
Originally Posted by
Ben Eddy
Just a side point, it's not really "horrible wrestling" even though it looks like it. It's just that 90% of "good wrestling" gets you caught in a submission against this level of opponents. I don't think wrestling that looks good to a spectator is even possible in BJJ against the highest level guys. They suck up guillotines out of nowhere.
But yea, it doesn't make for great viewing when the ruleset encourages competitors to stick to positional cautious wrestling.
I disagree. BJJ guys have one or two shots, have only rudimentary handfighting, and have no lateral movement to create angles. Even Galvao, successful though he was, had horrible non-level-changing shots and very sloppy finishes. Look at Rustam Chsiev to see how good wrestling looks in BJJ. Davi Ramos also looked slick.
The ruleset is the problem. We want to see the best BJJ in the world, but the finals are always terrible because they essentially disallow ground fighting. Beyond the penalty point, judges also inexplicably care more about top position than submission attempts. So if you attack a guy from guard all day, but the match ends at 0-0, you'll lose.
As my wife put it, it is like deciding who is the best archer in the world by having a fencing match.