C.J.W. wrote:But the impression I've gotten over the years -- since way back when Royce and BJJ still reigned supreme -- is that many sports fighters, especially those whose main art is grappling, do not believe that a simple move such as a finger jab or a groin kick would be enough to stop them dead in their tracks.
Their usual argument is either they will be able to take the hit and still take you down, or that those strikes are considered low-percentage moves that do not work well in a live environment because they require too much precision.
The same can be said for hammerfist to the back of the head and knee to the face; both are typical responses found in traditional arts against leg tackles, but often dismissed by BJJ guys and wrestlers as laughable. Yet in the clip I provided, there are instances where those moves are so successfully (and yes, illegally) applied against takedown attempts that the referees had to jump in to keep the players from being seriously injured.
Yeah there are a lot of arrogant jerks in the sport which then passes to students who sprout the same crap because they are a pack of mindless followers. Shit Ive heard some clueless idiots claim they can power through someone stabbing them even if the guy is good at using the blade.
But the truth of the matter is that many guys who do eyes pokes and groin shots do not have a solid base in the bread and butter moves like evasion, hard striking, counters to take downs. If they are good at applying the other moves in striking, throwing, locking (defences, attacks, reversals) then the eye pokes, gouges, fish hooks, downward strikes, standing kicks on a grounded opponent are next to devastating.