BJJ Striking?

Ug Lee

This came up in another thread but I wanted to flesh it out. If it is accepted that striking in BJJ is crap, is this due to the body mechanics behind the strikes or if a BJJ punch/kick is the same as a Muay Thai punch/kick then is the difference in how BJJ strikes are trained? For example, Renzo Gracie details strikes such as jab, cross, hook, knee, round kick, etc in his book, Mastering Ju-Jitsu which look fairly close to those strikes found in Thai.
Also it seems that BJJ strikes are really to set up the BJJ person to do a takedown/establish clinch, etc and are not an end in themselves. If this is so then are they still crap?

subvictory

There is no such thing as "BJJ strikes".

colinlaird000

You would be surprised. Ive got the Jigero Kano Kodokan judo book, and theres a whole section on strikes. And as BJJ is a loose derivative of such Judo, there probably is. Its just not taught much.

colinlaird000

I should clarify that bjj is largely competition based, which is specifically grappling and no striking allowed. But then, so is judo.:rolleyes:

cowzerp

and while were at it, why is the kicking in boxing so bad! Now judo striking is a different thing altogether. Not known as a striking art but home to the most famous strike in the world, The Judo chop!

Ug Lee

subvictory wrote: »

There is no such thing as "BJJ strikes".

I have a book with Renzo and Royler Gracie where they teach you how to do side kicks and elbow strikes amongst other things. And then the Gracie in Action videos show them using strikes when grappling.

Certaintly as a rule they don't emphasise it but they teach it as there are moments when they feel strikes are appropriate.

bella1

i runa bjj club we dont teach striking.
in the usa a lot of the graice bjj clubs teach self defence.
if you read the ibjjf rules there is no striking.
thanks andy ryan bjj revolution team

dlofnep

There is actually striking in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. It's originally a self-defense form. The lead leg kick that Royce used to use was a part of it.

Ug Lee

bella1 wrote: »

i runa bjj club we dont teach striking.
in the usa a lot of the graice bjj clubs teach self defence.
if you read the ibjjf rules there is no striking.
thanks andy ryan bjj revolution team

I know there is no striking in sport (ibjjf rules) BJJ but sport BJJ is only one part, albeit a large and important part of BJJ.

bella1

you go to 99percent of bjj clubs dont teach striking.
we have a boxing and a thai coach for striking but this are done on a differnt class.
when i was over in the states some bjj clubs taught striking for self defence.
cheers.

Ug Lee

So are the strikes used in Gracie/Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu any good?

And if not, is this due to the body mechanics behind them or just the fact that they are not trained the way a Thai boxer trains their strikes?

The strikes are as good as whoever is using them. BJJ is a grappling art, striking does not play a major role in it. It has no native, unique striking techniques. Any strikes you see in it are ripped from some other art. Back in the old days of challenge matches, BJJ might have had some rudiments of striking because people didn't want to crosstrain. Nowadays it is generally accepted in the BJJ community that cross training in boxing, muay thai, kickboxing etc. is the best way to learn striking. A lot of BJJ gyms have Thai or Boxing classes so their students can learn how to strike. Note for example that the Renzo Gracie Academy has Muay Thai classes http://www.renzogracie.com/content/view/196/110/ . I don't know of any BJJ instructors who haven't cross trained but would claim to be competent strikers.

I'm not much of an expert on BJJ self defence, but from what I've seen and done it's nearly all grappling based. Striking plays a role in that it something to defend against.

The only thing in BJJ you might consider striking is the use of striking on the ground. That is generally worked on in MMA/Vale Tudo classes.

Andrew H

Here's a link to the self defence applicatations from BJJ as demonstrated by Phil & Rick Migliarese of Team Balance:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aeg926nPCGQ

But as has been said by other posters most if not all BJJ clubs (Including Team Balance) now teach striking arts in seperate classes.

Andrew