9 out of 10 fights go to the ground?

Question

im somewhat confused by this stat & looking for clarification. ive heard it many times & most often from grapplers. it definitely would support why one may choose grappling arts to study, but where does this stat come from? who was included in it? if anyone has the actual study done to prove this stat is real id love to see it.
id be shocked if 9 out of 10 non-grappling martial artists ended up on the ground. maybe 9 out of 10 fights where no martial art was known by either person? if thats so then whats the rational of the grappler who uses this stat to support the study of grappling arts? it seems like it's "since most fights go to the ground, u should learn grappling to be skilled there when ur non-martially skilled opponent takes u there" which seems off to me. and 2 martial artists squaring off in real life seems very very rare.
i dont intend to belittle any art as we are all seekers of higher understanding. id love to hear from those who support this stat. help me understand.

thanks for all the feedback so far!

i definitely think comprehension in all ranges of combat is vital to a well rounded fighter. i've been studying one style for 10 years but we don't work from the ground or a clinched position at all.

i'm going to look into jj in my area and cross train for a while until i have at least a basic understanding of that range in combat.

cheers, keep it coming and thanks again!

Answer 1

You got me curious with your question, so I just checked my DVD collection and did a fast scan of the street fights on the following DVD's:

-Bumfights Presents: Scraps All the best street fights from bumfights volumes 1, 2, and 3!

-Fighting Mad 100% Raw Fighting Caught on Video!!

-Bareknuckle Beatdowns

-Bareknuckle Beatdown Vol. 1

I would say 80-90% of the fights went to the ground on those DVD's!

Some went to the ground and they got back up but ended on the ground again.

Some would get hit good and fall to the ground where the fight continued.

Some would be swinging wildly and then eventually get tangled up in a clinch and start wrestling and then end up on the ground.

I'm watching a guy getting jumped on DVD right now. He is on the ground because there are 5 guys kicking him and keeping him down.

Most of the chick fights ended up on the ground too.

They sell these DVD's for less than $10 at Suncoast Video at your local mall.

I'm going to scan youtube and google for some street fight videos and see what the results are but from what I've seen it goes to the ground most of the time.

Answer 2

Well it used to be 9 out of 10 fights going to the ground, when the Ultimate Fighting Championship started Royce Gracie used grappling to subdue all his foes. The Gracie family used this statistic because they were challenging or being challenged by other martial artists. Nowadays the fighters are more well rounded and the strikers know all the grappling moves, therby nullifying the grapplers/wrestlers takedown attempts and knocking them out. Believe it or not it is relatively easy to take down a kickboxer, karate, or kung fu man who does not know grappling(I trained in Shootfighting and MMA for several years and tested the theory). It is true also with street fights between 2 people who know nothing because when they throw haymakers and both move in at the same time they usually get tangled. In order to keep a fight standing you need to move in, strike, and move out. That is because if someone is getting hit they may try to grab you just to keep from getting hurt. Hope this helps.

Answer 3

There has never been a study done to prove this ,its just something that was said and caught on . Lots of fights do go to the ground however , and some wrestling or grappling skills may help .
I am primarily a striker , but my style has takedowns and ground fighting incorporated into it . This is for the simple fact that if it does go to the ground I'll know what to do . I still prefer to remain standing though .

Answer 4

This is a myth created by grapplers similar to the traditional martial artists that says they will never be taken to the ground. The actual study was conducted by the Los Angelas as Police Department. They found that 60% of physical altercations with their officers ended on the ground. But of course they are trying to effect an arrest, so the situation is different. I've had to use my skills (Muay Thai, Greco-Roman Wrestling) on several occasions, and only went to the ground once because I took it there. Now that being said. I can tell you that my grappling skills enabled me to keep those altercations standing.

Answer 5

I get so sick and tired of hearing people talk about this topic. Its a classic battle between traditional stand up and grapple arts. What is really frustrating, is the fact that most people think that our Ju Jitsu is limited to the ground. I don't know anyone who would WANT to go to the ground against multiple attackers... that is just a really stupid thing to think or say. What I DO KNOW is that when you tackle a Takewondoughnut or krotty or kung flu guy... they are worthless. All of their technique unless they are high up or cross trained is now NULL. The point of learning grapple arts isn't to immediately go to the lava and broken glass on the ground. Its to be able to control your aggressor and if need be, fight where the fight goes.

We are not limited to this fictitious idea that no fights will end up on the ground. Look at the UFC for example... BOTH are trained martial artists, and yet how many Wing Chung goofy's or taekwondo guys got their asses handed to them as soon as someone with common sense shot on them! Its a tired and annoying argument to hear. Just get over the fact that grapple arts are extremely effective and HIGHLY effective against most stand up arts. In Ju Jitsu, we learn striking, just as much as we learn ground control. No Jujist, is going to go to the ground against 4 people. Don't be dumb.

Answer 6

Go to PSFights.com and watch 100 videos of school yard, back yard and hoodlum fights. Out of that set you'll see roughly 90 go to the ground. Then go to ComeGetYouSome.com and watch both the fight videos and the martial arts videos. You'll see a similar trend. Finally go watch the UFC or Pride or any other MMA tournament. You'll see every single fight go to the ground before the end. I've seen a grand total of 1 UFC fight end before it went to ground and it was because of a great face kick and the fight was stopped early by the ref.

Almost every martial art has some sort of ground fighting skill be it grappling, avoiding a take down, getting up quickly from being knocked down or what to do when knocked down. Even ancient Shaolin arts listed getting up quickly as one of the core skills. Monks tried not to fight on the ground, but they knew it would happen some times.

I study a non-grappling art because I don't think staying on the ground is my way to fight. So my art focuses on avoiding those takedowns and getting back up quickly. But I'm also learning some defenses once down, such as making space and keeping an enemy away with your legs and arms or even knocking them down as you get back up.

Answer 7

it comes from someone's ***. ok seriously, I have heard that it was quoted from a police report about barfights. It would make sense as most people in bar fights are drunken louts who don't even take each other to the ground effectively and efficiently. even if that stat is correct, there is a HUGE difference between being taken down by someone who knows what they are doing and how to use it to thier best advantage- and a drunken fool that only knows how to execute a "football tackle". There is some truth to the fact that many, many fights do go to the ground. But I wouldn't stand behind such statistics as eveidence even if they were true as I would like to see the breakdown of different types of skill sets. EX: untrained vs. untrained. Untrained vs. grappler untrained vs. trained striker untrained vs. striker with a minimum of grappling ability. untrained but really sloshed against themselves. the ever popular "trained vs. trained" we can simply watch MMA for that. I want to test the majority of the fights. Also keep in mind there should be some measure of alcohol consumed.

Answer 8

I teach Tae Kwon Do to people who have many varying reasons for being there. Self defence being one of those reasons. Because there is a possibility of ending up on the ground , I throw that scenario into training on occassion. For example , the other night I had one side of the class was only allowed to strike , while the other side was attempting takedowns. I have to say that when this style of fighting is expected , the striker does very well. Unfortunately , on the street , the unexpected is more likely to happen. (another reason we train this way). If good contact is made , someone will end up on the ground 100 percent of the time. I know what you are asking though , and I do think that the 9 out of 10 ratio is a bit high.

Answer 9

I've also seen this stat. I doubt that there is any reliable data on this. What I DO know is that 10/10 fights start out standing up. I also know that many fights are not limited to 1 on 1, in which case, the ground is tha last place you want to be. If you are skilled & your attacker is not, you should not get taken down. In most fights, neither combatant is trained. I train in Tae Kwon Do so I may have a bias for striking, but if you are facing multiple attackers, you had better be able to strike & move. If you go for a submission, you won't last.

Answer 10

Most fights between untrained brawlers will end up on the ground. They haven't been trained to keep their footing or how to strike properly. This statistic is spouted by grappling instructors to support their theory so they'll earn more business (I'm not calling anyone a liar, they probably do believe these numbers). Even in a fight between well-trained fighters, it only takes one mistake to lose. A single strike can end a fight before it gets very far.