Games

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is well along the road towards becoming a competitive sport. It started as a method of real fighting, and is evolving into an activity that wants to be included in the Olympics.

I don't think turning into a competitive sport is a good thing.
 

Judo did the exact same thing long ago. It became an Olympic sport in 1964. Prior to this, Judo was a martial art that had a sports aspect. After this, many schools shifted towards the sports aspect.
 

What is the difference? In a martial art, the focus is life-long training. One trains in the most effective real-world techniques possible. One also trains within one's own physical limitation.
 

In a combat sport, there have to be rules for safety, and rules to make a measurable contest. Real-world combat does not.
 

Consider wrestling. The ultimate win happens when the opponent is held on his back. Short of that, points are awarded for execution of particular movements. This is the exact opposite of what would be desireable in real combat. Turning someone from belly-down to back-down is to take someone out of a weak combat position and force him into a superior one.
 

Judo awards points for throws. Landing an opponent on his back scores instant victory. It is also barely possible to defeat someone after both competitors are on the ground, but as the years have gone by this has gradually been eroded away to a mere afterthought. I dare you to watch a Judo world championship and try and understand what you see. It won't look like combat.
 

How is this bad? Many Judo clubs require tournament participation in order to progress in rank. Most stress training within the narrow parameters of tournament rules. All else is ignored. There are Judo Black Belts out there who've never worked on what to do if somebody tries to punch them. No punching in Judo competition.
 

How many boxers know what to do if somebody tackles them? How will a wrestler respond to facing a striker?
 

A lot of Jiu-Jitsu groups already work exclusivly on sport training.
 

My kind of Jiu-Jitsu does not do this. Most practitioners never get involved in tournaments at all.
 

One starts as a White Belt, and stays that way for roughly a year. In that time, everything that is learned is street-combative applicable. Most of this would be useless in a tournament. Students don't free roll at all.
 

After that year is over, and a Blue Belt is earned, the student starts training in the advanced class. Tons of free rolling here. The technique here is a mix of real-world and sport. We always stress which venue it's appropriate for. Some work well in both.
 

Some days we do a sort of self-defense free rolling. One partner wears padded gloves and assumes the role of a punching non-Jiu-Jitsu attacker. The other partner wears no gloves, as they do not punch. They have to try and handle their buddy's attacks.
 

You have to get past their swinging fists, and get them to the ground. Once there you have to control them and find a submission, all while still getting swung at. Leave an exploitable hole and a fist will quickly find its way in. It's a reality check.

I personally far prefer regular rolling, but do understand the value of the punching game.
 

If martial arts were all aimed towards competition, I would have no interest at all. They would be just another game, just the same as tennis, or golf, or soccer. Those have never interested me. I wouldn't sign up for boxing or wrestling either.

All of those are just games.