First-Ever Combat Jiu Jitsu Fight Tournament to be Fought in NZ
Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - 12:59
James Averis
Some of the most prestigious grappling tournaments in the world include The Mundials and The ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships in Abu Dhabi. Such tournaments are purely for grappling and submissions, to allow strikes in such events would defeat the purpose and make it simply mixed martial arts.
Combat Jiu Jitsu aims to bridge the gap between MMA and grappling by allowing strikes to take place only once the fight hits the ground.
The idea for Combat Jiu Jitsu comes from Eddie Bravo, founder of 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu, and as such is no-gi.
Many grapplers enjoy MMA but have no interest in learning the stand-up aspects of the game, so do not compete. Combat Jiu Jitsu is the arena for such people to showcase their skills.
“There are a lot of talented jiu jitsu players out there with amazing technique, but we are never going to get to see them in a combat situation because they don’t want to learn striking,” Bravo says.
“Its aim is to prepare grapplers better for MMA than traditional jiu jitsu tournaments.”
By having such an event, it is believed that the most capable grapplers will be able to demonstrate their jiu jitsu with punches, while also allowing wrestlers to improve their ground and pound.
Because of difficulties in having Combat Jiu Jitsu sanctioned in the way Bravo envisioned by the California Amateur Mixed Arts Organization, the first-ever Combat Jiu Jitsu tournament is set to take place in New Zealand next year.
This has come about because of a friendship between Bravo and New Zealand resident John Alighieri.
After being put in a twister during training one day, Alighieri looked Bravo up online and recognised that Bravo’s style suited him. He started learning Bravo’s techniques from books and soon after made a trip to Los Angeles to train with the man himself. Three months later Bravo awarded Alighieri his blue belt, and he continues to train with Bravo once a year for three months at a time.
After Alighieri saw that Bravo was having problems with the sanctioning of Combat Jiu Jitsu in California, he told Bravo that it would be a good idea to have a tournament in New Zealand so it could be run in the way that Bravo intended.
This has resulted in Combat Jiu Jitsu coming to New Zealand in the form of a 16-man tournament to be held in February next year.
The tournament will take place on mats and to win you must finish your opponent.
“There will be one fifteen-minute round. If no submission or KO, then both combatants are disqualified,” says Bravo.
This is an intriguing concept where the fighters will be forced to look for the finish rather than point scoring. The fear of being disqualified as the result of a draw should force the competitors to be looking for all sorts of ways to end the fight. As such, the matchups are guaranteed to be entertaining for those who appreciate grappling and love to see submissions.
The tournament aims to have 155lb (70kg) compete, with the weigh-ins to happen on the same day.
“The 155 division is always the most stacked. Not as many big guys fighting. Same day weigh-ins are to eliminate the need to master the art of weight cutting. The training is tough enough,” Bravo explains.
Bravo has high aspirations for the concept, with the ultimate goal to make it the most prestigious form of grappling in the world.
It is still very much in its early stages and the tournament in New Zealand is one of the first starting points to see how the idea goes. It should be interesting to see how it progresses.
Details
To take place at the International Tattoo Expo on Saturday, February 23, 2013 in Hamilton's Claudelands Arena.
Fighters that are 70 kg are preferred, but entries are open for fighters up to 100kg - in case of fighters pulling out or there not being enough entries.
