lol. What is Catch is up to debate, some take hardline approach, some more open to like the JMMA influenced 90s style as I am as well as Title Fight that ACTUALLY trained with Frank Shamrock. I did have to go work with my fighter that has his first amateur fight this weekend after only 6 months training. He will be giving up a lot of weight like 10kg and height in his fight, as well as I assume long wrestling and Sambo background to his Tajikistan opponent.
My background maybe not as solid as Joshes or as Pure Catch or whatever, but it certainly is much longer and more so than a lot of people selling certificates, starting associations, and what not. It certainly have more real knowledge than a guy like KJ that never trained. Even Josh was listed as Judo, commentators talked about his Judo in first UFCs. Matt Hume was Pankration. Pankration and Wrestling have been around a lot longer than CACC. Whether you consider Matt Hume or Erik Paulson Catch or not or pure enough is up to debate as they learned everything they could as I did. I would consider what them and their guys, and even Lions Den,were doing as Catch but others do not. Hume says it is Pankration, Paulson system is not just Catch and called Combat Submission Wrestling, as he too started in Judo, and trained with Gracies and Machados, Rickson and Rigan etc. Erik told me he did start CSW before he got his BJJ BB, because he was doing a lot of Japanese Combat Wrestling at the time and what he had to teach was different then just pure bjj.
I would like a detailed breakdown of Josh's training if he would provide it, not because of flame wars or negative debate, but out of genuine interest. However, all the training that influenced people especially from 93-2005 would be a lot and maybe hard to do. I literally drove corner to corner and all over my state to train with different guys, gyms, dojos, dungeons, basements, barns etc. You had to go everywhere and absorb whatever you could. Like how long Judo-I believe it was 2 yrs after 3 yrs HS wrestling. Then how much picking up whatever going with different guys like Reese and apparently Holt, and prob. all over like I and others in 90s had to. Then when to Matt Hume and for how long? Then when to Erik? How much training w Billy and people in Japan and when? Was it like for two weeks after Josh would fight or what just a lot of trips when fighting in Japan? I assume a lot was influenced by Pancrase guys and would like to know more about that. I have also asked KJ repeatedly for more info on Dick Cardinal, because he seemed to know his stuff from what I saw.
Personally I care more about how someone moves, the movement style, the weight distribution, and how they methodology would be in a real grappling match or MMA fight. I care about their technical understanding of human bio-mechanics, how to twist the body, joints, and ride heavy. I am knowledgeable in this. I got that from somewhere. KJ would endorse Erik as Catch, but leaves out Gene LeBell and Gokor whom I believe Erik learned a good amount from as have I. Also, Ishikawa says Shooto is Shooto not Catch, so where did Erik learn his Catch from if not from Gene? Edit-not sure how much he trained with Larry prob a lot but I believe Larry learned from Gene, and think it was much later on when he trained with Billy R. and not sure how much. Perhaps Erik or Josh could clarify how much training Erik did with Gene and Gokor. Is Josh Catch? I think we all say yes, because he is a bamf, and put more mat time in training w Catch guys and JMMA fighters than other. He has competed, been there and done that, trained a long time, and that is what HE chooses to represent. He could have called his style Judo or just wrestling or more so Pankration had HE chose. Also, he trained less bjj then I, yet his catch coach Erik trained extensively in it since very early on and is a bb and fore sure CSW is influenced by BJJ, just as it is Catch, Judo, and somewhat Sambo. I have never hidden the fact I have been influenced by all grappling arts, but mostly influenced by the 90s JMMA Catch style, what I learned in Shooto, what I learned from Shooto and Pancrase fighters, what I learned from watching mostly Pancrase, then Shooto, then Rings and UWFi, what I learned from Gene Lebell etc. Did I fight in Pancrase often like Josh? No, but I did fight the KOP Kondo once as did he.
I am open about my training in other arts. First exposed a bit to wrestling, then Judo, just like Josh though not as long in those, before training everything I could. U had to go everywhere back in the 90s pretty much, to get what you could.
I forgot there was another older very knowledgeable JKD guy that invited me to train in his basement grappling with a group a few times. Do not recall his name, but yes he was Guro Dan cert. It was definitely Shooto type grappling, leglocks etc. I do remember showing them my theory on Straight Blasting/elbowing in the guard to my 2 on 2 heel hook which i much later filmed, and also how to high posture up like Fedor and Kondo did to land good GnP in the guard.
KJ passed himself everywhere forever as an expert and is hypocritical all the time. Guys more interested in online arguments, and taking screen shots, rather than actual Real Self-knowledge, real mat time tells you something.
I focus on and appreciate the techniques. What others interpretations of lineage and all that well that is just opinions. I do not want to waist energy and absorb others negative energy. Listen to what Erik has to say about whom he rolls with in the Rolled Up episode.
