Matt Thornton
Amateur Fighter
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2004
- Messages
- 1,890
- Reaction score
- 1
With a passion. At least MMA has improved and is still improving.
Guard boxing is the term I have coined to fighters who use the guard, both from the top and bottom, as the end-all position for the fight. This isn't happening so much lately, but my girlfriend got me Prides 6-9 and 11, and I'm sorry, but a lot of these fights just plain suck. And I'm a big MMA fan, with a huge appreciation for the ground game.
In almost every one of these fights I've watched so far, the formula for the fight was almost universal. One way or another the fight ended up in the guard, and from here, the two fighters thought they were basically the Mike Tysons of ground fighting. The fighter on the bottom would grab an overhook and throw weak punches from the bottom while laying on his back and doing nothing. The fighter on the top would lay and pray, occasionally throwing some weak shots to the ribs. This would continue for 10 minutes at a time, and in well over half the fights, they had to go to an extra round, because neither of the fighters did anything.
Luckily for us, No Gi grappling is advancing, and we're seeing more exciting ground fights. But even in Pride 6, exciting grappling was possible. It's no wonder to me now why Sakuraba got as popular as he did. He wasn't just good, he DID SOMETHING! He postured up and at least tried to pass guard. Carlos Newton and Daijiro Matsui were also two guys who were making the ground game exciting.
But let me just make it clear. I cannot stand when guys use the guard to set up striking opportunities. The guard is a neutral position! The guy on top, you're not in an offensive position. Stop trying to GnP him from there unless it's a set-up for a guard pass. You need to get past his legs. Guy on the bottom, if you want to be offensive, your weak-ass shots are not going to do anything but annoy him. Move your freaking hips and use the legs that God gave you. Guard boxing is ineffective, it shows a complete lack of ability in grappling, and it's just plain boring. If you absolutely must stand back up, please don't stall to get the fight back on the feet. Learn some escapes. This is Mixed Martial Arts.
The two fighters I'll use as exemplary grapplers are Sakuraba and Nogueira. These guys play the ground game the way it should be played. Sakuraba does strike from the top guard, but he does that more for distraction and to please the crowd (after all, he does crazy stuff like Mongolian chops). He passes the guard and moves. Nogueira makes the guard offensive with MOVEMENT, not those lame punches. He controls his opponent's wrists, moves his hips, climbs his guard, fakes sweeps, sets up submissions... if you're going to use your guard, use it offensively. Otherwise find a way to stand back up and either strike or get back on the ground with a better position.
Marc Laimon made an excellent point when he said the next step in MMA is going to be passing the guard more. I hope he's right.
Understandably, not all fighters can be the greatest grapplers. To fight like Saku or Nog takes years and years of dedicated training, combined with a great deal of natural talent. But honestly, I'd rather lose a fight knowing that I got caught by a better fighter than lay there because I'm afraid I'll lose. MMA is a combat sport, and so is grappling. Look at it any way you want, but it's a fight. If I'm a better stand-up fighter than someone, and I get taken down, I would rather be caught in an ankle lock trying to kick him away than spend 2 rounds holding him down with an overhook. If you're just laying there, you're not fighting, meaning you're stalling and avoiding the inevitable: you're outclassed. Sorry, better luck next time, train harder in the gym.
If you need to hold him down once you gain position, by all means, do it. Pinning is an important aspect of groundfighting, and people are just going to need to deal with that. But the top guard is not about pinning, and the bottom guard is not about holding him down. It's a neutral position, just like the free-movement phase of stand up fighting, or the over-under clinch. Have you ever watched a boxing match where one fighter is gassed and outclassed, so he just spends the rest of the fight trying to grab on a clinch and avoid boxing? He deserves every boo he gets! Stalling in the guard is the grappling equivalent to that.
There's a difference between holding someone down and hitting them as a set-up, and holding them down and hitting them as a game plan. The first is a legitimate strategy, while the latter is an indication of an utter lack of conditioning, skill, and training.
End rant. Sorry to all of you who had to read this post. I just finished watching several hours of guard boxing and almost threw something at my T.V. while screaming "F*@#$%#@&* DO SOMETHING!!!!!!!!!!!!" I almost cried (o.k., maybe not that extreme) when I saw guys like Sakuraba and Newton who actually fought when they got on the ground.
Guard boxing is the term I have coined to fighters who use the guard, both from the top and bottom, as the end-all position for the fight. This isn't happening so much lately, but my girlfriend got me Prides 6-9 and 11, and I'm sorry, but a lot of these fights just plain suck. And I'm a big MMA fan, with a huge appreciation for the ground game.
In almost every one of these fights I've watched so far, the formula for the fight was almost universal. One way or another the fight ended up in the guard, and from here, the two fighters thought they were basically the Mike Tysons of ground fighting. The fighter on the bottom would grab an overhook and throw weak punches from the bottom while laying on his back and doing nothing. The fighter on the top would lay and pray, occasionally throwing some weak shots to the ribs. This would continue for 10 minutes at a time, and in well over half the fights, they had to go to an extra round, because neither of the fighters did anything.
Luckily for us, No Gi grappling is advancing, and we're seeing more exciting ground fights. But even in Pride 6, exciting grappling was possible. It's no wonder to me now why Sakuraba got as popular as he did. He wasn't just good, he DID SOMETHING! He postured up and at least tried to pass guard. Carlos Newton and Daijiro Matsui were also two guys who were making the ground game exciting.
But let me just make it clear. I cannot stand when guys use the guard to set up striking opportunities. The guard is a neutral position! The guy on top, you're not in an offensive position. Stop trying to GnP him from there unless it's a set-up for a guard pass. You need to get past his legs. Guy on the bottom, if you want to be offensive, your weak-ass shots are not going to do anything but annoy him. Move your freaking hips and use the legs that God gave you. Guard boxing is ineffective, it shows a complete lack of ability in grappling, and it's just plain boring. If you absolutely must stand back up, please don't stall to get the fight back on the feet. Learn some escapes. This is Mixed Martial Arts.
The two fighters I'll use as exemplary grapplers are Sakuraba and Nogueira. These guys play the ground game the way it should be played. Sakuraba does strike from the top guard, but he does that more for distraction and to please the crowd (after all, he does crazy stuff like Mongolian chops). He passes the guard and moves. Nogueira makes the guard offensive with MOVEMENT, not those lame punches. He controls his opponent's wrists, moves his hips, climbs his guard, fakes sweeps, sets up submissions... if you're going to use your guard, use it offensively. Otherwise find a way to stand back up and either strike or get back on the ground with a better position.
Marc Laimon made an excellent point when he said the next step in MMA is going to be passing the guard more. I hope he's right.
Understandably, not all fighters can be the greatest grapplers. To fight like Saku or Nog takes years and years of dedicated training, combined with a great deal of natural talent. But honestly, I'd rather lose a fight knowing that I got caught by a better fighter than lay there because I'm afraid I'll lose. MMA is a combat sport, and so is grappling. Look at it any way you want, but it's a fight. If I'm a better stand-up fighter than someone, and I get taken down, I would rather be caught in an ankle lock trying to kick him away than spend 2 rounds holding him down with an overhook. If you're just laying there, you're not fighting, meaning you're stalling and avoiding the inevitable: you're outclassed. Sorry, better luck next time, train harder in the gym.
If you need to hold him down once you gain position, by all means, do it. Pinning is an important aspect of groundfighting, and people are just going to need to deal with that. But the top guard is not about pinning, and the bottom guard is not about holding him down. It's a neutral position, just like the free-movement phase of stand up fighting, or the over-under clinch. Have you ever watched a boxing match where one fighter is gassed and outclassed, so he just spends the rest of the fight trying to grab on a clinch and avoid boxing? He deserves every boo he gets! Stalling in the guard is the grappling equivalent to that.
There's a difference between holding someone down and hitting them as a set-up, and holding them down and hitting them as a game plan. The first is a legitimate strategy, while the latter is an indication of an utter lack of conditioning, skill, and training.
End rant. Sorry to all of you who had to read this post. I just finished watching several hours of guard boxing and almost threw something at my T.V. while screaming "F*@#$%#@&* DO SOMETHING!!!!!!!!!!!!" I almost cried (o.k., maybe not that extreme) when I saw guys like Sakuraba and Newton who actually fought when they got on the ground.