sprawl

**ThorsMitersaw** · Posted On: 5/07/2006 6:21am

Does anyone know of any good spwarl and brawl resources or training schools/gyms/dojos... whatever. I am a 22 year old who has boxed amateurly for about 2 years along with previous years of off and on boxing with my uncles and cousins who used to box. And well I am interested in getting into the MMA. I am familiar with various other things however...

I haev done a bit of combatives from the old military manual previous to the current one for the united states military, have started to look for a wrestling school in my area (arlington VA). I did find this place: http://www.novamma.com/index.htm

I really just want to keep on my feet and learn to defend against instead of use holds and takedowns.

Any help you guys can give me would be great

**VoXidian** · Posted On: 5/07/2006 7:31am

Maybe MMA isn't for you then if you really don't want to bother with the grappling aspect of it? There's always boxing, kickboxing and mt... That school looks really wicked though, why don't you test it out before you decide that grappling isn't any fun? Unless you have already.

**JonK** · Posted On: 5/07/2006 10:12am

FWIW, that's the school I go to, and I can't recommend it highly enough.

As for the rest of it, you can definitely improve your takedown defense, but there's always going to be someone who's going to be able to put you on your back.

**Phrost** · Posted On: 5/07/2006 10:22am

K1 competitor Jeff Ford used to have a school out here that only taught ground so far as to avoid submissions and get back to your feet. I'm not sure what level of success his guys had in MMA, but his kickboxers are pretty good. Sudoraba, a member here, is doing damn well out in Cali now and he used to train there.

Your best bet is to just find a school that does kickboxing and sub grappling/no-gi BJJ. It's not going to hurt you to learn grappling and you might find that you have enough talent in it to forego limiting yourself to one approach to fighting.

**Method2Madness** · Posted On: 5/07/2006 11:52am

I agree with Phrost. You should find a good striking school with grappling classes. Since you're interested in mma, you'll need a solid base in both.

**ThorsMitersaw** · Posted On: 5/07/2006 9:40pm

Originally Posted by JonK

FWIW, that's the school I go to, and I can't recommend it highly enough.

As for the rest of it, you can definitely improve your takedown defense, but there's always going to be someone who's going to be able to put you on your back.

I woudl liek to thank everyone for being constructive and friendly. I woudl also like to thank the mod and others for thier replies and suggestions.

JonK: I will be calling this place tommorow and talk to someone hopefully aout the programs. Its not that I dont want to learn ground fighting its just that I prefer to remain on my feet. I would love to learn the other modes/stages of fighting as much as possible so that I can stay out of them.

Is training to AVOID takedowns, submissions apart of submission and takedown training?

:jihad1: <----oh my god this is hilarious... off topic I know :-P

***Cassius*** · Posted On: 5/08/2006 2:40am

Originally Posted by ThorsMitersaw

Is training to AVOID takedowns, submissions apart of submission and takedown training?

Do you train to avoid being punched in boxing? Your answer should be yes. And the answer to your question should also be yes.

Warning: Grappling takes serious time to learn. You're most likely not going to be operational in just a couple months.

***JohnnyCache*** · Posted On: 5/08/2006 3:16am

Originally Posted by ThorsMitersaw

I woudl liek to thank everyone for being constructive and friendly. I woudl also like to thank the mod and others for thier replies and suggestions.

JonK: I will be calling this place tommorow and talk to someone hopefully aout the programs. Its not that I dont want to learn ground fighting its just that I prefer to remain on my feet. I would love to learn the other modes/stages of fighting as much as possible so that I can stay out of them.

Is training to AVOID takedowns, submissions apart of submission and takedown training?

:jihad1: <----oh my god this is hilarious... off topic I know :-P

A better question would be can ANYONE show you how to defend groundwork if they don't know good groundwork?

Also, if you are learning the counter to a submission or takedown, is it fair to yourself or your partner to not simply drill it offensively a few times? And might you learn a few things about avoiding the technique by performing it? And how do you know you prefer to remain on your feet if you don't know what your ground game could be like?

**ThorsMitersaw** · Posted On: 5/08/2006 6:56pm

Garbanzo Bean :
"Warning: Grappling takes serious time to learn. You're most likely not going to be operational in just a couple months."

I am aware of this. No martial skill takes minutes to learn and I do not expect to become a master at anything within an unrealistic amount of time. I do not even consider myself an accomplished boxer yet.

JohnnyCache:
"is it fair to yourself or your partner to not simply drill it offensively a few times? And might you learn a few things about avoiding the technique by performing it? And how do you know you prefer to remain on your feet if you don't know what your ground game could be like?"

Well I cant say I know much of my capability on the ground but I DO know that in a real world situation I would think it much prefered to remain standing as oppossed to be on the concrete or just on the ground with the guys buddies standing around us ready to kick the **** outta me. But "real world" arguements aside, I have previously mentioned in light that I have done some wrestling and military combatives that involve limited amounts of ground work. Granted that expereince is light and limited, but from a comparison of those I much prefer to remain on my feet and use the range I have in my long arms. I stand at 6'1'' tall and have exceptionally long arms and feel most comfortable as a ranged boxer.

Granted however that this preference for standing may be because of my unfamiliarity and limited experience and hence a mental stigma against being on the ground.

to the both of you
very creative screennames, I like 'em :-)

**Teh El Macho** · Posted On: 5/08/2006 8:55pm

^^ You have a good point that in a real world self-defense situation you don't want to be on the ground. In fact, you don't want to be in it to begin with (the best defense is to avoid or just run the **** out)... but as things are in the real world, when **** hits the fan, very little to no control you will have on the events unfolding, and the ground may meet you when you least expect it. In a situation like that, you better know at least the basics. Otherwise, you'll be like fish out of the water... literally :)

Wouldn't SanShou provide a nice alternative for Thors? After all, SanShou fighters train to do (and avoid) takedowns while trading blows :eusa_thin

Anyway, don't discount grappling just yet. You may end up liking it and with it find the meaning of life with a universe full of pretty colors, oh, the colors, the colors. Or at the very least, you will become more apt to defend yourself ground or no ground...