Should BJJ (sport and self-defense) start emphasizing getting to the top more? Should we be emphasizing fundamental approach of advancing position and maintaining it until a submission can be applied.
I think that so many people have become enamored with the idea of submitting people from the guard that we've forgotten that guard should be something of a 'last ditch' effort when things have gone wrong for us (failed takedown, knocked or pushed to the ground, etc) and that instead of camping out in guard we need to use it to transition.
Just thoughts for discussion.
More is not quantifiable enough
of course you should do some takedowns
but there will always be different styles/approaches, not everybody is the same/that would also be boring)
And especially for MMA fighters it is a time economy thing
From what we have seen in MMA and grappling today I propose that takedowns is the hardest part to learn, it takes the most time and effort,
we have world class BJJ guys who started in their late teens, who are on a technical level just as good if not better then guys who have done it since they were kids, this doesn't happen in wrestling/judo. the talent pool plays a factor but also the nature of the techniques
you can get more reps in drilling submissions then takedowns
Look at Nick Diaz, he won a close striking fight, but I would wager that despite the disadvantages that Hall talks about, Diaz would have been closer to finishing had they been on the ground, guard or top, he tried a couple of takedowns and failed all but one, most logical and safe would have been to pull guard
Everything is cyclical, MMA/grappling (BJJ/SW competitions) is still very young sports compared to others
first BJJ ruled, then wrestlers started to learn sub D, then strikers learned Takedown D then wrestlers learned to strike(where we are now roughly) now BJJ guys are better at takedowns then before but maybe the most logical thing would be to be even better at the guard or the next big thing LEGLOCKS!
