CJI Recap & Thoughts

[@Macreadysshack]

I became a Levi Jones-Leary fan at CJI. Smooth as butter. Such a cool clash of styles. Great event summary

[@Kylemcquillz]

CJI was best grappling event ever. My girl has zero knowledge of the sport.watched the gabi match and cried after her interview. Also she was locked in for ffion and derb a well rounded relatable grappling event that an average fan could latch on to

[@grapplingwithjiujitsu]

If that cant bring people into the sport, I don't know what will. I think this is now the gold standard for Jiu Jitsu competition.

[@TheChadavis33]

Bro my girl was going on Instagram after and following all the main players. She’s never cared before. “Omg look how cute Nicky Rods baby is!” Haha, I never thought this could be possible.

[@newbritainpauly4841]

Craig should do a CJI trials , let a couple guys win their way into the tournament.

[@efteestein]

Nice recap thanks

[@TapCancerOut]

All that amazing grappling PLUS the charity element!!!

[@grapplingwithjiujitsu]

I love that the grapplers got to pick a charity. Thanks for all you guys do as well!

[@ChefBased888]

I agree CJI was better. But you said its better to have good 'matchmakers' 0:39 . The first rounds of CJI were completely random, the matches weren't made.

[@grapplingwithjiujitsu]

Ah, you’re right. The fans voted on the top 4 seeds and the rest were random. I saw that Kade and Tye agreed to switch from ADCC if Craig put them on opposite sides so I assumed he was doing the entire bracket.

[@newbritainpauly4841]

This event had BJJ at the highest level, the introduction of the wall for more action, comedy/trolling, first ever million-dollar prize, Pyro, celebrities in the crowd, glitz glamour, i can't wait for CJI 2025

[@patrickdowney6023]

I agree with Kade about the guard pullers doing nothing.

[@GASmotorsports]

Levi was the winner of the first big money super tournament when he won the spider invitational. It would have been cool to see him collect this big money tournament too. I think it worked out as it should. I think Kade edged it out. I think Levi was able to impose his game but he has to make some adjustments when he can't get in on the legs. I don't know if that means sweeps, back takes, wrestle ups or what but I think he can figure it out. I think the point of jiu jitsu in a nut shell is to incrementally improve your position to mount or the back while trying to find a submission along the way and Levi conceded to guard and never improved so even though his guard retention was impeccable he didn't show much ability or effort in improving his position. He might have been seduced by his own guard prowess. CJI makes me excited for the future of jiu jitsu competition. Thanks for the video.

[@imakimmy2]

Levi studied under the master of leg lockers and guard pullers. Lachlan. Kade showed poor showmanship in mocking him. I do wish they would have had more Super Fights.

[@godlymajins]

I could be wrong but didn’t Craig Jones study under Lachlan as well?

[@jotv7224]

the rules are the issue not levi. and the reason for this is growing the sport. you can't sell the sport to dedicated hobbyist there aren't enough of those. the rules should punish all passive play and increase engagement. these are high level athletes and most matches should look like kade/ tacket where is basically looks like a fight with lots of close subs and amazing escapes and constant action. Being around and in the sport for 15 years this is just so clear to me that the rules set are what holds the sport back. Levi played them perfectly and he took the safe path as he should have. there should be more incentive on taking action than playing a reactive defensive game. Jiujitsu is about efficiency technique and timing But as a sport trying to reach spectators it should put all emphasis on the submission and the attack and weed out the potential for passive play styles were someone can stall out a match just holding the other and going for half ass sub attempts to win the score card. .

[@paulwessely2669]

Andrew Tackett is probably the one that made the biggest fan out of me, but Levi Jones Leary has to be a close second! Even as a casual, you can see the stickyness and problems he poses. Kade would have been up there, but for his antics.

[@grapplingwithjiujitsu]

I 100% agree. Levi’s early guard defense was pretty eye opening for me. Nobody really made any progress in passing his guard.

[@Macktube]

Bro, you missed out, ADCC was amazing this year, incredible upsets, a lot of finishes, new stars and close and finals. The over 88k division at CJI was kind boring but the lightweights were fun. I don't think anyone has to pick sides, you can support both at the end of the day Jujitsu wins imo🎉

[@newbritainpauly4841]

I'll never watch ah BJJ event unless it has that wall ! The wall makes for much more excitement.

[@Gimmeabreak460]

I wish I went to cji instead

[@abdulhafiz3210]

I think you’re either intentionally or unintentionally misunderstanding the argument against guard pulling as well as what Kade was complaining about. 1. The bit where you talked about the one on top being the one to engage is, I’m sorry, utter nonsense. What do you mean the person on top has the freedom of movement? Why are you speaking as if the person on bottom we’re speaking of in this moment, levi, did not deliberately put himself there and have every opportunity should he wish to NOT be on bottom? Why exactly does the person that put himself on bottom magically not have the freedom to stand should he wish? Why is the onus of initial engagement solely placed on the person on top? Especially when the other is simply waiting to be engaged with and not aggressively pushing for engagement themselves? You’re claiming levi engaged just as much as Kade is ridiculous because that is AFTER Kade initiates engagement. Levi didn’t initiated anything. Let’s try this instead: Imagine you're in a soccer game, but instead of trying to move the ball forward toward the goal, you deliberately pass it back to your own defense and just wait, hoping the other team will overcommit and make a mistake. While you might maintain possession, you’re not actually progressing toward scoring, y’know, the entire point of the game? If the opposing team decides not to press you, the game turns into a standstill, with no real action or advancement. In this case, would you still put the onus of engagement on the opposing team and pretend as if the team in possession of the ball has no agency or reasonable expectation to advance the game? By your logic, if the opposing team attacks the team in possession and the team in possession continues to just pass the ball around, they are “engaging an equal amount” Except they wouldn’t be doing shit if the other team didn’t do something first. The goal of combat or even sport in general isn’t to not lose, it’s to win. Pulling guard in BJJ is be similar. By pulling guard, you're essentially sitting down on the track, waiting for your opponent to engage with you on your terms. However, if your opponent decides not to play along-if they choose to stand and refuse to engage-just as you have-you’ve stalled the progress of the match. You're not actively pushing the fight forward; you're simply waiting for the other person to make a move. This is why guard pulling can be seen as problematic. it's about adopting a strategy that, at its core, doesn't advance the fight. You're relying on your opponent to take the initiative, and if they don't, the fight reaches a stalemate. Just as waiting on a track won't get you closer to the finish line, pulling guard without an immediate plan to progress can lead to a stagnant, unproductive match. If we value progression and initiative in a fight, then refusing to pull guard and instead seeking to advance is much like continuing to run in a race-you're actively pursuing victory rather than passively waiting for it. BJJ is still a relatively small sport, and part of the reason for that is this mentality. It’s the same kind of thinking you see in MMA when fans call others "casuals" as an insult for enjoying entertaining fights. But the truth is, "casuals" are the ones who feed families-without them, the sport wouldn’t grow. Nobody, except for hardcores who will realistically watch ANYTHING related to their respective sport, would want to watch someone sit on their butt for five minutes waiting for something to happen. In combat sports, aggression is rewarded, and passivity is punished-as it should be. It’s combat, after all. This is why in MMA, pulling guard isn’t an option. Nor can you just run away from your opponent. Even when fighters are standing in front of each other and not doing much, the referee intervenes to keep the action going(as seen in the recent fight between manel kape and Muhammad Mokaev recently). By the logic that defends guard pulling, anyone who dislikes it is just misinformed. But misinformed about what, exactly? That it’s a boring strategy? That it’s not fair to put the onus of initial engagement on one person? This is why the match between Kade and Andrew is being called one of the greatest in history and not the Kade and Levi match, despite it being the finals. More people left CJI fans of Andrew than fans of levi despite Levi being in the finals. You could argue that Levi was just using his best weapon, but it’s not fair to criticize others for refusing to engage with a strategy that effectively stalls the fight. Combat sports are about action, and when one fighter chooses to sit back and wait, it goes against the very essence of competition. It’s such an incredibly simple concept to grasp and I’m not sure why this is even a debate. If you think the sport is in a good place as far as being financially viable, then may the guard pullers continue their reign of boredom. Reality is, finding something either boring or entertaining isn’t about being “misinformed” People like what they like, and the people we’ve spoken.

[@grapplingwithjiujitsu]

Funny enough, you’re the one misunderstanding the point here. Not sure why you think you can speak for the whole jiu jitsu community but Levi has been very well received online, it’s a very small group complaining about him. Boiling a sport down to just action is the most cave man way to look at a sport. And yes I’d argue that finding a sport boring could be indicative of a lack of knowledge in the sport. Formula 1 racing, baseball and golf are some of the highest paid sports but I’m completely uninterested in watching them because I lack the knowledge to understand why doing well in those sports is impressive. If those sports changed to make a few uneducated fans happy, it would completely destroy the sport as a whole. If you don’t care to watch guard work, there’s this awesome sport you can watch, in fact the oldest sport in history, called wrestling. Like it or not guard work is part of this sport. The soccer comparison doesn’t really work, why not compare it to another combat sport like boxing? Again one of the most paid sports in the world, and while we’re at it, let’s take the most paid boxer, who happens to have a very defensive style. Imagine if someone told Floyd Mayweather to stop playing his shell defense because it’s boring to watch. Theres far more to combat sports than “action”, we’re not cave men, we can engage with these sports on a deeper level than that.