I am think I am noticing something and was sort of thinking about it. It seems to me that often, people tend to get locked up when they get put into a grappling situation. What I mean is there they are throwing punches or kicks, some guy gets a hold of them and all of the sudden they just seem to stop! Has anyone else noticed this or is it just me? One hypothesis I have is that they suddenly become preoccupied with balance and staying on their feet. however this seems to be detrimental to what it is they are trying to accomplish.
I concur. I’ve noticed the same thing about myself whenever I get grabbed.
Masterkiller, do you grapple?
Not really, but we are taught some grappling/throwing/ground fighting in my school.
My Sifu says all Kung Fu consists of Striking, Kicking, Seizing and Throwing, so when we spar we are encouraged to get in close and go for a take-down and submission.
all Kung Fu consists of Striking, Kicking, Seizing and Throwing
Sometimes known as Da Ti Na and Shaui. No real point except to say that’s it’s not just your Sifu who says this.
edit -
And that as far as I’m concerned, Na and Shuai should be considered stand up grappling. Actually, maybe na could be ground grappling as well. And a sweep from the guard, I guess that would be shuai…
Hmmm…
What do you think is making you lock up?
Part of the problem is probably that I’m just an average fighter.
The other part of the equation is that as soon as I get grabbed, my focus shifts from me keeping the guy at arms length (long fist) to reversing whatever technique he is trying to apply. I think I’m more worried about reversing his grip than I am about executing my own techniques.
Here is another observation, in general it seems those who keep fighting, even when they are wrapped up in some way, tend to come out better then those who try to reverse? This changes I think when your main focus is grappling, a reversal may become natural.
Felipe Bedo postd a fight clip, and it was a good example. Everytime those guys clinched, the yellow guy froze up, it was like he just stopped fighting!
He didn’t freeze up. He was trying to stay on his feet. When you don’t know how to do that, it looks pretty bad.
red5,
good point about that clip. i think it’s human nature to, once we’re grabbed, to grab back. the flaws in this innate behavior are obvious:
- merry prankster grabs us. if we try to grapple with him, it’s pretzel time.
- sevenstar grabs us. if we try to resist with strength, it’s smoosh time.
i can understand this behavior being innate – if an animal attacks us in our cave, our natural reaction is to fight back with what we have. however, as you know from your own training, there can be better responses than first nature, but those require time and repetition to make them reflexive.
MP, what would you say is the best response? Trying to stay up or continuing to fight?
Rub, good point, the whole grabbing back thing can indeed be second nature to someone who doesn’t know better.
red5 – heck, even i know better. whether or not i DO better is a different story.
How are you going to effectively fight back with strikes if your center’s gone?
MP, could you clarify with how it relates to this?
These guys are grabbing on because they know they are tipping over but don’t know exactly what to do about it. When you’re about to fall down the stairs, you reach out for the railing.
They know if they keep striking without paying attention to their balance they go over. They know that grabbing on to something will keep them upright, and that’s gotta be better than getting dumped. Problem is, they don’t know HOW to recover their center/balance. So they get thrown anyway.
This is my recommended recipe defend the takedown, when out of danger, beat on him. 
Every other response is low percentage, IMO.
I think it’s lack of clinch training, Red5. If you have moves in your arsenal from the clinch and know how to fight for position from the clinch, then you won’t freeze up or try to hold on aimlessly. Once I learned some clinch stuff, the only reason I would lock up with the opponent is if I felt I was getting dominated and needed to gather energy.
so by “defend the takedown” you suggest learning not to be taken down?
It’s a must. You have to be able to reclaim your center. If somebody starts taking your balance, beating on them is going to get you a mouthful of dirt.
Reclaim your balance, disengage on your terms and once safe, commence beatdown.
Actually I have punched my way out of someone grabbing my kick before, both in sparring and in competition. We actually had a drill we practiced where your partner held your leg with one arm and a focus mitt in the right.
What about for a not so good grappler, or someone that doe snot grapple?