Kano Jigoro’s judo is a sport but BJJ is not? That’s like saying Helio Gracie’s BJJ was developed to be a sport. Both have developed over the years to be more accommodating for tournament play. That does not mean that judo in itself is purely a sport; nor is BJJ.
Both judo and BJJ in full combat form would be so similar to one another that they would be practically indistinguishable from one another. They’ve just developed over the years to emphasize different things as based upon their tournament organizers’ wishes and desires. But at heart they’re one and the same. Hell, most actual judo schools have you work on your ground work for months before they even begin you on the throwing.
As for grappling’s applicability in real life situations- Like I wrote earlier, I’ve been in many situations while rolling around where I noticed that I was in a great position to strike someone in the groin, neck, head, what have you. Obviously they would have been in the same position at some point. Maybe a black belt would never even allow me to get into that kind of position. The highest belt I’ve actually rolled with was a brown belt. It doesn’t change the fact that getting onto the ground, for whatever reason, and then not spending every moment of your time standing up and trying to take advantage of your opponent being on the ground is silly. What are you going to do on the ground anyhow? Break their arms? Why not just stomp on their ribs instead? Their head? Are you going to just hold them on the ground till they calm down?
For what purpose are you engaging on the ground? That is always the question I have when I hear people saying their BJJ will help them on a street fight. Your purpose is either to either incapacitate your opponent in a manner so that they cannot fight back or give you the opportunity to run away.
Grappling’s existence is fairly easy to at least think on - It removed the importance of both armored and better equipped enemies by using effective body mechanics. Plus swords and stabbing weapons. Effective grappling places you in a dominant position over your opponent. Then you either break their limbs or stab them. A proper judo throw always has you holding onto their arm fully extended. Not all that difficult to place your full weight onto their arm. Not that difficult to reach for a weapon while they’re on the ground either. Real bona fide warfare is different from street fights, in much the same way street fights are different from tournaments. There are different expectations and rules and realities.
Most random folks do not walk around surrounded by some type of armor that makes fist striking or weapons not particularly useful against them. But if they were, then effective grappling on your part will completely defeat them.
