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Sinister Drilling
Few of us are truly ambidextrous, equally adept at using the right and left hand. Even the superlative "Marvelous" Marvin Hagler, who was known for switching from rightie to leftie seemingly at will, boxed a bit better as a southpaw than as an orthodox lead. This preference for a dominant side is to be expected as it is seemingly hard-wired into our brains. Not just our brains but numerous animal studies confirm that other species, even non-simians, are right or, left dominant. Pay attention to your dog or cat and you'll see it for yourself.
Why we should have a dominant and sub-dominant side is not really understood. It stands to reason that "Hey, I've got two hands I should be able to use both of them equally well" but, we all know that's just not the case (and for anyone who thinks they are truly ambidextrous, try playing the kid's game "Operation," you know the one with the tweezers, and see how you fare). There have been many convincing theories offered as to why this right or left dominance manifests but at this point, they are no more than that--theories. And that's OK, for we combat sportsmen/street survivalists may not need to understand "why" we have a left/right preference. It may be enough to recognize this bias and learn how to exploit this in-grained "deficiency" in our favor.
First, a stat. Odds are, most people you encounter are going to be right-handed. Studies show that left-handers make up anywhere between 8-15% of the population. We flip that stat and we can surmise that 85-92% of the opponents you face will be righties.
Now, some Latin--no worries, this is easy stuff. Dexter, beyond being a killer show (apologies for the pun and I deserve your scorn) is Latin for "right." We see its root in the word "dexterous" which we use when we refer to someone's nimble performance.
Sinistera (sinister) is Latin for "left." Nowadays, when we hear sinister we think "evil" not "southpaw." It seems that some of our early ancestors (at least the ones defining words) felt that our left-handed brethren were in league with the devil. I fail to see the rationale behind this association but that is the defining feature of superstition--irrationality.
Now, let's talk about the pros and cons of exploiting this Dexter/Sinister thing no matter your current bias (left or right handed).
On the feet, chances are you've already set your stance orthodox or southpaw. We've offered arguments for southpaw striking in the past (glove weight, coordination, equalization of power, et cetera) so we'll skip repeating those. Suffice to say, if you've got a preferred striking stance, stick with it, no need to go all Hagler and strive for some level of pseudo-ambidexterity. The training time put in may not deliver commensurate rewards (the fight stats bear this out).
The preceding advice goes for combat sportsmen only. If you are a street survivalist you must train ambidextrously. Yes, you will always have a dominant hand/side. Yes, you will always have a preference but, the chaos that is assault does not allow you to "get set" and stay inside a somewhat predictable framework. I urge the street survivalist to train right and left in a 50/50 ratio.
Back to our combat sportsmen (and street survivalists as well). When it comes to the ground, picking sides just may be a totally different animal. In stand-up striking/shooting athletes definitely pick sides and maneuver to favor their sides of choice. On the ground, maneuverability is less certain whether on the top or bottom and this is the obvious reason I advocate you to train ambidextrously. You must have a reasonable amount of facility with even your sub-dominant side to be considered at least proficient.
Now, on to a less obvious reason to be a southpaw on the ground. Recall that stat--85-92% of the population are righties, orthodox, dexters, whatever you wanna call them. 85-92% of those on the ground favor their right side (redundant statement, I know, but stay with me). Our fight metrics show that 80-85% of guard passes occur on the right side of the downed opponent--predictable, again, knowing that most folks are righties but ,here's where it gets fun.
Approximately 80% of those guard passes aren't clean. That is, they pass through an extended 1/2 guard phase or, an almost immediate re-guarding scrimmage--in other words a lot of work for a high-chance of losing ground, so to speak.
Of the rough 15% of guard passes that went left, an approximate 60% of them go un-contested--that is, clean breaks, no 1/2 guard scuffle and no re-guarding.
It seems that no matter how much we drill ambidextrously on the ground our left/right preferences still manifest--passing to our opponent's left/our right. But with all of the preceding numbers in mind, there might be an argument for "forcing" the sub-dominant side. Passing and attacking on the opponent's sub-dominant side just may give us a leg up. It is with this in mind that I offer a few Sinister Drilling ideas.
80/20 Drill--When drilling a technique for reps, instead of an equal 50/50 split ,experiment with 20% of the reps on the "good" side and 80% on the bad.
"Slow Learner"--When presented with a new ground tactic we have a tendency to first approach the idea with our dominant side and then transferring it to the sub-dominant side. Try making your first approach off of your "bad" side.
Handicapped Scrimmage--When rolling, occasionally try to enforce a Sinister Attacks Only protocol.
You get the picture with these three drills. By attempting to make the sub-dominant side a bit more dexterous (whether you are a natural rightie or leftie) and then making a concerted effort to attack and pass on your opponent's sinister side you just may make your opponents think of your sinister attacks in the "not-left" sense of the word.
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