’s life. But I had to – and I can’t get over that. I can’t get past it.”
A Fateful Promise
Not knowing what to say at first, but searching for the words, I tried to comfort my friend: “You didn’t fail. The tactics failed. The training failed. There has to be a better way, and I promise I’ll help you find one,” I tried to reassure him.
That promise to Big Darrell was to be a turning point in my life, though I didn’t know it at the time. It started me on a search, leading me down a path to some great adventures. I tell you more about that later…
TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK: “How I Got My Start In Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: Part II”
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Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Tribute
A short video showcasing some of the best highlights
of top BJJ practitioners in the world competing at various
international tournaments.
A documentary of 5 brothers from Brazil who are part of the Gracie family. This is their story and how they also solidified themselves as pioneers in Brazilian jiujitsu. Directed by Robert Arevalo
Brazilian jiu-jitsu is much like a maze. There are many branching paths, and no matter which path you choose, the path splits again. How long does it take for you to get lost?
In each position, you have many different options, much like the paths in the maze. Every move you or your opponent makes creates even more options for you. Many of our Mansfield Brazilian jiu-jitsu students run into the same problem of trying to keep track of where you are and what is happening to you.
Most new grapplers struggle with the idea that there are hundreds of techniques, and that each technique is done slightly different by each unique individual; this results in thousands of variations. Sounds overwhelming, doesn’t it? The best way to keep from getting overwhelmed lies in an old Chinese proverb, “a journey of a thousand miles begins with one small step.”
Begin your journey by getting a big picture of the entire art of jiu-jitsu first and foremost. Understanding the importance of the big picture allows you to understand what is happening to you. Even if you’re getting your butt kicked, you can still try to understand how it’s happening, and it’s these times that you will begin to appreciate the most. As you end up in various positions, try to identify each one.
By using that map, you can find your way out of any maze.
