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In the world of combat there are 3 zones of fighting. The grappling zone which is the closest, punching zone which is the middle, and kicking zone which is the farthest.
Close the gap- to move up the distance of the zones
The grappling zone: You cannot punch or kick properly and if you are able to do so they need to be specific types of punches and kicks. Elbows, knees, and joint manipulation dominate this zone
Punching zone: this is where boxers hangout. It has enough distance to perform and land punches. Some kicks can also be done in this distance. In order to use grappling ranged attacks, you must close the gap(move from punching to grappling zone)
Kicking zone- Farthest zone. This is where muay thai boxers stay unless the close the gap. no punches, knees(outside of a flying knee), elbows, joint manipulation can be performed. Perfect distance for kicks
Some attacks can exceed the kicking zone. The jeet kune do pendulum kick was designed to close the gap from a further distance. In muay thai we can take a step to the north west and do a body kick or roundhouse kick.
A person who doesn't do joint manipulation arts is known as a striker. This includes boxing, muay thai, kung fu,etc
Grapples are people who do arts like wrestling, bjj, aikido,etc
Both are opposites. Strikers have problems staying away from the grappling zone and grapples have problems closing the gap.
Some styles have something called stand up grappling like wing chun with chi Sao, aikido, muay thai with the clinch, etc
It's good to cross train in these zones to have more variety. For example for bigger people or people with a weapon, the kicking zone is the safest. But it's also good for the random factor. In fights anything can happen. Let's say you train with your left side of your body. In a fight you break from a hold and end up on the right side with no time to switch back. Same with the zones. If someone goes for a take down, you know to stay away from the grappling zone or stay in the punching zone to take out limbs.
MMA isn't a style, it is a term for a system that impliments more than one style. For example, if I fuse wing chun and muay thai, I can label it as mma. People obviously want to fuse style because it's cool. Some styles actually do work together. There's one guy on YouTube who does with chun and fused it with aikido. BUT you cannot outright switch stances in a fight. There has to be a move that is similar enough to the other style that makes switching possible. It's like a bridge.
For example, in wing chun we have something called an eye jab or darting fingers. In the first form we do a double eye jab(with both hands) and move our hands up and down to train the wrist to move after a move. If i am in the grappling zone, I can turn my hands slightly while doing a double eye jab and go around the head. This can turn into a muay thai clinch.
Even a wing chun paak Sao to the chun can turn into a clinch. Paak Sao is an open hand strike.
When learning styles it's good to be creative and master the zones.
Be realistic: In wing chun first form we have a downwards chop. In muay thai when we kick we also do a chop. Fusing those won't work as the chops serve different purposes.
Just have fun with what you do. If you want to make a move and it fails keep practising. Maybe it will be something revolutionary
Close the gap- to move up the distance of the zones
The grappling zone: You cannot punch or kick properly and if you are able to do so they need to be specific types of punches and kicks. Elbows, knees, and joint manipulation dominate this zone
Punching zone: this is where boxers hangout. It has enough distance to perform and land punches. Some kicks can also be done in this distance. In order to use grappling ranged attacks, you must close the gap(move from punching to grappling zone)
Kicking zone- Farthest zone. This is where muay thai boxers stay unless the close the gap. no punches, knees(outside of a flying knee), elbows, joint manipulation can be performed. Perfect distance for kicks
Some attacks can exceed the kicking zone. The jeet kune do pendulum kick was designed to close the gap from a further distance. In muay thai we can take a step to the north west and do a body kick or roundhouse kick.
A person who doesn't do joint manipulation arts is known as a striker. This includes boxing, muay thai, kung fu,etc
Grapples are people who do arts like wrestling, bjj, aikido,etc
Both are opposites. Strikers have problems staying away from the grappling zone and grapples have problems closing the gap.
Some styles have something called stand up grappling like wing chun with chi Sao, aikido, muay thai with the clinch, etc
It's good to cross train in these zones to have more variety. For example for bigger people or people with a weapon, the kicking zone is the safest. But it's also good for the random factor. In fights anything can happen. Let's say you train with your left side of your body. In a fight you break from a hold and end up on the right side with no time to switch back. Same with the zones. If someone goes for a take down, you know to stay away from the grappling zone or stay in the punching zone to take out limbs.
MMA isn't a style, it is a term for a system that impliments more than one style. For example, if I fuse wing chun and muay thai, I can label it as mma. People obviously want to fuse style because it's cool. Some styles actually do work together. There's one guy on YouTube who does with chun and fused it with aikido. BUT you cannot outright switch stances in a fight. There has to be a move that is similar enough to the other style that makes switching possible. It's like a bridge.
For example, in wing chun we have something called an eye jab or darting fingers. In the first form we do a double eye jab(with both hands) and move our hands up and down to train the wrist to move after a move. If i am in the grappling zone, I can turn my hands slightly while doing a double eye jab and go around the head. This can turn into a muay thai clinch.
Even a wing chun paak Sao to the chun can turn into a clinch. Paak Sao is an open hand strike.
When learning styles it's good to be creative and master the zones.
Be realistic: In wing chun first form we have a downwards chop. In muay thai when we kick we also do a chop. Fusing those won't work as the chops serve different purposes.
Just have fun with what you do. If you want to make a move and it fails keep practising. Maybe it will be something revolutionary
