Try it out. Keep an open mind. Try other things too. When you get some free time, explore the history of the arts you're considering. Also consider 'combat' arts.
I personally love jiu jitsu. I like the art part of it. For self defense, it is going to depend on the situation and the attacker. If it's a family member, I want to be gentle. I want to walk away first. If I can't, I'll use jiu jitsu to restrain them and maybe because they went a little too far, I want to provide them with some temporary discomfort and a small degree of embarrassment.
On the other hand (if for some reason I'm taken by surprise by multiple attackers), I'm going to go with a hard style (not a competition martial art like boxing, muay thai, or tae kwon do) and end things quickly, violating all of the competition rules in place.
I think one should practice both hard and soft styles, so that one can have the option of being gentle (wrestling) or decisive (boxing without rules) based upon the unfortunate and unlikely situation that they have to protect themselves.
Distance is the key. Keep your distance (and angle). If you run away, no one loses. If you're surprised and it's very close, any martial art reflex will beat a knife or pistol draw attempt provided that you have a follow up or a withdrawal reflex.
Sign up and have fun with the classes, but always explore and be open to learning more.
Huge It's always better to look at how to end things peacefully. That said, everyone should look at hard styles like Krav Maga and Bando. We all have to be able to flip the switch and end things decisively.This is really why I am really attracted to Jiu-Jitsu. I trained Krav Maga for awhile, but it is all or mostly striking based. So with Krav you are either not engaged with anyone or you are punching/kicking them in the groin. There is no middle ground, you're either at 0 or turned up to 11. That might be fine for a SHTF scenario but for everyday self defense that is not practical.
Who's training jiu-jitsu and where are you training? I've been listening to the Jocko Willink podcasts and he's finally talked me into getting some training.
I train at Ivey League MMA, and they cross train with Crazy 88 all the time. Both are fantastic schools, and offer classes in more than just BJJ (although that's my passion).
I wouldn't call BJJ (or grappling) in general a "soft" style. It is however controlled. Almost all fights end up on the ground at some point. There is a reason BJJ was a dominant martial art back in the days when UFC was no rules / any style. That said...always good to know striking skills too.
My two cents as someone with a background in BJJ/MMA/Muay Tha/Judo, for whatever it is worth:I've been watching the Gracie University videos and have been learning a lot except that I have no one to roll with. I may do the online thing for awhile to learn some fundamentals before I try a class.
Gracie MD in Columbia