Groundfighting

Fighting From the Ground -- The 'Why' of Tucking
     by Keith Pascal

Ground Fighting: The 'Why' of Tucking
Last week, Master Gouken wrote in -- this time asking about preparedness in martial arts training.
If you remember, Master Gouken felt a lack of preparedness for ground fighting is a hole in the armor of many martial artists.
Our talk jumped from dealing with low and high kicks all the way to ...

What do you do if you get knocked to the ground?
A few of the tactics I introduced were:
    * Learning to fall without injury
    * Learning to rear kick as you get back to your feet
    * Learning to fight effectively from the ground
    * Learning to get up and gain distance quickly

What's Wrong With Extending Your Legs?
Finally, I posed a question. It was based on a training tactic passed on from Steve to me, and from me to my students.
I always have my students tuck their feet in close to their bodies when they are on the ground.
I insist that my students learn this tactic.
Why?
Wouldn't it make more sense to keep your attacker away from your body by extending your legs?
So, did you play with it?

"Martial Experiment Shows the Truth"

It's really pretty obvious, when you do a little experimenting.
In general, you don't want your attacker to get behind your head if you are on the ground. To avoid this, you rotate, always trying to keep your attacker at the end of your feet, right?
Try it with your feet extended.
Your attacker can't reach your body. But he or she could sure kick and stomp on your feet and ankles.
Now, tuck your feet close in to your body.
All of a sudden, your attacker forgets about your feet. Your opponent can get in much closer. He or she can reach you.
Guess what?
Being able to reach you is NOT a bad thing. Why?

You still have your legs.
Once your oppnenet is in close, your attacker almost feels the need to lean over and reach in.
If you know any leg locks, where you use your own legs to lock down your opponent's, now is the time to put one on.
Don't argue with my reasoning, until you have played around with both extending your legs and tucking them in.
See what you can do from an extended leg position. Now see what you can do with those legs tucked in close to the body.

Gee -- you can perform some powerful kicks from the tucked position too.

Readers who enjoyed the above article also enjoyed the following article:
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