Martina Sprague

Science of Takedowns, Throws, and Grappling for Self-Defense Martina Sprague

The odds are, if you're attacked on the street you will have to defend yourself against a bigger and stronger assailant, or against one with a weapon. When this happens, strength alone will not be enough to stop your attacker. Science of Takedowns, Throws, and Grappling for Self-Defense addresses the concepts and mindset required to survive an encounter with a larger attacker or one armed with a weapon. Illustrated with hundreds of photos, it shows you what types of throws, takedowns, locks, and presses work on the street and teaches you how to apply concepts like timing and positioning to make your techniques more effective, how to defend against common attacks with a weapon and what you can do to use that weapon in your favor, which mistakes are the most common and how you can prevent them from weakening your defense, and much more. A takedown or throw requires the ability to disturb your opponent's balance. When first getting introduced to takedowns in martial arts class, we tend to outmuscle or force our adversary down. This frequently results in the stronger or bigger person claiming victory and makes takedown practice discouraging for the lighter weight martial artist. A successful and effortless takedown, by contrast, relies on scientific principles, primarily the location of the center of gravity. Science of Takedowns, Throws, and Grappling for Self-Defense focuses on learning to disturb an adversary's center of gravity while retaining our own; in short, how to get our opponent on the ground without going down with him. Since the principle used for shifting the center of gravity is identical regardless of a person's physical build, understanding this principle allows a smaller person to take a larger adversary down with relative ease. The book's primary aim of discussing principles rather than specific techniques makes it adaptable to almost any situation that warrants a takedown.