On a recent episode of the FloGrappling Show, Gavin Corbe did not hold back when the conversation turned to the differences between wrestling culture and jiu-jitsu culture. Corbe, who began training jiu-jitsu in 2009 before adding wrestling shortly after, was direct in his assessment of where jiu-jitsu athletes stand relative to their wrestling counterparts.
When discussing how his wrestling background shaped his approach to jiu-jitsu, Corbe laid out his view plainly:
“A lot of people in jiu-jitsu, it’s hard to say, are soft. “
He went further, making clear where his primary identity lies as a competitor:
“I identify more as a wrestler than a jiu-jitsuer.”
For Corbe, the wrestling background he and his brother DeAndre Corbe built early in their athletic careers was foundational.
“We started wrestling right after, maybe like a year or two after we started jiu-jitsu. So that really built our work ethic on how we view jiu-jitsu.”
He credited embracing the grind that wrestling demands as something that directly elevated how he approached grappling.
His appreciation for wrestlers extended into the athletes he follows and studies.
“I watch more wrestler s than grapplers,” he said, pointing to Spencer Lee, Jack Forrest, and Bo Bassett as athletes he admires. His focus when watching them is not technical but something deeper: “I try to see what they’re perceiving when they wrestle.”
He described what draws him to these athletes as a quality beyond technique.
“Basically guys that are just dogs, you know, they just go after it. It’s like you just cannot deny this guy.”
Using Bo as an example, Corbe noted:
“Technically, he’s not setting up his (takedowns). And I’m convinced that Jack Forrest, Bo Bassett, Spencer Lee, doesn’t matter what, they’re just gonna get to your leg somehow and put you down. Like scr*w the technicality or the technical side of it. It’s like Bo Bassett is double legging with his head down, but if he touches you, he’s putting you down.”
He was equally candid about his overall appreciation for the sport:
“I just appreciate wrestling a lot more than jiu-jitsu. No offense, guys.”
Coach Greg Souders, who trains the Corbe brothers at Standard Jiu-Jitsu, reinforced the point about wrestling culture being different in a fundamental way.
“Much more of a hard hat and lunch pail type of culture in wrestling. You know, it’s like I’m showing up to work. I’m doing hard work.”
Souders added that without the base level of effort that wrestling instills, the technical side of grappling never fully develops.
For Corbe, the lesson is simple.
“Who wants it bad, who wants it more.”
