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FITBJJ - Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Boxing, Muay Thai, Self Defense, Martial Arts & Fitness Classes In Knoxville TN
427 Marilyn Lane, Alcoa, TN, 37701
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CALL 865 919 7802
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39 HOURS OF MARTIAL ARTS CLASSES - FROM ONLY $17 PER WEEK
Do you live in Maryville, Alcoa, Lenoir City, Farragut or Knoxville? Want to improve your mental and physical health? Do you want to compete in Boxing, Muay Thai, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) or BJJ (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu)? Our martial art classes help every student at all levels! Contact us at 865 919 7802 to find out more, we have the only USA competition boxing ring in town which definitely helps our competition students trying to become better fighters!
FITBJJ - Intro For Self Defense, Martial Arts, Brazilian Ju Jitsu BJJ & Boxing

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FITBJJ - Intro For Self Defense, Martial Arts, Brazilian Ju Jitsu BJJ & Boxing
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Football, BJJ, & Biomechanics

It is no secret that Football is the most popular sport in the US, and to no surprise. As a sport, it has the capability to produce some of the greatest athletes in the world with the right coaching & preparation. But, for any football fans out there, we are going to explain why Football ties directly into Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu & Grappling.
 
BJJ (Brazilian Jiu-jitsu) grappling can make a football player an even better player due to (although not limited to) the mechanical drivers that are involved within the two sports. This is far more significant when beginning football at a younger age. It is not uncommon for student athletes to take up wrestling on their off season because of the integrative strength that can be built through grappling sports. John Madden once famously stated that he “wished all of his offensive linemen had a wrestling background”
 
BJJ is primarily a submission and grappling-based sport. This means that the main goal is to submit your opponent or training partner via strangle holds as well as various joint locks until the other person “taps” to be released. However, to reach that final point of submission there is a very intricate positional chess game that must be played. It involves two people utilizing each other’s reactions, leverage, technique, footwork, hand fighting, body awareness, as well as several other aspects that we will be cover. All these aspects will challenge the practitioner, not only physically, but cognitively for an overall increase in explosiveness, athleticism, as well as understanding mechanically how the body is meant to work most efficiently to produce a force, particularly when dealing with external forces.
 
Starting At a Younger Age
 
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a martial arts combat sport that teaches self-defense, promotes physical fitness, and builds character. The benefits of training BJJ are immeasurable for students of all ages, even children. The key to unlocking the physical, social, and emotional benefits of Jiu Jitsu for younger children is to start training at the right time and under the right conditions. We emphasize the importance of both discipline and respect in being very important factors to getting kids involved in martial arts, but also improving confidence and social skills. All this will be based on the child and what their tendencies or interest levels are.
 
However, pretty much every child will gain significant benefits in their athleticism, durability, and integrative strength when incorporating grappling into their repertoire. This is especially important to note since children will most likely develop their muscular frame and enhance their movement patterns in their early adolescence when training BJJ as well.
 
Generally speaking, the younger you are, the easier it is to learn movement patterns that will most likely be reinforced as your older. Grappling sports like BJJ provide a great foundation of teaching people how to use their entire body to generate force when applying proper technique. The implications of this involve not only a better understanding of leverage and how to defend yourself, but it inherently teaches growing children to utilize their entire musculature by challenging many muscle groups at one time during various contexts. This helps them to efficiently orient themselves all while learning how to deal with external forces putting you into less stable positions and how to get out of them. Something in which football also accounts for through rapid changes in direction, and footwork, which we will touch on later in this article.
 
Therefore, grappling sports such as BJJ do a great job of building overall better athletes in the long run. Especially when practiced with precision and caution.
 
Leverage
 
As is well known, it is not always the case that a larger and physically stronger man wins the match in any sport, including football.
 
When face to face with an opponent, good leverage is essential to gain an edge over your opponent. In this case, this means a lower stance, because the rule is that the lower your stance, the more chances you have to knock down your opponent by not only having a significant advantage in your center of gravity, but to also have the ability to be lower than your opponent where you have a better base of support for a more advantageous and explosive starting position. In football, linemen begin in a lower squatted stance to increase their chances of a successful tackle against their opponent across the field or to takedown an upcoming rival player.
 
Hand Fighting
 
The second essential item is hand-to-hand combat, an action without which football is unimaginable. Literally, every action requires either the player in the line or the receiver to choose the best possible position in the duel with the rival player. Every cornerback with great footwork must have superior handwork to give himself a chance to stop a successful pass to the wide receiver. All this can be practiced through BJJ where hand-fighting is an indispensable part of the sport. You must make effective contact and effective grips in order to direct or manipulate your opponents’ limbs or body in order to gain a more advantageous position or a possible submission. In alternative Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu situations, there are even times where your are fighting your opponent’s hands and legs at the same time. Being able to divert your opponent’s attacking force and use it to your advantage is a pivotal skill to have in grappling as well as football. Great BJJ teaches this action / reaction principle in various contexts until it becomes second nature. An example of this is when face to face with an opponent that is pushing you and being able to use their weight and force against them to off balance them in order to gain a positional advantage.
 
We also cannot neglect the efficacy of making the right types of grips to ensure you don’t lose control of your opponent. A very key principle and a subcategory of BJJ and grappling technique that ties into the various grips that can be utilized to gain even smaller advantages on your opponent that will ultimately make a difference in your ability to control an opponent’s limbs or body.
 
Footwork
 
Although BJJ is a ground-based grappling sport, we cannot neglect the footwork involved in the pursuit of getting an opponent on their back or even when attempting to pass your opponent’s “guard” (a position where your opponent uses their lower body and upper body to defend or attack from).
 
Leg work is perhaps the most important aspect in all sports, including football. It is not said for no reason that in football (as well as various other sports),  the defense firstly plays with their feet and only then their hands follow. All those throws, blocks, and pushes that are integral to football come from the grappling world. Before anything else, the position of the legs and the agility of the lower body determine the success of these actions. Especially in BJJ where opponents can attack your legs, being elusive and mobile with your lower body is also a valuable trait that is learned through BJJ.

WE ARE NEAR YOU AT 427 MARILYN LANE, ALCOA TN 37701
(Our martial arts and fitness gym is nextdoor to the Tennessee Vein Center)

LEARN WITH OUR FREE BLOGS

Why Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ)
There are many different types of martial arts that cover different aspects of self-defense or just certain elements of combat sports as a whole. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), is often referred to as “the gentle art.”
Self Defense To Bully-Proof Your Child
Self-defense and certain forms of martial arts such as Jiu-jitsu can be a great tool to defend against, and even prevent bullying in more ways than just physically
Two Best Martial Arts for Self-Defense
At FITBJJ, we look to do our absolute best at providing an all-round great curriculum to teach people the most proper striking and grappling techniques Maryville / Alcoa has to offer.