What is a Grappling Championship?

I heard about a sports competition coming to the Florence Civic Center next weekend (August 9) but I didn’t know much about it. The title itself is a mouthful… the North American Grappling Association Myrtle Beach/Florence Grappling Championship. Could you repeat that please? I’ve always been a curious soul, so I had to learn more. Now you might remember from my last post that I got a little too excited and entered into a Crossfit event without really knowing what Crossfit was all about. It took days for my body to recover, so I’m not going to make that mistake again. Rather than just entering the competition on a whim, I decided to do some research first. This is probably the best decision of my life considering what the sport of grappling really is. Here’s a little information on what I discovered…

grap·ple

Verb
verb: grapple; 3rd person present: grapples; past tense: grappled; past participle: grappled; gerund or present participle: grappling

1. engage in a close fight or struggle without weapons; wrestle.
   “passersby grappled with the man after the knife attack”
   synonyms: wrestle, struggle, tussle

• seize hold of (someone).
  synonyms: seize, grab, catch, catch hold of, take hold of, grasp
• struggle with or work hard to deal with or overcome (a difficulty or challenge).
  “other towns are still grappling with the problem”
  synonyms: tackle, confront, face, deal with, cope with, come to grips with

Grappling refers to techniques, maneuvers, and counters applied to an opponent in order to gain a physical advantage, such as improving relative position, escaping, submitting, or injury to the opponent. Grappling is a general term that covers techniques used in many disciplines, styles and martial arts that are practiced both as combat sports and for self-defense. Grappling does not include striking or most commonly the use of weapons. However, some fighting styles or martial arts known especially for their grappling techniques teach tactics that include strikes and weapons either alongside grappling or combined with it.

There are multiple styles of grappling. The NAGA (North American Grappling Association) will host a No-Gi & Gi Tournament this weekend in Florence. NAGA is an organization started in 1995 that holds Submission Grappling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournaments throughout North America and Europe. NAGA is the largest submission grappling association in the world with over 175,000 participants world-wide, including some of the top submission grapplers and MMA fighters in the world.

Have you seen MMA fights? Think of that but without the striking and pounding. Grappling is more tactical-wrestling I’m told. So after this research, I’ve wisely decided to be a mere spectator this time around. Unless you’re a pro, I don’t advise stepping onto the match mats, but I do suggest you grab a spectator seat. Come out and witness grappling for yourself this Saturday, August 9^th, at the Florence Civic Center. Watch the competition and learn some new moves. You never know when you’ll have to bust out an arm lock on a burglar or a road-raged maniac, or maybe an in-law.

Visit http://bit.ly/1taz7XV  for more information about this event!

 

Until next time,
-The Voice