Testing Certain Techniques

[Adept]

When I was in high school, I used to shoot the bow and arrow in the back yard. I went down to the basement one day to get it out. I carried it up the stairs, and my younger brother was walking up the stairs in front of me. He didn't realize how I was holding the bow. He suddenly turned around for some reason, and took the tip of the bow straight into his eye. It was really freaky the way he started screaming. I thought he might have had some real damage. Granted, he was just a kid, not a big thug on drugs, but the affect was dramatic.

Another time, again while in high school, I was laying on the floor of the living room. My older brother lobbed a tennis ball at me, just for kicks. I didn't see it coming, and it hit me square in the groin. I can't describe the sick, painful feeling that spread thru my guts and had me doubled over.

I've also on occasion hyperextended my knee while practicing my kicks. My knee swelled up for a couple of months, and it was painful to walk.

I think that if we all think back on our lives, we have probably had some pretty convincing examples of how effective these targets can be if struck. Granted, you still need to have a good delivery and the know-how to land a good strike, and that should be practiced. Also, everyone's reaction will be different. But I don't think there is any question how effective these targets can be. We just can't deliberately practice them on each other. Practice the delivery, and trust the effects will be there if you follow thru.

One thing it is important to remember is that the injuries we take in our everyday lives catch us largely by surprise, and exponentially more devastating because of it.

I remember attempting to eject an extremely large, aggravated man by myself (in hindsight I should have waited for backup, but my ego wouldn't let me) and we got into a wrestling match on the dance-floor. I jabbed my thumb into his eye and started scrabbling around and while it loosened his grip, it was certainly no fight ender.

It was effective in that it distracted him and allowed me to take his balance, but don't count on an eye gouge or poke to be a fight ending move.

 

[MJS]

I remember attempting to eject an extremely large, aggravated man by myself (in hindsight I should have waited for backup, but my ego wouldn't let me) and we got into a wrestling match on the dance-floor. I jabbed my thumb into his eye and started scrabbling around and while it loosened his grip, it was certainly no fight ender.

It was effective in that it distracted him and allowed me to take his balance, but don't count on an eye gouge or poke to be a fight ending move.

I agree. I'm not a card carrying member of the one shot, one kill club. But like you said, if it opens up that moment, where I could escape or follow up with something else, I'm going to take it. This is why I stated in another post, that, and I'm speaking for myself only here, but I don't want to 'throw away' a move because it can't be used in the ring or because someone else may not have success with it.

 

[MJS]

On another note, talking about the application of kicks. Perhaps I'm just missing it, but it seems to me that the majority of kicks that are thrown in MMA matches, are done to the thigh area, not the front of the knee. We've seen Ruas, Smith and Belfort, to name a few, wear down opponents with those kicks. I'm wondering a) why they never target the front and b) if they did target that area, what the results would be.

Mike

 

[Tez3]

Dspote what some people think MMA fighters aren't thugs and when they are fighting in the ring/cage they will not use certain moves that they know will finish the fight very quickly but will damage their opponent badly. I don't know any fighter over here that would damage anyone badly deliberately, yes they will try to knockout/choke/get a submission but not to the point of being irresponsibly destructive.

 

[MJS]

Dspote what some people think MMA fighters aren't thugs and when they are fighting in the ring/cage they will not use certain moves that they know will finish the fight very quickly but will damage their opponent badly. I don't know any fighter over here that would damage anyone badly deliberately, yes they will try to knockout/choke/get a submission but not to the point of being irresponsibly destructive.

So its not so much that these types of shots are hard to pull off in the ring, its just that the fighters don't want to cause serious injury?

 

[Tez3]

So its not so much that these types of shots are hard to pull off in the ring, its just that the fighters don't want to cause serious injury?

Well we aren't animals! the point is to win the fight (competition) hopefully in a skilful and entertaining manner. I don't know how it is in the States but most of us know each other over here, train with in each others clubs and it does take a lot of skill to control your techniques. We occasionally get brawlers trying their luck but these don't usaully cause much damage against a skilled MMA fighter. We have many fighters who also train TMA (myself for one) and would not find it difficult to do a front kick to the knee but why break a kneecap when it's not necessary? A good kick to the thigh will deaden the leg without causing damage. I don't think people realise that MMA fighters are warriors with old fashioned ideas about sportsmanship and honour! Of course in the street if attacked all bets off lol!

 

[MJS]

Well we aren't animals! the point is to win the fight (competition) hopefully in a skilful and entertaining manner. I don't know how it is in the States but most of us know each other over here, train with in each others clubs and it does take a lot of skill to control your techniques. We occasionally get brawlers trying their luck but these don't usaully cause much damage against a skilled MMA fighter. We have many fighters who also train TMA (myself for one) and would not find it difficult to do a front kick to the knee but why break a kneecap when it's not necessary? A good kick to the thigh will deaden the leg without causing damage. I don't think people realise that MMA fighters are warriors with old fashioned ideas about sportsmanship and honour! Of course in the street if attacked all bets off lol!

I'd say for the most part it seems that most of the fighters tend to be pretty friendly here as well. Thats just my opinion though. I think alot of the pre fight hype, is just that...hype.

In any case though, my point was not so much that the fighters want to cripple one another, whether or not they could actually be pulled off in the ring. In your post, you stated this:

Dspote what some people think MMA fighters aren't thugs and when they are fighting in the ring/cage they will not use certain moves that they know will finish the fight very quickly but will damage their opponent badly. I don't know any fighter over here that would damage anyone badly deliberately, yes they will try to knockout/choke/get a submission but not to the point of being irresponsibly destructive.

which led me to ask this:

So its not so much that these types of shots are hard to pull off in the ring, its just that the fighters don't want to cause serious injury?

Reading your post, I get the impression that these types of shots can be pulled off, but yet, reading what others have to say, they tend to disagree.

Mike

 

[Tez3]

I'd say for the most part it seems that most of the fighters tend to be pretty friendly here as well. Thats just my opinion though. I think alot of the pre fight hype, is just that...hype.

In any case though, my point was not so much that the fighters want to cripple one another, whether or not they could actually be pulled off in the ring. In your post, you stated this:



which led me to ask this:



Reading your post, I get the impression that these types of shots can be pulled off, but yet, reading what others have to say, they tend to disagree.

Mike

I think the big difference between MMA fighters in the UK and the States is that predominatly ours come from a TMA background usually karate, TKD and Muay Thai we have no tradition of wrestling as you do over there so striking and kicking is second nature to us therefore making these moves much easier for us to do. In the States you have the tradition of wrestling where I believe they start fairly young making ground work easier for your fighters who have to learn striking later and it may not come as second nature to them. The new generation of MMA figters coming up however are learning it all as a whole and promise some awsome fight skills!

 

[MJS]

Thank you for the clarification.

Mike

 

[Tez3]

There are a couple of fighters I know that have a wrestling background, one is from Iran and the other from Georgia ( Russia). Both their ground work is amazing but their stand up is still progressing. I think too that those of us with a TMA background also have a bigger repertoire of kicks than those who don't, I know we teach MMA beginners just the basic front kick and the roundhouse type ( I call it that to simplify ) to the thigh. They don't learn side, hook,crescent,back, groin kicks etc. Nor do they do them as spinning or jumping kicks. Since this thread came up I've watched several fights where I've thought a front snap kick to the knee would be done easily.
Pre fight hype is just that, it's actually quite fun sometimes when both sides try to outdo each other but are laughing their socks off while doing it.