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The basis for grappling is physics. Directing force, mass and power; grappling uses balance, lift and torque in a manner that allows a person to move an opponent in a fashion that would other wise be impossible.

Line of balance:

Imagine a straight line from your ankle to your hip. If you rock your weight even slightly forward and you will noticed that all of your power is now committed in that direction. Now rock so your weight is behind that line; again your power if committed in that direction. Stand across from your partner. Rock your weigh behind the line; then try to push your partner. Not very impressive is it. Now lean forward and push your partner; be sure they have a pad or a spotter to protect them. The line of balance is critical when attempting throws. Not only how you as the Tori relates to it, but Uke’s line of balance is also critical. If Uke’s weight is sitting "behind the line" it will impossible to complete a throw to the front. By the same token if Uke is leaning into you, no throw to the rear will be possible unless you have such a tremendous size and strength over your opponent that technique is not needed. It is key to remember that the throw you will use is generally decided by your opponent. Using the power generated by shifting your weight in front or behind the line is called driving

Think about pushing a car. When you push a car you lean into it at a sharp angle. Power comes from your legs and back. Your legs are behind you driving forward. If the car were to suddenly disappear you would fall on your face because you are committed to moving the car. When doing most throws you use the same principle. You drive into the throw. You should drive into throws with such force that if your opponent were to suddenly disappear you would fall flat on your face. We commonly think of drivers as throws to the front such as Uchi Mata, outside leg reaps or hooks; but most throws use at least some kind of driving motion.

In truth driving is simply the focusing all your weight and motion into a single direction; aiming towards the smallest point possible. While most people have no problem doing this when attempting sweeps or hook type throws. The concept gets a bit fuzzy however when applied to the so called sacrifice throws such as body weights and stomach throws. The key to these throws is a sudden, focused shift in weight. You do not fall back, or even down. Instead you drop your weight onto Uke's foot. This sudden shift eliminate Uke's ability to adapt your motions. (See Body weights.)

Which ever way you are going to move you must move in that direction completely. You can not hedge your bet. My old coach always instructed you live on the edge of disaster. He understood that by fully committing to a movement I could end up getting countered; but had an even better chance of making the technique work. On the other hand, if I did not fully commit, If I tried to stay safe not only were my chances of getting countered greater, but the odds of completing the technique were slim and none (and Slim left town).

Breathing is important. If you don’t believe me stop doing it for ten minutes. Beyond the necessity of supplying oxygen, breathing helps you focus energy, to stay calm and concentrate. Martial arts experts often use the word Kiai or Chi. When a karate practitioner breaks a board they use a loud scream as they strike. "releasing the Chi" they say. I’ve always felt it is just that kind of expression that keeps people out of the martial arts. "Releasing the Chi" sounds like they are tapping power from ancestral spirits or drawing upon some mystical metaphysical force. Nothing could be further from the truth. Weight lifters use similar "Chi" as do baseball, and basketball players. Even golfers use Chi.

Chi is actually proper breathing. This is not as simple as it sounds. You have to learn how to breath correctly. When people first start in Grappling they have the habit of holding their breath as they go into a throw. When you stop breathing you die. Watch novices closely as they spar. You’ll notice they go into a move and pause. That hesitation most often has a corresponding pause in breathing . Even experts will occasionally make this mistake and forget to breath. All those loud yells you hear are a product of proper breathing. As I hit the drive of a throw I use a sharp yell (or Kiai) to focus my power. Yelling also helps me to keep breathing (exhaling is part of breathing). You can not shout and hold your breath at the same time. The yell is not the important part; the breathing is. As you learn techniques always keep your breathing in mind. Learn to listen to your breathing while you practice and spare. Much like listening a your car’s engine while you drive, your breathing will tell you how well your body is working. You will learn to use your breath to focus your movements to enhance your power and maybe even scare your opponent. You can have an effective breathing patterns with out shouting; (Sombo players are very quite) but it is not as much fun.

Big powerful motions are derived from big powerful muscles. Your largest, most powerful muscles are in your legs and back. Some Jodokas will say that "power is unimportant with out technique," but that is only partially true. Technique is only important because it unleashes power. The twist is among the most powerful motions the body can make. Twisting is also an indispensable part of most (if not all) grappling throws. Twisting is mainly powered by the thighs and lower back; but it incorporates the entire body.

Have your partner hug you arm tightly. As they hold try to pull Uke. You might be able to do it if you are bigger and stronger then Uke; other wise you won't be able to move them with any efficacy. Now with Uke holding tight twist your body. You will feel Uke ride up on your hip and you will be able to move them with little effort. It is that twisting motion that gives us such enormous strength. Nearly every throw incorporates some type of twist.

Someone is trying to get into a door you are holding shut. They are pushing with all their might. Unexpectedly you side step and let the door go. Suddenly the door pushed now flies across the room and usually does not stop until they smack the far wall. This will allow you enough time to laugh hardly as you slip out and into another room with a door you can hold against the inevitable charge; and then do it all over again. If you ever had a little brother (or in my case annoying cousins) - you will know this principle well. This is one of grappling most important principles. If someone wants to push into you - do not push them back - that's rude. Rather help them into the direction they were pushing. Learning to anticipate your opponents movement is the key to becoming an accomplished grappler.

Both on your feet and on the mat the grappler strives to force their opponent that robs them of their strength while maximizing their own. In judo this is called Kuzushi waza or the art of unbalancing. Nearly all martial arts refer to getting an opponent off balance. But being off balance just means having your weight committed one way or the other and is not in itself a weak motion. But if your opponent is controlling your now committed weight their strength is ten fold and yours is non-existent. Jigoro Kano in talking about using an opponents movement said

To take Kano's example even further. Not only do you now have your seven units; you can also make use of Seven units from your opponent. This is the reason we see such thunderous throws in grappling sports since most throws constitute a two on one advantage. It's your strength and you opponents strength against your opponent. Despite my many hours in the gym there is no way I could pick a 200 pound man up six feet into the air and slam him down with authority and control alone. But with that man's help such a feat become easy and common place.

The human body is an amazing amalgamation of strengths and weaknesses; of weapons and vulnerabilities. The very things that give our bodies flexibility and the ability to derive power from our muscles are the very same things that make up unbalanced, weak and susceptible to pain. Grappling is the study of the human body. Understanding the form and function of the body is one of the grapplers most important studies. How do we derive power? Where are we vulnerable? Above we've seen how we get power from driving, twisting, breathing and using motion to our advantage. Now we will talk about some of the bodies weapons.

Our bodies have a number of hard points that we can use to focus power. Elbows, knees, and the forehead spring immediately to mind. One of my favorites is the blades of the arms. Both the inside and outside of your arms have long bones (the radius and ulna bones). These bones can be used like blades to cut into your opponent, remove space and generally cause your opponent all sorts of discomfort. While particularly useful in chokes; the blades of your arms also come into play when applying hold downs or when attempting to escape.

Using a palm to palm grip is one of the best ways to twist your blades into Uke. Clasp your hands palm to palm - like a golf clap. By twisting the top hand towards you chest - or chin you can push the wrist bone into Uke. At the same time you drive your shoulder towards you wrist in an effort to minimize the space Uke exists in and maximize their discomfort. In grappling the goal is to control your opponent. While Judo counts this control in itself as a victory but most other grappling sports require more. Thus a hold down is not so much about keeping someone on the mat; it is an effort to set them up for a submission or forcing them to lose the will to resist. Thus you need to emphasize your power on the mat to gain submission. Through out this book I will refer to your blades, palm to palm grip and other little subtle ways to derive or focus your power. Learn them well because in grappling the details are everything.

You want to develop a feeling for what weapons are available to you, when and how to use them. For example from a smother hold you can use your chin as a weapon to control Uke. From a grapevine you can stop Uke's escape attempt by pushing your legs against his; driving the outside of your ankle bone into their shins. Just as you develop a feel for Uke's motion you will also develop an entire body awareness that will help you utilize your bodies weapons against Uke's weaknesses. Think of how things bend and bend them the other way. Always keep sharp points on soft spots (ie. elbows in gut - knee on inside of thigh, groin, wrist - etc) And keep thick bone on thin bone, forehead on cheek, forearm (wrist) on lip, knee on shin, shoulder under jaw, jaw on clavicle. And when you get something think crush - not squeeze. Use you legs, back chest and arms to supply a slow, steady crushing pressure.

Just as important as knowing where the human body is strong you should also know where it is weak. Most people have heard of pressure points. Often thought of as mysterious shut off switches known of only by the masters or Xena. In truth pressure points as simply nerve bundles that can be found through out the body. In the crook of you hand; between the thumb and palm, behind, and under the mandible process, under the nose, top of the sternum or just inside of the elbow joint - often called the funny bone. Well funny when it happens to someone else. Beyond these you have couple of dozen others obvious ones and hundreds of not so obvious. Applying pressure or a strike to these points causes extreme momentary pain and briefly interrupt the nerve impulses sent to the surrounding muscles. So if you strikes someone with a sharp blow inside the arm between the bicep and tricep muscle you will momentarily cause their arm to go numb. A word of warning, not everyone is equally susceptible to pressure points. Some people will feel no ill effects while others drop in a second. Also many grappling tournaments will not allow pressure point attacks since is constitutes gouging.

But pressure points are just an example of vulnerable points. There are many other, more practical example's of body weakness. If you lift weights (and if you don't you should) you know you can move a lot more weight bench pressing then you can doing lateral raises. The difference is one is a compound muscle motion and the other is a muscle isolation motion. In grappling terms we want to exploit isolated muscle motions and avoid giving Uke's the opportunity to use compound motions. A good example of a compound motion is Ura Nage or back throw. Here you hop in with your legs. Lifting with your quads, glutes, back and arm then incorporate a whole body twisting motion. An example of an isolated motion is the position Uke's is in when you are applying a cross arm lock. While all they have to save themselves is their bicep muscle; Tori has both arms, legs and back muscles.

Thus if you are caught in a hold down you need to think about where Tori is weak. While Tori will be able to squeeze his arms to his chest tightly; He has little power to prevent you from pushing his head away. As you study this art you will learn thousands of ways to control an opponents strength. Be ever mindful of body mechanics and physics on the mat. Little details like how leg strength is naturalized when moving to the side as the essence of grappling.

Unlike most people who write and teach martial arts I have an intense dislike for metaphysical metaphors. To me the un-carved block of wood is simply square and one hand clapping must be slapping Tao off someone's face. That being said: A good grapple must be like a river. What the hell does that mean you might ask? - good question Grass hopper. A river has undeniable force. It flows to it's ultimate end continuously. No obstacle can halt the rivers trek. When the river's way is blocked, it finds a way around, over under or through. Sometimes a river's power is obvious as water smashes through tight rapids. Other times it is more subtle as it winds around. Even when the river moves slow, it still moves with power; continuously pushing millions of gallons of water. All parts moving as one.

A grappler moves towards her goal, inevitable victory, continuously. Forever in motion the grappler over comes obstacles. Sometimes forcing through openings. Other times subtly by-passing obstacles. A grapples remains dynamic, adaptive, all parts moving as one. When a river is damned it stores it's energy, building. Either the water must be released or it will break through. As a grappler is trapped he gathers his power and when an opening is created they bust through. Sometimes the best way is simply forcing your way, other times you need to go over, around or under. Yet other times you lazily drift, conserving energy for the right moment. Just as a river is ever changing; adapting to it's environment and forcing the environment to adapt to it; so is the grappler on the mat. Dynamic, adaptive and focused.

The Uke is the person whom the technique is being practiced on, i. e. The person being thrown, arm barred, choked, etc. In other words, the person having all the fun. Being a good Uke is as important a skill and as challenging to master as any other Grappling skill. Two common mistakes made by Uke's are playing "dummy" or "jumping over. " Playing the dummy means just standing their; devoid of tension or movement. Essentially your dead weight. This is not very helpful to your partner since they will rarely need to defend themselves against a corpse. The other extreme is jumping over. Here the Uke is flinging themselves over as opposed to letting their partner (the Tori) apply the technique. This helps your partner learn how to contend with someone determined to beat the crap out of them selves. But no one puts in blood, sweat and tears to learn how to defeat the dead or those determined to damage themselves.

A good Uke is one who supplies realism to technique. This includes tension and often movement. A great example of where being a good Uke is important is Tomea Nage (Stomach throw). An Uke who just sits there while her partner is working on Tomea Nage will make the throw difficult, if not impossible to do. A good Uke will push into Tori so Tori can learn to use that force to power the throw. Jumping over is even worse then useless; it can be dangerous. By jumping your denying your partner the opportunity to even practice the throw. By using an unnatural movement there is also the possibility that Tori will pull you down in an awkward manner landing you on your head, or in some other injury causing manner. Good Uke’s will assume a realistic position and movement conducive to the throw, adjusted to the skill level or the Tori.

With a novice I will push straight in and just keep pushing Tori until they hit the throw. With a more skilled Tori my movements will be subtler but just as real. I will rock back and forth. Tori must hit the throw as my weight rocks forward . The same is true for all skill practiced. Even during self defense practice you must keep your motions "real. " When throwing a punch we want Uke to block; you can throw the punch slowly; but you should still use realistic motion and be on target. You will react as you have been trained to. As an Uke you are the most important part of your partners success.

Unnatural Position

Head straight, back erect, legs under you; from here your in position to drive. All the power in your body is at your call. Now imagine your back is bent, head down, hands above your shoulders, palms twisted in. From here you are weak, off balance and seconds from tapping out. Both on your feet and the mat you need to keep your opponent in an unnatural position. Keep your opponent in a position where they can not use their strength. On your feet try to keep your opponents bent at the waist; head down. On the ground try to keep your opponent's head bent. You must learn to recognize when your opponent is weak and what you must do to put them in a weak position. Not just their head, but their hips, arms, legs. Look for were they are weak and exploit.

Splendid Isolation

Divide and conquer is a well know military (political) strategy. By breaking opposing forces into to smaller groups it becomes easier to isolate key groups and destroy them. Often the destruction of one key group will be enough to crush the will to resist among the other groups. On the battle field it is often the first objective to isolate sections of the enemy army so they can be destroyed with overwhelming force. 10,000 vs. 10,000 is a blood bath for both sides. 10,000 vs 10,000, a thousand at a time is a bloodbath for only one.
Your opponents body is an opposing army. To force that army into submission you can take many tacks. The question is how much of a price to you want to pay? The name of the game is submission while taking the least amount of damage possible. Fight him a thousand at a time. By gaining superior position you can isolated an opponents body part. By isolating that part you make it vulnerable to submission while by-passing the majority of your opponent's strength. Nearly all submissions among equal players require that you first isolated the part to be submitted. This is true with arm locks, chokes, facials and especially leg locks. Even body locks require isolation. If this doesn't make sense now - don't worry it will once you start doing more submissions.

Position for submission

Keep contact and control. Make your opponent feel your weight. Your opponents should never be allowed to draw a full breath. You should maintain pressure on him at all times. With your weight you can control your opponent's movement and position. Use your position to be able to control your opponent. Try to control your opponents head, hips and shoulders. Position can neutralize strength, size and technique. Folk style wrestlers understand this better then almost any type of grappler. In any combat; position is often the deciding factor.
A good general always picks the ground where he wants to fight. Sometimes he will take the high ground. Other times he will pick a position that forces his opponent to move in narrow fronts that are easily dealt with. Position can prevent your opponent from using his best weapons and will make him vulnerable to yours.
In grappling the battle ground is two bodies. A moving landscape that you must control to be successful. I realize this sounds a little Master Poish - but it is not. We will use the guard for example. If I have an opponent in the guard I need to use my positioning to keep him off balance. To keep him flattened out, head down. This exposes him to chokes, armbars and turnovers. If I'm trapped in a guard I need to use my body position to control my opponents hips so he can not turn. I also need to keep my back straight, keep my weight on him. This will allow me to force his body into an unnatural position which will feed into submissions. I use my body position to take control of the battle's landscape; to create the advantageous position that leads to victory.

Presenting a false front – feeling the opportunity:

A Hallmark of great generalship is not only how you attack; but how you get your enemy to attack you. Ariencort, the Little Big Horn and Picketts Charge are all great examples of leading an enemy into a self destructive attack. At Ariencort the English lured the French to charge a narrow from on a muddy sloop. Once caught in a slippery alley the heart of the French Nobility was destroyed by English archers and their deadly long bows. Pickett’s charge during the civil war was expected to lead to the same result that thousands of other charges had led to. Form a line, march them into a defensive position and overwhelm the defender. A plan that worked well before the advent of the rifled muskets. Picket’s men never made it to the Union Lines and most never made it off the field. When Lee asked Picket where his battalion was; Picket responded "dead on the field Sir." French nobility and Southern Jonny Rebs slaughtered by the same thing; a poorly timed, poorly placed attack.

Most great historical conquests were created by an equal part brilliance and blunder. Although I feel the brilliance generally deserves more credit since the blunder is often not evident until after the bodies are counted. The Battle at the Little Big Horn; Custer’s famous last stand is a good example. Form the evidence and information available to Custer prior to the attack he made sound tactical decisions. A bit arrogant perhaps; but it was arrogance well earned. Custer had proved himself a brilliant leader in the field in the civil war when he was pitted against tough, well led and equipped opponents. Against the Native Americans Custer faced an opponent that really was not in his league.

The little Big Horn stands out among battles in the "Indian wars" primarily because it was one of the very few the Indian’s won. Even when tribes could muster up sufficient numbers onto the battle field, inferior equipment and tactics generally lead to routs when U.S. Army and Native forces met. The Native American’s always showed good spirit, bravery and individual talent in the field – But all those things only reap you posthumous honors when your talking about warfare. No doubt Sitting Bull knew this fact. Other Native Chiefs knew full well that their braves; while often great fighters themselves were little or no match for the U.S. Army in the open field. This knowledge served Sitting Bull well as he drew Custer form the advantage of high ground in to a running downhill battle against a mobile and as it turned out, massive force. Sitting Bull’s brilliance was in offering Custer an inviting opportunity to make a blunder.

To be a brilliant grappler you must create blunders. Offer avenues of attack that look promising but lead to destruction. Grant desirable positions only to prove that all positions hold the potential for doom. Offering the attractive, attackable front draws your opponent into a predictable course of action. No technique will work if announced. If you can eliminate surprise from your opponents arsenal you limit his effectiveness (provided you have a counter plan). For example a dangling foot is a strong enticement to a foot sweep. If you dangle that foot with a counter in mind you can catch your opponent with a counter sweep or step behind throw. Like wise attempting a thrusting strangle from the guard screams "Arm Bar ME!" But Knowing that the arm bar is coming you can anticipate the attempt to avoid the arm bar and use the moment to break his guard.

These are just two of thousands of combinations. The key is to always be thinking ahead of your opponent. In this way grappling is more like chess or warfare then any other martial art. You must always seek the tactical advantage, positing, intelligence, counter intelligence, reconnaissance, maneuvers, supplies, execution. But in this battle you are both general and private, infantry and armor. You must learn how to exploit positions. How to isolate parts of you enemy’s army. When to surrender ground, when to by pass a defense and when to smash through. You must learn to think on the mat. To see clearly amidst what others perceive as chaos.

You learn to feel your opponent. Feel where he is weak, where he is strong. What he gives you and what he takes. Feel vulnerabilities – the stretched out arm, the opened neck, the offered head. Of course there are the not so obvious moments. The ones that don’t give an immediate submission – but merely point to a path that may lead to one. The subtle moments, mistakes and opportunities that grant position. Tiny twists that give an advantage, take away defenses. The recognition of a fake that you only appear to take to twist that fake back onto him. A double fake, triple fake – a tapestry of deception woven over an endless series of moments, mistakes and opportunities – And you see it all clearly, completely – Your success and failures both combine in your collective memory. Each one a building block used to create that most perfect of machines – both art and artist – a grappler

Wasn’t it Shakespeare who said – "Man – the quintessential dust – In his mercy how like an angle – In his grappling how like a God." – Well I know it was something like that.