KerwinBenson.com Hidden Gems of Martial Arts

Grappler's Pay Attention ... It's True

I have already told you that when the rest of the world started saying that traps didn't work, Steve Golden started putting on seminars teaching folks how to make their traps effective. Then he moved on to the next subject that the masses were criticizing, and he taught them "how to" again.

Did you know that I was also similarly motivated?

I heard many proclaim that wrist locks weren't effective in a real fight. Well, they weren't effective the way that these guys were trying to employ them.

The choice here would have been to allow these vocal sorts to continue spouting their own brand of truth.

I decided explode the myth by writing "Wrist Locks: From Protecting Yourself to Becoming an Expert." I wanted to help people make their joint locks and arm bars work -- really work.

It seems that as people proclaim "never," it's up to some of us to teach otherwise.

And on the flip side, when folks say "always," my ears perk up a bit too.

Do You Say "Never" or "Always"?

Always.

It's funny ...

If someone has an explosive kick, you don't just give up and say, "Well, there is nothing I can do. I will lose against that kick."

And in my not-so-humble opinion, a worse reaction would be to say, "That person's kick is absolutely explosive. I need to learn to kick like that, so I can beat him (or her)."

The first response is giving up. The second is playing the other person's game.

Figuring Out New Counters

The same can be said for any other aspect of the martial arts ...

We work on learning to defend ourselves against _________________ (you fill in the blank).

So, I really do believe that learning martial arts is about learning to defend against more and more situations.

Wouldn't you agree?

So, why is it that grapplers seem to think they are above this "everything-can-be-countered" law?

If you can learn to counter a high kick ... if you can learn to counter a knife attack ... if you can learn to counter a 'straight blast' of punches ...

then isn't it reasonable to assume that you could learn to deal with a grappler -- without playing the grappling game?

Conclusion

Each and every time I write a "how to deal with a grapple" article, someone has to write in and complain, nag, and chastise that "yeah, but a grappler would ...."

It's almost like playing fantasy, super-hero games ...

"But then my guy would use his super X-ray powers to see where the bomb was."

"Then my super-hero would have mind-reading powers, so he could know ahead of time that your X-ray dude would use X-ray vision to ..."

"Oh yeah, well X-ray dude also has super speed, so he run to ..."

And on it goes.

So, being as polite as I can ...

You grapplers SHUT UP!

I know that "you" are invincible (and have X-ray powers, too). Let's just say I am teaching folks how to defend against the other grapplers out there -- those not as gifted as you all.

(Wink.)

OK, let's move on ....

Tackled from Behind , Part 2

Tackled from Behind , Part 3

The Original Problem of Knocked Down From Behind