Grappling and striking are parts of a bigger picture. Each one has its merits and should be trained diligently. In many jujitsu styles, the focus is on locks, throws, and submissions. Striking is secondary to each one of these. This does not mean that jujitsu practitioners do not strike. They use their striking to “soften up” their opponent to lock, throw, and submit.
Boxing was the premier fighting sport for almost 100 years. It relied strictly on striking and used gloves to soften the strikes a bit…this was a far cry from the bare knuckle contests of the late 1800’s.
With the advent of sport jujitsu competitions, some are strictly grappling, where all striking is prohibited, and some like the UFC have a combination. If you are entered into a grappling competition, where striking is prohibited, it is one less thing to worry about and you can focus on a chess match of grappling. If you are boxing, then your focus is on the chess match of striking, and not getting struck. Competitions that allow both grappling and striking make the chess match all the more difficult, and for fans…more exciting.
For self defense purposes, a good understanding of both grappling and striking are ideal as your grappling can set up your striking and vice versa. They each have merits for both sport purposes and self defense purposes. Our focus is self defense and training people to learn how to adequately protect themselves and in order to do so, we teach a combination of both.
Can you be effective if you only know one part of this puzzle? Yes. You can strike in almost any situation to the available pressure points. You can also grapple in almost any situation as well using pressure points…which make the techniques more effective, if trained properly.
Is one better than the other? This is all based on what your intended outcome is. If you are a police officer, you are expected to have more control than the average person on the street. The same goes for those who work security at clubs. These professionals are generally held to higher standards than the general public.
The best method of self defense is one that gets you out of a situation quickly and with as little effort as possible. Especially if you can avoid legal trouble in the process of defending yourself.
Team Kyusho Institute
