Going to ground
Way back in the day, "going to ground" was a military term for turning in for the night. Going to sleep. Checking one's eyelids for leaks.
Enter the 90s.
Going to ground meant that some BJJ guy now had you in his territory and was finishing you off.
Great for UFC/ MMA. And, as many will tell you, great for self-defense, too.
Well, maybe not. In MMA, you train in a gym. With mats. Mats absorb the pressure of falling, of being tossed. Of knees and joints and whatnot.
Roll around on cement or an unknown terrain of grass, glass, needles and whatnot, I don't think you will find it as pleasant.
Does that mean I think MMA or BJJ is useless?
Nope.
But I also don't think it is the be-all, end-all fighting style.
Again, back in the 90s, there was the stat that 90 per cent of all fights went to the ground. Know where that stat came from? The LAPD. Know what that stat doesn't tell you? These aren't street fights. The stat is purposefully misleading. Why? Because, then as now, the Gracies were looking to market their brand. And let's face it, that's what it is. It is now a brand. The fighting Nikes.
Here's some things to keep in mind:
- in unfamiliar territory and with an unknown assailant, you DO NOT WANT TO BE ON THE GROUND. Guard or mount, you are in a risky position for a pile of reasons. You don't know what is there and you don't know what your opponent has. If they started the fight, there's pretty good odds go to the thought that, "oh, maybe he has a weapon." Fighters and criminals don't fight fair. Don't believe me? Contact your local police department and ask about stats of assaults - then ask how many presented weapons.
- jamais deux sans trois... ou quatre... ou plus: You learn this on the playground - people never fight solo. There's almost always a crowd, and many in that crowd will have a "side." I learned that when I worked security, I was reminded of that when I supervised high school dances. In removing a drunk unruly gr 12 student, I had one of his friends pop me in the kidneys. As a teacher, I could not react. But try that again in the real world? When I can and will? As a bouncer, I handled group brawls a number of times. Some times, I got my licks in. Some times, I was on the wrong end. Live and learn.
- ever pile drive a knee into the ground? Or get slammed onto a concrete surface? How about a rock in the shin? Unless you have a really high pain threshold, taking someone to the ground may be a really bad idea. Road rash is a very possible reality, whether it is the back (bottom guy) or the legs and knees (top guy). But hey, you're a tough guy, right. (NB - I always laugh when I see the videos of the BJJ guy taking someone down on the beach... riiight, like that will happen).
Again, not saying it does not work, I am saying you are playing with specific variables - one person, one fight, one tapout. Reality does not work that way. So, if you want to prepare for it, you need to train for it.
Now, back to that 90 or 95 percent of fights go to the ground thingie.
The Gracies ingratiated themselves with many reputable American martial artists and with law enforcement agencies (including the LAPD) when they first arrived in America. That's how, coincidentally, they found Big John McCarthy - he was an LAPD officer. But I digress.
In 1997, the American Society for Law Enforcement Training (ASLET) released an LAPD-directed study on police encounters and use-of-force responses. The study looked at outcomes from 1988. Of some 300, 000 arrests, only a fraction resulted in notable use of force. A smaller percentage still were those that became, for lack of a better term, combative.
Officers were injured. OD (sick time) time occurred as a result.
But here's the thing. the Gracies do not explain how the fight went to the ground. Why? It woulda been contrary to the narrative they want to create.
For the time I was a bouncer... or event security... or personal protection guy... or my brief time in law enforcement, a good chunk of what I did saw the guy go to the ground. Why? I had more control there.
Cases in point?
- Working a NYE party at a hotel in mid-sized Canadian city in the early 90s. Big hotel. Lotsa drunk drunk stupid people. Usually a lot of issues and arrests. We were dealing with drunk revellers on the main floor going up to the ballroom where the action was. Cops. Event security Drunk people. All in close proximity, In one case, a subject was closing to strike a colleague, with police in close range. I stepped in and up, swept him off his feet and onto the ground. Face first, Hands came back behind him - one with force, the other one compliantly. Cuffed and stuffed,
- Working at a football game in same mid-sized Canadian city, I and a colleague were at field level as we approached the end of the game. An intoxicated fan was at ground level, on the field, and was taunting opposing players who were winning the game. He was not necessarily violent, but he was feeling no pain and was obviously itching to start something. He didn't see me coming. Or more correctly, he did not have time to react to my arm at his neck height as he turned to face me as he danced around a rather burly football player. I believe it is called a "clothesline" in rassling parlance. Again, cuffed, stuffed and lifted to his feet via shackles. (Yes, I was that kind of asshole in those days)
- Working at very popular cowboy bar, affectionately called "The Swamp" in same Canadian city. I observed a couple of drunk lads of the cowboy-hatted variety set up to ambush another guy as he came out of the washroom. I am the only guy at the door - and the washroom is a few feet away from the door to the exterior of the larger room down a hallway, I manage to get the attention of several of my colleague who come running as I haul the three-fighter circus into the bar area - by hair grabs and elbows. I am left dealing with the ringleader who is drunk and determined. I pulverize his arm with elbows and then rip him off his feet dropping him to his knees. I now have a crowd of his friend approaching me. He is in a chokehold as I offer to "make him go night-night" if they step closer. The girlfriend steps in with one of his friends - who I noticed had a beer bottle tucked by his leg. Buddy went out and shortly thereafter relieved himself. Cops came. We closed the bar, All three went to the hospital. I did paperwork. And then I noticed I was covered in blood and my pants were ruined.
There's more but you get the point.
Sometimes what you do does not work in your favour.
- Same city, same sorta job Working in an "upscale" bar (just means we attracted a higher class of lowlife drunk) and it was a certain time of the month for 'social payments' to occur. I am visiting the bar, actually, and chatting with colleagues as I enjoy a beer near the entrance. I observe some bad looks between a couple of the 'newly paid clientele' a couple of minutes before they go at it, Someone slept with someone's sister who was also someone's girlfriend. Now, said bar has a bar owner who thought it a marvelous idea to truck unwashed sand into the bar to have an "indoor beach party/" - an act that turned out to be a colossally stupid move, believe it or not. The big guys goes after the poor little guy who put his junk where it ought not to have been and the fight is on. Never having been one in the day to miss out on a good fight, I jumped in to help my colleagues who were working short-handed (we had a coupla lazy gits on staff at that time). I had the big fella. Or I thought I did. All of a sudden I am being pulled by my arm and my shirt by his friends above us in the seating area. Down I go (thanks, shifting sand) with the big whale on top of my left knee. I see boots coming to my head and I scramble. I have to Jesus-hold blubber-boy and drag him around, causing him some shoulder and back pain (thanks, sand). I armbar him and we toss the two aggrieved morons out the side door and send their friends with them. Our two moronic compatriots decide that they will let drunk dazed and bleeding guy out the front door. Fight to be continued in the parking lot. Just in time for the police to arrive.
I promised myself this would not be long.
In any and all of the times I put people on the ground intentionally, it was face-down. I can control them easier and I can cuff them efficiently and effectively. No one went down hard unless I needed them to. Meaning they deserved to (e.g presence of weapon, serious threat to injure imposed).
So, yes, to understand how said cops ended up with said perps on the ground, you need to do one of two things:
- read the study
- become a cop and live the experience.
If you have time for neither, you can read another guy's breakdown of it here. If you still do not have time, here's what it says: of those minuscule number of combative incidents, "the LAPD study shows that 95% of altercations took on one of five familiar patterns (with which any street cop will be intimately familiar). It also shows that of that 95%, 62% ended up with both the officer and the suspect grappling on the ground."
Boy that changes things, huh?
So, why the false narrative?
Marketing
Meathead marketing.
Most morons who went a-rolling were not smart enough to ask questions or read the study. They just wanted to take other guys to the ground and lay the beats. The Gracies wanted to prove dominancy of their style.
And for a while, they did.
Now, the top UFC fighters are well-rounded folks with striking, kicking, grappling and a host of other skills. They are in great shape and they are great fighters.
In their context.
Squared circle or octagon are not, I repeat, NOT the street, Nothing they do in their training prepares them for that environment. No ring. No rules No mats. No tapping out.
Do I fancy myself a superior fighter? Well, younger me did. And he held his own. But I have the scars and the mobility issues to prove that it is a much younger man's game. Fun while it lasted, but there is always a cost.
The whole point of my exercise?
-You should have skills for most if not all ranges and environments, including grappling. And gouging. And eye-poking. And, yes, biting. If you are in a fight in the open world, the key is not losing. It is not about sticking to the Marquis de Queensbury rules.
- You need to realize you are rarely alone in the fighting universe. And neither is your opponent.
- You need to realize that the real ground is not your friend. Any time. Pavement hurts. Rocks and uneven surfaces make for a beeyotch of a bad one for the back/ body. And unless you had time to clear your fighting space prior to the big roll, you may end up with some nasty surprises.
Or great improvised weapons (for you). Or really painful weapons (for them).
Oh, and yeah, don't pay attention to bullshit "this martial art does X" Ask to see empirical studies or impartial proof. People that use circular logic to refute your skepticism or those who claim invincible 'do-all' styles are trying to sell you something. Consume the kool-aid at your own peril.
In the meantime, train smart, live well and enjoy life.
PS for a more fulsome view, I defer to The Animal himself.
Enter the 90s.
Going to ground meant that some BJJ guy now had you in his territory and was finishing you off.
Great for UFC/ MMA. And, as many will tell you, great for self-defense, too.
Well, maybe not. In MMA, you train in a gym. With mats. Mats absorb the pressure of falling, of being tossed. Of knees and joints and whatnot.
Roll around on cement or an unknown terrain of grass, glass, needles and whatnot, I don't think you will find it as pleasant.
Does that mean I think MMA or BJJ is useless?
Nope.
But I also don't think it is the be-all, end-all fighting style.
Again, back in the 90s, there was the stat that 90 per cent of all fights went to the ground. Know where that stat came from? The LAPD. Know what that stat doesn't tell you? These aren't street fights. The stat is purposefully misleading. Why? Because, then as now, the Gracies were looking to market their brand. And let's face it, that's what it is. It is now a brand. The fighting Nikes.
Here's some things to keep in mind:
- in unfamiliar territory and with an unknown assailant, you DO NOT WANT TO BE ON THE GROUND. Guard or mount, you are in a risky position for a pile of reasons. You don't know what is there and you don't know what your opponent has. If they started the fight, there's pretty good odds go to the thought that, "oh, maybe he has a weapon." Fighters and criminals don't fight fair. Don't believe me? Contact your local police department and ask about stats of assaults - then ask how many presented weapons.
 |
| All it takes is for their guy to start losing - and this becomes an unfairer fight fast. Note the presence of multiple weapons. |
- jamais deux sans trois... ou quatre... ou plus: You learn this on the playground - people never fight solo. There's almost always a crowd, and many in that crowd will have a "side." I learned that when I worked security, I was reminded of that when I supervised high school dances. In removing a drunk unruly gr 12 student, I had one of his friends pop me in the kidneys. As a teacher, I could not react. But try that again in the real world? When I can and will? As a bouncer, I handled group brawls a number of times. Some times, I got my licks in. Some times, I was on the wrong end. Live and learn.
- ever pile drive a knee into the ground? Or get slammed onto a concrete surface? How about a rock in the shin? Unless you have a really high pain threshold, taking someone to the ground may be a really bad idea. Road rash is a very possible reality, whether it is the back (bottom guy) or the legs and knees (top guy). But hey, you're a tough guy, right. (NB - I always laugh when I see the videos of the BJJ guy taking someone down on the beach... riiight, like that will happen).
Again, not saying it does not work, I am saying you are playing with specific variables - one person, one fight, one tapout. Reality does not work that way. So, if you want to prepare for it, you need to train for it.
 |
| "95 per cent of all Kirk fights go to the ground." |
Now, back to that 90 or 95 percent of fights go to the ground thingie.
The Gracies ingratiated themselves with many reputable American martial artists and with law enforcement agencies (including the LAPD) when they first arrived in America. That's how, coincidentally, they found Big John McCarthy - he was an LAPD officer. But I digress.
In 1997, the American Society for Law Enforcement Training (ASLET) released an LAPD-directed study on police encounters and use-of-force responses. The study looked at outcomes from 1988. Of some 300, 000 arrests, only a fraction resulted in notable use of force. A smaller percentage still were those that became, for lack of a better term, combative.
Officers were injured. OD (sick time) time occurred as a result.
But here's the thing. the Gracies do not explain how the fight went to the ground. Why? It woulda been contrary to the narrative they want to create.
For the time I was a bouncer... or event security... or personal protection guy... or my brief time in law enforcement, a good chunk of what I did saw the guy go to the ground. Why? I had more control there.
Cases in point?
- Working a NYE party at a hotel in mid-sized Canadian city in the early 90s. Big hotel. Lotsa drunk drunk stupid people. Usually a lot of issues and arrests. We were dealing with drunk revellers on the main floor going up to the ballroom where the action was. Cops. Event security Drunk people. All in close proximity, In one case, a subject was closing to strike a colleague, with police in close range. I stepped in and up, swept him off his feet and onto the ground. Face first, Hands came back behind him - one with force, the other one compliantly. Cuffed and stuffed,
- Working at a football game in same mid-sized Canadian city, I and a colleague were at field level as we approached the end of the game. An intoxicated fan was at ground level, on the field, and was taunting opposing players who were winning the game. He was not necessarily violent, but he was feeling no pain and was obviously itching to start something. He didn't see me coming. Or more correctly, he did not have time to react to my arm at his neck height as he turned to face me as he danced around a rather burly football player. I believe it is called a "clothesline" in rassling parlance. Again, cuffed, stuffed and lifted to his feet via shackles. (Yes, I was that kind of asshole in those days)
- Working at very popular cowboy bar, affectionately called "The Swamp" in same Canadian city. I observed a couple of drunk lads of the cowboy-hatted variety set up to ambush another guy as he came out of the washroom. I am the only guy at the door - and the washroom is a few feet away from the door to the exterior of the larger room down a hallway, I manage to get the attention of several of my colleague who come running as I haul the three-fighter circus into the bar area - by hair grabs and elbows. I am left dealing with the ringleader who is drunk and determined. I pulverize his arm with elbows and then rip him off his feet dropping him to his knees. I now have a crowd of his friend approaching me. He is in a chokehold as I offer to "make him go night-night" if they step closer. The girlfriend steps in with one of his friends - who I noticed had a beer bottle tucked by his leg. Buddy went out and shortly thereafter relieved himself. Cops came. We closed the bar, All three went to the hospital. I did paperwork. And then I noticed I was covered in blood and my pants were ruined.
There's more but you get the point.
Sometimes what you do does not work in your favour.
- Same city, same sorta job Working in an "upscale" bar (just means we attracted a higher class of lowlife drunk) and it was a certain time of the month for 'social payments' to occur. I am visiting the bar, actually, and chatting with colleagues as I enjoy a beer near the entrance. I observe some bad looks between a couple of the 'newly paid clientele' a couple of minutes before they go at it, Someone slept with someone's sister who was also someone's girlfriend. Now, said bar has a bar owner who thought it a marvelous idea to truck unwashed sand into the bar to have an "indoor beach party/" - an act that turned out to be a colossally stupid move, believe it or not. The big guys goes after the poor little guy who put his junk where it ought not to have been and the fight is on. Never having been one in the day to miss out on a good fight, I jumped in to help my colleagues who were working short-handed (we had a coupla lazy gits on staff at that time). I had the big fella. Or I thought I did. All of a sudden I am being pulled by my arm and my shirt by his friends above us in the seating area. Down I go (thanks, shifting sand) with the big whale on top of my left knee. I see boots coming to my head and I scramble. I have to Jesus-hold blubber-boy and drag him around, causing him some shoulder and back pain (thanks, sand). I armbar him and we toss the two aggrieved morons out the side door and send their friends with them. Our two moronic compatriots decide that they will let drunk dazed and bleeding guy out the front door. Fight to be continued in the parking lot. Just in time for the police to arrive.
I promised myself this would not be long.
In any and all of the times I put people on the ground intentionally, it was face-down. I can control them easier and I can cuff them efficiently and effectively. No one went down hard unless I needed them to. Meaning they deserved to (e.g presence of weapon, serious threat to injure imposed).
So, yes, to understand how said cops ended up with said perps on the ground, you need to do one of two things:
- read the study
- become a cop and live the experience.
If you have time for neither, you can read another guy's breakdown of it here. If you still do not have time, here's what it says: of those minuscule number of combative incidents, "the LAPD study shows that 95% of altercations took on one of five familiar patterns (with which any street cop will be intimately familiar). It also shows that of that 95%, 62% ended up with both the officer and the suspect grappling on the ground."
Boy that changes things, huh?
So, why the false narrative?
Marketing
Meathead marketing.
Most morons who went a-rolling were not smart enough to ask questions or read the study. They just wanted to take other guys to the ground and lay the beats. The Gracies wanted to prove dominancy of their style.
And for a while, they did.
Now, the top UFC fighters are well-rounded folks with striking, kicking, grappling and a host of other skills. They are in great shape and they are great fighters.
In their context.
Squared circle or octagon are not, I repeat, NOT the street, Nothing they do in their training prepares them for that environment. No ring. No rules No mats. No tapping out.
Do I fancy myself a superior fighter? Well, younger me did. And he held his own. But I have the scars and the mobility issues to prove that it is a much younger man's game. Fun while it lasted, but there is always a cost.
The whole point of my exercise?
-You should have skills for most if not all ranges and environments, including grappling. And gouging. And eye-poking. And, yes, biting. If you are in a fight in the open world, the key is not losing. It is not about sticking to the Marquis de Queensbury rules.
- You need to realize you are rarely alone in the fighting universe. And neither is your opponent.
- You need to realize that the real ground is not your friend. Any time. Pavement hurts. Rocks and uneven surfaces make for a beeyotch of a bad one for the back/ body. And unless you had time to clear your fighting space prior to the big roll, you may end up with some nasty surprises.
Or great improvised weapons (for you). Or really painful weapons (for them).
 |
| Great fighters are not made, they're Gorn |
Oh, and yeah, don't pay attention to bullshit "this martial art does X" Ask to see empirical studies or impartial proof. People that use circular logic to refute your skepticism or those who claim invincible 'do-all' styles are trying to sell you something. Consume the kool-aid at your own peril.
In the meantime, train smart, live well and enjoy life.
PS for a more fulsome view, I defer to The Animal himself.
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