Can martial arts help with the problem of police brutality in America? It’s a question that seems to keep coming up in the wake of George Floyd’s death. After debating whether or not to share my thoughts, I now find myself compelled to weigh in because of my first-hand experience with martial arts and policing.
Before I launch into my take on this very broad and complicated issue, let me first state that I do not believe that Brazilian jiu-jitsu or any other martial art would’ve made a difference in Floyd’s killing, especially when looking at the record and personal of Derek Chauvin, the now-former Minneapolis police officer who placed his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes before he died in police custody.
I’m no expert on matters ranging from police tactics to legal reform, as I’ll be tethering this column to my actual experiences with both martial arts and law enforcement. I claim no authority in any of these fields, as I believe sharing these stories could help offer more insight and understanding to some of the underlying nuances of this topic.
Firstly, as an Asian-American person of color, it would be silly to not acknowledge the racial equation that sadly exists in policing. And though I’ve perhaps experienced my taste of injustices from being pulled over with extreme prejudice to pepper-sprayed in the face, I’d be lying if I said that I fully understood the perspective of a Black man (for that, I suggest you check out the well-written words of UFC heavyweight Juan Adams).
Racial inequality is certainly at the heart of the problem, but for now, let’s focus more on my experiences through martial arts, as that is the journey that has afforded me such things as training with police officers, taking part in training programs, as well as qualifying for security teams – all of which has helped shape my views on what I believe is an overarching theme of culture deeply seeded with violence.
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Martial arts meets policing
Although historians might be able to cite earlier examples than the 20th century in regards to the relationship between martial arts and policing (especially with militarization being so prominent), people have been connecting martial arts like jiu-jitsu with police tactics as early as the 1930s in this country.
As a kid who grew up with a plethora of police protagonists from the 1980s and 90s, my first career aspirations were aimed in the direction of law enforcement (just ask my 3rd-grade teacher, whom I forced to accept an unsolicited 500-word essay on how and why I was going to become an FBI agent). But with everything from military service to law school being out of the question for an 8-year-old boy, I reached for what I felt was the next tangible connection: martial arts.
After taking taekwondo a little too seriously as a youngster, I decided to move on to a slightly more well rounded style of Shaolin kempo karate. It was a Chinese-based karate style offered by – at least at that time – one of the fastest-growing karate companies in the 90s.
Whether it was a savvy business move or a genuine attempt to broaden our horizons as martial artists, the company started integrating grappling classes and exercises on the regular, which was basically poor man’s judo and jiu-jitsu in retrospect, as well as more practical approaches to weapons and self-defense that involved Filipino escrima tactics over the more flamboyant broad swords or bo staffs. This same martial arts company continued to successfully diversify, eventually establishing connections that ranged from the Shaolin temple in China to local police departments stateside by the year 2000.
It was around this time where the teenage iteration of myself took part in one of my local police departments first dives into martial arts integration.
My chief instructor, who brought me along to help demonstrate and teach the lessons, was both a charismatic and well built white man who had no trouble commanding respect or attention, as the officers – for the most part – gave it to him. Luckily for us, the focus group of policemen appeared to be there by their own volition, as the commanding officers were very gracious to us.
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We made it a point to keep things simple and practical, starting off with the grappling portion of the lesson, which primarily consisted of stuff like hip tosses-to-armlocks, as well as basic positions and submissions like the mount or the rear-naked choke. Keeping in mind that this is taking place during MMA’s “dark ages,” the officers seemed to respond most poorly to this part of the curriculum, especially when my instructor tried to hammer home the effectiveness of grappling by using his teenage protege (me) to offer some resistance in certain scenarios as they either cited frustration or the preference of other methods of force.
After the grappling portion concluded, we moved onto the weapons part of the program, which focused on club and knife neutralization. We figured this part would be much more exciting for the officers, and it was (somewhat).
Although much of this era of martial arts admittedly felt a bit like performing parlor tricks, I remember being struck by how little interest there seemed to be for the more practical, neutralizing tactics involving the club. In fact, I distinctly recall most of the conversation and questions revolving around offensive techniques and the propulsion force of their expandable batons, which seemed to be a point of pride for those cops.
Don’t get me wrong: Given their overall scope of training that ranges all the way from driving tactics to defusing domestic disturbances, we weren’t expecting any of these officers to become Filipino stick-fighting savants anytime soon. Still, my basic takeaway from that trial experience was that the police – regardless of the options or weapons at their disposal – seemed to favor force above all, so long as it supports their perceived goal of order.
Recent statistics still suggest that upwards of a thousand people have already been shot and killed by U.S. police forces this year, as a disproportionate amount of those killed by cops are Black Americans. And when looking at similar stats on “less lethal” weapons like electronic control devices (ECD), reports suggest that black people are targeted at three times the rate of white people – and doesn’t even touch on the problems that weapons applications like these present to mental health.
Nevertheless, both martial arts tactics and its integration into police culture have undoubtedly progressed in the last 20 years, as notable names like the Gracies have gotten into the game through vehicles like their GST program. And though efforts like these mean well in spirit, the recent spotlight on police brutality forces a reminder that even the best of intentions can turn volatile if left in the wrong hands.
The right side of force?
This next part is probably the hardest thing to share given current events, but here goes …
A little over 10 years ago I took a security job for a prominent Las Vegas hotel, where I worked the late shift. In a place full of alcohol and drug-induced partying, the late shift tends to be where all the action is from a security and police perspective. Although I was well into my mixed martial arts training by that time, I still wasn’t anything special to look at, as I was easily the smallest guy on the squad.
Late one night, a group of us security officers got called to the front desk to escort a belligerent guest off the property. The guest seemed to be accepting his fate fine by walking out on his own accord, with us trailing behind him, of course. However, once we stepped out onto the cobblestone driveway of the resort, the man in question turned around swiftly and swung at one of my fellow officers, who subsequently had his glasses smashed into his eye socket from the punch.
Despite taking an elbow for my trouble, I was able to get to the man’s hips and take him down, securing a rear-naked choke shortly after. Now, before you accuse me of glorifying this account, let me assure you that there is little glory to grasp in this story.
Perhaps it was the inherent stress and adrenaline that you often hear firearm operators refer to when having to fire under duress, but I blanked out somewhere in the middle part of the exchange, as I don’t remember coming to until hearing my fellow officers say, “I think he’s good, Tom.”
The man thankfully came to shortly after, as we then cuffed him and got him back to holding. Though this is the part that’s hardest to share in light of recent tragedies, I’d be lying to you if I said that this incident wasn’t celebrated – although not by me.
Sure, I may have rolled into jiu-jitsu class later that morning as I often did after a graveyard shift to let my then-coach know that his lessons helped me. But the bulk of the celebrating came from the security side of things, whether it was my fellow officers or the control room operators who acted as our eye in the sky.
No matter what section of the department or what social click you belonged to, they weren’t exactly the most ingratiating group, as it wasn’t until that night that I actually felt accepted by them. Although these people were primarily former military or police officers, the earning of invisible stripes, if you will, felt more akin to youth gangs in the sense of proving your mettle through violent acts.
With the common thread being cultures that are deeply seeded with violence, then I guess I shouldn’t really be surprised. What happened next, however, did surprise me.
Apparently, the man who we detained and had Metro police arrest in the incident prior was now pressing charges on me and my fellow officers for excessive force, as he suffered a decent-sized gash on his forehead that resulted from the takedown scuffle on the hotel driveway. As soon as I received word of the legal action, I reported immediately to our police liaison, who helped our office handle these affairs.
Even though it was pretty obvious that I was in the right, I was still nervous as this situation got all too real all too fast. After asking the liaison about everything from liability to possible court appearances, he simply laughed it off, as he basically told me that the camera footage needed for the plaintiff’s case was coincidentally unavailable, which is strange given that the cameras were always running.
Perhaps there’s a simple answer there that I’m too dumb to recognize, which wouldn’t be the first time, but I found it strange to see protocols and due process lightly brushed over in that fashion.
My small sample size and understanding of private property and legal action aside, I would later learn that there are grander things in place like qualified immunity to help protect questionable police actions – which sadly makes deciphering right from wrong even murkier than it needs to be.
Final thoughts
Although I took the long-winded approach to tie some things together, I wanted to establish both the context and the bias that I am speaking from.
Despite being a proponent of martial arts who has practiced for the majority of his life, I was able to witness firsthand just how easy it is to dance dangerously close to the edge when given the opportunity to use force. And when said scenarios are surrounded by a culture that encourages, rewards and even protects those who unjustly assert force, then it is up to us a society to reexamine how we operate.
I’m not gonna pretend to have all (or any) of the answers here, but I do know that adding more fuel to what is already a borderline uncontrollable fire is probably not a good idea.
Don’t get me wrong: I worked with some great cops throughout my time on the mats, as police departments who genuinely want to better themselves should be afforded some sort of opportunity. That said, now is not the time to be suggesting for the police to have more financial means or training without first making them accountable by addressing things like qualified immunity, as well as questioning their overall funding and function in our society.
Sure, Brazilian jiu-jitsu may have helped me stay safe once upon a time, but what about this video of a Bellevue (Wash.) police officer using a helpless young black woman as his grappling dummy after already senselessly choking her unconscious?
The lesson here is that nothing is infallible because all things – including martial arts – can be corrupted. To keep focusing on talking points like more funds or outlets for physical force only takes away from the longstanding elephant in the room: systemic racism.