KerwinBenson.com Hidden Gems of Martial Arts

Surviving a High-Line Attack

OK, you are at a party -- with soda pop in hand.

BAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You are grappled from behind.

What do you do?

You practice for it.

The first step is to brainstorm all of the grapples from up high. I am sure you can think of oodles of them. This will get you started:

So, what do you do?

Depending on the feeling, you may respond with:

Don't Just Read About it

Find the just-right response.

And work it, until it becomes your friend.

We could continue discussing, and I could even give specific advice of what technique to use in what situation. I'd rather you make it relevant to your particular situation.

Here's a note to end part one on ...

Imagine someone coming up from behind and grabbing you around the throat.

In your mind, did you panic?

Or have you practiced that one particular grab so much that your response does feel like a trusted friend. I like knowing I can rely on my friends ... and my techniques.

Grappled From Behind -- Surviving a Low-Line Attack

Got that soda in your hand at the imaginary party?

This time, you are tackled from behind around the legs.

Now what?

Well, depending on your center of gravity, your weight, the weight and force of your opponent, and couple of other variables -- my guess it that you are probably going down.

You could go down forward with zero contact with your attacker. You hit the floor face first.

Or you could topple over on top of your attacker.

If it's not clean fall -- in other words, if you can grab onto your attacker -- what will you grab?

He hit -- me! In the face!

So, can you hit or kick on the way to the ground?

Knocked to the Ground

And that's a pretty big assumption.

(Maybe I cold forward the "grappler email" I know I am about to receive to some 'unlucky soul.')

The truth is, not everyone goes down.

I am big ... at last weigh-in, I tipped the scale at over 280 lbs. And I have a low center of gravity ...

Which leads me to a suggested exercise:

Stand with legs shoulder-width apart, as though you were conversing at a party.

Now, stand on the balls of your feet.

Have someone lightly tackle you from behind.

You went down easily, didn't you?

Now, drop back down onto your full foot. Get tackled again.

You didn't drop as easily, did you?

Now, as you stand, bend just a little at the knees. Extend your hips forward just a bit -- head straight, shoulders even over waist, waist straight, waist over ankles -- weight centered, but low.

Now, have your partner grapple you from behind.

Of course, I like you to be able to completely resist a tackler, but that may not be possible for some. But I bet you could 'slow the drop,' give yourself time to react.

Conclusion

If I can convince that the battle is not lost, even when surprised, think how difficult you could make it for an attacker with a little warning.

I'll give much more specific advice in the ebook I am working on.

For example, we have to decide what to do if we do get knocked down. Are we getting back up again? Will it be possible?

If not, what can we do to escape a grapple?

And if we can't escape, how can we turn a ground fight into our own game?

Yes, there is lots more to discuss about grappling. Yes, this was just a beginning taste of possible responses.

Yes, you can avoid going to the ground .... especially if it's not a surprise attack from behind.

Here are the other parts of this series:

Tackled from Behind , Part 1

Tackled from Behind , Part 2

The Original Problem of Knocked Down From Behind