May 29, 2006
Kneebarring the Top or Bottom Leg?
Someone recently asked me if they should attack the top or the bottom leg when doing a kneebar. This is actually the second or third time I've been asked this question, so I think it is worthwhile to address it here in writing.
When you are doing a kneebar, 90% of the time you will be on your side, attacking either the top or the bottom leg. Say you are attacking your opponent's right leg with a kneebar: if you are lying on your right side then his leg is in the BOTTOM position, if you are on your left side then his leg is in the TOP position.
To see pictures of what it looks like to attack the bottom leg look at the very first picture in the Kneebar Mastery article or this picture of the week.
To see photos of someone attacking the top leg check out the "Basic Leg Position #2 about halfway down the Kneebar Mastery article, OR the front cover of *ahem* my Dynamic Kneebars DVD.
Sometimes you have a choice about placing the attacked leg on top or on bottom, and sometimes the position is forced upon you. So let's cut to the chase: which side is better?
A lot comes down to personal choice: my coach, Marcus Soares, prefers to attack the TOP leg because he feels it is harder to counter. Personally I feel that attacking the BOTTOM leg is preferable, because it is more secure and allows your opponent less wiggle-room.
The answer, therefore, is that both sides are good, so long as you are comfortable there. Regardless of which side you prefer you should try to develop skill attacking both the bottom AND the top leg, because you might start out with the leg being on the bottom and then have that change as your opponent rolls around.
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When you are doing a kneebar, 90% of the time you will be on your side, attacking either the top or the bottom leg. Say you are attacking your opponent's right leg with a kneebar: if you are lying on your right side then his leg is in the BOTTOM position, if you are on your left side then his leg is in the TOP position.
To see pictures of what it looks like to attack the bottom leg look at the very first picture in the Kneebar Mastery article or this picture of the week.
To see photos of someone attacking the top leg check out the "Basic Leg Position #2 about halfway down the Kneebar Mastery article, OR the front cover of *ahem* my Dynamic Kneebars DVD.
Sometimes you have a choice about placing the attacked leg on top or on bottom, and sometimes the position is forced upon you. So let's cut to the chase: which side is better?
A lot comes down to personal choice: my coach, Marcus Soares, prefers to attack the TOP leg because he feels it is harder to counter. Personally I feel that attacking the BOTTOM leg is preferable, because it is more secure and allows your opponent less wiggle-room.
The answer, therefore, is that both sides are good, so long as you are comfortable there. Regardless of which side you prefer you should try to develop skill attacking both the bottom AND the top leg, because you might start out with the leg being on the bottom and then have that change as your opponent rolls around.
Labels: leglocks
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Royce Gracie Vs. Matt Hughes: Jiu-jitsu Wins!
Last Saturday night Matt Hughes decisively defeated Royce Gracie in a much promoted UFC matchup. One of the most interesting things about this fight was that mixed martial arts have come full circle, with Matt defeating Royce using a strategy first popularized by Royce himself.
Matt Hughes used a positional strategy straight from the jiu-jitsu playbook: takedown to sidecontrol to rearmount, and then finishing with strikes from rearmount. This approach to fighting comes directly from Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Rearmount is not a pin in wrestling and it doesn't win a match in Judo: the dominance of this position is emphasized by jiu-jitsu to an extent not found in other martial arts.
This fight goes to show the HUGE influence the Gracie family has had on mixed martial arts (and martial arts in general). Their techniques and strategies are now out in the open, and have revolutionized our approach to fighting.
Kudos to Royce for igniting the grappling explosion by dominating the early UFCs. Huge respect to Matt Hughes for his continuing dominance in an incredibly tough sport.
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Matt Hughes used a positional strategy straight from the jiu-jitsu playbook: takedown to sidecontrol to rearmount, and then finishing with strikes from rearmount. This approach to fighting comes directly from Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Rearmount is not a pin in wrestling and it doesn't win a match in Judo: the dominance of this position is emphasized by jiu-jitsu to an extent not found in other martial arts.
This fight goes to show the HUGE influence the Gracie family has had on mixed martial arts (and martial arts in general). Their techniques and strategies are now out in the open, and have revolutionized our approach to fighting.
Kudos to Royce for igniting the grappling explosion by dominating the early UFCs. Huge respect to Matt Hughes for his continuing dominance in an incredibly tough sport.
Labels: MMA
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May 20, 2006
Strengths Hiding Weaknesses
Sometimes a strength can be a liability, because it impedes the development of other areas. Let me give a personal example:
A little while ago I decided to work on my rear mount escapes, so I let a lighter and less experienced grappler start on my back. My goal was to escape to a better position, his goal was to maintain position and try to submit me. We did this 8 or 9 times in a row: I got out a few times, but 6 times he blocked my escape attempts and tapped me out with the rear naked choke.
This was a humbling experience: I was heavier, stronger and more experienced than my partner. In addition, I consider myself to have a good rear naked choke myself, so it seemed reasonable that my defenses would be fairly good as well.
Upon further reflection I realized that part of what happened is because I have a good turtle position; I can defend myself well when I find myself on my hands and knees, and it is hard for most opponents to get rear mount from there. Consequently I had actually spent very little time in the previous year(s) rearmounted, and hadn't gotten any quality sparring in that area at all.
The strength of my turtle had been hiding several weaknesses, namely my weak rear mount escapes and weak rear naked choke defenses.
Now the concept of strengths hiding weaknesses can apply to a number of different areas, in grappling and in life in general. Restricting the conversation to solely to grappling for the time being, some examples of this might include:
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A little while ago I decided to work on my rear mount escapes, so I let a lighter and less experienced grappler start on my back. My goal was to escape to a better position, his goal was to maintain position and try to submit me. We did this 8 or 9 times in a row: I got out a few times, but 6 times he blocked my escape attempts and tapped me out with the rear naked choke.
This was a humbling experience: I was heavier, stronger and more experienced than my partner. In addition, I consider myself to have a good rear naked choke myself, so it seemed reasonable that my defenses would be fairly good as well.
Upon further reflection I realized that part of what happened is because I have a good turtle position; I can defend myself well when I find myself on my hands and knees, and it is hard for most opponents to get rear mount from there. Consequently I had actually spent very little time in the previous year(s) rearmounted, and hadn't gotten any quality sparring in that area at all.
The strength of my turtle had been hiding several weaknesses, namely my weak rear mount escapes and weak rear naked choke defenses.
Now the concept of strengths hiding weaknesses can apply to a number of different areas, in grappling and in life in general. Restricting the conversation to solely to grappling for the time being, some examples of this might include:
- a good closed guard hiding a weak open guard
- a difficult-to-pass open guard hiding weak pin escapes
- a strong neck hiding weak technical choke defenses
- good athleticism hiding weak knowledge of techniques
- a good sprawl hiding weak takedowns
- etc
Labels: the mental aspect
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May 14, 2006
More Sick and Tired
There was lots of reader feedback about last week's tip, and everyone who wrote in wanted to emphasize an additional reason for not training while sick: not making everyone else at the club sick too! While I didn't mention this point myself last week I am in complete agreement with watching out for your training partner's health and welfare.
One reader summed it up by saying:
"A sickness or an injury that prevents us from doing something we enjoyand makes us feel great can be extremely frustrating particularly as we get older and a break from training can really make it a lot harder to get back up to full fitness.
Another very important consideration is that of the health of others in the dojo. Turning up to train and having your partner sniffle,cough or worse still tell you "my throat is on fire" while grappling is unpleasant and a recipe for spreading the ilness to other training partners. Yeah I know it's not an old school way of thinking but training time for me is precious (as thefamily has to come first) so having someone in the dojo keep me out of action by bringing along a cold or flu is inconsiderate.
Don't get me wrong, after a sickness or injury I am champing at the bit to get back at it but like you, this old dog has found that taking just a little extra time to rest and heal generally means the illness does not prolong and that others are not put at risk"
This phenomenon seems worst around competition time: everyone is training hard and a little worn down, and nobody wants to take a break from training. I can't count the number of times I have seen a sick person 'helping' a serious competitor by training with them right before the competition. I have seen this happen to high-level Brazilian jiu-jitsu, submission grappling, and high-level mixed martial arts competitors, so no one is immune.
This is GRAPPLING folks, and your flu germ will quickly become your partner's flu germs.
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One reader summed it up by saying:
"A sickness or an injury that prevents us from doing something we enjoyand makes us feel great can be extremely frustrating particularly as we get older and a break from training can really make it a lot harder to get back up to full fitness.
Another very important consideration is that of the health of others in the dojo. Turning up to train and having your partner sniffle,cough or worse still tell you "my throat is on fire" while grappling is unpleasant and a recipe for spreading the ilness to other training partners. Yeah I know it's not an old school way of thinking but training time for me is precious (as thefamily has to come first) so having someone in the dojo keep me out of action by bringing along a cold or flu is inconsiderate.
Don't get me wrong, after a sickness or injury I am champing at the bit to get back at it but like you, this old dog has found that taking just a little extra time to rest and heal generally means the illness does not prolong and that others are not put at risk"
This phenomenon seems worst around competition time: everyone is training hard and a little worn down, and nobody wants to take a break from training. I can't count the number of times I have seen a sick person 'helping' a serious competitor by training with them right before the competition. I have seen this happen to high-level Brazilian jiu-jitsu, submission grappling, and high-level mixed martial arts competitors, so no one is immune.
This is GRAPPLING folks, and your flu germ will quickly become your partner's flu germs.
Labels: Injuries
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May 06, 2006
Sick and Tired
It is said that lessons repeat themselves until learned. If this is true then there is one particular lesson that has been really hard for me to learn, and I have had to repeat it time after time after time. That lesson is: if you feel sick, don't train.
My usual pattern goes like this: I feel under the weather, perhaps with my nose congested and my energy low. I decide to go train anyhow, telling myself "I'll just go light". Then I head off and do jiu-jitsu (or go for a run, or lift weights) and usually go a little harder than I had planned on. After training I feel proud of myself: " I didn't let those sniffles stop me!". I go to bed, and wake up the next morning sick as a dog.
When I was young and impressionable an 'expert' told me that if the sickness was above the neck (i.e. in the throat, nose or sinuses) then it was OK to train. Supposedly you were only supposed to stop training if the sickness was below the neck, in the chest or stomach. Well many years later (and after many colds and flus) I realize that the best way to bring an illness from above the neck to below the neck is to go and work out.
I'm better now - at least 75% of the time when I'm feeling under the weather I back off and do nothing. As a result I'm not sick as often and also lose a lot less training time. I end up feeling like a slug, but at least I'm a smart slug. Better to take a day off and go hard the next day, than to tough it out and lose a whole week of training.
Now you can't say that nobody ever told you...
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My usual pattern goes like this: I feel under the weather, perhaps with my nose congested and my energy low. I decide to go train anyhow, telling myself "I'll just go light". Then I head off and do jiu-jitsu (or go for a run, or lift weights) and usually go a little harder than I had planned on. After training I feel proud of myself: " I didn't let those sniffles stop me!". I go to bed, and wake up the next morning sick as a dog.
When I was young and impressionable an 'expert' told me that if the sickness was above the neck (i.e. in the throat, nose or sinuses) then it was OK to train. Supposedly you were only supposed to stop training if the sickness was below the neck, in the chest or stomach. Well many years later (and after many colds and flus) I realize that the best way to bring an illness from above the neck to below the neck is to go and work out.
I'm better now - at least 75% of the time when I'm feeling under the weather I back off and do nothing. As a result I'm not sick as often and also lose a lot less training time. I end up feeling like a slug, but at least I'm a smart slug. Better to take a day off and go hard the next day, than to tough it out and lose a whole week of training.
Now you can't say that nobody ever told you...
Labels: Injuries
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