Hi, my name is Al

Submission Grappling

Okay, I just wanted to get back to this. Even though I am back on the CLF wagon it won’t diminish my interest in other arts. Submission grappling isn’t a specific term for an art, its more encompassing moves and styles. Submissions can range from grabbing a limb, pulling it or the joint the way it shouldn’t be going, but only using enough force to cause unbelievable pain, not to snap the limb. It can go that far, but it’s not the point of it in competitions. Submissions are used extensively in Aikido, Jiu Jitsu and Brazillian Jiu Jitsu and can be seen all the time in competitions such as the UFC.

Submission fighting can also involve pressure point fighting or chokes. Pressure point fighting is usually thrown in with Dim Mak and Chin Na which isn’t exactly true as pressure point fighting is more of an aspect of the 2 styles. Choke submissions are just designed to restrict the oxygen and blood to the brain, causing you to pass out. It is a ’somewhat’ safe method to subdue people and is the preferred method of law enforcement due to there being no physical damage or risks(unless you count the change of the chokee wetting their pants a risk).

Personally, I believe that it’s always handy to know a few joint locks and choke holds because ‘fixing’ a situation via brawling can land all martial artists into a hurt amount of legal pain. I can say that I can vouch for the effectiveness of chokes and locks, having being shown a few things by various teachers and having been ‘put to sleep’ on more than one occasion. As for training it can be very dangerous when trying with another novice, hyper-extensions and passing out can occur, the basic idea is the moment it starts to hurt, don’t be a hero and try to tough it out, you just tap on your opponent or the floor and thats it. People will often train to get in these holds and reverse them into others, but it takes a high level of skill, and a careful opponent to pull these off safely.

Sleeper Holds

This little show by pro-wrestler John Cena gives you the basic idea. It’s used a lot in pro wrestling just to lock matches so people can catch their breath, but it is a particularly easy and effective submission and can be locked on very quickly and if it’s not on properly it only takes a little brute force to get it locked. This was the first time I had ever been choked out, I actually passed out because I hadn’t felt that sensation before and didn’t realise what was happening. When it’s taken off and everything pumps you will wake up okay, but feel a little weird. Like this guy:

Guillotine Chokes

This is another hold I can say I have fallen into. This time I remembered to tap, but I made a stupid mistake. I first got locked in when I was still standing, then I thought to pull his legs out from under him to slide him off. Of course, the 115kg guy just gripped harder and I went down too and couldn’t get up. Another great technique for stand-up fighters is to use this to wrench the neck and head till the opponent is on their toes, let go, then as they are trying to get their balance, punch the face. Easy huh? Its also a great streetfighting technique as lots of jerks tend to either throw huge haymaker punches or drop their heads to charge.

Disadvantages

Of course, like every art, submissions have their disadvantages. The main one being that although they can lock people up, unless they are used very skillfully as a human shield, you leave yourself wide open to other attackers. In the 2 holds above, you need both arms, and if you chose to lock on body scissors then you have no way to protect yourself. The advantage of stand up over submissions is that it rapidly takes people out whereas submissions are (usually) longer drawn fights and risky with multiple attackers. That’s not to say it can’t be done, but its just very difficult.

So there ya go, a very brief look at a couple of my favorite submissions. And if you are interested, this wikipedia page is rather awse.