Posted on Saturday, 8th November 2008 by Captain Chris
With the wide spread popularity of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) there has been a lot of talk about grappling, and how important it is for mixed martial arts (MMA). The fact is submission grappling has been part of combat sports for a long time and today’s fighters are simply experiencing it in its latest form. Both Greco-Roman and catch wrestling have grappling, and so do Russian Sambo and Greek Pankration. Submission grappling is a major part of both ground fighting and clinch or stand-up fighting, and can be very effective at ending a match quickly regardless of an opponent’s size or strength.
In hand-to-hand combat fighters can use a variety of submission grappling techniques. While all techniques are designed to make an opponent submit, due to pain or fear of further injury they all work in different ways. Compression locks can cause intense pain to an area of muscle or bone, and joint locks do the same on the vulnerable joints of the body. Chokeholds can be used to strangle an opponent until they’re unconscious in a match or until death if it is a self defense situation. While every martial art has its own techniques all attack the same sensitive areas and the only limitations are the rules of the sport.
With different rules and backgrounds each combat sport has a slightly different take on submission grappling. With Jujutsu which the Japanese samurai designed for actual combat the techniques are designed to deal with armed and armored opponents, and can be very lethal. Judo fighters wear gi’s and use throws to take an opponent to the ground and then use arm locks and chokes to get the submission. Sambo is similar to Judo, but no gi’s are worn and leg locks are employed more often. In BJJ which is also very similar to Judo, but emphasizes ground fighting techniques can be done with and without a gi.
Submission grappling has been with us since the dawn of time, and can be found in many martial arts around the world. Until you grapple with an opponent up close and personal it is just a game, but once you get hold of him or her it is a fight. They can ignore the points, and they can ignore the clock, but they can’t ignore the pain for long. Submission grappling is key to victory.
Tags: Submission Grappling
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)
