When you step onto the mat to engage an opponent in a grappling competition, the action is up close and personal. Matches take a really long time, the exact opposite strategy of what you would want in warfare. Heck, you can spend a full round in the guard or take two or three minutes trying to get an armbar, in part because the other guy’s friends aren’t circling around trying to kick your head in while you’re doing it. While all these things take a great amount of skill and are important in their own right, their value diminishes in a combative situation. In the ring, you are not engaging an enemy at your preferred distance, on your terms, and ending the fight as expeditiously as possible.
You already know we’re not going to get into the “this art form is better than that art form” argument. However, there are differences that matter. Those differences are determined by several factors, some of which include the health of the person, their body type, their mental state, and their level of training.
The ancient concepts of battle will be revisited and renewed. Not ancient techniques but tried-and-true, battle-tested strategies that have been proven successful. Modern interpretations of these ancient concepts and strategies will be demonstrated and explored as form follows function—environments change, and so should martial arts. The moral implications of such combative actions will also be addressed briefly. Our goal is to make these concepts usable, not to pontificate.
Thankfully more people are involved in sports than in combat. There are more citizens than soldiers. So in the interest of accessibility, the sport aspect of grappling is used as an entry point as it is the most common experience. We have tried to put some context around the applications and even give y’all a little history lesson to prove our points. But, without exception, historical and contemporary greats have been left out of the discussion. These omissions are not an affront; they keep this book reasonable in size and focus.
We’re style agnostic here, and we use techniques you’ve probably seen before, but what’s shown are merely examples. There is no way we can be comprehensive in a single tome. By the time you finish, you will understand how common applications can be modified for sport, drunkle, and combat environments. Take the principles you learn and apply them to whatever style you study.
While not everyone competes in tournaments, virtually anyone could find themselves in a situation where they face a combat or drunkle encounter. If you have studied a martial sport or practice a martial art to help keep yourself safe from violence, odds are good you’ve discovered a proclivity for either stand-up fighting or grappling. Given these predilections, here’s how the materials apply.
If you are a boxer, karateka, taekwondo practitioner, or some other type of stand-up fighter, this book is designed for you. The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an excellent example of the cross-breeding of stand-up and ground techniques. Mixed martial arts demonstrate that skilled grapplers can use their expertise to overcome a standup fighter/striker who has limited ground experience. This is not a disparaging remark toward the stand-up fighter, nor an assertion of technical superiority for the ground fighter, merely a reflection of a moment in time, a fact.
MMA rules tend to give grapplers the upper hand in the ring in some ways, but let’s face it, you need a broad skill set to survive on the street too. How many fights wind up on the ground? It’s not the ninety percent that some people think, but it’s certainly a lot of them. Could be the one you find yourself in… Think about how badly you will get hurt if you wind up in a situation for which you have no response. Stand-up fighters need a ground game too.
If you are a grappler, a person that spends a lot of time on his hands, knees, and back, then this book is also for you. Ne-waza, or groundwork, is a great form of training. It can produce a high level of grappling acuity that can be used in a stress situation. It’s something you need to experience to become good at. But, if you use sporting applications in a life-or-death struggle then, well, let’s just say it won’t end well… On the street, you need to think like a striker even when you’re applying grappling techniques.
Whether you use groundwork or stand-up, in a real fight you need to have an “end it now” attitude. For grapplers, this book will help you isolate your skills so as to take advantage of a situation and finish a conflict quickly. For stand-up fighters, you will discover that the ground oftentimes hits harder than you can. You will learn ways to take advantage of that too.
Let’s face it; you cannot learn the applications shown here without spending significant time on the mat. Find a good instructor and practice. Learning how to differentiate tactics and techniques you already know for sport, drunkle, or all-out combat will take that practice to a whole new level.
It was the first time I’d ever made it to the finals. Win and I’d take home the first place trophy; lose and it’d still be a pretty cool piece of hardware. I’d come in third a couple of times, but the little statues weren’t nearly as prestigious as the big ones. And I really, really wanted to earn one of the big ones.
Jumping up and down a couple times I loosened my shoulders and then twisted my head to each side to pop my neck. I stepped up to the line thinking, “Okay, I am so ready for this.”
“Hajime!”
The referee dropped his hand and we surged forward, working our grips and jockeying for position. I got a hold of him, crashed forward, and attempted an osoto gari foot sweep. I had pretty good timing, but didn’t get enough hip rotation so it failed. Before I could move to something else, he countered with the same technique.
I landed awkwardly, but on my side, taking him down with me so he didn’t score a point. But he did get a hold of my lapel, simultaneously wrapping his legs around my waist. I drove an elbow down, made a wedge, and tried to twist away. I was vaguely aware of pressure on my neck, but didn’t really think anything about it… until I woke up.
Damn, he’d choked me out. How the hell did that happen so fast?
At least I’d get a shot at a rematch next month…
The attributes of sports are:
• Pageantry
• Timelines
• Scoring
• Competitors able to compete again after the match
Combat differs in that it is an open and armed conflict with intent to kill the enemy and/or destroy their infrastructure. There may be some level of pageantry, but rarely a timeline, and “scoring” is based on killing the opponent and/or breaking his will to continue to fight. Many participants do not survive. Those who do are often never the same again, requiring lengthy rehabilitation for serious physical or, in some cases, mental