The Five Ranges

In unarmed confrontations we have to deal with five ranges:
1. Kick Range
2. Punch Range
3. Head Butt/Elbow Range
4. Stand-Up Grapple Range
5. Ground range
There are two keys to understanding fighting from the perspective of five ranges:
1. Each range trumps the range before it.
2. The closer the range the more space there is.
That last one seems contradictory but what I mean is that the closer you are the more time you have to think, the more time you have to act, the slower things can go and so the more space you have in your head to calmly address the situation at hand.
Mas Oyama wrote about the importance of knowing groundwork and trained until 4th in judo. He also said that if we wish to regard ourselves as martial artists we cannot be ignorant of the principles of other fighting arts. In training it is really valuable to ask ourselves what we would do if someone did bridge the gap to a closer range, grab us and/or try and throw or take us to the ground. And if that did happen how would we get up safely?
This is a short video explaining the concept of The Five Ranges.
Osu
Cameron