For some time the martial arts community has scrutinized the
art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for being an art that is “street ineffective”.
However, there have been several instances to date which have proven otherwise,
these instances range from sexual assault cases to robberies etc. This is
something that the martial artists at Long Island MMA believe in whole
heartedly. In recent events possibly the most eye opening instance of Brazilian
Jiu Jitsu’s effectiveness on the street took place on a train traveling from
Amsterdam to Paris. During that trip, as the train was passing through Belgium
an armed terrorist began to attack passengers. He was heavily armed with
firearms such as an AK-47 assault rifle for which he also carried nine
magazines of ammunition (that alone should be indicative of the type of evil
that he had planned) a 9mm handgun as well as a box cutter to use as a melee
weapon.
Two of the three
heroes that took down the assailant that day were military men; Spencer Stone
of the US Air Force, Alek Skarlatos of the Army National Guard and Anthony
Sadler whom is a college student. Spencer Stone is stationed with the Air Force
in Portugal where he trains Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at the Gracie Lisbon branch. He
was the first of the three to reach the assailant and was able to grapple his way
into a tight rear naked choke. As his
friends disarmed the twenty six year old El-Khazanni of his firearms he began
to attack stone with his box cutter and was able to sever his thumb as well as
cause lacerations on his neck, Stone briefly lost the choke but was able to
re-apply it and eventually choke the terrorist unconscious. As the attack
unfolded several other passengers came to their aid in subduing the man by
bludgeoning him with his own weapons.
There are several
things to take note of when analyzing what happened on this train. While
Spencer Stone’s Jiu Jitsu training undoubtedly played a huge role in bringing
down the attacker it may be more than just the techniques that did him in. As
is stated quite well by Rener Gracie in his “Gracie Breakdown” of the incident “in
Spencer’s case it was to their advantage especially when he said I am going to
rush this guy, he has an AK-47 but that’s only good if we stay back, if we rush
him it has no value and they were right”. The advantage that he is referencing
is to the lack of space in the train car. However, to Spencer and all others
that train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu the lack of space that other passengers on the
train were intimidated by is a welcome opportunity to put to use that which he
as well as other Jiu Jitsu fighters are trained to do.
Another point
that is made in this Gracie Breakdown is that it is also fair to note that Jiu
Jitsu as well as other combat sports fosters a mentality of “going down
fighting”. Every day on the mat as they are placed in dangerous and
uncomfortable positions martial artists believe that there is always a way to
achieve victory. Even coming back from the deepest depths in a losing battle,
that battle may yet be won. And it is this “I will not bow down” mentality that
possibly saved all of those lives that day. The fact that Spencer Stone and
others that day refused to accept their fate, they fought back. The natural and
unwavering instinct to fight back is something that is ingrained in a martial
artist through their hard training, and in this case Spencer Stones instinct
may be attributed to the art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
