| In the old days, we used to say "make sure you learn | | | | disadvantage. He was referred to me by a tough |
| how to fight standing up first, and then learn what to | | | | boxer I knew many years ago named Vito. Vito and I |
| do on the ground." Today, the proponents of Brazilian | | | | remained good friends over the years and he sent his |
| Jiu Jitsu tell us that 90-95% of all fights end up on the | | | | friend to me for a one week camp to specifically to |
| ground, so because of this, martial art students should | | | | work on his striking power. |
| focus on ground fighting. | | | | Vito and I had a sparring match in the 1980's and he |
| As a martial arts instructor and proprietor of a large | | | | was always impressed with my punching power. I |
| dojo, I meet many prospective students interested in | | | | learned early on in my martial arts training that good |
| ground fighting, because of the popularity of mixed | | | | striking skills would serve me well. At the time of our |
| martial arts and the Ultimate Fighting Championships. | | | | fight, I only weighed 145lbs. in comparison to his 190lbs, |
| Some of them are annoyed at the fact that I | | | | but he still remembers my punches! |
| emphasize developing good striking skills before I even | | | | There really is no official statistic that supports the |
| consider putting them on a mat. | | | | claim that 90-95% of all fights end up on the ground. In |
| Let me say that I have great respect for the Gracie | | | | the September 2008 edition of BLACK BELT |
| family who has done so much to popularize ground | | | | MAGAZINE, author Bakari Akil II, Ph.D. studied 300 |
| fighting around the world. When I first saw the Gracie's | | | | fights on You Tube to determine if this claim was |
| winning so many fights, however, I wondered what | | | | accurate. In 72% of the cases, only one of the parties |
| would happen if they started to encounter more and | | | | ended up on the ground. In 42% of the fights, both |
| more opponents who were able to deliver hard and | | | | individuals ended up on the ground. Interestingly, 35% |
| fast strikes. Interestingly, I've seen more and more | | | | ended up on the ground after being punched and only |
| ground fighters pay closer attention to their striking skills | | | | one of these cases resulted in a knockout due to a |
| in the standing position. | | | | kick. Furthermore, Akil observed that the first person to |
| I recently had the pleasure of working with a young | | | | end up on the ground usually lost the fight! |
| man from Georgia who was trained under the Gracie | | | | The moral of this story is to become a well-rounded |
| system. While this he was an exceptional ground | | | | martial artist. Learn how to punch first! |
| fighter, the lack of good striking skills put him at a | | | | |