Participation in High School Folkstyle wrestling, is still Catch. Any serious Catch guy will tell you that Folkstyle is Catch minus submissions. He trained some Judo, and then didn't train any BJJ at all. And he makes it clear that he doesn't practice anything but Catch. I am inclined to go with Josh's assessment. And for the record, you started the denigrating talk when you said "It's a silly argument". I haven't questioned your reading abilities, but you just went on commenting in a manner that lead me to the conclusion that you didn't even read my article.
Suzuki or Sakuraba in their heyday didn't fight anything like Barnett. They fought in perpetual motion using positional control as a launchpad for sub attacks (regardless of their opponent's guard) and relying on wrestling their way back to the top if they missed them. Josh, on the other hand, prioritises passing and wearing his opposition down from heavy top control. Which of these fighters does Josh's strategic approach (in this and other fights) remind you of more, and which one looks more like Lister? [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-xH4Fms4bc"]Pancrase: Frank Shamrock vs Allan Goes (1995) - YouTube[/ame]
Some of what you are talking about comes from size differences. Sakuraba was often smaller then his opponents so wrestling heavy on them would not be the best strategy.
There is no such thing as "pure catch" - in fact there is virtually no standard outside of the ruleset....it's akin to saying "pure MMA fighter"
Of the catch wrestlers in MMA's early days, which one of them adopted this heavy top-control and guard passing strategy that now apparently characterises the style?
While I agree that there is some crossover in all of the grappling arts, I think comparing it to "Pure MMA Fighter" is a stretch. Again, I am inclined to go with Josh's own assessment of his focus instead of the speculation of other people. I don't really see why he would be inclined to lie about it.
[ame]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=f9rk8SM8Rdo[/ame] Josh catagories bjj with only gi training. so in his view, training groundwork (mostly nogi), under a bjj black belt, gaining a bjj black belt, and competing in a gi at black belt. Doesn't mean hes done BJJ. Or its just marketing schtik, to get match ups like metamoris, and make people talk about him online.
http://www.mmafighting.com/2014/9/7...josh-barnett-on-catch-wrestlings-place-in-the Heres a good interview with warmaster (josh to his friends) about cacc and bjj etc url]http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2014/8/12/5992879/judo-chop-the-hybrid-attack-of-josh-barnett[/url] Here is a nice article detailing the hybrid background of barnett.
https://youtu.be/2lNJgJoyCDQ Billy Robinson teaching Josh. In the video, it shows the Catch "version" of the double wrist lock, which I worked on this week and it hurt like Hell. BJJ (more well known) version, you kimura from side control and then step over the head. Catch version, you simply place the knee on the head and rest. This stretches out the neck and shoulder, making the double wrist seem easier. However when youre in that position, doesnt really matter as long as the end result is the same. 11min in, those from last year's MAP meet would recognise that position I demo'd. But with a different finish. I did a crucifix pin which would win me a freestyle comp, Catch turned it into a shoulder/elbow lock.
When I first trained with Harry it was a real eye opener for Singh and I because so many little things made a huge difference. Singh credits a lot of his recent BJJ improvements to Catch nuances I have shown him
[ame]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=30Ujz5sCS3k[/ame] The best wrestler in mma is definitely Ben Askren. Afaik hes never claimed cacc though.