Biting is for Zombies!
"I need brainssssssssssss"
A question that interests me more than how to bite people when grappling: how to avoid getting bitten while grappling. The only safe position seems to be back mount...
Prik Khee Noo:
You know, that's a pretty interesting question. I think it's a matter of head control; where you move his head/face so that he can't bite.
Prik Khee Noo: Biting during grappling can be achieved without being bitten yourself through proper control and positioning of your opponent. The back mount is an obvious choice, but biting can also safely be done without worry of reciprocation from all other positions, such as guard, mount, side mount and even north-south (69 position).
As 4 Ranges said, it's a matter of head control, but also a matter of body control in general. It's extremely important to always emphasize control over your opponent regardless of what your objective (striking, submission, biting, eye-gouging). With proper maintenance of control, you can attack your opponent at your leisure in any way you want, with little concern of retaliation from your opponent. It is for this reason that an experienced grappler on the ground (or greco-roman wrestler standing up) is capable of doing all the sports-applicable techniques he wants in a street-fighting environment and adding elements of dirty fighting as he sees fit. This has been coined the "delivery system" by the SBGi.
With a proper understanding of the appropriate delivery system, adding some "dirt" becomes child's play. From this point of view, it becomes easier to understand why the SBGi doesn't have to concern itself with the whole "street-fighting" vs sports debate. Yes, there IS a difference the two, but in terms of the mere physical contact involved, the difference is marginal.
Hope that helps.
Lautaro
Lautaro:
Excellent post!
A really good example of the superiority of control and position over "dirty tactics" is the infamous John Marsh x "San Soo" Fighter, where John Marsh had side-mount on his opponent. The San soo fighter bit him from the inferior position (being side-mounted), rather than trying to escape. Marsh paid him back in a split-second via Americana.
I was at a Vu seminar a few years back, and someone asked the same question. Vu's answer: position. In this case, the fellow had him mounted, but Vu had the hug and hooks. Not my idea of a "good" position, but at least he was relatively safe. When he bit the fellow, he couldn't bite back because his own shoulder and arm was in the way. He COULD have punched, but he was freaked!
But when it comes down to it, position is everything.