Looking forward to working out with you at the San Diego seminar in Nov.
David
]]>Gracie was on one of the news shows the other night talking about the original UFC and sharing his views on fighters. After listening and watching him I’m more convinced then ever stand-up fighters we need to gain understanding of how people take you to the ground and of the ground fighting itself.
He also talked about the “skill level” of a fighter being the deciding factor. He said, If you have two street bums fighting, the fight will most likely always end up in a wrestling match or go to the ground, however if you have one skilled fighter and one street bum the advantage will go to the skilled fighter. (Of course I paraphrased his comments)
So where does that leave us on our discussion of the chicken and the egg, stand up vs. ground fighters (Transition to the ground or ground first)?
I’m convinced that if you have a skilled stand up fighter against a guy with moderate to no ground experience (I believe this is most of the people you will face on the street) then him trying to take you to the ground will be a non factor in determining the outcome of the confrontation. Now, if we move up the ladder of experience, and you happen to get into the altercation with an experienced ground fighter, and you just know stand-up, then you have a problem.
So I believe we need to break the training into two parts. If we are teaching a student with no formal training at all, then it is probably best to teach the ground work as we teach them the stand-up basics.
However, we also need to consider the experienced stand up fighters. If they are already good on their feet, then the focus should be on transitional moves, quick simple defensive moves against someone trying to take them down and ways to get back up should be taught as we learn the ground.
It comes down to playing to your strengths……… Example; I have long arms and legs and I’m best on my feet where I can kick and strike people. Why would I not want to stay there and be able to fight from my position of power?
My personal goal is to become good enough on the ground so if a fight goes there I do not get my ass kicked, however I no desire to abandon my stand up. And from that view point I need the middle ground filled in for me as I’m learning the ground…..
Your thoughts????
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