Advice Regarding Panic Shots in MMA

Real life story:

Spoiler

I was watching a couple of guys spar the other day. One of them has been training for a decade or more and has a black belt in a couple of different martial arts. The other guy has been training for a year or two and has taken lessons from the experienced guy in the past.

So this experienced guy is awesome at Judo and does it mostly no gi in BJJ. I've watched him rag doll a larger judo black belt. I've seen him tap a legit blue belt in BJJ 100 pounds heavier. The guy is quite good. When he throws people, he mostly does outside trips, Tani Otoshi, Tai Otoshi, Osoto Gari and kick catch and trips.

The other guy has been training MMA mostly and I've seen him get a couple valley drops, Osoto Gari, an occasional double leg, and the outside trip. Mostly just valley drops though.

So these guys are going at it and the less experienced guy pops off with a 1-2-side kick and catches the experienced guy in the teeth with the kick while he was slipping. The more experienced guy shoots for a double, catches a head outside single, finishes it to the ground and taps out to a guillotine choke.

He has been training wrestling with his newer group pretty hard and has been hitting some wrestling takedowns against hobbyists fairly routinely the last couple months. Against better people he usually ends up using his older material.

When he got rattled by the kick, his grappling training kicked in, he saw the leg and lunged for it. He was too far away at least and had no hope of getting the back leg. He wouldn't have gone for it then at all if he hadn't been hurt.

I wouldn't have expected the student to tap him at that point. The difference in skill between them is excessive, but when it comes to wrestling style techniques their ability is closer. They are new moves for the experienced individual.

I've never seem him panic and clinch. Up until this day, if he got rattled, he used evasive footwork and hid behind the jab, forced the other person to pressure and clinched more upright, always recovering before a takedown would happen. It is the addition of shooting to his game that has him messed up.

In MMA you see people panic and shoot for takedowns from too far away, getting clipped again or knee'd, sprawled on, or choked out when they grab a head outside single. From these long ranges they would be better off circling, hiding behind the jab and recovering, but they see their opponent off balanced by their kick or punch and think they have a good job at grabbing the takedown by lunging and reaching. Sometimes it works out but more often than not they get stuffed or choked.

People who strictly kick box would use all the space at the end of a long range tap to circle and recover but there is an impulse in people with wrestling takedowns to take shots that aren't necessarily there when they get hit.

This is an impulse that is common in combat sports. The impulse to throw hard long range hooks after getting jabbed, to lead with a hard kick when your ego is bruised, or to rush back in to pay back points emotionally after being hit are similar impulses - ego rustling and injury cattle prodding fighters to do the wrong thing, and it takes a lot of training to overcome these impulses and discipline them.

Anyone have any opinions on this for MMA?

 

My opinion:

It is a difficult situation because the very fact that the fighter is hit will undercut his faith in his striking ability. No one wants to be swarmed on after they get hit, and if they are getting hit while they are in good shape, how well could they do wobbled?

While those are reasonable feelings, they aren't strictly accurate. Most people recover fairly quickly from most hits, even hits that wobble you. Often the hit will separate the fighters, putting the striker out of range for an immediate second shot. If the first shot was a long range technique, such as a jab or a snap round house kick, he may have to take a full step to throw a second - two if the injured man backs or circles, giving him time to start recovering.

The screaming feeling, "I need to make the striking in this fight stop," is a defeatist attitude and shouldn't be listened to lightly. It is an impulse that has to be disciplined. By coming off your A-game and taking a shot from beyond ideal range while you're hurt isn't any more likely to succeed. The fact that the hit drives you back and you must start the acceleration into the shot from this distance makes it even harder.

I think at least a part of the cure is to clearly articulate the problem to people and to drill the game plan. Sometimes stiff shots, even when parried, or light shots to the forehead as a part of the drill can simulate a bad hit. From a certain range, the fighter should circle out and defend. From a closer range - slightly inside normal shooting range, he can think about clinching or shooting.

The take home message here is that if a fighter is struck and he is wobbled or his weight is shifted back uncontrolled while he is standing just at the normal maximum range for a shot, he should abandon that shot and defend additional strikes until he recovers.

The drill can be done at both ranges, started apart and moved together, specified by cones or tape on the floor, until they are brought together and drilled from either side of the line. Finally, remove the tape and let people play.

That's my best guess about how to go about it. Does anyone else have any opinions?

 

If my arm is extended in an armbar I'm not going to try some retarded escape and hope my joint survives I just tap.
I try to apply subs slowly on my training partners so as to make sure I can control the sub long enough to cause a really serious injury in a competition if I have to.

 

Wrong thread homie.