When most of us think about the sport of wrestling, we tend to envision something people mostly do in middle school and high school. Maybe, if we’re good enough, we go on to pursue it in college as well – but that only applies to a small percentage of the population.
Wrestling is a tough, fast-paced sport that requires not only a high level of physical conditioning, but extreme mental toughness as well. As Joe Rogan once famously said, “There is a reason you don’t see wrestling schools popping up all over the place like other martial arts schools do.”
Jiu Jitsu differs in the sense that not only is the pace much more laid back and energy efficient, but it also takes place mostly on the ground. While most BJJ classes include teaching some form of wrestling and/or judo as a way of getting someone to the mat, it tends to take a back seat to guard passing, guard attacks, pin escapes, and all the other skill areas that make up BJJ.
The most common reason for this lays in the elevated risk of injury associated with standing grappling as a whole. Most injuries in Jiu Jitsu come from uncontrolled falling weight, and we are the most susceptible to that when on our feet, fighting to take each other to the floor. Having this in mind, we can easily see why the average practitioner might want to spend most of their training time starting on their knees. However, if we want to get comfortable enough to learn how to wrestle safely, the only way is to do it as often as possible.
[Fundamentals of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu]
Setting up for success
Knowing how to take someone to the ground is extremely important. Whether preparing for a tournament or just wanting to learn self defense, if we train a martial art that works on the ground, we have to have at least one reliable way of getting someone there.
What most of us find once we do start learning how to grapple on the feet is that it involves so much more than just “learning some takedowns.” When someone untrained watches a wrestling or judo match, most of them just see the takedowns or throws. What the untrained person does not see is all the grip fighting, off-balancing, and body positioning that goes into setting them up.
When someone learns a technique for the first time in BJJ — let’s say an armbar, for example — they usually just learn what the move entails first. It becomes challenging, however, once it comes time to do it on a resisting opponent, without first learning different sweeps or other moves that set it up.
The exact same applies when it comes to learning techniques in standing grappling. If we just go to shoot a double leg on someone without pushing, pulling, or faking on them first, we usually get crushed and sprawled on. But if we do something that causes our opponent to get out of position or off balance, and then shoot it, suddenly the move becomes much more effective.
The deeper we get into stand up grappling, we realize it doesn’t just take learning takedowns — a good foundation requires learning all the hand fighting, head positioning, grip breaking and movements that set them up.
[Should I Incorporate Strength Training Into My Grappling Routine?]
Once we learn the skills that go into effective grip fighting and moving someone on the feet, we find that they translate extremely well into all areas of grappling. What “grip fighting” really means, in its most basic definition, is defending the grips and connections our opponents look to make on us while simultaneously working to get our own offensive grips and control ties on them.
In order to control someone effectively, we need to first know what kinds of grips we like to have, and second, what our options look like once we get those grips. Having a solid understanding of what grips and connections we like to get on an opponent, and what they do, can help to create a road map for our grappling game as a whole.
For this reason, both judo and wrestling practices commonly make their way into most BJJ classes. Both have been around for many years and have refined systems both offensively and defensively on the feet that any BJJ practitioner can benefit from.
Finally, when it comes to using grappling for self defense, knowing how to safely and effectively get someone on the ground is extremely important. Whenever we look to control someone, we will have a much easier time if we get them on the ground and get past their legs first.
To me, it would be a shame to see a person train for a long time in a martial art and still not be able to handle an untrained person simply because they neglected one area. The more we incorporate standing rounds into our training, the more effective at grappling we will ultimately become.
