For the purposes of analysis, Grappling (and thus Anti grappling) can be divided into two parts – clinch (stand up) and ground fighting.
In terms of the clinch
there are a number of wing chun strategies & techniques that should be familiar to anyone who knows the system (different interpretations of the forms notwithstanding) and which can be used to counter various different techniques from the clinch.
For example
In Slt there is;
defence against rear bear hug with double overhooks (raising rear elbows and groin grab/strike)
defence against cross arm wrist grab (turn hand palm up and pak sau the elbow of the hand that is grabbing)
defence against half nelson (straighten arm and turn to face opponent)
In chum kiu there is;
Defence against front bear hug with double underhooks (double eye gouge)
Defence against choke/lapel grab (tok and jut sau together on the elbow of their extended arm.
Defence against same arm wrist grab (turn hand so blade of forearm is next to where their thumb and finger meet and turn and low bong sau to break free.
In Bil Gee there is;
Defence against double wrist grab (Arcing Downwards elbow)
And in the Dummy there is;
Defence against double neck tie (double high palms under their chin)
Defence against double neck tie and knee (Double low palms on their hips)
Defence against take down attempts (neck grab and pull)
These can all be characterised as specifically 'anti grappling' techniques. This is not to say of course that the basic wing chun body mechanics and concepts cannot be used to counter a grappler - they can. I have highlighted these anti grappling techniques purely because they are easy to identify as such.
In terms of the ground
Since the Wing chun fighter is not looking to go to the ground (in accordance with the maxim- do not try and grapple a grappler) if for whatever reason he does end up there (for e.g. if his normally impecable clinch skills have, in this instance failed him, or he has tripped/slipped or he was attacked by surprise) he will in all likelihood be the man on the bottom.
Now there are two variables for the man on the bottom – either the opponent will be in your guard i.e. you will be square on to him with your legs in front of him (which is, if not a ‘neutral’ position then certainly the best of the bad positions for the man on the bottom qua man on the bottom, since it affords him the most chance to sweep, submit, counter strike or escape from the man on top)
Or alternatively the opponent will already be past your guard/legs and will have your flank. In this case the WC player will only have a small window (if at all) to either replace the guard (i.e. to square up) or to stand back up. Otherwise the grappler will be on top of him.
Now if this happens (that is, if the grappler is on top having passed the bottom mans guard) two further variables come into play – space and weight. The top man (grapplers) focus will be on minimising space and maximising weight on the bottom man. He may then strike, submit or move to a better position as he wishes. Thus to escape, the man on the bottom needs to do the polar opposite from the man on the top i.e. to maximise the space between them and to minimise the weight on him.
Before we address the best way to do that though there are two alternative options to escaping in this scenario that merit discussion –
Firstly there is the strategy of striking from the bottom
While this may seem at first blush to be a viable option, there are a number of problems associated with it. These are:
-That any punches thrown will be all arm punches (i.e. with no Bodyweight /Gravity behind them and hence will lack power)
-That there is not sufficient room to adequately chamber and recycle them
-That one is not able to actually reach the desired target in the case of the mount or rear mount.
Perhaps a more plausible solution would be to attack vulnerable targets – but then if the grappler is good he can protect these spots, for e.g. by burying his head to negate biting/eye gouging and keeping his hips low to avoid groin grabbing etc. Consequently it is perhaps unwise to rely on this strategy alone.
The best solution to the space/weight problem, then, is exactly what a grappler would use viz. A combination of bridging (arching the back and pushing up with the hips) and shrimping (turning onto your side and scooting your hips away from the man on top). These two things together, combined with a few other details depending on the context (like sealing off/trapping a side when bridging to prevent the top guy from posting an arm or leg thereby regaining his balance and thus preventing the escape) will get the man on the bottom (provided he applies them correctly) out of 99 % of top pins.
So, having made space and turning to face his opponent, he has now replaced the guard. Here he has a number of options. He can submit, strike, sweep or escape.
Now to go for a submission is to start grappling with a grappler. Moreover a failed submission attempt (such as a triangle or armbar) may result in ones guard being passed.
Another possibility is a sweep. However IME sweeps again involve grappling and are made considerably more difficult when the opponent doesn’t wear a Gi or heavy clothing (though not impossible – the double ankle pick when he stands up in your guard is equally effective in either case).
This leaves striking or escaping. Striking while feasible is not ideal: it is better used as a prelude to an escape. Heels on hips, pushing off and then standing up (correctly) works well if the guy is sitting back. Alternatively, if he is heavy on you you can pull him down and to the right (double handed lap sau) and shrimp your hips out to the left. This will allow you to take the back and thus stand up easily. these are just two high % methods of escape- there are of course others.
To summarise then,
The WC man wants, as a default strategy, to stay on his feet. Thus if he does go to the ground it will be against his will and is likely to involve being on the bottom. If he is on the bottom he is vulnerable to strikes and submissions and his ability to strike (his preferred method of attack) will be compromised. Thus he needs to escape from the bottom as a matter of priority.
To do this he needs to know and be able to apply a handful of fundamental techniques: Bridging, shrimping, how to trap/seal off a side (to prevent them posting a leg/arm to regain their base when sweeping or escaping) and how to block/frustrate submissions whilst trying to escape– arm bar/triangle, RNC etc.
Moreover its not really a question of whether historically Wing chun does or does not have these things– more that even if it does they need to be trained against a skilled resisting partner in the context in question. In other words it is probably unwise to think that there will be a complete and unproblematic crossover of skill sets from stand up to the ground and that therefore one does not need to devote training time to practicing on the ground (especially from the bottom).
Of course there are WC Principles that certainly do cross over to the ground. These include:
- Seek the path of least resistance (don’t fight force with force)
- Keep facing the centreline (don’t let your opponent outflank you)
- Hit the nearest target with the nearest weapon.
But IMO there is sufficient difference to warrant training this range of combat in its own right. In doing so one is formulating a contingency plan - a sensible strategy in many walks of life
To be continued…………….
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you learn to move your hips away,control his upper body,move out using his movement (non resistance) etc...The biggest mistake is to extend the arms to create space.I prefer to hold him close and to use the hips (center) to create space and momentum.Basic positions and escapes are good things to know but they come with their own methodology.No need to be an expert submission grappler. BTW,dirty tactics are outlawed in competitions because they work!...The trick is to be really agressive and to do it first!...
