Grappling Tips Newsletter

May 30, 2004

Slump Busting

Training slumps can be very, very frustrating. Maybe your training partners are all kicking your butt, and guys who you used to manhandle are giving you a run for your money. If you’ve ever had this experience, and it lasted for any length of time, then you know what a slump is.

Slumps are due to different things.

Sometimes it is because you are overtraining and are burned out. In that case you should take some time off and relax.

Sometimes it is because you haven't been training enough and/or hard enough. In that case you should get your ass in gear and train more often, longer and harder.

Sometimes it is because your game has become stale - your training partners have all figured out your game and the counters to it. Time to start working on a different game, or find new setups for the techniques that have always worked for you.

Sometimes it is because your game is all over the place and without focus. You are trying so many different things that you have become a jack of all trades and a master of none. Time to focus your game and concentrate on only a few sweeps or submissions.

As you can see it is impossible for someone who doesn't know you to diagnose why you are in a slump. Be honest with yourself and try to figure out why it isn't all working for you. Once you understand why you’re having the problem the solution will be obvious.

Good luck

Labels: the mental aspect, training

permanent link to this article posted by Stephan @ 9:17 PM

May 23, 2004

Weight Training, Not Just For Bodybuilders Anymore

Many grapplers and martial artists lift weights to make them stronger, faster,
and more explosive. It is widely accepted that weight training complements and
improves good technique. Being stronger, faster, and more explosive is a good
thing, but the best reason to pump iron is to increase resistance to injury.

So much training time is lost to injury that anything you can do to cut down
on injury time will have a dramatic effect on your skill level. Lifting weights
strengthens the muscles, bones and connective tissue. This makes your joints
much more injury resistant.

Some people worry about lifting weights because they don’t want to get bigger
and ‘muscle-bound’. Don’t worry about this. Really. For 99% of people getting
significantly bigger requires a remarkable amount of work. From 1998 to 2000
I went through a phase of trying to ‘bulk up’, and eventually put on about 20
extra pounds of muscle. It was a lot of work: 4 or 5 days a week of weightlifting
and eating a tremendous amount of food every day. Rest assured that lifting
weights once or twice a week isn’t going to turn you into a bodybuilder from
the pages of Muscle and Fitness anytime soon.

I still weight train now, but my approach and my goals are different. I pump
iron one or two times a week to maintain strength and prevent injuries that
would prevent me from training. It’s interesting that people are more willing
to do physiotherapy AFTER an injury than preventive strengthening BEFORE an
injury. Isn’t it best to avoid the injury in the first place, not to mention
all the other benefits of weight training?

Read my article on basic weight training for martial arts and grappling

Labels: conditioning, Injuries

permanent link to this article posted by Stephan @ 9:09 PM

May 16, 2004

When Training Time is Limited

In a really good training month I might take some BJJ classes, do some submission grappling sparring, take some private classes with a wrestling coach, run and lift weights for conditioning, do some boxing drills, do some yoga, and be a sparring partner for some NHB competitors at the club. Other grapplers might include Judo, Sambo, Greco-Roman wrestling, swimming, plyometrics etc. as part of their program.

Like I said - this is a good month. At other times keeping this training intensity becomes impossible.The difficulty arises when your training time is severely curtailed and you no longer have time to train 4, 5 or 6 times a week. Maybe you are starting a new job, or have new family obligations, or have moved far away from your club. How can the grappling enthusiast maintain his skills? The best way to maintain the conditioning required for your martial art is by doing your martial art. The more limited your time is, the more important this principle is.

Suppose your goal is to get your BJJ black belt some day, but you get really busy at work and can only train once or twice a week. These training sessions should be dedicated to Brazilian Jiu-jitsu: concentrate your efforts on what is most important, rather than diffusing them by trying to do a little bit of everything (i.e. BJJ and plyometrics and boxing and swimming). The less time you have, the more important it is to be focused!

It’s just a fact of life that there are times when the best you can do is to
maintain your skills and maybe make small improvements. This is called ‘maintenance’ mode. To make big improvements in your skill you will eventually need to put in more time, but the goal of maintenance mode is to ensure that you’re not too far behind when you finally get back to some serious training. You have worked for years to develop your timing, kinesthetic awareness, and sports-specific fitness in your sport. The best way to maintain these sports-specific skills and attributes is by doing the sport itself. Every little bit of mat time helps

Labels: training

permanent link to this article posted by Stephan @ 9:03 PM

May 09, 2004

All else being equal, work on your endurance

Endurance is the key. It doesn’t matter if you run in the park, skip rope, swim in a pool or go mountain biking: if you aren’t training to increase your stamina you are short-changing your potential on the mat.

The legendary martial artist, Dan Inosanto, once said that he thought endurance was the most important of the various physical attributes. “If you are tired you’re not strong, if you are tired you’re not fast, if you’re tired you don’t have good technique, and if you’re tired you’re not even smart”, he said.

Being able to bench press 400 pounds is impressive, but this fact alone doesn’t tell you much about a grappler’s level of general conditioning. The more interesting statistic might be how much can someone bench press right after running a 6 minute mile!

Bruce Lee called running the ‘king of exercises’ and used to take his running shoes with him when traveling to scout out movie locations. Put on your running shoes and you’ll be in some pretty prestigious company!

Read my article on cardio for martial arts

Labels: conditioning, teachers

permanent link to this article posted by Stephan @ 9:46 PM