Phases of combat

Training


Mixed martial arts competition requires training in striking, wrestling, and submission fighting.
Today, mixed martial artists train in a variety of styles that have been proven effective in the ring, so that they can be effective in all the phases of combat. Although fighters will try to play to their particular specialties, they will inevitably encounter all kinds of situations; a stand-up fighting specialist will probably get taken down at some point and a submission artist might need to fight standing-up for a while before he can execute a takedown. A mixed martial artist might train in a particular style to enhance his or her skills in the phase of combat that that style targets. Typical styles, known for their effectiveness, that have been trained prior to the mixed martial arts career, and that are trained individually to enhance a particular phase of combat, are:
Stand-up: Various forms of Boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, and/or forms of full contact karate are trained to improve footwork, elbowing, kicking, kneeing and punching.
Clinch: Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling, Sambo, and Judo are trained to improve clinching, takedowns and throws, while Muay Thai is trained to improve the striking aspect of the clinch.
Ground: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, shoot wrestling, catch wrestling, Judo, and Sambo are trained to improve submission holds, and defense against them. These styles are also trained to improve and maintain ground control.
Many styles have to be adapted slightly for use in the sport. For example, several boxing stances are ineffective because they leave fighters vulnerable to leg kicks or takedowns. Similarly, Judo techniques have to be adapted to an opponent not wearing a judogi. Usually, modern fighters do not train in any particular style, but either train in multiple styles with multiple coaches, or train in teams with other athletes focusing specifically on competition. Energy system training, speed drills, strength training and flexibility are also important aspects of an MMA fighter's training. Mixed martial arts competition is very demanding physically, and the athletes need to be in top condition to be successful.
While mixed martial arts was initially practiced almost exclusively by competitive fighters, this is no longer the case. As the sport has become more mainstream and more widely taught, it has become accessible to wider range of practitioners of all ages. Proponents of this sort of training argue that it is safe for anyone, of any age, with varying levels of competitiveness.[24][25]
[edit]Strategies
The following are various nicknames applied to different fighting styles. Apart from the fact that fighters are usually much more versed in one particular fighting style such as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, judo, Muay Thai, wrestling, or other martial art, the following terms are used to describe how a particular fighter is attempting to accomplish a particular victory. For instance, BJ Penn and Fedor Emelianenko score victories by striking, "ground and pounding," and submitting, depending on the strengths of their opponents. Note that some of these are not complete styles; rather, they are merely phases in a fighter's game.


Stand-up fighting is an integral component of sprawl-and-brawl.
[edit]Sprawl-and-brawl
Sprawl-and-brawl is a stand-up fighting tactic that consists of effective stand-up striking, while avoiding ground fighting, typically by using sprawls to defend against takedowns.
A sprawl-and-brawler is usually a boxer, kickboxer, Thai boxer and/or full contact karate fighter who has trained in wrestling to avoid takedowns and tries to keep the fight standing. Usually these fighters will study enough submission wrestling so that in the unfortunate event that they are taken down to the ground, they can tie their opponents up and survive long enough to either get back to standing or until the referee restarts the fight. This style is deceptively different from regular kickboxing styles, since sprawl-and-brawlers must adapt their techniques to incorporate takedown and ground fighting defense.
[edit]Clinch fighting
Clinch fighting and "Dirty boxing" are tactics consisting of using a clinch hold to prevent the opponent from moving away into more distant striking range, while at the same time attempting takedowns and striking the opponent using knees, stomps, elbows, and punches.
The clinch is usually utilized by wrestlers that have added in components of the striking game (typically boxing), and Muay Thai fighters. Often, wrestlers that have added the striking game are partial to strikes from within the clinch, particularly wrestlers who have already developed a strong clinch game. In the case that an exchange on the feet does not go in their favor, they can bring the fight to the ground quickly as their true expertise lies in wrestling, so they are ultimately less timid about trading blows. Through the use of Greco-Roman clinching techniques and Muay Thai strikes, neck clinching and body locks clinch fighting could be used to devastate ill-prepared opponents.
Wrestling components include pummeling and underhooking arms along with "bodylocking" the waist. Pummelling is commonly learned as a drill and is similar to Muay Thai's "snaking hands" drill used for practicing the neck or "plumb" clinch. With neck pummeling (plumb), the back of the head - not the neck - is used for greater leverage.
Muay Thai typically employs the plumb clinch where the back of the head is held. From here one can knee, wrestle, stomp the feet and calf, or perform trips using the feet and knees as leverage, much like trips and slams in Greco-Roman wrestling. Thai boxers will also clinch or bodylock the waist and either perform throws or force the opponent to the floor using their chin into the opponents chest as the force and the bodylock as the fulcrum, with the legs providing thrust.
[edit]Ground-and-pound


Ground-and-pound is a ground fighting tactic consisting of taking an opponent to the ground using a takedown or throw, obtaining a top position, and then striking the opponent. Ground-and-pound is also used as a precursor to attempting submission holds.
This style is used by wrestlers or other fighters well-versed in defending submission holds and skilled at takedowns. They take the fight to the ground, maintain a grappling position, and strike until their opponent submits, is knocked out or is cut so badly that the fight can not continue. Although not traditionally considered a conventional method of striking, the effectiveness and reliability (as well as recently-developing science) of this style is proven. Originally, most fighters who relied on striking on the ground were wrestlers, but considering how many fights end up on the ground and how increasingly competitive today's MMA is, strikes on the ground are becoming more essential to a fighter's training.
[edit]Submission grappling


A U.S. Army Combatives instructor Matt Larsen uses a chokehold on an opponent.
Apart from being a general martial arts term, submission grappling is also a reference to the ground fighting tactic consisting of taking an opponent to the ground using a takedown or throw, obtaining a dominant position, and then applying a submission hold to defeat the opponent. Some submission grapplers are also content to work from the bottom position because they are confident that they can find a way to secure a submission. They will sometimes fall back into the guard position, dragging the opponent with them. This is known as "pulling guard."
Submissions are an essential part of many disciplines, most notably Catch wrestling, Judo, Sambo, Pankration, Army Combatives and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Fighters with a strong background in these sports often use submission grappling as a tactic to win their fights.
An example of a submission grappling tournament is ADCC and FILA Grappling World Wrestling Games.
[edit]"Lay-and-pray"
"Lay-and-Pray" is a derogatory term for a strategy sometimes used by fighters who can take an opponent down but are not adept at finishing moves such as the strikes of ground-and-pound or submissions to continue offense from the gained position.[26] They seek to maintain control of positioning and smother any offense by the opponent, yet mount little or no offense themselves, hoping for a decision win. In some MMA organizations, fines can be imposed for lay-and-pray techniques when the referee determines that the fighter is stalling.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mixed_martial_arts