bodybuilding vs. martial arts -- Tips and Methods
Wilson Leung wrote:
> I would like to know anyone's opinion on bodybuilding in
connection
with/versus martial arts. Better yet, has any martial artist
here have any experience in combat against a non-MA bodybuilder (I
mean, the seriously built-up type, not the once-a-week-at-the-gym
type)? When I am discussing MA with my friends, some of them who
often go to the gym flex their biceps and say something like "well
yeah? that's what I think". I have asked my instructors about this,
but the answer is usually a standard-type MA=supreme one (like "I
bet SOME areas aren't built up..".)
Here are some methods and strategies which have worked very well
for me against bodybuilders and musclebound body types. My advice
is to pay particular attention to the grappling sections.
-- Stand-Up Fighting Against a Bodybuilder --
Punching
A lot of it has to do with range. Bodybuilders are generally
pretty quick at stand-up fighting, although they are very tense and
tire quickly. They tend to hit rigidly and telegraph their punches,
using mostly arm and shoulder. They also have predictable range --
i.e. you know what their extended reach is -- since their forward
movement and attack is not very elastic. Tense fighters always
disclose their range. Bodybuilders are generally as tense as they
come.
Kicking
Kicks to the legs are what you want to use. Bodybuilders
generally (not always) are not all that mobile, so you kick their
legs. Front or side of the thigh is very good -- pin that elongated
muscle against the bone with your shin. Very painful. Also, inside
the shin. Sometimes they have bigger, denser legs (again, not
always, surprisingly) so you go for the knee joint. If a muscle
shot doesn't do it, then kicking inside the knee joint will do the
trick -- shuffle in at a 45 degree angle. You've got to kick it
hard, and if you do you will destabilize the knee in its weakest
direction. Down he goes. This is standard Muay Thai. DO NOT do this
when sparring with your friends. You'll mess up their knee. It's
for fighting only.
-- Grappling Against a Bodybuilder --
I like to grapple against bodybuilders, because all of that
muscle doesn't help them much when you take away the space to
create any kinetic energy. When in tight, unusually large
musculature actually *hinders* the person's ability in several
important ways -- they can't achieve optimal range of motion to
actually *use* their muscles, they struggle and become tired very
quickly, and the sheer bulk of their muscles makes it difficult for
them to create space and escape.
We'll look at several scenarios.
Keeping Top Position
In grappling, bodybuilders tend to have about 20 seconds' worth
of fight in them before they're breathing heavily and begging you
to get off of them. Again, they tend to overuse their arms. From
underneath, they try to bench press you off of them, which doesn't
work if you know how to turn your hips, shift your base, and
maintain a stable side control. Generally, all they have from
underneath is the "push with the arms and bridge" -- no hip
mobility, so it's relatively easy to control such a person. They
tend to work either in big bursts or steady rigid armed extending.
Usually 2 or 3 bursts is all they have.
Bodybuilder Inside Your Guard
When inside your guard, again they overuse their arms. They can
be tough to catch with the cross armlock, but usually will succumb
in short order if you are persistent and keep chewing up that arm,
pulling at the elbow, and tiring out his lat on that side (remember
to rotate the hips fully). I haven't met the bodybuilder or
musclebound person on the mat that I couldn't get this on. The
tiring of the lat on that side will also make him more susceptible
to the triangle choke, although you have to have long legs to be
able to lock it in properly against someone who is very thick --
very important to think about, as you might give away the pass.
In general, work a high closed guard to tire out his arms.
Suseptibility to Certain Finishes
Bodybuilders are *especially* susceptible to entangled armlocks
-- these are your "figure four" armlocks, which hyper-rotate the
shoulder (all variations -- aka keylock, ude garami, "Americana",
"Kimura"). They are very, very susceptible to these. The reason for
this is that their shoulders are tight. You barely have to rotate
the joint before they are literally screaming, before they even
begin to tap. For instance, from side control you're going for the
far arm, you've got the wrist pinned, and as soon as your other
hand comes in under his arm to grab your own wrist, the slight
rotation of the shoulder caused by your hand coming under which
raises his elbow off the ground is enough to cause great pain. Very
little follow-through is generally needed in shoulder locks against
bodybuilders.
Modified Entangled Armlock Against a Bodybuilder
Also, you can catch most bodybuilders in an entangled armlock
with your arm still around his neck and holding the far wrist from
side control. This is notable, since with most people, you must
bring your elbow of the arm that holds the wrist to the *far* side
of his neck and position it there to complete the shoulder lock.
But against people with really big, tight shoulders you often don't
have to do this. This can make for a very tight shoulder lock,
since your arm around his neck braces your positioning of his wrist
before reaching under to grab your own wrist and flex. Doing it
this way enables you to use your shoulder of the arm that is around
his neck as a sort of cross face, and it also enables you to keep
more of your weight on the side of him where you base sits.
Of course, you can always get the figure four in place, and then
bring your elbow to the far side to complete the armlock if
necessary.
Following It Up If He Tries to Save That Arm
If he reaches in with his other arm -- the near arm -- to save
that far arm that you're torquing, you can then pin it with your
chest, feed that wrist to the arm around his neck that was holding
his far wrist, step over to a posted mount, and now you've got him
wrapped. His near arm is now wrapped around his own neck, which can
be used as a lever to hold him there or turn him. From here, you
can thread through and go to a cross armlock, continue turning him
to get his back, or hit him from the posted mount position with
your free hand. Good solid position -- a favorite of mine.
Bodybuilder with Top Position
Last of all, when a bodybuilder has a top position in grappling,
they tend to give a lot of room underneath, which enables you to
reachieve the guard pretty easily. They can be tough to overturn,
however, so it's often a good idea to start off by getting your
guard instead of trying to overturn his side control. From there,
you can either reverse him, get his back, work back to your feet,
or wear him down with the guard. Bodybuilders have a very dense
feel to them, which can make reversals difficult.
Frank Benn Integrated Arts <
http://meridianis.com/IA/Home.htm>Austin, Texas
Posted to Usenet's rec.martial-arts Mon, 15 Nov 1999 14:35:49
-0600
