Generally speaking, every major martial art starts with standing up. Whether you’re a striking-based martial artist competing in Muay Thai or Boxing, or a grappler training in BJJ or wrestling, learning how to engage in the stand-up phase of a match is essential. Fighting in the stand-up will not only build good conditioning for martial arts or general health, but in a self-defense scenario against multiple attackers going at you at once, fighting in the stand-up will be your best bet. In this article, we will talk about why every martial artist needs a strong stand-up game.
The Stand-Up Game
There are different stand-up-oriented martial arts. Both striking and grappling martial arts have some stand-up aspects, like Boxing, Muay Thai, Kickboxing, Judo, Wrestling, and Sambo. Each martial art has its technique specialties, but nevertheless, to become a well-rounded martial artist today, one must have both standing and ground-based techniques in their repertoire.
A match starts on the feet before any fighter goes to the ground. Therefore, it is essential that a practitioner learns how to fight from a standing position. It is a good martial artist’s building block inside and outside the competition mats against real-life fighting scenarios. Even more so than the competition aspect, it teaches a martial artist the ability to assess when to engage and disengage or quickly dispose of a threat against possible assailants.
Let’s discuss further below the importance and what having a strong stand-up game means for every martial artist.
First, as the saying goes, it is better to have the skill and not need it than to need the skill and not have it. It is best to avoid street fights at all costs using what many martial arts instructors call verbal martial arts, which means practicing self-restraint and de-escalating the situation verbally by all means.
Nevertheless, most self-defense scenarios start on the feet before the more physical or experienced individual takes them down to the ground. In a scenario where an individual is in a corner, which prevents them from fleeing into the situation where they are outnumbered, it is your best bet to fight back and deal with strikes, which means learning how to effectively evade or roll with punches and create angles while being able to throw strikes.
Suppose you are a grappling-oriented individual; a quick and explosive takedown is often enough to end an altercation quickly. Remember that a well-executed takedown is enough to cause life-altering injuries to the assailant.
2) Builds Superior Stand-Up Fighting Skills
Having a strong stand-up game helps you develop better technique, timing, and control in striking exchanges, which can also set up a takedown to score points or even finish the match.
A strong stand-up game means your standing offense is enough to take the opponents off-guard, and your defense may be impenetrable. In the striking world, this would mean that you’re not afraid to get hit and know that it can be part of the striking exchange, which you may use to identify the opponent’s offensive pattern and set up your counter-attacks. If you’d prefer to grapple, developing a strong stand-up game will make you harder to take down, which is also a prerequisite in becoming an indomitable striking specialist.
A good takedown defense will make the opponents think twice before attempting to shoot, which can also affect the timing and pacing they are trying to set. Relatively, an offensive grappling-based stand-up will level up your game as you can create a series of attacks (chain wrestling), and you will be familiar with the common defensive reactions of the opponent against your takedown attempts.
3) Better Awareness
A strong stand-up game improves your awareness, helping you control the match, shut down your opponent’s openings, and create your own.
In relation to the point mentioned earlier, as martial artists, one of the skills we acquire from training is building a better sense and awareness of our surroundings. Being a stand-up martial artist builds your ability to assess threats and the space around you, making you more aware of your surroundings, especially when someone or something is approaching. The situational awareness that martial arts practitioners build from constant training and live sparring is enough to assess if someone is moving forward with malicious intent.
4) It Helps Develop Footwork
Your stand-up game also influences your footwork, helping you move with purpose, maintain balance, and control distance more effectively.
A strong stand-up game allows you to build agility, speed, and timing, which is why most boxers and wrestlers move lightly on their feet. This allows them to swiftly create angles, feint easily, and move in and out between their distance and the opponent with fakes and redirection. Not only does working on your stand-up build your body coordination, but practicing it can also be tiring, which leads to the point below.
5) It Builds Cardio
Good stand-up skills improve cardio, especially for grapplers less familiar with the movement demands of striking arts. you control the match, shut down your opponent’s openings, and create your own.
Moving around and being on your feet is tiring and more challenging, especially when you’re doing a full match, going from the stand-up to the ground and back up. Ground fighting is a different world, and the demands on the body are not the same. This is why some grappling-based martial artists like Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners experience a big difference when trying out standing-based martial arts like boxing, Muay Thai, or even the stand-up work from wrestling. As evident in their warm-up and accessory exercises, stand-up-based martial arts mainly consist of running and lots of footwork drills to develop quickness and cardio.
A Key To Get Back Up
Relatively, having a strong stand-up game gives you the knowledge that is the key to getting back safely on your feet when you are taken down intentionally or accidentally. Basically, martial artists need to learn stand-up, as it teaches you how to get back up safely. Whether you’re a striker or a grappler, learning the technical stand-up and other forms of break fall is one of the most valuable techniques you can have from training in martial arts, be it for self-defense or in a fight.
Conclusion
Developing a strong stand-up game is one of the keys to becoming a more well-rounded martial artist. Inside and outside the training grounds, or even when going through our daily lives, a strong stand-up will give you the confidence to face your challenges head-on as a byproduct of training them. Create a new chapter in your martial arts journey and start developing your stand-up game safely and strategically.
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