wrestling vs. bjj - pros/cons

[Exponential]

Interesting stuff and good discussion. Thanks!

 

Who tends to have the better escapes? Typically in a real fight, if I end up on the ground, I'm going to try to get up as soon as possible. Concrete hurts.

[Gumbi]

The familiarity I have with wrestling is primarily with its takedowns.

 

That said, BJJ has excellent escapes, but I would also expect wrestling to have excellent escapes too (the only thing I worry about is that an "escape" in wrestling might mean giving your back to your opponent).

[Muaythaiboxer]

i love wrestling but over all BJJ is a better art. wrestlers have one thing going for them and its takedowns. BJJ other than lacking good takedowns has everything wrestling has and much more.

 

and yes a tipicle escape in wrestling does involve turning your back on your opponent.

[JoeBSU]

Being a wrestler, it should be noted that we aren't stupid (well most of us) and in a street fight aren't only going to wrestle. I'd probably punch someone, take them down in a much harder and more brutal manner than in a match, andtry to choke them out on the ground. Don't mistake being bound by rules in our sport for a code of honor that we'll never do anything against those rules in a fight.

[kzshin]

what kinda wrestling you guys are talking about?? regular High school wrestling??? or real Russian or Mogolian wrestling art???? They are very different you know.

[Pinmaster]

what kinda wrestling you guys are talking about?? regular High school wrestling??? or real Russian or Mogolian wrestling art???? They are very different you know.

 

mostly high school or classical wrestling.

[ravenzoom]

I have to disagree with some of the stuff that was said here. It seems according to you guys that a BJJ guy would win 9 out of 10 times against a wrestler and I'm not so sure. First of all, BJJ, although very effective (I've practiced in it a bit) was not created for the street, it is very sport oriented. I'm not saying it is not street effective, I'm sure it is, even though I've never personally seen any BJJ practitioner in a street fight. I agree with JoeBSU, a wrestler could become very nasty in the streets. He could easily take someone to the ground and pound the crap out of him. You don't need to know a thousand ways to submit your average Joe in a street fight. Fact is, most people you will ever encounter in a street fight has no clue what to do on the ground so I say a wrestler has a great advantage. And in a street fight between a wrestler and a BJJ guy, a nice hard takedown on concrete might make you lose your wind for a second and seriously hurt you. This is not to say that I favour a wrestler over a BJJ guy, but I wouldn't discount him so easily.

[Gumbi]

Why does everyone (mostly whom dont even do BJJ) insist that it was created to be a sport?

 

Go down to Rio de Janeiro and start talking about how BJJ is only a sport and not made for the street- I dont think you'll make it long.

 

That being said let me point out the following:

 

BJJ wasnt made for sport

 

Muay Thai wasnt made for sport

 

Wrestling wasnt made for sport

 

These styles (among many others) were all made for combat initially but were later adapted for sport. This allowed those who practiced these arts a place to use them when they werent at war. It also allowed for more practice time and competitive fighting which would make those involved that much more experienced and combat effective.

 

Now, as far as the wrestling vs BJJ debate- could a wrestler defeat a BJJ player? Absolutely, wrestling is a very good grappling style, but its major downfall is the lack of submissions and ways to finish a fight. Takedowns can do alot of damage, but lets not forget that BJJ has takedowns too (and many BJJ fighters prefer wrestling style takedowns). This is not to say a BJJer would win the takedown battle but the closer in skill you are to takedowns, the less of a chance of you getting overwhelmed and slammed. You start on your feet in the wrestlers domain, but you end on the ground in the BJJ'ers domain.

[dingyuan]

Why does everyone (mostly whom dont even do BJJ) insist that it was created to be a sport?

 

Go down to Rio de Janeiro and start talking about how BJJ is only a sport and not made for the street- I dont think you'll make it long.

 

That being said let me point out the following:

 

BJJ wasnt made for sport

 

Muay Thai wasnt made for sport

 

Wrestling wasnt made for sport

 

These styles (among many others) were all made for combat initially but were later adapted for sport. This allowed those who practiced these arts a place to use them when they werent at war. It also allowed for more practice time and competitive fighting which would make those involved that much more experienced and combat effective.

 

Now, as far as the wrestling vs BJJ debate- could a wrestler defeat a BJJ player? Absolutely, wrestling is a very good grappling style, but its major downfall is the lack of submissions and ways to finish a fight. Takedowns can do alot of damage, but lets not forget that BJJ has takedowns too (and many BJJ fighters prefer wrestling style takedowns). This is not to say a BJJer would win the takedown battle but the closer in skill you are to takedowns, the less of a chance of you getting overwhelmed and slammed. You start on your feet in the wrestlers domain, but you end on the ground in the BJJ'ers domain.

 

This I agree, I don't think BJJ is a purely sport art, someone whose able to defend himself in the ring definitely have the stuff to do it on the street besides UFC are not "grappler's only" like a traditional wrestling match, they are very much like a one on one street fight.

[ravenzoom]

I agree that sport oriented martial arts like BJJ, wrestling, Judo, etc. can be very street effective (I do Judo), but you can't really say that cage matches are like a real street fight. There are many different factors. But like you have said, a good cage fighter should be good in the street and I agree. But I would raise the chances of some Karate and Kung Fu guys in the street compared to cage matches because of these external factors.