After all the years involved in Martial arts I am still in awe of the progression of techniques and evolution of the different styles. The other thing I'm fascinated with is how the fundamentals of every combat sport can in most cases nullify the new and or fancy techniques. The reason why this is so amazing to me is because watching someone jumping through the air or spinning in circles while they strike or attack with grappling is beautiful and mesmerizing to look at. However, much like a solid sharp jab will beat a power hook the fundamentals are the key to the evolution and not the other way around. When Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors is nailing three point shots from all over the court it may look like he's been doing that from the beginning I can almost guarantee that it started with learning a proper lay up or free throw shot. When I started doing Taekwondo I can remember spending a great amount of time sitting in a horse stance throwing straight punches from the hip. My Sensei wasn't teaching turning side kick or spinning back fist or jumping knees for that matter all I remember are the fundamentals. This isn't to say that flashy techniques don't work they surely do, what complicates their effectiveness is how fundamental the opponent is. In the Ufc lightweight title fight between Anthony Pettis and Rafael dos Anjos all the flashy went out the window. Rafael dos anjos put pressure and used very sharp, very strong punching and kicking and then attacked with basic wrestling double leg takedowns pressure ground-and-pound. In Glory Kickboxing Raymond Daniels used his sport kick fighting blitz style to dismantle fighters left and right with spinning back kicks and jumping spinning back kicks anything you can imagine. Strikers were falling like flies. Twice when Raymond Daniels came up on Nieky Holzken he was stopped Nieky put pressure applied simple boxing techniques simple leg techniques and it was enough to stifle Raymond Daniels and stop his flashy but aggressive style. In the case McGregor vs Nate Diaz fight Conor McGregor had a full camp came in very aggressive throwing spinning kicks and punches from all angles and that was all stifled with a simple one-two combination for Nate Diaz. Once Conor was rocked he tried to shoot for a very poor double leg takedown which Nate transitioned into a rear naked choke one of the first submissions you learn. I wholeheartedly believe that the more tools you have in your toolbox the better off you'll be and the more opponents you can defeat but I also believe it all starts with your base. How good are your fundamentals? How good is your jab? how good is your cross? When it comes to the ground game how good is your pass? How good is your guard? How good is your control and your pressure are the questions that I often ask myself. Now this is not saying that there aren't special athletes out there whose fancy footwork or arsenal have gotten them to the top we can take a guy like Wonderboy Thompson in MMA who's on the verge of having his first title shot and he fights primarily with his hands down bouncing side to side in a sport karate style. The question isn't how good Wonderboy Thompson is now, the question is how good is Wonderboy Thompson when he faces somebody with a skill set of fundamentals that's as strong as his skill-set coming from a karate background. It's hard to say what will happen but damn it'll be fun to watch. Maybe the reason that Stephen Thompson so good is because his fundamentals are great maybe that was the same with Anthony Pettis maybe the same with Raymond Daniels. Ultimately the base is what matters and the strength of your discipline you can't give up what you first learned and put all your eggs in the basket of if I spin or if I jump maybe I'll surprise them, maybe I'll be able to finish them, the reality is that your job can be fairly repetitive, move your head, keep your hands up, keep your feet moving and stay focused. As far as Jiu Jitsu is concerned it's important to learn positions and how to control them before you ever even consider submitting someone. My advice to all is never ever get out of your game but build your game into something effective and beautiful to watch. I often tell my Fighters it doesn't matter what the other person does it only matters what you do. Spend the time making good habits in the gym and revisit your fundamentals regularly.
