KerwinBenson.com Hidden Gems of Martial Arts

When you think of hand to hand combat, do you think of grappling? Does your imaginary encounter end with both you and your attacker tumbling to the ground?

Grappling techniques aren't necessarily the most effective for close combat. When you are at close quarters, you often don't have the luxury of lots of room to tackle. Also, you may not want to tumble with a gargantuan male wrestler.

Remember, don't grapple with a grappler ... especially if you, yourself, aren't a grappler. Get it?

So, how do you avoid being taken to the ground in a fight?

Start Hitting Early

If you hit , or kick, early -- before your attacker reaches you, then you may be able to end the encounter without having to tumble to the ground.

Strike Until You Can Lock

If you can't think of an appropriate wrist or joint lock or you doubt that you could make your locks work in a close combat situation, then you should take a look at Wrist Locks: From Protecting Yourself to Becoming an Expert

Taking A Grab

Grabs are actually pretty cool. If the grab has a lot of force behind it, then you might want to look to an art that deals with the redirection of force ... (Aikido, Ju Jitsu, Judo, etc.).

But if the grab is not taking you off balance, then this could be the perfect time to try a wrist lock. Think about it:

While your attacker is grabbing you, he (or she) is not hitting you

Hits are fast, grabs are slow --easier to deal with

A grab often exposes a hand for finger locks, knuckle damage, etc.

You can wrist lock or arm bar at any point in your counter -- before,


    during or after your hits

You should definitely practice joint lock tehniques in your combat training. They aren't the ultimate martial arts techniques, but they do have their place in a complete martial arts system.

Getting Better at Hand-to-Hand Combat

Concentrate on learning techniques that are:

quick

efficient

direct.

Free Hand-to-Hand Combat Ebook

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Keith Pascal has been teaching martial arts for 25 years and a martial-arts writer for 8 years.