Mixed Martial Arts Fighting Techniques. Danny Indio

techniques when we fight because we feel that it is dishonorable to do so. But to fight outside of the ring is a dirty business, and it’s always better to avoid a fight than to enter into a conflict with the mindset that you won’t do certain techniques because they are “dishonorable.” You can bet that your opponent won’t have any such qualms. The key point is that we apply these “dirty” techniques when our life is in danger and there is no referee or anyone else around to stop the fight—we must do or we die. If one has to fight in the street, the main goal is to preserve one’s life by stopping the opponent as soon as possible in the safest way possible. To do so requires that one prepare the mind beforehand for an encounter in the street, just as one prepares the mind before a fight in the ring.

      Who Is This Book For?

      Ultimately, this book is for everyone who wants to learn effective techniques for fighting and surviving on the streets. Fighters of all stripes will find something of use in this book: from the novice who is starting out in martial arts, to the experienced practitioner who wants additional combative techniques and concepts.

      Introduction

      “To understand combat one must approach it in a very simple and direct manner.”

      —Bruce Lee¹

      We rarely have the luxury of knowing when or where our next fight will be. For most of us that’s because we’re not looking to pick a fight in the streets. But it’s good to know that you’re ready for it when the time comes. When you train with simplicity and practicality in mind, then you know you can defend yourself with the most efficient and effective methods, concepts, and techniques. The popularity of mixed martial arts is the latest phenomenon that supports this conclusion.

      Mixed martial arts echoes a common Bruce Lee maxim that says one should “absorb what is useful and disregard what is useless.”² Also, directness, simplicity and effectiveness are concepts that the U.S. military advocates for fighting in armed and unarmed combat. As a result, the self-defense that the U.S. Army and the U.S. Marine Corps teaches their service members incorporates many techniques from the mixed martial arts world.

      However, fighting in the ring and fighting outside of it are different arenas that, despite overlapping, require a crucial shift in techniques and strategy. They both incorporate many of the same techniques but 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