XS2
20 November 2004, 03:55
Here's something I posted on my own forum that others here may be interested in...
The two golden rules of close quarter combat are always assume a weapon is present and always assume multiple attackers. The practical applications of ground fighting has got to be one of the biggest farsical points of discussion on the internet, resulting in this phase of the fight being hopelessly misunderstood and neglected due to a general inability to deal with those two rules when it comes to grappling in general, and ground fighting specifically.
The actual or potential for weapons, particularly knives, to appear in a fight mean there is a need to be able to constantly monitor and control both the attackers arms simultaneously. The potential for multiple opponents means there is a need to regain and maintain mobility ASAP for the purposes of escape and evasion. The close nature of grappling and ground fighting simplify the process of monitoring weapon bearing limbs through the process of positional dominance. Mobility on the other hand is a more complex issue due to the fact that my controling an opponent, you limit your own mobility, in addition to the fact many controlling pins also allow the opponent to grab onto you to prevent disengagement. Headlocks in particular are especially common among the inexperienced, despite their relative uselessness.
To get around the conflicting problems of needing to be able to establish control when necessary and allow for rapid disengagement when necessary, I have adapted the knee on stomach position into a concept known as the shin of peace, so dubbed due to the generally pleasant way your knee and shin is used to drive across the opponents head, neck and chest to extract and control their arms. Mr. Green
The knee on stomach position in general has the advantage of the ease at which the positinon can be established from any other controlling position, which makes it a very versatile position. Knee on stomach also allows for easy access to the opponents arms, legs and neck for joint locks and chokes, in addition to the fact it is a great position to punch from. Because knee on stomach has you kneeling above (or more correctly, on) the opponent, situational awareness is greatly improved, both in terms of what that opponent is going, and in terms of your environment in general. the mobile nature of the position also means that it is easy to switch from controling one arm to the other, or use your arms and shin to control both arms simultaneously. The mobile nature of the position also provides no real opportunity for the opponent to stop you from regaining your feet should you choose to disengage. The downside of the knee on stomach is it is a weak controlling position. That added mobility that makes the knee on stomach such a strength also makes it a weakness, as it is relatievly easy to escape from by hip escaping and pushing. This makes the knee on stomach a more advanced position to work from.
To maximise these strengths and minimise the weaknesses, I have modified the knee on stomach position into what I now call the shin of peace. Essentially what changes is rather than have the opponent lying on his back, with you kneeling on his chest/hips while facing his head, the position is reversed, with the knee being placed on the opponents shoulder/upper chest region, and we will now be facing his feet. To get basic visualisation, have the opponent on their back. You will be standing above them with their head by your feet, and with you looking in the direction of their feet. From there, the two positions are:
1. place your left shin along a line running from their right shoulder, with the knee remaining either just on their shoulder, or extending down to their upper sternum; or
2. the exact reverse, with your right shin running from their left shoulder to upper sternum.
The advantage of this position over the conventional knee on stomach is that when the opponent goes to hip escape or bridge, their shoulders will always remain relatively static. As we are now knee on shoulders, we have essentially cut out the two main escapes that make knee on stomach such a bitch to make work. Further, as we are directly over the opponents shoulders, if they want to push you off them, all they can do is puch you directly up. This means they won't be able to effectively push you off you, so once their arms fatigue (which will happen in a matter of seconds as they will have to essentially bench press your whole bodyweight from a very awkward position), you will set back down on their shoulders.
Now for the great part, to extract the opponents arms, all that is required is to drive your shin across their head and torso, and onto their far arm to pin it to the ground. From here you have that one arm under control, and have now established yourself in a picture perfect front control, with their other arm now sticking up in the air to be armbarred or kimura'd.
The knee on shoulder/shin of peace effectively allows you to extract their arms and go into an armlock in a matter of seconds from when the knee hits their shoulder, rather than have to fight for it from any other of the dominant positions regardless of how they defend from that position.
The shin of peace is also remarkably easy to set up from a wide assortment of positions. When standing against a grounded opponent, the shin of peace can act as an initial knee stomp to the head/upper chest region, as per the methods widely seen in various Phillipino and Indonesian martial arts. The shin of peace can also be easily established from any conventional knee on stomach simply by switching knees, moving from knee on stomach to the other knee on their near shoulder, as per the motion used to switch knee rides from one side to the other. The shin of peace can also be accessed from a high mount via a conventional knee ride, or from side and front control directly.
The shin of peace has pretty muich revolutionised my entire top control game, making the whole thing appear almost too easy! as a concept it has simplified th extraction of arms for front control attacks beyond what words can really describe, in addition to being a complete mongrel of a position for the opponent. Mr. Green
Once competence has been established, extraction of the arms should only take a matter of seconds, with submission following almost instantaneously. This is the direct result of the shin of peace cuttin goff escape options as per my earlier mention, as well as the fact the position extracts and controls the arms as a matter of course simultaneously. Essentially it allows an incapacitating arm lock to happen within a matter of seconds of you establishing top position, rather than having to fart around with the opponent being able to grab around you or keep their arms in tight as per the usual front and side control problems.
This allows for the very rapid incapacitation of a bad guy once he hits the ground, should it be needed, the rapid control of weapons bearing limbs, as well as allowing pretty much immediate disengagement should it be necessary. The immense versatility of the shin of peace has meant it is now the cornerstone of my top ground game, as it has become immensely sutable for dealing with the need to combine speed, control and disengageability into the one concept, making it a true technique for all seasons!
The two golden rules of close quarter combat are always assume a weapon is present and always assume multiple attackers. The practical applications of ground fighting has got to be one of the biggest farsical points of discussion on the internet, resulting in this phase of the fight being hopelessly misunderstood and neglected due to a general inability to deal with those two rules when it comes to grappling in general, and ground fighting specifically.
The actual or potential for weapons, particularly knives, to appear in a fight mean there is a need to be able to constantly monitor and control both the attackers arms simultaneously. The potential for multiple opponents means there is a need to regain and maintain mobility ASAP for the purposes of escape and evasion. The close nature of grappling and ground fighting simplify the process of monitoring weapon bearing limbs through the process of positional dominance. Mobility on the other hand is a more complex issue due to the fact that my controling an opponent, you limit your own mobility, in addition to the fact many controlling pins also allow the opponent to grab onto you to prevent disengagement. Headlocks in particular are especially common among the inexperienced, despite their relative uselessness.
To get around the conflicting problems of needing to be able to establish control when necessary and allow for rapid disengagement when necessary, I have adapted the knee on stomach position into a concept known as the shin of peace, so dubbed due to the generally pleasant way your knee and shin is used to drive across the opponents head, neck and chest to extract and control their arms. Mr. Green
The knee on stomach position in general has the advantage of the ease at which the positinon can be established from any other controlling position, which makes it a very versatile position. Knee on stomach also allows for easy access to the opponents arms, legs and neck for joint locks and chokes, in addition to the fact it is a great position to punch from. Because knee on stomach has you kneeling above (or more correctly, on) the opponent, situational awareness is greatly improved, both in terms of what that opponent is going, and in terms of your environment in general. the mobile nature of the position also means that it is easy to switch from controling one arm to the other, or use your arms and shin to control both arms simultaneously. The mobile nature of the position also provides no real opportunity for the opponent to stop you from regaining your feet should you choose to disengage. The downside of the knee on stomach is it is a weak controlling position. That added mobility that makes the knee on stomach such a strength also makes it a weakness, as it is relatievly easy to escape from by hip escaping and pushing. This makes the knee on stomach a more advanced position to work from.
To maximise these strengths and minimise the weaknesses, I have modified the knee on stomach position into what I now call the shin of peace. Essentially what changes is rather than have the opponent lying on his back, with you kneeling on his chest/hips while facing his head, the position is reversed, with the knee being placed on the opponents shoulder/upper chest region, and we will now be facing his feet. To get basic visualisation, have the opponent on their back. You will be standing above them with their head by your feet, and with you looking in the direction of their feet. From there, the two positions are:
1. place your left shin along a line running from their right shoulder, with the knee remaining either just on their shoulder, or extending down to their upper sternum; or
2. the exact reverse, with your right shin running from their left shoulder to upper sternum.
The advantage of this position over the conventional knee on stomach is that when the opponent goes to hip escape or bridge, their shoulders will always remain relatively static. As we are now knee on shoulders, we have essentially cut out the two main escapes that make knee on stomach such a bitch to make work. Further, as we are directly over the opponents shoulders, if they want to push you off them, all they can do is puch you directly up. This means they won't be able to effectively push you off you, so once their arms fatigue (which will happen in a matter of seconds as they will have to essentially bench press your whole bodyweight from a very awkward position), you will set back down on their shoulders.
Now for the great part, to extract the opponents arms, all that is required is to drive your shin across their head and torso, and onto their far arm to pin it to the ground. From here you have that one arm under control, and have now established yourself in a picture perfect front control, with their other arm now sticking up in the air to be armbarred or kimura'd.
The knee on shoulder/shin of peace effectively allows you to extract their arms and go into an armlock in a matter of seconds from when the knee hits their shoulder, rather than have to fight for it from any other of the dominant positions regardless of how they defend from that position.
The shin of peace is also remarkably easy to set up from a wide assortment of positions. When standing against a grounded opponent, the shin of peace can act as an initial knee stomp to the head/upper chest region, as per the methods widely seen in various Phillipino and Indonesian martial arts. The shin of peace can also be easily established from any conventional knee on stomach simply by switching knees, moving from knee on stomach to the other knee on their near shoulder, as per the motion used to switch knee rides from one side to the other. The shin of peace can also be accessed from a high mount via a conventional knee ride, or from side and front control directly.
The shin of peace has pretty muich revolutionised my entire top control game, making the whole thing appear almost too easy! as a concept it has simplified th extraction of arms for front control attacks beyond what words can really describe, in addition to being a complete mongrel of a position for the opponent. Mr. Green
Once competence has been established, extraction of the arms should only take a matter of seconds, with submission following almost instantaneously. This is the direct result of the shin of peace cuttin goff escape options as per my earlier mention, as well as the fact the position extracts and controls the arms as a matter of course simultaneously. Essentially it allows an incapacitating arm lock to happen within a matter of seconds of you establishing top position, rather than having to fart around with the opponent being able to grab around you or keep their arms in tight as per the usual front and side control problems.
This allows for the very rapid incapacitation of a bad guy once he hits the ground, should it be needed, the rapid control of weapons bearing limbs, as well as allowing pretty much immediate disengagement should it be necessary. The immense versatility of the shin of peace has meant it is now the cornerstone of my top ground game, as it has become immensely sutable for dealing with the need to combine speed, control and disengageability into the one concept, making it a true technique for all seasons!