Horsetooth Hybrid Grappling Club

The foundation of our hybrid approach at HHGC is catch-as-catch-can wrestling, or simply, catch wrestling, which holds the strange distinction of being the most influential martial art ever, while still being shrouded in obscurity from public consciousness.

I’ll save the explanation of both circumstances for a future post, but here, I thought it critical to include a comparison of catch wrestling with its current and most popular contemporary, Brazilian jiu jitsu (BJJ). In doing so, I’d like to dispel the presently held misconception that BJJ is the most functional martial art for the street and combat sports (like MMA).

Please note that as a decade-plus BJJ practitioner—and a coach who interweaves a lot of jiu jitsu into his hybrid grappling curriculum, plus a father of an eight-year-old who loves his gi and belt!—I have no figurative axe to grind here. This is merely my personal assessment through many hours on the mat, sampling techniques and training modalities, and trying to understand what works best for me, my students, and my two kids.

So, forthwith, here are what I consider as catch wrestling’s advantages when compared to BJJ.

1 – We don’t train in the gi/kimono/hakama

2 – We emphasize stand-up grappling and takedowns in our training

3 – Matches are won with PINS and submissions

4 – No point on the body is off-limits to submissions

Why is catch likely the most influential martial art ever? Consider what Mr. Barnett describes at the beginning of this clip. Collegiate, freestyle, and modern professional wrestling are all the progeny of catch-as-catch-can. And then consider for a moment how many kids participate in high schools wrestling across the United States in just one year!

Want to learn more about catch and hybrid grappling??? Come train with us in Fort Collins on Sundays and Thursdays 🙂.