Even if you are not interested in learning BJJ for MMA or in MMA itself, it would be of interest to learn how and why many of the techniques were originally created the way they were.
Gracie Jiu Jitsu has it's roots in No Holds Barred (also known as Vale Tudo) and after many years of trying to get armbars and triangles from closed guard, I got disillusioned with them. No one was giving me the right feed for them. No one I rolled with was putting their arms and neck in a position that would facilitate armbars or triangles.
The first time I watched Rener and Ryron deminstrate entries to these techniques against an unskilled (in BJJ) opponent trying to punch your face in from inside your guard, something clicked in my head. If your opponent is savvy to BJJ, they will not punch your face haphazardly inside your guard so you need to set things up with BJJ set-ups, fakes and transitions. BJJ works wonderfully in MMA, you do however need to put some gloves on and train intelligently with a strikinig opponent.
Bringing me nicely to the last weekend of July. Fighting Fit Manchester are hosting a Frank Mir Seminar, sponsored by the socially aware LUTA Fightwear, an awesome company with a great cause. Frank Mir is a former UFC heavyweight champion and a BJJ black belt. If you are in Manchester, the UK or even Europe, this is a great seminar to attend.
See you all on the mats at Fighting Fit Manchester for the Frank Mir Seminar.
Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi ----
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9 comments:
This is what I keep wondering about a lot of the technical BJJ I see these days. I don't train BJJ, but more traditional Jiu Jitsu with a BJJ influence and a Kali influence. There's a lot of moves I see that I think *hmmm, that just wouldn't work if someone was punching you in the face* yet, BJJ became popular in an era, via MMA, and has many answers for how to deal with someone trying to punch you in the face. Yet so much seems purely grappling focused on blogs/youtube.
Wish I could be there. However, the commute would be a little long...
Wise words.
If the Gracies proved anything it was: it's not WHAT you train the matters in MMA, but HOW you train it!
BJJ works beautifully in MMA. It's the heart and soul, in the sense that it gives you the positional strategy and platform from which you attack and defend, but if you want to practice it for MMA then you must do just that: practice with punch-proofing in mind. Your training partner doesn't even need to be punching at you, you just need to be constantly taking away the space and leverage they'd need to launch a meaningful attack.
I'm not really interested in MMA. however, I was finding myself frustrated with fundamental techniques in BJJ such as scissor sweeps and armbars. They just never seemed to happen. When I started looking at the original raison d'etre of BJJ (to enable you to stay safe against a punching opponent) it really clicked. Now scissor sweeps and armbars are my favourite attacks! Not that my opponents are punching, but I read their energy much better and time my attacks much better.
excuses excuses!!
Liam, I guess I could kayak across the pond...
Don't be silly. You'd get to tired to get anything outa the seminar!
Sooo... You'll take really good notes and write a very detailed review? ;-)
You know it! :)
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