Merryprankster
12-05-2001, 01:10 AM
Great article here guys. While very accurate, it should be noted that the 'NHB' guard has evolved rather nicely over the past few years and the criticism of that position might be a bit dated.
Also a bit dated is the comment about no gi tournaments.
ENJOY!!!!
Weaknesses of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Originally published in Vale Tudo News, Issue #11
by Brian Kodi
Is BJJ the underlying factor in NHB success?
That certainly seemed to be the case during the early years of NHB as Royce Gracie burst onto the scene and dominated opponents much larger and stronger than him. Royce made his mark and promptly took a leave of absence following his 35 minute draw against Ken Shamrock in UFC 5. He has been missing in action for quite some time. Reason: Proficiency in BJJ is no longer the dominating factor in NHB success, and Royce can no longer be the formidable fighter he once was under no time limits. This assertion first became apparent with Amaury Bitteti's devastating loss to Mestre Hulk, a mediocre NHB fighter at best. Bitteti is creme of the crop of Sport Jiu Jitsu. Then came Joe Moreira's inability to pose any kind of a threat to Paul Varelans in UFC 8. Moreira was dismissed as an unknown in the BJJ community until Wallid Ismail reminded us that winning BJJ tournaments does not necessarily translate into winning NHB fights. Ismail, another tournament Jiu Jitsu elite, lost to Takahashi, an unimpressive Japanese fighter. In essence, Ismail became the nail in the coffin for the most avid fans of BJJ who beheld this style as the second coming of Christ.
There are several reasons why BJJ skills have increasingly taken a back seat to such factors as size, strength and striking ability. In order of importance:
Training predominantly with a gi in BJJ has become a detriment: Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is excessively dependent on clothing to hold, reverse and submit. Since most contestants in NHB do not wear a gi, Jiu Jitsu loses a part of its potency. It is interesting to note the few times fully clothed opponents have faced top notch BJJ practitioners, their gis were used to make them tap, i.e. Royce vs. Ichihara, Royce vs. Pardoel, Renzo vs. Spijkers. Luta Livre fighters distinguish themselves from BJJ by training without a gi, but their pool of participants is deficient of talent. Hence their success in NHB events has been limited. Solution: Spend a comparable amount of time practicing without a gi. Submission tournaments are a necessity in the evolution of a NHB fighter. There's a desperate need for submission contests without clothing, i.e. Combat wrestling. NHB tournaments are not the place to develop NHB skills. When a fighter battles in a cage, he or she is there to execute, not to learn. No Rules tournaments are inherently dangerous. Therefore, the amount of time a fighter spends in actual combat is very limited. The preparation should take place in an environment as close as to the real thing without the exorbitant risk of injury. Jorge "Macaco" Patino, an aggressive and talented brown belt in BJJ has lost twice to Pele, a Muay Thai fighter with decent groundfighting skills. Johil, one of the most notable Luta Livre fighters, subsequently beat Pele in the final match of WVC IV. Patino would've undoubtedly had a field day against Pele if the latter came to fight fully clothed. In UFC 12, Vitor Belfort of BJJ had ample opportunity to mount Scott Ferozzo from behind and get his hooks in. According to Belfort, he elected not to establish the godly mounted position and took Ferozzo out with punches from the rear simply because Ferozzo's nylon tights were too slippery. In his decision to forgo the mount, Belfort was also concerned about the 300+ lb. of baggage Ferozzo brought with him to the Octagon. Therefore, size, strength and lack of the opponent's clothing caused an unprecedented divergence in a top BJJ fighter's strategy.
The BJJ guard has lost its effectiveness in NHB: Royce Gracie's mastery in fighting on his back gave everyone an erroneous illustration of the guard and its true limitations. Two factors contributed to Royce's successes accomplished predominantly on his back: His vast experience fighting from the guard that spans at least a couple of decades, and the fact that his opponents were initially unaccustomed to the BJJ guard. In UFC 2, Ken Shamrock tapped the canvas quickly against Royce, but managed to stay in Royce's guard for 35 minutes during their rematch in UFC 5. Royce also possesses an important prerequisite for a potent guard: Long legs. The two other top NHB fighters who make the guard an integral part of their arsenals are Ricardo Morais and Carlao Barreto, 6'7" and 6'4" in height, respectively. In other words to make the guard pay off, chances of success increase siginificantly with longer legs and ample experience practicing the guard without a gi, or else an avalanche of strikes to the face and body of the bottom man is in the making. If Erickson had half the striking skills of Jackson and Monday, he would've prevailed against Murilo Bustamante in MARS. As one of the worst strikers in NHB, Erickson still managed to bruise and bloody Murilo's face. BJJ's weak takedown is partly to blame for opting to fight from the guard which brings us to the next factor:
Takedowns are not adequately addressed in BJJ: The prevailing philosophy has been that going to the ground is the goal, and how you get there is of less importance. A takedown in a BJJ tournament is worth only 2 points, one of the lowest scores attributed to a portion of the fight that can dictate the final outcome. Wrestlers train vigorously not to go on their back. Arguably, they have the best base and can stay in someone's guard and finish the fight from strikes without attempting to pass the guard even once. A perfect example of this was Kenny Monday vs. John Lewis in EFC IV. Monday was in danger of losing the fight only in the beginning where he was caught in a straight armbar which he managed to pull out using sheer strength. From then on it was Monday dominating with a strong base and continuous leveraged strikes. Awarding more points for takedowns without the aid of a gi (i.e. single or double leg takedowns) in BJJ tournaments should narrow the gap in this weakness somewhat.
Conditioning: BJJ tournaments are a great medium for improving dominant position skills, but conditioning for NHB tournaments requires a vastly different training regimen. In BJJ, participants can and often fight in spurts since the threat of bodily harm from strikes is nil. If a fighter has a good guard, he can lay back and take a breather once in a while, using a minuscule amount of effort warding off his opponent's attempts at passing the guard. Nowadays, in NHB, passing the guard is of infinitesimally less importance than striking your opponent from inside his guard. When strikes are raining down, a maximum amount of effort must be used as preventative strategy by the bottom person which requires considerable stamina. Patino started both of his fights against Pele with a burst of energy. He mounted and struck Pele, only to run out of gas half way through the fight and lose both times. Another problem world class BJJ fighters are facing is when their opponents refuse to hit the deck early on which also goes back to the weak takedown factor. Ismail and Bitteti were exhausted and battered on their feet to the point that going to the ground became a handicap.
Minuscule lower body submission: Experienced Shootfighters can end the fight against the BJJ elite at a moment's notice. Allan Goes' ankle was badly broken by Frank Shamrock in a Pancrase match. Goes was lucky the referee gave him an escape since he was too close to the edge of the ring. After the cast was taken off his ankle, Goes became determined to master the lower body submission game. During one of his trips to Brazil, he surprised many of his previous grappling partners by applying quick lower body submission techniques. The persisting hostile stance of the BJJ community to lower body submission only adds to this weakness.
Standup striking skills are of least importance if a BJJ fighter has the takedown and stamina of a world class wrestler. Vitor Belfort's astonishing boxing skills are an anomaly, not the norm. Of course it doesn't hurt to know how to strike well, but according to the 20:80 rule which states 20% of the effort accounts for 80% of the result, takedown and ground grappling skills reign supreme to standup striking skills.
On a final note, it is important to distinguish between a training regimen for NHB and a street fight. In a street fight, your opponent is fully clothed and does not expect to be triangle choked. Training exclusively with clothing, a handicap in NHB, becomes a potent weapon in a real fight. Stamina is of less importance in a street fight since most fights usually end quickly. Standup striking skills move up a few notches on the importance scale since it is always better to end a fight standing up than on the ground. The unpredictable nature of a street fight and the surrounding crowd are drawbacks to ground grappling. The overwhelming odds of winning are in favor of he who strikes first, strikes fast, and strikes hard.
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu will still give the biggest bang for the buck in NHB and street fighting, but with new and improved competition, changes must be made to address the short comings mentioned above and make BJJ "The underlying factor in NHB success" once again.
Also a bit dated is the comment about no gi tournaments.
ENJOY!!!!
Weaknesses of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Originally published in Vale Tudo News, Issue #11
by Brian Kodi
Is BJJ the underlying factor in NHB success?
That certainly seemed to be the case during the early years of NHB as Royce Gracie burst onto the scene and dominated opponents much larger and stronger than him. Royce made his mark and promptly took a leave of absence following his 35 minute draw against Ken Shamrock in UFC 5. He has been missing in action for quite some time. Reason: Proficiency in BJJ is no longer the dominating factor in NHB success, and Royce can no longer be the formidable fighter he once was under no time limits. This assertion first became apparent with Amaury Bitteti's devastating loss to Mestre Hulk, a mediocre NHB fighter at best. Bitteti is creme of the crop of Sport Jiu Jitsu. Then came Joe Moreira's inability to pose any kind of a threat to Paul Varelans in UFC 8. Moreira was dismissed as an unknown in the BJJ community until Wallid Ismail reminded us that winning BJJ tournaments does not necessarily translate into winning NHB fights. Ismail, another tournament Jiu Jitsu elite, lost to Takahashi, an unimpressive Japanese fighter. In essence, Ismail became the nail in the coffin for the most avid fans of BJJ who beheld this style as the second coming of Christ.
There are several reasons why BJJ skills have increasingly taken a back seat to such factors as size, strength and striking ability. In order of importance:
Training predominantly with a gi in BJJ has become a detriment: Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is excessively dependent on clothing to hold, reverse and submit. Since most contestants in NHB do not wear a gi, Jiu Jitsu loses a part of its potency. It is interesting to note the few times fully clothed opponents have faced top notch BJJ practitioners, their gis were used to make them tap, i.e. Royce vs. Ichihara, Royce vs. Pardoel, Renzo vs. Spijkers. Luta Livre fighters distinguish themselves from BJJ by training without a gi, but their pool of participants is deficient of talent. Hence their success in NHB events has been limited. Solution: Spend a comparable amount of time practicing without a gi. Submission tournaments are a necessity in the evolution of a NHB fighter. There's a desperate need for submission contests without clothing, i.e. Combat wrestling. NHB tournaments are not the place to develop NHB skills. When a fighter battles in a cage, he or she is there to execute, not to learn. No Rules tournaments are inherently dangerous. Therefore, the amount of time a fighter spends in actual combat is very limited. The preparation should take place in an environment as close as to the real thing without the exorbitant risk of injury. Jorge "Macaco" Patino, an aggressive and talented brown belt in BJJ has lost twice to Pele, a Muay Thai fighter with decent groundfighting skills. Johil, one of the most notable Luta Livre fighters, subsequently beat Pele in the final match of WVC IV. Patino would've undoubtedly had a field day against Pele if the latter came to fight fully clothed. In UFC 12, Vitor Belfort of BJJ had ample opportunity to mount Scott Ferozzo from behind and get his hooks in. According to Belfort, he elected not to establish the godly mounted position and took Ferozzo out with punches from the rear simply because Ferozzo's nylon tights were too slippery. In his decision to forgo the mount, Belfort was also concerned about the 300+ lb. of baggage Ferozzo brought with him to the Octagon. Therefore, size, strength and lack of the opponent's clothing caused an unprecedented divergence in a top BJJ fighter's strategy.
The BJJ guard has lost its effectiveness in NHB: Royce Gracie's mastery in fighting on his back gave everyone an erroneous illustration of the guard and its true limitations. Two factors contributed to Royce's successes accomplished predominantly on his back: His vast experience fighting from the guard that spans at least a couple of decades, and the fact that his opponents were initially unaccustomed to the BJJ guard. In UFC 2, Ken Shamrock tapped the canvas quickly against Royce, but managed to stay in Royce's guard for 35 minutes during their rematch in UFC 5. Royce also possesses an important prerequisite for a potent guard: Long legs. The two other top NHB fighters who make the guard an integral part of their arsenals are Ricardo Morais and Carlao Barreto, 6'7" and 6'4" in height, respectively. In other words to make the guard pay off, chances of success increase siginificantly with longer legs and ample experience practicing the guard without a gi, or else an avalanche of strikes to the face and body of the bottom man is in the making. If Erickson had half the striking skills of Jackson and Monday, he would've prevailed against Murilo Bustamante in MARS. As one of the worst strikers in NHB, Erickson still managed to bruise and bloody Murilo's face. BJJ's weak takedown is partly to blame for opting to fight from the guard which brings us to the next factor:
Takedowns are not adequately addressed in BJJ: The prevailing philosophy has been that going to the ground is the goal, and how you get there is of less importance. A takedown in a BJJ tournament is worth only 2 points, one of the lowest scores attributed to a portion of the fight that can dictate the final outcome. Wrestlers train vigorously not to go on their back. Arguably, they have the best base and can stay in someone's guard and finish the fight from strikes without attempting to pass the guard even once. A perfect example of this was Kenny Monday vs. John Lewis in EFC IV. Monday was in danger of losing the fight only in the beginning where he was caught in a straight armbar which he managed to pull out using sheer strength. From then on it was Monday dominating with a strong base and continuous leveraged strikes. Awarding more points for takedowns without the aid of a gi (i.e. single or double leg takedowns) in BJJ tournaments should narrow the gap in this weakness somewhat.
Conditioning: BJJ tournaments are a great medium for improving dominant position skills, but conditioning for NHB tournaments requires a vastly different training regimen. In BJJ, participants can and often fight in spurts since the threat of bodily harm from strikes is nil. If a fighter has a good guard, he can lay back and take a breather once in a while, using a minuscule amount of effort warding off his opponent's attempts at passing the guard. Nowadays, in NHB, passing the guard is of infinitesimally less importance than striking your opponent from inside his guard. When strikes are raining down, a maximum amount of effort must be used as preventative strategy by the bottom person which requires considerable stamina. Patino started both of his fights against Pele with a burst of energy. He mounted and struck Pele, only to run out of gas half way through the fight and lose both times. Another problem world class BJJ fighters are facing is when their opponents refuse to hit the deck early on which also goes back to the weak takedown factor. Ismail and Bitteti were exhausted and battered on their feet to the point that going to the ground became a handicap.
Minuscule lower body submission: Experienced Shootfighters can end the fight against the BJJ elite at a moment's notice. Allan Goes' ankle was badly broken by Frank Shamrock in a Pancrase match. Goes was lucky the referee gave him an escape since he was too close to the edge of the ring. After the cast was taken off his ankle, Goes became determined to master the lower body submission game. During one of his trips to Brazil, he surprised many of his previous grappling partners by applying quick lower body submission techniques. The persisting hostile stance of the BJJ community to lower body submission only adds to this weakness.
Standup striking skills are of least importance if a BJJ fighter has the takedown and stamina of a world class wrestler. Vitor Belfort's astonishing boxing skills are an anomaly, not the norm. Of course it doesn't hurt to know how to strike well, but according to the 20:80 rule which states 20% of the effort accounts for 80% of the result, takedown and ground grappling skills reign supreme to standup striking skills.
On a final note, it is important to distinguish between a training regimen for NHB and a street fight. In a street fight, your opponent is fully clothed and does not expect to be triangle choked. Training exclusively with clothing, a handicap in NHB, becomes a potent weapon in a real fight. Stamina is of less importance in a street fight since most fights usually end quickly. Standup striking skills move up a few notches on the importance scale since it is always better to end a fight standing up than on the ground. The unpredictable nature of a street fight and the surrounding crowd are drawbacks to ground grappling. The overwhelming odds of winning are in favor of he who strikes first, strikes fast, and strikes hard.
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu will still give the biggest bang for the buck in NHB and street fighting, but with new and improved competition, changes must be made to address the short comings mentioned above and make BJJ "The underlying factor in NHB success" once again.