range in a fight

[marcus]

hi everyones

 i have a question here

 some people say that 90% of the time a fight end on the ground
so cause of that they say that its the more important range to try to master

in an other hand a fight almost never start to the ground

 in my personnal point of view and about how im more confortable to spar and cause im my shape to
( im not very tall and not heavy at all) i try to avoid the ground and i go for it just if i have no choice

in a fight if you fall on the road or in a hard floor that can hurt a lot and just moving on that hard floor can be very painful.

 i would like to know the opinion of of you guysabout that
could be interesting

 ill look back for answers
thanks in advance
a plus!

[chessmachine]

Here in the UK fights tend only to go to the ground when someone falls over and even then people tend to introduce the shoe rather than attain the mount etc. I think its different in the US because of high schoool wrestling and of course the UFC.

[Shelt]

Competence on the ground allows you to dominate and get back up if a fight goes there. It also aalows you to not fear being taken there either intentionally or by slipping on a discarded Li Hee Mui seed/banana peel/ice/etc, which IMHO will allow you to confidently engage you opponent in the standup.

Falling on the pavement hurts, but you usually don't feel it immediately especially in a fight with adrenalin, etc. I've crashed a parachute, tucked and rolled off a deucy-half in webgear and weapon, crashed on bikes and fell when falling down drunk; none of these stopped me from doing anything I needed at the time.

As for themost important range to master, if I had to choose one to master it'd be the clinch. The clinch happens alot in fights and in a fight that involves alot of forward pressure, it is almost a given if no one gets KO'd. This is the range that IMHO decides where you end up.

[Bryan Zarnett]

I agree with what Shelt has pointed out.

As far as statistics go, I've never seen the document with the stat. I've talked to the Police and RCMP here in Canada and they don't keep stats to the level of "it went to the ground". Stats are easy to pull out of the air. A better way of compiling stats in this circumstance might be to look at the street fights in You Tube and Google Video. Most fights in that circumstance seem to end on the ground when people get hit or the fight is over.

With more people watching UFC and taking BJJ the chance of going against someone who might get into your guard increases.

Most people have a fear of the ground, during falling or while on their backs. Being in control of the situation and knowing you are on the ground if it happens is a powerful tool. I don't want to stay on the ground, but if it happens by intention, accident or someone forces me on the ground I want to be able to handle the circumstance.

Ground game should provide you...

1) Awareness of your environment when on the ground
2) Awareness of what is possible when you or your opponent is on the ground
3) Ability to reduce the blow from falling (break falls and tumbling)
4) How to combativly get off the ground
5) How to control the situation if you are on the ground

Regardless of statistics, to be an all around good martial art athlete, the ground position is key.

I'm a clinch lover not a ground fighter, but I still train hard in my ground work!

IMHO, some fights end up on the ground because two people get tangled in the clinch and neither can manage the position so they trip and fall and go *BOOM*.

In a fight, unless I am 100% control of the environment (or at least 98%) and know my opponent I won't go to the ground with my opponent - it doesn't mean I won't take him to the ground.   

When I do go the ground in an uncontrolled environment - I get off the ground as soon as possible. Even if its a controlled environment, I'm getting off the ground as soon as possible once I create a controlled situation over my opponent.

Cheers,
Bryan


P.S. I'm going Maple Syrup hunting  this weekend. I will send some to Hawaii in a care package!

[marcus]

 hi again

 yeah i agree whit all you , it have sense

 chessmachine , you dont have a similar thing like the ufc in uk?? its not popular there like in america?

 and Bryan you are canadien , where do you live in canada? im a french canadien , i live in québec tabarnak!
you practice the the magic thecniques of Burton to?

 the trick for me to avoid the ground is the sprawl and simple things like that ,they work very well
 the hooks  are dangerous to finish in bad positions , when people hooks and they miss they end up in a not controled clinch ofthen and then they fall easely , so whatever jab , cross , vertical punch , front kicks all atack that are not curved help to not end up in a uncontrolled clinch and bad ground position , but i know guys like to hook in general
personnaly i hate that .

ok ill see you later guys

 aurevoir

[Bryan Zarnett]

and Bryan you are canadien , where do you live in canada? im a french canadien , i live in québec tabarnak!
you practice the the magic thecniques of Burton to?

Hi Marcus,

I live in Toronto and my french is terrible. So is my Hebrew, Japanese and Cantonese (but I know a few good swear words in all of them).

I do my best (which sometimes really really sucks) at working through the JKDU material and philosophy. We had Burton here in Toronto this past June.

Cheers,
Bryan

[chessmachine]

MMA is popular in the UK but in my personal experience the Brits dont wrestle as much when the snot begins to fly. They punch and butt people and groundwork consists of laying the boot in to whoever has fallen over. I agree that one should train in it however as you will not be a rounded fighter without it.

[msh]

Good post Bryan and Shelt

Shane

[James McRae]

Greg Thompson says in his book, H2H Combat: Modern Army Combatives, that surveys conducted by the U.S. Army of soldiers who have been in hand-to-hand fights have shown that apparently all fights involved some form of grappling and the majority went to the ground.  If the situation allows, I like throwing my opponent to the groud with a hard jiu-jitsu/judo throw and then attaining a dominant top position like side-knee where I can use the terrain against him while I remain off the ground.