Striking, Clinch, Ground, Weapons: Are You Actually Ready for a Real Fight?

Multidimensional or Nothing: Guro Dan Inosanto’s Blueprint for the Modern Martial Artist

“To survive, a martial artist needs a good stand-up game, a good off-balancing game, a good ground game, and a good weapons game. They must be multidimensional.”— Guro Dan Inosanto

That quote isn’t just a piece of advice—it’s a blueprint. This isn’t about trophies. It’s about readiness.

A lot of people train to win. Fewer train to survive. Even fewer train to protect others.

Striking, clinch, ground, weapons—are you actually ready for a real fight? That’s what Guro Inosanto’s approach is all about: preparation for the unseen, the unscripted, and the unforgiving.

Let’s break it down.

What Does It Mean to Be Multidimensional?

These days, it’s easy to become a specialist in one area and call it good. But that’s not the standard. Not here. Never just train one range—train every range, with intent.

If you’re serious about being complete, you need proficiency in all four domains of real-world combat:

* Stand-up striking

* Off-balancing and clinch work

* Ground fighting

* Weapons

Striking, clinch, ground, weapons—if you neglect any one of them, are you actually ready for a real fight?

Miss one, and you leave a hole in your game. A blind spot. In real violence, blind spots get people hurt—or worse.

1. Stand-Up Striking: The First Line

Striking is your first filter. You don’t need to be a pro fighter—but you’d better be able to own the space around you.

Muay Thai, Western Boxing, Savate, Silat, and Panantukan. Elbows. Knees. Headbutts. Low-line kicks. Practical and ruthless.

Why it matters: Most real fights start on the feet. If you can’t manage distance and shut down aggression early, the rest may not matter.

How to train it:

* ✅ Purposeful pad work

* ✅ Disruptive entry drills

* ✅ Range transitions—long to close

* ✅ Light but honest sparring

2. Off-Balancing: Clinch Dominance

Striking fails. Welcome to the clinch—messy, real, and unforgiving.

Jiu–Jitsu, Judo, Silat, Dumog, Greco, Wrestling. The goal: control base, posture, and structure—not with strength, but with leverage.

Why it matters: Most people freeze in the clinch. If you can’t manage chaos in that space, you’re at the mercy of your opponent.

How to train it:

* ✅ Pummeling and tie-up drills

* ✅ Arm drags and off-balancing

* ✅ Head control, limb destruction

* ✅ Sloppy resistance—forget flow drills alone

3. Ground Game: Survival Over Sport

Hit the ground in a real fight, and you’re not rolling on clean mats. There’s concrete. Gravel. Maybe a second attacker. Maybe a weapon.

The ground approach needs to explore BJJ, Silat, Shooto, Catch Wrestling, and Sambo. Control and escape are king. Ground and pound & chokes are king.

Why it matters: You may end up there. Or need to put someone else there. Either way—you must remain in control.

How to train it:

* ✅ Positional sparring with strikes

* ✅ Pressure-based get-up drills

* ✅ Live rounds that test breath and grit

* ✅ Scenario work—multiple attackers, weapons, environments

4. Weapons: The Great Equalizer

Let’s stop pretending. In the real world, weapons exist—and bad people use them. You don’t get to ignore them just because they’re uncomfortable to think about.

FMA starts with weapons because it sharpens awareness, timing, and intensity from the start. Seamlessly flow between weapon and empty hand. They are not separate—they are the same.

Why it matters: If you can’t defend against a weapon—or use one when needed—you’re playing a dangerous game with your life and the lives of those you protect.

How to train it:

* ✅ Blade awareness and avoidance

* ✅ Stick flow and control

* ✅ Improvised weapons: phones, pens, flashlights

* ✅ Empty hand vs. blade—test what doesn’t work now, not in crisis

Integration

At Integrated Martial Athletics, we don’t train pieces. We train the whole fight. You learn to strike into a clinch, clinch into a takedown, and control your way out. Weapon to empty hand and back again. Everything overlaps. Everything is functional.

That’s the difference. That’s the standard.

Who This Is For

If you’ve only trained boxing, or never touched a weapon, or feel like there are huge gaps in your game—that’s okay. The goal isn’t perfection. The goal is honest progression.

It’s never too late. But it is time to start.

Final Word: Be the Threat. Be the Shield.

Being multidimensional isn’t about collecting belts or styles. It’s about capability. Adaptability. Responsibility.

Ask yourself:

* Can I strike under pressure?

* Can I dominate the clinch?

* Can I survive on the ground?

* Can I deal with a weapon—on either end of it?

Striking. Clinch. Ground. Weapons. Are you actually ready for a real fight? If you answered “no” to any of those, we’ve got work to do.

Action Step:

* ✅ Pick one area you’ve neglected. Start training this month.

* ✅ DM me “READY” if you want help building your multidimensional game.

* ✅ Show up. Train hard. Be the example.

This isn’t theory. This is what we do. And this is how we protect what matters most.

— Coach Chuck

Full Instructor in Jeet Kune Do & Kali under Guro Dan Inosanto

Full Instructor Warrior's Way International under Tuhon Harley Elmore

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu - Black Belt

Patreon.com/CoachChuck

Integrated Martial Athletics

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