By Ruslan C. Pashayev
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The Evolution Of The Species 10
NO-GI or NO-GO?!
And there is another subject, (or a myth, since we are after debunking the most common pro wrestling myths), that I would like to touch in this article; it is that of the so-called modern catch wrestling. The sport of modern catch wrestling is a pin and submission hybrid sport which, I believe, currently includes two different leagues, the professionals and the amateur divisions.
All submissions in this particular sport originate exclusively from the Japanese self-defense styles such as judo and jiu-jitsu. And the pinning combinations obviously were inherited from the freestyle wrestling, the actual direct descendent of the historical catch wrestling. Most, if not all of the world’s most famous practitioners and ambassadors of the modern catch wrestling are the former Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitors and coaches, and that is exactly why their freestyle wrestling skill and understanding of it remains much undeveloped.
As a matter of fact these two sports, the submissions and freestyle do not share philosophy when it comes to such essentials of the game as attack, defense and counter-attack, and cannot be successfully merged into a single discipline, and that is why they simply would not work together as a “hybrid”. Let’s say the submission styles in case of takedowns assume either defensive or offensive landing of a competitor on their rear side, which is probably the most recognizable, very typical Brazilian jiu-jitsu kind of landing and it is from that particular position of being on their backs they initiate the further attack or counter-attack.
On the other hand such “stay” on one’s back makes no sense in freestyle simply because it will quickly lead to a self-pin. And a 2-shoulder pinfall style of freestyle wrestling in case of takedowns assumes defensive landing of a competitor on either their knees or stomach; and the whole point of freestyle (read historical catch) was in getting behind your opponent so that he is on his knees or stomach and the attacker is trying to turn him onto his back so that the two shoulders are on the ground at the same time.
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