With the
trends of the Ultimate Fighter Television Show and Mixed
Martial Arts schools constantly blooming in more communities,
it’s no wonder why instructors are eager to incorporate
grappling into traditional martial arts systems. But the
truth of the matter is that grappling has been around for
millenniums. So why all the hype? Why now? Because national
exposure has given grappling the attention it’s deserved.
Battle
tested, instructor approved. If you could package grappling,
that’s what it would say. But let’s peel away the publicity,
the advertising and the hype and get down to the art. For
thousands of years and through hundreds of cultures, grappling
has been an effective means of defending oneself. Grappling
could almost certainly be traced back circa 3000 B.C. in
ancient Egypt. Found in the ruins of the Sumerian Kingdom of
Mesopotamia, pyramid hieroglyphics indicated that some form of
boxing and wrestling had been practiced. Theory has it that
at the demise of Ancient Egypt, practitioners of this ancient
art fled the country across the Mediterranean Sea into parts
of Europe and even traveled as far as what is known today as
Japan. Since this form of fighting used a wide range of
techniques, including ground fighting, it is believed the
martial art was adopted in Greece as a form of combat.
In Greece,
men believed that the skill for the art of war was passed to
them from the Gods. Men used to combat and even fight to the
death in attempts to establish honor, power and supremacy.
Pankration which means “all-powerful” was accepted as an
Olympic sport around 700 B.C. Due to the understanding that
most fights ended up on the ground, Pankration was made up of
two different types if combat: Ano Pankration which was a
standing martial art, like boxing, and Kato Pankration. Kato
Pankration allowed a standing fight to be continued on the
ground and often opponents would fight until exhaustion or
death.
Probably
the most famous style of martial arts to feature grappling
today is Jujitsu. In Japan, the art of Jujitsu evolved among
the Samurai, in what was believed to be the 17th
century. Tested on the battlefields, techniques that worked
allowed a warrior to survive and the techniques that didn’t,
proved fatal. After power in Japan had been transferred to
its Emperor and feudalism fell, Jujitsu became illegal to
practice and almost extinct until the abolishment of that law
in 1865. Since its resurfacing, Jujitsu has become about the
use of ancient martial arts techniques and grappling for
survival in a non-lethal method.
In 1914,
Mitsuo Maeda, a judo/jujitsu master, immigrated to Brazil from
Japan. As barter for help from the politician Gastão Gracie,
Maeda taught Gastão’s son Carlos the arts of judo and
jujitsu. Carlos passed his knowledge on to his brothers and
in 1925 they opened the first Gracie Jujitsu dojo together and
GJJ was born. Through the years, they focused more and more
on submission grappling and their jujitsu techniques evolved
and the outstanding contribution that the Gracie’s gave to the
martial arts and grappling never stopped growing. In the
1970’s, Rolls Gracie devised the first point system for
jujitsu competitions. In the 1990’s Rorian Gracie moved to
Los Angeles to spearhead Brazilian Jujistu into the American
martial arts world. He also founded the Ultimate Fighting
Championship in attempts to reproduce the Samurai technique of
proving what techniques work and what techniques don’t in a
non-lethal manner. America had been exposed to submission
grappling, and we loved every minute of it. Martial Arts
heroes were born and names like Frank Shamrock, Randy Couture,
Chuck Liddell, and Rich Franklin were household names.
Realizing
its full potential to help complete any martial art, grappling
has become increasingly popular, especially within the last
two decades. Combat martial artists started comprehending the
importance of grappling when realizing that most of their
fights, for one reason or another (i.e. exhaustion,
takedowns), ended up on the ground. Understanding this,
traditional instructors are beginning to recognize the
importance of being able to defend oneself from a ground
position. More and more instructors want to incorporate
grappling into their system; however are uncertain on how to
do so. So let’s get down to it.
Grappling
utilizes joint locks, chokes, holds and throws to subdue or
disable an opponent. Since grappling is mostly a ground
fighting system, incorporating it into a martial arts style
that defends from a standing position would create a
well-rounded street-wise martial art. Here are some tips on
how to include grappling into your curriculum:
Education.
First and foremost, educate yourself. Whether it’s taking
class from a local dojo, taking a home study program, or
attending seminars, make sure you have the capability,
resources and knowledge it takes to teach others. This will
aid you in preventing student injury and help you be confident
in your new program. Remember, get the proper training
yourself to keep both you and your students safe.
Seminars.
Schedule seminars at your school and allow students to
practice some basic grappling techniques. Put on a
demonstration utilizing some basic grappling skills so
students recognize the importance of grappling. This will
allow your students to emerge themselves gradually into the
new program. Also, seminars from grappling professionals are
encouraged.
Grappling games.
As part of an everyday kid’s
class, incorporate grappling drills into fun activities, i.e.
Shrimp races, rolling and falling competitions, etc. Kids
will love these games and not even know they are learning some
fundamental drills. In an adult’s class, use those drills as
an end of class workout, instead of push-ups, etc. This too
will instill some fundamental grappling drills for adults.
Grappling classes.
Once grappling has been introduced to your students,
incorporate a grappling class into your curriculum. Just like
you may have separate forms classes or self-defense classes,
establish separate grappling classes as part of your regular
schedule. You may even split these classes up into Beginner,
Intermediate, and Advanced as your students progress. Note:
Just as a regular class, you should have different child and
adult classes.
Self-Defense.
Since most self-defense systems include takedowns, incorporate
grappling techniques into your takedowns. After the initial
defense and takedown, you may even want to add an arm-bar or a
choke hold to your finishing move.
Mini Tournaments.
Every weekend or so, have mini
tournaments. Both kids and adults will love to compete and
you’ll be able to see your students’ progress and reward it.
Also, you’ll be able to identify certain weaknesses in their
grappling. Take 10 minutes at the end of each Mini Tourney
Class and go over some weaknesses that will help your
students’ skill the following weekend.
Movie Night.
Hold monthly movie nights and
show different Ultimate Fighting Championship fights, NHB
fights, Training Videos and martial arts movies to expose your
students to different martial arts and how they use grappling
in different martial arts systems. Don’t forget to preview
the movie and make sure it is appropriate for the age you are
showing it to.
Adding
grappling into your system will not only benefit your
students, but it will also benefit you as well. Certify
yourself and your staff in grappling. The more you have to
offer a student, the more a student wants to learn from you.
And the more you know, the better off you and your students
are.
About the author:
Vanessa Bush is a freelance writer, martial arts instructor
and MMA Technical Advisor to the American Federation of
Jujitsu. She is also the Founder of the Busshu-Ryu system
which incorporates the arts of Karate, Muay Thai, Jujitsu and
Submission Grappling.
