Value of grappling arts for self defense?

[ps1]

I feel that a good grappling base is every bit as important as a good striking base. That does not, however, mean that you need to be a BJJ black belt..or even a purple or brown belt for that matter. By the time I earned blue belt I could easily beat anyone who walked through the door with no BJJ/JJ background. That includes the wrestlers. Blue belt represents about 1 to 1.5 yrs of BJJ training. Everything after that teaches you how to beat other BJJ stylists...which is fun but not necessary.

Basically you need to know the following:

Sprawl, Upa, Elbow escape, Escape from side control, Choke defense, Closing the distance, Armbar (from all basic positions), triangle choke, rear naked choke, Oma Plata, Kimura, Americana, how to hold side control, obtaining mount, guard passes, Sit over sweep, Scissor sweep, headlock defense, cross choke, t-position takedowns and a few others I may not be thinking of as I write this. In addition...you need to know how and when to flow between them...otherwise they are just useless techniques.

This alone will not help you, however. You also need some basic stand-up skills. My suggestions would be:

Knee strikes, elbow strikes, Low line round house, front kick, jab, cross, hook (maybe), comb the hair block, leg check (maybe) FOOTWORK (stacking opponents and getting angles). Just like the grappling, you must be able to effectively flow through all of theses and know when to use which ones.

Lastly are some basic movements that work to defend against an armed opponent. The more all encompassing the better. We loose fine motor skills with excitement.

No matter wether you're grappling or striking you should always have good target recognition. The victory will go to the person who is able to seize the moment most effectively.

There are other factors such as aggression and will to live that can never be factored in until the moment arises.

This is not meant to be a complete list...but rather just illustrating a point. Grappling and Striking are the same. Each is equally important. Grappling is great if you're taken by surprise and didn't have the opportunity to strike. Striking is great when the opportunity presents itself. To completely exclude one or the other from self defense training is delusional and foolish. IMO

[bushido_man96]

Very well said, ps1. Spoken with experience behind it.

[granitemiller]

Yes, well stated ps1

[cross]

Great post ps1. Totally agree. Particularly:

I feel that a good grappling base is every bit as important as a good striking base. That does not, however, mean that you need to be a BJJ black belt..or even a purple or brown belt for that matter. By the time I earned blue belt I could easily beat anyone who walked through the door with no BJJ/JJ background. That includes the wrestlers. Blue belt represents about 1 to 1.5 yrs of BJJ training. Everything after that teaches you how to beat other BJJ stylists...which is fun but not necessary.