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Grappler Extraordinaire
Author: Terry P. Hill
LARRY HARTSELL is one of a select few of the original Bruce Lee students still teaching and promoting the Master's unique fighting principles, Jeet Kune Do. Hartsell's speciality is to tie you up, tear you down and rip you apart.
A good boxer to boot (excuse the pun), Larry Hartsell was one of the first of the 'Contact Karate' Fighters back in the early 1970's. He fought in a number of 'Toughman' contests as well, and was very successful in keeping his features intact. (Although they weren't that pretty to start with).
Larry's been there, done that (including a tour of duty in Vietnam) and he knows whatit is all about. The 'it', we are referring to, of course, is 'physical conversation,' with a touch of aggression. Fighting, to the less educated, is one of the most basic ingredients in all our makeup and one thing that is substantially responsible for man's constant evolution.
Hartsell is a good fighter. And a very knowledgeable one at that. He comes from a good school, though, with some of the finest exponents and teachers (Bruce Lee, Dan Inosanto, Richard Bustillo and Chai Surisute) the Martial Arts world has ever seen.
"The problem with most people (Martial Artists) is they don't understand ranges of combat" explains Larry. "The entering and grappling are more often than not the finishing scenario to a fight. If you can't grapple you're just playing with yourself."
This man has trained and studied with the best and some of his personal acquaintances read like a who's who of Martial Arts. Mr Bruce Lee and Guru Dan Inosanto, 'Judo' Gene LaBell, Hayward Nishioka and Professor Wally Jay. This man has been in with the best and one of the things these people are best at, is grappling and its variations.
Larry has a great deal of knowledge and untold diversity with throws, locks and counterholds. He can truss you up like you'd never believe, and tear you a new hole if needs be ...
His boxing, Muay Thai and Kali cover the other ranges of combat and he has made more than an impact in these highly technical areas as well.
Larry Hartsell originally started training in Kempo (with Ed Parker's Group) and, through association with Dan Inosanto, became a student of the late great fighting 'supremo', Bruce Lee. Lee worked at wrestling and boxing with Hartsell because he (Larry) was a heavyweight. Bruce's theory was the bigger and stronger they were in training, the easier the real thing would be in the street.
"He was just getting into grappling at that time" states Larry "and although he (Bruce) himself stated he wasn't very good at it, someone forgot to tell the people he worked out with. He could knock you down, tie you up and choke you out just like you and I would wipe our faces."
(Lee had worked extensively with Wally Jay and Hayward Nishioka during his lifetime and had also worked out with 'Judo' Gene LaBell).
These men would instruct the young Martial Arts master in the throttle-andthrow arts and then Bruce would go out and practise on Hartsell. After having been the fall guy for the redoubtable Bruce Lee, Larry developed an avid interest in the grappling arts, and decided to make a speciality of them. Giving up a good' contact fighting career after settling for second place in a National 'Toughman' event... ("I knocked him down more than he knocked me down - I don't know how they score those things") ... Larry moved away from the politics and bulls hit that plagues competition and delved deeply into the study, practice and research of wrestling and other infighting and closequarter systems of combat.
His foundation is Greco-Roman and catch-as-catch-can, but he has borrowed from anyone and everyone that would let him, and stolen from the rest. In his personal repertoire there is Dumok (Filipino Wrestling), Pentjak Silat from Indonesia, Shuai Chiao from China and Shoot-Boxing from Japan. Add to this basic ingredients of Ju Jutsu, Judo and Aikido and you have a real melting pot for some fine old 'Wrasslin' .
"Every Martial Artist, every fighter, should know a little about wrestling and ground fighting" states Larry. "If they don't, time will come when they'll get embarrassed by someone who does - or worse, they'll get canned by someone on the street. Fighting is about survival, the best way to survive is to know more things and do it better than the opposition. If you don't, you can kiss your ass goodbye".
For those of you who thought fighting was squaring up to your opponents and exchanging punches and/or kicks, go back to sleep and dream on. If you take the rules and regulations of a controlled environment like the Dojo (Kwoon etc) or the tournament arena and ring, and throw them out the window, then you're into close-quarter combat and grappling in about 10 seconds flat. Your kicks and punches don't work too well on the ground and if you think they do - go and visit your local amateur wrestling gym and have a go. You'll soon find out!
Everybody learns from a good education, and an education is what you'll get. Striking arts are fine, and they work, but you want something else to back it up with, when they don't go down from your first punch; or they counter your kickand-clinch combination. Fighting is about winning and the last one standing, in real combat, is the only winner.
So if you want to be on your feet, or be able to make it back up onto your feet when it's all over, start looking for some grappling experience. Because without it you're stuck (Stuck being a wrestling term for being pinned). Or, worse, screwed. (Ditto)
Take a leaf out of the Jeet Kune Do book and gain a little diversity. Remember to "Take what is useful- discard (or change) what is useless, and add what is specifically your own". A very famous Martial Artist said that once and Larry Hartsell has done just that. He's made grappling his own speciality and added the other useful ingredients to it. If you do this too, you're well on your way to developing a well-rounded fighting repertoire.
So if you want to learn how to fight (Wrestling, Boxing and Kali) go to a Larry Hartsell seminar. Be prepared to get 'screwed' and 'stuck', though, but enjoy it. Hell, it's all an education. And education's good for you ... right!?
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