SubGrappler

That's a good point, mean. When I teach knife defense, I tell my students that if the person with the knife has any clue at all, they WILL get cut in a confrontation, and to only take the person on if they have absolutely no other choice. If the person with the knife has any clue at all of what they're doing, the other person most likely wont survive the confrontation.....

I remember there being a thread not too long ago asking about TKD clips that could be downloaded. Heres what I have seen to be the best one out there. http://www.darshantkd.com/videos/Adam%20Complete.WMV This kid and his fellow students are quite acrobatic. Enjoy!

Yes but I feel that (and its only my humble opinion), the whole sytem should be learnt, get a 4th dan in grappling as well as striking. That would make you truly dangerous or secure....whichever way you want to see it!! Depends what your 4th dan in grappling is in..... All I am trying to say is get an equivalent of what you are aiming for in your strike art! Also Judokas are respected just as much as BJJ!! http://judoinfo.com/kimura.htm Did you think I wouldnt know who Kimura is or that he beat a much older and much younger Helio? Judo is a great martial art, theres no debating that, but it is NOT the same as BJJ (that does not mean that its either better or worse). There was an interview that used to be on sherdog with the Camirillo brothers directed at BJJ vs Judo, since they regularly compete in both. They were olympic judokas prior to training in BJJ and what they have to say is this: Theres a debate in Judo vs BJJ which most people agree that if you want to learn groundwork, do BJJ and if you want throws, do Judo. For some reason, almost everyone acknowledges that Judo has better throws, but that BJJ has better groundwork is hotly debated. Long interview short, they say that a top notch Judoka (Olympic athelte) could never stand up to a top notch BJJ on the ground (Mundials champion such as Roger Gracie or Nino Schembri) just the same way that those two would get tossed around the room if they played standup with them. Yes, there are people in Judo who have rather skilled ground games, and yes many of them do quite well in MMA competition as of late, but the accomplishments of a few do not outweigh the failures of the many- there are far more Judokas in the world than BJJ fighters and the reason BJJ wins on the ground is the same reason Judo wins on the feet.

You learn how to do the move. First thing is first- you need to know what it is that you're trying to do. You cant put everything together on someone who keeps fighting you. That is the initial part of learning the technique. It works like this: Practice on a nonresisting opponent to figure out what you're trying to do with what parts of your body. When you get comfortable with that, your training partner starts to add a little resistance and you try this in situational drills (i.e. I start with the position and when I say go, I try to make the move work while you try to defend and ecape it). This is the next step in learning the move Finally, the last test is actually being able to pull the technique off in a full out sparring session- being able to get to the position on your own and make it work against a fully resisting opponent That is what TJS was implying. You are correct if you were to ONLY practice a technique against a non resisting opponent you'd end up with lots of techniques that you'd never be any good at.

Yes but I feel that (and its only my humble opinion), the whole sytem should be learnt, get a 4th dan in grappling as well as striking. That would make you truly dangerous or secure....whichever way you want to see it!! Depends what your 4th dan in grappling is in..... The most respected grappler with a belt would natrually be the BJJ fighter. To get a 4th degree in that would take roughly 20 years, give or take a few, and the degrees only suggest length of time as a black belt, not skill level (there are plenty regular black belts who will handle a 3rd, 4th, 5th, or 6th degree black belt) Harold Howard for instance went ahead and got himself a black belt in some ju jitsu in Canada, but still didnt know how to fight on the ground- he got G&P'ed by a TKD fighter that he outweighed. A black belt does not mean you can fight. We all agree that the best thing is to actually learn the system, but he was asking if that were not possible, in which case you focus on the highest percentage moves (i.e. I cant train boxing anywhere- what combos should I work on? (jab cross))

You may not want to hear it, but you've already got the answer to your own question. Nothing will enable you to improve better than quality training time. Just be sure that your training sessions have a purpose and that you're not just mindlessly rolling around. Always have a particular technique you're trying to work on each time you train, whether it be a submission, sweep, guard pass, whatever.

Far too many people get an over inflated ego when they start to climb the ranks- this does not save them from criticism. If the dispute is over a particular technique either you're doing the tech right, your instructor's doing it wrong, you're wrong, your instructor is right, or you're both right or both wrong. Debate with him and say "I've found that this works best." If he cant refute it with anything but "do it like this because I said" then your technique is applicable and you higher rank needs to learn some humility or drop down a few ranks until he learns how to teach.

Bruce was probably the first true mixed martial artist, but he was far from superhuman. He had the skills in grappling and striking, but in the end, his frail 135lb frame would most likely have proven to be his downfall against the likes of 220+ lb fighters such as Ken Shamrock, Dan Severn, and Kimo to name a few.

Andrew's post gives some good advice- everything is always moving, but in terms of defense.... In your opponents guard.-- either a grip on the lapels around the chest area to prevent your opponent from sitting up to form any kind of attack In your opponents mount-- elbows down your sides with your triceps/elbows having contact with the ground. Lifting your elbows even just slightly is all an experienced grappler needs to walk up into a high mount and basically end your match. Your opponent in your guard.-- dont have to worry so much about your neck in this position- a commonplace for hands here is one in your opponents collar (with a deep grip) and another grip on the sleeve to allow for sweep/choke combinations. You mount your opponent.-- one hand in the collar is always a good thing Cross side (you on top).-- once again, not too much of a threat against you- one hand controlling the hips and the other controlling the head is a good way to maintain the position (but not so much attack) Cross side (on the bottom).-- same as mount bottom North/South (both respects). same as above Basically for the inferior bottom positions, having your hands close to your body is better than wrapping your opponent which will make escaping far more difficult. Your opponent on your back.-- depending on which side he wants to try to choke- you want to completely block off that side by touching your bicep to your ear as if you've got an itch in the middle of your back. This prevents the attacking hand from choking your neck (rather if he goes around your arm, he simply chokes your armpit).

Sprawl for shot attempts. Single leg takedown defenses. Pummeling drill (for defending from the clinch) Standing up in base (usefull to get back to your feet when on the bottom with the guard) Mount escape (bump and roll)

Agreed I dont agree that it creates bad habits, and on top of that, they're not going to fight anyone outside the ring who would be even remotely good enough to take advantage of their bad habits if they developed them. These guys train to fight like its a full time job. The ring isnt for everyone, and even most people who do BJJ never compete, even though thats what's made the art popular. You have a misconception about grappling though. People say its not practical to roll around on the ground for 10 minutes looking for a sub- well its just as unpractical to stand up and slug it out for 10 minutes looking for a knockout. I've seen submissions end a fight far quicker than I have KO's (not that I havent seen quick KO's). The matches get drawn out because they're fighting against an opponent who is also trained in grappling- they know what each other are trying to get and how to escape that situation. Just as your good right jab is going to defeat 70% of the population, so will a decent armbar. A good example is Frank Mir vs Tank Abbott. Tank isnt known for his submissions or submission defense, because he doesnt like them at all. In his fight vs Mir though, it only took 46 seconds to tap him out, which seems rather practical to me.

I can handle that approach- the way I read your first argument it sounded that you were arguing that MMA is only a sport and that "my japanese master" would handle these guys.

"Claim?" MMA systems DO teach these types of fighting. The irony of your post is that if you probe deeply, you wrote it backwards. Mixed martial arts has evidence of its techniques actually working. The same can not be said of traditional arts. Perhaps they decided not to stay because: 1: the were called to duty 2: simply arent dedicated. 3: were not impressed with the style/system/classes 4: the classes were too difficult for them. I dont know about you, but I've seen MMA styles that are worth only for a ring- not even practical unless your opponent wants to stay fighting with you for a while to see who gets knocked down first... good fighters do arise, but its not because of the style, but because of how they train. I think if he mentioned the rangers and military he meant that they couldnt take the classes. And for someone who is supposed to be accustomed to taking hard training, desertion is not what is expected of them. Feel free to give examples. If you're opponent decides he doesnt want to stay and trade punches with you, (i.e. run away) that means hes not going to fight you anymore. You've done a good job of defending yourself.

Then comes a completely different topic. If someone tells me that they're doing a specific martial art for fun, I have no problems whatsoever and dont criticize in the least if I see a class full of bogus techniques and philosophies. The problem occurs when these people pick a poor fighting style (which is irrelevant if you're looking for a hobby) but then they assume that because they're taking "martial arts" they're deadly, know how to fight, but must avoid doing so at all costs because they're too deadly. Why must people challenge martial arts? Because martial arts are like a science. If you have an idea, you have to open it to criticism. If it withstands the test, then you've got something credible here. You pull at all the edges and see if any loose stuff comes off. Mixed martial arts are strictly about fighting, and theres no two ways about it, you're going to learn how to fight much more effectively with mixed martial arts than you will with any other single art (this includes TMA's). To reasoning here is rather simple- you're taking the best from both worlds and developing it into one. You'll be an effective fighter on your feet, in the clinch, and on the ground. Now, if you want to talk about things such as situational awareness (i.e. I noticed this guy is following me... etc) thats a different topic. Mixed martial arts skips all the precursors of a fight and gets right to the fight itself, teaching you how to deal with that. When it comes to that, there is yet to be a better system .

"Claim?" MMA systems DO teach these types of fighting. The irony of your post is that if you probe deeply, you wrote it backwards. Mixed martial arts has evidence of its techniques actually working. The same can not be said of traditional arts. Perhaps they decided not to stay because: 1: the were called to duty 2: simply arent dedicated. 3: were not impressed with the style/system/classes 4: the classes were too difficult for them.

Karate, those are statistics from the sherdog website http://www.sherdog.com/stats/fightendings_ratio.htm Armbars work fine in "the street" as well. Common sense would have it that I may not want to fight on the ground when there are numerous people involved. Common sense should have that you dont want to fight PERIOD when you're outnumbered. Whether the fight takes place on the ground or the feet, you're going to be at a great disadvantage.

In response to those who constantly refer to MMA as solely a "sport" bear in mind that the mixed martial artists you see in the UFC and Pride Fighting Championship are THE BEST fighters in the WORLD- BAR NONE. As far as martial arts being about "not fighting" thats completely incorrect- martial arts are about fighting. If the people who trained in these styles NEVER fought, they would NEVER have devised these systems, techniques, or strategies. Fighting is like any other physical activity- the more experience you get, the better you become at it. You progress through hard physical training just as you would in basketball, football or anything else. To those who feel that their "masters" have never competed because martial arts are against fighting, that more often than not is a cover- many of these people are truely scared to step in the ring and find out if what they've been training in for the past 20 years will really work. The are countless more karate, TKD, and kung fu fighters in the world when compared to jiu jitsu fighters, yet how does the MMA world see so many of one and none of the other? There are specific reasons for this (and its not because style x is "too deadly" for the ring). There are many critics of MMA, for example the original poster speaking of leaving your neck exposed- by all means step into the ring and prove your point- neck strikes are perfectly legal in Pride. Too many of these critics base everything on theory, and there is all the difference in the world between theory and reality (as the first MMA events showed).

Thats not true. Adrenaline does a great job of sapping all of your energy from you. Adrenaline makes you feel great for about 10-20 seconds if you decide to go beserk and crazy. If you dont get the job done by then (or do significant damage) then you're in some trouble. I've been in a few street fights and have whitness'd many more. I've never seen anyone tire out after a 10-20 second burst of rage. Also' date=' none of the fights lasted longer than 2 or 3 min. In a competition/sport, you'd be in trouble. Based on personal experiences, adrenaline induced rage has last'd long after the fight is over.[/quote'] The adrenaline dump is certain to stay in your system, but that doesnt change the fact. Most people dont fight often, therefore they're not accustomed to it. I didnt say that people fell over dead after 20 seconds, but merely that they're exhausted after that initial surge of "craziness" so many people resort to. The reason you dont see the other guy beat him senseless is because he's experiencing the same thing. Its not so much the skill of the individual in a fight that determines how quickly its concluded as it is the comparitive skill of BOTH the fighters (and weight disparity as well). For instance, Roy Jones Jr. could quickly defeat and knock out some scrub who has no training whatsoever, due mostly to the difference in experience between the two fighters. When he fights another professional boxer, it suddenly becomes a fight that becomes drawn out, because the other boxer knows how to defend properly and counterattack as well. Well, I said the more experienced martial artist. Roy Jones would fall into the 'more experienced' category in your scrub scenario. Also, Roy has knock'd out several well train'd boxers in short stints. Roy was just the more experience fighter in the matchup. Besides, as I've said earlier, street fights (from my own personal experience) don't last more than a few minutes, no matter the skill of the fighters. Rules of the ring make fights long and drawn out. Rules of the street keeps 'em short. I thought there were no rules on the street? Fights carry themselves the same way regardless the situation. A fight that's broken up is not a fight that's decided. Thats basically what the cage does- keep them at it until the fight is decided. If you did the same thing on the street, the fights could very well last just as long. Besides that, there are MANY fights in UFC and MMA events which dont progess past the first round (less than 5 minutes).

Is there a link to the tournament you're fighting in? Do you have a list of rules for techniques allowed/illegal? Its always good experience to fight in any tournament, but you should also take into account what the rules are. If you're only a white belt and you're fighting in an absolute no gi division, I would be quick to ask about heel hooks. If you dont know what they are, you wont know when you're caught in one, and if you wait until you feel the pain to tap, its already done its damage. If they're illegal, then you'll most likely have nothing to fear in terms of a long term injury.

I would suggest you stick with either the Judo or the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, whether you're looking for sport or practical self defense.

If Pride allowed elbows on the ground, I'd have no reason to watch UFC.

Philosophy and the art of fighting without fighting are mental and verbal skills that can be trained otherwise. A martial arts school should be teaching you how to fight- bottom line. You walk away from a conflict without fighting- fine, but you need to address what to do when you cant do this.

Ankle picks are always a welcomed option. If your guard is weak though, thats all the more reason to pull. You should be trying to improve in training rather than simply beat your opponents.

The most basic of takedowns I can suggest (and explain online) would be a double underhooks body lock. Im going to assume that your boxing opponent had no grappling experience whatsoever and that you should dominate the clinch. Once you get to the clinch "pummel" your way into getting double underhooks (pummeling is a way to get inside control- ask your instructor about it). Once you get both underhooks, you're going to slide your grip down to his hips and suck them in like a bearhug and you drive your head (forehead should be right in his chest) forward. This basically bends the guy backwards in half and often allows for a good opportunity to mount an inexperienced person. There are variations of this move which include numerous trips, but give this one a try first.

The screaming in an attempt to intimidate the opponent is greatly outweighed by the other consequences of it. Screaming, yelling, or anything of that sort is not a good idea in a fight. Not only are they wasting vast amounts of energy as White Warlock pointed out, but by screaming, they do a good job of opening their jaw rather than clinching their teeth. The first decent punch they catch is going to send them to the ground unconcious.