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Watching Eddie Bravo's Combat Jiu-Jitsu Team Duel between Christmas and New Year's Day, I was struck anew by the realization that jiu-jitsu is in an unbelievably golden era.
Most of this growth is coming from no-gi grappling. No-gi grappling offers the best of both worlds for grappling athletes and spectators alike, combining the fast pace of amateur wrestling with the fight-finishing capacity of Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
What's also interesting about no-gi grappling is the variety of rule sets. It may be true that rule set diversity is one of many reasons why the grappling we see and train will not become an Olympic sport. But that same diversity of rule sets is providing a "laboratory of grappling" that is helping propel the art forward at an incredible pace.
Watching CBJJ, I'm reminded of things like Eddie Bravo's "the get down rule" that eliminates stalling (and poor ability, to be honest) in the standup. I also enjoy watching the "overtime" of his Eddie Bravo Invitational (EBI) tournaments. For spectators, it delivers that critical one-two of pace and finishing opportunity. For competitors, this is how they train all the time: defending and escaping from specific situations.
Forget competitors. This is how all of us train. At least some of the time. And I bet most of us love it.
Combat jiu-jitsu is similar. The vast majority of grapplers do not train combat jiu-jitsu now and have no interest in doing so in the future. I'm in that group. But there is something worth watching when strikes are introduced into grappling competition. Not all strikes. Not strikes all the time. Still, I enjoy the "realness" that strikes-against-a-grounded-opponent bring to jiu-jitsu guard strategy. These are entertaining and enlightening contests. And given the struggles we see with guard strategy in mixed martial arts, combat jiu-jitsu provides a workshop for further innovations from the guard.
There may come a time when a certain ruleset captures the enthusiasm of a certain number of grappling spectators and participants in a way that makes an Olympic sport out of no-gi grappling after all. If it happens in my lifetime, then count me in. Meanwhile, I am loving our little laboratories of grappling: from the IBJJF to ADCC to EBI to WNO to FTW to CBJJ and more. Has innovation in any other combat sport been so entertaining?
