Cyph

Yes, Royler got knocked out... he pulled half-guard/guard too much

JohnnyS, what happened when the guys you choked out while bouncing woke up? I had a choke on a bloke here going back a couple of weeks ago, but let the choke go. He was pissed afterwards about it, so I'm thinking it may have been best to choke him out... or, he could have been more pissed when he woke up.

No, there is no way his Aikido would work on the street like that.

Lots of sparring?

Don't know, I can do a double jab which probably takes a second... but I am not that fast.

Well, it takes one step to get inside the punching range from the kicking range and unload. If you're not used to dealing with hands, you're gonna get hammered I think. In grappling, I think hands are way more effective since it's hard to kick from mount, etc. but knees are awesome from inside someone's guard and side control.

Seems like another typical Grappling Vs Striking thread. Most of the arguments have already been covered from both sides, but I would like to say that strikers don't know/understand the grappling range which makes them suspectible to take downs. Any grappling dojo worth their salt would have one person glove up while another practices their takedowns. Strikers realise how hard it is to keep the distance, grapplers learn their range where they can enter into the takedown. IMO, a striker who knows and understands the grappling range, particularly where they enter for the takedown is a dangerous fighter. Why argue over which is better? If a striker and a grappler clinch, it'll probably go to the ground with the grappler coming out on top, otherwise the grappler will most likely get KOed. They both complement each other nicely. Stop burying your head in the sand of ignorance and go train both.

I don't think it's really fair to pick people up on their grammar/spelling, especially since not everyone's first language is english... but it doesn't take long to insert a few commas or full stops and makes it so much easier to read if you can do it.

Fireman's carry up and down the mat is about my extent. I do some squats for my legs

Hey man, that's so very cool! Many, many congratulations! Saying John Will is a great example for anyone who wants to teach well is an understatement, he's absolutely amazing.

yeh, actively train in more than one martial art. They don't interfere with each other 'cause striking/grappling are two very different things, so they complement each others' weaknesses which is why I train in them. I didn't come straight out and say to my instructor, 'hey I'm gonna train in another art as well'. Why would he care? A lot of the guys at my dojo have trained in more than one art, or do.

Most of the guys I have respect for and vice versa, we go hard and we love it. The guys that can't take a beating seem to get beat on more than the guys who come back for more IMO. It's disrespect in a way, but it's a good thing... if you keep coming back for more, people will ease up and try to teach you things because they can see you want to learn. Persisting in the face of adversity is paramount to progressing in martial arts. There's two kinds of fights I like: getting my * beat on hardcore and a close match. Beating up on other people isn't fun (at least within your own dojo, guys from other dojos and tournaments are an exception), but I do beat on people because I know how much I enjoy it. ..if that makes sense.

Sprawl, then look for a guillotine.

BJJ by itself has no strikes. A lot of people like to mix BJJ up with striking and do what's called 'value tudo' or 'no holds barred'.

Go attend some classes. Position before submission. You need to be highly skilled to submit someone who has some ~100lbs of weight on you.

well i don't neccessarily need something that i can use WITH wing chun I would think otherwise, it's all about integrating the arts you study IMO so they become one. Shoot fighting would be good since you learn how to integrate striking & grappling. Though, if you just want to add ground figting to your art, nothing is better than BJJ since it specialises in positional domaince and joint locks. Wrestling is excellent for nasty takedowns; Judo has nice throws.

You need to establish yourself a base, so with the hand furthest away from his head, post in on the ground. Then with the other hand, post it on his face and push. As he realeases his grip, make sure you keep the underhook on his arm, grab your own wrist on the other hand, move your hips forward and keep them over the guy as you fall back into the armbar.

I think it's similar to the can opener.. ?

Go and practice your eye jabs?

I'd go with muay thai personally.

Assuming that martial arts is the study of combat, then cross training and becoming a well rounded martial artist is essential these days if you're training with the forementioned definition in mind. Ever since the hype of the UFC the Gracies generated by defeating much larger and stronger opponents than themselves, everyone has rushed off to study BJJ/GJJ or some form of ground fighting since they thought it was the 'ultimate' martial art. While BJJ is an excellent art that doesn't rely so much on strength, but more on technique and skill, I don't think it's the ultimate art, or the be all and end all of arts. The Gracies exploited a major flaw in practically every martial artists' arsenal - lack of knowledge on the ground. These days anybody who doesn't know their way on the ground is finished in a matter of seconds by any well rounded fighter. Also, is it a coincidence we no longer see pure grapplers entering the UFC (with the exception of like such as Frank Mir), but nearly everyone trains in striking, clinching & grappling? I realise that the UFC is not reality fighting, but is merely a sport. However, it is as possible that we can get to reality training without causing serious injury to ourselves and our partners. The way mixed martial artists train is far superior to any other method which is what makes them superior martial artists, their training is what Matt Thornton calls alive and all their techniques are continually pressure tested, so they learn to control their fear, deal with the adrenalin rush(es), take hard hits, give out hard hits, etc. all of which will prepare them for a real confrontation better than anything else. Of course, there is much more to self defense, particularly pre-fight during the verbal exchange and Geoff Thompson (https://www.geoffthompson.com) offers excellent insight into the pre-fight for anyone who hasn't experienced it before, while breaking it down in an articulate manner. For those of you who want to argue, 'my art is too deadly for the ring', 'they have rules which put limits on the fighters and my art', 'my art has no need to prove itself' or along similar lines... I say, wake up and get with the times! We have seen what happens to karate masters in the UFC, or practioners other arts such as Silat... they get destroyed! No, it is not because they're not allowed to use techniques that will kill their opponent. Not allowing groin kicks, eye jabs, hair pulling, etc. would not make a difference. If you can't punch someone in the face, how can you possibly hope to jab them in the eye? Grabbing someone's groin while underneath the mount leaves you open for your opponent to hail down with punches & elbows on top of you. Your opponent can use all these dirty tactics, plus more on you since he has a superior position where he can apply significantly more leverage than you can from the bottom. How can you hope to beat someone who has fast hands & good defense against punches, solid kicks & good defense against kicks, clinch skills along with knees & elbows and the ability to control you on the ground? The pure boxer will get destroyed with kicks, the kicker who lacks behind with his punches will soon cop a few too many punches in the face, the grappler's in serious strife if he can't take the fight down to the ground or defend agaist strikes. I realise most fights are one-on-one, but I wanted to point out the vulnerabilities by only knowing one range. In a real fight, there are far too many variables to plan on fighting in one range. What happens when you're punching someone and they clinch with you to smother the effects of the punches and you end up on the ground rolling around on the floor? It's certainly not the ideal place to be, but knowing your way on the ground provides you with more options and tools in your arsenal to do whatever it is you need to do to protect yourself and win the fight. This might mean choking the guy out on the ground, or getting to your feet as soon as possible. By having knowledge in each range, we can help to steer the fight into the range that we're most comfortable with in the situation. This might mean getting back onto your feet after you hit the ground (and don't think you won't ever hit the ground in a fight), or it might mean taking the fight to the ground if the circumstances call for it.

For your hands, I think boxing is the best art you can train them in. But, boxing alone does leave serious flaws in the martial artist's arsenal. I've seen excellent boxers do weird stuff when they start getting kicked low, they drop their hands and start to try and block the kicks with their hands which leaves them open to punches. That's why you cross train. Combine that with the kicks of muay thai and some grappling, then you've got a nicely well rounded fighter who should be able to exploit a pure boxer.

I'm terribly guilty of it..... I guess changes are in order!

I very much agree. Rest is when your muscles grow. More rest = bigger, faster and stronger!

Why are you working muscles in isolation? That won't give you functional strength which will transfer over into fighting. You need to stick to the compound exercises which include bench press, military press, deadlift, squat. The big key to gaining weight is your diet. If you're not providing your body with sufficient nutrients, it won't be able to repair tissues and grow!