Not true. I capitalize on mistakes by my betters all the time. They just win much more than I do.
No... they are just better than I am, usually a step ahead. When they make a mistake or underestimate me, I capitalize. Very simple. Me being reactive is not getting tapped or pounded out in the first minute.
On rare occasion I can dominate more, but usually it's me defending for as long as I can.
When I roll with a similar skill level or lower level, whole different story. Being a good grappler is knowing the difference, your limitations and having a realistic risk assessment.
You were in a BJJ class, not on the street, prison, Thunderdome, etc. There's no striking in BJJ class.
If I was fighting someone in the street and got the full mount, I'm not going to be doing any armbars. I'm going to immediately start raining punches and elbows to their face. If I'm able to grab both of their wrists, then that's perfect for downward headbutts. My thick forehead right into their nose to break their face.
Heck, I'm already going to be punching & elbowing way before the full mount is achieved. Ever been to MMA class? BJJ only class is weaksauce compared to MMA, where you're getting punched, kicked, kneed, elbowed, etc. while standing, right after taken down, in the sidemount, while fighting for ground position...then finally, while being fully mounted.
It's not that easy to grab at someone's nuts while their fists is repeatedly punching you in the face. Most people on the bottom will be too busy using their hands to block those uncomfortable punches & elbows that are crashing on them.
Even if you do manage to grab my nuts, it's still not going to hurt me fast enough before I'm really mad and will drive my thumb into your eyeballs to pluck them both out. I think you'll release my nuts.
Here's a decent, not even good, MMA fighter vs. a streetfighter. Plenty of elbows to the face from the full mount. And yes, nut grabbing, biting, whatever....all legal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H30CiRXQoRY
This is no great discovery. There are plenty of opportunities to strike while rolling in BJJ class, because nobody is allowed to strike nor are they expecting to be struck. So no one is guarding against strikes and doing what works best for this BJJ only environment and not that of a Death Match one.
Same can be said for Muay Thai class, Kung-Fu, whatever....plenty of opportunities to take someone down and choke them out.
Most BJJ only people are afraid to get hit in the face, that's why they stay on the BJJ mat only and never venture into the MMA nor Muay Thai side.
Same with the pure Muay Thai, who never visits the BJJ mat....they're scared to get taken down and have virtually all of their striking abilities neutralized....while a pure BJJ, who's usually a sloppy puncher at best....can still hurt them significantly with punches due to the leverage afforded by the full mount.
This further explains why most MMA gyms separates grappling and striking. And then have MMA to combine the two. Most people are afraid of MMA training, even in MMA gyms. The MMA classes are usually the least attended, while it's almost always packed in BJJ and MT.
The real test is to go try out these discoveries of yours in the MMA class to see what happens.
Most BJJ "only" people are afraid to get thrown too (I don't know break fall is part of the BJJ training). This is why "cross training" is a must. To separate striking from grappling make sense. It's easier to develop your striking skill and grappling skill separately and then integrate both together. But to separate ground game from throwing is not a good idea IMO.
Last edited by YouKnowWho; 03-20-2013 at 05:30 PM.
http://johnswang.com
More opinion -> more argument
Less opinion -> less argument
No opinion -> no argument
This is somewhat true. Our sensei's comes from a long line of Judokas before they switched to BJJ. We have Judo night, only once a week. Most people avoid this one night on the grappling mat, including myself. I'm good at breakfalling. I just don't like it.
I disagree, the MMA class by itself, integrate striking and grappling together...right from the beginning and all the time, much better. Speaking from my experience, I've competed & medaled in BJJ only matches (blue belt) and fought Muay Thai, where I train the most....and of course, watched a ton of UFC's. But I never trained MMA. The first time I did and sparred pretty hard in MMA, and got grounded and pounded in the head (50-60% power), there was a distinct feeling of panic that went through me and I tapped really quick. This happened like 2-3 more times with the same guy who I've always destroyed in Boxing or Muay Thai class. He's getting payback. He's also better than me in BJJ though, most due to his size (we're equal in BJJ exp.) Just that he was way more experienced in MMA. I quickly got used to it though and adjusted.To separate striking from grappling make sense. It's easier to develop your striking skill and grappling skill separately and then integrate both together.
BJJ concentrates more on the simple and less riskier takedowns, rather than the spectacular Judo throws. No doubt that O Goshi, Uki Goshi, etc. all work. See plenty of Judokas fling BJJ's into the air at BJJ tournaments. But they're still more riskier than simple takedowns. BJJ do train breakfalls and throws, just not as well as Judokas. BJJ's emphasis is mostly on ground fighting. Just like Judokas, do train newaza, just not as much as BJJ.But to separate ground game from throwing is not a good idea IMO.
Last edited by gunbeatskroty; 03-20-2013 at 06:36 PM.
For sure. I actually like the idea of separating the grappling, wrestling and kickboxing to work on particular skills...then combining them. I'm just saying if a BJJ guy doesn't roll in an MMA environment, he will probably not be inclined to look for the striking scenarios.
It's better to develop a good throw first (such as a hip throw - the mother of all throws). You then add
- striking skill before it as set up, and
- ground skill after it as follow up.
To me, that's the most logic path for kick, punch, lock, throw, ground skill integration.
Trying to develop
- hip throw in boxing ring (you have to worry about punch to the head),
- single leg in kickboxing ring (you have to worry about knee to the head),
are both difficult if not impossible.
Last edited by YouKnowWho; 03-20-2013 at 11:16 PM.
http://johnswang.com
More opinion -> more argument
Less opinion -> less argument
No opinion -> no argument
MMA gyms seperate the two for another obvious reason, the same reason they have seperate wrestling classes as well, its because you advance quicker and better when you isolate a skill, thats why the best MMA fighters are also BJJ blackbelts, OR former college wrestlers, if all you do is MMA only classes you will never advance as quickly.
I know you run a gym and your response is logical w/merit but also PC inclined, because there's also the underlying factor that you, as a gym owner can't really admit w/o ruffling feathers among your students....which is what I said. MMA is just too rough for most people. This is why Boxers don't go to wrestling class because they'll get reduced to near zero once taken to the ground and Wrestlers stay away from Boxing class because they're scared to get hit in the head. Or TMA, where they think they've got everything covered, but scared to spar at anything in the 50-100% power range.
When classes are separated, people will naturally gravitate to what they do best and ending up staying and competing there exclusively. I know this is my problem too, I've gravitated towards pure standup and awfully neglecting my BJJ. But if our 200+ member gym just change all classes to MMA only, I bet 70% of the students will leave within a month and the owner will go bankrupt.