Ground Fighting in PTI?

[jwinch2]

Greetings all,

To what extent is ground work covered in the PTI curriculum? Are there any video examples of this material? I know that GT Gaje has dealt with ground fighting as I have heard him talk about it. I do not know if this is a recent addition given the rise in popularity of grappling and ground work in general, or if this has always been there and so would be part of the PTI curriculum. Might as well ask I guess!


Thanks in advance and I hope all of you are well!

Jason

[TuhonBill]

[QUOTE=jwinch2;48922]Greetings all,

To what extent is ground work covered in the PTI curriculum? Are there any video examples of this material? I know that GT Gaje has dealt with ground fighting as I have heard him talk about it. I do not know if this is a recent addition given the rise in popularity of grappling and ground work in general, or if this has always been there and so would be part of the PTI curriculum. Might as well ask I guess!


Hi Jason,

There are locks, takedowns and pins that end with the opponent on the ground in the PTI curriculum. However, these all stay within the goals of Pekiti-Tirsia when I learned the system, which were that you were fighting more than one armed opponent. The way I was taught, you have to stay in a position after a throw from which you can disengage from opponent #1 quickly in case opponent #2 is close by. It's not like the ground fighting you see in Bjj with two guys in a tangle. I believe Tuhon Gaje added ground work in the 90's as a response to the growing popularity of BJJ and its addition to FMA arts such as the Dog Bros. I think it's a good addition to a fighters tool box. Just make sure you use it at the right time.


Regards,
Tuhon Bill McGrath

[jwinch2]

Thanks for the response Tuhon! I always appreciate your insight.

[jwinch2]

I believe Tuhon Gaje added ground work in the 90's as a response to the growing popularity of BJJ and its addition to FMA arts such as the Dog Bros. I think it's a good addition to a fighters tool box. Just make sure you use it at the right time.


I have a bit more time now so I decided I would expand on my response.

Per the comments I quoted, I sort of suspected something like that must have happened. There a ton of arts, not limited to FMA, with grappling aspects that were not apparent twenty years ago. They may or may not have been there to begin with but that is a separate discussion. However, what is quite apparent is that they were not focusing on grappling or, if they were, it was some sort of pathetic take down defense moves that didn't work at all against a determined opponent who knew the ground game. I think this addition or renewed focus on the ground that we see today is a good thing as it forces people out of their own paradigms makes them adapt their own game to modern realities. I don't know what the situation is like where other people live but I can't drive half a mile in Northern Virginia without running into a MMA school with a legit BJJ program. We talk in our FMA class how nowadays it seems like everyone knows some grappling basics whereas that was not the case even 10 years ago. Ignore it at your peril in my view, particularly if you are unarmed. Even if you are armed there is no guarantee that you can access your weapon before you are in a position that is unrecoverable.

Having said that, I do study some BJJ which I do enjoy though I consider it a supplementary art to my FMA training. What frustrates me often is that I can feel how open to strikes and knife attacks I am when I am training the art. I have been trying to find a good ground "combatives" or "fighting" program to supplement my FMA training that takes into consideration striking, "dirty tricks" and the weapons game while on the ground while at the same time using legit grappling strategies and techniques from someone who knows the ground game. I am discovering that finding such a thing is very difficult. It seems like much of what I can find is from people who A) don't really know the ground game so the moves that they train have not really been tested against someone who does; or B) they know the ground game but not the knife or combatives game which has obvious implications. Kelly McCann at Crucible has a ground combatives program that I have been trying to get access to train in for some time. I am hopeful that it will happen prior to my move in August. There are others out there but they seem to be few and far between...

Finally, I agree 100% with your comments about knowing when and when not to choose to go to the ground. One nice thing in recent years is that even though we have seen this renewed focus on grappling, the focus has started to swing back a bit as people are realizing that you can't only grapple and that you need to learn the stand up and ground striking game as well. Furthermore, in multiple attackers scenarios or other real world situations I am certainly not looking to take any fight to the ground. My concern is more about knowing what to do if I am taken there against my will by someone who knows what they are doing.

Thanks again for the response Tuhon.

Jason