The Art of Fighting & Mixed Martial Arts: KICKING, PUNCHING, TRAPPING & GRAPPLING - Techniques, Structure & Strategy of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai ... (Kindle Unlimited Learning Series Book 4)

THE ART OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS

by Nicholas Black
Any serious discussion about fighting must include the four basic areas where a fight between two humans can occur — Kicking, Punching (boxing), Trapping (clenching), and Grappling (ground fighting, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Sambo etc.).

These are the zones where fight takes place between two people. No matter what the situation is, when two people get close enough to engage in physical contact/confrontation/violence the longest-range weapon that we have attached to our bodies is our legs and their ability to throw long sweeping kicks (Muay Thai leg kicks for example). The legs are not only the longest extremity, but can generate the most force due to their mass. Swinging your legs around at high speed is like swinging a baseball bat at somebody. I don't ever want to get hit by a baseball bat. Similarly, I don't ever want to be hit by a leg kick.

Once we've passed the point where the legs are the most useful we enter into the range between two people where the various strikes of the arms become available. The oldest martial art could be considered boxing. At the very base of everything you have a few basic tools at your disposal — jabs, crosses, uppercuts, hooks, hammer fists, backhands, and the various elbow strikes. This is the punishing or boxing range. Most of the power from those tools is generated from the hips. Try to remember that a punch or a kid is the last part of a body motion that began in the feet, channeling power and torque through the hips, and finishing either with your hands or feet as the actual delivery system.

In the close nature of boxing and upper body fighting the next level of engagement is considered trapping, or clenching. This kind of situation arises very frequently in professional boxing, and even more frequently in real fights that are unencumbered by rules. Went to human skin close together and they passed the point where punches and elbows have effectiveness they tend to clinch each other. There are a variety of weapons available in and around this clenching situation.

The final stage of a fight as to humans move closer together would be the "ground game" as it is commonly referred to. Went to humans are clenched very often gravity will win and both of them will fall to the ground. At this point they are engaged in grappling, or ground fighting. If you've watched any fights you will see that wrestlers and Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners are incredibly comfortable fighting on the ground. Statistically speaking, more than 80% of all street fights, and more than 90% of all mixed martial arts fights end up on the ground.

Therefore, you can be the greatest kickboxer in the world, with incredibly fast hands, and good clinching skills, but if you don't understand how to finally ground you are putting yourself in a very large disadvantage because you will very likely end up on the ground, having to figure things out while being punched in the face. I have been punched in the face. It sucks getting punched in the face. It's necessary to understand all of the weapons that you have a your disposal on the ground, be it strikes or submissions (joint locks, chokes, etc.).

So, there it is… Four simple things — kicking, punching, trapping, grappling.

I fought as a professional and coached many professional fighters as well as bodyguards, law enforcement, mercenaries, you name it. I have fought in a ring, I have fought in bars, I have fought in back alleys, I have fought in jungles. While the rules may change, fighting is fighting. If you're prepared and you have a game plan, you have a high likelihood for success.If you are unprepared, most likely you will lose. Perhaps you will end up losing some self-esteem, perhaps being embarrassed, or you may be involved in a life or death situation in which case the stakes are much higher.