Travis Stevens wins silver using BJJ?

[Thycidides]

Welll.. you're the type who believes in Akido.. no point in arguing

http://fightland.vice.com/blog/wushu-watch-lessons-to-learn-from-aikido

You can see high level grapplers use wrist locks and parts of the aikido strategy create openings on the ground

 

[Uchi Mata]

Like your post but I disagree. Wrestling is used because it is easier to learn than judo and it's not like bjj players have good wrestling, they have really bad wrestling. If they want good wrestling then they should compete in judo as well like the Georgia's and the Mongolia's do with their local wrestling/judo integration. If the bjj player is concerned about their tech failing then it will fail. If a bjj player was scared to leave mount to pursue an arm triangle they will never get the sub. Every ippon leaves you open to some degree. Freestyle judo has all the dangers of bjj yet they still nail the throws.

Being a black belt in Judo I like to think my throws are okay, but having had many BJJ matches I'm telling you from experience that a lot of the throws that work well in Judo just don't function the same way in BJJ. People don't stand upright, and there's no ref forcing them to not stall on the feet or penalizing them for defensive grips. In addition, if you stand bolt upright in a good Judo stance, your legs are very vulnerable to shots. And comparing it to freestyle Judo is a little silly, because even under that rule set ippon ends the match. I can throw you and land with you fully on my back and it doesn't matter because the match is over. That is not the case in BJJ. Judo's a great sport and one I spent a lot of time training and competing in, but it isn't BJJ and no matter how much Judo guys want to elide the differences it never will be.

 

[Uchi Mata]

Wait a second.

In the leg entanglement that controls both legs at once and splits the opponents base....

Which leg exactly is going to be doing the stomping?

I'm starting to think Dewey doesn't actually know what X guard is.

 

[deweydeucalion]

Being a black belt in Judo I like to think my throws are okay, but having had many BJJ matches I'm telling you from experience that a lot of the throws that work well in Judo just don't function the same way in BJJ. People don't stand upright, and there's no ref forcing them to not stall on the feet or penalizing them for defensive grips. In addition, if you stand bolt upright in a good Judo stance, your legs are very vulnerable to shots. And comparing it to freestyle Judo is a little silly, because even under that rule set ippon ends the match. I can throw you and land with you fully on my back and it doesn't matter because the match is over. That is not the case in BJJ. Judo's a great sport and one I spent a lot of time training and competing in, but it isn't BJJ and no matter how much Judo guys want to elide the differences it never will be.

Thanks for the impute and for your experience. When you roll in bjj do you have a strong top, bottom or mixed game? I like to be on top but I'm fighting way bigger/stronger guys so I'm using judo or fast transition subs off the front head lock heavy sprawls (guillotine). Thanks

 

[deweydeucalion]

I'm starting to think Dewey doesn't actually know what X guard is.

I know what it is but I haven't explored that tech because I don't like being on bottom being smashed by wrestlers/mma wannabes. I like to test their bottom game. Every one has their own experiences while rolling that shapes their personal game.

 

[Steve08]

It's pretty hard for someone to punch you when your legs are between your upper body and their hips. It's why you rarely see anyone get beaten up from leg entanglements: contrary to popular belief, positions like 50/50 are some of the safest in terms of not getting punched because your opponent simply can't reach you with any power.

Yeah, I have almost never seen anyone with a solid 1LX on someone's leg get hit hard. It just doesn't make sense unless you've made a mistake (i.e. hips too low), because when you do it right, all your weight is concentrated on their thigh, and at any moment you can knock their balance out from underneath them. I'm far from being ready to take an MMA fight, but if/when I get to that point, I want to experiment with this.

 

[Steve08]

lol, that's comic gold. You ever have an Akido guy show you some stuff? It ain't bad.

Your posts + av are an embarrassment to Emperor and Wrath of the Tyrant. Please stop.

.

Would that not be a full X guard since Conor only has an X hook on one of Diaz's legs? Or am I misunderstanding the position (kinda looks like Conor's left knee is on the inside of Diaz's right thigh)?

 

[PointyShinyBurn]

I know what it is but I haven't explored that tech because I don't like being on bottom being smashed by wrestlers/mma wannabes. I like to test their bottom game. Every one has their own experiences while rolling that shapes their personal game.

Sometimes those mean wrestlers will take you down even though you asked them nicely not to, at that point it's a good idea to know, say, x-guard so that you can get back on top.

 

[deweydeucalion]

Your posts + av are an embarrassment to Emperor and Wrath of the Tyrant. Please stop.
Would that not be a full X guard since Conor only has an X hook on one of Diaz's legs? Or am I misunderstanding the position (kinda looks like Conor's left knee is on the inside of Diaz's right thigh)?

If you go into an mma fight looking to do x guard you will get the beat down of your life for sure and that is a promise. bjj guys always get matched up with big wrestlers at the lower mma levels. And representing the greatest band ever is never an embarrassment

 

[the heed]

As usual this becomes Judo vs BJJ......

just embrace both and get over it

 

[Zankou]

Would that not be a full X guard since Conor only has an X hook on one of Diaz's legs? Or am I misunderstanding the position (kinda looks like Conor's left knee is on the inside of Diaz's right thigh)?

The other foot can float in x guard, so I'd consider it to be x guard. The distinctive aspect of x guard is crossing that outside leg through the crotch to pressure the far hip. The other foot is then more float-y, it can push on the knee, hook behind the knee, hook behind hip, etc.

He's also using an overhook, but again I'd consider that a pretty basic and common variation.

 

[deweydeucalion]

Sometimes those mean wrestlers will take you down even though you asked them nicely not to, at that point it's a good idea to know, say, x-guard so that you can get back on top.

I prefer to be mean back. Bullies don't like being bullied. Then they can cry "that's not bjj" after you tap them.

 

[selfcritical]

Your posts + av are an embarrassment to Emperor and Wrath of the Tyrant. Please stop.
Would that not be a full X guard since Conor only has an X hook on one of Diaz's legs? Or am I misunderstanding the position (kinda looks like Conor's left knee is on the inside of Diaz's right thigh)?

Conor's second arm is doing the job the second X hook would normally do because Nate is standing way the hell narrow. Connor didn't have to bust through the multiple layers of defense you'd normally have to in order to complete the sweep

 

[Uchi Mata]

Thanks for the impute and for your experience. When you roll in bjj do you have a strong top, bottom or mixed game? I like to be on top but I'm fighting way bigger/stronger guys so I'm using judo or fast transition subs off the front head lock heavy sprawls (guillotine). Thanks

I can play top or bottom equally well. I spend a lot of time working on takedowns because I prefer to be on top in tournaments (I mostly fight the absolute divisions since it's hard to get big brackets in brown/black belt weight classes for local tournaments, so I often fight bigger guys though I'm not small), but I would consider my guard to be pretty good. I've only had one guy pass my guard in competition over my entire career, for what that's worth.

Even though you don't like it for some reason, X guard was actually developed for smaller guys to use against bigger guys because it's a very effective position for keeping someone's weight off you. Unlike in half guard of something where the top player can pressure down hard, in the butterfly/X system you always have your legs between him and you and can manage the distance pretty well.

 

[Uchi Mata]

Yeah, I have almost never seen anyone with a solid 1LX on someone's leg get hit hard. It just doesn't make sense unless you've made a mistake (i.e. hips too low), because when you do it right, all your weight is concentrated on their thigh, and at any moment you can knock their balance out from underneath them. I'm far from being ready to take an MMA fight, but if/when I get to that point, I want to experiment with this.

Being on bottom in an MMA fight is just bad period, but if you're going to be on bottom, having your legs in between his fist and your face is the way to go. Ultimately most guards you're just going to use to create space and get back to your feet, or attack a leg lock. Sweeping BJJ style is pretty rare just because it's so hard to maintain control through the sweep. Unless you're coming up on a single, which can work.

 

[Foxflechette57]

I'll have to look into it more. You are right under the opponents punching power, I don't even want to practice that. I know it's a sport and not a self defense but that's pushing it.

As your opponent is unbalanced, it's quite tough for him to punch effectively, Even if it looks odd, you are pretty safe if using the xguard properly. The transition to the back from Xguard is quite easy and effective imo ( in MMA/Grappling even in self defense if one to one situation)

 

[deweydeucalion]

I can play top or bottom equally well. I spend a lot of time working on takedowns because I prefer to be on top in tournaments (I mostly fight the absolute divisions since it's hard to get big brackets in brown/black belt weight classes for local tournaments, so I often fight bigger guys though I'm not small), but I would consider my guard to be pretty good. I've only had one guy pass my guard in competition over my entire career, for what that's worth.

Even though you don't like it for some reason, X guard was actually developed for smaller guys to use against bigger guys because it's a very effective position for keeping someone's weight off you. Unlike in half guard of something where the top player can pressure down hard, in the butterfly/X system you always have your legs between him and you and can manage the distance pretty well.

At my gym there was a lot of bullying by the mma guys, so they would injure guys quite a bit, neck cranks, can openers, torquing heel hooks and really hard slams. I ended up just locking down when they were on top and finding ways to get top position from the stand up, basically to avoid getting my a$$ kicked. That's why I don't play any open guards. Again, thanks for the impute.

 

[EGDM]

The distinctive aspect of x guard is crossing that outside leg through the crotch to pressure the far hip. The other foot is then more float-y, it can push on the knee, hook behind the knee, hook behind hip, etc.

Not to derail more than we have from celebrating Travis' achievement, but a lot of guys use X-guard variants with the top foot stepping on the torso side of the opponent's near hip, instead of hooking inside the far thigh. It provides a lot of opportunity for elevation.

 

[Zankou]

Yeah that's a good move, but I consider it more single leg x or a leg entanglement. Much of it is semantic tho.

 

[EGDM]

Much of it is semantic tho.

Agreed. Lucas Lepri, at least, teaches this under the umbrella of X-guard. Others have labelled it differently.