Gracie 'jitsu

[1kickKO]

Hmm..I notice these guys (By guys I mean practioners of Gracie Jujitsu) like to take it to their back a lot..which I know is a good thing in jujitsu (compared to wrestlers who always need to be on top)...but I notice that Gracies like to be on their back about 90% of the time. What is everybody else's take on this? Generally if I get on my back I love to get people in my guard, this presents too many opportunities for me to get them in an arm bar or a choke if I see a straightned arm or two...but I also like to be on top with those "heavier" guys...because those guys just use their weight to crush..ugh...

Edited February 21, 2005 by 1kickKO

[TJS]

Depends what your talking about...if your speaking in terms of sport JJ or submission wrestling...pulling gaurd is fine if you are really good on your back...You dont really see any BJJ practicioners pulling gaurd in MMA/NHB these days unless they are vastly superior to their opponet on the ground and are having trouble securing a takedown.

 

most BJJ guys prefer being on top..especially if it's a street or NHB fight.

[1kickKO]

I'm talking about sport...

[Gumbi]

Actually, if you want to talk about sport, the Gracies usually in fact spend more time on top rather than on the bottom. Royler prefers to fight from the top. Rickson had told him that when you develop your style, making your game on top is very good- in the event of a tie, the top guy usually gets the win/ looks as if he is winning. Royce will even fight for the takedown on his feet before pulling guard.

 

This obviously goes for BJJ (with the gi) because most of the Gracies (and most BJJ black belts for that matter) cross train extensively in Judo (or have developed Judo throws).

 

Submission grappling is a different story though- Roylers takedowns without the gi are not particularly good. He'll pull, but usually to a sweep position (such as X-guard or some butterfly guard variant) so that he can get on top.

 

I wouldnt say that they "like" being on their back as much as they're comfortable being on their back. Remember that Helio (and almost all the Gracies for that matter) grew up fighting in days where there were no weight classes. Being on the smaller side, they were often forced onto their backs and therefore developed that aspect of their game. That is simply a consequence- they'd all prefer to be on top. Even someone like Royce who made his name with his guard (in MMA anyways) would prefer to be on top than bottom. He only pulled in MMA when he couldnt take his opponent down.

 

I pull guard alot too and its my most comfortable position, but I do this in competition for 2 reasons:

 

I stand the best chance of submitting my opponent from my guard, and I dont feel time limits are long enough yet to work off my feet (maybe in 7 minute matches I'll start to play off my feet) and I want to get the fight to the ground as quickly as possible.

 

I do realize though that gone are the days where BJJ guys could get away with having bad to non existent takedowns, so I do work my takedowns on a regular basis.

[1kickKO]

Ah I see..well I go to open tournaments which is open to all styles, and a friend of mine told me a story of one time when there was this BJJ practitioner he was about to fight who just went to his back as soon as the round started, no clinching, nothing, he went straight to his back.

[Rank7]

THE GRACIE PROLLY THIS AS A LURE TO GET THE OP. TO GET IN MORE THEN THE GRACIE WILL LOCK THEM WITH EASE SINCE THEY ARE HIGHLY SKILLED IN THIS TRAINING

[Treebranch]

Yeah, I've seen that too 1kickKO. It's amazing that Gracies threw away all the great throws that Jujitsu had in it. They should really keep evolving their art.

[Gumbi]

1kickKO- Im curious as to what tournament this was- According to current BJJ rules, you are not allowed to pull guard if you have not tied up with your opponent in any way, otherwise you'll be penalized.

 

In ADCC, pulling guard will get you -1 point (but not until after the first 5 minutes when the scoring starts)

[Rank7]

One question since on the subject i have yet to see the Gracie hunter fight a gracie. My question is how was it that he stopped the gracies when the went to take him down?? any one?

[Gumbi]

Kazushi Sakuraba (aka the "Gracie Hunter") was quite a skilled grappler in his own respect- hes got an extremely unpredictable and unorthodox grappling style (in addition to already quality grappling skills)that just seems to work so well against other grapplers.

 

None of the Gracies ever had good takedowns, and Sak himself has a pretty wicked low single leg. Most matches have him standing up out of the guard of a Gracie and simply kicking his legs.

 

He submitted Renzo with a nice Kimura, spanked Ryan (literally), technically submitted Royler (although he didnt tap) and made Royce throw in the towel after a 90 minute fight.