Let’s look at # 3. Take them down and pound them.

One of the best ways to win any fight is to take you attacker down and pound them, but everyone doesn’t know how to do good ground Jiu Jitsu and so everyone won’t be able to take their opponent down and pound them. That means you should learn to do ground Jiu Jitsu. Here is the reality. Everyone does not know how to box, but for some strange reason everyone thinks they do, or thinks they know enough to win a fight. Wrong! Everyone doesn’t know how to do good karate kicks, but for some strange reason everyone thinks they do and tries them in a fight.  Everyone doesn’t know how to fight on the ground, but 75% of real fights end up on the ground at some time during the fight, so why don’t you learn to fight on the ground. Don’t fool yourself into thinking you know how to fight on the ground and take you opponent down hard if you have never had any training. This mistake can cost you a good butt kicking.

There are actually 2 parts to this winning fights point. One: take them down and two: pound them. The first one, if done properly will win the fight and you won’t even have to pound them. If you have ever had the pleasure of taking judo and been thrown unexpectedly from 6 feet in the air, over a man’s shoulder and smashed to the mat, you know it is a rather alarming and “breaking” experience. I had my shoulder broken from a fall, even though I was a Black Belt at the time and knew how to take do great break falls.  I don’t know anyone who has taken judo for any significant length of time that has not broken some bone in his body. This is because, even though Judo means “the gentle art”,  falling on the ground is anything but gentle. Falling on a mat requires precise techniques if you don’t want to get injured and takes years to learn to do correctly. Falling on concrete is almost impossible to do without getting some kind of injury, even if you are a judo black belt. You might not get hurt but you will definitely feel the fall and let me tell you if you don’t know how to a proper break fall, you will not get up from that fall in the street. If you know how to do great judo throws and you throw your attacker violently to the ground over your shoulder or your hip, they won’t be able to continue the fight.

It is just as deadly and effective to know great wrestling take downs. A great wrestler can shoot in, pick you up and smash you to the ground so fast and so hard you won’t even have time to react. My son Teddy Gambordella has been wrestling competitively for 12 years and has worked out with some of the great Texas Wrestlers. He is a great “shooter” and can take anyone down in the street with devastating results. He also has trained with Brandon Slay the Olympic Gold Medalist in wrestling and when Mr. Slay does his shots and picks you up, you are very lucky to not break something or get hurt, even when practicing on a mat. If Mr. Slay did that in the street you would be knocked out and there would be no need to continue the fight.  A friend of mine David Wright is an incredible 14 times State Champion and I have seen him in the street in a fight with an idiot who called him out from a bar. He squared up in his best boxing stance against David and about 1 second later found himself double legged, picked up and smashed head first against the ground knocking him unconscious. If you know how to “take your opponent down” you have a great advantage in the fights you will be in.

After you take him down, you want to pound him. It is best in the street to immediately go to the mount, and not work the guard, because you can get cut up on the concrete from the guard and give your opponent too much confidence. If you take him down and immediately mount him and start pounding his face. He will either turn over or be knocked out. If he turns over, you can easily put him in a choke and finish him. If he stays there, you can pound him into submission. He just doesn’t have a chance if you know ground Jiu Jitsu and all he knows is “street fighting”.

I know that many of you don’t believe this because you have been in fights in the street and on the ground and beat the guy on the ground. That is because they didn’t know ground Jiu Jitsu. Since most fight end up on the ground, and most people don’t know how to fight on the ground, they falsely think they do and think they can take you down and win on the ground. This won’t work against a Jiu Jitsu fighter and if you want to find out just go to any Brazilian Jiu Jitsu school and ask for a fight with a typical blue belt. The lowest graded belt. You simply won’t have a chance. Try it and find out for yourself.

To summarize, if you take your opponent down and pound him you can and will win most of the fights you are in. If you don’t have this “fight game”, then I suggest you enroll in a good Jiu Jitsu school and start learning.