If you put a blackbelt KM vs a black belt BJJ my money is always on the BJJ black belt.
Well, KM doesn't really go by belts, but I get your point. However, this is a scenario where we're comparing apples to oranges, because the goal of BJJ and KM are two different things.
If you put them into a ring 1v1 and told them to fight until somebody wins, then yeah I'd probably go with the BJJ too because KM doesn't focus a lot on what to do once you're on the ground, just how to efficiently get back up. Problem is, KM teaches you to
survive, not win fights. There's two different mindsets there. In a ring between the two, all the KM practiioner has to do to "win" is keep the BJJ guy away from you. If you're not losing the fight, you're winning. BJJ wants that submission to force a "win".
With your ufc comparison, here's the thing: yes, knowing BJJ has become an absolute staple in that it's an art you
must know to survive in a ring. KM, other the other hand, spends most of it's time teaching you how to defend yourself in ways that are not legal in a ring. You'll never see it in UFC or MMA because it's entire philosophy is exactly the stuff they want to prevent in the ring. KM, when used as trained, has a high probability of doing mild to severe lasting damage to a person.
There's nothing fun or cool about slamming a hammer fist down onto the back of somebody's neck or punching their throat in. If I'm in a situation where survival, not winning a fight, is the key - KM is preferred easily. There are too many variables BJJ doesn't prepare for in a street fight, a key example being how to defend against multiple attackers from different angles. If a street fight goes to the ground and you know BJJ, that's good - a blue belt in BJJ can submit 99% of the population, but it won't help you if that guy's friend comes up behind you to kick you in the head while you have him submitted.
All this is why I personally think the two should be cross trained, not compared side by side since the tool sets they give you are designed for different scenarios.
That's probably true tho, because BJJ you train to be an athlete, in KM you don't have that kind of training. You don't even have competitions. Maybe in a street fight, it would be different, but in an octagon, BJJ would probably win since the athlete will have the cardio to complete the rounds and fight well.
Interesting. My KM gym starts off by making you run laps until you're breathing super heavy before getting into the techniques for the day, the idea being to train when you're at your worst physical condition, not your best. Does yours do it differently?
