Grappling Tips Newsletter

A good way to get more out of your sparring sessions is to limit the techniques you can use. As has been pointed out many times in many different disciplines, creativity thrives on limitation, because it forces you to think outside the box to achieve your goal.

Try this training method: pick just one technique and make that your focus the next 10 sparring sessions. It doesn’t matter if that technique is the straight armbar, a specific guard sweep, a method of taking the back or the high crotch takedown: in these sessions your only focus will be executing your target technique. If you are working a specific butterfly guard sweep, for example, then start every sparring session in the butterfly guard. If you succeed in sweeping your opponent then go back to the butterfly guard and try again. After you've swept your partner a few times he will start doing different things to counter you, whether it be shifting his weight, posting his foot, denying you your grips, etc. Now the game evolves as you to come up with the answers to the questions posed by his defenses.

For best results stick with your chosen technique for more than one training session. This will allow you (and your sparring partners) to reflect on your training session and come up with new solutions to the problems you encountered. You WANT people to figure out counters to your technique, so that you can learn and practice counters to their counters.

This training method allows you to improve when you are sparring opponents who are less skilled than yourself. As your sparring partners get wise to what you are trying to do they will become much better at defending that technique. They will become experts at defending your technique, and this in turn will force you to become better at setting up, applying, and finishing the technique in question.

Labels: training

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A 'position game' is usually characterized by tight transitions between positions, an emphasis on maintaining a position while attacking, and lots of pressure while in a top position. How does one become better at this game?

One good method is to spar and make all your transitions slow, tight and methodical. If you are in your opponent's guard, then use a guard pass that doesn't rely on speed and explosiveness - for example the 'leg on the shoulder' guard pass. As you go through the guard pass pause after each movement and let your opponent try to fight his way out of it: if your technique and pressure are correct he should be unable to resist, even though you are essentially doing it in slow motion.

You can train this way using all sorts of techniques, including submissions, transitions and even some escapes. It is best to initially stick to training with people either lighter, or less experienced, than yourself. If you pick someone who really challenges you then it will be more difficult to try out a new game. After you have perfected your slow motion crushing guard pass, or the unstoppable armlock from sidemount, then you can try it out on your normal grappling partners.

The ability to lock into a position and feel unmovable to your opponent is central to this game. Think of yourself as a ratchet: once you gain an inch of territory you refuse to give it back. Accordingly, some isometric strength is useful for a position-based game in grappling. You don't need to be able to deadlift 400 pounds to do it properly, however; good technique can make you feel twice as heavy as you actually are.

Labels: positions, training

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Sometimes it is good to just go and roll, with no plans, no goals and just see what happens. You will make faster progress, however, if you have a plan for most, if not all, your sparring sessions. In the next several installments I am going to talk about different strategies to organize your sparring.

In the last tip of the week (http://www.grapplearts.com/2004/11/mobility-and-position.htm) I discussed the difference between mobility-based and position-based strategies. Suppose you want to work on your mobility game - what can you do to develop and refine this style of grappling?

Roger Machado suggests a great exercise to improve your mobility game. In this exercise you spar with your partner, but you both have to move to a new position or submission at least every 3 seconds. This means that if you find yourself in mount and you haven't submitted your opponent in 3 seconds you might dismount and go to side control. If you are trying a guard pass that isn't working then you have to switch to another guard pass: no forcing the movement. If you do submit your opponent, or if he submits you, then go right back to the exercise and continue. Don't get all caught up in who taps who: this exercise is a training method, and isn't the competition itself.

This approach to sparring creates a LOT of movement, and gets you accustomed to a faster pace with lots of transitions and scrambling. If you are more skilled than your training partner you can even do it without telling your sparring partner, but for maximum movement chaos get both people in on the drill. If you are both committed to moving to frequently moving to a new position your mobility on the mat will certainly increase!

As a sidenote, an effective movement game does require some cardiovascular conditioning. If you are severely sucking wind after just 20 seconds of scrambling then you had better head off to the jogging track or the exercise bike. If you don't know much about cardio training then take advantage of the articles and tips on cardio conditioning at www.grapplearts.com.

Labels: training

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There are two basic games in grappling: the 'mobility game' and the 'position game'.

The mobility game is based on speed and movement - transitions between positions, attacks and reversals are accomplished with speed. Mobility fighters might use speed to pass the guard, and then transition from sidemount to kneemount to mount to armbar so fast that their opponents have difficulty keeping track of what is going on. Frank Shamrock is a good example of a mobility fighter: he uses his athleticism, explosiveness and mobility to run opponents into the ground.

The position game is based on weight, control and pressure. Position fighters emphasize being in control of their opponent's body, using their weight and grips to shut down their movement. Transitions are usually accomplished slowly with a lot of pressure. My BJJ coach, Marcus Soares, is the embodiment of the position game: when he gets his position (any position) you feel so immobilized that your will to fight is cut in half. It's hard enough to breath, let alone formulate an escape plan!

There is a tendency for smaller, lightweight fighters to use a mobility game and for heavier, stronger fighters to use a position game. This generalization is far from perfect, though. There are many larger grapplers who use a lot of movement and mobility in their games and vice versa. There are also people who can switch between the two games, for example using the mobility game to pass the guard and then using the position game when they get to sidemount.

Roger Machado addressed this issue at a recent seminar - he believes that one of the best thing you can do to improve your overall grappling is to work on game you don't use. If you are a mobility fighter, then you should work on your position game. If you are a position fighter, then work on your mobility game. In upcoming tips I am going to give some specific recommendations of what you can do to develop these games in your sparring.

Labels: training

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