Note that the Bush administration’s responses to September 11 were bureaucracy (the creation of the Homeland Security agency) and blunt massive force (the Iraq War). The terrorists, thus, had made a démarche that invited their opponent to exhaust itself (in politics, bureaucracy, human lives, and treasure), an invitation that was accepted.
Jujitsu teaches that one must conserve strength because one does not know how long the fight will last. A true fight, an alley fight, will continue until one side’s will is broken and it surrenders. In the academy, one is taught, “It’s one thing to be told ‘tread water for an hour’ and another ‘tread water till a ship comes.’ ” And any true fight must be the second.
Applying the principles of jujitsu, a more patient country (less oil-dependent, more resolved) might have declared September 11 the act of criminals and employed its treasure and lives judiciously, conserving its strength and committing its resources more effectively as opportunities presented themselves.
But the United States, in this instance, has acquired some of the debility of age with little of its wisdom. It is still boxing while its opponents are engaged in mixed martial arts.
I’ve spent the past five years and change studying Brazilian jujitsu.
My teacher, Renato Magno, came from Brazil with his masters and friends, the Gracies and the Machados.
The lads lived in mat-lined garages in Torrance, California, went out to challenge any fighter of any tradition, and whomped them. This garage challenge was elaborated by Rorion Gracie into today’s phenomenon of mixed martial arts.
The Brazilians dominated mixed martial arts, using jujitsu to subdue boxing, kick boxing, and practitioners of karate, savote, muy Thai, et cetera, until these chaps started to learn and integrate jujitsu into their games.
