Outcomes of IBJJF style Jiu-Jitsu competitions are largely shaped by different points strategies the high level competitors employ. It’s not really a game of who is better as much as who played the game better at a given time. This is the price of the bjj expansion and of many high level jiu-jiteiros present at the scene.
This is something Carlos Machado, of the famous Machado brothers recently discussed with the bjjstyle talking advantages, stalling positions, under trained refs and more.
When it comes to abuses in advantages, Roger Gracie recently weighed in saying he’s never been one to strategize how to avoid a certain move in an opponents game or to stall.
“I fight to win and win for me means submitting my opponent.”
Adding later ” The only way you can be the best fighter is submitting people. Not winning by advantage. If you win against someone by advantage it doesn’t mean nothing. “
Machado mirrors this saying:
The use and abuse of advantages at the expense of displaying the skills of accomplished competitors, especially in semi-final and final matches.
Many of those following important events have stumbled across awesome match ups, like dream matches of some of the top notch jiu jitsu players in the world, just to be let down by boring matches where talented fighters spend most of the time going for advantages, and visibly working the clock instead of going after one another. One formula would be to limit the use of advantages only up to quarter-final matches, saving the most exciting ones to be decided by points or submissions only. If there is a tie, throw tie breakers (3 min lapses with sudden death – whoever scores first). That will keep the audience thrilled, and the competitors on their toes. We all want to watch awesome jiu jitsu, not a contest of who holds and stalls better the other.
Really this is a position similar to Eddie Bravo’s attitudes that instituted the EBI overtime rules, similar to football penalty rules.
But then again Machado says that even though submission is king there is a necessity for points:
Yet, as we all know, submission is king, and no matter what amount of points someone may have against another, if he/she gets submitted, all those points will go down the drain. Yet, the irony of it is that a valid submission attempt can only add up to an advantage at most. I would love to see athletes who go for submissions to be awarded points as well if they get close enough to tap the other person out. After all, jiu jitsu is about finishing and taking care of business!
