Last night, had a great day at BJJ, just thought I'd toot a horn. It's about my 3rd week or so at the club. We were practicing side control/escapes. The drill had 4 people on their backs, then you put them in side-control. They have 1 minute to escape, you have 1 minute to maintain the side control. If you win you stay, if you lose you go. So if you're good at escaping, you just fight one guy after another. I went up against one of the blue belts (I'm white), in the first round of the drill. He couldn't escape, so he had to go and I stayed. I was very proud of beating the blue belt in this drill... you should have seen the look on our instructor's face, sort of a pleasantlyy surprised expression. I then beat the next 4 guys (white belts). I finally coudln't go on any more and tapped out, couldn't breathe! After class, I overheard the instructor talking to a purple belt about me. He said, "See that white belt? He beat a blue belt then kicked the next 4 guys' asses!" The purple belt widened his eyes and nodded. It was a great feeling after several weeks of frustration! I think something is beginning to click. I love learning new things. Any of you have similiar experiences? Thanks!
Congrats! it seems like you have a solid side control. Just remember everyone has off days. Plus starting in side control is a lot different than getting to side control. BUT be proud. Finding small victories in every class is very motivating. Now try to work on getting to side control consistently. (and not to add any more "critiques" [some guys like to say focus on what they feel you did wrong more than focusing on the positive] but do yourself a favor. Try not to tap out because you're "tired." If you can't breathe AT ALL, that's fine. BUT it's a great time to learn to control your breathing. Even if you simply let the other guy hold you in side control and instead of escaping to simply try to calm your mind and slow your breathing... then maybe try shrimping for 10 seconds, then breathe again... then shrimp, etc... you can gain a valuable lesson. STILL, That Is Awesome! ) Btw i bet everyone in here has an experience or two like the one you described... they used to be the reason i trained... now i train to be the guy you beat lol I'm in a weird position to be one of the best guys in my school... so instead of rolling to win (meaning using techniques i know will work) i roll to lose... err.. i mean i start myself in the worst positions i can... i'll start IN a triangle (obviously not locked super tight, but still locked on), or IN a RNC, or mounted... and hope someone catches me... i never let myself tap someone with the same move twice and i only attack on my weak side... it wakes me up lol
Hehe. I agree. Work on your breathing and straining. Tapping out 'cause you're tired is a typical newbie thing. But being tired won't kill you. There's a lot of stuff like that you just come to accept after a while. Newbies tap out under mount 'cause they can't get out. They tap out under knee on belly 'cause it hurts. They tap out when smothered, they tap out when crossfaced, they tap out for anything uncomfortable. But after a while, chances are, stuff like that will only bother you. But I'm glad you feel progress. That feeling is what we all train for.
That sounds like an interesting drill, well done. @fanatical Man I'm a noob and have only tapped for a few chokes and an arm lock, I ain't gonna tap for no weak as* shiz like dat!!
Great advice, and I agree, it's harder to get into side control than to start it in a drill. I think I did well because I did 2 years of High School wrestling, and we have a side control that's almost exactly the same as the BJJ one. It didn't seem so strange. I'm still getting used to the idea of preferring to be on my back, which in free-style you lose! I do regret tapping out. He had me in a weak collar choke, and I didn't want to give up, but I couldn't catch my breath, like my lungs were too small. Next time I'll try to dig deeper, even if it only means I lie on the mat another 5 seconds! Thanks again, one day I hope I am good enough to have desires to lose for the other guy!
Ha! You're right (tapping early). I think a lot of that is sort of a natural panic (big smelly lug over your face, can't move, can't breathe, feel like you're about to die).
Don't you get loads of practice of that with your 'Mrs'....... Reminds me of that cheerleading scene from dodgeball, sorry i just can't help myself..
Very cool. Side control is a great position for me, too. Just keep either your knee or your arm to block their hips and you'll give lots of people problems. I had a similar experience from the other side. I was sparring with a guy just yesterday who's been at the school for about 3 weeks. While I'm still just a white belt myself, this guy is at the stage where he's trying to learn everything. At one point, I tried to go over into an armbar, didn't get it and he got to the top in my half guard. Even though I swept him within about 10 seconds, he was pretty excited to finally be on top. Good job.
Nice one. Those drills are a great way to develop your game. We do them for every position. Guard passing for instance, one has to pass guard and the other has to either keep them in guard, sweep and submit. Half guard is the same.
Being a former wrestler myself side control is probably the easiest position to maintain once you have got it. Also you will probably find north-south a pretty comfortable position. The next step however is learning to keep the sde conrol while going for a submsiion . The biggest danger as a wrestler is the tendency to give up the back. Many wreslting maneuvers such as the switch and sit out are awfully teimpting but you can quickly get youir back taken. Keep up the good work and work extra hard on your weaker positions. Learning is more important than winning.
I agree with Connovar in terms of side control. I really like it, use it a lot. Tonight I passed guard, got side, went to north/south and then the sub with an armbar when they tried to turn. Got it quite a few times. Tried a north south choke but the guy was wise to it, he rolls a lot with someone who is good at it. I am taking back a lot at the moment as it is a position I struggle a bit with but find myself in the situation alot of late, especially in Judo playing with some of the big boys who I can only roll from turtle over the shoulder to get back.
One thing I'm starting to like from north/south is to get a firm grip on their gi on both shoulders, pop back on to your feet and yank them up in front of you - set your hooks, you've got the back. Straight out of Theory & Technique. flashlock - it's great that you're getting a sense of your strengths already, it took me quite a while! Now work on that guard passing so you can get to side control even more
Yes, and even against that blue belt, I noticed the instant I tried any shift to get a better position, he sensed it and I really had to work hard to maintain the side control (I believe he was indeed having an off-day). This minor success just is a notch on the wall to bring the other positions up to. Thanks for the advice and encouragement.
While its always nice to get something to work in sparring, and even nicer to get praise from the instructor, I'd say be careful not to start thinking about drills as "beating", "winning" etc: its detrimental in the long run. A better approach would be to treat them as an opportunity to improve technique - doesn't matter if somebody taps, as more important is whether or not you learned something that made your understanding of the technique better. E.g., "Ah, I did that wrong, but I realise that I need to move my hips more." Also, definitely read this post. Very important advice.
Well, I mean, it's quite a simple drill. I learned that I really did have some grappling knowledge (from old HS days) that could help me still. Also, I want to do better next time, i.e., not tap out. Sorry about the Bullshido thread, but I can't open it (I've been banned by them).
Excellent advice. I remember reading that post when I first started. The link worked for me, Flashlock... give it another try. More of an essay than a post, but worth the read.
