There is No Perfect System
Published: 8/17/2019
By Spencer Sensei
Many people believe that Brazilian Jujitsu is the only real combat martial art. The UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) was the purveyor of this belief. I was watching an interview of Bill “Super Foot” Wallace the other day. Wallace was one of the announcers of the first competition. He was talking about the first UFC competition that hurled Brazilian Jujitsu (BJJ) into the world spotlight. Wallace implied that the fighter’s, selected by the Gracies, were perfect to showcase BJJ. This was more marketing than a real test of the best. Royce Gracie used the double leg takedown, or Morote-gari, almost exclusively to get the opponents to the ground. A highly skilled wrestler would have been able to counter this type of attack by sprawling, yet there was only one contestant that had any real grappling experience, and he had never seen BJJ before. Later, highly skilled former Olympic wrestlers, would add striking and submission techniques to their resume, and they would begin to dominate what would be called mixed martial arts (MMA), but in the UFC’s first showcase it was all BJJ. Now that BJJ is a better-known system, they too have evolved and incorporated striking to make their fighting method more complete. After UFC-one, BJJ was considered the perfect system and students flocked to their dojos (schools), and it was hailed the be-all-end-all of martial arts. Martial Artists need to understand this… there is no perfect fighting system, or unbeatable fighter.
A common saying associated with BJJ is, “Most fights end up on the ground,” but as Bill Wallace stated in his YouTube interview, “All fights start standing up.” I had a number of altercations as I was growing into adulthood, and a few of these fights wound up on the ground, but the majority ended when the opponent was bloodied, unconscienced, or in full retreat. During one of these encounters, I was taken down to the ground. At first, I was bewildered as to how I should respond. I was on the ground and the attacker was above my hip line, so I reached around the back of his neck and stuck my fingers in his mouth and fish-hooked his cheek. Next, I twisted his head around counterclockwise, as hard as I could, pulling against the side of his mouth. He rolled to relieve the torque on his neck and wound up on his back. I rolled on top, and while I was on top, I began raining down blows on my adversary’s head. Eventually, we were pulled apart by those present. A fishhook is an illegal technique in the UFC. This happened in the early seventies prior to my formal karate/jujitsu training. I did however have some informal training in boxing and Judo from my father. Normally, when two street fighters end up on the ground, once one of the fighters is incapacitated, the crowd tends to pull the combatants apart. In the real world, if you continue to pound and kick on your downed opponent and they receive any serious injury you’ll get sued at best or go to jail at worse. Another problem with going to the ground, in all fighting scenarios, is the situation where the assault is made by multiple assailants. In my teens I was attacked by a group of delinquents looking for trouble while I was walking to meet my friends at the local bowling alley. I suffered a number of bumps, bruises, and cuts during the encounter, but stayed on my feet and was able to escape by running into a local business. Had I fell to the ground, in the alley where I was first attacked, things would have been much worse. When you’re attacked by multiple assailants, you no longer have the luxury fighting one opponent at a time. You must attack and move but mostly move. Later, when I studied Korean martial arts, we actually practiced the scenario of multiple attackers. An added disadvantage to going to the ground, in a place like an alley, is that the terrain is littered with glass, rusted metal, tumbleweeds, and rocks. Even a parking lot can be dangerous. Pavement and concrete curbs can be used as a weapon when your head is driven into them. I believe that BJJ is great for a one-on-one encounter, but the guard is not where you want to be in a life preservation situation dealing with multiple opponents. A fighter must be skilled in all ranges of combat or as I like to say, “from the stand to the sand,” but they must also know which range best fits the situation.
Knowing your enemy is most important in any physical encounter, and this rule was never more evident than in Ken Shamrock’s first match with Royce Gracie. In UFC-one there were only a few rules. These rules were: no wraps on hands or knees, and no eye or groin strikes, yet Royce Gracie was allowed to wear a full uniform. If a fighter wore wraps, they could be loosened and used to choke out their opponent. Shamrock didn’t think anything about Royce’s uniform because he was unfamiliar with BJJ and didn’t know how they utilize the uniform to facilitate chokes. In the match between Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock, Ken was submitted when Royce used his uniform to facilitate a choke. Another uniform disparity found in UFC-one, was during Shamrock’s Shoot-fighting/ Wrestling competitions he had always worn wrestling shoes, but he was not allowed to wear them in his first encounter with BJJ. In Shamrock’s YouTube interview he said that he had a difficult time because he continually slipped on the flooring. Possibly this is just sour grapes due to his loss, but it did take Shamrock out of his comfort level which gave Royce an advantage however slight. Shamrock now understood his enemy and how the BJJ uniform could be used efficiently. There would be no surprises the second time around. The next time these fighters met he wore shoes and the outcome of the fight was a draw that left Royce cut and bleeding. Royce is without a doubt a very skilled BJJ fighter and tough-guy, and he legitimately schooled the field of fighters in UFC-one, but surprise was on his side. None of his first opponents were familiar with Brazilian Jujitsu, and they lost dramatically. As the film of the fight was studied, competitors began to train in other ranges of fighting. UFC-one may have changed the way we look at single person combat forever, but it was not knowing your enemy that proved to the greatest flaw in all the combatants training.
BJJ became famous for the vaunted guarding position. At the time, it was something new and legitimately caught traditional stand-up fighters by surprise. The boxer and kickboxers were easy targets for BJJ because they were susceptible to the takedown. Royce skillfully used a double leg takedown and pulled them into the guard, and then he quickly dispatched them. The guard became very popular. In a real-life preservation situation there are some problems with this maneuver. The guard exposes a fighter’s groin and if the groin had not been off-limits, in UFC-one, a strike to the groin could have changed the complexion of BJJ’s now famous guarding position. Eye strikes were against the rules. A thumb strike to the eyes would have made laying on your back less effective also, but this was a sporting event and not a life preservation situation, so understandably there must be rules in place to protect the contestants. It was good in that it showed the martial arts community that there were holes in what it was being taught, but the guarding position needed greater scrutiny. The guard is not new. Judo has taught mat technique, ground technique, or Ne-waza since its’ conception, but Judo’s focus has always been on the throw and not the submission. Brazilian jujitsu sharpened mat technique it into a work of art. The problem was after UFC-one, Brazilian jujitsu was heralded as the be-all-end-all martial art, and MMA schools sprang up all over the United States with some form of BJJ at their core. UFC-one was a great marketing tool for Gracie BJJ, and the nuances of their system. Techniques, like the guard, started to be practiced in the progressive martial arts community, but its’ weaknesses were not emphasized.
There is no perfect system. Schools that emphasized striking did began to decline, but it wasn’t long before BJJ’s weakness would be noted and exploited. What the casual student did not understand was that striking is of foundational importance in the development of a well-rounded fighter. The moment that BJJ came on the scene progressive fighters began to scheme against the new techniques, and by UFC-three or four defenses against the guard was being developed. This development led to what was derogatorily referred to as “The Ground and Pound.” It was ugly, but it was effective. Punching and kicking while in the guard became common place. Royce Gracie’s Morote-gari or double-leg takedown was minimized by the time he fought Kazushi Sakuraba, and Royce showed that he could use knees strikes and he even threw a round kick towards Kazushi’s head. Royce’s fighting shifted from the ground defense to an attacking strategy from the standing position because he was forced to evolve due to Sakuraba’s ability to escape the guard. Royce’s standing techniques were mainly used to set-up the double or single leg takedown in past events, but once Kazushi would not grapple Royce had to evolve to meet the circumstances and used knees and kicks. Eventually Kazushi’s, leg kicks, punching, and a refusal to spend the entire match on the ground led to his victory. The once unbeatable system and unbeatable fighter had lost.
The AOKK philosophy has always been to train students in what we call the three ranges of fighting. This is not a new concept. A complete fighter can fight from the standing position to the having their back pressed against the floor. In the late eighties I began training in jujitsu after finding myself on the mat and not knowing how to fully respond to the grappler I was facing. He shot in with a double leg takedown that caught me by surprise, so I naturally wanted to remedy this hole in my training and ventured into jujitsu. My preference is to remain standing during a fight and to end it on my feet, but we don’t always get what we want. There are three ranges of combat. The first is long distance. Long distance utilizes kicks and punches. In the second range of combat, we utilize knees, elbows, joint-locks, and throws. Lastly, the third range is on the ground or Ne-waza. This consists of holds, locks, strikes, and chokes. Ideally, we would like to gain a submission while on the ground, but in my real encounters I’ve needed elbow strikes, punches, and knee strikes. Remember, locks and holds are normally used to prevent an adversary from leaving or harming you temporarily until help can arrive. Granted there are locks that can blow out an adversary’s joint, but they require a great amount of skill, luck, and strength. In a life preservation situation, you must keep it simple and effective. A lock is not the best technique unless help is coming to your rescue. Choking an adversary unconscious is a viable means of self-defense. If they cannot move, you can easily make your exit. To be proficient on the ground, strikes, chokes, and locks must be mastered, but to be a well-rounded fighter one must be skilled in all ranges of personal combat.
In the AOKK we do not begin jujitsu training until the rank of black-belt. Since a fight begins standing and can end standing, we teach the student first to defend themselves in range-one. Advanced kyu students will be introduced to range-two techniques on a limited basis. They will learn knee and elbow strikes along with a limited number of standing locks and chokes. The advanced or black-belt student will be trained in range-three if they choose. No one is forced to train in jujitsu, and no student is forced to fight, even though the AOKK strongly advises their students to do so. We also understand that karate must also be preserved as an artform, so if the student chooses kata (forms) over kumite (fighting) they will still receive a fundamental understanding of how to fight in all ranges. It is the artform that separates karate from simple brawling. Throws will not be taught until black-belt even though they’re part of range-two because break-falls (Ukemi) must be taught first. All kyu students will be taught to strike and kick from the ground. Once the advanced student begins training in range-three they will develop locks (Kansetsu-waza), chokes (Shime-waza), hold-downs (Osaekomi-waza), and strikes from the ground. The advanced student will also learn how to defend while in the guard and they will learn how pass the guard. They will also learn how to kick and strike from that position. Training in the last two ranges require as much if not more time than range-one. Still, the AOKK believes a student initially needs a good foundation, in stand-up fighting, before moving into the next levels of self-defense, but it is also our belief that the competent student is trained in all ranges of fighting.
The UFC is sport oriented, so it has rules to protect the fighters. In a real martial arts confrontation, there are no rules. In a violent non-provoked attack, all rule-of-law must be mentally suspended. If you’re on the ground, pick up a rock or anything you can get your hands on and smash it into the face of your attacker. Mark them and hurt them by: biting, spitting, kicking, scratching, clawing, kneeing, choking, fish-hooking the mouth, poking the eyes, crushing the testicles, sticking your fingers in their nostrils, or by driving your thumb into the suprasternal notch, and no defense would be complete without a strike to the front of the throat or solar-plexus. Stopping your attack will not stop your opponents. In a real confrontation you cannot be worried about being hurt. You must focus on injuring your attacker. There are no rules in a violent encounter, and this is the difference between sport and self-defense.
Most systems teach basic self-defense. Basics are not enough. All students must know how to generate power within their punches/kicks, and knowing where to punch/kick is as equally important. Basic methods of attacking an adversary can be learned in any number of systems or styles, but they cannot be mastered in only one seminar or in a few months. You must train to be able to wield your weapons competently. There are many good systems of self-defense, but you need to find what best suits your self-defense needs. Serious training can be painful. Executing the basics softly or slowly, while you train, means you will execute them in a similar manner in a real confrontation. No system is perfect, but you must train until your self-defense response happens without thought. Simply put, you need to train hard mentally and physically.
In this article I’ve picked on Brazilian jujitsu to show how there are flaws in every style, and to demonstrate how martial arts continue to evolve. BJJ is a good solid martial art, and is great cardio workout, but there is no perfect fighting system. It has its strengths and weakness like every other system of combat. Knowing your chosen style’s weakness can become one of your strengths because you can compensate for that flaw and close any perceived gaps in your personal fighting development. Gracie BJJ no longer lives and dies in guard. In Royce’s fight against Kazushi Sakuraba he had to deliver knee strikes and even a kicked to Sakuraba’s head. These techniques may have always been part of BJJ, but I believe that Royce had to leave his comfort zone and use striking techniques even though they were not his forte. Today UFC fighters fight more like Kazushi Sakuraba than the Gracies. They stand as much as possible and spend less time on the mat. They have developed hands and feet as-well-as mat technique. I’ve lived long enough to see ninjutsu, Muay Thai, American kick boxing, and the pressure point craze, and I’ve tried them all, but not before obtaining a black belt rank in two styles. Each new thing rose to prominence and eventually fell from grace. No system is perfect, so don’t throw out your foundation and chase the next new thing. If your training starts on the mat, stay with it until it is mastered. The same is true of your karate or kick boxing systems. Master one before running to another. It if it works, add it to your personal martial arts. As I’ve always said, “At some point in your career, karate becomes personal,” by this, I mean that after you’ve solidified your understanding of a selected foundational system, you can begin to really explore those system’s strengths and weakness. Once you’ve recognized a weakness, you can compensate for it. That is when your karate has become personal.