Mar 6, 20205 min read

The issue with MMA/BJJ

Now before you get your panties in a bunch, this is not an article that is just going to shit on MMA and BJJ. There are pros and cons to all arts and MMA/BJJ is currently doing something that few other styles are; stress testing their students. So lets talk about the positives first...

As mentioned in the previous article on "Why Black Belts Get Beat Up", I talked about some issues in "traditional training", mainly a watering down of the training. This dilution occurs for different reasons but all lead to the same outcome; learning "moves" and not having the rest of the package. I promise to expand on this and give examples in an upcoming article but right now I want to focus on the topic at hand.

MMA/BJJ focus mainly on combat training, having no art forms and solely working in partners (other than the strength and endurance training aspect). Testing varies from school to school but the people that I know that train BJJ or MMA have to get on the mat and fight to get that next level. This constant dealing with forward aggression is what is missing in other schools I have seen.

If you watch a traditional school (again, my definition of a "traditional school" is one that teaches a specific art form, usually believed to be over 100 years old, and is one of the original arts, something like Karate, Kung Fu, Aikido, etc), these schools typically teach a movement from a single attack, allowing the student to complete the trained technique without added stress. While this is needed in early stages of training, there has to be an increasing level of stress added to the training to allow the student to grow and become more confident in their skills. MMA and BJJ does this very well!

However, as skilled as they are in this there is a little bit of disillusion that appears to be around MMA & BJJ. The style exploded during the onset of UFC. Royce Gracie showed the world that his style was the best by defeating all different styles of martial arts (back when the UFC was not an MMA fighting ground and it was style on style)..... within the confines of the rules. In the UFC and all accepted MMA tournaments there are rules, 27 different rules to be exact. All the rules are designed to ensure the safety of the combatants against truly debilitating damage (the full list of the rules can be seen here; https://www.ufc.com/unified-rules-mixed-martial-arts )

There has been a huge debate for years if MMA/BJJ is not merely a sport martial art. Jui-jitsu articles regularly state that one way to spot a "fake martial art" is to hear the instructor/sensei/master talk about MMA/BJJ being a sport and not a relevant fighting art. Then you see these fights on YouTube where the MMA practitioner fights another martial artist and destroys them. This partly goes back to the previous article on "Why black belts get beat up", showing that the traditional styles don't train for combat as much anymore. However, there is a set structure in these fights that benefits the MMA/BJJ style. In a self defense style they tend to focus on attacking the weaker areas of the body (eyes, nose, throat, groin, knees, etc). This is not allowed in an MMA match as it is just that, a "match". We don't really want to hurt or maim our opponent in a "friendly match".

That level of respect if not there in a street attack. I find it irresponsible to teach a woman's self defense class where they are taught (without prior training in combat) to "wrestle" with their attacker on the ground. Trying to gain control through locks and submissions. It is commonly stated by MMA/BJJ instructors that "all fights go to the ground". While many do, that is not a place you want to be. You need to be able to cause pain and get up if it does go to the ground. In the UFC you are in a cage. You know that the fight is one on one. In a bar or on the street with a crowd watching, videoing the fight, I guarantee that the person you are fighting has buddies in the crowd who are ready to step in an help if their friend starts to lose. If you are on the ground when they attack you are in trouble. It only takes a few stomps on your head to slip you into unconsciousness.

I have experienced this during my days as a loss prevention officer (years ago now). Your busy trying to get someone who stole back into the store and they are fighting because they don't want to talk to the police. You don't have a gun or baton for compliance so you do what you can. If you go to the ground in a multiple attacker scenario, they all jump on you. This doesn't end well (especially if there is weapons).

The American military agrees with this line of thought. In 2008 a report was written by Major James F. Blanton on the effectiveness of ground fighting as it relates to military operations. I have pulled the conclusions below and placed a link at the bottom of the article if you wanted to read the entire 106 page document. In the report they call out that the BJJ based ground fighting system as being wonderful for allowing the soldiers to test their skills and compete with one another but when it comes to being in a real conflict, the last place you want to be is on the ground, fully engaged on one person.

Don't get me wrong. I think everyone needs to have some element of ground fighting in their system because fights do end up on the ground quite often. But if you are anywhere other than the octagon, please, get up as fast as possible or you run the risk of finding someone's size 10 being driven into the back of your favorite head.

You have to consistently and realistically evaluate your style all the time based on what you need to use it for is. Is it for a point tournament, is it for a full contact tournament, is it for self-defense, is it for offense? Go through your list of criteria and use it as a checklist. If you cannot say that your style gives you everything you need then either supplement your style with something that does, or find another system. Don't get caught thinking that your style is a complete style if it isn't. Cognitive dissonance is not a fun thing to experience. Facing the fact that a core belief is wrong can shatter you.

Enjoy the read below and I look forward to your comments.