lol @ people thinking they're suddenly the gatekeepers of the English language who get to decide what is and isn't a fight.
According to pretty much every dictionary, a BJJ competition definitely qualifies as a fight.
Not surprising that people argue against this, though, given the mentality of many people on the BJJ / MMA / martial arts world who are consumed by the need to show how tough they are, etc.
Of all the idiotic things to get bent out of shape about....
FWIW: I sometimes use "match" and sometimes use "fight". I don't have a strong attachment or need to use "fight" so I'm not one who insists that such competitions be called "fights."
circusmonkey - I think it's a cultural hang up with western civilization, and the U.S. In particular; If it doesn't involve fists the activity does not constitute a fight. In this definition, Royce Gracie, for example, in a couple of his earliest UFC fights, feigned a kick and was able to slip under his opponents attempts to punch him and avoided getting struck. He did not deliver any strikes at all in one or two instances at least. He merely subdued the opponent who was there to "fight", presumably with the intention of landing strikes with any and all of his available apendages. Using this model: Did Royce actually fight -or not-in those instances? I personally call "rolling" just that -and a grappling or boxing-only engagement a "match", but don't worry about terms much
Yeah I think you call a no time limit, no weight class, NHB competition a fight regardless of the outcome. His opponent could strike him whenever and pretty much however he wanted. He won the fight using bjj and without striking.
But we all know what happened in the other matches. Royces teeth could have just as easily been kicked out of his mouth. That's definitley considered a fight if you ask me. It's hard to consider that combat situation the same as a bjj match divided by weight, age, skill level, and so many rules. I think that's where most people make a big deal about the word fight being used for a bjj match.
Good analysis. I agree 100% with your statements.
I disagree. This shows how arbitary the line is.
In MMA, you have weight classes, a referee who will stand you up after not too long on the ground, mouth guards, groin protectors, prohibitions on grabbing your opponent's clothes, prohibitions on grabbing the cage, etc.
The whole argument stems from insecurity.
"No, bro! You didn't have a fight. You just grappled. I trane UFC! I can punch and kick! I am a fighter! What I do is serious business! Don't you dare compare yourself to me!! I'm legit!! You're just barely above TKD point sparring! Do you see how tough I am!?!?!?"
the word fight has been thrown into the bjj culture. if it comes up casually during a conversation i think nothing of it. however, if someone uses the word fight to specifically make things seem bigger and grander than they really are then thats where the douche-ness comes in. ive definitely come across that where someone uses it as a huge ego-stroke.
i've never seen a single incident where people get annoyed over the term rolling or sparring being used. they have always been interchangeable and no one cares
A_Butler - Imo fight is a little much. If you get caught in a sub you can tap and end the match. In a fight, there's no stopping someone from physically hurting you. In an mma fight you can also tap to strikes, however, your ass is still getting struck. At no time in a bjj match is anyone ever worried about being legitimately harmed. I'm talking about physically having your ass kicked. No one goes into a bjj match worried about getting the shit kicked out of them, because it's not going to happen.
You can get absolutely worked in a bjj match. You can get absolutely steamrolled. Taken down, guard passed, mounted, and submitted but you're going to get up and walk off the mat like it was just another roll. You're not going to the hospital and you're not concerned for your physical well being.
If we consider a bjj match a fight we might as well consider football, rugby, wrestling, judo, pretty much any sport related to physically trying to stop someone from doing something... We might as well call those fights too.
Now, I'm not arguing for one side or the other. I'm just saying these might be some reason people don't consider bjj matches fights. You could call it a tango for all I care.....
I agree with this. To me, the one intangible that makes it a fight is when the goal is to beat down/harm your opponent until he can no longer physically continue. That's why 300 people will show up for a bjj tourney but you have to scrape to get 20 guys to put on a 10 fight amateur boxing or mma show. They're a little too close to the real thing in comparison to bjj.
