Denny Prokopos v Eddie Cummings - Gracie Nationals 2015

[Ryan Boor]

There are different ways to play sitting on your ass. I have zero problem if you sit on your ass as long as you are aggressive and attacking. It takes two to tango, realize that the guy sitting is giving the other dude a gift so it could be just as much his fault for not taking the gift and backing away or not attacking. Like Eddie says its like choosing to kick off and play defense first. I agree that takedowns are an important aspect of grappling and self defense but this is a exhibition match not a street fight. No one is butt scooting in a street fight.

[Craig Murray]

As far as sitting on your ass, I thought Denny should have just stood back and rested after he finally got out of the body triangle. If Eddie was just going to sit there, Denny should have rested up while standing back. Instead he waded right back in and quickly got caught. Props to Denny for pushing the action, but if you've just gotten out of a body triangle where the guy was trying to choke you for 5 minutes, it's not your responsibility to push the action. Even the first time I watched this match, when Denny started heading right back in I was thinking "nooo, rest up first, you're tired and he's going to catch you!!"

Obviously I have no idea what was going through Denny's mind, but my hunch is he was pissed about getting squeezed and choked for 5 minutes and wanted some payback. But he was hasty and that's all she wrote.

[Aiseop]

For me it's more of a "lack of combativeness" penalty. I don't like the idea that the onus was placed on Denny to engage Cummings on his turf. I'm not sure what the rules said, but if Denny would have just stood stiff like a statue and nobody moved, what would the ref have done? Ask Denny to go to Cummings who's waiting for him to stick a leg there to attack? Or ask Cummings to stand up, letting Denny play his guard game?

[Liquidrob]

It was a sub only match, why would someone engage in a takedown battle? More than likely you will just get tired and end up in the same position

If Denny wanted to play guard he could have went double guard pull and worked from there

[Pat Campagnola]

I didn't compete this year, but last year at Gracie Nationals you were not allowed to sit down and wait for your opponent to engage. You were required to at least have wrist control and actually pull guard. I had an opponent back out of my guard and disengage multiple times, and the ref made me stand up. Maybe the rules were different for the superfights?

[bobby rivers]

I agree with Aiseop. Sitting down and pulling guard are two different things. This could of been a casual(high level) rolling session at any given gym on a Tuesday night. Not a 'superfight'. If this is your strategy to go through a tourney and conserve your energy, that's a different story. But this was put together to entertain the fans and competitors of jj. I built these matches up to my new students and people I wanted to try jj. I wanted them to see how exciting jj can be when done by players at the highest level. Instead they saw the strategy of an amazing grappler who only wanted to win. In a superfight scenario, winning should not be your only objective(just the main one). Entertainment should be high on the priority list as well. It's not just the win, but how you win #winway. Denny showed up to do both. Eddie just wanted to win. You can be a deadly grappler and still boring in your approach. It's hard for me to be a fan of this style. Take chances and realize there are spectators who came to witness a display of skill. Roll like this during open mat, not when all eyes and cameras are on you.

And I also agree that you can sit then aggressively buttscoot to engage, which I'm also fine with.

[Liquidrob]

You guys are really going after Cummings? He swept, had the back and finished with a heel hook

[bobby rivers]

Not personally dude.. His strategy for a superfight put together for the entertainment of the fans.

[Liquidrob]

So what was wrong with the match? They came to sub each other and that's what happened

The only thing it was missing was a stand up portion which is usually the most boring part of a bjj match

[bobby rivers]

The fact that if Denny didn't engage. Eddie would still be sitting there.. Compare it to when Rafa sits. He's spinning around you like a stripper pole and ready to pop up at any moment.

Roll how you want. This is a personal opinion.