Yesterday’s 11th edition of the Eddie Bravo Invitational had more than one thing going for it. But certainly one of the most intriguing aspects of the event was the 4 men Combat Jiu Jitsu match.
NoGi fight, Pancrase style – with palm strikes allowed.
Combat jiu jitsu was born over 4 years ago but you could say that it hasn’t lived upto this point.
The really apparent thing was how much this simple form of striking changes the game. Everything has a risk.
Eddie Bravo, the event’s founder was always outspoken on how much one needs to be dangerous from the back, in bjj but also in mma. This competitive modification may have just annulled that a bit – with the addition of striking gravity plays even a bigger hand and the top guy, even in guard has more options.
Pulling guard with strikes allowed comes at a hefty price.
In one of these matches the competitor who was on top managed to pass and catch the back of the bottom opponent who was scrambling in desperation.
While bjj might be improving everyone’s inhibitory response it’s fair to say none of the competitors is used to this fighting modification just yet. This makes the whole event even more exciting.
Again, this is something Eddie Bravo often advocates – have fun in the guard but be very careful at it if strikes are involved. With the addition of strikes the dominance of some bottom position such as closed guard is seriously challenged.
Once more Eddie Bravo has managed to contribute to bjj in a very significant way that might not be a throwback but it might also not be a useless variation of the pre-existing rules.
Chad George defeated JM Holland with a d’arce choke.
Nick Honstein followed that up with an overtime victory over Sheridan Moran and a submission victory over Chad George by way of Twister.
