Lessons from the ring
Sunday, 17 September 2006
If you are interested in self-defense you would be wise to look at some of the lessons taught through the evolution of martial sports, especially no holds barred fighting. Let’s start with jiu-jitsu. This art was developed in Japan for self-defense purposes. Jiu-jitsu utilizes all types of striking, throws, and ground fighting to defeat an attacker. In fact most of the techniques are so dangerous that they could only be practiced in a slow, controlled envionment. Nobody wants to get injured training, so great care had to be taken during practice. Along came a man named Jigoro Kano who decided to take a portion of jiu-jitsu and turn it into a sport. He created judo where the participants cannot strike, but are allowed to do many throws along with some grappling. The participants of judo did not practice in that slow, controlled environment, but instead practiced applying their techniques against someone who was fighting their every move. Guess what happened? The judo practitioners developed a very high level of skill. Through sparring they developed proper timing, improved the techniques, and developed themselves into combat athletes. When a good judo player sparred with a good traditional jiu-jitsu man, the judo player dominated. It became apparent that whoever practiced athletically, even if he had fewer techniques to choose from, would become the better fighter. Being able to demonstrate techniques against a cooperative opponent just did not translate well to applying those techniques against someone who was fighting back. About this time a very good jiu-jitsu teacher moved from Japan to Brazil. He ended up teaching the Gracie family the art of Japanese jiu-jitsu. Things are different in Brazil, and the Brazilians had no problem competing with jiu-jitsu with very few rules. Instead of slowly practicing the more dangerous techniques of jiu-jitsu with a partner, they got in the ring and went all out against anyone who would step up to the challenge. This environment changed the direction of jiu-jitsu. The Gacies had to be innovative to adapt the art to the “no rules” arena. Of course, the result was Gracie jiu-jitsu, which is quite different from the original jiu-jitsu. They key is that they practiced athletically, like judo, but without so many rules. Guess what happened? When a judo player went against a Gracie jiu-jitsu player, even without striking, the jiu-jistu player invariably won. The circle was completed. The lesson is that if you rain athletically with fewer restrictions you have more options that you can actually apply.Fast forward to the nineties. Gracie jiu-jitsu comes to America in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Royce Gracie enters and beats strong, athletic fighters with his jiu-jitsu skills. He proves time and again that he can enter and take a striker down to the ground where he dominates the fight. The world learned the value of grappling. But again, this was taking place in a new environment. It isn’t long before wrestlers came in and learned to deal with the jiu-jitsu. Wrestlers started to win. Then kickboxers began to learn how to avoid the takedown of the wrestlers and jiu-jitsu stylists. World champion kickboxer Maurice Smith, would get a few shots in against a grappler then be taken to the ground, but Smith had learned enough ground work to survive on the ground until he could get back to his feet. He would continue this tactic until his opponent was weary, resulting in a kickboxing match between a tired grappler who could not explode in for a takedown and a world champion striker. Smith knocked out many opponents this way.
The art of the ring has now advanced to the point where the majority of the fighters are very complete. They can strike on their feet, avoid takedowns, apply takedowns, and fight well on the ground. Everyone knows that the next opponent may be a better kickboxer or a better grappler. The only solution is to be able to handle all the distances so that they can try to survive the tough spots and work into a range where they can dominate. This is good advice for anyone training in the martial arts, even if you never plan to step into the competitive arena.
A professional fighter knows who his next opponent is going to be. He has an idea of his strengths and weaknesses and trains to deal with that opponent. If you train for self-defense, you don’t know who may attack you. It may be a large thug who used to be a boxer. It might be a drunk in a bar who was a college wrestler. It may be a thief with a knife. We need to remember that street self-defense has no rules at all, and we must train in that environment if we want to be effective, but we must train our techniques athletically against a resisting opponent if we want to develop ussable skills. We must train to be complete fighters because we don’t want to find ourselves in unfamiliar territory. We have to be good at striking and grappling if we want to be truly prepared to defend our loved ones. Have fun with your practice, but apply the lessons of the ring. It will make you better than ever before.