As a Krav Maga practitioner, I am not advocating that you get so good at ground fighting that you are qualified to enter the Abu Dhabi World Championship. I am saying that you should know enough about ground fighting ― so that if you find yourself on the ground ― you don’t feel like a fish out of water or in another dimension.
Think for a minute and analyze your strengths and weaknesses in Krav Maga. Which do you feel more confident defending against, a front choke from a 250 pounds powerlifter-type attacker or a 250 pounds powerlifter-type attacker mounted on top of you ready to put your lights out? Should you be more efficient at plucking the attacker’s choke hold than you are at trapping and rolling the attacker?
The only way to build up confidence on the ground is to practice there by free rolling and scenario-based training. Practicing with someone that is within your weight range is a good starting point for feeling comfortable. However, ultimately, you’ll want to practice your techniques against your worst nightmare, the behemoth.
Tip: There are only two places that you want your attacker to be when you’re on the ground and he’s on top of you. The first place is at a distance that he can’t strike you. The second place is where he’s so close to you that his punches are ineffectual or at the very least less damaging. If the attacker is somewhere between those two places, you’re going to get hurt.
The bottom line is give as much weight to your Krav Maga ground fighting skills as you do to your Krav Maga standup skills. In a street scenario, you don’t know where you’re going to end up fighting for your life.
