I was gobsmacked to see this youtube video on Voxday recently.
https://voxday.blogspot.com/2019/01/dark...mment-form
Here’s the vid. Honestly, just watch it, if you haven’t already seen it;
If you can’t be bothered to watch, it basically shows a Japanese fighter Sakuraba dominating and defeating a whole line of Gracies (at separate events!). How? To summarise, he stays on his feet and soccer kicks his scuttlebutting opponents without mercy before choosing the right time to go to the ground and finish the fight on his own terms.
A few things to talk about here;
Firstly, I know damn well who Sakuraba is and knew all about his victories over the Gracies during this period. At least I knew on a historical, intellectual level. But this is the first time I have actually seen it.
This in no way invalidates BJJ as a useful MA! Let’s just get this straight. I’m posting this ‘cos it’s fascinating and pertinent to the streetfighting discussions on here (being on the ground and getting stomped). To get this out the way, I respect all Martial Arts, though there is a scale of practicality (of which BJJ sits at the top with a few others in my view). I also have a hunch that real streetfights are more about the ‘Artist than the Art’. Also, for survival purposes, I’m inclined nowadays to put ‘running away fast’ at the top of the pile!
There’s nothing new to unpack from this for most people on here; all MA’s have their weakness. That’s why MMA is ‘mixed’. A pure BJJ’er like the early ‘Pride’ days couldn’t win nowadays on the strength of one discipline.
I haven’t done much BJJ myself (only Judo), but cross-trained with a lot of BJJ’ers. They always impressed me (and always tapped me!) but I have to admit, I am sliding over more and more towards the ‘stay off the ground’ camp when it comes to streetfighting advice. Someone in one of the comments mentioned UK football hooligans back in the days being ‘boot-boys’ who would kick the shit out of anyone who ended up on the ground. Sakuraba would have made a great soccer hooligan!
There’s a lot of hate for the Gracies on those Youtube comments. I’m not certain, but it seems that the only Gracie he didn’t beat was Rickson (who had already retired).