Escaping the Mounted Position - MMA Training in Schaumburg, Aurora, and now Merrillville IN

The mounted position has ended many MMA fights. It allows the top man to strike almost at will. Without a sound means of escape, the bottom man is virtually helpless-thus, the need for the elbow escape.

We have noted already the massive importance of the elbow escape- the king of escapes. In addition to requiring little strength and being effective against much larger opponents, it also exposes the user to little danger as it is beign performed. Here we look at a cariant that finishes with an offensice move- the Achilles lock. With your opponent mounted on top of you, form a defensive frame by placing both hands on your opponet's hips. Bridge to get you rhops off the floor. Push with both hands toward your geet adn turn to one side. As you frop your hops, scoot them out to the opposite side that you have toward and bring the opposite knne between your opponent's legs. You knee should be drawn up to your chest. Wrap your other leg around the leg you intend to attack and place your foot on the opponent's hip. Wrap your arm around your opponent's ankle at the Achilles tendon so that the bony part of your wrist is under the Achilles tendon. Grab your wrist with your other hand and pull both hands high up to the sternum. Push your hips forward and arch your back to put breaking pressure on the ankle. Perform the lock on your side, not flat on your back.

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Range and Distance - MMA fighting in Schaumburg, Aurora, Naperville, Merrillville IN,

Earlier, we talked about the inadequacies of range as the basis for a complete theory of combat. Range proved to be seriously incomplete, as it did not pertain to the clinch or ground phases of combat. This does not mean that range and distance are irrelevant or unimportant in combat. In the free-movement phase of combat, range and distance are crucial concepts. When two fighters square off, there is always a distance between them. This distance or range varies as the two fighters move around each to her and attempt to launch attacks. Controlling and policing that distance is a crucial combat skill that often determines the course of the fight int he free movement phase.

The problem, however, is that the major theories of range and distance have not proven useful in actual MMA competition. We saw that certain theories of range define the use of range via technique. For example, there is the kicking range, punching range, elbow range, and so on. Actual experience, however has clearly shown that once two fighters are close enough tot hit each other with any form of offensive technique, it is useless to talk of a given range as being appropriate only for one category of techniques.

Consider the knee strike. Most people think of the knee as a close- range weapon, yet one of the  most successful means of knockout victories in MMA is the flying knee strike, which launches from long range. The free-standing knee strike has also been used successfully by fighters. They strike at each other at what appears to be punching range. In addition, knee strikes are used with great success in all the variations of the clinch and indeed, on the ground as well. You can clearly see, then, that it is pure folly to talk about a range that is suitable for only the knee strike, since experience shows the ease toward the need for a new theory of range, one that can be of use in a real fight and that is in accord with the observable facts seen in MMA competition.

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Escaping the Turtle Position- Wrestling in Chicago

The true position is difficult to categorize in terms of a hierarchy that is based on degree of danger. In actual MMA competition, the turtle position has been used with great success to defend against attacks in certain cases. In other cases, however, the true position has gotten fighters into a lot of trouble, especially from the front-headlock position. Quite often, the top fighter is able to throw strong knee stokes into the bottom fighter's head as he turtles up, which result in know outs and severe damage. Indeed, it is no exaggeration to say that in some cases, the bottom of the true position is even more hazardous than the bottom of the mounted position.

The trap-and-roll method is an effective means of escape. When you are in the turtle position and your opponent is on top of you in a controlling position secure the wrist of the arm that your opponent has over your back. He has to put his arm over your back in order to hold you down and clamp your elbow to your ribs. It is best to get perpendicular to your opponent before you attempt the roll. Get your hips in close and under your opponent. Look toward him and roll over your shoulder. You want to rotate your body under your opponent. This will take him right over your shoulder and onto his back. Roll over with him and turn toward his legs. This is important. If you turn the wrong way he will end in a good position. By turning toward his legs, you come out with a clean side-position pin.

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clash at the kilt

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Two approaches to Fighting in the Clinch- SMS and Email Marketing

Not all fighters look on the clinch phase of combat in the same way. Many fighters, especially those from a  grappling style of combat view the clinch as a great opportunity to negate their opponent's striking offense while opening their own offensive possibility. As such, they consider it a safe haven from dangerous strikes, and they try to secure and maintain the clinch as quickly as possible. Quite often, such fighters use the clinch as a way to set up takedowns and take the fight to the ground.

However, a second way of looking at the clinch is to see it as a last chance to keep the fight in the standing position. This view tends to be the one of fighters whose specialty lies in striking position.The primary effort of this type of fighter is to break out of clinches at the first opportunity and return the fight to the free- movement phase. What is interesting about these two different approaches to the clinch is that they both recognize two essential facts:

1. The clinch plays the role of an intermediary phase of combat, somewhere between the free-movement phase and the ground-fighting phase.
2. The clinch is largely unavoidable in a real fight. If two combatants are serious about fighting each other, they will almost always end up in a clinch in a short time. In a real fight, fighters face a tremendous forward pressure, which is often a shock to those whoa re not used to it. This makes it almost inevitable that they will quickly run to each other and clinch. 

For more on Fighting in the Clinch, visit: Bulldog Programs

Victory in the Free - Movement Phase - Wrestling in Schaumburg, Aurora, Naperville,, Merrivillle IN

The most crucial means to victory in the free-movement phase lies in superior striking ability. If you can hit harder, faster, and more accurately than you opponent can, while at the same time taking fewer hits and preventing him form taking you into another phase of combat, then you stand an excellent chance of victory on your feet. In an MMA tournament, you must be able to strike while defending takedown attempts. This is striking in a real fight. In the former, you can commit to full-power punching and kicking without fear of takedowns, since these are illegal in boxing and kick boxing. The problem confronting strikers is that fully committing to striking open you up for takedowns. The result is that strikers must be much more cautious in their offense in MMA than in normal boxing matches. Strikers must limit the duration of their striking combinations, and they must also work hard on their takedown defenses if they are to avoid being quickly and unceremoniously dumped to the ground by a quick grappler.

Because a fight will go to the clinch quickly  once striking begins, most MMA striking specialist use the head as the primary target for punches in the free-movement phase. Fighters execute little body punching since they simple do not have the time to work the body as if it were a boxing match. Kicks also tend to be focussed on the legs and not the body; there is much less chance of begin grabbed and taken down with a low kick than a high kick. in general, fighters tend to use high kicks only late in the match when their opponents are tired or hurt and therefore less likely to counter. When a fighter works with powerful, chopping kicks to the same time defending takedowns, a striker can present himself as a very formidable opponent. As a result of following this strategy, far more fights are being won in the free-movement phase than was the case in early MMA competition, when strikers tended to use the same tactics they would in a boxing or kick boxing match. This assumption, combined with a total ignorance of the crucial ground-fighting game, had spelled disaster for specialist strikers in early MMA competition.

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Sprawling - MMA Schaumburg, Aurora, Naperville, Merriville IN

Whenever your opponent shoots in, he is looking to pull in your legs or lower back (or both) to take you down. You can prevent this by lowering your hips and sprawling your legs back. Make sure your back is arched. When preforming this move, always remember the following: do not lock your hands around your opponent's waist!

To do so is to allow a simple counter. As you sprawl, you want your opponent to bear all your weight. Avod putting your knees on the ground as well because doing so takes weight off him. After you sprawl, do not simply stay in front of your opponent. He may recover after the initial failure and still take you down. Instead, look to spin around behind him and to put yourself in an attacking position. If you do no favor ground fighting, get up and move away; look to counter with strikes as your opponent rises.

For more on Sprawling and MMA/ Wrestling gyms, visit: MMA in Schaumburg, Aurora, Naperville, Merriville IN

Combat Strategy of Jujitsu - Wrestling in Naperville, Aurora, Schaumburg, Merriville IN

The classical jujitsu of old Japan appeared to have no common strategy to guide a combatant over the course of a fight. Indeed, this was one of Kanos' most fundamental and preceptive criticisms of the classical program. The lack of strategy many have been because classical empty-hand jujitsu was considered a last resort when a warrior had lost his weapon, rather than an independent fighting style. Even Kano's radical changes did not involve a clear statement of a grand combat strategy. The principal strategic element he empathized was the notion of kuzushi, keeping an opponent off balance so that he could be easily controlled and thrown. Along with kuzushi, he added notions such as "minimum effort, maximum effect," and various other interpretation of ju. However, this is far from a complete and specific fight strategy.

Only with the rise of Fusen-ryu jujitsu, and the first era of jujitsu challenge matches with Tani and Maeda, does a clear fight strategy emerge among jujitsu fighters. This strategy was perfected over time by the Gracies, and it rose to prominence in contemporary MMA events. This strategy has town main elements. First, there is the overall strategy. We have seen that the overall strategy is based on the notion of single combat being divided into three phases, each of which has a set of skills that area independent of each other, which means that a fighter can be good in one phase but poor in the other two. Mataemon Tanabe was the first to show that by taking a highly skilled opponent out of his favored was the first to show that by taking a highly skilled opponent out of his favored phase and into a phase where he was less killed, he could be easily defeated. Tani, Maeda adn the Gracies adopted this overall strategy and added to it over time. Maeda applied it in the case of MMA fighting, and Tanabe applied it only in the submission grappling tournaments.

The Gracies added a tactical strategy of positional dominance to this overall strategy of phases of combat. It is the second strategic element on modern grappling jujitsu, and it has been an essential part of the dominance of modern jujitsu in contemporary MMA. It ahas been so successful that it is now the standard modus operandi for all fighters in MMA events when a fight goes to the ground. The central theme here is to attain a position from where you can attack your opponent while his ability to counter is severely undermined. This execution can be done while in a standing clinch, but it is easier on the ground-hence the preference that most contemporary jujitsu fighters have for ground grappling.

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