If you carry a weapon for personal defense, put it into perspective with your groundfighting skills. Make sure you can access it, draw it and use it with effect during likely groundfighting situations.


your ability to maintain awareness of what’s going on around you is se- verely diminished. You are also sac- rificing your mobility, which prevents you from being able to effectively deal with any other threats that might present themselves. In simple terms, tying up with one opponent on the ground leaves you very vulnerable to other attacks — especially kicking and stomping. REALISTIC GROUNDFIGHT-


ING - GUIDELINES FOR TAC- TICS AND TRAINING: If we accept the fact we’re con-


cerned with actual committed self- defense, here are some tips that you can incorporate into your training to provide usable groundfighting skills in the shortest period of time.


Learn How To Fall Getting knocked to the ground is


bad. Doing damage to you on the way down is even worse. One of the best groundfighting skills you can have is the ability to fall safely. Typically


The habits you develop in the gym are the ones you’ll reflexively use on the street ...


called “breakfalls,” falling techniques should be learned on a mat under the supervision of a good instructor. Once you’re comfortable falling on a pad- ded surface, begin transferring your skills to harder surfaces until you can successfully manage falls on concrete by rolling, dissipating the force of the fall and protecting your head.


Learn How To Get Up If you can possibly avoid it, don’t


fight on the ground. The easiest way to do that is, of course, to stay on your feet. However, if you do get knocked down, the next best option is to get up quickly and safely, so you can finish the fight on your feet. To do this, the traditional jujitsu or MMA technique works great: kick with your feet to keep your attacker off of you, roll to your side to post on one forearm and scoot your feet under your body to stand up. This keeps your head away from your attacker and gets you di- rectly up on your feet. IF YOU CAN’T GET UP AND


ARE STUCK FIGHTING ON THE GROUND, GO BIG When someone else takes you to


the ground, you’re now fighting his game. In that situation, the last thing you want to do is to fight by his rules. Since you already understand that many sport-grappling techniques constitute potential lethal force when applied on concrete, your tactics should immediately adapt to that in- creased threat. And one of the sim- plest, “cure-all” techniques you can employ is to grab the attacker’s head and bury your thumbs in his eyes. In addition to generating tremendous pain, this tactic also follows the rule of: “Where the head goes, the body will follow.” As such, it’s a great way to get an attacker off of you. By the same token, if the head goes nowhere, the body also follows. Pinning your attacker’s head to the ground shuts down his maneuverability and braces it to absorb the full impact of your strikes. Just make sure you remember that hitting his head while it’s pinned


Although traditional grappling submission techniques can be amped up to break and disable limbs, any time you fight on the ground, you sacrifice mobility and awareness. Many incidents involve more than one attacker, as this defender learns the hard way.


32 PERSONAL DEFENSE • SPRING 2011 SPECIAL EDITION


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