My favorite part of BJJ training

/in , /by

traiin

These last few weeks have been a lot of fun. Myself and all of the guys getting ready for the Atlanta Open have been pushing the intensity up on the mat as well as rolling longer and longer. There is a group of about 12 of us who are consistently coming in for extra hard drilling and rolling sessions and it’s been brutal. This is by far my favorite part of BJJ, the lead up to competitions. I love the camaraderie that develops through hard training and I don’t feel quite as close to another human than right after we beat the crap out of each other. I also get a strange enjoyment out of fatigued feeling I have the morning after a hard training session. Regardless of how the actual competition goes, I always enjoy looking back on the tough training sessions. When I think back to previous competitions. I don’t just remember the competition itself. I also remember the rough training, epsom salt and ice baths, extra cardio, shark tanks, injuries and all the other stuff that went into the preparation of those competition.

Side note / piece of advice. Try and find a gym buddy or buddies. Having people you can rely on for drilling partners and hard rolling partners leading up to competitions are invaluable.

No real point to this post other than get on the mats and train hard!

Chewy

traiinn

4 Ways To Deal With Anxiety In BJJ Tournaments

/4 Comments/in , , /by

4 Ways To Deal With Anxiety In BJJ

 

 

My first competitive match in a one on one sport came back in 2000. Even though that was nearly 14 years ago I still remember it like it was yesterday. I was terrified. I didn’t feel like I was going out to wrestle, I felt like I was going out to my execution. Have you ever felt like this before a BJJ tournament?

 

 

Image

About 3 years and well over 100 wrestling matches later, I had my first BJJ match. I had been training Brazilian Jiu-jitsu at this time for around 2 weeks and was given a crash course in the rules of the tournament 2 days before the competition. You’d think that the years of wrestling competitions would get rid of the nerves before a match, but it didn’t. I was still very anxious and my mind found itself in its normal irrational state, where the only thing I could focus on was the next match. Maybe it was because BJJ was new to me?

 

 

Image

But, last year was no different. While I was warming up at various tournaments, regardless of whether it was a local tournament or a big IBJJF competition, I felt the nerves. It might come as a surprise to some, that after 13 years of competition under my belt I’m still not free of the pre match anxiety. But I’m not and I’ve actually grown accustomed to, and in a strange way, I sort of enjoy them. It kind of makes me feel alive.

 

A lot of BJJ practitioners have never done a one on one sport before.

Competition is something that is deeply entrenched within Brazilian Jiu-jitsu culture and many newcomers, in my experience, have never competed in a one on one sport. Because of this a lot of practitioners have never learned how to deal with the nerves before a match.  A common question I get from students is,”how do I get rid of the nerves before a match?” They always seem so surprised when I say you don’t and that I still get nervous.

 

The tournament I didn’t have any pre match jitters

I remember only one tournament where I didn’t get my pre-match jitters. I had just finished 3 MMA fights and when I got to the tournament I just felt super relaxed. I didn’t have my customary bubble guts (In case you’ve never heard the term, I’m talking about that funny feeling in your stomach). I came in with the outlook of “no matter what happens, I’m not getting punched in the face.” Needless to say, that tournament didn’t go so well. When I got out on the mat I was just flat and lacked that urgency needed to win a competitive match. I’ve lost matches before, but during this match. . . It’s hard to explain. I’ve been beaten plenty of times but I’ve never felt unable to fight back. This was, by far, the worst performance I can remember, ever.

 

 

Some nerves are good

You definitely wouldn’t want to get rid of your nerves completely. Your body can do some super beneficial stuff for performance when it’s stressed. But I get it, being nervous isn’t enjoyable. I remember early on in my grappling career I used to want the same thing. I thought no nerves would be helpful.  Now I understand that having nerves before a match is a good thing; it gives us our “edge.” It is important though, to have a way of dealing with the jitters. If we don’t keep our pre match anxiety in check, it can leave us exhausted before we step out on the mat.

Below I’ve listed some ways that I have personally learned to deal with the anxiety leading up to a match. This includes BJJ and MMA competitions. Keep in mind that I am probably slightly more anxious than the average person. Oh and if you’d like to read about some of the interesting things your body does when it’s stressed. Do a search for “fight or flight response and sports performance,” and you’ll find some really fascinating stuff.

 

 Image

 

 

4 Ways I Deal With Anxiety Before A BJJ Tournament

–          Simply accept that the anxiety you feel before a match is your body’s way of getting ready –  

I tell my students, “It’s simply your body getting ready for battle” when on the subject about their nervousness before matches. I’ve found personally and through the experiences of others, that by accepting, and anticipating that your stressed body is going to go a little haywire you can more effectively control it.

–          Focus on yourself – In my experience the most important thing to help channel my heightened focus prior to a match, is to zero in my thinking in on myself. While I am in an irrational state of mind brought on by the stress of an upcoming match, it’s very easy to build my opponent up and become fixated on the negatives. Going down a slippery slope of “what if’s”. Instead, I reel it in and concentrate only on my techniques and abilities. I visualize myself successfully using my techniques in the match and having with my hand raised. If I execute all my techniques perfectly, I win, right?  This has always helped me over the years. Especially in MMA where bodily harm is a high probability and in recent years as a black belt when every opponent is a beast in their own right.

–          Music – I try to keep myself as calm as possible before matches. When the match or fight is hours away I will listen to something that calms me. In most cases I listen to a lot of classical music. Then as the match gets close I start my warm up routine and listen to something that gets me pumped up. I find that listening to music that gets me excited long before the match ends up making me tense and leaves me exhausted by the time my match finally is up. Staying relaxed till its time leaves me with more energy for the match.

–          Practice mock tournaments with your friends in the gym – Military manoeuvres and war games are used to prepare units for battle. It gives the armed forces of a country the chance to test strategy and get an idea of how things might work without actual warfare (Sorry, military history nerd coming out again). Mock tournaments in a gym are a great way to get a taste of what it’s like in a competition without having to go to an actual tournament. We do these often in my gym. Having that clear “win or lose” situation with points involved and people watching really helps prepare us for upcoming matches. We can also test out strategy by placing ourselves in unique situations (such as being down by points with a short time limit to mimic the end of a match).

 

So don’t let your anxiety and nerves hold you back! Get out there and compete!

 

As always, if you have any questions. Feel free to shoot me a message.

Chewy

 

10 years in BJJ and 10 lessons I’ve learned (Part 3)

/2 Comments/in , , , /by

Image

“Mental toughness is many things and rather difficult to explain. Its qualities are sacrifice and self-denial. Also, most importantly, it is combined with a perfectly disciplined will that refuses to give in. It’s a state of mind – you could call it character in action.” – Vince Lombardi

 

“Courage isn’t having the strength to go on – it is going on when you don’t have strength.” – Napoleon Bonaparte” 

(I like to think to interpret this quote with “courage” replaced with “mental toughness.”)

 

“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.” – Mahatma Gandhi

 

“That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

Fun video of Cary Kolat sharing a story of mental toughenss. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjzVVT8JTeM

 

10. Mental Toughness- I often talk to my students about the pesky voices that will present themselves when they find them in bad positions, when they become tired, or when they are nervous. Do you know what I am talking about? Have you ever been exhausted and stuck under someone’s crushingly heavy top pressure, having a conversation inside your head about whether or not to give up the fight? I have. The situation reminds me of the old cartoons where you would see a devil and angel sitting on top of the character’s shoulders. Except instead of urging me to do something nefarious or kind, part of me says “keep fighting” and the other side says “He’s so heavy. Just give up position, its ok”. If you’ve never experienced these sort of thoughts, then you are tougher than most. Over the years of training I’ve been able to minimize and for the most part extinguish that voice that tells me I should give up. Early on it was very tough for me and required a lot of mental focus not to succumb to those mental suggestions caused by frustration and fatigue.

One of my favorite aspects of competitions or extremely competitive rolls is that they can definitely help bring out the best in us. They can also bring the worst out. If I may, I’d like to share a story of a tournament match I had years ago.

One very insightful competition match that I experienced came from the days when I was a blue belt. I had finished finals for school and came down to a tournament in Tennessee. I did not cut weight nor did I pay much attention to my weight. I had been busy with school, barely trained for the tournament and just figured, “what the hell, I’ll just compete.” I ended up winning my division fairly easily, but the real fun came in the open division. As luck would have it, I fell right at the weight cut off. The weight divisions were 193.9lbs and under and 194lbs and over.  I weighed in at 194.5lbs. . . go figure.

My first match pitted me up against a bruiser wrestler. His name escapes me but I do remember that he weighed around 225lbs with a substantial amount of that being lean muscle. I also remember that he had wrestled in college for 4 years. I also recall being a bit intimidated by his much larger physique. Once our match began the first few minutes went very poorly for me. I was taken down several times and the point spread was up to 12-0 in his favor. Then he mounted me, and this is where things got interesting. See, this tournament had a skunk rule. Meaning if he was up 15 to my 0 then he would receive a technical win. The mount being a 4 point move, meant that he was 3 seconds away from securing the win and thus making me look like I didn’t belong on the mat with him.

This is a moment where I personally had this conversation with myself. I remember this moment vividly. I was so angry for letting him get so far ahead on points. He was strong and had used his wrestling to deny me my usual comfortable top game position. I was just frustrated. Somehow I dusted away the frustration and turned it into determination. I thought to myself “I can’t give up this easy! I need to at least make him work for his win.” Fun Fact, when I compete I am not always worried solely about winning. Yes, winning is high on the priority list, but win or lose I want it to be a good competitive match. Anyways, after having these thoughts rush through my head I manage to escape mount and rally back. Once I made it out of mount he never scored another takedown or a single point for that matter and I was able to rack up 10 points. With about a minute of the match left and the end closing, he shot in for the takedown, I sprawled and attempted a guillotine choke and pulled guard. The choke didn’t stick and my arm slipped off his sweaty neck.  Then I attempted a kimura sweep. He stuffed the sweep but I caught a snag on his arm, transitioning to the kimura, I desperately tried to crank the arm to finish. This moment in the match was kind of neat because it was only a few seconds but I remember noticing everyone in the crowd around us, minus his teammates of course, cheering for me. I was the smaller BJJ guy trying to topple the larger wrestler. I also remember looking of my shoulder as I held onto the kimura lock. I could see his face getting redder by the second as he flexed his arm, keeping it stiff and denying me the finish. Lastly I remember looking at my arms shaking as they were fully flex and fatigued from the long match and a voice in my head encouraging me, “Come on!”.

Sadly I was not able to finish the lock and the bruiser wrestler had his hand raised in victory. I suppose the silver lining was that I wore him out during our match. Because in his next match he was finished in 30 seconds via armbar by a guy we all called Brazilian Mike. Strangely enough Brazilian Mike wasn’t from Brazil or Brazilian. If I was able to wear him down that much, in my mind, meant that it was a good match. The best part about this particular match was that it gave me a clear example of how powerful the mental side of things can be. After reflecting on this match, I realized how valuable it is to have the ability to deal with frustration and uncomfortable feelings while being under heavy physical and mental pressure.

There is an interesting feeling that happens during a tournament match or competitive roll in the gym. That feeling is when you feel someone’s body relax and give up, even if it is just for a second. Think back to your own experiences. Have you ever had a good roll with someone and were trying to secure a pass, sweep or submission, and eventually after a struggle you felt their defensive hand positioning and body positioning give way to your attempts? You may even know this sensation from being the one who mentally broke and allowed the person to pass, sweep or submit. During this match I was almost the one that mentally broke. I was fortunate enough to have the resolve to wipe away the defeatist mindset and come back strong in the match. This was a result of hard training and preparation.

 The Take Away

After reading this I want you to think for a second. Have you ever let your own personal demon get the better of you during your training? Have you ever found yourself rolling in the gym or in a competition having a conversation inside your head contemplating giving up when things get a little tough? Have you ever been training and just got frustrated because you were in a tough spot and ended up making tons of mistakes as a result of your own frustration? Maybe you just find yourself not pushing through a little discomfort caused by fatigue and sitting out a round during training. If you do any of these things, like most of do, then I have a simple challenge for you. Push through it. Developing mental toughness is very much a personal thing. I can’t develop mental toughness for you and you can’t develop it for me. Your coaches and training partners can help assist, but ultimately, it is up to you to push yourself past your perceived limitations.

 

5 Tips

  • Simply be aware of your faults. Start by thinking about situations where you feel the most frustration of discomfort. After pinpointing them, prepare for it next time. Drill to correct mistakes and be ready to relax in those rough spots. It’s always easier to deal with something if you’re prepared.
  • Positional rolling. Let’s say that you have a horrible time escaping mount and it’s a position that causes you the most trouble. After you drill some escapes. Grab a partner with a good mount and perform escape or submit rounds from mount. Meaning, if you escape, restart in mount and if your partner submits you, restart in mount. This concentrated exposure will desensitize you to the position and allow you to become more calm and composed.
  • Learn to push yourself in training when you’re uncomfortable.  When you become tired or fatigued and feel like you’ve reached your limit. Keep going! Train yourself to push through the mentally accepted limitations and learn to function even when you’re uncomfortable or tired.
  • Hard rolling. Going hard in the gym will help you develop the kind of grit you need to be assertive on the mat. It will also help you develop the resolve to continue fighting even when your opponent is coming at you strong.
  • Being in good shape helps. If you are preparing for a tournament it really helps to be in good physical condition. From my experience many times people mentally break because they get tired and fatigued.

*Note that training hard and pushing yourself past your limits is not necessary day to day, all year round. However, if you are experiencing hangups anywhere or are preparing for competitions, its definitely worth doing.

As always, thanks for reading!

Competition, visualization and a look into my day

/1 Comment/in , , /by

Today was a bruiser. I didn’t have any interviews for the podcast or private lessons and I am waiting for the hosting issues to get resolved before I can finish the work on the actual website. This freed up my day so I decided to take advantage of it and work hard!

When I weighed in this morning I was 207lbs which is good considering I had a pretty relaxed diet this weekend. I went on a camping trip this weekend and ate food that I normally don’t consume in great quantities like breads so honestly I expected my weight to be up a bit. This means I need to lose about 5lbs so that I will be 207lbs or under in the kimono. Whenever I am getting ready for an IBJJF style tournament, which has you weigh in right before your match, I aim to be a couple of pounds lighter than I need to be. This lets me enjoy a good breakfast on the day of competition. I am kind of a fat kid at heart and going without a sizable breakfast isn’t an option and when the day of competitions comes I want to focus on the match not having to lose a few extra pounds.

Here is what my day looked like. . .

11am-12:15pm: BJJ Takedowns. 10 minutes total of takedown rounds and then 15 minutes of rolling starting from the knees

12:30pm-1:30pm: Heavy deadlifts. Did work with 80% of my one rep max. Then some stretching.

 

7pm-8:10pm: More gi takedowns. Again 10 minutes total of takedown rounds and then 15 minutes of rolling from the knees.

8:15pm-8:50pm: Did the “Filthy Fifty” workout.  If you’ve never done the workout before it’s a lot of fun. Here’s what it is . . .

For time:
50 Box jump, 24 inch box
50 Jumping pull-ups
50 Kettlebell swings, 1 pood
Walking Lunge, 50 steps
50 Knees to elbows
50 Push press, 45 pounds
50 Back extensions
50 Wall ball shots, 20 pound ball
50 Burpees
50 Double unders

This work out is considered a chipper workout. Meaning it’s long and tough, and you have to simply chip away at it.

8:55pm-9:20pm: Live wrestling for takedowns. Going to wrestling straight after that workout was rough, but I did well and was happy I pushed through my fatigue.

 

I felt great today. The camping trip this weekend helped me clear my head a bit and I felt really refreshed on the mats today.  That being said, it was still rough and required a lot of focus.

Whenever I have rough days like this when I am leading up to a tournament I try to use visualization as a motivation.  When I am drilling my takedowns I am not taking down my partner, I am taking down an unnamed opponent in the competition. When my grip starts to fade during a heavy set of deadlifts I think about my opponent finishing their rep and clinch the bar tighter. When I am exhausted after a hard workout I think about my opponents training past discomfort and head back to the mats for wrestling.

This may sound silly but visualization is such a powerful technique that comes in handy when I am training for a competition and need an extra boost of motivation during hard sessions. Even if I am not preparing for a competition, if I have a goal I want to achieve, then visualization is something I use. During the hard work that is necessary to achieve any worthwhile goal (BJJ or otherwise) if I find my motivation waning, I start to visualize. Visualize overcoming the obstacles that stand in my way. Visualize how my hard work will aid in my road to attainment, and visualize the satisfaction of achieving my goal. No matter how tired I might be. When I think about these three things I get fired up to get after whatever it is I need to do.

I am tired so if this post came across as poorly thrown together I do apologize. I am a bit wipe so I am going to head to bed and get ready for another tough day tomorrow!

As always, thanks for reading.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below or send an email to chewjitsu@gmail.com

Balancing work and hard training leading up for competition.

/in , , /by

Image

(That’s me on the right at my first tournament in 2003!)

 

 

It’s Monday and that means it’s a post about leading up to the competitions. I figured I would share what a typical Monday looks like for me and then talk about planning your days to get the most out of them.

Since starting the podcast, Monday, has become my lightest day of training and probably my busiest actual day of the week.  I’ll give an idea of what it looks like.

7-8:30AM: Wake up. I know this is going to sound silly but I’ve actually found that a side benefit of drinking lots of water is that I wake up to use the restroom earlier than the time my alarm clock is set. The benefit of this is that I don’t wake up to a nasty alarm clock sound and feel much better when I open my eyes.  During this time period I eat breakfast, goof around on the computer for a bit, maybe watch BJJ videos or something. If the weather is pleasant, which is has been, I’ll sit out on the deck and drink my morning cup of coffee and relax. This is my “holy hour”, a little chunk of time to just be alive without having to worry about anything and do whatever I want. If you currently don’t have a holy hour, you should find a little bit of time in your day to schedule one. Doing this does wonders for me personally.

8:30-9:40AM: Answer emails and social media messages I have, glance over my to-do list, review over the techniques I’m showing that day, and then work on any projects I might have going. I will usually head to the gym around 9:40am and get there at 10am.

10:00-10:45AM: Lifting or Metcon

10:45-12:30PM: Stretching followed by my morning class. Mondays are always takedown days. After class I will chat with everyone, get a couple extra rolls in or help students with questions they might have.

12:30-3:00PM: Protein shake with a snack followed by working on my podcast website. Then around 1:30 I start interviews for the show.

3:00-4:00PM: Lunch with a coffee/tea break then I pick up one of my students and bring him to the gym.

4:00-6:45PM: Blog and website stuff, customer service work for the gym.

6:45-9:30PM: A light warm up then BJJ class from 7-8 with wrestling starting at 8. Wrestling is always fun and I love the analogy of calling it “fighting without punches” because it is such a rough sport. If you’re gym offers wrestling you should definitely take advantage of that opportunity!

9:30-12:00ishAM: Head home to relax, eat a light dinner and finish any small work I might have. Then I try to always read for an hour before I head to bed. More often than not it’s something history or non fiction. I just finished a book called Mastery and another called The Last Lion.

 

Now I am not sharing the schedule because I am gloating about being busy or because I am trying to show you how much I train. Rather the reason is because everything I did today was scheduled. I’ve found that for me personally when I am well rested and relaxed I am in a much better state of mind about planning out what I should do with my time. However, if I am run down by a long day or consumed by work I need to get done. Having to make the conscious decision to train becomes more difficult and I tend to slack a little.

Routine and accountability to the rescue

Sitting down on a Sunday night and making out a schedule helps me get the things I need to get done. . . DONE! Now most people aren’t as fortunate as me to teach and train for a living, but mapping out a schedule still applies. I remember working 60 hours a week in IT and being exhausted after work. After leaving work following a 10+ hour day, training didn’t seem quite as attractive as normal. I’m sure you’ve felt this way before, right?

This is where the schedule comes into play! You must take the choice away from your weary self and place it into the hands of your well rested self. With a written schedule you don’t have to weigh the options of either exerting yourself in training or just taking it easy for the night after work. Instead you can look down and see what you planned for yourself and follow the guide.  Now there is something to be said about listening to your body, and if you are feeling absolutely terrible then maybe you should take a night off. But, have you ever skipped a work out only to get home and regret the choice, or have you ever went to the gym a little groggy only to leave pumped up about your training? I know I’ve personally done both.

 

The reason I put this “schedule talk” into this competition post is because getting ready for a competition can sometimes be tough, and it’s easy to get side tracked by life and skip a workout. The problem with this is, each day you skip a workout a day of preparation is lost, and when you’re getting yourself ready for a competition you have a fix amount of time to get ready. A wasted day of training is simply something you cannot afford.  By giving yourself a schedule to follow you make sure that you’re getting your training, work, and other responsibilities and obligations taken care of, as well as finding time for yourself. Plus, there is a bit of accountability.  It’s a little more difficult to skip out on things when you look down and see the goals you set for yourself staring back at you.

 

You may not experience the same problems I have and this may not be necessary for you. But if you are having issues training on some days, or find yourself slacking sometimes because of laziness. Then try giving yourself a schedule so that you make sure you get done, what it is, you want done. Make the schedule realistic and focused around the goals you have. If the goal is competition then it better consist of lots of hard training and drilling!

 

As always, thanks for reading, and if you have any questions or comments feel free to send them to chewjitsu@gmail.com

Finding my reason, finding your reason to compete

/in , /by

 Image

Competition is one of the most exciting experiences I think a person can have in BJJ. You test yourself against another human in a “full out” setting. You truly find out what you’re made of and sometimes push yourself to new limits that you didn’t realize you could reach.

Getting ready for a big competition can be tough though. The hard work that is involved with getting ready for a competition (if done right) can be exhausting both mentally and physically. There are days when you’re sore and tired. You still feel whooped from the night before and you just want to take a night off, but you find the motivation to train and continue to prepare.

Whenever I get ready for a big competition I have to find a “reason” for competing. Some reason that will help my focus and drive even on the rough days. Everyone’s reasons are different and you may have different goals for different tournaments. Don’t get me wrong I love training and train everyday regardless of a tournament, but left to my own devices, I would slack much more. I would roll relaxed and not develop the aggressive movements that are needed for tournaments. I wouldn’t drill quite as much, and in general I would just lack that desire that is needed to win matches against hungry competitors.

 

This is where that “reason” comes into play. Before I get ready for a competition (and when I used to fight in MMA) I ask myself, “why am I competing?” This seems simple right? I am competing to win, and win medals, right?

Wrong!

When I was younger I was only fixated on the medals. Now the medals are typically an auxiliary goal. Yes, I want to be the one wearing the gold medal and standing on the top of the podium, no doubt about it. But there are other things that push me in training during the weeks of tough training and dieting.

 

My reason for continuing to train hard and compete

I love movies where faced against tough odds, supported by everyone else around them, the hero overcomes and saves the day. When I was walking out of a movie this weekend I got hit by this light bulb moment. I realized that my most memorable wins in BJJ and MMA were always memorable, in large part, because of my students. Winnings matches at the Pans and seeing my students take screen caps of the match and knowing they were watching me have my hand raised, having  500+ Derby City (my gym) shirts staring back at me and cheering after an MMA fight, hearing a student convince me to compete even though I was jet lagged and sleep deprived.

The biggest motivator for me now, besides my own drive to test myself . . . is my students.

I am not sure if everyone in my position feels this way, but I feel obligated to step out there and compete for my students. I ask them to do it, so I feel that I should lead by example. Also, why would I stop competing now that I am a black belt? I feel like now is the true time to test myself.

 

One of the most amazing moments in my BJJ career was during a recent local tournament. The tournament had a round robin black belt division and there were around 100+ people from our gym. Either to compete themselves or to watch their friends and family compete.  When I was on the mat my students would cheer loudly and each time I landed a move or had my hand raised more cheers and slaps to the mat came from them.  I’m not going to lie; it felt like being a superhero for a moment. Superhero might seem like a silly comparison because I’m not flying around or fending off an alien assault to earth. However, I am setting the tone for many of my students and proving myself to be a worthy role model by putting myself through the same rigors that I ask of them. They’re cheering because I’m their instructor and they are proud of me and my wins, and this means everything to me. Now when I prepare for tournaments, the motivator is easy. When I am tired and have to push myself a little more, I just think about how great it feels to represent my gym colors victoriously for myself and also for my students.

Find your motivation!

I know that not all of you are in the position I am in, but my advice to you is to find something that motivates you. Remember, it doesn’t have to be just medals or titles. You sometimes have to dig a little deeper and find the motivation somewhere else. Before your next tournament prep begins, try and find something that motivates you. Having that deep motivator within you will help you slide your kimono on a little easier on those days when your body still aches from the night before, and this drive will make it easier to get yourself on to the top of the podium.

 

Thanks for reading guys!

As always if you have any questions or comments feel free to send them to chewjitsu@gmail.com

Lead up to competition series

/in , /by

Hey everyone,

This will be a short post. Myself, my students / team / association are gearing up for a few tournaments that are coming up in the next couple of months.

 

We will be competing at some of the bigger events like the Atlanta Open, Miami Open, No Gi Pans and we also have some regional tournaments stuck in there as well. I am also involved in an invite tournament that is going to be filled with some tough competition. One of my early grappling heroes, Chris Moriarty will be competing in it which is exciting. Some other insanely tough guys like Vitor Oliveira and JT Torres, among others will be involved.

 

I thought it would be a fun idea to take people along with us. Every Monday, until these big competitions are over, we will be focusing on mine as well as my teams preparation leading up to these matches. I will be posting a video, text blog or image sharing our journey with you. I hope you enjoy following a long with us.

Something high level Wrestlers, Judoka and BJJ players do, that you may not be doing.

/in , , /by

BJJ is such a complex and technical grappling art, overflowing with techniques. Every move seems to have a variation . . . and every variation seems to have a variation. This complexity can be a double edge sword though.  The technical prowess of BJJ allows it to work for anyone. Big, small, short, tall, it doesn’t matter, if you train . . . you can become proficient at BJJ.  However, this can backfire when you try to acquire too much too quickly.

I’m sure we’ve all heard the phrase “jack of all trades, master of none” and I think this has some relevance to BJJ as well. Many people get very distracted by “fun looking” techniques or techniques that seem to be in style at the time. They hop from technique to technique, position to position. Never mastering any particular area of the game and instead being mediocre across the board. You don’t want this!!

 

Coming from a wrestling background we were always taught that . . .

you don’t have to do much, you just have to do it better than everyone else.

I’ve heard similar phrases come from other wrestlers, judo players and high level BJJ practitioners. This is something I always stress with my guys when it comes time for competitions or when they are newer and trying to develop an “A” game.

Now there is nothing wrong with playing around with new techniques and positions. Nothing wrong at all, but you have to understand that when you do this you will be making yourself a bit vulnerable. When you work a new move or position you’re going to be a bit shaky with it at first and after drilling and attempting it during rolling sessions for a while you will gradually become adept with that move.  Right when this move is beginning to develop is where many people make the mistake of moving on to something new that doesn’t necessarily fit with what you were just working on.

You just spent all this time making this solid position or technique and now you’re going to move on???

My advice would be to continue with the position or the move. For example, if you were working butterfly guard. . . well. . . add another butterfly guard into your drilling list. Maybe you were working on kimuras. Well instead of moving on to a whole new submission, expand upon the kimura and learn additional setups or transitions from it.

This kind of chaining-things-together mindset can really help you develop areas of your game quickly.

So what is it that high level grapplers do that most average BJJ players do not?

They own a position, a technique, a movement. They master the ins and outs of their desire moves and become brutally efficient with them.

Go watch some judo highlights. You won’t have to watch long before you see a highlight showing a particular judoka executing the same throw over and over again using different setups against different opponents. Wrestlers are the same. Go do a Google search and put it “John Smith Single Leg.” The guy is synonymous with that damn move. When he wrestled, his opponents knew what he was going to do but they couldn’t stop him. He had drilled and worked his single legs to a level of ability that is awe inspiring. Imagine going to a high level competition and hitting everyone with the same move even after they knew what you were going to do. This happens in BJJ too! One easy example that comes to mind is Roger Gracie. Mount to cross collar choke. . . are you kidding me? Cross collar chokes? What seems to be such a basic and easily defended move becomes dangerous in the hands of a person who masters it and believes in his ability to execute it.

 

If you are already in possession of your A game then feel free to do as you please, but if you feel as though you lack a go-to area, may I share a piece of advice? Own something. Find a position or technique that you are decent at or wish to be proficient with. Then, drill drill drill and attempt it during your training. Make your name synonymous with whatever it is you want to be good with. Be the person that has the nasty half-guard that guys talk about in the locker room, or the person with crazy submissions that makes everyone feel uneasy during their roll. Then continue to build upon it and add to it.

I guess this post is similar to the last post, Training with a purpose, but I encourage you to remember, you are the architect for your BJJ. You’re instructor will supply you with the raw materials to build it, but ultimately it falls on you to better yourself and devise the blueprint for your BJJ game.

In short, try and get really good with a few things before you start introducing a bunch of new techniques to your repertoire.

 

What are you waiting for??? Take out a pen and write down a flow chart and start plotting out the direction you want to take your game! 😉

Fun Saturday at the N.A.G.A

/2 Comments/in , , /by

This weekend was a lot of fun. I had a small group of guys go down last minute to the NAGA near Nashville. This was the first tournament experience for 3 of my young white belts, and they did a fantastic job. Two of them took double medals home and the other came up a little short in the 3rd and 4th place finals, losing by two points. One of my blue belts also competed and did very well. He had some tough competition in the no gi but snagged a medal for his efforts. Unfortunately he couldn’t compete in the gi because of a popped ankle and jacked up finger he sustained in his semifinals match.

ImageImageImage

I always have fun on tournament trips and this was no exception. Tournaments always remind me that BJJ is not just about martial arts, getting a fun colored belt or winning competitions. BJJ is also about the brotherhood and community that comes with the sport. The friendships that are made and the amazing people involved in the sport, because without them it just wouldn’t be worth doing.

As always, thanks for reading. Oh and excuse my hair in these pictures. . . it was a long day of coaching.  😀

Clark Gracie vs Marcelo Mafra; 3 lessons for competition.

/2 Comments/in , /by

Very cool match with Clark Gracie and Marcelo Mafra. I like this match because I think it highlights a few things that can be incredibly important in competition.

The match

-Taking a person out of their comfort zone
 Mafra pulled guard first and took Clark out of his “A” game. From there he was able to get a sweep early in the match, this allowed Marcelo to play more conservatively on top and put more mental pressure on Clark.  This was a really smart move. By doing this he didn’t allow Clark to be as relaxed in his best position.

-Staying calm under pressure or in frustrating positions
Clark stayed very calm during the match. He played leg entanglement for a good portion of the match (hunting for the oma plata I assume) with no luck, but never bailed on the grips or his game. Being down 2 points with an opponent playing very conservatively can be really frustrating, and it can be easy to become irritated. This will lead to mistakes if you let it get to you. Clark stayed disciplined with his grips and never allowed frustration to lead to a worse position.

-Finishing strong
Clark turned it up in the end of the match and came away with the victory. Towards the end of the match Clark scored an advantage for a sweep attempt. Mafra stood up denying Clark the points and then pulled guard again. From here Clark began attacking for the guard pass very aggressively. The hard guard passing would eventually lead to the transition that won him the match.

Fantastic match from two amazing BJJ players.