Which BJJ competitor are you?

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So I asked a hypothetical question on Facebook today.

Question to all the BJJ practitioners. Would you rather be competitor A or B?

Competitor A : Wins almost every match, consistently at the top of the podium, but is boring. Will get ahead on points by a pass or sweep and ride it out to win. Rarely submits opponents.

Competitor B: Wins most matches, consistently medals, but stills loses from time to time. Is exciting to watch. Many wins are by submission. Takes chances and goes for it regardless of the point spread.

 

I hope the cogs in your brain are turning and considering the choices! While you’re considering your options I’ll explain where the question came from.

I was recently browsing through http://www.reddit.com/r/bjj/ and saw a response to a video of Rafael Mendes vs Gianni Grippo which said something to the effect that the kimono makes BJJ boring. That when BJJ competitions are in the gi guys just get tangled up and it’s becomes slow and boring. He went on to share that he thought no gi BJJ was by far, more entertaining to watch. I myself, completely disagree with this thinking.

I don’t believe the kimono makes a grappling match innately boring. My belief is that whether its gi or no gi is irrelevant to the speed and excitement of the match. In my opinion it is the mindset of the competitors that will ultimately determine the pace of the match. Are you skeptical? Well, here’s why I believe this. If you do a search and watch certain BJJ competitors, some guys are just exciting and go after the win. You can’t find a boring match of these guys! Whether it’s a gi or a no gi match, they’re fun to watch. Then there are some competitors that are notorious for being snoozers. They will do just enough to win. Get a pass and sit, get a sweep and sit, wait till the last minute and score a takedown. These guys are just not entertaining to watch regardless of their match being gi or no gi.

I value the perceived fearlessness of a competitor that attacks and goes for the win rather than plays not to lose. These are the people who stick out in my mind and make me love BJJ competitions. I was curious about the mentality of some of the other BJJ players I know, so I posted the question.  

 

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What am I?

For myself personally, I am a B, but I end up an A from time to time. I perceive Brazilian Jiu-jitsu as an art form. Just like an artist tries to translate what he feels or sees inside to canvas or a writer to paper. I’m trying to take the techniques and abilities that I have worked to develop in the gym and display them on the tatami during competition when anxiety and fear are at a maximum. There have been numerous times where I won a match but felt dissatisfied after. The guy that won wasn’t me. I failed to display my true Brazilian Jiu-jitsu abilities because I was afraid of losing. Fear won, not me. In many cases these matches are boring because I failed to open up my game. These matches bother me so much. Then there are those matches where I end up losing but I feel very happy with the outcome. Even though I lost I was able to be myself on the mat. I opened up my style to the best of my abilities and went for it, and, even though I came up a little short I am content with the fact that  I  (big emphasis on the “I”) lost that match. I didn’t allow the fear of losing to prevent me from playing my game. Finally there are those perfect matches. You play your style perfectly and come out on top. They’re the best because it means I accomplished my objectives in a match. . . to dominate my opponent with my style of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and to be free of any fear of losing. I conquered my opponent and myself.  

 

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The Ancient Greeks said that Phobos (fear) rules the battlefield. I think it rules the mats too. If you become too afraid to lose, you don’t play your game and really go after the submission, which in the end, is the ultimate objective in BJJ and grappling. Of course, this is simply my interpretation and belief and many think differently. Again I see BJJ as an art and there is no right or wrong, just different. Well there are some things that are wrong. . . like giving black belts away. . . or not protecting your neck. . . but you get the idea. I’m just trying to not come across as if I am bashing all the A’s out there. I’m not. I just feel as though many competitors get so focused on winning that it renders them afraid to lose, which in turn, leads to boring matches where we don’t get to see the competitors open up and attack. In short, we don’t get to see who they really are on the mats.

 

I’m curious as to your view on the subject. From an instructor’s standpoint I love knowing what makes BJJ players tick. I find it incredibly interesting, so please comment and share whether you’re an A or a B and why.

 

As always, Thanks for reading.

 

Here are some of the responses I got from Facebook.

“B”

 

“A. Position before submission all day.”

 

“B….i rather lose like a man than win like a coward”

 

“B”

 

“B all day.”

 

 “b. all my wins have been by submission. and there are quite a few”

 

“b. Call me many things, but please don’t ever call me boring.”

 

“If your goal is to a world champion, I would want to be competitor B until the worlds. At that point I would have a Competitor A attitude. Competitor B mindset would allow you to push your limits and be prepared for a lot of different scenerios.”

 

“I’m definitely a B competitor, until pans/worlds…”

 

“A. Make some money”

 

“B! I don’t believe in points… I wish all tournaments were true submission only… though we would likely still be watching the 2008 Mundials LIVE”

 

“If you are primarily a competitor you have to understand that you are playing a game. The goal of the competitor is to win. If I chose the competition route then I would play whatever style would get me the most wins.”

 

“I think thats true. To be the best competitor u must be smart and even conservative at times.”

 

“B but if it was a crazy big tournament and my opponent was super technical then A.”

 

“Competitor C. pull double guard, go for toe hold win on an advantage…… But seriously, B”

 

 “B”

 

“I would go B but if it was a really big tournament I would probably be competitor A”

 

“Smaller stuff deff B. More prestigious events competitor A.”

 

“B. Its all about fun”

 

“A. complete control of what i do…not there for peoples amusement.”

 

“B..someday. 8)”

 

“Im more of a C. I win some. I lose some. But I always have a really awesome time and am really stoked to have rolled. Even when I lose. The couple of no gi matches I had with you, you totally crushed me. But i had a really awesome time, and was just stoked that I got a couple of rolls in with you.”

 

“B! Still working on it!:-)”

 

“A.. if your not first your last.. (Talladega Night’s)”

 

“B”

 

“B !all day long with no lunch break… Always looking for the finish! I would rather win by submission any day rather Than points. In my mind and heart I know I went for it and gave it 110%”

 

“A is a good way to think when it comes to self defense; every point is a chance at injury. B is the way you should “play” bjj during a competition with not much on the line but a trophy. I would rather be competitor B.”

 

“B! Submission only all day err day!”

 

“Anthony says B”

 

“B”

 

“B”

 

“B for sure!”

 

“B, what is life if you just ride it out all your life”

 

“B…..Go for the kill…..I mean submission. “

 

“B all day!”

 

“Kind of a loaded question. Do you want to be boring or exciting?”

 

“Even if B were to lose most matches, I’d still rather lose an exciting fight than win a boring one.”

 

“B”

 

“Duh. Lol”

 

“No one remembers points, go big or go home.”

 

“B”

 

“Sorry guys I’m an A…….I hate to lose….”

 

“can you make another option that wins all the time and submits?”

       

“Depends on the setting. If it’s a tournament that isn’t the pans or some big stage tournament like that then B would be the way I would go. Less to lose, in my opinion. If it is a bigger tournament I would play it safe and try my best to get to the top.”

 

Leandro Lo and Hard Rolling

This morning I woke up at 6:30am unable to go back to sleep. My body is not a fan of this not exercising stuff! So what do I do when I am unable to sleep and have no other obligations? Watch jiu-jitsu videos of course!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODpQvHE0Q9s&w=560&h=315]

 

During my search I found this one of Leandro Lo talking about training. Something jumped out at me while I was watching. Leandro talked about hard training, “at Circero’s light rolling doesn’t exist. There is only kill or be killed” and “Everybody spars regardless, that’s whats good about here.” If you watch the video you will see that he says this with a smile almost laughing.

 

Over the last year I’ve seen a sort of counter philosophy to the traditional work hard and train hard mentality pop up more and more. Some people seem to have become averse to rolling hard, in some cases almost implying that rolling hard makes you into some asshole or that it produces a sloppy technical by-product. I think this is nonsense. The textbook version of a technique often varies a bit when applied during the stress of a hard roll.

 

What hard rolling isn’t

Hard rolling is not freaking out on your partner, abandoning any type of technique and doing nasty things like digging your elbow into their throat in order to win.

 

What hard rolling is

Fun!

Hard rolling as I interpret it, is simply trying to execute your techniques with maximum effort in order to achieve a successful outcome. With success being relative to the intention of what you wish to accomplish from the training scenario or technique. It’s a game, it isn’t something to be avoided. Training hard is what improves our fitness, conditions our body and mind to deal with stress inoculation, it’s what allows us to test ourselves and it is what prepares us for competition. Hard rolling is the truth and it is part of what keeps our sport honest.  If you took rolling at full effort out of BJJ, it would end like many traditional martial arts. Full of hypothetical techniques forged in the mind of someone trying to make a name for themselves and with no easy way of testing their legitimacy. This happens on Youtube already. Like this guy!  Wing Tsun Defense to Takedown  This guy says he can defend my “Brazilian Jiu-jitsu takedown.” I’d bet my entire bank account that my takedown and black belt would trump his flurry of fists and orange jumpsuit.  

Its ok to not want to lose

Many people also act as if it’s wrong to not want to lose because they believe it will impede learning. I believe the contrary. Granted you can’t be afraid of losing nor can you let it frustrate you, but I believe you will be more likely to correct your mistakes and sharpen your game if you don’t want to lose. Here is a question for you. When you play a game with your friends, do you try to win? During the game (whether its a board game, video game or pick-up game of basketball) do you tone down your effort, or do you exert yourself fully in the pursuit of the W? If you’re like most people, you go after the win. I honestly don’t know anyone who enjoys losing, so why should someone have to expunge that competitive nature that is innate in most of us before we walk on the tatami?

 

It’s easy for black belts to be relaxed and playful

Last year one of my white belts stitched on a few “Keep it Playful” patches on his gis. When he came to class one evening I found myself rolling with him. He was your typical white belt. Spazzy. His movements were ridged, his breathing was sporadic if he even took a breath at all and he managed to elbow me at some point during the roll. You know. . . typical white belt stuff. The same stuff every white belt does. I include myself previous white belt self into this grouping. After the roll I started talking to him and I explained that as a newer white belt he didn’t know what it meant to keep it playful. Being a white belt isn’t about keeping it playful, it’s a fight to survive.  

I believe it’s easy for high level belts to tell their students to be relaxed, keep it playful or don’t roll so hard.  Their bodies are well acclimated to BJJ. Plus they’ve already climbed their way to a nice high seat on the gyms pecking order. The lower belts are still on the bottom doing their best to inch their way up. As they should! The picture below is a fun illustration.

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There are pitfalls to avoid with hard rolling.    

When you roll hard you can’t have an ego and you must be free of any sort of must win attitude. Hard training doesn’t mean you have to win, it just means you’re going to try very hard to win. When you feel as if you must win, you’re doomed to be confined to using the techniques that fall within the perimeter of your comfort zone because you’ll be too afraid of losing to use anything else. Instead, training hard should be accompanied with an experiment, grow and do your best to win outlook. With this mentality you’re still able to give it your all, but you’re also able to play with new weapons and embrace failures as learning. Read my blog post (here) if you’d like to see more details about what it was like to be on the mats in a bad atmosphere and what it did to me personally.

 

Light rolling, flow rolling has its place

Light rolling does have its place. It’s a great warm up or a good alternative if you’re injured. It’s also helpful when rolling with lesser experienced BJJ players. You can go a bit lighter to allow them an opportunity to engage.

 

 

I can say that from my personal experience I’ve grown more as BJJ practitioner and learned more about myself after becoming immersed in a gym with an atmosphere that encouraged hard training, competition, experimentation in tandem with brotherhood, humility, and a drive to not only improve yourself but everyone on the mats. I’ve continued to keep this “train hard but with a smile on your face type of attitude” alive in my gym since I’ve been head instructor. So in my opinion, don’t be afraid to roll hard, embrace it.Just be sure to be humble and supportive towards your training partners. Also, keep in mind that training hard isn’t always winning and winning isn’t always training hard.

 

As always, thanks for reading!

Chewy

Nose is fixed

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Well yesterday I had my surgery to fix my broken nose and now I am in the process of healing. Right now I feel worse than I did when I had the broken nose! This surgery stuff is rough.

The doc said I’ll be out for around 6 weeks before I am able to train again. Well, full rolling anyway. So in the meantime I am going to focus on my students and helping them improve. In addition to making them better I am going to focus on my lifting a bit while I have the downtime. I’m still bummed about missing out on the initial start to the tournament season, but I am actually really excited about being able to focus solely on my students.

 

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Injuries suck

Being entrenched into BJJ as a lifestyle and training full time you kind of have to come to grips with a certain frequency of injuries. You know they’re coming but you don’t know where and when they will happen. Sometimes it’s just a finger after a gi break, or maybe it’s a knee during a scramble, who knows? I understand this, and the aches that move from section to section of my body, but never leave, are a reminder of this. But even though you know the injuries are coming, every now and then one hits at the worst possible time.  

I’m a little down in the dumps today because I found out that my little nose injury will be a little more than I thought it was going to be. I originally assumed it was going to be a quick snap back into place and voila! Instead I have to do a surgery. Minor albeit, but I still have to be put under. The kicker is that the healing time is going to be around 6 weeks or so, which really sucks considering I was preparing for Pans this year and that six week period is a lot of time away from hard rolling. Maybe lots of drilling and strength and conditioning will do the trick? We’ll see how things turn out, but it’s definitely bad timing! Plus I have several fighters getting ready for MMA fights and I hate not being able to push them and spar with them.

It’s pretty hard to make me a little depressed. I’m an overly positive, almost annoyingly so, person. But this definitely has me a little down today. Well, off to the weight room, at least I can do that for now.

Arm Triangle Choke from Mount

I show a arm triangle choke using hand grips ,instead of the typical arm and bicep grip, to finish. Again, I prefer this grip because of my shorter arms in a division with broad shouldered opponents.

I’m not an animal! But I do have a broken nose.

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[Sitting in the ER waiting area]

 

So last night during training I broke my nose! We were doing our typical Monday night stand up / takedown session. I dropped down for a fireman carry and as I did I felt my partners knee hit with a thud against my face. I instantly covered up in the turtle position.While I was curled up on my elbows and knees I thought, “man that hurt.” I’ve broken my nose in the past but they were straight breaks and required no serious medical attention. A bonus of getting my nose broken when I was younger was such that I rarely ever get bloody noses. Even after being hit with a hard punch, head butt or whatever. I was hesitant to raise up because I knew if I saw blood that it was probably pretty jacked up.  When I lifted my forehead off the mat I began to see little drips of blood and as I turned towards my students, their reaction gave it away. My nose was all kinds of messed up.

I went to the emergency room and they determined I broken 2 bones and that I need to see an ENT doctor to correct my nasal deviation. This means I will have to brave the public as the elephant man for a few days until they decide to get my face back to normal. I sincerely hope my nose looks close to normal after its all said and done, because I can’t be a handsome BJJ player with a funky nose!

I guess I’ll be doing technique for a while. What, you didn’t think I was going to take time off the mats did you?

 

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[This morning]

 

White belts are people too!

 

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So today I learned that white belts are people too. They practice techniques and roll. . . just like us colored belts! 😛 Of course I’m kidding.

Today I had a blast with my white belts. They came in for our first special white belt training session. I decided to do this class because our gym is steadily growing, and as it does, I don’t want any of my students to fall through the cracks. Our gym standards and expectations are high and I want to keep it as such but I feel like I needed to do more with assisting the white belts to success. I’ve seen similar classes done at other gyms but usually they charge a fee. I honestly don’t care about snagging an extra 20-60 bucks from my students, I’d rather see them progress, stick with it and reach their goals. That’s my mission as an instructor.

One of the ways I personally gauge myself on my abilities as a coach is how well I can help as many people as possible reach their goals. Whether that’s winning in competition, weight loss and improved fitness, etc. Its easy with the freaks of nature who are naturally gifted. They pick things up easy. But I feel its a better challenge and a better judge of my abilities if I can take someone who isn’t as naturally inclined towards BJJ and help them achieve their aims.

During the class we went over several basic techniques that I require students to know before they can become a blue belt. I also randomly picked some of them out of the class to demonstrate and explain the techniques to everyone. I was able to watch everyone demonstrate the techniques and help correct any errors they had. With a few of the techniques we examined the mistakes that students were making together and corrected them. After drilling we had a king of the mat style rolling session. This was a really helpful. As I said about the women’s only class, its helpful to watch people compete against others who are relatively similar to themselves in skill.

At the end of class I had everyone sit in a big circle and talk about themselves a little and explain why they decided to get involved in BJJ. I don’t think anyone gets into BJJ to suck or to do it for a couple of months and quit. So I think it its important to hear why it is someone decided to take on something that could last indefinitely. It’s also fun to watch adults get uncomfortable in situations like this. As adults we become really uptight and its important for everyone to kinda of lose that. . uptightness when they’re training. I mean when you think about training and doing BJJ, it’s kind of a weird thing to get so crazy about. We roll around and sweat all over each other in robes. 

 

Anyways, enough rambling, it was a fun day and I couldn’t be happier with the results I received from the class. Now I have to get ready and promote some new blue belts!

 

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Anaconda Choke

Anaconda choke video I did for the gym. The hand grips I use are a little different than the way I was originally shown when learning this move years ago.

Random pictures

If you’re from the United States you’ve probably experienced some unusually cold weather recently. Here in Louisville, KY the temperatures were down to -2 with some nasty winds. Needless to say, a lot of pipes inside people’s homes busted across the city. Yesterday in the gym one of my students came running out of the bathroom and told me water was everywhere. Yup, one of our pipes busted and being the head of the gym that I am, guess who cleaned it up? Running a small business is just all fun, right? My student got a kick out of it and took a picture of me.

 

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The next picture is simply my new favorite coffee mug. Partly because the statement written across it is funny and partly because its true. I know, too much info.

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Beard pictures and Beard Video

This post has nothing to do with BJJ but I am hoping it might make you laugh a little.

Here is the video and below are the pictures. The video doesn’t work on mobile because of the music so you can either add me to facebook and watch it on my page, or just watch it on your computer. Have fun. 🙂

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKNta5wOLVM&w=560&h=315]

 

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As always, thanks for reading, or in this case, watching.