Stick N’ Move…

Martial arts culture is full of rivalries and dichotomies: traditional training vs. sport training, eastern arts vs. western arts, hard vs. soft. The list goes on. One rivalry, however, is one I’d eventually like to see put to rest. I’m talking about strikers vs. grapplers. In my mind, striking techniques and grappling techniques are but tools for achieving an objective. I began my martial arts training in the striking arts: Kenpo, Karate, and Taekwondo. Now I train Gracie Jiu-jitsu. Very seldom did these two different strategies meet for me in class, but now I see a little of one in the other can make a good fighter great.
Since I usually talk about the many virtues of Jiu-jitsu, I want to point out the incredible usefulness and versatility of strikes. I do agree that grappling is more appropriate for all levels of violence, since grappling techniques can be as gentle as they are effective. Strikes, however, are useful tools for opening opportunities, disrupting your opponent’s movements, and causing some quick, obvious damage. This is assuming, of course, that your opponent has become assaultive, and you are legally justified in hitting him.
Striking has so many great uses besides simply knocking someone out. One is to simply cause your opponent to move. Throwing jabs and crosses at your opponent’s face, for example, can cause him to cover his face with his hands and even change his posture, thus making him easier to approach and grapple. Mounting your opponent and striking him from above can, besides causing him to surrender, force him to raise his arms in defense, opening the way for an armbar or a shoulder lock.
Strikes can also cause your opponent to hesitate, stumble, or otherwise abandon their intended movement. Is he rushing towards you with his fist raised, ready to strike? A simple push kick to his leg or hip can stop his movement dead in its tracks, or even cause him to stumble and fall. Is he trying to grab your groin when you’ve mounted him (don’t laugh, we’re all adults here!)? A simple elbow to his face, even if it doesn’t connect, can convince him that such an exchange would not be in his favor.
I like how many things you can achieve through a little blunt force trauma. I’ve never been confident in knockout strategies. Knockouts are harder to get than most people think. As a grappler, however, I highly value any tactic that can help me close the distance with my opponent or illicit a predictable reaction from them. Though Gracie Jiu-jitsu takes up the bulk of my training, I sometimes pull out the target mitts and drill a few combos and my footwork.
Grapplers: how do you incorporate striking into your training?
Strikers: how do you incorporate grappling into your training?

Submission or Nothing…

Here is a trailer for the upcoming Pro Jiu-jitsu Invitational, Metamoris 2:

I am excited. For those of you unfamiliar with Jiu-jitsu tournaments, this is a unique movement in the art. Normally, Jiu-jitsu tournaments have a point system and a relatively short time limit of about 7 minutes or so. If no fighter has been submitted by the end of the time limit, the winner is decided by points accumulated through takedowns, sweeps, and establishing positions. It’s a lot like wrestling. Metamoris, however, features no points and a 20 minute time limit. You must win by submission. If neither fighter submits the other by the end of the time limit, the match is declared a draw. This is Jiu-jitsu at, what many practitioners agree, its purest. It’s a competition that accurately captures the finer points of the art as it was originally created.

This is also an opportunity for those uninitiated into the intricacies of grappling to see the art in action. These are among the best fighters the art has to offer. I hope you enjoy it. I know I will!

Pass the popcorn…

What is your favorite martial arts tournament?