{"id":742,"date":"2015-04-23T11:58:37","date_gmt":"2015-04-23T10:58:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/?p=742"},"modified":"2016-09-04T15:07:51","modified_gmt":"2016-09-04T14:07:51","slug":"handicap-and-brazilian-jiu-jitsu-a-technical-inspiration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/handicap-and-brazilian-jiu-jitsu-a-technical-inspiration\/","title":{"rendered":"Handicap and Brazilian jiu-jitsu: a technical inspiration"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cJiu-jitsu for everyone\u201d, a slogan, a claim to underline Brazilian jiu-jitsu\u2019s strengths: a martial-art that everyone can practice<\/strong>. Men, women, young or old people can step on the mat and also people with a handicap.<\/strong> Many stories demonstrate it but just a few media show how disabled athletes approach Brazilian jiu-jitsu.<\/strong> What if beyond the lesson about life they could be a technical inspiration?<\/p>\n

Brazilian jiu-jitsu and handicap: life lessons<\/h2>\n

During the last year you may have seen articles or videos about handicapped Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners on the Internet.<\/strong> These nice lessons of life and courage touch more or less everyone, depending on each person\u2019s sensibility. From Ricardo Liborio\u2019s blind daughter<\/strong><\/a>, to an American father and former soldier who is triple amputee<\/strong><\/a>, these stories affect and make you put daily worries into perspective.<\/p>\n

It is the same about sportive jiu-jitsu. You will easily find a documentary about competitors like the French blind man Nicolas Plessy<\/strong><\/a>, or Paolo Amadeo, a one leg amputee,<\/strong><\/a> who caused a sensation in blue belt at the 2014 IBJJF European Open<\/a>.<\/p>\n

All these portraits contribute to show that jiu-jitsu is for everyone<\/strong>. They also underline its benefits: strengthen self-confidence, develop capacity to surpass or adapt yourself. Especially because there is no special category for the disabled like in judo. All practitioners train and compete together.<\/p>\n

However is there nothing more to find in these Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners\u2019 performance? Beyond the life lesson and the (short) questioning it imposes (because nobody is sheltered from this kind of accident or disease), do we not have something more to learn from these athletes?<\/p>\n

I wished to find more information about the way these athletes approach techniques, fights or how their coaches adapt their teaching. Unfortunately there is not much content about it on the net but we can think about it.<\/p>\n

Be able to do a technique with one\u2019s eyes shut<\/h2>\n

Have you ever tried to literally apply this proverb? The Top Team academy in Iceland<\/a> gave it a try to celebrate Richard Harlow\u2019s birthday, a visually-impaired team member. All the team members wore blindfolds in order to do a blind rolling session.<\/a> They felt totally disoriented despite of Richard Harlow\u2019s advices.<\/p>\n