I must’ve had a severe case of ADD when I was a kid. One day I dreamed of being a firefighter. The next I would imagine myself strapped in a space shuttle rocketing towards the moon. The list goes on, baseball player….race car driver…chippendales dancer (I guess that last one is more of a nightmare than a dream).
Anyways I ended up choosing something a little less exciting… mechanical engineering.
Now I didn’t choose this path because it was the easiest. I chose it because I like fixing and fiddling with stuff. And mastering the fixing and fiddling of things meant I couldn’t also fight fires, travel in space, play ball, drive really fast or learn to dirty dance like Patrick Swayze.
You can be a jack of all trades or a master of one. But there’s just not enough time in the day to be both.
That’s why the idea of “balance” interests me so much. The word suggests that you don’t have to pick and choose. That you can have it all. I imagine a balanced person has a well paying job they love…an active social life…well reared kids…and is in tip top shape.
But have you ever really met someone like this?
I don’t think I ever have. Usually people are fractional in their successes. A few examples:
– The guy with lots of friends, a great hobby, a well paying job but no time to exercise and stay healthy.
– The woman with a good job, good health and a stable family but no social life.
– The bodybuilder who spends three hours a day at the gym, goes out partying all the time but who is absolutely broke.
Rarely do you see the person who has it all…something’s almost always gotta give.
That’s why I think balance is a big myth. It’s like communism, great in theory but it just doesn’t work in the real world. And it doesn’t work in bjj either.
For example, look at world class grappler Marcelo Garcia’s game. The dude is a back choking animal. Or Roger Gracie’s cross chokes from mount. Or – in the MMA realm – Aoki’s footlocks or Sakuraba’s arm locks.
The lesson from this? If you want to be a master, you must specialize.
Most of the top level guys finish fights with just a handful of submission. While I’m sure they know other techniques, they sure don’t use them when they’re going against the best. They bring their A-game.
Which begs the question…are they balanced fighters? Or have they trained just one or two techniques so much that they can basically say, “I’m going to take your back and choke you and there’s nothing you can do about it”.
That’s not balance. That’s domination. And you can’t be that level of a badass if you spend your training time working on dozens of moves in the hopes of developing a “balanced” game.
Other than strength and flexibility, I think yoga is bullshit. I mean have you priced yoga pants? My Bubble Butt Baby was looking online at a pair and they were $70! Seriously?! That’s leotarded. For such a so-called “spiritual practice” (you know, because they mediate), $70 for woven cotton that you can get at Wal-Mart for 75 cents is ridiculous.
When he was alive, you probably could have gotten eternal salvation from Jerry Falwell for $75…and…you wouldn’t have to bend yourself into a pretzel.
Ignoring the pricy pants, I did notice one yoga technique that is absolutely essential to add to your grapplers toolkit. Let’s talk about that.
Flashback to yesterday – I’m walking into a yoga class for the first time in a few months and I still get that look. By the way, I’m 5’10″, 200 pounds and NOBODY thinks I’m flexible…much less the dainty Peter Pan looking Twiggy’s that populate most yoga classes (hence the look of, “oh, here’s another meat head who is in for a BIG surprise”).
Well, joke’s on them when I’m the only one in class who can a hold one handed back-bridge without shaking like a freezing kitten.
Anyways, we all lay down for that pre-yoga meditation and the instructor says one sentence that I know I’m immediately stealing next time I go train BJJ. She says something along the lines of…take a moment to think about what your intention is here today. Do you want to become stronger? More flexible? Control your breath? Whatever that is…focus on that word your entire practice. Let it guide you.
Usually I ignore yoga teachers when their lips are moving, I only want the exercise. But this made sense. I picked the word flexibility, and the entire class I focused on stretching and lengthening my body. And it worked! Rather than trying to get everything – stronger, greater breath control, etc – from this session I just tried to get more flexible, and it was awesome!
So here’s my suggestion, next time you are training BJJ pick something you want to focus on before you start to roll…and then do that during the entire training session AND let everything else go.
If you want better sweeps sit on your butt and go for sweeps (while ignoring the wide open arm bar)…
…if you want to improve your back taking skills, go for the back (while ignoring submissions from mount or side mount)…
…and, if you want a wicked guard game, pull guard (and just go for submissions, not sweeps).
Try this out and let me know how it works out for you.
Let me take a moment here to count my BJJ blessings.
First, I could imagine myself size 60 pants, belly hanging over waistband if not for BJJ. The kind of guy ordering Big Mac’s by the dozen…wheezing just walking up a flight of stairs…everyone in the room silently laughing at.
And despite my muscular appearance I, like most people, hate working out. Yet, I spend the first moments of almost every morning alone in the gym. I’m surrounded by people, but in my own little world counting reps and planning when I’ll add five pounds on my next set. Usually I’m in and out in half an hour…focused on working my balance, adding endurance and stretching further.
But as I leave – I start noticing the difference between me and everyone else – the hulking powerlifters, veins about to pop under the stress of hundreds of pounds. The ‘power moms’ power walking on the treadmills while reading the morning newspaper and watching the morning news on the overhead TV’s. And the other people who are mindlessly repping out on machines, hating every second of it.
And that’s when I thank my lucky stars I found BJJ. Thankful that I have a physical outlet that I absolutely love.
Don’t get me wrong…I understand the benefits of exercise. Fat loss. Muscles. Energy. And more. But geez, most people at the gym look like they are hating life…like they have to spend 5 minutes at home giving themselves a pep talk to get dressed, drive to the gym and work out.
I’ve never had to motivate myself to go to BJJ. Most days nothing short of a funeral or a playboy bunny would keep me away.
And then there is the mental benefit. The strategic thinking, balance and coordination. The constant quest to find the missing piece of the puzzle that makes your game faster, easier, more efficient…the trip you never want to end.
I think us grapplers are an interesting lot. We’ll work weeks on end on one technique. Breaking it down, analyzing it from different angles, trying it when we’re fresh…we’re tired…gi or no…until finally something clicks and everything works.
It’s a magical feeling isn’t it?
But it’s not always about us is it? The really beautiful thing is how social this solitary sport is. While you’re rolling it’s all about what you can do. How can I control the position? Where are my sweeps and setups? Submissions?
And you learn about people. About their strengths, weaknesses, fears and desires. I’ve always said I can learn more about a person in five minutes of rolling with them than I can from talking to them for an hour. Most grapplers will agree.
And despite the inherently competitive nature of BJJ, everything is on the table after you roll.
A lower belt will ask, “How’d you do that sweep?”. “Oh, it’s easy you just…yada yada yada”. Or you see your training partner making the same mistake over and over and you show them what they are doing, so they don’t get caught again. It’s a simple interaction, but an important one. It’s the humanity and community of the situation that makes it more than just a workout.
And then you hit them with something totally different and the cycle begins anew. It keeps it fresh. It keeps the competition in the game. Constant evolution.
I always laugh now when I walk past one of those gyms with glass windows. Everyone on treadmills walking furiously nowhere. The self congratulating strutting in the mirror. The spandex. Meanwhile I know I can walk into any BJJ academy in the world and be welcomed with open arms by family. And it makes me thankful I’ve found the gift of BJJ.
A few guys from my school (the Armory) are going to battle tonight. Edson Barboza and Luiz Cane will be fighting at UFC on spike at 9 pm. Check out Edson when he fought in Atlantic City last year…
The school I train at – The Armory – recently had a huge belt ceremony…72 students. And one of the guys I’ve been training with for years finally got his brown belt. I caught the little speech on film. If you want a little motivation to keep on going, watch the following video…
Have been having some trouble with the black belts passing my guard (uh, who hasn’t Rob?)…so I’ve taken some time to work on just pulling guard instead of sweeping or submitting from open guard. Here’s a practice session of just trying to pull guard and then opening again when I do…
We had a world class bjj guy stop by the gym on Wednesday (Paradina was his name, not sure about the spelling though). And he caught me in the single worst submission I’ve ever been caught in.
It sucked because it was purely demoralizing.
In fact, it took me…oh…five minutes to catch my breath after he got it on me. And I literally gassed out against a white belt the next match (a girl I outweighed by about 50 pounds).
Anyways, thought I’d share this for your interest and edification. Presenting the most embarrassing bjj submission ever…
Have you ever looked at how a door works? There’s this big, heavy chunk of wood supported by maybe 9 screws and three little hinges. Even though some doors can weigh 50 pounds or more, these little two to three ounce hinges EASILY swing the door open.
Well, you’ve got little “hinges” in your game too. And if you get them right, everything else gets easy.
Take the triangle choke for example. There is one specific step of the triangle that is absolutely critical. Get this right and it’s an almost automatic game over for the other guy…
…get it wrong and you’ll spend the next three minutes struggling to tap the guy (unless he escapes first).
So, what is the “hinge” that makes the triangle choke almost impossible to escape?
Check out the following video and see if you can find it…
Did you see the difference? Did you see how I completely extended my hips? And threw my leg over like it was a big grappling claw before pulling my opponent down?
You must get your hips super high up onto your opponents shoulders. This helps you finish the choke because it…
- Breaks his posture
- Puts all of your lower body weight high on his shoulder
- And drastically reduces the wiggle room he needs to escape (kind of like a mouse stuck in a snake’s death grip.)
If you want to master triangle chokes, you must get those hips of the ground!
So, how do you do it? I’ve found drilling exaggerated hip-ups is the key. This trains your body to really shoot the hip up before trying to clamp down. Here’s how you do it.
First, grab a drill partner and pull him in your guard.
Second, make sure your drill partner has perfect posture (his spine is completely vertical).
Third, without pulling your partner down with your arms…shoot your hips as high as possible to secure the triangle. (Side note: It helps to not grab the gi with your hands to make sure you get this hip thrust right.)
If you do this right you’ll notice that your knee hits the guy in the ear…and…he almost taps when you pull him down (pretty sweet!).
Try it out, and see if you can feel the difference.
Butterfly, hooks, elevators…call them what you will, but most beginning grapplers make a huge mistake that murders their ability to sweep from the butterfly guard.
Let’s take a closer look…
If you’ve been grappling for more than a day, you’ve probably heard the term leverage. Archimedes said, “Give me a big enough lever and I can move the world”. And leverage is exactly what allowed BJJ Grand Master Helio Gracie to beat bigger and stronger opponents.
Leverage is the linchpin that makes BJJ work.
Is it easier to finish an armbar if you are pulling on his hand…or…on his elbow? If you just caught a kneebar, do you pull on his calf…or…the back of his ankle? Is it easier to break posture in guard if you pull on your opponent’s shoulder…or…the back of his head?
I hope you answered the second ones, because you increase leverage (making your life a ton easier) as you apply force out farther from the body.
Now, what’s this got to do with the buttefly sweep?
Most beginning grapplers simply fail to take advantage of leverage in the butterfly sweep, meaning they…
…waste a ton of energy struggling for the sweep, which leads to…
…failed sweep attempts, and…
…an easy guard pass for their opponent.
What’s the big mistake they are making? Take a look at the following picture…
If you look closely at my butterfly hook, you’ll see I’m practically kicking him in the groin. The problem here is that I have absolutely zero leverage to manipulate his legs. Since I can’t cause his legs to move left or right, I can’t get his hips to swivel.
Think about that last part for a moment. If I can’t get his hips to swivel at all, is it possible for me to sweep him on his back?
Of course not!
I’ll simply waste energy lifting him in the air. Now let’s take a look at another picture…
If you can ignore my friends cheesy grin, you’ll notice I moved my butterfly hook down to his knee. I did this for one simple reason.
This gives me leverage on his hips!
If I kick his knee out up and to my right his hips MUST begin to rotate. If I can rotate his hips enough, he will fall over on his back and I will get the sweep.
So here’s the big takeaway lesson from all of this. To get more leverage and easier sweeps, move your butterfly hook away from his groin and towards his knee.
Why? Because you always get MORE leverage when you move the control points further away from your opponents core.
