It was like something out of karate kid: Here is a stunning video showing Lyoto Machida’s victory over Randy Couture in the recent UFC 129. The amazing thing is that the knockout blow came from a jumping front-snapping kick landed perfectly on Couture’s jaw. According to Lyoto, he was coached to perfect this kick by martial arts and movie legend Steven Seagal. Interesting was Anderson Silva’s recent UFC victory using a similar kick, also coached by Seagal.

Admittedly I do not follow the UFC much. The practice of MMA for sport is on the far end of the spectrum from what I teach as a self-defense oriented art. However, this win is interesting for several reasons:

Many chairborne warriors who frequent disparaging martial arts discussion boards seem to hold the following opinions:

• The UFC or other sporting event is the ultimate gauge of whether a martial art “works”
• That all fights wind up on the ground so the ground game is where it’s at
• That certain techniques, “never work”

With all due respect, all three of these opinions are crap.

The UFC is the Ultimate Measure of a Martial Art Style

First, MMA matches measure which competitor does best in a particular MMA match – nothing else. These guys are amazing combative athletes, and there is a hack of a lot of training involved. A good portion of their success relies upon conditioning, timing and reflex. Another portion relies upon mental state. Yet another on their skill at executing the systems they are trained in.

Yes, certain systems of training are better suited for combat sports within the rules and arena of the UFC.

Sports events have almost nothing to do with self-defense. Yes, a competitive MMA fighter will have conditioning and skills that will give him or her an advantage over an untrained person in a self-defense situation. But to be good at MMA competitions, it means you probably don’t dedicate a lot of time to training against multiple armed opponents. Some of the things that work exceptionally well in wrestling matches can and have gotten people killed in real self-defense situations.

All Fights Wind Up on the Ground

I have covered why this idea is pure BS rather extensively here. It’s also important to understand that the US Army, after analyzing real hand to hand combat battles, agrees with me. Further, this UFC fight was won before either gentleman went to the ground. Machida only went to the ground to continue attacking Couture who had already lost. No grappling was necessary.

Technique X will never work …

Sometimes I hear people say, “that would never work on the street.” Never is one of those tricky words, it’s an absolute. It means not even once. I bet a lot of people held the opinion that a UFC match would never be won with a front-snapping high-kick to the face, and now it’s been done twice. So if you believed that – you were wrong. Suck it up.

You can quote me on this: The technique that works is the technique that works.

I personally know a guy who fought off multiple opponents with knives with a combination of round-house kicks to the head and running and screaming. I know someone who kicked a knife out of someone’s hand. I’ve been kicked on top of the head with an axe kick in a karate tournament. I’ve personally witnessed a ton of crazy stuff that worked in the moment.

If you are a martial artist, I don’t think it pays to limit your mind.

Martial arts skills are far less generalizable than many people would think. I am reminded of an interview I once heard with Joe Rogan who said, “The UFC has proven that Brazilian Jujutsu is the most effective martial art in the world.” That’s a load of crap.

First, this is to take nothing away, or in any way insult BJJ, MMA, the UFC, or anyone who teaches, studies, or competes in those systems. I do not denigrate other systems or teachers as a rule. However, and person that claims that one martial art is superior to another is either ignorant or intentionally misleading people. There is no such martial art – never has been, never will be. I’d like to share a video that I think highlights this:

What you’ll see here is some of America’s most skilled combative athletes going to experience some of the U.S. Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP). The most interesting section, to me, is where the UFC guys go to do an exercise called “The Last of the Mohicans.”

Holding a weapon and suited up in armor, they are to run a distance and face multiple opponents who are likewise armed. There are no rules, their goal is to “kill” their opponents. In the video presented, you’ll see a couple of the guys just freeze up until their Marine escort yells at them to attack. Once they begin to attack they are usually taken out by a second assailant.

One of the participants, talking to the camera, admits that he went 4 times and didn’t survive a single encounter. Does this mean that these guys suck? No, not at all.

What you have is people (both Marines and UFC guys) who train specifically to achieve certain goals, under certain conditions, in a certain environment, with certain rules. They are both the best at what they do. However, take a UFC guy and remove him from the ring, eliminate his rules, give him gear he isn’t used to carrying, and face him against multiple opponents and weapons – his skills will only translate so far. Take a Marine who is the best at what he does and throw him into the UFC, give him rules, change his environment and his opponent – again, he’ll only do so well.

Specificity is the key. Martial skills only generalize so far. Want to defend against a knife? Better train that. Want to defend against multiple opponents? You better train that. Do you want to be a good sport fighter? Train that sport.

Arguments over which style is the best have been going on for decades. It’s a waste of time. You should understand why you are training, and make sure you focus on that.

Let me start by saying that nothing here is meant to denigrate BJJ or MMA in any way. As a rule, I do not criticize other systems. The BJJ guys I know are amazing martial artists and great athletes. My issue with the name Brazilian Jiujitsu (or Jiu-Jitsu) is a personal hangup, but bear me out here.

As a practitioner of jujutsu (the way we happen to spell the same word), when people hear what I do, they frequently assume I do something else. “Oh, you do that rolling around on the ground stuff right?” I get that all the time. Recently a fellow student of my teacher who has just started teaching complained about the same thing.

With the popularity of the UFC, and the BJJ domination of that sport, it is easy to understand that most people’s exposure to jujutsu has been nearly 100%. Koryu and gendai styles (like Ketsugo Jujutsu) are not generally used for sport and you don’t see them on TV very much.

The basic historical background of BJJ si that it is derived from Kodokan Judo. However, at that time, Judo was sometimes still referred to as Kano Jiu-Jitsu after Jigoro Kano, the father of Judo. It was 1914 when Mitsuyo Maeda brought Judo to Brazil, and it wasn’t until 1925 when the Japanese government declared that the art be called Judo. The Gracie family studied under Maeda in Brazil, and continued to refine and spread their art up to today.

So, there is indeed a historic reason, not that they need one, to call their art Jiu-Jitsu.

For us, ground fighting is not something we choose to do. It usually means you are about to lose your life. So, to be confused with a system that has become synonymous with ground-fighting sometimes takes us back a bit. We practice ground-fighting, but not for sport, and we use tactics which would be illegal in any sport competition (unless you believe the movie Bloodsport was a true story).

So, my personal wish was that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was called Brazilian Judo, or something different. I’m lazy and I’d have less explaining to do. In the end, labels are just that. After all, the name “Ketsugo Jujutsu” (also spelled jujitsu) was created by an American in the 20th century, and it is an eclectic art.