Pedro Schmall, a Royler Gracie blackbelt, is now teaching at a Beijing Jiujitsu/MMA Academy (http://www.mmachina.com/en/?q=node/1176). In his spare time he's cross-training shuai-jiao (http://shuaijiao.tv/?p=99), about which he has very nice things to say. He does caution, though, that:


Shuaijiao’s rules are much stricter that BJJ’s, in Shuaijiao you cannot touch the ground with your knee or hand… it is fine for Shuaijiao competition, but I think that has created some bad habits for Shuaijiao and Sanda fighters wanting to fight in MMA. Because they can’t touch the ground, they shoot for the single or double with their head down and bent at the waist. I see many of my guys at work doing this and it is very dangerous and easy for anyone with a good sprawl to defend against.

... which we knew already. :smile:

Well, it is a different rule set. :)

We saw what happened to Royce when different rules were added in didn't we?

No, I''m not detracting against BJJ.

No, I''m not detracting against BJJ.

Nor do I think he was taking anything away from SJ. Just a good piece of advice about crossing over from san da/shuai jiao rules to MMA rules. :smile:

GR wrestlers also had to make that adjustment.

I think the thing to keep in mind is that SJ is for clinch fighting, and as long as the SJ fighter does not overcommit then his head should be fine. Just to demonstrate the difference: a GR guy can come in from outside clinch distance for a takedown because he's willing to go to the ground himself.

If your fight strategy is to remain standing while you toss the guy around, ala SJ, then I don't see anything wrong with the SJ ruleset in regards to MMA. By the same token (whatever that means), SJ has alot of takedowns that put you directly in side control if you wish to go down with the guy.

GR wrestlers also had to make that adjustment. .


Which?