January 22, 2009
Functional Training Gone Bad
Today I'm going to tell you about one of the sillier ideas I've ever had...
About 10 years ago I got interested in functional training and sports specific exercises. I wanted to get away from the Pec Deck and do exercises that more closely mimicked the movements I was using on a daily basis in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, judo and wrestling.
So I used books, magazines and the web to find sports-specific exercises. Then I'd try them out and see how I felt. Some of those exercises I still use to this day. Once in a while I invented my own exercises. Some of those were good, but others were abject failures....
The 'inspiration' behind my dumbest idea came when I noticed that I often ended up on my knees when trying to finish a double leg or single leg takedown. I also observed that quite a few wrestlers would finish from here by lifting their opponents off the ground.
Lifting an opponent off the ground starting from the knees obviously requires strength. "Wouldn't it be great", I thought, "if I could simulate this move in my weightlifting."
So I put on a set of kneepads and loaded up a barbell in the squat cage. I stood straight, squatted down, dropped to one knee, and then knelt down. Then, with the bar still on my shoulders, I got back to a standing position one foot at a time. Basically I was going up and down from a standing to a kneeling position with 225 lbs on my shoulders.
People in the gym were looking at me like I was on crack...
I did about 10 reps, rested a while, and then did a second set. "Good enough for the first day," I thought. "Maybe I'll do more reps and sets the next time."
Maybe it's not too surprising but the next day my knees ACHED! Not a good, muscular-burn sort of ache, but that stop-doing-this-or-you'll-be-sorry type of deep joint pain. The pain did eventually go away, but I never did that exercise again.
So the take-home message is that sports-specific training is a good thing, but be very careful when you're inventing new exercises. Especially when you're talking about heaving a lot of weight around and/or contorting yourself into awkward positions.
Since then I've discovered other ways to train getting-up-from-the-ground movements without compromising the knees. For example, I occasionally do Turkish Get Up (like in the video below) using either kettlebells or dumbells.
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About 10 years ago I got interested in functional training and sports specific exercises. I wanted to get away from the Pec Deck and do exercises that more closely mimicked the movements I was using on a daily basis in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, judo and wrestling.
So I used books, magazines and the web to find sports-specific exercises. Then I'd try them out and see how I felt. Some of those exercises I still use to this day. Once in a while I invented my own exercises. Some of those were good, but others were abject failures....
The 'inspiration' behind my dumbest idea came when I noticed that I often ended up on my knees when trying to finish a double leg or single leg takedown. I also observed that quite a few wrestlers would finish from here by lifting their opponents off the ground.
Lifting an opponent off the ground starting from the knees obviously requires strength. "Wouldn't it be great", I thought, "if I could simulate this move in my weightlifting."
So I put on a set of kneepads and loaded up a barbell in the squat cage. I stood straight, squatted down, dropped to one knee, and then knelt down. Then, with the bar still on my shoulders, I got back to a standing position one foot at a time. Basically I was going up and down from a standing to a kneeling position with 225 lbs on my shoulders.
People in the gym were looking at me like I was on crack...
I did about 10 reps, rested a while, and then did a second set. "Good enough for the first day," I thought. "Maybe I'll do more reps and sets the next time."
Maybe it's not too surprising but the next day my knees ACHED! Not a good, muscular-burn sort of ache, but that stop-doing-this-or-you'll-be-sorry type of deep joint pain. The pain did eventually go away, but I never did that exercise again.
So the take-home message is that sports-specific training is a good thing, but be very careful when you're inventing new exercises. Especially when you're talking about heaving a lot of weight around and/or contorting yourself into awkward positions.
Since then I've discovered other ways to train getting-up-from-the-ground movements without compromising the knees. For example, I occasionally do Turkish Get Up (like in the video below) using either kettlebells or dumbells.
Labels: conditioning, takedowns
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August 11, 2008
A Jiu-jitsu Secret
OK, draw the curtains, turn down the lights, turn off your recording devices and come closer. I want to share a principle with you that Marc Laimon calls "one of the secrets of jiu-jitsu".
Are you ready? OK, here it is: "it is impossible for your opponent to stand up when you're holding one of his legs off of the floor".
What? Not impressed?? Well I use this principle almost every time I step onto mats, so maybe I'd better explain what I'm talking about.
Have you ever almost swept an opponent and almost secured the top position when they refused to remain swept and fought their way back to neutral position? Have you ever tried to take an opponent down only to have them scramble back to a standing position? When facing certain kinds of opponents this can be a huge problem, one that I discussed at length in my last newsletter post about refusing to concede the sweep.
This very irritating conundrum can largely be solved if, at the end of your sweep, you stand up and hold one or both of his feet off of the floor. Once your opponent has his foot lifted to waist height he'd need amazing athleticism and balance to stand back up.
Some sweeps (and takedowns) are more suited for this style of finishing than others. For example, many sweeps that you might use on a standing opponent rely on grabbing a foot or ankle with your hand. While doing these types of sweeps you can often convert from using your hand to effect the sweep, to using that hand to elevate his foot to stabilize your top position.
Finally, there is one guard position is particularly good for applying this principle: the X Guard. In the X Guard you already have your opponent's foot hoisted onto your shoulder. When you sweep him from there his leg will naturally be elevated (even if you don't stand up), and it will be very, very difficult for him to stand up or scramble away. The ease which which you can elevate his leg at the end of the sweep is yet another reason to love the X Guard (in addition to being a very powerful sweeping position, well suited to grapplers who lack long, flexible legs).
You can learn more about the X Guard in my article about half guard positions and in the highly reviewed Butterfly Guard and X Guard DVD.
Have fun incorporating this very powerful principle into your training!
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Are you ready? OK, here it is: "it is impossible for your opponent to stand up when you're holding one of his legs off of the floor".
What? Not impressed?? Well I use this principle almost every time I step onto mats, so maybe I'd better explain what I'm talking about.
Have you ever almost swept an opponent and almost secured the top position when they refused to remain swept and fought their way back to neutral position? Have you ever tried to take an opponent down only to have them scramble back to a standing position? When facing certain kinds of opponents this can be a huge problem, one that I discussed at length in my last newsletter post about refusing to concede the sweep.
This very irritating conundrum can largely be solved if, at the end of your sweep, you stand up and hold one or both of his feet off of the floor. Once your opponent has his foot lifted to waist height he'd need amazing athleticism and balance to stand back up.
Some sweeps (and takedowns) are more suited for this style of finishing than others. For example, many sweeps that you might use on a standing opponent rely on grabbing a foot or ankle with your hand. While doing these types of sweeps you can often convert from using your hand to effect the sweep, to using that hand to elevate his foot to stabilize your top position.
Finally, there is one guard position is particularly good for applying this principle: the X Guard. In the X Guard you already have your opponent's foot hoisted onto your shoulder. When you sweep him from there his leg will naturally be elevated (even if you don't stand up), and it will be very, very difficult for him to stand up or scramble away. The ease which which you can elevate his leg at the end of the sweep is yet another reason to love the X Guard (in addition to being a very powerful sweeping position, well suited to grapplers who lack long, flexible legs).You can learn more about the X Guard in my article about half guard positions and in the highly reviewed Butterfly Guard and X Guard DVD.
Have fun incorporating this very powerful principle into your training!
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January 05, 2008
An Alternative To Pulling Guard When Grappling On Your Knees
Many grapplers start their sparring sessions on their knees. From this starting position usually one of two things happen: either the two combatants push and pull each other until one falls over, or someone pulls guard and starts looking for sweeps and submissions.
Well there are alternatives, and one option is to jump into a sweep rather than jump into guard. If things go well, the technique of the sweep combined with the momentum of the jump should bring you to the top position. If things go badly you usually end up in the guard, where you would have been anyhow if you had just pulled guard in the first place.
To help illustrate this concept I have put a short clip onto Youtube for your viewing pleasure. I should stress that the four sweeps used in this video are NOT the only sweeps that will work: your homework assignment is to examine your favorite sweeps and figure out if they might work were you to apply them from your knees (or from your feet). My video can be viewed below or found here:
When you do sweeps in this manner, the line between sweeps and Judo sacrifice throws starts to blur. To illustrate this I'd like to point you towards another Youtube video where you can see a variety of sacrifice throws (and a variety of setups) demonstrated by two skilled Judoka (click here or see below):
Before I sign off I have to give some credit, as this isn't entirely my own idea. I developed this tip after absorbing and fermenting the ideas that Marcio Feitosa, Roy Harris and Walt Bayless have shared on the topic (in seminar and/or on video).
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Well there are alternatives, and one option is to jump into a sweep rather than jump into guard. If things go well, the technique of the sweep combined with the momentum of the jump should bring you to the top position. If things go badly you usually end up in the guard, where you would have been anyhow if you had just pulled guard in the first place.
To help illustrate this concept I have put a short clip onto Youtube for your viewing pleasure. I should stress that the four sweeps used in this video are NOT the only sweeps that will work: your homework assignment is to examine your favorite sweeps and figure out if they might work were you to apply them from your knees (or from your feet). My video can be viewed below or found here:
When you do sweeps in this manner, the line between sweeps and Judo sacrifice throws starts to blur. To illustrate this I'd like to point you towards another Youtube video where you can see a variety of sacrifice throws (and a variety of setups) demonstrated by two skilled Judoka (click here or see below):
Before I sign off I have to give some credit, as this isn't entirely my own idea. I developed this tip after absorbing and fermenting the ideas that Marcio Feitosa, Roy Harris and Walt Bayless have shared on the topic (in seminar and/or on video).
Labels: takedowns, the guard, training, unorthodox strategies
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