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Monday, Sep 07, 2015

Submission Series Pro’s Cat Clarke Weighs-In on Leglocks, Credits Innovations of John Danaher, Eddie Cummings And Garry Tonon

Eddie Cummings (left) (photo video Budo Videos.com)

By Kelsey Mowatt

There are more Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gyms and grappling competitors than ever before, and as a result, ground fighting continues to evolve in various and innovative ways. Thankfully, due to events like the ADCC, Metamoris, Polaris and Submission Series Pro, among many others, there is no shortage of events for grapplers to apply their trade.

Recently Submission Series Pro promoter, Cat Clarke, appeared on Full Contact Fighter Radio, in advance of the company’s September 12th event in Truro, Nova Scotia. The Canadian based organization has also adopted a submission only format, as a means to foster action and prevent stalling on the mat. The wave of submission only events is a departure from the traditional scoring format, whereby a grappler could also win through the point system.

Due to the frequency of the events, and the emphasis on making these matches viewer friendly, a new generation of all-star grapplers has been spawn. Clarke was asked to weigh-in on the growth of jiu-jitsu event and the innovations grappling based martial arts have incurred, and here is some of what he had to say:

“With guys like Keenan (Cornelius) and Mike Leira Jr., who was on our show, they’re always kind of, like Keenan has different guards coming out, all the time, DVDs, and one of our main sponsors, Hook Sweep, they have an interesting series like that where you can actually learn from Keenan directly in a one on one session.”

“Things like that are developing the game and changing the sport as well, and there’s avenues for everybody.”

Lately there has been considerable attention directed to grapplers who have been dominating the sport due to their innovations in leglocks. For some time, many notable and decorated BJJ competitors dismissed leglocks as being too risky and ineffective.

Others have opined that leglocks cannot be effectively utilized in self defense situations or MMA bouts, the argument being that while going for them, your head is exposed.

Fighters like Rousimar Palhares, Marcin Held and Masakazu Imanari, among others, have scored numbers victories with leglocks. But, their use in MMA on the whole is still relatively rare. Due to the success that grappling stars like Eddie Cummings and Garry Tonon have been having with their innovative leglocks, however, some have wondered if this will change.

“No question,” said Clarke, when asked if he sees leglocks as the next frontier of innovation in grappling. “If you look at guys like Garry Tonon, Eddie Cummings, over there with Renzo (Gracie) and from John Danaher, they’re all just doing really, really neat stuff. People can say what they want, but the leg’s a limb. It’s part of the body, so if it’s there, and you’re leaving it there then they have full right to grab it.”

“So, that’s why in our events heel hooks are legal and in no-gi fights, and everybody is aware of that,” added Clarke, while referring to the fact that some competitions do not allow leglocks, due to the risk of injury they pose. “Most people do train them, they say at the blue belt level you can start training them, but I think you should always be aware of your legs…you can train them but drill them very, very slowly.”

Submission Series Pro’s September 12th card will feature a match between UFC lightweight Mitch Clarke and Scott Nauss in the main event.

posted by FCF Staff @ 8:00 am
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