Gideon Tsoutsouris

30 October 2024

From the murder of George Floyd in 2020 to Sonya Massey in 2024, and every traffic stop in between, it is increasingly evident that America’s police do not consist of just a few bad apples. It has become clear that police officers are too quick to employ lethal force when presented with a confrontation. Both state governments and their municipalities have taken varied policy approaches in an attempt to solve the issue of police violence. One bipartisan solution that has proven to be effective in police departments in several cities across the country is the use of martial arts training. This addition has given police officers better skills to restrain individuals without using weapons or other forms of lethal force, yielding beneficial change in their departments.

In 2020, policy makers in cities across America cut police funds, reallocating them to mental health programs, affordable housing, and other social programs [1] [5]. This came as an effort to combat institutional racism within police departments and move funds into institutions that would benefit city residents of lower socio-economic status. Despite these changes, police killings have continued to rise year over year [8], since 2020. Approaches which involved the defunding of police proved to be unsuccessful because they failed to target police behavior, the key issue at hand.

Republican lawmakers in Michigan looked to a new solution: martial arts training. In 2023, they introduced legislation to amend the 1965 Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards Act [6] to mandate that police officers can receive their license only if they have received “the rank of blue belt or higher in Brazilian jiu-jitsu from a certified instructor, or a certificate of equivalent training” [7]. Certificates of equivalent training include a specified level of wrestling experience, experience in professional fights as a mixed martial arts athlete, or a brown belt in Judo [7]. The bill also adds that effective in 2027, police officers must complete a minimum of four hours of grappling training per year. The bill states that instructors qualified to conduct this training include black belts in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) certified instructors, or someone who has twenty or more years of experience as a grappling instructor [7].

Bills like this can be funded through a variety of means. Police departments can self-fund their jiu-jitsu programs from sources like drug seizure revenues, as the Dallas police department has done, or apply for federal grants to fund training [3].

Although Michigan House Bill 5401 was never passed into law, police departments in other cities are implementing similar policies, and it is making an impact. Marietta, Georgia’s police department introduced an optional jiu-jitsu training program for their officers, which led to a twenty-three percent decrease in the use of tasers among officers who trained jiu-jitsu, versus those who did not [3]. According to the department, “suspects were more than twice as likely to suffer an injury resulting in medical clearance if they were involved in a use-of-force incident with an officer who was not jiujitsu-trained” [3]. Citing the city’s resounding success, the state’s law enforcement certification agency, the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council, approved a program similar to Marietta’s for the whole state of Georgia [3].

St. Paul, Minnesota also experienced comparable outcomes, with their police department reporting a “thirty-seven percent reduction in use of force” [2] after officers were required to practice jiu-jitsu as part of their regular training. After taking note of the success of such programs in other police departments across the country, the NYPD has since begun training their officers in jiu-jitsu, enlisting world-class coach Rener Gracie to develop a training program for the department. This program, Gracie says, “will get [officers] better trained and more effective in use of force, more reasonable in use of force, so over time we can repair the macro-relationship between law enforcement and the communities they serve” [4]. Jiu-jitsu is an effective tool for police work because it employs techniques that allow an individual to restrain an opponent without the need for strikes or weapons. Effective grappling training gives an officer a technical advantage over an opponent and the ability to take them to the ground. Once on the ground, it is much more difficult for a resisting person to use explosive movement to gain physical superiority [11]. This removal of an opponent’s explosive movement takes away much of their ability to hurt the officer [11], and jiu-jitsu teaches officers how to maintain control on the ground without using deadly force. If a suspect has a weapon, jiu-jitsu may not be called for; however, that is most likely a scenario in which an officer using their firearm or taser is a just reaction.

The way in which jiu-jitsu is trained is also of benefit to police. In Dr. Richard Segovia’s doctoral dissertation, he concludes that jiu-jitsu is an effective tool for law enforcement officers, in part because it provides realistic training. This type of live situation training helps officers “remain in order under chaotic fighting” [14], a skill that must be developed in order for an officer to use properly measured force in physical altercations. Performing repetitions under stressful conditions in training will prepare police officers to do the same in a real situation with a suspect.

Despite the proven success of martial arts training in reducing police violence, state legislatures fail to pass bills that would require it in their departments. One reason for this failure is that both legislators and their constituents fear that jiu-jitsu training will do more harm than good. Critics of such policy argue that giving police martial arts training will just give them another tool to abuse the public [12] [13]. New York City passed a police reform bill in 2020 that banned officers from using any form of chokehold that restricts an individual’s airflow [10]. Given that jiu-jitsu often employs chokeholds as a means of achieving submission, some fear that this will only contribute to the danger that police violence already poses to American communities.

While the chokeholds and joint locks that are a part of jiu-jitsu do pose a potential threat, they pale in comparison to the threat of handguns, or to an untrained officer like Derek Chauvin, who failed to apply a chokehold in a safe manner taught by jiu-jitsu. Some police departments, like the NYPD, have even taken steps to prevent casualties caused by jiu-jitsu trained officers. Their elimination of chokeholds in their jiu-jitsu practice complies with New York law and provides a safer training regimen for the officers [4]. Rener Gracie’s jiu-jitsu program with the NYPD removes these dangers and focuses on the most positive aspects of jiu-jitsu. In this way, jiu-jitsu is keeping police and citizens safe, while giving officers the tools to be able to control a resisting opponent in a measured way.

Moreover, the numbers do not support any claims that jiu-jitsu will contribute to police violence. In every instance reported in which police departments have adopted jiu-jitsu training for their officers, there have been declines in violence and injuries in physical confrontations between police and citizens. This training will give officers the skills to subdue violent suspects, providing them with an effective alternative to using handguns and other lethal force. Jiu-jitsu training is a net positive for police departments, and passing a piece of legislation mandating its implementation is the next step in reducing police violence and building a more trusting relationship between law enforcement and the communities they serve. For this reason, it is imperative that state legislatures across the country pass bipartisan bills that adopt martial arts training in police departments and academies.

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Works Cited

[1] Levin, Sam. “These US Cities Defunded Police: ‘We’re Transferring Money to the Community.’” The Guardian, March 11, 2021. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/mar/07/us-cities-defund-police-transferring-money-community. 

[2] “Thompson’s Proposed Legislation Would Require Jiujitsu, Grappling Training for Police.” Monroe News, September 20, 2023. https://www.monroenews.com/story/news/politics/state/2023/09/20/thompson-proposed-legislation-jiujitsu-grappling-training-police/70899128007/. 

[3] Ridderbusch, Katja. “Cops Are Turning to Jiujitsu to Curb Harmful Force, Boost Mental and Physical Health.” U.S. News, March 29, 2022. https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2022-03-29/police-turn-to-jiujitsu-to-curb-dangerous-force-boost-mental-and-physical-health. 

[4] Bauman, Ali. “NYPD Begins Training Officers in Jiu Jitsu. Here’s Why.” CBS News, July 1, 2024. https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/nypd-brazilian-jiu-jitsu-rener-gracie/. 

[5] Akinnibi, Fola, Sarah Holder, and Christopher Cannon. “Cities Say They Want to Defund the Police. Their Budgets Say Otherwise.” Bloomberg.com, January 12, 2021. https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2021-city-budget-police-funding/. 

[6] Brown, Richard J., No. 74 STATE OF MICHIGAN JOURNAL OF THE House of Representatives 102nd Legislature REGULAR SESSION OF 2023 § (2023). https://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2023-2024/Journal/House/pdf/2023-HJ-09-19-074.pdf.

[7] “House Bill No.5014.” Lansing: State of Michigan House of Representatives 102nd Legislature, 2023. https://legislature.mi.gov/documents/2023-2024/billintroduced/House/htm/2023-HIB-5014.htm

[8] Mapping Police Violence, October 3, 2024. https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/.

[9] Ramirez, Damali, Taylor Bayly, and Kierstin Foote. “How the Push and Pull of Unions Is Hindering Police Reform around the Country.” USA Today, December 18, 2022. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/12/18/police-reform-unions-role/10849108002/.

[10] Moghe, Sonia. “New York City Council Passes Sweeping Police Reform Bills.” CNN, June 18, 2020. https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/18/us/new-york-city-passes-police-reform-bills/index.html.

[11] Danaher, John. “John Danaher Defines Jiu Jitsu as a Four Step System.” YouTube, January 19, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KC0FYrVfy0. 

[12] Pappas, Mike. “Cops out of Martial Arts: You Can’t Make ‘More Humane’ Agents of State Terror.” Left Voice, August 10, 2022. https://www.leftvoice.org/cops-out-of-martial-arts-you-cant-make-more-humane-agents-of-state-terror/.

[13] Loper, Jared. “Why I Won’t Train Cops and You Shouldn’t Either.” Academic Grappling, February 6, 2023.

[14] Segovia, Richard O. “THE LIVED JIU-JITSU TRAINING EXPERIENCES OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS IN RURAL CENTRAL TEXAS: A TRANSCENDENTAL -PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY,” 2023.