Newer Female Wrestlers, Understand Various Grappling Disciplines, Then Learn MMA

June 6, 2022,

There is a light at the end of the basic learning tunnel.

A very bright one.

Most likely, you are familiar with them.

You have to crawl before you walk.

You have to eat baby food before you can stuff down a bacon and cheese charbroiled hamburger with onions, mushrooms, lettuce, tomato and lots of mustard along with ketchup.

You have to watch Sesame Street and cartoons before you watch hard boiled police procedural dramas.

There is an order to virtually every learning curve.

If you are a Newer Female Grappler, our suggestion would be, you should learn the basics of wrestling before you graduate to MMA Submission Wrestling.

There was a time in our female submission wrestling industry when many female wrestlers preferred that MMA holds and tactics were not used in a match. Even the famous DWW Girls were slow to learn MMA.

Today, things are very different. If you don’t know MMA, you can’t compete.

It’s that simple.

So, let’s start with basic wrestling styles. Even if you don’t fully train in them, you should at least become familiar with the pathways.

Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling along with Greco-Roman. It is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. American high school and collegiate women’s wrestling is conducted under freestyle rules.

Freestyle wrestling, like collegiate wrestling, has its greatest origins in catch-as-catch-can wrestling. In both styles the ultimate goal is to throw and pin the opponent to the mat, which results in an immediate win.

Unlike Greco-Roman, freestyle and collegiate wrestling allow the use of the wrestler’s or the opponent’s legs in offense and defense. Freestyle wrestling brings together traditional wrestling, judo, and sambo techniques.

If you ever attend a girl’s high school or collegiate wrestling event, they most likely are engaging in freestyle wrestling.

Or, possibly folk style. Collegiate wrestling, also known as folk style wrestling, is the form of wrestling practiced mainly by men at the college and university level in the United States.

From our view, Female Submission Wrestling is an expansion of the basics of freestyle. This is why, in part, that women who have tried to transition to submission wrestling have struggled because there are more variations in the submission wrestling techniques.

In freestyle wrestling, once you have your opponent’s shoulder down, a one count, you win the entire match.

In female submission wrestling, pin counts usually go from 5 to 10, and even after pinning, the match continues.

Other important submitting holds in submission wrestling are the headlock, school girl pin and upper body smother.

So once you get those basics down and you want to learn Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) techniques, the place you begin typically will depend upon what discipline you would like to learn that you feel will most benefit your submission wrestling techniques.

The first step to begin your MMA training is to understand the basic definition of what it is.

Mixed martial arts is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world.

Let’s look at a few disciplines because they have different purposes.

The Sambo discipline was previously mentioned. It might be something you are interested in. In a nutshell, what is Sambo?

Sambo is a Soviet-origin Russian martial art, an internationally practiced combat sport.

It originated in the Russian SFSR in the Soviet Union. The word Sambo literally translates to self-defense without weapons. It is stylistically similar to old-time judo.

Judo is an important MMA pathway you should look at.

Judo, otherwise known as the gentle way, is a system of unarmed combat, modern Japanese martial art and Olympic sport (since 1964). Judo was created in 1882 by Jigoro Kano.

Judo rose to prominence for its dominance over established jujutsu schools in tournaments hosted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, resulting in its adoption as the department’s primary martial art.

A judo practitioner is called a judoka.

The objective of competitive judo is to throw an opponent, immobilize them with a pin, or force an opponent to submit with a joint lock or a choke.

Judo’s philosophy revolves around two primary principles: maximum efficient use of energy and mutual welfare and benefit.

Judo also spawned a number of derivative martial arts around the world, such as Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Krav Maga.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) is a martial art and combat sport based on ground fighting and submission holds.

BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, controlling one’s opponent, gaining a dominant position, and using a number of techniques to force them into submission via joint locks or chokeholds.

BJJ revolves around the concept that a smaller, weaker person can successfully defend him/herself against a bigger, stronger, heavier opponent by using leverage and weight distribution, taking the fight to the ground and using a number of holds and submissions to defeat them.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is mainly differentiated from other martial arts by its greater emphasis on ground fighting. BJJ places less emphasis on standing techniques, such as striking and throws, although takedowns score points and the rules allows for a diverse range of techniques such as single, double leg takedowns, or foot sweeps.

Also mentioned is Krav Maga.

Krav Maga is a military self-defense and fighting system developed for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israeli security forces.

It is derived from a combination of techniques used in aikido, boxing, judo, karate, and wrestling. It is known for its focus on real-world situations and its extreme efficiency. It was derived from the street-fighting experience of Hungarian-Israeli martial artist Imi Lichtenfeld, who made use of his training as a boxer and wrestler while defending the Jewish quarter against fascist groups in Bratislava during the mid-to-late 1930s.

Like most martial arts, Krav Maga encourages students to avoid physical confrontation.

If this is impossible or unsafe, it promotes finishing a fight as quickly and aggressively as possible. Attacks are aimed at the most vulnerable parts of the body, and training is not limited to techniques that avoid severe injury.

Students learn to defend against all variety of attacks and are taught to counter in the quickest and most efficient way.

Perhaps one more.

Aikido is a modern Japanese martial art that is split into many different styles, including Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Aikikai and Ki Aikido.

Aikido’s goal is to demonstrate an art that practitioners could use to defend themselves while also protecting their attackers from injury.

Aikido’s fundamental principles include movements that redirect the opponent’s attack momentum. Its curriculum comprises various techniques, primarily throws and joint locks.

SUMMARY

Well, there you have it.

Our suggestion would be to learn basic grappling first. Become very adept at headlocks. It is the most basic submission hold.

Once you feel that you have your grappling game down, of all of the MMA pathways, we strongly suggest Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu above all others. It is based in ground fighting which is what you will primarily do as a Female Submission Wrestler.

Yes, you have to start somewhere and if you have a strong concept of most MMA disciplines, your initial start will progressively lead you to very satisfying victories.

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OPENING PHOTO fciwomenswrestling.com femcompetititor.com grapplingstars.com, fciwomenswrestling.com photo credit

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freestyle_wrestling

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collegiate_wrestling

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sambo_(martial_art)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judo

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mixed_martial_arts

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilian_jiu-jitsu

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krav_Maga 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aikido

https://femcompetitor.com/

https://grapplingstars.com/

https://www.fcielitecompetitor.com/

https://fciwomenswrestling.com/

NOTE: Very important, whenever you are engaging in a new exercise or sport for the first time, please consult with your physician first.