The competition between catch wrestling and BJJ and which is a better or more well-rounded sport has been plaguing practitioners of both sports for years. Some allege that catch wrestling makes stronger players while others maintain that BJJ is by far the superior of the two sports. So who’s right in this debate?
While catch wrestling has produced some strong and highly skilled players over time, BJJ players have nothing to worry about. BJJ is a better discipline with more comprehensive rules and techniques that prepare the player for just about any combative situation they find themselves into. BJJ also has grappling on its side which is an art in and of itself.
But what exactly is catch wrestling? How did it appear on the stage? And what makes it stand out and claim to be equal to if not superior to BJJ? This article looks at this unique form of wrestling, it’s history, and what it has that BJJ doesn’t.
What is Catch Wrestling?
While catch wrestling seems to match BJJ in its emphasis on grappling among other techniques, the one thing that makes catch wrestling unique is its laser focus on submission. It doesn’t have a points system the way BJJ or Judo does. Instead, every match has to end with one player forcing the opponent to submit. Only then will there be a winner and the match comes to a conclusion.
So how do you get your opponent to submit in a catch wrestling competition? There are only two ways for that. The first is for the opponent to tap out. That’s easier said than done. When you consider the ego of a catch wrestler, then you know that each will fight to the end. A player only taps out when they know they have no ounce of energy left in their body.
The other way to submit is to say “enough!”. It’s as simple as that. But of course, it’s never that simple. Again ego comes in the way and only when the player finds that they’re getting hammered mercilessly would they say the magic word.
Chokes are not allowed in catch wrestling. Even though the sport has few agreed on rules, and inside the ring almost anything goes, the fact that chokes don’t count is surprising. However, if two players agree to compete against each other and allow chokes, then it very much counts.
This just shows how flexible, and almost chaotic, catch wrestling is. In fact, it used to be even more chaotic in the not so distant past. Back then the rules were defined by the players right before the competition. Whatever they agreed on became the law of the game at least until the match was over and one of them prevailed over the other. But how did catch wrestling come into being?
How did Catch Wrestling Evolve?
The origins of catch wrestling are shrouded in mystery. Some historians pinpoint it to miners and dock workers who used to engage in friendly, and sometimes not so friendly, games of grappling. They were mainly looked at as a pastime more than a sport or even a competition even if some betting was involved.
But it was mainly British sailors who laid the foundations of catch wrestling. Back when the British Empire covered about 70 percent of the old world and ships were sailing from port to port nonstop. It is often speculated that between the 15th and 19th centuries, British sailors managed to visit every port known to man, interact with the locals, and learn some of their techniques.
This is where the different grappling techniques of catch wrestling came into existence. The name of the sport “catch wrestling” refers to the old name of “catch as much as you can”. Basically you grappled with your opponent and once you got a lock on a part of their body, you worked on it until you forced them to submit in one of the ways we described earlier.
And it was the British who introduced this new and rules-free sport to the United States. When the US was a British colony, many workers settled there and introduced some of their British traditions to the locals. One of those traditions was catch wrestling.
At first the reception to the new sport was lukewarm at best. Maybe it wasn’t as exciting as, say, boxing. What’s certain is that it was mainly performed during carnivals and on fairgrounds. Many people considered it as an open act for the main event. Moreover, the catch wrestler was open to challenges from the carnival attendants. To say that things got out of hand sometimes is an understatement.
BJJ vs Catch Wrestling
With that colorful past behind it, it’s no wonder that catch wrestling would look at BJJ as a rival. Even though BJJ is a discipline that focuses on self-defense and has always been taught in academies, it has some common grounds with catch wrestling.
One of the shared values between the two sports is their focus on submissions. It’s true that one sport, BJJ, has almost a rule for everything from the dress code to promotions, while the other is almost devoid of any form of laws and set rules, still, they both have a fascination and should I say, respect to submissions.
But that’s really where the shared values end really. Even though catch wrestling and BJJ put a lot of weight on achieving submissions, the way they both approach it couldn’t be any different. Let’s take catch wrestling first. It tries to finish the competition as fast as possible. There’s no point in holding back and abiding your time. From the moment the game starts, you relentlessly go after your opponent and try to get them to submit.
Compare that to BJJ with its fine techniques and the way it approaches grappling. Nothing is hurried or rushed. You wait for your opponent to make a mistake then you exploit that mistake and work your way patiently toward scoring a point or maybe winning the competition. Every move is evaluated, every action is predetermined. There’s nothing haphazard with BJJ.
Another thing to consider is how the position plays a major role in BJJ. In fact, it can be said that positional control is paramount in the tenets of BJJ as a discipline. Catch wrestling on the other hand has nothing of the sort. It’s all raw and brutal aggression. You rely on your strength to see your way out of the competition.
BJJ takes a lot of time and preparation to set up a submission. But when you finally get there, everything falls into position and the outcome is almost guaranteed. Of course, you’ll have to get your techniques down to an art and look for a chink in your opponent’s armor to strike. As we said, with BJJ it’s more of a calculated risk and techniques. Catch wrestling is anything but.
Leg Locks in Catch Wrestling
This is one aspect of the sport where catch wrestling has the upper hand over BJJ. Leg locks have been around for some time now, but recently they gained prominence in catch wrestling thanks to their effectiveness.
In fact, leg locks are just one of the many lower body techniques that catch wrestling excels at. So isn’t BJJ incorporating that crucial grappling technique in its plethora of techniques as well? Well, remember what we said about the rules of BJJ and how they dictate everything from what you wear to how you get promoted? It’s these same rules which prevent BJJ from allowing leg locks into the hallowed walls of its academies.
Other locks that catch wrestling considers part of its repertoire include knee bars, Achilles locks, and toe holds. All of them are perfectly legal and wrestlers use them every chance they get.
Reasons Catch Wrestling isn’t Catching up
With all this history behind it, catch wrestling has struggled to capture the imagination and interest of the populace. There are many theories that try to explain the lack of interest in such a vigorous and captivating sport.
One theory is that the lack of rules and mercurial nature of catch wrestling prevent people from even knowing what the sport is all about or what it stands for. BJJ for example is a self defense discipline. But about catch wrestling? What does it stand for? The lack of a definitive answer puts players off.
On a related note, many catch wrestlers don’t have an association that speaks for them or represent them on the international or even local arenas. This means there are no checks or regulations that govern the sport. As we said, anything goes.
The lack of a governing body means that coaches have a free hand not just setting the rules, but also in when to start coaching and who can claim to be a coach. Many players simply switch to coaching without proper skills or knowledge.
When you don’t have a system in place, that means the sport doesn’t have a shape or identity. Chaos seems to be the only law that has shaped the past and history of this sport and might also shape its future.
With all that in mind, one thing is very clear, no matter how aggressive a catch wrestler is, they’re by no means a match to a BJJ champion steeped in the techniques of the discipline and have truly earned their stripes.