Tempest

Get thrown 99 times, get up 100.

No. But it helps. You don't have to be strong, but it helps. You don't have to be fast, but it helps. Whatever you have, physically, will help. If they are smart about it, yes. Depends on how much you do and how hard you push. Grappling is a tough sport and if you compete at this highest levels, national and international competition, it will wear on you. That said, my CI and his number 1 assistant are in their 70's and still on the mat. And they still have a good quality of life OFF the mat as well. Yes, but not in the way people think. It's more like, because what you are doing is more physically demanding than most sports or MA, then you will have more muscle wear, more ligament, joint and tendon wear and so forth. Thing is most of that heals, and the muscle wear, when it heals, makes you stronger and faster. Overall, if you want something you can do till you are 80 and still be somewhat effective, start grappling young and do so often and don't stop.

There have been suplexes of various types, including the full back lift so-called German suplex, in the UFC before. In Judo we have Ura Nage, in BJJ you won't see too many Suplexes because they tend to have rules about slams and spikes that are more strict. In SAMBO the suplex is often used to counter big hip throws. Just depends on where you are and who you are rolling with. Wrestlers love the suplex, but it has some disadvantages, not the least of which is you must be able to lift your opponent. This limits it's utility against larger, stronger opponents unless you get lucky.

I just don't care for spider guard. I feel like every opening that I have to transition to it can be better used for something else. It's an efficiency thing. If my partner is posturing up enough for spider guard, I should be breaking his posture. If he is both standing up, to prevent the posture break, and grabbing at my legs, I should be working back to my feet for a take-down or, failing that, diving under him to prevent strikes and set up various deep half games. Spider guard is great if you can get there, but I just am not looking to get there most of the time. Also what TJ said, It puts me flat on my back. If I am going to be flat on my back I want closed guard or rubber guard or some variation on that theme. Leaving my partner more mobility than me seems like a bad plan.

Err... at the risk of possibly offending some people, I am going to answer this inquiry honestly. Based on the videos you posted, and a LOT of the Wing Chun I have seen in the wild, I am gonna have to go with it looks martially invalid. This may seem bothersome, but please realize that a LOT of the so-called martial arts seem that way to me. For what constitutes a martially valid system, please see the following.

For an example of something I think is a bit more impressive... This is just a form demo, but Dustin Reagan, who is a buddy of mine from down around OKC, also did really well in the Longsword sparring and the grappling event that is a part of this. Part of the REASON that his form is so impressive is that he can really DO those techniques against an actively resistant opponent.

That is what is in the 3-in-1 that I use for cleaning sometimes. But it is more expensive than Vaseline and so far, at least, the Vaseline is working well. I was just thinking it would be less messy. Oh, it is. But Vaseline is not bad if you don't use too much of it. The silicone sprays are nice sometimes, but they have the same issue most lightweight oils do, they don't last with LOTS of handling. I have backed off now, to focus on Judo and Jiujitsu more, but I am still getting my weapons out and fighting/sparring every week. When I was fighting a LOT it was 3-5 times a week. This leads to some slightly different problems with regards to weapons care. For instance, my blades mostly live in the trunk of my car. There is no point in carrying a 60 pound sack of leather, plastic, and steel in and out every day. This is not a real climate controlled environment. It is water tight, but temperature can be an issue for some oils. I live in an area where the average daily temp is, for several months of the year, above 32c. The Vaseline solution was arrived at after I had already tried oils and silicone for quite some time. The guy who gave me the tip is a fellow fighter who is also a blacksmith who makes a lot of his own kit, and showed me that this is what he does. I am not saying it is the only way, but I know for a fact that it does work.

That is what is in the 3-in-1 that I use for cleaning sometimes. But it is more expensive than Vaseline and so far, at least, the Vaseline is working well.

I didn't think so either till a blacksmith friend of mine got me to start doing it with my steel weapons, and by god it worked. I am not a smith, just a man who spends a lot of time with steel weapons in his hand. If something works, and is recommended by a blacksmith, I am gonna use it. The Vaseline acts as a barrier to moisture. It definitely will work but it's also very slick. If it gets on the handle it's difficult to remove. I don't know if I would feel safe wielding a steel weapon with the possibility of it sliding out of my hands. I use mineral oil. And put it on very thin with a rag. A very thin coal is all you really need since its a barrier between the steel and moisture. I'll try the Vaseline out. I guess if you've used it with success and have first hand knowledge it's worth trying. Have you had any issues getting it off when you use them? Does it make it slick. Just curious before I give it a try. Hate to end up looking like a unicorn if it slips out of my hand and ends up in my forehead. I am pretty careful about keeping it off my handles, so it isn't really an issue for me. I also have too many weapons and use them too often to use a pure leather scabbard. I just keep mine in a duffel bag. I also fight outside in humid environments sometimes, so there is plenty of need for moisture protection. I have found that thinner oils, such as mineral oil or vegetable based oils just do not hold up as well as I would like.

I didn't think so either till a blacksmith friend of mine got me to start doing it with my steel weapons, and by god it worked. I am not a smith, just a man who spends a lot of time with steel weapons in his hand. If something works, and is recommended by a blacksmith, I am gonna use it.

No, you should get some 3in1 oil and a green brillow pad and go to work. Once they are clean, apply vaseline to prevent further rust and try not to handle the metal parts without gloves or if you do wipe down and re-oil.

Hey! Ameri Do Te is th3 re4l karate. It is the most legit martial art ever! Don't believe me? Ask this guy: https://www.youtube.com/user/EnterTheDojoShow

Absolutely! That's where I'm getting at. The "problem" with these grappling competitions is that they ignore step one: making your opponent fight. This is a serious issue in MMA where BJJ guys cant get the fight to the ground, or stay there once they do. Even worse is guys who do, but cant pass a guard on the ground because they've never had to against someone who would stand up given the space. They're so used to standing up, backing away, and trying to run all over. Like you point out, this is more an issue with the fighters than the rules. I think Boxing would be less boring without Floyd Jr, but no one is going to change the rules to force you to engage more in boxing. Rener has stated that if you develop your comfort and familiarity with a position to a high enough level, you can stay so relaxed in even the worst position that your opponent isn't really able to harm you. If you look at some of the draw's that the Gracies have had in Metamoris, you can see what they are talking about. I think it is great in theory, but doesn't really work if your opponent is actually as good as you are on the mat. Fighting isn't just about entertainment. The 2 are inexorably linked, because the money from the spectacle is needed to fuel the rest of it, but that isn't what it is about. After watching a few more sub-only matches, I am seeing a few issues with the judging, but not as many as I would have anticipated. I do think that they need to make sure that the referees are clear on the nuance that without forcing an actual defense on the part of the opponent, then a sub attempt should not really count. IMO that should be the extent of it. No breaking of balance, posture, or forced limb adjustment? No points. That would clear up a LOT of the issues you mentioned earlier with sub only.

My thoughts? With regards to what part of this? Jujitsu, by the time of Karate's development in to ANY of the forms that we know today, had really become a catch-all term for "whatever close fighting you know" in large parts of Japan. Some of the Ryu were still teaching the older ways, but they were certainly dying off. This is the environment in which Judo was developed by Dr. Kano as a young man. However, during Matsumura's time, there would have been well established schools for fighting, and if he studied at Jigen, then there is no reason to believe he did not train in Jujitsu as that was the common practice in that time period in Japanese martial arts. That is, if a student comes to learn, then they learn all of it, not just one particular art. The older koryu schools did not believe in separating the types of fighting as much as they did later. So, the further back you go, the more likely a student would have been cross-trained right from the beginning. Additionally, as far as I can tell, Matsumura was essentially a military man. A diplomat, probably a spy, and certainly a bodyguard, eventually, to the royal family. Such men are known for accumulating fighting skills from wherever they go. By the time Matsumura was writing and teaching as an older man, he had probably been "influenced" by a dozen or more different styles he had seen in his life. All of that being said, the real place to look for "influences" in the martial arts, is in fundamental body mechanics and approach to delivering and receiving force. That is where you will find systemic differences even in techniques that look quite similar. Now, as to whether I believe Jujitsu is or was a big influence on Karate? Yes, I absolutely do believe it was. Not in the "well you stole your stuff from Jujutsu" way, but in the fact that Judo, the most prominent and IMO most effective form of Jujitsu, started being taught to Japanese school children just before Karate started really spreading to Japan. As a result of which, there are a LOT of people, especially in the Shotokan and GoJu schools, that are cross-trained in both systems. To say that this doesn't influence them would be silly.

It most certainly is true. http://www.freerangekids.com/crime-statistics/ The reason you see it more now is because news moves faster and is EVERYWHERE. Someone sees someone who kinda creeps them out in a park in LA and within minutes it's shared on social media with people all over the world (even if literally nothing comes of it because it was just a normal, innocent guy walking in the park). You're just exposed to it more. I agree with the crime rate being at it's lowest in decades...except for the fact that according to 538, murder is up for the 3rd straight year in a row, although not as much as the previous 2 years. Now this applies only in the U.S., but it is an interesting statistic to consider with regard to crime rates.

That can certainly be the case some of the time, relative to each others skills, but that kinda proves my point. People have to pass the guard before they can be allowed to attack. This is not a requirement in an actual fight. What happens is people race to pull guard and want credit because they tried to finish the fight more than the guy on top, while ignoring the fact that in grappling the guy on top needs to pass before he can even begin to attack. Yes- but see the above post about guys who attempt things but never actually threaten their opponent. The "refs" we have nowadays aren't particularly versed in the intricacies of the game, despite the ranks they may or may not wear on their belt. IBJJF refs are quite stubborn when it comes to advantages for sub attempts- other tournies not so much Indeed I agree on the assumption that the person on top will do damage. There is the real possibility of a lay and pray. If the person on top can get and maintain posture though, then yes he'll have gotten powerful shots in. Whether they are clean shots becomes another debate but it'd still do more than nothing. I understand that I'm being a little harsh on bottom players, but I feel that given the direction the sport is taken its required. Too many people lay on their back and cant take the fight to their opponent. To specify, the ability to fight from your back is a great skill. Good guard players are rarities. Exceptional guard players even more so, however having ONLY the ability to fight from your guard is a serious issue. Now does this mean that a BJJ black belt doesn't know how to fight from top? Of course he does, but the lighter black belts IMO tend to have the passing game of a purple belt while relying on their guards to carry the day. Theres nothing that's more of a fight than a cage fight... I get what you're saying though, that the ref is going to stand you up and get in your way if you're a grappler, and I agree. However rulesets can be overcome and adapting to these rulesets will only make your game better for it. Finding excuses as to why your style cant adapt means you stop improving. We're talking about relativity, sure. Going towards either extreme limits you. Sub only grappling ignores position, and many have paid that price dearly when strikes are involved. Position only (wrestling) ignores sub, and many paid for ignoring that. We need to entertain both. Maybe. Ironically, I agree with you on a personal level. I have seen far more success out of people with wrestling backgrounds than I have out of people that just did a little JiuJitsu, both in Judo and in MMA, but where, for me the issue lies, is in not teaching the correct attitude about fighting. At the end of the day, there is no penalty for negative play in most competitive grappling outside Wrestling and Judo. BJJ really doesn't penalize it. EBI and Polaris certainly don't. And Metamoris seems set up almost to encourage such things. In theory, I agree with Rener Gracie in his statements regarding becoming so comfortable in every position that it doesn't matter, but in practice I think you produce better fighters, quicker, if they learn to striver for dominance and never give anything to their opponent. That being said, I watched this: And thought that the sub only looked pretty good there.

Some people are close enough as it makes no difference. My response to this is two-fold, first of all if the so-called "attempt" doesn't do anything to the opponens, I.E. at least force him to defend, then I don't think it should count as an attempt. I go back to my Judo experience here as a referee. If an attack does not break the opponents balance at least, it does not count. Second, and more importantly, is that this is where you are making an assumption, the part about the guy on top having "accumulated damage" is not necessarily true. The fact is, some people are GREAT at defending strikes from the top. Especially in a Gi, I would NOT assume that the guy on top would have accumulated anything but sweat. The modern UFC is a bad place to draw from on this as it represents MMA practitioners at mostly the highest level so they can make use of the top striking game that is specifically designed to deal with the guard. For a more generic example, see the early UFC's. Look at what they were able to do when in someones guard. Hmm, well I think this is one issue with the perspective you have. Something very important to remember is that, with the exception of MMA which is as close to a fight as you can get without charges being filed most of the time, Combat Sports are NOT fighting. They are a game, meant to HELP with SOME fighting skills. Sub only lets people do certain things in their game, but MMA lets people with blue-purple belt level Jiu-Jitsu and world class boxing win titles in 2 divisions at the same time. And ultimately, what the sub-only people are doing is simply exploring a whole new set of positions, realizing that they can win a fight from there. All of us have holes in our game where we don't work on things. You would probably find my leg-lock game unacceptably atrocious, but they are not allowed most of the places I compete, so I only know one or two of them at all. Position is important only so far as it helps you complete the objective of winning the contest you are in at that moment. As an example, I would offer for a LEO that trains, the entire open guard game is useless as breasts on a garbage can, but that doesn't make it a useless position for the most part.

Ahhhh..... A debate. I love debates Meh, yes and no and I'll explain why. First off, being on bottom isn't always a disadvantage, this is true. Whether its good or bad is relative to your skillset and your opponents. For example, if you're a novice on your back and your opponent is a skilled grappler obviously its not. If youre a skilled guard player and your opponent is not (and hes on top) then its not so bad. Usually this scenario is seen with your classic "I don't know takedowns" BJJer (who also doesn't know striking) and pulls guard in an attempt to get the fight to the ground. In this sense, fighting from guard against Mike Tyson is good if the alternative is to fight him on the feet. Simply put, it is ALWAYS better to be on top than on bottom. The only reason this isn't true is the ignorance of the person on bottom. For example, if your guard game is better than your top game, that's more that your top game needs more work.... and I'll explain further That's just it though- the guard is not a position of control or leverage- its actually the opposite. The guard is best described as a complete lack of leverage from both parties. This is why there are no "perfect" techniques to be done from the guard (compare to say RNC). No matter how good anyones guard ever gets its just not an advantage to be on bottom against a fighter who knows what hes doing on top. That last statement becomes an important one, because against people less than skilled in grappling it is possible to have the advantage even though you're on bottom. I think this is simplified when we merely say "Fighter X wants nothing to do with him on the ground." Now if you want an easy way to figure out your problems, just take it to the extreme to figure out the most reasonable path. The guard as I said is best defined as the complete lack of leverage. Its almost neutral. We of course are assuming two evenly skilled fighters. What tips the scales for the person on top is gravity (takes the form of "free strength") Take two fighters, one 150lbs and another 300lbs. Put them in guard. If the big guy is on top, no one can say the small guy has it easy from bottom. This doesn't mean he cant win, but he definitely doesn't hold any advantage assuming skill levels are similar. Now reverse it. The only way someone could say the 150lb guy is better off on bottom isn't because of his skill on his back but rather his lack of skill on top. This is where the gray area begins to intrude. What I'd need to see is some legitimate "OMG hes got it hes going to tap!!" submission attempts- not some "Oh he threw his legs up lets give him a point" sub attempt. See, a jab actually hits your opponent and actually causes damage. A sub attempt only merits scoring when your opponent is very close to getting finished. Of course the guy on bottom is going to "attempt" to submit because he doesn't have a large plethora of options to choose from. The observation that hes attempting it is irrelevant- I had better see an opponent holding on for dear life- the type that's looking for the buzzer to save him, otherwise just throwing your legs up does nothing to impress me. Just as every time the guy on bottom throws his legs up, so to does the person on top attempt to pass every time he brings his knee up or pushes his opponents knee down. A failed submission attempt is better compared to a boxer that takes a big swing and completely whiffs and misses his opponent... but wants credit for "attempting to end it." Finally, there aren't any ways to legitimately attack someone from inside their guard in a grappling match that don't include leg locks. What happens now is the person on top has to pass the guard just to even be allowed to attempt to submit. Once we start adding strikes many of our questions are answered. Being on top is better than being on bottom. This does not mean that being on bottom is bad. A select few can be on bottom and claim to be in an advantageous position relative to their opponents (lack of) skill. Assuming equal skill, the winner is often overwhelmingly (without absolutely) the person on top. Bear in mind I was a guard player. Now I'm just a jiu jitsu fighter... So, a leglock is the counter to someone with a near-impossible to pass guard game? Sounds like a natural evolution of the sport to me. I disagree with you about the submission needing to be a near tap situation. Submissions can be part of combinations and even sweeps and against a skilled competitor you don't know what part of the combination is going to work. Sounds to me like your real problem is with conservative, boring people gaming the system to win. Welcome to the highest level of professional sports. I think people who can only do one throw shouldn't be Olympic champions, but it doesn't stop them from winning. I would make the observation that every rule change that seeks to limit what the competitors do, or encourage them to go another direction, at least in Judo, has been bad for the sport over all. As an ideal example I will point to the leg grab rule and scream and cuss loudly.

There are entirely too many things being taught under the heading of 'traditional martial arts' that only have the vaguest connection to shared reality, if at all. This has created a situation in which people who can make honest, if more limited, claims about what they can do with martial arts, are MUCH more marketable. If "traditional" martial arts want to survive, they need to realize where many of the arts they practice have lost their way as fighting systems and become marketing tricks. While a cage-fight is not the be-all, end-all of fighting, if you are uncomfortable with the idea of being in such an encounter, with rules and with only one unarmed opponent, then do NOT try to tell me that you can prevail in a far more dangerous non-sporting encounter. That is the LEAST of the ridiculous assertions made by many traditional martial artists. It is such assertions, along with some very shady practices by many well known figures and organizations in the traditional martial arts world, that tend to drive people away, not just the flash and pop of a modern sporting event.

Ok, I am going to have to provide a counterpoint to this in the form of Royce Gracie vs Dan Severn. See, one of the problems we have with this type of fighting is time limits and assumptions. We ASSUME things that didn't happen based on these ideas we have about fighting, but it is not necessarily a disadvantage to be on the bottom during a fight if your opponent does not know how to pass guard. Defending punches from within the guard, while not as easy as some people make it seem, is very doable and can be done in such a way as to make it more energy efficient to do than throwing punches from the top. The whole beauty of skilled grappling is to be able to win from a position that doesn't necessarily look like you are winning. An ezekiel choke from bottom mount, to me, is AWESOME, but typically impractical, but using the guard to control and contain someone is VERY practical and just as awesome. Submission attempts that don't expose you to being passed but legitimately threaten your opponent are, and should be, the bread and butter of every jiujitsu practitioner. Why WOULDN'T they contribute to a score? That would be like saying that because a guy's jab isn't hard enough to knock his opponent out, those punches don't count for points.

Ok. If so, it may buy you a few seconds to do the rest of the escape that I mentioned. I am extremely doubtful of it stopping the choke altogether. If your opponent has deep hooks and is hunting under your chin, you need to get rid of the hooks and get out of there.

here's another one: push your head up into the opponents armpit. Why?

Escaping all submission holds is an art in and of itself that has 3 primary cornerstones. 1. Delay the onset of damage 2. Disrupt and remove the controlling body parts. 3. Move to change your position relative to the attacker. For example, escaping the RNC: Grab the arm they are attempting to put under your neck and drop your chin to delay the attack and stop the choke from forming. Buck and roll to one side in an attempt to either face the ceiling, or at least have the choking arm on top. Get rid of the top hook to free one of your legs. Finally, turn over and end up likely in the persons guard, but NOT being choked.

Agreed 100x on your statement TJ-Jitsu.This technique (The rear naked choke) should be called "The Borg" due to resistance is futile! Ehh... that isn't quite true. Resistance is not futile. The correct method of resistance is not "Spazz, kick, and bite violently hoping that something works." There are specific solutions to the problem of being in rear mount. If you want to know them well, I would suggest studying with a grappling instructor for a bit, however a good hint is think about getting your shoulders to the ground, and remove the top hook.

To be fair, offending me is more difficult as we agree on most things. Also, the decision is Patrick's. Apparently he thinks you contribute or something... Seriously though, this is well deserved.