with largely different aims. In the ring, you fight one individual in a matted and enclosed environment, according to set rules as guided by a referee so that you can win via points, knockout or submission. In the streets, you fight under usually unexpected circumstances against one or more individuals—who may or may not be armed—on rough and open terrain, with possible legal and mortal consequences. Even more extreme, if you’re a soldier in a warzone, you are weighed down with military protective gear and carry a variety of weapons, surrounded by enemies from all sides who are also armed. Thus, every martial artist’s development has to be adaptable to the type of enemy and situation they are likely to face. The great thing is that because many of the mixed martial arts techniques are efficient, simple and direct, they can be adapted to situations outside of the ring.
Like athletes, fighters are always pushing themselves to get better and be prepared to face all types of challenges. As the saying goes, “you fight the way you train”—you have to be adaptable and find time and ways to train in techniques outside of the typical ring scenario.
For example, we all know that an arm bar is a devastating weapon to use against any opponent. But should it be the first weapon you use in any given situation? As great as an arm bar might be in the ring, it would be of dubious benefit to use it as your “go-to move” in the streets where there are no mats and your opponent might have friends with him.
To fight effectively, the martial artist must be versatile enough to switch between lethal and nonlethal hand-to-hand combat techniques, whether he or she is armed or unarmed. Because this is a primer, the book will cover empty hand and knife techniques from the ranges of punching, kicking, clinching, takedowns and grappling.
A good martial artist always aims to develop his or her sensory awareness, decisiveness, accuracy, efficient use of their body and overall physical fitness. These basic elements should be constantly sharpened through meditation, visualization, study of all forms of martial arts, physical exercise, and individual martial arts training.
Sensory awareness calls for one to be constantly alert to the messages received through the senses; everything from smells in the air to the environment around us.
Decisiveness means one has a clear purpose to attack or defend, commits to their decision once it’s made and uses good judgment to determine if he should attack or not.
Accuracy makes you better at hitting your target; this will help you end the fight quicker and increase your chances for survival.
Efficient use of your body means that you minimize wasteful physical motions and get to the target with the least amount of exertion for the maximum benefit.
Physical fitness necessarily involves pushing your body to improve its attributes, including: stamina, strength, speed, agility, flexibility and endurance.
The Jeet Kune Do Approach
Self-defense is a natural instinct. From a baby’s reflexive kicking at an unwanted touch to our programmed fight-or-flight responses, we’ve had the self-defense survival instinct for as long as our species has been around. For thousands of years, all throughout the world, men have cultivated this instinct into formalized systems of self-defense complete with techniques, drills and exercises that build on our innate responses to form more effective and efficient methods. We are lucky, in this day and age, to be able to witness, learn and experience this culmination of martial wisdom and adopt what is most vital for our survival.
Hence, we see the growth of the sport of MMA as top competitors from different martial arts disciplines put their skills of kicking, punching, clinching and grappling to the test. Based on their successes and failures, they (and everyone else) then refine, correct, add to or improve on the techniques and strategies. It is a testament to Bruce Lee’s vision of absorbing what is useful and disregarding what is useless that we strive to find the most efficient and effective techniques for our survival. And with the advances in technology, we now have access to this knowledge in the form of online video clips, comments in forums and countless magazine articles.
Because of its effective and efficient techniques with an emphasis on and combination of striking, clinching, takedowns, throws and grappling, MMA serves as one of the most complete martial arts today. This book provides a foundation of mixed martial arts techniques and strategies that every street fighter should know. Furthermore, the book expands on these basic striking, clinching, takedown and grappling techniques and adds methods and techniques that can allow a fighter to defend against knife-wielding attackers. As effective as MMA is in covering the many different forms of fighting, it overlooks the reality of knife-fighting. Of course, that is not a failure of MMA since it is, first and foremost, an athletic sport with safety accommodations and rules. However, because the effectiveness and efficiency of MMA makes it suitable for self-defense on the streets, it adapts quite well to the use of and defense against weapons.
A Note About Training
You should aim to train in a martial arts school so that you have live partners to train safely and spar with because training from a book is not enough; you need that “live” energy and resistance that only another person can provide. As you train, focus on results and effectiveness!
Footnotes
1 Tao of Jeet Kune Do, Bruce Lee
2 This is also attributed to Guru Dan Inosanto and Jiddu Krishnamurti
CHAPTER 1
Understanding Strategy and Concepts
The crucial foundation for hand-to-hand combat is based on mastering the ranges of fighting, using the natural weapons of your body and knowing where to hit the opponent’s body. This is as true for the streets as it is for the ring.
Fighting Ranges
The fighting range describes the distance between you and your opponent. This distance is rarely fixed1 and changes in the heat of battle. An understanding of fighting ranges requires knowing how to move in and out of range and knowing what offensive and defensive tools work best in the different ranges. Whether you are empty-handed on the streets or wearing gloves in an MMA arena, the following are the four ranges of hand-to-hand combat.2
A superior fighter will be able to flow into and out of different fighting ranges at will, and will know the most effective offensive and defensive tools for each range. To fight efficiently, you maximize your strengths and exploit your opponent’s weakness. Therefore, against an opponent with excellent boxing skills, a good strategy might be to use a weapon, keep him in kicking range, or close the gap and take him down to the ground.
Kicking/Long Range
In this range, you engage with your opponent primarily with the longest limbs of your body—your legs. This usually favors a tall fighter and an expert kicker like a Muay Thai fighter. A height-disadvantaged fighter will usually try to close the gap to neutralize the kicking range and fight in a closer, more advantageous range.
Kicking/Long Range—The ample space in this range leaves plenty of room for kicking.
Punching/Medium Range
In this range, you engage your opponent primarily with straight punches and wide hooks. You can still kick in this range, but your guard needs to be up because your opponent is close enough to hit you with punches.
