5 simple Jiu-Jitsu moves to thwart an attacker and potentially save your life

Would you know how to defend yourself if someone tried to attack you?

A Houston Jiu-Jitsu master offered easy and potentially life-saving self-defense moves that hopefully you'll never have to use.

He tackled five scenarios that involve someone grabbing a victim by the wrist, pulling someone's hair, grabbing them by the waist, an aggressor trying to pin someone to a wall, and someone being pinned to the floor.

He meticulously shows ABC13 how someone should defend themselves and quickly escape.

"Usually, the person who is going to attack, he can see a weak person," said Professor Luiz Rosa, owner of Active Jiu-Jitsu. "Self-defense is going to give you confidence."

According to Professor Luiz, you don't necessarily need to be flexible nor athletic to master the five simple moves. He said the techniques are more about using angles, leverage, and specific Jiu-Jitsu principles that will allow you to defend yourself long enough to escape a predator.

"In Jiu-Jitsu, we always want to make ourselves mechanically stronger than the other person," said Professor Luiz. "You don't have to be physically stronger."

He urges that it's important to understand what's the strongest part of your body so that you can use that part of your body against the weakest part of the aggressor's body.

For example, if your aggressor is using one arm against you, Professor Luiz said that you should use two arms against them. If a predator is using two arms against you, you should use your whole body against them. He said you can easily practice the five techniques at home.

"It's for every age," he said. "I have a 73-year-old student."

Professor Luiz and his wife Rose, also a Jiu-Jitsu instructor, offer women-only self-defense classes twice a year.

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