skribs
Grandmaster
This is a thought I've had while training TKD and HKD, and has become more solidified since I've started taking BJJ. The amount of skill it takes in order to make a technique work, based on the type of martial art:
Even in situations where your strikes do not connect or do not connect with enough force, it can be easy for a striker to figure out what went wrong, and get meaningful reps. If my technique isn't landing, I know my problem is accuracy or speed. If my techniques aren't having an effect on my opponent, I know my problem is placement or power. Striking is 99% non-contact, with contact only happening at the end of a technique. You are free to fully execute techniques miss or hit.
Compare this with grappling, which is 100% contact. The success or failure of a technique depends on my ability to successfully manipulate my opponent's body. What's that old adage about things you can control vs. things you can't? If your opponent is better at defending a technique than you are at executing it, you won't be able to use it. In many cases, you won't even be able to try it. If you are, it can be difficult to troubleshoot. Were you using it at the wrong time? In the wrong position? Did you have the wrong grip? Did you miss a step? Were you too tight or too loose? There's a number of variables that all could have blocked you from doing the technique correctly. And then you're stuck in mount and just trying to survive.
Then there's technical grappling. I separated this from competitive grappling, because there's a much higher focus on technical proficiency than on athleticism. In BJJ, my Professor has given a 60/40 rule; 60% technique, 40% strength. The strength tells the technique where to go. In Hapkido, if we used any amount of strength other than is required to move our own arms and legs, my Master would tell us we were trying too hard and we need to have better technique. These techniques focused very heavily on pressure points and joint alignment. In most cases, they were binary. Either you had the lock or you didn't.
A hip throw is going to work on someone less skilled in defending hip throws than the person executing them. If you're not very good at doing them, you leave a lot of openings to escape from it. But if your opponent doesn't know those openings, then they aren't going to take them, and the throw can be executed. However, if you're trying to get a wrist lock on your opponent, you have to know how to make it work, or they simply won't feel any pain to comply with. That's not to say that someone more skilled in wrist lock defense can't prevent you from succeeding, but rather that someone less skilled in applying wrist locks will have a much more difficult time with it than in the previous tiers (striking and competitive grappling).
- In Striking (TKD), you can make a technique work at any skill level.
- In Competitive Grappling (BJJ), you can make a technique work at any skill level, provided your opponent is of equal or lesser skill level (or lets you do it).
- In Technical Grappling (HKD), you can make a technique work only at a high skill level.
Even in situations where your strikes do not connect or do not connect with enough force, it can be easy for a striker to figure out what went wrong, and get meaningful reps. If my technique isn't landing, I know my problem is accuracy or speed. If my techniques aren't having an effect on my opponent, I know my problem is placement or power. Striking is 99% non-contact, with contact only happening at the end of a technique. You are free to fully execute techniques miss or hit.
Compare this with grappling, which is 100% contact. The success or failure of a technique depends on my ability to successfully manipulate my opponent's body. What's that old adage about things you can control vs. things you can't? If your opponent is better at defending a technique than you are at executing it, you won't be able to use it. In many cases, you won't even be able to try it. If you are, it can be difficult to troubleshoot. Were you using it at the wrong time? In the wrong position? Did you have the wrong grip? Did you miss a step? Were you too tight or too loose? There's a number of variables that all could have blocked you from doing the technique correctly. And then you're stuck in mount and just trying to survive.
Then there's technical grappling. I separated this from competitive grappling, because there's a much higher focus on technical proficiency than on athleticism. In BJJ, my Professor has given a 60/40 rule; 60% technique, 40% strength. The strength tells the technique where to go. In Hapkido, if we used any amount of strength other than is required to move our own arms and legs, my Master would tell us we were trying too hard and we need to have better technique. These techniques focused very heavily on pressure points and joint alignment. In most cases, they were binary. Either you had the lock or you didn't.
A hip throw is going to work on someone less skilled in defending hip throws than the person executing them. If you're not very good at doing them, you leave a lot of openings to escape from it. But if your opponent doesn't know those openings, then they aren't going to take them, and the throw can be executed. However, if you're trying to get a wrist lock on your opponent, you have to know how to make it work, or they simply won't feel any pain to comply with. That's not to say that someone more skilled in wrist lock defense can't prevent you from succeeding, but rather that someone less skilled in applying wrist locks will have a much more difficult time with it than in the previous tiers (striking and competitive grappling).