April 18, 2008
The Four Most Common Leglock Mistakes
This is a small portion of the Introduction and Principles section from the High Percentage Leglocks DVD.
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Labels: Grapplearts DVDs, leglocks
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Leglock Entry from Standing Clinch
This clip is from the Ankle Lock and Heel Hook Entries section of the High Percentage Leglocks DVD, now available on this site.
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Labels: Grapplearts DVDs, leglocks
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The 'Hip Hop' Counter to the Anklelock
This is from the Counters and Recounters section of the High Percentage Leglocks DVD.
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Labels: Grapplearts DVDs, leglocks
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Counter to the Rolling Toehold vs. de la Riva Guard
This clip is from Bonus Toeholds Section of the High Percentage Leglocks DVD.
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Labels: Grapplearts DVDs, leglocks
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April 13, 2008
Short & Long Term Problem Solving
Grappling is problem solving, and part of improving in Brazilian jiu-jitsu is maintaining enough awareness during sparring to figure out precisely what your problems are. Let me explain.
An opponent in grappling is always presenting different problems to you: he won't let you separate his hands when you're trying to armbar him, he holds your leg when you're trying to pass his guard, he bridges out of your mount: all these are 'problems' to be solved.
As you grow as a grappler you will accumulate many solutions to these sorts of problems. These solutions are the counters and re-counters (counters to the counters) that transform grappling from a mere strength and endurance contest into game of physical chess.
No matter how knowledgeable and experienced you are, you will eventually going to run into problems that you don't currently have a solution to. This is normal, because you simply can't anticipate every jumble of limbs and body parts that is ever going to occur on the mats.
When facing one of these unanticipated problems you can sometimes solve it right there in the heat of the battle. This on-the-fly problem solving, if it works, is very gratifying: some of my nicest jiu-jitsu moments were the result of creatively and spontaneously finding a solution that solved an unusual problem posed to me by an opponent.
Not all problems can be solved on the fly however: sometimes you need to take the problem away with you, digest it, work on it, and try to solve it in a cool and systematic way. Here is where the awareness I spoke of earlier comes in: it is often too easy to get frustrated by a problem, curse under your breath, and then move on with the sparring match. Instead of forgetting about the problem, make a mental note to work on it later.
Sometime after sparring is finished take the time to figure out some solutions to the problem you encountered earlier. Some approaches to finding a solution include:
I recently noticed that one of my main training partners has been consistently escaping from my sidemount using the same unconventional escape again and again. When I successfully solve this problem, using one of the methods I talked about above, both his and my jiu-jitsu will grow a notch, and we'll both be better grapplers for it.
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An opponent in grappling is always presenting different problems to you: he won't let you separate his hands when you're trying to armbar him, he holds your leg when you're trying to pass his guard, he bridges out of your mount: all these are 'problems' to be solved.
As you grow as a grappler you will accumulate many solutions to these sorts of problems. These solutions are the counters and re-counters (counters to the counters) that transform grappling from a mere strength and endurance contest into game of physical chess.
No matter how knowledgeable and experienced you are, you will eventually going to run into problems that you don't currently have a solution to. This is normal, because you simply can't anticipate every jumble of limbs and body parts that is ever going to occur on the mats.
When facing one of these unanticipated problems you can sometimes solve it right there in the heat of the battle. This on-the-fly problem solving, if it works, is very gratifying: some of my nicest jiu-jitsu moments were the result of creatively and spontaneously finding a solution that solved an unusual problem posed to me by an opponent.
Not all problems can be solved on the fly however: sometimes you need to take the problem away with you, digest it, work on it, and try to solve it in a cool and systematic way. Here is where the awareness I spoke of earlier comes in: it is often too easy to get frustrated by a problem, curse under your breath, and then move on with the sparring match. Instead of forgetting about the problem, make a mental note to work on it later.
Sometime after sparring is finished take the time to figure out some solutions to the problem you encountered earlier. Some approaches to finding a solution include:
- Re-creating that position with a training partner, and seeing if you or he can think of a technical solution
- Asking your instructors and other training partners for input
- Checking your DVD and book collection for ideas
- Going to the internet, looking on Youtube, and/or asking a question on a training forum
- Dwelling on the problem for a while and letting it ferment to see if your unconscious mind can come up with a better solution than your waking brain
I recently noticed that one of my main training partners has been consistently escaping from my sidemount using the same unconventional escape again and again. When I successfully solve this problem, using one of the methods I talked about above, both his and my jiu-jitsu will grow a notch, and we'll both be better grapplers for it.
Labels: the mental aspect
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Congratulations to a Leglock Master
I'm delighted that Oleg Taktarov recently stepped back into the cage and defeated Mark Kerr with a kneebar, which has always been one of Oleg's signature moves. Oleg was very influential on my leglock game development, both in terms of technique and teaching method. He always taught in a clear, systematic manner, using examples and analogies to get his point across.
If you want to see the fight, it is floating around out there in cyberspace (hint: try dailymotion.com).
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If you want to see the fight, it is floating around out there in cyberspace (hint: try dailymotion.com).
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April 02, 2008
Dan Inosanto on Adaptation
Last weekend I had the pleasure of learning from Dan Inosanto at a seminar. As he often does, he stressed the importance of adapting techniques to make them work for you, regardless of whether those techniques are Filipino stick disarms, Jun Fan kickboxing or BJJ submissions.
Your teacher might have a great triangle choke, and if you pay attention you will learn most of the small details that make it work for him. Before you can make the triangle choke your signature move, however, you are probably going to have to adapt it, because it is very likely your physical and mental attributes will differ from those of your instructor.
Physical attributes are very important in determining which techniques will work best for you. Most of the time your physical attributes won't actually make it impossible for you to do a specific technique, but they will affect the ways in which you need to tweak the technique so that it works optimally for you.
It is also important to recognize that your physical attributes will change over time. I recently talked to a fighter who said that he could never quite finish the triangle choke when he weighed 155 lbs, but that this technique started working for him when he got over 170 lbs. This fighter was quite tall (6' 2"), and at 170 lbs his legs had become a bit more muscular, just large enough to fill up the room around his opponent's necks.
Mental and emotional attributes are also important. An MMA fighter who is willing to stand and trade punches - Wanderlei Silva for example - needs a lot of pain tolerance and aggression for that tactic to be successful. A more patient and calm person might have a difficult time pursuing such a strategy, and might be better suited for a counterattacking style of fighting.
All this dependence on attributes can make life difficult for instructors. It's easy to teach students when their physical and mental attributes are similar to your own, but this changes when the people you're trying to teach are very different from yourself. This is one reason why you should pay attention to techniques and variations that you don't like: you may need to teach them to someone some day.
Consider how you would have to modify your bread and butter techniques to make them work for:
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Your teacher might have a great triangle choke, and if you pay attention you will learn most of the small details that make it work for him. Before you can make the triangle choke your signature move, however, you are probably going to have to adapt it, because it is very likely your physical and mental attributes will differ from those of your instructor.
Physical attributes are very important in determining which techniques will work best for you. Most of the time your physical attributes won't actually make it impossible for you to do a specific technique, but they will affect the ways in which you need to tweak the technique so that it works optimally for you.
It is also important to recognize that your physical attributes will change over time. I recently talked to a fighter who said that he could never quite finish the triangle choke when he weighed 155 lbs, but that this technique started working for him when he got over 170 lbs. This fighter was quite tall (6' 2"), and at 170 lbs his legs had become a bit more muscular, just large enough to fill up the room around his opponent's necks.
Mental and emotional attributes are also important. An MMA fighter who is willing to stand and trade punches - Wanderlei Silva for example - needs a lot of pain tolerance and aggression for that tactic to be successful. A more patient and calm person might have a difficult time pursuing such a strategy, and might be better suited for a counterattacking style of fighting.
All this dependence on attributes can make life difficult for instructors. It's easy to teach students when their physical and mental attributes are similar to your own, but this changes when the people you're trying to teach are very different from yourself. This is one reason why you should pay attention to techniques and variations that you don't like: you may need to teach them to someone some day.
Consider how you would have to modify your bread and butter techniques to make them work for:
- a 110 lb woman who wanted to learn BJJ
- a group of senior citizens interested in self defense
- Bob Sapp (a 370 lb MMA fighter) looking to improve his MMA game
Labels: older grapplers, teachers, the mental aspect
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Persistence (of Goals)
I recently came across a great quote on marketing by Seth Godin, but it is equally true for grappling training:
"Persistence isn't using the same tactics over and over. That's just annoying. Persistence is having the same goal over and over."
So if your goal is to armbar your training partner but he's always countering you, don't change the goal - find different setups and techniques to achieve the same goal. Your armbar technique will thank you for it.
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"Persistence isn't using the same tactics over and over. That's just annoying. Persistence is having the same goal over and over."
So if your goal is to armbar your training partner but he's always countering you, don't change the goal - find different setups and techniques to achieve the same goal. Your armbar technique will thank you for it.
Labels: the mental aspect
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