“...in Krav Maga, whatever we do from an upright position, we do from a ground position, with modifications and with weight properly positioned. Just as there are no rules in an "up" fight, there are no rules in a "down" fight.” –David KahnWe have to have some rules during our groundfighting night for safety reasons or we wouldn’t be able to make it to class on a regular basis due to injuries. So, what I’m writing about here is the mindset you have to have when you’re practicing your groundfighting. Remind yourself that you are... after all... a Krav Maga student.
I remember wrestling with my BJJ instructor one time and he was maneuvering himself into a position to apply a leg triangle choke from the mount position. I calmly and matter-of-factly said to him, “You know that I can bite your balls right now.” He shouted, “What!” I replied, “That’s Krav Maga.”
A few weeks ago, I was wrestling with a young man that had made the decision to smother me into submission. I bit him through his t-shirt on his upper abdomen. I didn’t break the skin, but I did leave teeth marks. He jumped off me like a hot popcorn kernel.
The other night, I was assisting with demonstrating how one removes his trapped leg while caught in an opponent’s half-guard. There are a few very nice finesse BJJ escapes from this position. However, during the demo, my streetfighting mind went into action and I thought, “In reality... I would ground and pound my opponent nonstop. His OODA loop would look like OO-OO-OO-OO.”
The bottom line for me is that even though I love the techniques of the grappling arts and its game of physical chess, I’m always... always thinking about the real deal while wrestling. The fact is that my opponent could have a weapon. The fact is that my opponent could have accomplices that decide to interject themselves into the fray... and they may have weapons. The fact is that... I will cheat to win.
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