TIPS ON BECOMING A MORE PRODUCTIVE BJJ PRACTITIONER

#1- Be a good partner and don’t resist during repping. By acting like a “grappling dummy”, you give your partner a chance to get comfortable with the movements against a non-resisting opponent. If you resist and try to “disprove” the technique you are doing nothing but retarding the learning process, for both of you.

#2- Relax and Breathe! In through your nose, out through your mouth. Make sure you learn to control your breathing and stay relaxed. Tensed up muscles use oxygen. Without oxygen you can’t breathe. Without breath… you die. Plain and simple. Relax, use your energy in calculated spurts and you will do fine. Stay tense & go 100% at all times and you will likely gas out followed by a tap out.

#3- Leave your ego at the door. Ego does nothing but hinder your learning process. Class is not competition. There is no score being kept and no trophy at the end of the night. Use your mat time to perfect your skill set and don’t worry about who tapped who. Just remember, the more you tap, the more you learn.

#4- Go with the flow and flow with the go! Think of BJJ like water. What does water do? It finds the path of least resistance, right? So if there’s a large wall in front of water, it doesn’t try to smash it down, rather it finds the walls’ weaknesses and exploits it. Water will try to go around, over, under or through a weak spot, rather than trying to smash the wall down. If there’s a crack in the wall the water will seep through. BJJ teaches you to look at your opponents the same way. Find their weaknesses and exploit them.

#5- Repetition is the key. Think about learning a technique as making a down payment on it and every rep you do is another payment. You must make A LOT of payments on any given technique to actually “own” it. Though sparring is usually considered the “fun” part of the class, constant repetition is the key to ingraining the movements into your muscle memory. If you really want to stop having to think about what to do and start just reacting, you will need to spend the time repping the movements. Take advantage of the time given to get as many reps as you can in.


#6- COME TO CLASS!!!!!!!1

Turn Your Open Mat into a BJJ Laboratory

Posted on December 10, 2009 by Aesopian


I’m going to make a bold assumption: You want to get better at BJJ. (I must be a mind reader.) Open mat can be a secret weapon in your training if you use it right. These tips will help make sure you do.


Go in with a purpose

What makes open mat good is also what makes it bad: you can do whatever you want. Without someone running class, it’s all too easy to waste time, goof off or simply not know what to do. Go in prepared giving yourself a goal.

Examples:

– Improve move X.
– Improve my escapes.
– Improve my conditioning.
– Try out this new guard.
– Review my basics.


Try picking a topic—a certain position, submission, guard or even concept—and set your mind on exploring and learning it in depth. It’s easier to stay focused when you know what you’re focusing on.


It’s time to experiment

Now is your chance to put that encyclopedic knowledge of every BJJ instructional to use. Is there a move that’s been making waves in competition that you want to learn? You could bring a laptop or iPhone to watch instructionals then drill them.

Forget this piece of advice if it doesn’t line up with your goals. Sometimes drilling those same basics you’ve known forever is the right thing to do (at least it’s never wrong.)


Don’t get technique overload

Just because you’re free to do whatever you want doesn’t mean you should pull out every technique you’ve ever Youtubed. Get two experienced guys on the mat and it can quickly turn into technique show and tell (“Hey, check this out!” “That reminds me of this…” “You gotta see how I do it…”) Keep your goals in mind and don’t get too far off track (unless it’s really something worth checking out.)


Put in the reps

Once you’ve figured out what you want to work on, start drilling. Then keep drilling. Discipline yourself to put in a healthy number of repetitions. No skimping on your reps because you don’t have an instructor keeping his hawk eyes on you. I’m sorry if this is boring but it’s good for you.


Find the right training partner

Who you train with can make or break an open mat. If they aren’t as motivated as you, it’s a pain to force them to drill when all they want to do is talk and spar a bit. You’re better off with a white belt that has a good worth ethic and is eager to learn than a lazy purple belt that doesn’t really feel like breaking a sweat. Finding the right person to team up with can give you a serious boost and make grappling R&D really fun and rewarding.


Do live drills

Take whatever you working on and make up live drills AKA isolation sparring for it. This is an fantastic training method that a lot of people overlook. Your drills can be as simple as starting from a specific position over and over again to running a series of situational exercises that increase in complexity as they go. (Message me on Facebook if you want some example drills.)


Take sparring seriously

Nothing bugs me more than two guys rolling for 1 minute before someone taps then spending 2 minutes talking about it. Save the discussion for later. Quick bits of advice or showing someone how to stop a move they’ve got caught in a couple times is OK. But you’re there to spar. Now is a good chance to push your endurance and forget time limits and go until you are absolutely dead.


Film your sparring

If you’ve got a camera and a tripod (or a willing third person), try getting your sparring sessions on video and watching them afterward. You’ll often be surprised by the things you do (and don’t do) that you never realized.

Want more tips? Add me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.

Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/giosp/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Posted in Headline, How To Study Jiu-Jitsu, Training Methods | Tagged bjj | 2 Comments
Add me on Facebook and Twitter
Posted on November 30, 2009 by Aesopian
I’ve been posting to Facebook and Twitter lately when I have stuff that’s not worth a whole blog post but it’s still worth sharing. You can follow me here:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Aesopian-BJJ/203323882237

Twitter: http://twitter.com/aesopianbjj

Message me anywhere and I’ll get back to you!

How much can you learn? Part 1 - Your style

How much could you retain in high school? A class period worth? A weeks worth? How much until it basically turns into a "blah, blah" noise coming from the teacher.

In BJJ training, you have hundreds of moves. These moves have a set-up from an average of 5 different top positions and a dozen different bottom positions. For each one of these, there is a counter, and a counter to the counter.

There are gi grips with the lapel and skirt. There are no-gi grips like a monkey grip or shell hand, gable grips, underhooks, and whizzers.

So in your class, how much time do you spend on technical aspects of the game, and how many techniques do you learn in a class time?

Class time in BJJ is a chance to learn a technique or series that is pertinent to the level of learning that you have reached. Your techniques need to be carefully planned out as to where you go in your game and greatly depend on the teaching and grappling style of your teacher.

Example: I am a top game player and rely greatly on my ability to hold side mount and north south. I use this to tire an opponent enough to make any transitions to mount or the back, as fluid and dominant as possible. When I am on the bottom, I rely heavily on using guard to slow pace and set up a sweep, or I use the half guard to control and get back to a neutral position. My top finishers are mostly chokes, cranks, and kimura/key locks. As for the bottom game finishers, I use a ton of leg locks and use the a triangle/armbar/omoplata series and get the best option.

What does this mean to you? That while you may need to know all the moves in BJJ, it does not mean you have to use all the moves. Find what works best for you and start developing a game from day 1. By the time you have spent a year or so, you will find that the moves you learn during class can be beneficial to you in 2 ways.

1. You develope a new skill to add to your game, this gives you another option of reversal or finishing an opponent.

2. (and this is important) You can now add knowledge of how this can be used in someone else's game.

So pay attention to everything in class, even if you do not believe that it is something that works for you....because chances are it may work for your opponent.

To Be Continued......

Next time you get a cramp or "arent feeling it" -

Police rally support for injured bomb tech, family



Midland Police Sgt. Brian Rackow, commander of EOD, examines the small package initially thought to be a pipe bomb placed in a light pole base outside Academy Sports Jan. 8 this year. Rackow was injured Thursday during an accidental explosion at a police training center. File photo by Tim Fischer 1-8-10


Related: Family fund started for injured MPD bomb tech
Related: GPS game causes bomb scare
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Midland police say they will work to surround Sgt. Brian Rackow and his family with support as he recovers from injuries he sustained while dismantling an explosive device Thursday.

“One way or another, they’ll be taken care of,” MPD Training Division Lt. Bernie Kraft said. “We’re going to make sure the family is taken care of.”

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Rackow was injured just after 11 a.m. Thursday when he was removing aluminum casing from an explosive in preparation for a future training activity, Kraft said. He remained in critical but stable condition late Thursday at University Medical Center in Lubbock, officials said.

At the time of the incident, Rackow was working alone in a shop building at the MPD Training Field, located southeast of Midland at 4500 Farm-to-Market Road 307, MPD Deputy Chief J.R. Smith said.

Rackow sustained injuries to the face, chest, arms and legs and was transported to Midland Memorial Hospital via ambulance immediately following the incident, Smith said. Kraft said at the scene Rackow may have lost his left hand and sustained injuries to his left arm.

Rackow was transferred to a hospital Lubbock during the afternoon for further treatment, Smith said.

“We’re all one big family; so anytime someone gets hurt, our heart goes out to them,” Smith said, speaking at a press conference at the police department.

Midland Fire Department Assistant Chief of Operations Fritz Niggeler said fortunately an ambulance and paramedics were nearby at the time of the explosion and were able to provide prompt care at the scene and later in the ambulance. Kraft added four officers who were going through training at the field also offered emergency medical care when the incident occurred.

They responded after hearing a loud noise, he said. Officers were unsure whether Rackow was wearing protective gear at the time of the incident.

By removing aluminum casing from the explosive, Kraft said, Rackow was ensuring there would be no shrapnel when officers later got rid of the device and with other oil field explosives they’ve collected.

After Rackow arrived at Midland Memorial Hospital’s emergency room, several MPD officers gathered at the hospital and lined the entrance to the ER as they waited for news on their colleague.

Around 12:30 p.m. an officer arrived at the hospital with Rackow’s wife and two children, who were eventually brought into the waiting room where they were surrounded by family, friends and both on- and off-duty MPD officers.

Through tears, Rackow’s wife asked those present simply to pray for her husband.

She and the couple’s children accompanied Rackow to Lubbock on Thursday, Smith said.

Rackow, who has been with the department for 13 years, serves as a bomb technician as well as a sergeant on the night shift patrol. The three-person bomb unit is part of a regional response group that responds to bomb threats and possible explosive devices that are reported to the department.

The group trains twice each month, Kraft said. Rackow also has attended classes at a federal training center in Georgia, Smith said.

“He’s in a high risk position with what he was doing,” Smith said. “He loved doing it.”

ATF officials from Lubbock arrived just after 3 p.m. Thursday to conduct an investigation, Kraft said. He said their investigation would be tedious and likely include forensic work to determine how and in what direction the explosive went off. ATF is a law enforcement group within the United States Department of Justice that protects citizens from violent crimes, the trafficking of firearms and acts of arson and bombings, according to its website.

MPD also will conduct an internal investigation, as is standard procedure when an officer is injured, Smith said.

Kraft said the last officer injured at the training field was Smith, who was shot in the leg several years ago during firearms training.

Smith said workman’s compensation will cover medical expenses for Rackow.

An account called the Brian Rackow Benefit has been set up at Community National Bank by the Midland Municipal Police Officer Association to cover other expenses the family incurs.

———

Kathleen Thurber can be reached at kthurber@mrt.com.

About Sgt. Brian Rackow:

- Night shift supervisor

- Head of bomb squad unit

- Joined the MPD in 1997

- He’s previously served as an instructor for MPD as well as the Permian Basin Law Enforcement Academy covering topics from defensive tactics, firearms, patrol procedures, explosive recognition, suicide bomber and LvIED response and resolution

- Rackow has a wife and two children

To donate:

Brian Rackow Benefit - Midland Municipal Police Officer Association

An account has been set up at Community National Bank, 685-8400. Donations can be made at any branch. Visit, https://www.cnbtx.net/locations.aspx for location sites.

Repeat Post, but seems relevant to my students

When I first got into BJJ, it was all about the submissions. Sweeps and escapes were something cool that were only necessary to know, if you ever got caught in a bad spot. If you had never been put in a bad situation, you didn't really want to spend the time preparing for it when until after it had happened.

A great majority of the time was spent scouring the internet and images in books for new submissions and the "how-to" videos on Youtube or in the newest issue of Grappling Magazine (now known as Ultimate MMA Magazine).

Forget about learning hook sweeps, or how to better control from knee on belly. Lets learn how to do the triangle to omoplata with modified toe-hold!!

Since I have gotten older, and hopefully a lot wiser, I have learned that one of the most beneficial tools to your game (second to escapes/defense), is positional control. This has become my most preached lesson, and my greatest asset in grappling practice/matches/police scenarios/and practical application in the street.

The problem with this is easily evident in the opinion of some grappling enthusiasts, who, when watching a video of someone doing this on Youtube (I am namely referring to a match of myself against a much larger - 6'6 320 lb BJJ blue belt), the critic went on an on about me not capitalizing on my dominant position. His argument was that if you are in dominant position, you are not actually winning and demonstrating real BJJ skill unless you submit the person.

COME ON PEOPLE!!

Lets not forget that if you are on top of someone in side mount or mount, moving to north south or knee on belly, you are winning! Gracie Jiu-Jitsu teaches us in its basic philosophies that you must first gain dominance to be effective. From that point, your goal should be to maintain that dominant position and not let the person get on top of you. The trade of in some cases are usually the BJJ practitioner in top position giving up his dominant position in favor of a failed arm-bar or another "forced" submission, in which the bottom man has now reversed you for a better position.

Remember these main points next time you are rolling:
- Position over submission
- Use your positioning and top game to exhaust the opponent
- Let him dictate the submission i.e. don't force the submission, instead, let him work himself into a bad spot and capitalize on his mistake

Incorporate this into a drill by getting with your partner and have him work from a bad position for 1 round, and do the top 2-3 defensive counters. At each counter, change position in a "slow roll" manner. If he can sweep you or get up, then you must be on the bottom for 10 minutes. If you get where you can maintain top control during transitions and position changes, then have your opponent on bottom start to give you "submission indicators". These can be as simple as putting the arm up that gives away an arm-bar, or turning belly down to give up the back. This should help foster good reactions to these movements, which are signs that you must be able to key-off on to capitalize on the mistake of the opponent.

Please leave comments and questions. Especially if you are having a hard time identifying the "cues" that your opponent is giving that signal when to attack the submission.



-Keep on The Path

Skill Building - Back to Basics

At this point in training, today, right now, get back to basics! Whether you are a brown belt world champion, or you are a brand new grappler with 2 months experience, get back to basics.

It is so easy to get sucked into the lure of wanting to learn alot of new cool "tricks". There are literally hundreds of submissions out there to learn, but only a few basic positions. Learn those few basic positions and the principals for being successful at them now!

- Learn to prevent your guard from getting passed or replacing guard
- Get your posture better when in the guard or passing
- Improve your base to feel as dominant as possible in mount/side/north-south/back
- Improve your control and timing

To do all this, all it takes are some basic skill building exercises.

- Guard pass drill. Get a partner to get in guard and try to pass. Break down his posture, shrimp and adjust your guard to prevent his passes.

- Get in guard and improve your posture by sitting back straight, head up, torso alignment should be straight up and down with your weight over your hips, NOT I FRONT OF YOUR KNEES, with your legs apart in comfortable base. Use pressure and slow control to pass. Make it uncomfortable for your partner, so that letting you pass is a better option for him than having you stay in guard.

- Get in side mount and practice moving around from side to knee on belley, to mount, then knee on belly on the other side, then side, then north south, and back to original side. Do this by maintaining constant closeness and good body alignment. Keep weight on your partner and always block his hips and head as you move around i this circle for several reps. Be sure they check your base at the beginning of each position.

- Timing requires a partner that knows at least as much as you for whatever moves you are going to be working. Get in mount and have your partner check your base so you can get that cue to adjust hooks and control, then he should do the "bench press" to cue and armbar, or he should feed him arm across your chest to show giving up the back and you take that cue to take the back and get the RNC. these types of exercises will improve timing and recognizing threats and openings.

MMA article from Big 2 News featureing Brad and Paul

http://prod.permianbasin360.com/search-fulltext?&nxd_id=66626

An event known as Shark Fights is taking place in Odessa this weekend, and the hand-to-hand combat is sure to draw a crowd. But before stepping into the cage, one of the fighters sat down with Big 2 to explain how his fighting technique has been picked up by our local law enforcement.

Mixed martial arts, or MMA, is a full contact combat sport that involves a wide variety of fighting techniques. It's become a popular past-time for many people. Some just watch it. Others actually practice it. So, in order to stay ahead of the game, Midland police have been working with a professional fighter whose helped them incorporate mixed martial arts into their training.

"If I'm writing a report next to a suspect, I don't know if he's going to be aggressive. If I'm not looking away and he eventually attacks...I stop...short elbow," Paul Buentello, a professional MMA fighter, said Friday while demonstrating his techniques.

He's been fighting for nearly 13 years, and this weekend he'll take on the undefeated Bryan Humes as part of Shark Fights main event. This UFC legend is no stranger to the area though. Buentello's worked closely with Midland police for years.

"I met Paul at a show in Carlsbad six years ago and really hit it off. He's real approachable," Brad Barnes, a Midland police officer, said.

Barnes quickly realized that Buentello's unique fighting style could translate to law enforcement, so he pitched an idea.

"When we don't have the ability to pull a gun or use a baton or use pepper spray...when we're just standing close to people, the things that you're good at will work for this job," Barnes said.

"There's a lot of little tricks of the trade...how to fight, how to close the distance, how to keep somebody away, and I jumped right on this horse because Brad's a good friend of mine," Buentello said.

Known as “The Headhunter” in the world of cage fighting, Buentello began to train Midland police officers...teaching them how to be prepared for any kind of attack.
"On a nightly basis we're putting people in handcuffs, whether it's just to detain them or to take them to jail. And people don't like being put in handcuffs, and they're going to fight you for it. I would say on an average shift...you're going to have to do some type of defensive tactics or stop some type of resistance," Barnes said.

"I've been doing it now for 13 years in a cage, actually getting paid to do these techniques. And if I can show an officer just a few little things things to remember, a little muscle memory on defending themselves and stopping an aggressive person. And they can go home at night...I feel a lot better about that," Buentello said.

For more about the event this weekend, check out www.SharkFights.com. And for more about Buentello, head to his website...www.PaulBuentello.com.