Practice Makes Habit? Don’t forget the Combative Martial Arts were originally designed for self defense and fighting. The vast majority of the time you are wrestling, grappling, rolling live…on very forgiving mats. Tar, cement, tile, ice…is not so forgiving. I have lost a fair amount of skin on the tar tackling and actually fighting to control and subdue the less than friendly. In addition to losing skin, your bones bouncing off of cement, tar and tile will wreck your body. How many times have you posted on your head, or your face has slid on the mat? Well, good bye skin on your face. The next time you grapple live think about if you were actually on tar, pebbles, sand and stone. I have a ton of stories and experiences of others and myself having many ‘learning experiences’ that shape the way I grapple. Remember, self defense is a big part of the martial arts experience.