Have you seen George St. Pierre (GSP), BJ Penn or Anderson Silva fight in the UFC and wondered what makes them tick? What makes them successful mixed martial arts fighter? Apart from pure talent, these three aforemetioned fighters understand the ranges of combat. If you trained in Mixed Martial Arts (aka MMA) or in the Filipino Martial Arts empty hands fighting, you will have been told at some point that you must know how to deal with opponents from different ranges. There are many words for spatial relationships. For example, in Karate, distance is known as “mai.” The harmony of Time and Space is called “ma.”
In MMA or in the Filipino Martial arts empty hand training, it is necessary to become well-versed in defending or fighting in different ranges of combat and how flow from one range to another. Let us then examine these ranges and discover their importance in our development as well-rounded martial artists/fighters.
There are three main ranges:
1. The long-range (punching and kicking).
2. The close-quarter range (grappling, throwing, trapping)
3. The ground (wrestling/ground-fighting).
LONG-RANGE: This is primarily for punching and kicking. In this range of fighting, an opponent is attacked by used of kicks and punches. What is important to remember here is mobility, which comes from good footwork. Any of you who have seen the late Master Fred, Sensei Leo and Kru Paul Tudlong demonstrate their footwork could not help but marvel at their speed and agility. To be a good fighter at this range, one must cultivate “explosive” power and speed and the ability to throw effective combination with both hands and feet. One must also possess quickness in footwork to be able to successfully evade an oncoming attacks and set up your own counter-attacks.
CLOSE-QUARTER: This range presents many options and weapons for fighters. Some of the many weapons or techniques that can be utilized in this range of combat are take-downs, throws, sweeps, jiu-jitsu holds. In addition, as used in the Filipino Martial Arts and Muay Thai, there are other techniques available such as “bolo punches,” grabs, head-butts, elbows, knees and others. To fight effectively at this range, one must have the ability to “explode” and be able to counter the opponent’s resistance or attacks.
GROUND FIGHTING In MMA the predominant martial arts used in ground fighting is the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or wrestling, in the Filipino Martial Arts it is known as dumog. On the ground, the object is to gain the “advantage” or the mount position. The person on this position can use punches, elbow, forearm strikes to overwhelm the opponent. One is taught to seek an opening for choking, strangling, or submission techniques. Even pinching or biting can be employed in self-defense situations but one would be taking a chance in catching a disease.
TRAINING The last step in acquiring fighting skills of different ranges is to blend the fighting principles and techniques you learned from different styles of fighting into a “whole” or “totality.” The techniques must work for each individual. An Bruce Lee once said, the style is not important, the individual is. In the end the styles and fighting techniques would become your own personal “way” of fighting. The emphasis is on the transformation of oneself into an effective and well-rounded fighter. But the secret into becoming a complete/mma fighter, apart from possessing mental toughness, is constant practice and, of course, sparring.
About the author
Guro Ramon Villardo is a Toronto, Canada based Filipino martial arts instructor and a journalist. He is also the Regional Director of Bakbakan International, Toronto, Canada, Chapter (a martial arts fraternity specializing in the development and promotion of the “Warrior Arts of the Philippines”-Arnis/Kali/Eskrima). He is currently the weapons instructor at UMMA.
He is available for seminar/workshops .
Rev. Mr. Ramon Villardo is also an ordained permanent deacon.
Copyright © 2010 UMMA/Bakbakan International, Toronto, Canada, Ramon Villardo
