Year 1 – The year of rolling and being used as a wrestling partner !!
Year 2 – The year of Youtube and being used as a wrestling dummy !!!
Year 3 – The year of having a coach and going into temporary wrestling retirement !!
I’m not quite sure what this year has to hold but looking around me I’ve noticed for everyone else its the Year of Muscle. But me, I believe Jujitsu is not about strength or else you wouldn’t have a 68kg individual submitting opponents of over 100kg – the whole idea behind BJJ is to beat a bigger stronger opponent due to your level of skill.
Training does require strength no doubt about it but to waste your efforts on simply muscling up will hinder your game especially if your techniques are only working due to your extra strength.
Black belts roll in a relaxed fashion – more like a dance than a fight – many of them do Yoga or Pilates or Tai Chi to counter the hardness of BJJ. BJJ is a sport of thinking not forcing. If you know how to move well you can quite easily overcome size and strength to submit your opponent with ease. If you want to progress to purple, brown and black this evolution in thinking and rolling needs to take place.
The other issue with strength training is “overtraining”. Training BJJ three times a week and then doing weights three times a week along with work and a family is a very tough schedule and is almost certainly going to end up in an injury which will in turn mean you’re off the mats for a few days, weeks and possibly months.
You need to recover from training just as much as you need to train and the older you are the longer you need !!! My motto is stay safe and stay fit !!!!
This year so far has been one of improvement. I’ve changed the way I think of BJJ immensely. This sport is more than going head to head with another man its about going head to head with yourself – you really do need to reflect on yourself rather than your coach or your partners only then will true enlightenment come – in the words of Roy Dean “the game changes” and he didn’t say this just once so I’m pretty sure I’m only on the first stage !!!
Short post I know but something I felt I needed to share…..
This is a question that has haunted me for erm… years now – yes I’ve been trainingin BJJ for about 2-3 years on and off.
Why is it I can’t submit easily?
I’ll occasionally catch a newby in a submission.
I find I’m too “one dimensional” with my submission attempts.
I don’t really train submissions that much. I just like to roll around, sweep, defend, escape, etc…
I feel scared of losing an advantageous position.
Firstly this is expected and generally you will progress to submissions only once you’ve been able to control your opponent – so the “position before submission” mantra holds true.
Secondly many of us (me included) try to put on submissions at the same speed as a 68kg purple belt – simply not going to happen you need to slow it down and stay tight, speed should only be added once you have the details of the submission and are able to control your opponent in an appropriate position.
Thirdly get your escapes right – if you know how to escape you won’t be scared of trying a submission and losing your position. Easier said than down – I still feel very open when going for armbars from mount … if you miss you’re almost certainly going to end up on bottom !!
Fourthly work out your own submissions – squeezing may work for one person due to leg strength but extra leverage may be what you need. Your coach can tell you the theory but its your body that you have to work with.
Finally make sure you have a few submissions ready for each position. Some of us have a high spatial aptitude and are able to see armbars from any angle – top or bottom – while others have to practice it.
Read an excellent quote the other day no source unfortunately….
“What other sport do you PAY for someone to bend, break and choke you out and say “that was awesome! cant wait until next time” !!!
We know that competing pushes us to be in better physical shape and whether we win or lose we always learn more about our jiu-jitsu.
The question in the headline was posed as part of the poll at Podcast Poll and is a very valid question. A good instructor is not always good at competing – if your instructor is over 50 for instance he may have the technique but the sheer stamina and power required to fight a 25 year old may mean he’s decided to abstain from competition – even if his game is at a signicantly higher technical level.
Your instructor is almost certainly a black belt- so is almost certainly going to be matched up with very, very atheletic individuals who probably train twice a day – if instructing is not his only job he’s going to be pushed to prepare well. Be aware of his limitations and don’t judge him without empathising with his situation.
Generally students are motivated when their instructors compete – just think about the way we learn BJJ – it’s pretty much modeling the instructor’s movements during the demo and then drilling them with any details or obvious problems being pointed out by the coach. If the instructor doesn’t have any awards or prizes from their personal BJJ Journey or is unable to compete now we obviously won’t have anything to emulate.
BJJ is unlike other sports that can get away with coaches who simply instruct their pupils; it’s much more hands on and requires a feel for the move. It’s a lot more than just directing students rather its getting students to adapt a move to their own particular body and the body of their opponent – pretty impossible to teach if you aren’t able to do or don’t know the move yourself.
Recently met up with an old training partner one who as always given me awesome advice on how to move my game up. You always find there are a few people you meet who are worth their weight in gold – you ask them a question and they respond in terms you understand – if you come across a BJJ practitioner like this listen very carefully and you’ll get some of the detail that you’ll miss during your normal training sessions with your instructor.
One piece of advice which I’ll share is how strength and power eventually will meet its match so your technique needs to be so much better than your opponent. Also don’t assume or be led to believe – muscle is being used when really its technique – which you are yet to master.
Be careful of listening to the nay sayers who claim anyone better than them or generally fitter than them is only using strength – judge each individual from their interaction with you and the advice they give to you – if you can’t do a technique well don’t immediately blame it on your lack of stamina or power.
Creating openings and getting positions sets you up for the submission – I now realise that and retract on my critiscm of “position before submission” as my understanding of BJJ has developed I feel I’m starting to “get” what the more advanced guys used to say…. I stand corrected !!
Be mindful of what others say and take benefit from the good traits of all those around – be they white belts, purple, brown or black. Take the good and leave the rest !!!! Good rolling to your all !
A lot of people think of protein shakes as magically adding mucles and facilitating weight loss. However it may actually increase your calory intake especially if you’re taking the protein shake on top of your meal. Worse still if you’re not training you’ll gain weight instead !!! Protein shakes are not a magic potion.
One problem I’ve suffered in the past was problems with my digestive system – having too much protein and not enough fibre will contribute to constipation or possible lactose intolerance. To make matters worse extended periods of time eating protein shakes make it more likely to suffer from diverticulitis or an elevated risk of colorectal cancers. Add fibre to your diet to reduce these risks.
Heart Disease chances will also rise due to the full-fat dairy productes that are used. It’s recommended to adhere to a high-protein diet for a maximum of three months. Liver and Kidney damage is much more likely though since they have to work overtime to eliminate protein by-products. This may over a period of time damage the liver or kidneys.
Came across a fantastic site 365 days of BJJ. Just imagine that being able to train 365 days a year !! With all our commitments and the like it really is difficult just getting 2 days a week – I can see a lot of similarities with me and the person in this blog and feel I need to make some fundemnetal changes to be really successful. I’ve been training possible 2-3 years over the last 4 -the lack of consistency has held me back – something I hope not to allow happen again.
I thnk I’m just like the person in the blog – I hold back ! Hopefully I will try to change this in the future – if I know a move or submission I need to try it – past instruction has not helped since it seems very much an individual development stage that one has to break through with the instructor simply as a guide.
Came across this excellent blog on Part-time BJJ practitioners. There are various folk out there who claim you have to be totally committed to BJJ and only then do you have the right to “write” on a blog.
My question to them is – do sports commentators all train in the sport they talk about? Why do trainers train and not compete? I know BJJ is a sport about doing but we all have our own personal goals. For some that will be the next MMA champ for others self-defense and for others simply to stay fit. It would be great making money from BJJ but if you look around most of the BJJ world doesn’t make much so you time is better spent where you get a better Return On Investment !!
I love writing on my blog and I possibly will never be the greatest BJJ practitioner in the world - many of those who have rolled with me can testify to that !!! – but hey I enjoy it and it keeps me fit. If I can make this into a career or make money from wholesaling the merchandise that would be great but in the words of the part-time grappler Laim Wandi “my life is better due to BJJ” even if it is only 5-7 hours of mat-time a week.
That’s the end of my whine for this week !!!! Been in a bit of pain – stiff joints and the like – I think I haven’t been drinking enough water… Was asked by one of the guys what my favorite submission was – I struggled to answer - note to self – decide on a goto move with a 99% submission rate and drill keep drilling it.
After over a year off the mat I went back last night. It was thrilling to get to train and to roll again after so long. The place was small but adequate and the guys were pretty much ego free ! We did some drills – I felt totally out of shape – football doesn’t do much for your BJJ !!!
Everyone was a White belt so I felt a little apprehensive about rolling after so long, didn’t want to look like a fool …. I knew I had to get my ego out of the way and I was right. Started rolling with the armbar king and got tapped – my muscles just had no strength and simply gave in. Then came the next guy he was bigger then me and loved the top side control. He struggled and managed to just put a kimura on me – it was starting to come back. Had a couple more fights where I stood my ground defended well and even started attacking. I was beginning to remember but my lack of stamina was letting me down. With everyone being a white belt I felt bad I got beat but hey after a year I think I learnt a lesson – whatever happens you need to keep rollong or you’ll simply lose it.
Cool
I feel my stamina will come back in a week or so – but I think I need to do some work on everything else – positionally I did ok but my escapes were lacking the finese I once had – back to the mats methinks.
check out http://goo.gl/Dvx5J for someone elses thoughts on blues being tapped by whites !!!
It’s a good question but a better one would be is why are you in the sport ? If you’re an instructor what are you in it for? It should be the love of the game – period – you can’t make millions from BJJ even if you become a Lloyd Irvin. BJJ is pocket money to him – and what’s more he USEs his “dogs” to do the leg work so any money he makes is probably in exchange for FREE training – pretty good deal – but mainly for him of course. I’ve read a few posts on forums about this but the problem is knowing if Llyod or his students are a fault …. you can never be quite sure.
Is he great at BJJ? Not really. Is he a good marketer well yes ! Check out his biorgraphy http://www.bjjheroes.com/bjj-fighters/lloyd-irvin …
Here’s a good forum post on some alleged claims he makes – too many coaches out there do this… check it out…
In a recent interview he talks about marketing tricks pretty rich coming from him …!
“Many people join a school where the instructor or owner of the school is a World champion, a KILLER grappler, or a famous person that create grappling DVDs, because they confuse the instructor’s success with being able to create World Champions. Many of these instructors have never, will never, and can’t produce a student with anywhere close to their own personal success.”
He also admitted at the lameness of BJJ in a self-defence situation – kind of strange for someone who normally pumps up this aspect of BJJ – slipped up me thinks
“Had I only had the self defense that I had from BJJ, me and my family would’ve been dead that night and I wouldn’t be doing this interview with you today. The situations that happened in my home invasion were not helped by any of my BJJ self defense, but from my Sombo self defense training.”
I’m a cynic when it comes to bumped up overmarketed products and people like Lloyd – he may well be legit ( I still worry about the negative comments his ex-students made and also the way a lot of his stuff is created by his students – do they get paid ? I doubt it ). But just to show I don’t hate the guy – and only just the commercialisation of BJJ that he stands for here are a couple of links to his products…. he wishes…
I feel he’s all about the money and is looking for a quick hussle (like a dodgy care salesman) at every corner from BJJ to housing and dentistry he continues to amaze me .. I hope his customers and students are treated well but I don’t think I’ll fall for the hype !
You gotta watch the video -lol – absoultely hilarious – be very very careful of giving your money to an individual who would create such an infomericial !!! If Mike Fowler is the lepricorn I feel very sorry for him getting “HUSSLED” !
- note to self – decide on a goto move with a 99% submission rate and drill keep drilling it.
