The self-defense maneuver that saved Rickson’s skin

Has BJJ ever saved your skin? That was the question that Master Rickson heard the other day from a VIP member of the site. Rickson then recalled a terrifying episode, when he saw himself endangered by a huge log that was falling toward him on a carnival night in Southern Brazil. He narrated:

“I was on a trip with friends and saw myself in the middle of a hellish melee. In the middle of a fight, someone threw a giant log. I saw that thing falling above me, and there was only enough time to raise one arm, a simple self-defense move I repeated many times in my jiu-jitsu training, in the classes about defending against blunt-weapon beating. The steel piece went whizzing past me, and I remember having felt as relieved as I was thankful. Without the technique, I believe it would have been quite a bit of damage.”

Now rewatch Rickson’s lesson on defending against big, heavy objects.