The main weakness of BJJ

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to start a flame war or even to insult BJJ itself... It is a very well thought out, well executed system that is extremley effective in a plethora of situations.

I have been learning under BJJ for about 3 years now, twice a week, and I can't help but notice the main weakness of BJJ.

It's not striking. Any decent BJJ practioner can close the distance and take the fight to the ground against a fairly well trained striker before being incapacitated. *usually*
Grappling against Judo or other lock systems is about equal, and really comes down to person to person.
It's not flexibility, theres a move for anything in BJJ.

The main weakness is that in the split second it takes to preform the move, or even initiate it, the BJJ practioner is completely open to a cheap shot.

Now, having trained in Krav Maga for 6 years, I have been trained to ALWAYS take the nut shot/throat shot in a situation, and from angles that most people wouldn't expect, so I'm sure with most people its a moot point unless your grappling someone who knows Krav Maga. (Where or why this would happen is not my place to decide)
I just can't get over how easy it is when I'm freelance sparring with my friends and classmates who do judo and BJJ to take a cheap shot and them never see it coming.
Anyone agree? Disagree?

 

It's another art. No art out there is a perfect system. Really, every art is open to 'cheap' shots at some point. That's why they are cheap.

The truth though, is that if you are trained and you go against someone that isn't, you SHOULD be able to complete whatever move you are attempting BEFORE they can realize there is an oppurtunity for that shot. If you are sparring, then your partner should not be taking those anyways.

So I do agree, but I also believe it is unavoidable but not something you should worry about.

 

If you're sparring, of course they are open to cheap shots. If you're sparring in Krav Maga I'm sure you have some rules and you would be open to somebody violating those rules too.

 

Would go into more detail on where these openings are, and how they're particular to BJJ/Judo?

 

thats because bjj is a sport! theres far more weaknesses to it then just nut shots for example the guard can be totelly negated if you get double bicep control and just headbutt way ala early mark coleman/kerr. most of the top positions are less effective then just standing up and kicking to the head ect but were bjj really stands out from a self protection point is the escapes from the basic positions and sweeps ect rather then the subs. it is an amazing sport and has alot of crossover for self protection but really thats not what it is designed for.

 

I would agree it's a weakness and I actually like the fact that most people training in BJJ are under no illusion that BJJ is a perfect system that prepares you for everything.

 

The lack of striking is the most apparent/obvious one.

 

alot of the bjj lads will admit it has its holes but alot want. i got in an argument about this at a party once and the bjj lad wouldnt let up until we duked it out so i said fine if i would choose were, so i jumped in the swimming pool lol

 

Almost every BJJ guy I've met is aware of the limitations of BJJ and this is even black belt instructors who have dedicated their lives to the art/sport. There are, of course, numpties about... anyone remember flashlock? But by and large I've found the BJJ community to be not to bothered about honestly appraising BJJ.

 

Agree. Most BJJ'ers seem to be very aware of the limits of their art. Unlike many other MA'ers that I have met. Wonder why that is?

 

Combine it and cross train it with a stand up art though and it becomes a different beast altogether.

 

In an armbar, you have a one second window (usually more if they aren't very practiced) in which you can simply jam your elbow into their crotch.

When they get you in a sidemount, you can
"shrimp" and use your knees to bash the side of their rib cage while using your arms to protect yourself.

In a mount position, which is the easiest to get a cheap shot in, all you have to do is snake your arm into a decent punch or ten.

These are just three examples, if you'd like more, then I'll gladly go into them.

 

Dude.

Essentially what you've said is:

The main problem with training grappling is, it doesn't have any striking.

DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUH!

I mean, come on! Who is taking jits because they think it's going to teach them to punch. NOBODY!

 

That's kind of like saying "the main problem with boxing is that it has no grappling". BJJ, Judo, Wrestling, etc. etc. are grappling systems. Their job is to teach you to grapple. Just like Boxing, Kickboxing, etc. etc. are striking systems. Their job is to teach you how to hit. If you want to fill in the gaps, cross train.

 

I love grappling,but my biggest concern is some dirty bugger who is prepared to bite chunks out of me ,if I was using it in a self-defence situation.

 

Thats actually a pretty legit concern.

 

Well as for cheap shots I can say I've found an equal amount you can throw in from the judo/bjj side. in uchimata if you want you can slam your leg into their crotch if you want. Side mount you can equally lay knees into their head if you want or switch to kesa gatame.
I once asked in an aikido class what to do if you're trying ikkajo and the person's so much larger you can't hold them down and one of the brown belts said "grab his arm and stick your knee into the back of his head". From back mount someone's neck is pretty exposed if you wanted to bite at it.

You can add them into grappling just as easily. You just have to take two seconds and ask what you would do if you didn't care about legal repercussions and only cared about surviving.

Well if you do your standing grappling correctly they shouldn't be able to bite you and you probably won't use ground grappling as much and if they are you have to be fast enough and in good enough positions for whatever you're doing (striking, locking/breaking, that they can't bite you. Doesn't always work out perfectly but them's the dice of chance.