Horsetooth Hybrid Grappling Club

A recent meme has reignited the latent vitriol among grappling tribes. You might have seen it. Along with the accompanied graph showing champions clustered in fighting styles, here’s the caption…

‘The UFC did not prove that Jiujitsu was the ultimate art over the last 30 years

It proved wrestling is

Wrestlers dominate everyone in MMA’

Some of the back-and-forth has gotten so ugly among BJJ and wrestling adherents that many accounts, several of which are run by people I admire, have taken down the graph to cool everyone’s jets. Understandable…

I’m using this vignette from John Danaher with the hopes that people stop looking at BJJ and wrestling via an ‘us versus them’ mentality. I think both tribes can learn and grow from each other—listen to Mr. Danaher’s final comments about strategy and tactics, and then consider how the differences in BJJ and wrestling can complement each other.

Briefly, I believe that mindset is one of the primary reasons wrestling has surpassed jiu jitsu in simulated combat—wrestlers in the UFC have adopted some of BJJ’s tactics and strategies (i.e., submissions).

Conversely, admittedly at a slower pace (and likely because of gi training), BJJ is catching on, too. Venues like ADCC and NAGA are adopting rulesets that encourage stronger wrestling skills. For me, this is a welcome development, and I hope BJJ grows from these changes.

All that said, I would encourage new martial artists to start with wrestling as a base (particularly folkstyle), and then add BJJ techniques only after becoming proficient with the former’s takedowns, breakdowns, rides, and escapes. Why wrestling first? I’ll evoke the sage advice of BJJ OG Chris Haueter, who continues to warn jiu jitsu adherents about ‘the seductive and lazy nature of the guard’ (his words, not mine 😊).

http://www.horsetoothgrappling.com

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