Ive been seeing a number of articles quoting grappling coach Firaz Zahabi floating around the web lately that have been getting a lot of negative backlash by many in the BJJ community. Specifically that (1) The Achilles’ heel of jiu-jitsu is, one, that they insist on the gi, (2) Wrestlers are learning Jiu-Jitsu but Jiu-Jitsu guys are not so open minded to wrestling, (3) BJJ guys are s— athletes (compared to wrestlers) I tend to agree with him, and heres why: First, you have to read what he says in context- otherwise it just sounds like hes saying BJJ sucks. Hes not. Mr. Zahabi is himself a BJJ blackbelt. No one earns that rank without a trial by fire- let alone respecting the art. 1. Grappling in a gi makes you better at grappling in a gi. And thats it. If youre going to compete in a BJJ tournament, then you need to know the gi grips, how to break them, how to use them, and how to not get strangled with your own clothes- none of which carries over into MMA or grappling without a gi. I dont care how much you love the gi, you cannot choke someone with a lapel they are not wearing. Its a DIFFERENT sport and needs to be treated as such. 2. A very small percentage of the grapplers and fighters I know who started in BJJ can wrestle well. A large percentage of the grapplers and fighters I know who started in wrestling can do BJJ well. Its a personal anecdote, but thats been my experience. 3. But lets talk about strength and conditioning for a moment. In every major sport, the athletes will dedicate a significant portion of their training time to strength and conditioning (ie: picking up heavy stuff and moving it in order to get stronger, faster, etc... ) however, with some notable exceptions, BJJ competitors do not. In fact, I would go as far as saying most martial artists do not spend the kind of time in the weight room that they should. The counterpoint often given to this perspective is martial arts isnt about strength, its about technique. You could say the same thing about baseball. And yet, most major league baseball player have impressive, dynamic, powerful, explosive, muscular, and imposing physiques as a result of strict dedication to a strength training schedule. The same cant be said for most high level BJJ competitors. Thats really weird to me. I played baseball a lot when I was a kid. There is athleticism involved, but not quite enough in my opinion to merit looking like the Incredible Hulk. In baseball, the body is only in motion for very brief intervals. So yes, it pays to be able to sprint fast and hit hard- but the small amount of work done on the field relative to the large amount of done in the weight room in baseball is widely disproportionate. Grappling, on the other hand, is a sport where the body is in constant motion, constantly under pressure, and constantly meeting resistance. Technique is first and foremost in all sports- but its no secret that strength and athleticism augments an athletes ability to use their technique to its maximum potential. So you would think that more BJJ competitors would spend more time doing deadlifts. What I tend to hear instead is excuses like these: (1) If you use power youre doing it wrong, and (2) I want to keep rolling till Im 100, so I need a gameplan that doesnt require any athleticism. To this I say (1) wrong. Moving your body in any way, shape, or form requires power. All grappling techniques are applications of power. These folks are confusing power with working against leverage. Good technique is an efficient application of power. Bad technique is an inefficient application of power. But all technique is a use of power. (2) Strength training keeps you healthier for longer. There are all kinds of scientific studies and endless anecdotes confirming this. There is a direct correlation between neuromuscular strength and physiological health. If you want to roll till youre old, then youve got to make yourself athletic enough to do the work, to take the punishment, and to recover properly afterward. Were all impressed when we see a little guy beat a larger stronger opponent with awesome secret ninja moves. But when everyone knows the same moves- the better athlete wins.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 17:35:37 +0000
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