22 Apr Control is stronger than violence

Most of the world has a stance or position regarding violence without really knowing it.  Many abhor violence.  They see themselves as someone that considers violence unacceptable and disgusting.  They are completely correct.  Unfortunately they have not considered fully what they would do if they themselves would do if they or their loved ones became a victim of a violent threat or an attack.

It is possible, without much consideration, the response will be one of two things:

1. Respond to the violence with even more violence.  In the hopes that more violence would be enough to overwhelm and overshadow the initial violent action.  Time and again this strategy ends in disaster because more violence leads to bad results in at least one if not both parties in a typical confrontation.
2. Respond to the violence by shrinking away or melting away, an attempt to escape.  (The best expression of this is avoidance of conflict and the violent situation altogether)  Time and again this method ends in disaster when there is no immediate escape or the violence is unexpected and by surprise.

In Gracie Jiu Jitsu we learn that there is another approach; control.  Control is distance management, positional control, submissions, escapes, verbal assertiveness and various de-escalation strategies.  So we can say that controlling how much violence can come your way, while controlling how violent or non violent our response is, sounds amazing.  The truth is not only is it better, but it is more effective.  Teaching people how to control violence, and practice non violent control strategies, is revolutionary.  On top of that, with control, we can choose to diffuse a situation with compassion and regard for human life, or, if forced to, respond with more definitive fight ending techniques like chokes and joint locks.  Chokes and joint locks are not only definitive, but they put the person applying them into complete control of the situation.

The idea is that on top of teaching people the most effective strategies in the world, we also teach compassion and control.  Which makes the world a better place for everyone.