Question to BJJ practitioners...

[charyuop]

First of all lemme say THIS IS NOT a thread aiming to the classic my MA is better than yours, but more like a technical question.

Today, since I cannot practice for injury, I spent 2 hours watching on youtube some BJJ videos, both Vs other MAs' and Vs other BJJ. I have noticed that the main aim of BJJ practitioner is going to the floor, but most of the time it is done by simply throwing themselves into the opponent groin area to take away his balance and have him/her fall, from where they of course have a big advantage.

Of course all those videos where subject to rules and wearing protective gears. My question is not if it is effective in real fights, but if it is done the same way in a real fight. Throwing yourself like that leaves you open to a strong punch on the back of the head (which could even be fatal) or to the throat. Or else if someone, intentionally or for luck, steps inside diagonally could end up hitting with the knee your shoulder with the chance of an injury.

I was curious if BJJ has forseen these things and has ways to protect you from these kind of attacks, or in the moment you throw yourself into the opponent you rely completely on the surprise factor.

REAPEAT, just a technical curiosity, not a what Art is better thread!

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Well as with any takedown it is not that you go for it but when you go for it. There are times when the opponent has shifted weight onto their heels or you have a fake hand strike or kick and this has caused them to back pedal thereby making it easy to then close and take them down. Other times you wait and get the other person coming forward and then close and initiate the takedown. BJJ, MMA, Wrestler's, etc. all work very hard on timing issues and closing at the right moment. If you do that then you are insulated against many attacks. However there are no absolutes and anything can happen.

 

[Andrew Green]

I'm not a BJJ practitioner, but I'll try and give you a answer:

There are plenty of "No rules" fights where those things are allowed as well. The easiest to get a hold of are the early UFC's.

A double leg takedown (or as you refer to it, throwing yourself into there groin) is most definately a good technique. It does not leave you as open to those strikes as you think. Combine it with a proper setup and the chances of one of those things is pretty low.

Do you expose yourself while doing it? Somewhat, yes, but the same goes for doing anything, including doing nothing at all. You could also state that everytime you through a punch, you are opening up for a takedown, which in a sense you are. Timing, setups and ability to recover from a failed technique make things work though.

It is also the case that some BJJ people are really not that great at takedowns, watch a freestyle wrestler go for a double leg and it is usually quite different. Some are, some aren't.

Now as for protective gear, MMA gloves protect the hands far more then the head. You can hit much harder with them as otherwise punching to the head is likely to break the hand. This is actually fairly common in bare knuckle fights, and again going back to those no rules days you will see that it is the strikers that choose to wear gloves when they are required.

It is also very hard to get any amount of power into a strike to someones head, when there head is pushed up against you and they are driving forward.

Knees, on a sloppy shot are a threat, but throwing them is also risky. If it connects, and that is not a easy thing to do, it's probably game over. But more often then not it won't, in which case you just gave up your only chance of defending the shot. If you want to use knees Sprawl first, then throw them.

 

[charyuop]

Thank you, a very complete answer