Do we need Takedowns and Throws in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu?

Brazilain Jiu Jitsu’s relationship with takedowns and throws has changed over the last 50 years. Let me first say that I am an advocate for learning takedowns and throws in Jiu Jitsu but there are is a scenario which makes them a moot point and useless in my opinion.

Let me first tackle why takedowns and throws are important:

1)   Self Defense-universally we can agree that the majority of physical confrontation starts from a standing position. As such, learning to control, throw and avoid being taken down is super important for your self defense tool box. Takedowns and throws utilize both gravity and the hard ground as a weapon. This can render your opponent stunned, unconscious, or suffering from injuries that may stop the fight then and there. There are of course self defense situations where throwing is a moot point-this would    be situations where the fight has started from a downed position or perhaps being   attacked whist seated. But at any case, learning how send someone crashing to the ground MUST be learned by Jiu Jitsu practitioners.

 

2)   Point Oriented Tournaments-if you are fighting in a tournament that gives points for the takedown or throw, you have to learn this skill set. It not only gives you points but will hopefully land you in the top and dominate position to continue the fight. Many a matches are won a throw alone so, again, knowledge of the intricacies of this form is essential. 

3)   Understanding movement on the vertical plane- Takedowns and throws give you a more intimate knowledge of how to move on your feet. In also always you to understand what the Japanese call Kazushi, or balance point, in both you and your opponent. This helps you not get caught ‘flat footed’ and how to move around when being attacked (or attacking).

Now one thing about takedowns and throws, especially against a resisting opponent who knows how to counter is that it can be tremendously tiring.  I’ve seen many a grappling matches remain standing for minutes at a time only to go to the ground when one of the practitioners gasses out and simply gets caught because of the this exhaustion.

Which brings me to the area where the takedown and throw isn’t important in Jiu Jitsu.

The Submission Only Tournament

If you fighting in a Jiu Jitsu competition where it is submission only, that means there are no points for takedowns or any other ‘position’ for that matter. As such, you will see many modern day athletes simply drop to the groud, butt scoot, invert, or open guard their opponent. They forgo the stand up battle because it serves no advantage to them. These athletes are more than comfortable starting on the mat or even in what we would call traditionally inferior positions because they are used to it. They may be very good at sweeps and reversals from this position and get dominate position even though they start ‘down’ or under their opponent.

Many modern matches such as EBI will showcase these grappler that immediately go to ground and get busy because they don’t wish to spend time fighting for a position standing that they think they can get while grounded. They also want to conserve their energy for the fight on the ground rather than standing up for it.

Granted, there are the rare standing submissions that you will see in Submission only competitions that warrants being upright. These may include a jumping guillotine, flying arm bar or triangle or diving leg lock. I’d venture to say that while these are amazing, the percentage of hitting them on an equally trained opponent is very low. Therefore, using the ground as a leverage tool is usually the choice for these grapplers.

Agree? Disagree? I’d love to hear it.

Keep on rolling.