Meanwhile, on the mat ...

 

Loving Our Laboratories of Grappling

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?

Footsweep to Double Leg

 

Mike DeWitt of 10th Planet Springfield hits this takedown in a couple of these 10th Planet Qualifier competitions that I've watched. Nevertheless seeing it yesterday while doing cardio film study reminded me of how much I like the set-up. The footsweep attack incentivizes the opponent to lift his feet and remain as vertical as possible, opening up both the space and the timing for the double leg.

DeWitt has a nice double leg without it. But with the setup, it looks like an especially potent way to get the fight to the floor.

Submission Hero of the Week: Ben Dyson

He didn't win the tournament. But with his armbar victory over a guy who repeatedly went to the "limit his ability to breathe" technique of putting his hands over his opponent's mouth from inside the closed guard, he has won my heart.

The Book

I've had the idea for a book on American Jiu-Jitsu for a long time. A lot of people talk about "American Jiu-Jitsu" but I've yet to hear anyone that gets at the heart of what American Jiu-Jitsu really is, what's so ironic about it, and why the top American Jiu-Jitsu schools embody it and continue to turn out some of the country's - and the world's - greatest jiu-jitsu artists because of it.

It's also an incredible story about America, and the different types of Americans we've come to spend a lot of time talking about these days. I've always hesitated to talk about it because I've thought it was such an obviously fascinating topic that someone with more time and talent than I've got would scoop it up in a second.

Failing that, the project will probably have to wait until I retire in another 15-odd years. Nevertheless, a large part of my return to the mat in 2021 is predicated on taking advantage of what American Jiu-Jitsu - or more accurately, the American approach to Jiu-Jitsu - can do to elevate my performance on the mat.

Photo by Thought Catalog from Pexels

EBI 12: 10th Planet Qualifier

"All Positive is What I'm Trying to Say"

For what must be the tenth time, I found myself last night watching Eddie Bravo's interview with Joe Rogan after his epic rematch with Royler Gracie. But this time, a line from Rogan really stood out to me. As someone who has loved MMA since the 1990s, and is having a harder and harder time of late justifying traumatic-brain-injury-qua-entertainment, I found a lot to like in this:

"So Saturday night rolls around and I couldn't imagine there being any more anticipation in a room for something. And it was a cool anticipation too because ... one of the things I like about jiu-jitsu is, no one's going to get knocked the fuck out. Even if you get choked out, you know ... There's something about seeing a friend fight (that) gets real rough. We've been friends with MMA fighters ... knowing a guy and liking a guy and watching him get headkicked - it's hard to do. So it didn't have, the danger, that aspect to it. But it was all, it was all positive is what I'm trying to say. It was like, holy shit, it's all going down."

Eddie Bravo Invitational 7 - Alternate Qualifiers

What better way for a grappler to enjoy the Fourth of July than by celebrating jiu-jitsu's independence from points with a little EBI7 alternative qualifier action?

The Eddie Bravo Invitational 7 is July 16th. Check it out on UFC Fight Pass. And while you're at it, check out the previous SIX installments of Bravo's ground-breaking submission-only tournament series - with submission-based overtime rules - also available only on UFC Fight Pass.

New to EBI? Read my essay "How Eddie Bravo Saved Sports Jiu-Jitsu."

How Eddie Bravo Saved Sports Jiu-Jitsu

EBI multi-event champ Gary Tonon (left), squaring off against Stephen Martinez at EBI5, is the posterboy for the new, submission-first, sport jiu-jitsu

Shortly after earning his spot in sport Brazilian jiu-jitsu history by defeating Royler Gracie at ADCC 2003, Eddie Bravo shared with the world his vision of a new jiu-jitsu. The irony of his vision - building a jiu-jitsu for MMA - has never been lost on me. That it had little to do with the circumstances through which we'd come to know Bravo in the first place - a major underdog victory via a triangle choke from the guard, in a traditional, point-based, sports jiu-jitsu match - could not have mattered less.

And so the legend of the rubber guard was born. The rubber guard was essentially shorthand for a version of jiu-jitsu, particularly without the gi, focused on maintaining connection with the opponent at all times with a multi-limbed combination of overhooks and underhooks. For Bravo, this system of holding, clinching, entangling, and squeezing could save jiu-jitsu competitors entering the world of MMA from suffering the kind of brutal, ground and pound assault then-typified by a fight like Mark Kerr versus Fabio Gurgel.

As  a cure for what ails jiu-jitsu in MMA, Bravo's rubber guard seems to be a somewhat incomplete solution. What the rubber guard has done however is contribute to a more dynamic, submission-oriented, attacking game from the no-gi guard. This is no small accomplishment.  The rubber guard's focus on using the legs to break posture and avoid strikes, for example, paved the way for tighter triangle, armbar, and omplata attacks - each arguably progressively more difficult to pull off in no-gi contexts. Watch the way Richie "Boogie" Martinez attacks with the omoplata or Nathan Orchard sets up his "Dead Orchard" submission and you'll see what I mean.

And it's also worth mentioning that while leg attacks aren't necessarily considered a "core" feature of the rubber guard, Bravo's friendliness toward not just kneebars, toeholds, and heel hooks, but calf cranks such as the one he attacked Royler Gracie with in their rematch, are also positive contributions to no-gi sports jiu-jitsu. But it is clear that at this point Bravo's rubber guard innovations are largely accomplishments for the sport of competitive jiu-jitsu, not for jiu-jitsu in MMA (for this, I continue to point in the direction of Demian Maia's masterful combination of chain wrestling and grapple-first-last-and-always attitude).

If only Grandmaster Helio would have lived long enough to see this ...

Considered this way, the Eddie Bravo Invitational - or more importantly, the overtime rule-set for the Eddie Bravo Invitational, is the 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu founder's second great gift to the world of competitive jiu-jitsu. To the extent that Sport demands a Winner - no matter how contrived the means to this end - the EBI rule-set has succeeded where other submission-only rule-sets have failed. With a series of sudden-death periods, starting from pre-set positions not unlike the "specific training" used by jiu-jitsu practioners worldwide, the EBI rule-set has managed to produce a "winner" 100% of the time without ever abandoning the emphasis on the pursuit of the finish.

For those unfamiliar, the overtime rules for EBI are essentially this: players alternate attacking each other from an offensively-advantageous position (rear mount with hooks and grips or a armbar from the top position [the arm is hooked but not extended] Bravo calls "spider web"). Here, players still have the opportunity to win by submission or, failing that, to win by a combination of time-to-submission and time-to-escape-from-rear-mount.

What is crucial is that there is no referee or judges discretion in the issuing of points. There is either submission or time (to escape the threat of submission). And while that is not perfect - there are still ways to game the overtime and settle for a "time" victory - it is hard to imagine a rule-set more thoroughly incentivized toward the submission.

You know your format works when you can get away with putting on Superfights between competitors who aren't even old enough to drive.

And at the end of the day, providing the proper incentives is the best we can do (this includes only restricting such events to competitors likely to embrace the spirit of submission-only competition). To the extent that we want a better sports jiu-jitsu - or at least more options for those looking to compete in the world of sports jiu-jitsu - the submission-only format has a lot to offer.

Those of us living in the Pacific Northwest have two great submission-only events - SubLeague in Oregon and Proving Grounds in Western Washington - throughout the year. And perhaps because they are open events, with round robin divisions, that are especially geared toward beginner and intermediate competitors, draws have been less of an issue. But in invitational settings, where players are often more risk-averse, the EBI overtime rule-set is the best way we have seen so far to coax out the ultimate in competitiveness in a sem pultos sem desculpas world.

Why I (Still) Love Eddie Bravo

If you aren't a 40-something black belt on the verge of becoming a 50-something black belt, then you might not appreciate the beauty of truth here. Indeed, no one has a better sense of their own limitations than a middle-aged grappler.

Eddie Bravo: I go with everything, man. I'm like 'You wanna go that way? Let's go!" And let me see if I can hold on and get a little clinch and then go back this way "Bam!" You know? I'm too old to force my way through anything.

Joe Rogan: That's probably the smart way to do it, though, right? That's the traditional way of jiu-jitsu-

Bravo: It's the survival way of jiu-jitsu! My jiu-jitsu is becoming very survival now. My guys are fucking me up, now. I'm getting tapped out all the goddamn time, now. The only way I can tap out certain purple belts is if I have gas. If I'm tired and I take a round with one of my purple belts, I'll be fucking on survival mode the whole time, man. My guys are coming with fire, now.

EBI 4 is Coming

Looking to organize a superfight among jiu-jitsu grapplers in your area? Consider EBI the blueprint. Women, Masters, Adults, Blue-Belt Only .. There's no better way to showcase your local talent in the category of your choosing than the submission-only format - with special submission-based overtime rules - devised by EBI.

Check out the preview to the upcoming event above. Get access to every EBI event 1-3 here. And let's get the campaign started for an all-women's EBI in 2016!

EBI 4 is TWO WEEKS AWAY!

The Eddie Bravo Invitational (#EBIistheAnswer) is the most innovative phenomenon in competitive jiu-jitsu and sport grappling. The next event, EBI 4, is Saturday, August 15th. Watch it live here.

As great as ADCC and Metamoris are, EBI is better. Obviously better, in my opinion. The true genius is in the overtime rules, which reinforce what makes jiu-jitsu special as both an effective, real-world martial art as well as a spectator-friendly, combat sport.

See for yourself.

EBI 1: Featherweights / Welterweights

EBI 2: Bantamweights / Lightweights

EBI 3: Welterweights

Eddie Bravo Invitational: EBI3

The future of "sport" jiu-jitsu (if we're lucky!)

Eddie Bravo Invitational 3: Tonon Wins 2nd WW Belt

Great coverage of the Eddie Bravo Invitational 3 this afternoon and evening.

Eddie Bravo Invitational 3 Results: Garry Tonon Repeats as Welterweight Champion

Garry Tonon of Ocean County Jiu Jitsu repeated as Welterweight champ with an overtime submission win of Josh Hinger. Tonon is one of the young rising American stars who has made a name for himself at ADCCs, Metamoris, and the EBIs. Hinger is a veteran, high level  Atos black belt who employed more of an old school pressure game to breakdown his opponents. He was able to force Tonon to his back and stop much of Tonon's famed leg lock attack and force the overtime. In the first period of the overtime Tonon really took his time escaping from Hinger's back control and then in the bottom half of the period Tonon put the squeeze on a rear naked choke and forced the tap despite Hinger having his hand in and chin tucked.

Homework: Bottom to Top

Eddie Bravo Invitational - No Gi - Featherweights

Joe Rogan Interviews Rickson Gracie

Some great insights into jiu-jitsu past, present, and future from one of the art's greatest ever. Also featuring Eddie Bravo. Especially love Rickson's separating MMA from vale tudo, and his comparison of no time limit vale tudo fights and five-hour long professional tennis matches.

Eddie Bravo and Rickson Gracie: New School Meets Old

Training Day: Monday

Standing/Self-Defense: Pull guard from standing / Pull guard from standing - tripod sweep

Ground: Back take from closed guard with arm drag

Live Training: Study hall with Robert: Bravo half guard Old School Twist Back, Xande closed guard sweep, scissors sweep

Scale: 169.2

How Eddie Bravo (Almost) Finished Royler Gracie Again