I am hoping once this virus thing is under control to get back to writing my book on Ground Fighting for self defence which is all about how to get back to your feet. Even though I recommend highly not staying on the ground in a self defence situation I also highly recommend making a study of ground grappling. The reason is two-fold, first so you know what you are doing, and can more easily control what is happening to enable you to get up and second so you know what they aggressor is doing. If they took you to the ground, they want you there so do your best to know what is going on.
There are a lot of BJJ books which cover ground grappling extremely well, but I am only going to par down that to one BJJ book recommended and one form a Chin Na or Chinese base. As always you will see they ae pretty similar since they handle the same topic.
I recommend “Jiu-Jitsu University” by Saulo Ribeiro with Kevin Howell as my BJJ recommendation.
And
I recommend “Chin Na In Ground Fighting: Principles, Theory and Submission Holds for All Martial Styles” by Al Arenault and Joe Faulise for the Chinese approach.
Riberiro’s book is a big book covering pretty much all you would need for an exceptional foundation in ground grappling. The book progresses from Survival to Escapes to The Guard to Guard Passing to Submissions. The book has excellent pictures covering what you shouldn’t do and what you should do. The principles are discussed, the explanations are clear and accompanied by clear illustrations.
There are so many books out there on BJJ so unless you have a favourite practitioner or branch, I highly recommend this book as your starting point (it may be all you ever need.)
The Chin Na book begins with general concepts – the history and principles, then the science of technique, pressure points and body tools are next, then joint locks arms, legs neck and body and ends with fighting sequences.
This book is also very clear on what and why they want you do to and has great pictures as well. It gives a very comprehensive foundation for what can be done on the ground.
There is 44 pages devoted to pressure points which is interesting, and some will really enjoy. On the ground definitely you can access these points and if you are interested in that area of study then this book has enough details. I guess I always think of pressure points as something to add on not rely on. Regardless the book explains what you should do and why.
I like recommending these two because they come from very different styles and yet there is not a lot different if you look at the relevant presentations. Both are excellent reference material.