A video tutorial on how to get to your knees when you are on the bottom with an opponent on top trying to control you

Tips on how to train grappling in a weapons based environment in an everyday BJJ Academy

My most recent podcast was with the godo guys at Gunjitsu.

http://gunjitsupodcast.libsyn.com/combat-sports-methodology-training-with-megaton-and-the-burden-of-ego

The truth is, as human beings we are going to fail more often than we succeed.

Now, that failure may be a relatively minor thing – you don’t put a shopping cart back, you leave the dishes in the sink an extra day, you fail at your diet on one particular day, you don’t do your scheduled exercise program. Or it may be a more moderate one – you are short with a loved one, you cut someone off in traffic, you go out in public without a mask. Or it may even be a big one – you mentally, emotionally, or physically hurt someone even unintentionally. Whatever the case may be, we are all going to fail at it at some point. It is the nature of humanity. We want to be the best, but life has an insidious method of getting in the way.

Now, saying this is not a get out of jail free card, as if we can just move on and go “oh well, stuff happens”. Not at all. We need to pay attention to these mistakes, learn from them, and use them as an object lesson to try to prevent a re-occurrence. This is the way that we truly get better.

However, it does mean that we should not beat ourselves up anymore than is helpful to that goal of getting better. Endlessly flagellating ourselves accomplishes nothing and just diminishes our soul. I was talking to a friend recently who in my opinion was beating himself up when there was no need. He was truly and honestly trying to be better, and was too focused on the occasional lapse. I was trying to encourage him, when I realized I was doing the exact same thing at the same exact time. I had a family tragedy happen in the past few weeks, and I was torturing myself with the things and actions I felt in hindsight I did wrong in the days prior to this tragedy, and all I was doing was hurting myself to no end.

My wife has been telling me quite frequently the past five weeks that I need to be kind to myself and as often is true, she is right. We all need to exercise kindness in today’s world – kindness and empathy certainly to others, but to ourselves as well. Don’t stop trying to be better, but don’t dwell on the failures. Use them as a platform to launch yourself to be more. I know I am going to try that advice myself.

One of the nice things about having spent decades spreading the message about best practices for fighting in the real world is that it has taken root with so many people. I know there are tons of folks doing jiujitsu who would not have otherwise if myself, or my buddies in the Shivworks Collective had been silent for the past 20 years. Likewise, we have helped people to realize the efficacy of AIWB carry for pistols, the use of OC spray, force-on-force training to truly pressure test techniques and practices, boxing/muay thai for a striking delivery system, and how useful a small fixed blade carried on the belt forward of the hips can be in an entanglement.

One of the drawbacks to that success though is that sometimes, when the information gets carried through second or third hand sources, that some of the details and nuance can get lost. One area where this is really noticeable is in knife carry and use. It can often be easy for smaller but important details to get lost. So the following video is a short guideline in why the knife is best carried in the manner we tend to advocate. It is somewhat related to why the sheath I designed for the Craig Douglas ClinchPick works the way it does, so be warned that there is a tiny bit of a sales pitch, though that is a minor part of the video. But I did want to point out that proviso.

For quite literally years and years I have been telling people that one of the single best skills we can have if we are truly interested in real world self-preservation is the ability to breakfall. It is not sexy or tacti-cool, but it is far more likely to be used and more likely to save you from harm than a firearm or H2H fighting skills. The simple fact is that everyone falls – whether that is because of slipping/tripping over something on the ground, or getting our feet tied up through bad, hasty, unthinking movement. We all have done this at some time, and some of us have done it a lot. Hopefully, the most negative thing we get afterwards is embarrassment or some broken skin, but all too often the consequences are much worse. For anyone who is unsure about that, look up how many times a senior citizen who falls and breaks their hip then passes away as a result.

At the beginning of my Immediate Action Jujitsu coursework, I tell people the seminar is NOT about teaching you to voluntarily go to the ground to fight. Instead, it is about when you do not intend to go to the ground but find yourself there regardless. When I ask students if that is possible and how it would be, they universally answer “after falling”, because anyone that is honest will admit everyone of us has fallen at some time in our lives. I point out that even if you do not want to go to the ground, if you have not trained specifically to stay on your feet, finding yourself under sudden surprising violent assault is not the time when your brain is going to be able to do so easily. Take this video as a case in point, as it is a perfect illustration of what I try to get across.

Does anyone think that the LEO wanted to go to the ground? Of course not. It is obvious that was unintended and totally accidental. And because it was accidental, and he was not prepared or trained for it, the single reason he did not suffer worse consequences was that the bad guy had the same reaction. If the bad guy had not fallen over the officer and had a bit more presence of mind, there is a pretty good chance the officer would have suffered major injuries from the bad guy’s knife, and perhaps even have died. The good guy was also extremely lucky that he did not suffer injuries from the fall itself such as hitting his head. Again, nothing good would have followed that.

The good guy in the above video was lucky, but I don’t really think counting on luck to save your life is the best plan. That is no different than making poor financial decisions over and over again in the hope that you will hit the lottery at some point. You need to prepare and practice for it the same exact way you practice drawing from concealment with your carry pistol.

If you are honestly interested in self-preservation, than you need to spend a solid amount of time on the things that are most likely to kill you. Having decent health ( regular physical checkups, including dental since there is a direct link between poor dental hygiene and heart attacks), not being excessively fat, eating like an adult, being a good driver, knowing CPR and how to work an AED machine and recognize the signs of a stroke, and knowing how to survive a sudden fall. None of these are sexy or can be easily accomplished by buying gear, but they mean far more to your actual well-being.

In the next article, I will talk about how we go about learning and developing the ability to breakfall.