Ground combat attempted for the first time tonight

[garrym]

Unbelieveable stuff, pure power, aggression and just a little bit evil!!!

Had never even seen it until tonight, seen one bout and was thrown straght in against the instructor, who to be fair allowed me to identify gaps and let me know where I could be caught before near on choking me!

2nd bout against one of the sensei, I nearly won!!!

5 minute bout and I am shattered. Although I am a tall guy, 6ft 4 I am quite slim and did not consider that I could do this well. Sensei is about 6ft, and although he won congratulated me on my first real bout, he was really suprised at how I took to it naturally and the hidden strength I have. I refused to submit when he had me in painful grasps and managed to get out of them and turn the tables 3 or 4 times countering every attack he made with one of my own. Only lost cos he eventually got his heel into my throat and I tapped out.

Anyway story over, I have an idea where the pressure points are, but how would I go about finding them accurately, say for instance on myself? I did not think I had the aggression or strength for these things but I appear to be bloody good at the grapple, finding these would be huge!

P.S. turns out I dont have the pressure point at my elbow as the sensei found out to his cost

[MMA_Jim]

You have better alternatives to using pressure points when you're grappling, and they're not going to work against someone who is himself a grappler. Chokes and joint locks are better alternatives

[tallgeese]

Agreed.

Focus on more "traditional" ground weapons. You'll find that they will be more effective against a wider range of situations. It's nice to have other stuff in the arsenal, espically when not constrained by competitive rules, but stick to the "bread and butter" stuff so to speak till you're well versed in the basics.

I'd also offer that to really excel, focus on your position training and posture more tahn anything early. Everything functions off of the abilility to control position. Drill it constantly. You'll find it'll lead to a much greater skill increase.

[bushido_man96]

I have never been a fan of pressure points, either. They are hit and miss, whereas you know how the elbow works, and it is relatively easy to find as a joint.

[ps1]

For the most part, pressure points are useless in ground combat. You're better off using leverage based techniques. Case in point...your sensei couldn't find it on you. Now make that a life and death situation. That could be a big problem.

[garrym]

For the most part, pressure points are useless in ground combat. You're better off using leverage based techniques. Case in point...your sensei couldn't find it on you. Now make that a life and death situation. That could be a big problem.

That is something that not I think about it, I will most definitly use. OK so I am stronger than I though but I am assuming my height, even when on the floor will be of huge help when it comes to leverage? Using legs and arms to my advantage.

I will concentrate on these, but I really dont seem to have that pressure point, the instructor tried it on me standing up and accused me of being dead

[tallgeese]

That's why I view them as a highly suspect tool. Handy, maybe, but not a reliable instrument. Physiology is just too different person to person and the stakes might be too high allow for any "maybe" movement.

I do think they are worth knowing at a rudimentary level. Just not the best tactical option to choose from in most cases.

[JusticeZero]

Striking on the floor is.. wierd. You think you're throwing powerful swings, but they just aren't. There's a few things to remember..

Hands are for walking, feet are for striking; you're not going to be able to generate enough power to punch effectively. How do you generate power to punch? You shift your weight and drive through with your center. On the floor? That center is bolted down or very close to it, and has potential energy darned near zero.

Other than your shoulders, you only have whatever you can get from gross flexing of your torso, rolling, bracing, or twisting - and you're not going to be able to do most of those effectively with your arms as a striking tool. I can eat shoulder punches in my sleep. So can you. That's why people like to revert to headbutts on the floor.. which work okay if you're hitting soft targets, but if they tilt their head down you're going to kick your own behind.

If you get into wrestling range, just call it in and grapple. You don't want to be there, but they likely don't either. Shake them off and get back to where things make more sense.

[Throwdown0850]

Striking on the floor is.. wierd. You think you're throwing powerful swings, but they just aren't. There's a few things to remember..

Hands are for walking, feet are for striking; you're not going to be able to generate enough power to punch effectively. How do you generate power to punch? You shift your weight and drive through with your center. On the floor? That center is bolted down or very close to it, and has potential energy darned near zero.

Other than your shoulders, you only have whatever you can get from gross flexing of your torso, rolling, bracing, or twisting - and you're not going to be able to do most of those effectively with your arms as a striking tool. I can eat shoulder punches in my sleep. So can you. That's why people like to revert to headbutts on the floor.. which work okay if you're hitting soft targets, but if they tilt their head down you're going to kick your own behind.

If you get into wrestling range, just call it in and grapple. You don't want to be there, but they likely don't either. Shake them off and get back to where things make more sense.

I agree with this, but sometimes things don't workout as planned in a SD situation, and if we managed to get to the ground im still gonna try and strike him even though the strikes may not be as powerful, but it also doesnt take much to KO someone either. but I still agree, I would firstly try and get him off and back on my feet.

[JusticeZero]

It's not a matter of 'not as powerful' it's a matter of beating on him with marshmallows. It's a waste of time and energy to just throw punches from the floor imagining they'll work the same. There's a few strikes you can do there, but they all look very different from standing.