BACK to Previous Page
|
|
|
Jorge Jimenez at KnoxBJJ
Few black belts today can legitimately claim to have learned the original self defense techniques of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu under the direct tutelage of Master Pedro Sauer, but, last week, Knoxville Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu had the pleasure of hosting one of them, Jorge Jimenez.
During his two-day seminar, Jorge showed that even in an age of haymaker-throwing MMA fighters and point-counting sport grapplers, the hallmark of legitimate Gracie Jiu-Jitsu –the devotion to self defense– is alive and well. Grounded in tradition, Jorge says that although he appreciates the ever-evolving nature of jiu-jitsu, he teaches with the goal of maintaining the integrity of true BJJ. And Jorge’s seminar left no doubt that the jiu-jitsu developed by Helio Gracie is still as effective as ever.
The first day of the seminar began with a nearly hour-long stand-up self defense session in which Jorge showed what a realistic attack by a large assailant on a much smaller victim would look like. The first attack, a bear hug from behind, began with a simple escape-and-retreat scenario. Following that, he showed escape-and-attack situations with one technique effortlessly flowing into the next. The situations Jorge showed were realistic, simple to execute, and effective for a small person to apply on a larger assailant. When asked why he chose this particular series for the KBJJ seminar, Jorge says there was one incident in his life which brought home the point that he should not sacrifice realism for the sake of teaching some “fancy” moves.
“I’ll never forget, there was this one time when a student of mine surprised me in a public place by coming up behind me and grabbing me. He bear hugged me, and I realized I couldn’t get out. I didn’t know how to escape this situation, and I was his teacher! I played it off as, ‘Oh, yeah, buddy! That’s hilarious! You surprised me,’ but inside, I was thinking, ‘Oh, my God, this is my student, and I didn’t know what to do!’ From then on, I decided I would never teach anything that was not applicable on the street in a real situation.”
After the stand-up section, it was time to get on the ground. Jorge’s focus here was to show how to protect yourself on the bottom, and how to survive being smothered by a much bigger attacker. Flowing from the survival aspect, he then showed how to effectively escape a cross-body situation in which the attacker is intent on holding you down. Jorge, at about 165lbs, then demonstrated how to execute an escape by inviting a nearly 200lb “attacker” to hold him down. Needless to say, the students in attendance were impressed when Jorge flawlessly executed the technique.
Day 2 began with a long session of foot trip takedowns and drills. Jorge seamlessly continued from the takedowns into demonstrating how a small person could easily hold down a much bigger opponent simply by understanding the techniques of leverage, weight distribution, and relaxation. From there, he segued into several ways to go to mount and even how to take the back.
It was obvious that all of the attendees, from numerous white and blue belts all the way up to a couple of black belts, gained a new perspective on several of the most fundamental techniques of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu thanks to Jorge’s detailed yet easy-to-understand explanations.
Jorge’s knowledge and expertise clearly showed in his teaching, and these qualities have made him a highly respected member of the Pedro Sauer BJJ Association. He has the ability to enhance anyone’s game, not with flashy, Hollywood-type “moves,” but just simple, effective, down-to-earth jiu-jitsu self defense techniques.
Jorge is a great example of the adage, “Never abandon the basics.” Although he continues to learn, grow, and evolve as a martial artist, he is living proof that the original self defense techniques of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu are still effective in the real world. KBJJ would like to thank Jorge for the time he spent here and the direction he gave to all those in attendance.
Jorge is available for seminars, private instruction, and is always ready to welcome new students to his Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Balance Academy (graciebalance.com) in Newnan, Georgia. He can be reached at: Jorge@pedrosauer.com or by phone at 404-917-4400.
| |
|
|
