When it comes to the top, to the art of passing, I'm studying Lo.
And now, after much reflection, I've finally figured out who I'll be studying when it comes to the guard.
I'll have a lot more to say about this in the weeks to come. A lot of very intelligent things have been said about Kron Gracie, especially by BishopBJJ - whose The Science of Jiu-Jitsu is must-reading on the BJJ blog circuit.
But one description of Kron's guard, the idea that his guard game is "basic", is a notion I want to challenge. Not because it is incorrect, but because I think that description may be a bit misleading, especially for those like myself who are trying to learn an approach to guardwork that, the more I study it, owes more to his father's philosophy of the guard than I ever realized.
The secret to Kron's approach to the guard, I think, can be found in this fascinating quote he provided after his exciting submission victory over Octavio Souza at Metamoris I.
"I don't think I would necessarily change the point system. The point system is great. I think what's stopping the sport is the grips. Guys will get a grip and then they'll stop when they want to. It's very easy to do that and it's really hard to break the grips. Guys are taking steroids, guys are really strong, it's hard to break those grips. So, I think when the guy grabs a grip and he stops and his intention is to hold those grips and not intend to go to the next move, I think that's the problem. So if you just take away the-- you know in Judo, guys only have 20 seconds with a grip or 15 seconds with a special grip or they have to let go-- I think that should be the rule in jiu jitsu. The guy should have a special grip, you can do what you want to do, but if you don't do it then you gotta let go. You can't just hold the fight and stop the fight. I think jiu jitsu has great rules, great time. Ten minutes is enough time if the guys are not holding and stopping the position."Again, food for thought. And for study.
