December 23, 2005
Don't be Afraid of Making your Students Better (Than You)
Normally in this newsletter I try to help you tap other people out, or at the very least make it more difficult for others to tap you out. This week's advice will result in you getting tapped out MORE often, not less, but you'll be a better grappler because of it.
Let me start with an example. Recently I taught a sparring partner a new choke to attack the half guard (the 'Brabo' choke). This guy is perfectly suited for the Brabo choke - strong like gorilla, long arms like chimp, smart like orangutan. If he ever catches anyone in this choke I bet they'll be in a world of hurt.
I know for a fact that if he keeps on practicing this choke he WILL eventually catch me in it, despite the fact that he is only a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Will it suck to get caught in a choke I taught him myself? Certainly! The upside is that if he is always attacking me with the Brabo choke then my awareness of this submission, and counters to this submission, will improve tremendously. The bottom line is that I'd much prefer getting caught with this choke in class, sparring with a friend, than in a competition.
So give your students and sparring partners all the tools they need to kick your ass, counter all your techniques, pass your guard and shut down your game. This will force you to evolve as a grappler: you will develop new setups for your techniques, discover counters to their counters, and generally accelerate your game. Don't get caught in the ego trap: accept ahead of time that you are going to get tapped out as a result of helping others, and rest secure in the knowledge that it will only improve your own game.
Happy New Year
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Let me start with an example. Recently I taught a sparring partner a new choke to attack the half guard (the 'Brabo' choke). This guy is perfectly suited for the Brabo choke - strong like gorilla, long arms like chimp, smart like orangutan. If he ever catches anyone in this choke I bet they'll be in a world of hurt.
I know for a fact that if he keeps on practicing this choke he WILL eventually catch me in it, despite the fact that he is only a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Will it suck to get caught in a choke I taught him myself? Certainly! The upside is that if he is always attacking me with the Brabo choke then my awareness of this submission, and counters to this submission, will improve tremendously. The bottom line is that I'd much prefer getting caught with this choke in class, sparring with a friend, than in a competition.
So give your students and sparring partners all the tools they need to kick your ass, counter all your techniques, pass your guard and shut down your game. This will force you to evolve as a grappler: you will develop new setups for your techniques, discover counters to their counters, and generally accelerate your game. Don't get caught in the ego trap: accept ahead of time that you are going to get tapped out as a result of helping others, and rest secure in the knowledge that it will only improve your own game.
Happy New Year
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December 04, 2005
Grappling Gear Concluded: Wrestling Shoes
Wrestlers are no stranger to wearing shoes while training, but I think that shoes can also be useful for jiu-jitsu and submission grappling practitioners under certain circumstances.
Wrestling shoes have two major advantages: increased traction and injury prevention.
The traction benefits of wrestling shoes compared to slippery bare feet are undeniable. You will be able to grip the ground much better when driving for a takedown or jockeying for position on your feet. It is for this reason that my former teammate Denis Kang elects to wear wrestling shoes in the majority of his MMA fights.
The injury prevention potential of wrestling shoes is often overlooked. They stop your foot and ankle from going to extreme ranges of motion, and thus prevent, or reduce the severity of, strained ankles, twisted toes and other foot injuries. It is for this reason, more-so than increased traction, that I usually wear wrestling shoes if I am going to be doing a lot of standup grappling, because I have had my share of major foot and ankle injuries.
Wrestling shoes are also a useful splint for the whole foot when you are nursing a preexisting injury to the foot, ankle or toes. Twisted toes, for example, can be very difficult to protect with athletic tape, but if you put a shoe on it keeps all your toes together and somewhat protected.
There definitely are a few DISADVANTAGES to wearing shoes while grappling on the ground. They make it harder to escape footlocks, and they make your legwork in the open guard a little more difficult, especially if you aren't used to it. Also at 100+ dollars for a pair they are not cheap accessories. Finally if you are training at a new club you might want to check with the instructor before stepping onto the mat in wrestling shoes - some clubs have a strict 'no footwear' policy whereas others are considerably more relaxed about this issue.
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Wrestling shoes have two major advantages: increased traction and injury prevention.
The traction benefits of wrestling shoes compared to slippery bare feet are undeniable. You will be able to grip the ground much better when driving for a takedown or jockeying for position on your feet. It is for this reason that my former teammate Denis Kang elects to wear wrestling shoes in the majority of his MMA fights.
The injury prevention potential of wrestling shoes is often overlooked. They stop your foot and ankle from going to extreme ranges of motion, and thus prevent, or reduce the severity of, strained ankles, twisted toes and other foot injuries. It is for this reason, more-so than increased traction, that I usually wear wrestling shoes if I am going to be doing a lot of standup grappling, because I have had my share of major foot and ankle injuries.
Wrestling shoes are also a useful splint for the whole foot when you are nursing a preexisting injury to the foot, ankle or toes. Twisted toes, for example, can be very difficult to protect with athletic tape, but if you put a shoe on it keeps all your toes together and somewhat protected.
There definitely are a few DISADVANTAGES to wearing shoes while grappling on the ground. They make it harder to escape footlocks, and they make your legwork in the open guard a little more difficult, especially if you aren't used to it. Also at 100+ dollars for a pair they are not cheap accessories. Finally if you are training at a new club you might want to check with the instructor before stepping onto the mat in wrestling shoes - some clubs have a strict 'no footwear' policy whereas others are considerably more relaxed about this issue.
Labels: Injuries
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More Gear - Earguards
This week I am will continue talking about protective gear for grappling, moving on from mouthguards to earguards.
The vast majority of submission grapplers and Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners do NOT wear earguards, and neither did I for a long time. I thought I was immune to ear trauma, until after a tournament I found my ears tender and swollen (my attempts at home ear-draining might some day form the basis for another tip of the week). When ears are subjected to impact, grinding and crushing (i.e. your average day on the mats) they sometimes take offense and become swollen. If the swelling is particularly bad, or if it sticks around for a long time, so-called 'cauliflower' ears can develop.
Cauliflower ears are badges of pride to some people in judo, wrestling, and rugby, and if that's your thing then more power to you. Personally I'd rather avoid mangled ears: I am ugly enough as it is, and have rather large ears, so I can only imagine what I'd look like with lumps of mangled flesh on either side of my noggin.
So nowadays I usually (80% of the time) wear ear guards while sparring. They make it a little more difficult to slip out of headlocks, but I think the tradeoff is worthwhile. Even if you don't want to wear them all the time you might still want to own a set for when your ears are sore from a previous workout. If they are sore but not swollen then the ear guards might just be the thing you need to stop them from going to the next stage.
I wear lightweight, flexible ear guards, the type without the rigid plastic cups over the ears. I find that these lightweight ear guards provide sufficient protection for me, but someone with ultra-sensitive ears might want to get the full-on competitive wrestling headgear with hard shell protection and more straps than a B&D outfit.
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The vast majority of submission grapplers and Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners do NOT wear earguards, and neither did I for a long time. I thought I was immune to ear trauma, until after a tournament I found my ears tender and swollen (my attempts at home ear-draining might some day form the basis for another tip of the week). When ears are subjected to impact, grinding and crushing (i.e. your average day on the mats) they sometimes take offense and become swollen. If the swelling is particularly bad, or if it sticks around for a long time, so-called 'cauliflower' ears can develop.
Cauliflower ears are badges of pride to some people in judo, wrestling, and rugby, and if that's your thing then more power to you. Personally I'd rather avoid mangled ears: I am ugly enough as it is, and have rather large ears, so I can only imagine what I'd look like with lumps of mangled flesh on either side of my noggin.
So nowadays I usually (80% of the time) wear ear guards while sparring. They make it a little more difficult to slip out of headlocks, but I think the tradeoff is worthwhile. Even if you don't want to wear them all the time you might still want to own a set for when your ears are sore from a previous workout. If they are sore but not swollen then the ear guards might just be the thing you need to stop them from going to the next stage.
I wear lightweight, flexible ear guards, the type without the rigid plastic cups over the ears. I find that these lightweight ear guards provide sufficient protection for me, but someone with ultra-sensitive ears might want to get the full-on competitive wrestling headgear with hard shell protection and more straps than a B&D outfit.
Labels: Injuries
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Grappling Protective Gear: the Mouthguard
If I could only choose one piece of protective gear to wear on the mat it would be the humble mouthguard. Grappler’s faces are always getting banged up, even if they don’t practice mixed martial arts. Whenever there is a scramble to pass the guard, to escape a bad position or to apply a submission there is always the possibility of getting hit in the head by an errant leg, head or arm. I have trained both with, and without, a mouthguard and have learned my lesson repeatedly. Nowadays I spar with one in at least 95% of the time.
Mouthguards protect you in many ways: they stop your teeth from chipping or getting knocked out, they reduce the likelihood and severity of biting your own tongue, and help prevent concussion. By offering you something to bite down into it also makes it harder to break or dislocate the jaw, should something hit you really hard.
If you decide to wear one you should try to wear it all the time while sparring. If you only put one in for competition you may find that it interferes with your breathing. If you become used to it in ‘regular’ sparring you will find that it bothers you much less when you’re really going hard. Not that I’m recommending this, but keep in mind that some boxers do their roadwork while wearing their mouthguard, just to become accustomed to breathing hard with it in.
The basic “boil and bite” mouthguard is usually available for about $5. Although there are mouthguards that protect both the upper and lower teeth, I recommend starting with the style that mounts only on the upper teeth. If you can afford it (or if you have a good medical plan) custom-made mouthguards are way to go. Your dentist can take a mould of your teeth and have a sports-mouthguard made that will fit you perfectly. This is not a cheap option: I have heard of dentists charging anywhere from $50 to $150 to do this, but once you’ve tried these mouthguards you’ll never want to go back.
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Mouthguards protect you in many ways: they stop your teeth from chipping or getting knocked out, they reduce the likelihood and severity of biting your own tongue, and help prevent concussion. By offering you something to bite down into it also makes it harder to break or dislocate the jaw, should something hit you really hard.
If you decide to wear one you should try to wear it all the time while sparring. If you only put one in for competition you may find that it interferes with your breathing. If you become used to it in ‘regular’ sparring you will find that it bothers you much less when you’re really going hard. Not that I’m recommending this, but keep in mind that some boxers do their roadwork while wearing their mouthguard, just to become accustomed to breathing hard with it in.
The basic “boil and bite” mouthguard is usually available for about $5. Although there are mouthguards that protect both the upper and lower teeth, I recommend starting with the style that mounts only on the upper teeth. If you can afford it (or if you have a good medical plan) custom-made mouthguards are way to go. Your dentist can take a mould of your teeth and have a sports-mouthguard made that will fit you perfectly. This is not a cheap option: I have heard of dentists charging anywhere from $50 to $150 to do this, but once you’ve tried these mouthguards you’ll never want to go back.
Labels: Injuries
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