interesting article. I believe some of Nagato sensei's principles have a lot to offer, that is, survival, grab rocks and bash the other guy in the face, gouge eyes etc. at the same time it is not solving the problem altogether. The issue here is NOT to beat groundfighters at their own game; the issue to do develop adequate groundfighting skills as a platform from which you can apply survival/street principles!! what I mean is this. If you truly believe that all you need to cover the issue of groundfighting is to say, 'oh, i'll just do dirty tactics, pick up a rock or stick and that's all I have to do'. Now, if this is what you think is all there is to it, you're going to be in big trouble when a bigger, experienced opponent takes the fight to the ground. Why? your dirty tactics won't work on him if he has any experience, and also, you don't always have convenient weapons around or with you. Ok, a better way to get you to see the problem with the 'just pick up a rock' attitude is this; why don't you simple apply it to standup fighting as well?? Forget the kihon happo, all you need to beat a guy trying to punch and kick you is to pick up a rock or stick!!! It's not about that. It is about establishing an adequete platform of skill, be it standup or groundfighting. From that, you can apply principles of survival. Otherwise, you're not much better off than a 50 yr old mother that attended a few self-defense courses. Something to think about I think, and I wish more traditional MA's would look at it this way instead of coming up with convenient answers. btw, I think Nagato is cool, so I'm not exactly dissing him here. He is damn good at what he does.
Taijitsu (ninjitsu) is good at all ranges Just needs much more doing on the groundwork side of it. Also more sparing needs to be added.
I think you missed the point The issue is not whether you need groundfighting skills or not but how you should develop skills. I've seen so much of the pathetic attitude of various "martial artists" - particularly on the internet - of this new "do a little bit of this and a little bit of that". Let's just not get seriously GOOD at anything. The real solution is "work harder, train harder". If you want to get good at groundfighting then be prepared to train VERY HARD day in day out and remember that you still won't have the level of skill of a specialist. So the solution should be to train harder in your basics of punching and kicking, taisabaki, locks, throws, controls ... and on the ground - pins, sweeps, escapes etc etc. Basics form every angle and every situation until it is instinctive. Playing your own game well is far more important than playing everyone else's half well. Hatsumi-sensei once said that when you are faced against a boxer - don't think about boxing ... when against a judoka - don't think about judo. Also if your a faced against a boxer (or any specialist) don't think "how do I fight a boxer?" but have him thinking "How do I fight a budoka?". So if you are faced with fighting a specialist in his comfort zone - for example a grappler on the ground - then use every dirty trick you can think of to get the situation back under your control and into YOUR comfort zone (assuming you have spent enough hours hard training to have one). Yes you need ground control skills but don't expect to face a real grappler with something half-arsed. Do whatever is required to win.
hi duncan, I agree with the 'little bit of this and that' attitude to be quite detrimental. You end up with half-baked skills that way. I was basically pointing out that a strong basic knowledge of groundfighting would be helpful. Of course, it is not a neccesity. Most ppl on the street don't have groundfighting skills. But to be totally complete, Budo Taijutsu would have to embrace it. not trying to convert anybody here. just thought it'd be an interesting topic.
before anyone kills me, like a certain person has on another thread, Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu is an art I respect a lot. If Brazilian Jiujitsu suddenly ceased to exist, I'd dedicate my life to Taijutsu. That's just me though
