Thanks for posting. I liked it. But was hoping to see him in action against a skilled opponent. I asked because I haven't found anything in my research.
I asked you to post footage of his fights because you said this: "Joe Rogan is an accomplished martial artist who knows his way around a ring". I havn't been able to find any footage of him in competition, or of him fighting a skilled opponent.
Joes actually a pretty tough dude. TKD and BJJ at least. He knows what he's talking about. he's definitely not just a comedian. He's been doing color commentary for the UFC for a very long time.Joe Rogan is a Stand up comic.He should stick to that. I wish Howard Cosell was still alive. I'd like to see those two fight. A couple of "authorities" on fighting, that could never fight
Yeah, mostly. I'd say there are people who are violent professionally who have ample opportunity to pressure test a martial art outside of competition. But for most of us, competition is the best, most reliable, most efficient way to build expertise and skill.
Oh, I agree that the really skilled BJJ guys use it. It's not as common on the ground was my point, because there's less total movement. High-level Judo folks will use it, too. Tony and I have actually had some discussions about this in the past. The main reason I refer to myself as "workmanlike" on the ground is that I don't possess the skill down there tap into the aiki moments very well. Aiki is not the sole domain of the aiki arts. We just focus on it more (some too much, IMO). The main identifier to me for aiki is when the opponent provides the energy for taking themselves down. Watch a Judo competition, and you'll see that most of their throws aren't like that. Why? Because they know a throw is coming, and they are playing all the weight and structure counters, so speed has to be increased, more muscle is needed, etc. I would assume the same would happen if two elite-level BJJ guys were really trying to stop each other, and weren't willing to play a waiting game (so, let's add in strikes, which adds that urgency).
Competition is the best way to verify skill against competitors. I've outlined before the limitations I see in competition. I think competition (at least "competitive" sparring/rolling within the school) is a necessary element - I haven't seen an alternative I think brings the same benefits. And for some arts, open competition (within the art and beyond) seems to foster better effectiveness. But when techniques don't work in competition (meaning the opportunity for them doesn't come up often enough to be worth trying), but are among the most commonly used in altercations (having to depend upon reports from LEO and bouncers, who have enough encounters to draw any conclusions), then competition isn't developing some of the skills that art brings, and a focus on competition would eventually lead to the de-emphasis of those techniques that worked so well in non-competition application.
If we take away the aiki focus, sure. That puts us in the realm of Judo, with more small joint locks, and more striking. But you may recall that we are an aiki art. Aiki is a primary principle we work with, and something that does (contrary to your assertions) present opportunities in real-world encounters (again, working from reports from LEO's and bouncers who have enough encounters and aiki training to give some reasonable input). So, if we stopped focusing on the aiki, we'd be changing the art. And I don't see a good reason to do that. It's a useful part of our toolset that works for the context it's intended.
I'll say the art does matter. I think it's the person and the art, not one or the other. If I get tapped out on the ground by someone who has trained a much shorter time in BJJ, that's probably the art (art with ground focus vs. art with standing focus). Now, if that same person actually manages to get me to the ground (reliably and easily, let's not get caught up in those exceptions that can always happen), that's something wrong with either me as a practitioner or the art I'm trained in or the training methods used to train me.
