I'm going to chime in on one part of the discussion for a moment. This isn't in response to any one post, but I've seen ground fighting skills/mat work/wrestling/BJJ mentioned several times.

The usual reason for studying these skills is "most fights end up on the ground."

I think this is an inaccurate statement. It would be more accurate to say, "Most fights between untrained opponents end up in a grappling match that ends on the ground."

To me, the point of learning any grappling style, be it good old fashioned wrestling, BJJ, judo, or the grappling elements in any other art is this: To put the other guy on the ground, where he is at a severe disadvantage, and to stay off the ground yourself.

You do NOT want to take an opponent to the ground on purpose. First, if you go to the ground outside of the ring or dojo, you are going to encounter either a hard, rough surface such as the street or the sidewalk, or if you're on the grass, a surface that could be hiding any number of dangers from broken glass to a simple root sticking out of the ground. So, do a BJJ or MMA-style take down and try to submit a single opponent? Not so fun if you tear a muscle or break a bone in the process.


Secondly, if you are on the ground, you can be stomped. If you're preparing to defend yourself, it's not from anyone who has a playground sense of ethics where one on one is the accepted norm. In most cases, if you're faced with an unarmed opponent (the only case where unarmed skills should be employed -- if they show a weapon, they need to be shot immediately, and if you can't you need to high tail it), you will be faced with multiple opponents. If it's simply a sandbox brawl with a drunken friend, it's not self defense.

So, IMO, train to stay off the ground. Train to put the other guy on the ground as fast as possible, and to do as much damage to him as you can in the process. Avoid BJJ/MMA schools that focus on training people for the ring.