This is how you make grappling exciting!

For those of you who’ve come to the site long enough, you’ve must have realized by now that when it comes to combat sports, striking has always been my passion. Sure, I can appreciate wrestling and grappling as much as the next MMA aficionado, but there’s just something about striking that has always called out to me. If you ask the masses they’d likely say the same. A knockout in an MMA fight is usually preferred to that of a submission, particularly for the casual fan. Why? Because no one has to question what’s going on. A knockout is usually pretty self-explanatory. His fist connected to the other guy’s jaw and he went night night. Fairly simple which is the reason why striking sports have usually been deemed as more exciting than watching an amateur wrestling match or a Brazilian jiu jitsu contest. But it seems the days of boring grappling competitions are soon coming to an end with the introduction of famed jiu jitsu master Eddie Bravo’s own grappling event. The Eddie Bravo Invitational, or EBI for short, has a fun and fresh format when compared to traditional jiu jitsu competitions. Many competitions utilize the jiu jitsu gi which at times as been known to cause slow down in many matches due to the fact that a competitor can actually hold on to their opponents clothing and stall. It makes for boring matches and it’s likely the reason why the fan base hasn’t really exploded in popularity with casual fans. EBI focuses an a no gi system which makes for faster paced matches and is easily translated over to how MMA matches are usually conducted. Any casual fan of MMA could watch an EBI match and follow what’s happening fairly smoothly. If you haven’t had the privilege of watching an EBI style match then you’re in luck. These days anything is accessible on the internet. The Onnit Invitational Austin took place last week on March 24 and produced some high level and exciting match ups. Take a look. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdubY9b1Ud0 Are you an Eddie Bravo fan? Follow Generation Iron MMA on Facebook and Twitter. Also, be sure to share, like, and comment to show your support.

Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.