Close work : Grappling, Wrestling and Groundwork

When I was at university, I used to watch the Ultimate Fighting Competition (UFC). I remember thinking that this was the extreme side of martial arts and that the contenders must be particularly tough. Like many people, I was influenced by the heavy grappling and groundwork content of these tournaments, took Judo classes and enjoyed the rough and tumble of training and the frisson of competition. It took a short period of time to experience the limitations of a sport grappling approach in the environment of a Systema class. In most cases when one seeks to throw or take a person to the floor, the mind tends to focus totally on the task and ignores the big picture. It is then very difficult to perceive the actions of other people and your environment. Another way of putting it is that when I tried to wrestle with my partner, I got hit in the face a lot. So it was necessary to change my approach. Takedown methods must be utilised in response to opportunity, whether naturally occurring or specifically created. I found this change of thinking very hard initially, and I see it as a process people coming to Systema need to go through during training. Opportunity Registering opportunity can be learnt by watching people move. During an action such as walking, the rise and fall of the body represent different timing points. The rising body is light and easier to move, whereas the falling body is less mobile, but easier to collapse. Likewise, the transition of body weight from one foot to the other contains many opportunities to change a person's direction and form. At a different level of perception, it is possible to take action appropriate to both you and your partner's breathing. Simple drills can be used to learn movement with breathing. Even putting a hand on a person who exaggerates their breathing can give an idea of what is possible and how to proceed by feeling change in muscle tension and elasticity of the body at different parts of the respiratory cycle. Creating opportunity allows a greater choice in when and how a takedown method may be applied. Usually the opportunity grows from the person's response to an earlier event. This may be a strike, pull or push to some part of the body. Alternatively it could be the perception of a strike or response to a meaningful movement on your part. This type of work may by applied to standing positions and those of reduced mobility.

(< Left) A situation where both people are unbalanced allows takedowns and other interesting work to be done.

(right>) A takedown is usually defined by causing one person to loose their form and balance to the extents that a fall, roll or escape is necessary.

Groundwork Groundwork is based principally on restraint or submission, usually in the form of pinning, joint locking and choking. The first problem I encountered during this approach was the floor itself. The floor can be very hard or uneven and this means that some positions considered to be advantageous can be incredibly uncomfortable (often joints are in contact with the floor).  The second problem is that a pin does not work so well when there is no mat to sink into and grip the body. If we also consider the probability of strikes or increase the number of people involved we can see that restraint and movement should be approached differently when outside a sporting situation.

(< Left) Using the bodyweight to hold an opponent down. This method does not allow awareness of the environment.

How do we as Systema exponents approach groundwork? The most difficult concept is the need for mobility when on the ground; this is very hard to develop at first as it seems logical to engage the opponent with strength, either by holding tightly or pushing. This often leads to a 'bulldozer' situation as each person uses strength and weight to push the other person over backward. A pin usually follows as the falling person is immobile for a moment after their back reaches the floor. Experience of grappling shows that it is very hard to pin someone who is still moving unless you first stop that movement. To increase awareness of movement, learning to escape from a position of restraint can be a very useful drill. A pin is a reasonably simple thing to learn - one must cast their body weight in such a way that it immobilises a specific part of another's body.  During sport grappling a struggle then ensues to see if the pinned person is strong enough to lift the opponent's bodyweight. Judo classifies this as an uphill turn escape and will occur in 31.6%* of cases with no other type of escape observed. *source: www.Judoinfo.com However it is possible to affect an escape by moving the pinned body part away from the pin. Because the floor is in the way, the whole body must move a small amount to yield the required space. You are not lifting your partner and a small person may escape the hold of a much larger person by squeezing out from underneath. In many cases, this type of escape is less physical if both bodies are parallel rather than at right angles, either by chance or positive action (continued on next page)

(^above) Constant movement when on the ground allows the use of momentum to change position.

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