Primal Grappling

PRIMAL GRAPPLING

Prioritizing, skill over technique, function over form and creativity over conformity.

Our Approach:

Rooted in the natural, practical principles of ecological dynamics, Primal offers a learning experience that transcends the typical drill-based martial arts instruction. We don't just show you the moves - we guide you through an understanding of them in context, encouraging a deeper connection with the art.

Making practice fun:

At Primal, we believe the essence of martial arts is not in repetitive motions but in the challenge and engagement it should invoke. Our practices should feel adventurous and explorative. The sense of reward we feel when we solve a problem or have an 'ah-ha' moment. This is what we live for at Primal. The problems we give you should'nt be too hard, or too easy. It's a good mixture of success and failure that best facilitates the learning experience.

Controlled Chaos:

We don't have much of a curriculum at Primal. No check list of moves you need to learn. Rather we play a little bit of the whole game every day. That means that in our grappling classes. Each day we will practice wrestling, passing, pinning and submitting. As you progress your game will become uniquely your own. It's with this mix of styles that appear on our mats that supercharge learning, as each of your training partners will present new problems to solve, styles to adapt to all while testing out your own game. 

Why Memorization Fails in Martial Arts:

Don't let the conventional wisdom fool you. Trying to memorize techniques won't help your skillset improve much. Just like trying to ram facts in our heads at school didn't seem to effective. Trying to memorize moves and details for each one is equally as futile. Learning is an active process of exploration and problem solving. We have to find meaning in our actions. This is best fostered through play and exploration and discovery. Not monkey see monkey do. 

No more can we teach how to grapple than we can teach you how to ride a bike. Much like learning to drive isn't just about memorizing the rules of the road, effective grappling isn't about memorizing sequences of moves. It's about understanding when, how, and why to use them.

A Culture of Safety:

At Primal, we promote safety by cultivating a culture of control and trust. Moves are really only as 'dangerous' as the person performing them. By spending so much of our training time in live interactions, our team learn to rapidly develop the control and discipline to be good team mates and training partners. Sure accidents happen. But at Primal they are infrequent and never through malice or intent. Again, safe and responsible sparring/rolling is a skill. We become skillful at sparring at Primal by rolling a lot. 

Takedowns, trips and falling.

This is actually where most of the accidents happen in grappling and wrestling. Our approach at Primal is to slowly and mindfully introduce the takedown aspects of takedowns and trips over time. And if you're sensing a theme here. Takedowns get safer the more we practice and experience them. So, don't worry, while Primal MMA classes will always be tough and challenging, dangerous they are not!