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 Most of us remember the first fights in the UFC, there was an unmistakable common theme, and fighters with ground skills won and those who did not lost. It caused a re-evolution in the martial arts world, it made all of us (The fighters, coaches and martial artists) re-evaluate our training disciplines. Almost everyone began training in Jit's and the Gracie name became synonymous in this field.
Most of us remember the first fights in the UFC, there was an unmistakable common theme, and fighters with ground skills won and those who did not lost. It caused a re-evolution in the martial arts world, it made all of us (The fighters, coaches and martial artists) re-evaluate our training disciplines. Almost everyone began training in Jit’s and the Gracie name became synonymous in this field. Fighters around the world, the Thai Boxers, Boxers, Kick boxers who for a very long time, including the martial artists in general who practiced the stand-up arts never viewed grappling as a martial art worth considering. It’s crazy when I think of it now, as a doorman at some of Johannesburg’s roughest nightclubs over a five-year period many fights I witnessed or where involved in, ended up on the ground. I never once thought of taking up grappling lessons until I, myself witnessed the first few UFC’s. What we saw in the first UFC’s was not Judo or traditional Japanese Jiu-Jitsu, it was alive, it incorporated the stand-up skills most functional fighters are well acquainted with, but ultimately it lead to the ground. But more importantly than this was its ability to neutralized a stand-up fighters ability to fight. What impressed me even more was that this new breed of grappling (If we can call it that) also utilized strikes on the ground effectively and with brutalizing results. Since then grappling arts of all types have taken the world by storm, undoubtedly though
Everyone competing today in no-holds-barred competitions are indebted to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and no matter what you call it now it still has the unmistakable similarities to this unforgettable style of fighting we have all become accustomed to. However lately I have seen things begin to change! Those fighters who only have grappling skills no longer do so well, this is largely due to the fact that I believe everyone has done their time, so to speak in Jit’s but what really changed the game was……. Fighters like Randy Corture (now enter the American Wrestlers). Free-Style and Greco-Roman wrestling changed the no-holds-barred world. Takedowns became more refined but more importantly with the intervention of the sprawl, fighters where now able to stop a takedown. This gave the new breed of WRESTLERS the ability to dictate the fight. They could keep the fight standing-up or they could take it to the ground. No other fighter has been able to do this. Now everyone has incorporated the clinch from Greco-Roman wrestling and the sprawls and clean takedowns from Free-Style wrestling. I myself had the opportunity to train with Randy Corture a few weeks ago and experienced this first hand. Now that fighters could keep the fight standing up if they should choose, it was inevitable that the stand-up game would re-evolve using this new insight. For those of you who follow the fights lately would probably have seen what I have, allot more fights are remaining standing up and allot more fights have been won in this game. Now not only do you have to be good at Jit’s , takedowns and clinch but also stand-up. This means to survive now in the no-holds-barred arena you cannot be a one-dimensional fighter the game has taken on a three dimensional aspect. So what started of, as the Jiu-Jitsu player’s world became the world of the American Wrestler and now the complete fighter. This new breed of fighter can do equally well in just kickboxing, boxing, wrestling and Jiu-Jitsu tournaments but where they shine more than any where else is in the no-holds-barred arena. They are the new gladiators of the 21st century. I am sure there will be more evolutions; I continue to wait in anticipation to see what they are. It’s an exciting prospect that I will as a fighter and coach be exposed to these evolutions but for now the game has revolved to encompass a total game. For now I have some predictions on what this next step in evolution will be. Keep checking back to this column to find out what those predications are. -Rodney King -Rodney "Chico" King
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