Sounds like you are doing everything right. Noticable improvements will come, usually in one significant leap and quite out of the blue. All my improvements in BJJ have come after a self percieved technical lull and period of frustration. Keep keepin' on.
Hi Giovanni, I teach martial arts and I also run a training company training people in a variety of skills - so, for what it is worth Relax and enjoy the training - sure you will get beat from time to time and sure the ego does not like it (at least MY ego doesn't) but the more you relax and have fun, the sooner you will find yourself getting better at whatever it is you do. The single most important key to learning anything is being interested in the subject, the second most important key is to have fun whilst you are learning it.
Obviously did it at mma and my club does it once a week. Stopped going since it was mostly an mma crowd and they just muscled in and out of everything but I did enjoy it. Suprising how much not having a collar to grab and your limbs covered in sweat effects your game
Haha, twisting wrist escapes work pretty well in gi bjj too I find. Learnt the technical stnad up in gi but never really tried it no-gi, I'm too much of a brawler kind of guy
Giovanni, remember to continue to work your survival skills. As a 57 year old no-gi grappler I have made them the core of my game simply because I am slower than EVERYONE on the mat. It takes some getting used to but once you are comfortable in someones side control or mount and you've developed some skills at keeping them from submitting you in those positions then things will begin to open up. Let them create the space and open themselves up to your escapes and reversals when they attack. If you keep your defensive position tight they have to work harder to get the subs and often get frustrated and make mistakes. The other night I did the unusual transition of being in someone's side control, rolling over and turtle-ing, letting him take my back, rolling to get to him into sitting back control, doing the scoop defensive position and turning into him to end in his half guard. If you're comfortable with your defense you don't worry as much about what position your in. You're looking for him to make a mistake a give you a chance to do a reversal or escape. Even if all you do is get through the roll, even in a bad position, without being subbed call it a win. Especially against people with more experience. Think about it. You just used your defensive skills to nullify a superior grapplers attack. That is the basis of Gracie Jiu Jitsu and clearly a win.
hey guys. question.... any particular core exercises you like to do? i've been doing crunches, leg lifts, back extensions on a workout ball. it's helped my movement a bit. anything else to help strengthen the core?
squats, cleans and deadlifts. Hindu pressups, bridging, dips, pullups and hindu squats. yoga. Frankly I'm a lazy sack of shiznit at the moment I haven't worked out for ages, I'm barely ever at training and my strength and endurance has shirvelled away to nothingness but the things above sky rocketed my attributes and core strength when I was doing them. Just make sure you get plenty of rest and programme any workouts sensibley around your training shedule to avoid injury and overtraining.
Not necessarily just core exercises, but great solo grappling drills work wonders for your game as well. It's all about getting your body to move in ways that it doesn't naturally want to move. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXjP50SOwK4"]YouTube - 33 Solo Grappling Drills in 7 Minutes - Jason Scully‏[/ame]
today would have been the kind of day where i would (should) probably just give up doing bjj. why? because of raz, the russian body builder who's like 6' 4", 250 lb., 4% bodyfat. as an fyi....i'm 40, 6', 215 lb., probably 20% bodyfat, lol. i had to tap out like four times. managed to keep him in my guard for like 2 minutes at one point. almost got out of his mount on me, but the guy's so strong, just couldn't pull it off. for a moment, i almost caught him in a kimura from my guard, but i lost my grip. i think i would have just cried a few months ago and quit. but every time i tapped, he kept thinking it was over, and i kept wanting to roll. i think that surprised him a bit. so slight improvement, at least at controlling fear. i think i am getting a tiny bit better at surviving a bit longer, but have a long long ways to go.
Well done - you are getting better and that's THE ONLY THING THAT MATTERS - 'raz' sounds like a great partner to roll with as working with him will help you to improve. Carry on the good work
thanks robert. going to try to keep it up. i go in phases of high training and of low. the rhythms of being married with two kids and having a job are sometimes unpredictable. but i'm going to keep at it. hoping to get into a tournament soon. yoga, calisthenics and running have definitely helped. going to start doing some of the previously posted solo drills too.
Congrats on the kid, and congrats on having an understanding and supportive wife! Just wait until the kid is old enough to train with you... I'm a Wing Chun guy who just started two months ago along with my 17-year-old son who is six inches taller than I am and built like a tank. We do the "MMA" thing at our kwoon to help round out some areas such as ground work. Just wait until your kid sends you flying across the kwoon (dojo, I guess, for you BJJ guys) when you thought you had him pinned to the mat. That was one of those proud dad moments, by the way. My boy's WAY stronger than he looks. I'm no lightweight.
monthly update time.... been going very regularly the last month, and it shows. i think one of my biggest problems has been consistency, but getting more of a schedule down with my wife's help. unfortunately, haven't been losing weight like i want to. still need to cut out at least 15-20 lb. to get down to a nice fighting weight, but i'm definitely stronger and have much better wind from running and yoga. one of the amazing things i'm noticing is that with consistency in training, comes consistency and speed in technique. it's almost like when i'm in a certain position and there's a scramble, my body knows what to do without me thinking about it, and very quickly too. today, one of my partners grabbed my pants to pass my guard. i immediately, without thinking about it, grabbed both his sleeves, got my feet on his biceps and spider-guarded him. thought never crossed my mind, just did it. absolutely loving no-gii bjj/submission-wrestling. helping me get stronger and get my technique down much quicker, seemingly, than gi bjj. thanks for reading. i like putting my thoughts down here once a month or so. helps me to think about and understand what i'm doing on a little bit different level. plus, i occasionally need moral support when i'm wrestling 6'4" brutes. oh....i'm going to be in portland in a couple weeks. hoping to train at sbg once.
lol. yes! train with the right methods, i'd add. i loved doing hapkido and i think that my training partners and i did our best to introduce non-compliant drills into our practice. and doing hapkido has definitely helped me understand mechanics of techniques and as a consequence has helped my bjj to a degree. but a BIG part of me is wishing that the time i spent getting a black belt in hapkido would have been put to better use if i had just been doing bjj or judo or muay thai this whole time. it's not regret. it's just thinking about improving my martial art. my oldest son's godfather asked me for advice on his daughter doing martial arts. he's considering putting her into tkd or karate. i gave him a one word answer, judo.
me too with the things I studied. However I know the way my thinking was then I would have rejected those arts had they been around... I wanted the deadly etc. :cry: Cest La vie. Good answer!
