People are talking about Ronda Rousey’s Olympic Coach showing the counter to her armbar. Is it a dick move? Not really. Any high level fighter should know the defense for her armbar. She has hit it in every fight, I would assume 135 lb women everywhere are working on defending it!
It is no big deal that this defense video was released. In Judo, most players are not known for dynamic games. Most competitors have 2 throws, a pin, and maybe a submission they will go for. The idea is to get so good that it doesn’t matter if people know what you are going to do, you will do it so well that there is pretty much no defense.
This is a very Japanese concept, wait Judo is Japanese! In a sport like MMA, most train lots of things and never get to master most of it. Judo is a different idea. You train to master one way. This way will be the foundation for everything else you do. No matter what anyone does to Ronda, she will always revert to the throw and the armbar. After years of developing her Judo game on an international level, her skills are ingrained. Punch her in the face, she will throw you. Take her down, she will armbar you. You know she is going to do it, but she is so strong from doing it her whole life, you still have a bad shot at countering.
You here Joe Rogan during UFC broadcasts expounding on the fact that many young fighters have trained only MMA. He says this like it is a good thing. I disagree. We will see lots of people that can win fights and make a decent name for themselves, but it is the guys and gals with roots in a specific discipline that will always dominate. The discipline, strength, and muscle memory developed by sticking to one way for a long time is hard to overcome.
MMA is a sport, not a discipline. I am a big proponent of MMA as a sport but I can’t call it a style, or way. If you are thinking about fighting MMA, go join a Martial Arts school, Wrestling team, or Boxing Gym 1st. Learn what it takes to get good at one thing. Get good at that one thing. Then add to your base. You will thank yourself later.
Train in a Martial Art for a while. You will quickly learn that there is a huge difference between a Black Belt and the rest of the dojo. The reason for this is that these individuals have put the time in, moved up an organized rank, passed multiple tests, and has basically proven their worth to their instructors. This is huge. Beginner to Black belt means you know how to learn, you have the discipline to stick with something, work with others, and ultimately that you are good at something.
Once you devote enough time to mastering a way, add to it. Then you will have a skill set that you don’t care gets countered on Youtube. You will have a skill set that is pretty hard to defend regardless of how much the opponent knows.
Ronda is not a freak. She is an Olympic level athlete in one of the most demanding of all combat sports. Her Judo is the foundation for her success. The boxing, Jiu Jitsu, etc…. is just icing on the cake. The cool fight coming up is Sara Mcmann vs Ronda – Olympic Athlete vs Olympic Athlete.
Go train, earn a rank that matters, and master something, not just know a little about a lot.
Brian Wright