Ground Fighting has gained a huge popularity in recent years, and it appears that every style of unarmed combat has now incorporated this element into its repertoire. Ground Fighting or, as we prefer to call it, Anti-Grappling, is not new to the Leung Ting WingTsun system. As a matter of fact my Si-Fu Grandmaster Kernspecht points out in his 1987 book “Vom Zweikampf” (“On Single Combat”) what a serious threat a good wrestler can be in a match-fight situation, and that the WingTsun system was adapted to deal with this many, many years ago. As a matter of fact I had my first WingTsun Anti Grappling lessons in 1990 shortly after starting WingTsun. It is important to understand that the Leung Ting WingTsun system is constantly evolving, having been continuously developed and refined over the past 25 years. It is also a complete system, adaptable to any kind of confrontation through the use of its own principles and techniques. Unlike some other styles, it does not need to borrow techniques from Ju Jitsu or Wrestling to adapt itself to ground fighting. WingTsun Anti-Grappling pursues a slightly different objective from most grappling styles, and it also uses some quite unique techniques. For example, its intermediate and advanced Anti-Grappling programs heavily rely on the use of Chi Sao reflexes. But what is even more crucial is to remember that Leung Ting WingTsun is not a martial-arts sport, but a self-defense system. So, you might ask, what’s the big difference? Plenty. WingTsun trains and conditions you not to go down in the first place, whereas most grappling styles train you (rightfully, as the main objective is usually to prepare you for tournaments) to take your opponent down as soon as possible. Now this kind of conditioning is perfectly fine in a “controlled” environment, complete with mats, referee and with no fear of a crowd that might kick your head in. However WingTsun trains you to deal with real life. Have you ever had a look on a pub or night club floor after the last guests have left? I did many times during my work as a doorman and believe me broken glass, spilled beer, puke, and possibly even syringes and used condoms don’t make for comfortable rolling around. So from this point of view alone it is certainly worth every effort to avoid going to the ground. Another much more important factor is that when you go to ground you dramatically decrease your mobility. You’d better make sure you have only friends in the surrounding crowd, as otherwise the chances are you’ll get more than you bargained for. So while it’s important to prepare yourself to take care of yourself on the ground, it’s important not to condition yourself to go to ground automatically but only if you have no other option. Let me illustrate what I mean with a well-publicised example. Several years ago there was a big Shotokan Karate Tournament in France which attracted many high ranked practitioners who fought on an international level. Somehow arguments started and the whole tournament turned in to a big brawl. Funnily enough no one got hurt. The national and international Martial Arts Press asked afterward how it could be that so many high ranking Karate instructors had a fight for real and there were no injuries. The answer was quite simply that these guys were too good at what they were doing. Shotokan Karate conditions you to stop every punch a couple of centimetre in front of the opponent. Once this behaviour is in the muscle memory it is very hard to override. In fact science teaches us that it takes around 600 hours of training to override a movement in your muscle memory. So if you train take downs and ground fighting for a certain amount of time you will start feeling very comfortable with it and you will condition yourself to go to the ground in real life, often to your cost. However we certainly acknowledge that you can’t always avoid going to ground, and so anti grappling is an important part of the WingTsun back up system. Compared with the most other Martial Arts, however, it’s a very different system – a system purely developed for self-defence and not for tournaments. Number one, WingTsun Anti-Grappling uses a different method of falling, as the traditional method of absorbing the shock of the fall with your arms is not suited for a real, live scenario where you quite likely will not have a flat and fairly soft surface. Just imagine hitting a step or another obstacle with your arm while absorbing your fall; you might break your arm before the fight even has really started! WingTsun prepares you to hit the ground in a position that gives you the best possible protection and mobility, enables you to fight back immediately (even while you fall) and maximises your chances of getting back up again. From here we have two different scenarios. Scenario number one is you are on the ground but you opponent is still standing. In this case our basic fighting position (Here the WingTsun centre line theory which differs significantly from the most other Wing Chun styles comes into play) and the associated chain kicks should protect you from your opponent getting close to you or even on top of you. It also protects you groin area and prevents your opponent from jumping on top of you, giving you sufficient time to get back up or bring your opponent down. Scenario two is you and your opponent both on the ground. Your main objective in this situation is to knock him out as soon as possible with whatever means you have available - like chain punches, elbows, knees, eye gouges, shoulder pressure, your chin, punches to the groin and as last resorts biting and head butting. Chi Sao reflexes also come in very handy here, as they enable you to feel your opponent, stick to him and thwart his locking or choking attempts. As always, you should get back into a standing position as soon as the situation (distance) allows. This short article obviously just scratches the surface of the unique WingTsun Anti-Grappling system, but it might interest you that this subject comprises 10 different programs which are all taught within the student levels. And by the way, contrary to the popular belief, most fights actually don’t end up on the ground but are decided within 3 seconds. But that’s the subject of another article. Watch out for it! Sifu Stefan Fischer | 
