All the various grappling arts, no matter how disparate they may appear on the surface, share one thing in common – every match, whether in training or competition, begins with gripping. I have never met a world champion in any grappling style who was not a master of imposing his her her grip upon the opponent, while denying the opponent's ability to the same. The higher the level of the sport – the more gripping skills will determine the outcome of the contest. Here Eddie Cummings and I run through some generic gripping drills prior to another big match. Mr Cummings came to me with with virtually no gripping skills – in a very short time he recognized the importance of this much neglected element of study and now is able to impose dangerous grips with all four limbs on all of his opponents. He is a fine counter example to the common, but erroneous belief that grip strength is the basis of gripping for grappling – he grips very effectively with only modest physical strength
