Since national exposure of many “No-Hards-Barred” competitions, many people have come to the conclusion that grappling arts, primarily BJJ, are superior to striking. Like Chris Davis, I believe it’s a naive assumption based on misunderstanding. If anything, the UFC and other NHB contests have proved that striking artists were playing the grapplers game and lacked the understanding to keep their game plan intact.
A grappler’s plan is to break his opponent down into his comfort zone — on the ground. Likewise, a striker wants to keep his opponent within striking range. A striker who tries to accommodate his weaknesses on the ground by learning BJJ may do well against a novice on the streets, but his grappling abilities will not necessarily save him against a skilled grappler. The REAL problem is not that he cannot grapple, but rather that he cannot understand how to counter a grappler with strikes and mobility.
Similarly, a grappler who cannot get close to a boxer and takes up boxing is not automatically granted a permit to get inside on his opponent. Rather, the grappler must try to understand “why he cannot get inside,” and “how to get inside...”
This is by no means a dismissal of Mixed Martial Arts... Some people, like myself, have benefitted from learning various combat arts. Learning other techniques helps you understand them and perhaps counter them. However, one should strive to distinguish what is really the core of their strength and develop that to the utmost. Few people are all-around great fighters that can learn all arts and master each one sufficiently.
I will say that there are as many useless techniques out there as there are good techniques. Even within such great arts as BJJ, you will find flaws for nothing is perfect. Consider that at the height of his skill, Helio Gracie was beaten by Judo Great Kimura in the World Championships. Does this mean Judo is the ultimate art? Certainly not. Neither does it imply that BJJ is not a good system — It is probably one of the best to come around in a long time. But at the end of the day, it all depends on what you want to do with your martial art.
“... Martial arts is honestly expressing yourself” — Bruce Lee
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The sage experiences without abstraction,
And accomplishes without action;
He accepts the ebb and flow of things,
Nurtures them, but does not own them,
And lives, but does not dwell. |