Taking It To The Ground

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The end of the last century saw the birth of a new era in the Martial Arts world. With the advent of events known variously as 'Ultimate fighting', 'No holds-barred' matches and 'Mixed Martial Arts', martial artists across the world learned the value of learning more than one art, and becoming complete in what does work and what doesn't in the real world. The effectiveness of ground fighting or grappling cannot be denied. In the concept of Jeet Kune Do you always push towards totality in combat. Take note there is a difference between grappling/submission wrestling, No Rules Ground Fighting and ground fighting for the street. This is a topic all on it's own.

taking it to the ground

There are a number of Martial Art instructors and students out there that believe that no one will take them down to the ground. Even Guru Dan Inosanto has stressed the importance of ground fighting in his latest video series on the Martial Arts

The worst opponent you can come across is one whose aim has become an obsession. For instance if a man has decided that he is going to bite off your nose no matter what happens to him in the process, the chances are he will succeed in doing it. He may be severely beaten up too, but that will not stop him from carrying out his objective. The main modes of fighting one will find oneself in are weapons, Stand up, Clinching & ground fighting. Whenever the skills and tools of fighters are equal, victory will generally go to the person who possesses the stronger will and most cunning strategy.

taking it to the ground

As with any form of fighting, one of the biggest mistakes is to take the opponent lightly, and with grappling the main mistake is to loose ones sense of calm and to waste energy with inappropriate use of physical strength. You must be fierce, but have patience at the same time. Most important of all you must have complete determination. Opportunities will surely be missed. Too many students & instructors train their techniques without properly testing them under a full resistance environment. How would you deal with somebody that's goal is to take you down to the ground? No matter how good you are, if your opponent wants to take you down he will. Remember, the opponent is not only NOT co-operating with you but he is very much out to knock your lights out! In any encounter, one is always searching for the advantage. Speed, angling, superior technique and especially pain compliance are great to have, and it is generally preferable to remain standing on your feet, but, Murphy's Law…….If you should lose your advantage such as slipping in the mist of throwing blows, be pulled off balance in the process of executing the best throw or take down. What do you do then? What if you apply the perfect joint lock, and the opponent doesn't react to it or counters it. Worst yet, what if you are not afforded the luxury of having the advantage in the first place and forced into a wrestling situation. It is not the best place and time to get your first grappling/wrestling lesson lying on your back in the street with your opponent on top of you busy blasting away. Fluidity of tactics and skill within all the ranges of combat is a must.

taking it to the ground

No matter how good you are on your feet with or without a weapon you must be equally proficient on the ground in order to be a complete fighter. Especially when dealing with a bigger, stronger opponent, or with someone who can close the distance and force grappling, or might just be better than you with stand up fighting skills. Weapons training is to be included in your grappling and overall skills. To round out your training, include drills and sparring sessions that would pit empty hand vs. various weapons, weapons vs empty hand and weapon vs. weapon grappling.

With co-operation vary sessions from light to full contact, lots of rules to limited to no rules. The benefits will be many for all involved. You should not be afraid to try different methods in your training, for it is never complete (as much as we may believe it is). Nature has shown us that all things evolve, therefore, so should we. The only thing constant in life is change itself.

Article written by Morne Swanepoel

Morné is a full time coach and practitioner and is certified as one of the most qualified Reality Based Personal Protection High Performance Mixed Martial Arts coaches in the world. Travelling countless times to International destinations in the past 15 years and featuring in almost every media medium across the globe the past couple of years, Morné has become one of the leading figures in realistic Martial Arts today.

The 2 mains streams of CombatCoaching.com are:

1- High Performance Street Fighting is a unique blend of Reality Based Personal Protection High Performance Mixed Martial Arts training methods, techniques and tactics preparing you to survive the streets of today.

2- High Performance Mixed Martial Arts will expose you to dynamic combat athletic training methods, techniques and tactics preparing you for the modern No Rules competitive arena.

Students of Morné Swanepoel’s Combat Coaching are coached as combat athletes. The focus is on Performance (Aliveness) orientated training in all the ranges of combat against a resisting opponent. Besides correct training, our students are also educated and encouraged to improve their performance, health and well being by supplementary training advice, correct use of nutritional supplements, positive thinking, healthy eating and sleeping (resting) patterns.

Morné emphasizes the importance of coaching his athletes instead of instructing them. Our staff are actively involved in the classes, training in an alive environment with fellow students as our focus is on Performance and not titles, hierarchy or rituals!

“Coaching is unlocking a person’s potential to maximize their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them. This idea is not new; Socrates had voiced the same thing 2000 years ago. If the quality of Performance or learning from experience is important, coaching is a must. If neither is, then tell if you must” - John Whitmore –

“No Rules Anything Goes Are You Ready” is a guiding principle at Morné Swanepoel’s Combat Coaching.

The most common reason for people studying the Martial Arts is to learn how to defend themselves and their families. Morné is a leading figure in the world when it comes to training to prepare oneself for an aggressive street assault. A full time coach and practitioner in Reality Based, functional Martial Arts. A Pioneer in Combat Athletics. Over 30 years of Martial Arts experience in various styles. Personal experience in the streets of South Africa. Training Special Forces and social groups forms part of Morné’s daily and weekly routine. Working as a professional doorman has ensured that Morné stays informed and is able to share functional and realistic training methods and techniques with his students and those who attend his hands on training seminars abroad. Experience in Tactical weapons and urban surveillance. Morné also forms part of a specialised Anti hijacking vehicle tracking response team in South Africa.

On the competitive scene i.e. High Performance Mixed Martial Arts, Morné is a full time coach in the Mixed Martial Arts. Pioneer in combat athletics. Morné has trained with and researched various Mixed Martial Arts professionals i.e. Burton Richardson, Baret Yoshida, Marcello Garcia, Randy Couture, Frank Shamrock, Matt Thornton, Leo Vieira, Rickson Gracie, Felipe Costa, Chris Haueter to name a few. Over 30 years of Martial Arts experience in various styles and noted as one of the world’s best Mixed Martial Arts coaches internationally.

Morné hosts and conducts international and National training seminars where people from all over the world come together for a cutting edge reality based high performance combat athletics training experience. Morné shares his knowledge and experience to anyone who wants to survive the streets of today. The demand for functional and realistic training is rapidly on the increase as more and more people are moving away from the traditional, classical forms of Martial Arts. Morné now has training groups worldwide in order to meet this demand and also offers long distance training programs, this has drawn enthusiasts from all over the world to train with him. Morné has also developed a dynamic in-service instructor program to ensure that Morné’s roll out plan to exposing more people to training in this High Performance combat athletic way.