What is Grappling?
Grappling, or Submission Wrestling is a relatively new combat sport with a long history. The term grappling is very general, and is used to describe the ground fighting aspect of Mixed Martial Arts. No matter what the name, from Japanese Jujitsu, or Jujutsu, to the Brazilian derivative Jiu Jitsu, to Russian SAMBO, the object of grappling or submission fighting remains the same—to control and submit ones opponent using takedowns, positions, joint locks and chokes.

Grappling at Ephrata Martial Arts
The evolutionary grappling program at Ephrata Martial Arts is influenced by many grappling styles. Ephrata Martial Arts combines the best of each grappling discipline into an extremely efficient, dynamic, and all-encompassing groundfighting system.

Ephrata Martial Arts is the Ephrata and Lancaster County area’s top martial arts training facility to offer both gi grappling and no-gi grappling. Here, grapplers develop a broad range of skills in several complementary areas, as Ephrata Martial Arts’ grappling program combines the very best techniques of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Freestyle Wrestling, Russian SAMBO, and Shuai Jiao.

Grappling training at Ephrata Martial Arts involves live, realistic drilling of takedowns, positions, and submissions, followed by the application of those learned skills in timed rounds of sparring, or “rolling”. An excellent workout, grappling combines the innate anaerobic nature of wrestling with the aerobic, cardio, and endurance training of repetitive rounds of rolling.

Why choose the grappling program at Ephrata Martial Arts? An increasingly popular combat sport, submission grappling can be used for practical self-defense purposes as well. Police officers, and correctional officers train grappling at Ephrata Martial Arts for its practical self-defense application of as it relates to their potentially dangerous professions. Military personnel grapple at Ephrata Martial Arts to expand their close combat skills. High school and collegiate wrestlers, team athletes, amateur fighters, and anyone interested in testing their skills against some of the best grapplers in the nation join the Ephrata Martial Arts fight team, Team ROUGH HOUSE. Ephrata Martial Arts takes its team of grapplers to compete at the national level in the highly competitive combat sport.

Grappling Styles
Gi Grappling vs. No gi Grappling
The various styles of grappling fall into two main categories—gi grappling and no gi grappling. Ephrata Martial Arts teaches techniques for both gi and no gi grappling. The use of a gi, or jacket, in competitive grappling provides more sweep and submission options, while no gi grappling places a greater importance on controlling an opponents torso and head.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ)
Ephrata Martial Arts incorporates core Brazilian Jiu Jitsu sweeps and submissions into its grappling program to produce well-rounded grapplers. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, or BJJ descended from Judo—a martial art heavily influenced by the classical Ju-jutsu systems of medieval Japan. However, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu places more emphasis on groundwork rather than the throws and takedowns that Judo is known for today. Made popular in Brazil and the United States by the renown Gracie family, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has become nearly synonymous with gi grappling in the eyes of the American public. Considered a staple in mixed martial arts because of its innovative techniques, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) is an important complement to Ephrata Martial Arts’ evolutionary approach to grappling.
 
Freestyle Wrestling is known for its explosive takedowns and technical groundwork. These qualities lend themselves to grappling, giving wrestlers a distinct advantage in the standup phase of grappling over more ground-based Brazilian Jiu Jitsu fighters. Wrestlers make a natural transition into the grappling program at Ephrata Martial Arts because it incorporates the same devastating takedowns—adding ground control and submissions that make any wrestler lethal on the mat.

SAMBO
Developed in the former Soviet Union as a hand-to-hand combat system for the military and police force, SAMBO is highly effective as a combat sport and self-defense system. Freestyle SAMBO, just one component of the SAMBO fighting system, adds joint locks and leg locks to competitive grappling—one of the reasons the Ephrata Martial Arts fight team is rapidly making a name for itself at national grappling competitions like NAGA and Grappler’s Quest. Read more about SAMBO at Ephrata Martial Arts here.

Shuai Jiao, or Mongolian Wrestling is another important facet of the grappling program at Ephrata Martial Arts. Taught today in the police and military academies throughout China and Taiwan, Shuai Jiao was developed in China during the Zhou Dynasty as a military fighting system and is generally considered to be among the oldest systematic martial arts in the world.  Shuai Jiao, with its unique throws and joint locks, is the perfect complement to the other grappling and fighting disciplines taught at Ephrata Martial Arts.

Competitive Grappling
Competitive submission grappling is heavily influenced by Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, whose concepts can be seen in the types of positions and submissions used in the combat sport. Ephrata Martial Arts takes its team of grapplers to compete in two of the nations largest grappling tournament circuits, NAGA and Grappler’s Quest. Several grapplers from Ephrata Martial Arts continually rank among the top grapplers in Pennsylvania, a few of which rank within the top ten in the nation in their respective divisions year after year. These talented individuals add to the success of the team and the quality of the training at Ephrata Martial Arts as a whole. Ephrata Martial Arts constantly strives to better itself and the effectiveness of its dynamic, comprehensive grappling system, and invites everyone along for the journey.

View the 2007 Grappling Highlights video

Intro|Grappling at Ephrata Martial Arts|Grappling Styles|Competitive Grappling