Get Real: Why Police Training Should Involve Some Level of Risk

Jiu Jitsu isn't just about self-defense; it's about control, empathy, and realism. And when it comes to police training, it's the dose of reality that's been sorely missing for decades. With realistic training comes the risk of minor injures. Here we'll outline some key considerations as to why Jiu Jitsu should be the foundation of your agency's hands-on training, and why a getting some bumps and bruises during training is actually a good thing.

Traditional Police Defensive Tactics Training is Useless
Fore decades, most police training has involved unrealistic techniques based on theoretical martial arts, hitting bags, yelling "get back" and conducting training in a static, unrealistic, risk-free environment. There's also rarely any pressure testing of the techniques that are taught and/or "trained." And then we wonder why officers aren't able to gain control of an uncooperative subject in a real world encounter. The old ways of training may sound and look good in theory, but they fall way short when actually put to the test in a realistic setting. That's where Jiu Jitsu comes in, offering dynamic, realistic training, that mirrors the most common situations officers find themselves in when trying to arrest and uncooperative subject or defend themselves in a fight. Jiu Jitsu allows you to train against another opponent with 100 percent intensity, with low risk of injury due to fundamental concepts and principles of the art. 

No Risk Means No Realism:
It might sound counterintuitive, but a completely risk-free training environment is a recipe for disaster. If officers train without the possibility of a scratch, they're missing out on valuable lessons that come from facing actual, real-life resistance. These minor injuries aren't just inevitable; they're necessary. They teach resilience, adaptability, and give officers a true sense of the unpredictability of real-world scenarios.

Why Jiu Jitsu Should be the Foundation of Police Training
Jiu Jitsu emphasizes control and leverage over brute force, teaching officers how to diffuse situations effectively without causing unnecessary injury to themselves or the suspect. However, to become skilled at this, your training can't be done in bubble wrap. Training for real means there's a chance of some minor bumps and bruises. It's this element of physicality and slight risk that drives home the authenticity of encounters officers will face, making them better prepared both mentally and physically.

Additional Benefits if Realistic Training:
When you consistently train, you often get put in bad positions. Through this, you learn to be calm and how to fight your way through it. We often hear cops say they don't need to train because they have a strong "mindset." That's definitely one aspect of fighting, but if you've never been stuck in bottom side control by someone bigger and stronger than you, a mindset is only going to take you so far. You need to practice putting yourself in bad positions and learn how to defend them. A large benefit that comes from this is learning how to be calm under pressure (literally and figuratively) and learning to be conformable in uncomfortable situations. These things have great carry over into lots of other aspects of an officer's job. Jiu Jitsu doesn't just prepare cops for physical encounters; it equips them with the empathy, decision-making skills, and mental fortitude necessary to make split-second judgments in high-stress situations. It's about ensuring that when officers are on the street, they're not just following procedures; they're intuitively responding to the needs of each unique situation.

If your agency is training its officers in a completely risk-free environment, you're not preparing the for anything except failure, and an even higher risk of serious injury during a real world encounter.

Go train. Oss!