January 21, 2010
Don't Be Shy
This coming weekend I'm headed to Seattle to train at Erik Paulson's MMA and submission grappling seminar (hosted by Chris Clarke of www.nwkali.com).
If you're at seminar please introduce yourself; I always enjoy meeting my virtual friends in real life!
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If you're at seminar please introduce yourself; I always enjoy meeting my virtual friends in real life!
Labels: MMA, seminars, teachers
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September 20, 2009
Killer Grip, and How To Get It!
Stephan's note: this post is one of over 50 lessons in the Beginning BJJ eCourse. Sign up here to get your hands on the rest of the lessons for free.
My BJJ coach Marcus Soares believes that a really strong grip is one of the most important physical attributes for a BJJ fighter. Not surprisingly, Marcus's grip is crushingly strong. In fact, this is one of the first things his old training partners remember about him. One Brazilian coach told me "Oh my God, when he grabbed you that was it! At that point you just wanted to go do something else..."
Now wouldn't that be a nice attribute to have?
Obviously a strong grip helps with gi chokes, however it's also a huge asset even if you mostly do no-gi. There's nothing like clamping a vice-like mitt onto an opponent's wrist to get his attention in a hurry! But what if you've naturally got a weak grip? Should you give up the sport and take up ping-pong?
By now you've probably already guessed what I'm going to say here. Just because you suck at something doesn't mean that you shouldn't work on it. In this specific area I speak from personal experience here, because my own grip is decidedly non-superhuman...
If you suck at something you should probably double your efforts in that area. As Marc Denny told me, often your fastest progress comes from working your weakest areas.
There's a real art and science behind serious grip training. But what if you've decided to spend your few precious hours of spare time on the mat training BJJ rather than cranking out reps of forearm twists and other exercises in a gym ?
In that case check out my Youtube video with five grip training exercises I use while I'm on-the-go. Here's to the time when YOUR opponents will fear the power of your grip!
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My BJJ coach Marcus Soares believes that a really strong grip is one of the most important physical attributes for a BJJ fighter. Not surprisingly, Marcus's grip is crushingly strong. In fact, this is one of the first things his old training partners remember about him. One Brazilian coach told me "Oh my God, when he grabbed you that was it! At that point you just wanted to go do something else..."
Now wouldn't that be a nice attribute to have?
Obviously a strong grip helps with gi chokes, however it's also a huge asset even if you mostly do no-gi. There's nothing like clamping a vice-like mitt onto an opponent's wrist to get his attention in a hurry! But what if you've naturally got a weak grip? Should you give up the sport and take up ping-pong?
By now you've probably already guessed what I'm going to say here. Just because you suck at something doesn't mean that you shouldn't work on it. In this specific area I speak from personal experience here, because my own grip is decidedly non-superhuman...
If you suck at something you should probably double your efforts in that area. As Marc Denny told me, often your fastest progress comes from working your weakest areas.
There's a real art and science behind serious grip training. But what if you've decided to spend your few precious hours of spare time on the mat training BJJ rather than cranking out reps of forearm twists and other exercises in a gym ?
In that case check out my Youtube video with five grip training exercises I use while I'm on-the-go. Here's to the time when YOUR opponents will fear the power of your grip!
Labels: Brazilian jiu-jitsu, conditioning, grip training, teachers
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March 22, 2009
The Reverse Mount; Another Unorthodox BJJ Position
Stephan Kesting teaching the "Reverse Mount" position
at a recent seminar on Unorthodox Positions and Attacks
at a recent seminar on Unorthodox Positions and Attacks
The first time I saw the Reverse Mount I was at an Erik Paulson seminar. My reaction was something like "yeah, right...."
I honestly thought that Erik had run out of high percentage things to teach and was now just making stuff up.
Knowing Erik though, I really shouldn't have doubted him...
As soon as I used the reverse mount in sparring I realized that my opponent had no clue about what to do. In addition, the pressure on his diaphragm turned out to be quite intense, making it hard for him to breath.
This is an application of choking your opponent's diaphragm instead of his neck.
Difficulty breathing = panic = doing something stupid = easy submission! I finished my partner with a submission and that was the beginning of a beautiful relationship.
After that I started using it fairly regularly. I even won the a BJJ tournament with it: I started in North South, jumped up and forward to get to Reverse Mount, and then sunk in a kneebar (a breakdown of that finish, and a video of it, made it into my Dynamic Kneebars DVD).
It's funny, before you identify something as a position it just looks like a wacky tangle of legs and arms. You think to yourself "how could I ever end up in that silly position?"
But after you isolate it and give it a name you start seeing it much more often. Grapplers may not mean to end up there, but they do anyway.
And you see this position even at the highest levels: I remember watching two top ranked fighters in Pride end up in this position and stalemate there for what seemed like hours (in reality it was probably only a few minutes).
It's so unusual that the vast majority of people trapped on the bottom have no idea how to escape from here or even what kind of submissions to expect
(To my loyal readers I'll spill the beans and tell you that most of the attacks from here involve leglocks, but don't tell anyone...)
Knowing how to apply a few so-called 'specialty' positions can be an absolute ace up your sleeve!
Labels: competition, leglocks, positions, teachers, unorthodox strategies
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February 11, 2009
Off to the Glue Factory?
Here's a question I received recently:
Q: "I'm 56 years old and in pretty good health except for a few old injuries. My question is whether it is it too late for me to start training in grappling without wrecking my body too badly? (I'm not interested in competition)."
A: I've actually addressed this topic quite often in the past few years (maybe that's because I'm turning 40 this summer).
In any case, my answer is a guarded 'Yes.' You can definitely start training and make progress, BUT it depends on a few critical factors:
To balance all this out, keep in mind that you're still younger than my teacher (and inspiration) Dan Inosanto when he started Brazilian jiu-jitsu. And now he's a very respectable BJJ black belt...
Good Luck!
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Q: "I'm 56 years old and in pretty good health except for a few old injuries. My question is whether it is it too late for me to start training in grappling without wrecking my body too badly? (I'm not interested in competition)."
A: I've actually addressed this topic quite often in the past few years (maybe that's because I'm turning 40 this summer).
In any case, my answer is a guarded 'Yes.' You can definitely start training and make progress, BUT it depends on a few critical factors:
- You HAVE to be careful
- You HAVE to go slow when you spar, and be ready to tap out when you get caught in submissions (or even awkward positions).
- You HAVE to watch out for overtraining (also known as under-recovery)
- You probably SHOULDN'T train at a school with a lot of young studs who all want to fight in the UFC
- You might want to consider taking BJJ, not submission grappling. There is often a lot of testosterone and explosive movement in submission grappling, which tends to lead to worse injuries than the more controlled and methodical sparring in BJJ.
To balance all this out, keep in mind that you're still younger than my teacher (and inspiration) Dan Inosanto when he started Brazilian jiu-jitsu. And now he's a very respectable BJJ black belt...
Good Luck!
Labels: Injuries, older grapplers, overtraining, teachers, training
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February 09, 2009
BJJ for MMA Interview Delayed
A few weeks ago I wrote how a friend of mine was going to train with Ricardo Liborio at American Top Team in Florida. Many of you sent in questions on the relationship between BJJ and MMA for Mr. Liborio. The plan was to publish that interview on Grapplearts.com
We HAVEN'T forgotten about your questions; due to circumstances beyond anyone's control this interview has been delayed. I'm going to make sure you get your answers from one of the living legends of BJJ, but it's just going to take a little bit longer than I was hoping for.
Thanks for the questions and sorry for the delay!
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We HAVEN'T forgotten about your questions; due to circumstances beyond anyone's control this interview has been delayed. I'm going to make sure you get your answers from one of the living legends of BJJ, but it's just going to take a little bit longer than I was hoping for.
Thanks for the questions and sorry for the delay!
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February 03, 2009
Tips for Having a Great BJJ Private
Preamble: I recently talked about BJJ private classes gone bad. This tip is about how to make sure that that doesn't happen.
Training in a group setting under the watchful eye of your main instructor is a good thing. Hopefully he cares about your development as a grappler, knows where you've been and is helping you progress. (And if that's not the case then you should find a new school. Seriously).
However if your game has gotten stale, then a private class might be just what you need to break you out of your rut. Of course you can take a private with your main instructor. But sometimes taking a private from a different instructor can give you new insights. In extreme cases, it can even lead to having a major breakthrough for a technique, strategy or training method.
For the sake of this article, let's assume you're thinking about training with someone new. Maybe a famous BJJ competitor is coming through town on a seminar tour. Maybe you're traveling and discover that you're in the same city as a well-known instructor. Either way, before you plunk down your hard-earned cash you want to do a few things...
FIRST, TRY TO GATHER SOME INFORMATION!
If you don't already know the instructor, you want to do a bit of a background check first. You can ask your training partners if they've heard anything him, or you can post a question ("What Are Instructor X's Privates Like") on one of the big forums like MMA.tv or Sherdog. Just take the responses with a grain of salt, as some of the posters may have an axe to grind, whereas others may want to pump up their own (bad) instructor.
Keep in mind that you can get a pretty good sense of someone's teaching style from watching their instructional DVDs or Youtube clips (if they have them). The important thing is that his teaching style matches your learning style.
Here are some things you might want to find out before you reserve your slot.
Have an idea of what you want to learn. What do you want to walk away with after the session?
My suggestion is to focus on a specific technique or area of your game. Let's take something as 'simple' as the armbar from the guard. If you're working with someone who really understands that technique you can easily spend an hour on it and not yet have covered all the principles, entries, counters and recounters.
Another approach I've used is to have a list of questions on different topics. I did this for my first private with Erik Paulson many years ago - I wanted his opinion on different leglocks, the application details of the rear naked choke, setting up shoots, etc. It made for a bit of a scattered session, but I came away with answers to a lot of questions that had been vexing me for a while. For this approach I like to write my list of questions down, just so I don't forget.
Don't be afraid to be specific. Asking "what can I do from butterfly guard when my opponent is keeping his elbows back" is a hundred times better than just going in there and just saying "show me some stuff because I need to work on everything."
WHAT TO COVER (AND WHAT NOT TO COVER)
Now I'll talk about something that's obvious in retrospect, but easy to screw up on.
Is this teacher known for certain techniques and positions? Is he an open guard wizard, for example? Does he have a killer clinch game? Can he hit leglocks from every known position? This is important to know, because you want to learn from the instructor's strengths, and not force him to teach from his weaknesses. (And yes, everyone has weaknesses).
Once I made a hash out of a private with a very good instructor by breaking this rule. At the time I was mostly working on my bottom game, so I had lots of questions for 'Instructor X' about the half guard, the half butterfly and the deep half guard (he was famous, so I figured he had to know the answers, right?).
Well 'Instructor X' showed me a lot of half guard stuff. The problem was that most of that material didn't 'click' for me in sparring later. It took a few months, but I eventually figured the problem - he was a top player and didn't like the half guard! He didn't want to disappoint me in the private and tried his best, but his answers lacked the depth, sophistication and perspective he would have been able to offer had he been teaching one of his strengths.
If we had stuck to passing the half guard I would have come away with tons of good stuff, I'm sure.
Finally, also try to figure out how YOU learn best. Do you need new techniques broken down verbally? Does a Q-and-A format work for you or do you just like to have material presented to you? How much repetition do you need to remember a new technique? Do you learn fastest if you physically feel someone doing it to you? Do you have to try something in sparring before you 'get it?"
You're paying the guy for his time and knowledge, but some of the responsibility comes back to you to make the most of your session.
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Training in a group setting under the watchful eye of your main instructor is a good thing. Hopefully he cares about your development as a grappler, knows where you've been and is helping you progress. (And if that's not the case then you should find a new school. Seriously).
However if your game has gotten stale, then a private class might be just what you need to break you out of your rut. Of course you can take a private with your main instructor. But sometimes taking a private from a different instructor can give you new insights. In extreme cases, it can even lead to having a major breakthrough for a technique, strategy or training method.
For the sake of this article, let's assume you're thinking about training with someone new. Maybe a famous BJJ competitor is coming through town on a seminar tour. Maybe you're traveling and discover that you're in the same city as a well-known instructor. Either way, before you plunk down your hard-earned cash you want to do a few things...
FIRST, TRY TO GATHER SOME INFORMATION!
If you don't already know the instructor, you want to do a bit of a background check first. You can ask your training partners if they've heard anything him, or you can post a question ("What Are Instructor X's Privates Like") on one of the big forums like MMA.tv or Sherdog. Just take the responses with a grain of salt, as some of the posters may have an axe to grind, whereas others may want to pump up their own (bad) instructor.
Keep in mind that you can get a pretty good sense of someone's teaching style from watching their instructional DVDs or Youtube clips (if they have them). The important thing is that his teaching style matches your learning style.
Here are some things you might want to find out before you reserve your slot.
- Is there a specific format to his private classes? For example, is he open to questions?
- Will he spar with you (or is that ALL he ever wants to do)?
- If you're from another school or team, is this going to be a problem?
- How much will it cost? Do you also need to sign up for his organization? Is it extra if you bring someone else to be your training partner?
- Can you film the session? Most people will say no, because they don't want their material to end up on Youtube in an uncontrolled manner. Some instructors take it so far that they won't even allow you to take notes, which would be a deal-breaker for me.
Have an idea of what you want to learn. What do you want to walk away with after the session?
My suggestion is to focus on a specific technique or area of your game. Let's take something as 'simple' as the armbar from the guard. If you're working with someone who really understands that technique you can easily spend an hour on it and not yet have covered all the principles, entries, counters and recounters.
Another approach I've used is to have a list of questions on different topics. I did this for my first private with Erik Paulson many years ago - I wanted his opinion on different leglocks, the application details of the rear naked choke, setting up shoots, etc. It made for a bit of a scattered session, but I came away with answers to a lot of questions that had been vexing me for a while. For this approach I like to write my list of questions down, just so I don't forget.
Don't be afraid to be specific. Asking "what can I do from butterfly guard when my opponent is keeping his elbows back" is a hundred times better than just going in there and just saying "show me some stuff because I need to work on everything."
WHAT TO COVER (AND WHAT NOT TO COVER)
Now I'll talk about something that's obvious in retrospect, but easy to screw up on.
Is this teacher known for certain techniques and positions? Is he an open guard wizard, for example? Does he have a killer clinch game? Can he hit leglocks from every known position? This is important to know, because you want to learn from the instructor's strengths, and not force him to teach from his weaknesses. (And yes, everyone has weaknesses).
Once I made a hash out of a private with a very good instructor by breaking this rule. At the time I was mostly working on my bottom game, so I had lots of questions for 'Instructor X' about the half guard, the half butterfly and the deep half guard (he was famous, so I figured he had to know the answers, right?).
Well 'Instructor X' showed me a lot of half guard stuff. The problem was that most of that material didn't 'click' for me in sparring later. It took a few months, but I eventually figured the problem - he was a top player and didn't like the half guard! He didn't want to disappoint me in the private and tried his best, but his answers lacked the depth, sophistication and perspective he would have been able to offer had he been teaching one of his strengths.
If we had stuck to passing the half guard I would have come away with tons of good stuff, I'm sure.
Finally, also try to figure out how YOU learn best. Do you need new techniques broken down verbally? Does a Q-and-A format work for you or do you just like to have material presented to you? How much repetition do you need to remember a new technique? Do you learn fastest if you physically feel someone doing it to you? Do you have to try something in sparring before you 'get it?"
You're paying the guy for his time and knowledge, but some of the responsibility comes back to you to make the most of your session.
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Condolences
On January 29th Helio Gracie passed away at the age of 95.
Without him and his sons this sport would not be where it is today.
My sincere condolences to his family, friends and students.
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January 30, 2009
Private Lesson Horror Stories
I'm a believer in taking private lessons with instructors, especially those that you don't get to train with on a regular basis. And I've taken my share of privates; some were great, but others were real stinkers. I'll get into real trouble if I mention names, but here are some of the reasons why I should have taken my money and given it to charity instead:
First, there are some great competitors who are just plain crappy instructors. Would you rather learn boxing from Mike Tyson or Angelo Dundee? If the person can't string two coherent sentences together then you may not want to throw them $100, $200 or $300 for a private lesson.
Another problem occurs when you have a great teacher who doesn't want to show 'the good stuff' to people outside of their school or from another team. They might show you some techniques (and accept your money), but they'll 'forget' the details and concepts that really make those technique work against a good opponent. Try to figure out if this is going to be an issue ahead of time.
Finally, every instructor has his or her specialties, and sometimes you can get into trouble if you try to get them to teach you a topic that they don't really understand themselves.
Let's say that you really wanted to learn about the Spider Guard (pictured on the right), and let's say that I had the time to teach privates (which I don't).
If you wanted me to teach you about the Spider Guard I'd probably give you your money back and send you to someone else. The Spider Guard is NOT my guard! Sure, I know the basics of that position, and I have a couple of moves that work well for me, but as far showing you the details that really make that position tick - forget it!
Next time I'll share some strategies you can use to make sure that you get your money's worth from private lessons!
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First, there are some great competitors who are just plain crappy instructors. Would you rather learn boxing from Mike Tyson or Angelo Dundee? If the person can't string two coherent sentences together then you may not want to throw them $100, $200 or $300 for a private lesson.
Another problem occurs when you have a great teacher who doesn't want to show 'the good stuff' to people outside of their school or from another team. They might show you some techniques (and accept your money), but they'll 'forget' the details and concepts that really make those technique work against a good opponent. Try to figure out if this is going to be an issue ahead of time.Finally, every instructor has his or her specialties, and sometimes you can get into trouble if you try to get them to teach you a topic that they don't really understand themselves.
Let's say that you really wanted to learn about the Spider Guard (pictured on the right), and let's say that I had the time to teach privates (which I don't).
If you wanted me to teach you about the Spider Guard I'd probably give you your money back and send you to someone else. The Spider Guard is NOT my guard! Sure, I know the basics of that position, and I have a couple of moves that work well for me, but as far showing you the details that really make that position tick - forget it!
Next time I'll share some strategies you can use to make sure that you get your money's worth from private lessons!
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January 15, 2009
What Do You Want to Know About MMA?
I'm green with envy, because in a few weeks my friend Don Whitefield is traveling to Florida on a BJJ training trip. He's going to be training with some big names there, like Marcelo Garcia, Ricardo de la Riva, "Boca" Oliveira and Ricardo Liborio.
Ricardo Liborio has been in the news a lot recently, because he's the co-owner and head instructor for the mixed martial arts powerhouse known as American Top Team (ATT). He's also one of Carlson Gracie's most famous black belts. He won the 'most technical fighter' award in the 1996 BJJ World Championships, has competed at the highest levels of submission grappling, and has now turned his attention to producing MMA champions.
ATT has fighters in almost every UFC. For example, Denis Kang (who is fighting this weekend in UFC 93) calls ATT home, and raves about the quality of training there.
So here's the thing...
Since I can't go to Florida myself, I figured I'd ask Don to ask Ricardo Liborio some questions for me. I'm particularly interested in how BJJ has to be adapted to work in MMA, how competitors should balance different aspects of their training, and what a typical 'work week' looks like for their fighters.
But I'm also going to open the floor to you guys. Do you have questions about BJJ, MMA, or the relationship between the two. If you do, use the site contact form in the next few days and send me your TOP QUESTION. No promises, but I'll do my best to get an answer for you.
Let's get together ASAP and figure out ATT uses BJJ to dominate the UFC and MMA! (Sorry, I couldn't resist...).
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Ricardo Liborio has been in the news a lot recently, because he's the co-owner and head instructor for the mixed martial arts powerhouse known as American Top Team (ATT). He's also one of Carlson Gracie's most famous black belts. He won the 'most technical fighter' award in the 1996 BJJ World Championships, has competed at the highest levels of submission grappling, and has now turned his attention to producing MMA champions.
ATT has fighters in almost every UFC. For example, Denis Kang (who is fighting this weekend in UFC 93) calls ATT home, and raves about the quality of training there.
So here's the thing...
Since I can't go to Florida myself, I figured I'd ask Don to ask Ricardo Liborio some questions for me. I'm particularly interested in how BJJ has to be adapted to work in MMA, how competitors should balance different aspects of their training, and what a typical 'work week' looks like for their fighters.
But I'm also going to open the floor to you guys. Do you have questions about BJJ, MMA, or the relationship between the two. If you do, use the site contact form in the next few days and send me your TOP QUESTION. No promises, but I'll do my best to get an answer for you.
Let's get together ASAP and figure out ATT uses BJJ to dominate the UFC and MMA! (Sorry, I couldn't resist...).
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January 11, 2009
Why I Started Martial Arts
Normally I use these posts to focus on one particular aspect of grappling. In previous tips I've covered everything from the anatomy of chokes (here, here and here) to post-workout nutrition (here).
Well not this time...
I'm still overwhelmed with the release of the BJJ Roadmap Package, and so I decided to put a video onto Youtube that I've been meaning to post for a while now. It's not about technique at all; instead it's just me sitting and talking about what got me started in martial arts, which instructors most influenced me, and so on.
If you're interested in that sort of thing, you can watch it below, or else you can scroll on and get to the 'good stuff'
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Well not this time...
I'm still overwhelmed with the release of the BJJ Roadmap Package, and so I decided to put a video onto Youtube that I've been meaning to post for a while now. It's not about technique at all; instead it's just me sitting and talking about what got me started in martial arts, which instructors most influenced me, and so on.
If you're interested in that sort of thing, you can watch it below, or else you can scroll on and get to the 'good stuff'
Labels: self defense, teachers
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December 21, 2008
How To Retain Seminar Techniques
I like going to seminars, but I find it frustrating when I can't remember everything that the instructor taught. The way I think of it, the seminar costs a certain amount of money and the instructor covered a certain number of techniques. details and concepts. The less I remember, the more expensive each retained technique becomes.
I paid good money for that seminar, and I want to get as much out of it as I can!
Sometimes an instructor will allow you to video the seminar - if that's the case, then you're laughing. You can review the techniques later just by watching the video. Many instructors have been burnt by video taping, don't allow it anymore. They're sick and tired of the material ending up on youtube and/or being traded by video pirates. As a video producer myself I can certainly sympathize with their point of view (the instructors, not the pirates).
My usual method of preserving the information is to take notes. I use a two-step method.
In the actual seminar itself I write things down as fast as I can, using abbreviations and paying no attention to neatness or organization. I can pretty much guarantee that if you got ahold of my rough notes they would make NO sense to you, (partially because my handwriting - when I'm going this fast - is about as bad as that of the average prescription-writing doctor...).
Then, within 48 hours, I write out the final set of notes, using the rough notes to help tickle my memory. In addition to having organized notes that I can refer to later, I find that the actual act of writing the material down a second time really helps me remember and internalize the techniques.
Recently though, I've been experimenting with another approach.
First I write the rough notes during the seminar, just as before. The goal here is not to write down everything, or be tidy - I'm just trying to create a set of triggers to help me remember the key points of the techniques.
Then, in the next few days, I grab my video camera and a willing body, preferably someone who was at the same seminar. I then film myself going through the material, referring to my notes as needed.
Now I have a video record of the seminar material, which is great, in and of itself. But even if I NEVER look at that footage again, the very act of reviewing and re-enacting the material helps burn it into the my memory.
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I paid good money for that seminar, and I want to get as much out of it as I can!
Sometimes an instructor will allow you to video the seminar - if that's the case, then you're laughing. You can review the techniques later just by watching the video. Many instructors have been burnt by video taping, don't allow it anymore. They're sick and tired of the material ending up on youtube and/or being traded by video pirates. As a video producer myself I can certainly sympathize with their point of view (the instructors, not the pirates).
My usual method of preserving the information is to take notes. I use a two-step method.
In the actual seminar itself I write things down as fast as I can, using abbreviations and paying no attention to neatness or organization. I can pretty much guarantee that if you got ahold of my rough notes they would make NO sense to you, (partially because my handwriting - when I'm going this fast - is about as bad as that of the average prescription-writing doctor...).
Then, within 48 hours, I write out the final set of notes, using the rough notes to help tickle my memory. In addition to having organized notes that I can refer to later, I find that the actual act of writing the material down a second time really helps me remember and internalize the techniques.
Recently though, I've been experimenting with another approach.
First I write the rough notes during the seminar, just as before. The goal here is not to write down everything, or be tidy - I'm just trying to create a set of triggers to help me remember the key points of the techniques.
Then, in the next few days, I grab my video camera and a willing body, preferably someone who was at the same seminar. I then film myself going through the material, referring to my notes as needed.
Now I have a video record of the seminar material, which is great, in and of itself. But even if I NEVER look at that footage again, the very act of reviewing and re-enacting the material helps burn it into the my memory.
(Some photos from seminars I've attended with Roy Harris, Roger Machado, Carlos Newton and Marc Laimon)
Labels: teachers, techniques
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August 17, 2008
On Keeping Your Enemies (and his Coach) Close
I don't remember too much from my first BJJ tournament other than that the place was packed, that there were lots of huge guys strutting around like they owned the place, and that I was nervous as hell.
One thing I DO remember, however, is an inadvertent bit of help I received in a match. I was fighting this big guy and managed to sweep and pin him. All of a sudden I heard his coach yelling "bridge him over! He doesn't have any base on that side". Although this advice was meant for my opponent he actually ended up warning ME of my vulnerability instead. I posted my head on the floor to compensate for my lack of base and he never did successfully bridge me.
This episode made a strong impression, and in subsequent competitions I always made sure not only to listen to my own coach, but also to my opponent's coach. There were many times that I had access into my opponent's brain by listening to what his coach was telling him, and sometimes those little tidbits of information made a huge difference.
Of course you should also listen to your own coach, but hopefully your coach is wording his advice in a way that isn't much use to your opponent. Little harm can come of your coach letting you know to protect your arm, or to put more weight onto your opponent, but if he's telling you stuff like "push down on his right knee and then pass to your left" then he might actually be helping your opponent instead of you!
So listen to you your coach, but also listen to your opponent's coach. It's a real life application of the old adage "keep your friends close but your enemies closer".
And if you coaching or cornering someone in a match take care what you say and how you say it. It can be a little hard to do, but try to give advice which doesn't give any useful information to the opponent.
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One thing I DO remember, however, is an inadvertent bit of help I received in a match. I was fighting this big guy and managed to sweep and pin him. All of a sudden I heard his coach yelling "bridge him over! He doesn't have any base on that side". Although this advice was meant for my opponent he actually ended up warning ME of my vulnerability instead. I posted my head on the floor to compensate for my lack of base and he never did successfully bridge me.
This episode made a strong impression, and in subsequent competitions I always made sure not only to listen to my own coach, but also to my opponent's coach. There were many times that I had access into my opponent's brain by listening to what his coach was telling him, and sometimes those little tidbits of information made a huge difference.
Of course you should also listen to your own coach, but hopefully your coach is wording his advice in a way that isn't much use to your opponent. Little harm can come of your coach letting you know to protect your arm, or to put more weight onto your opponent, but if he's telling you stuff like "push down on his right knee and then pass to your left" then he might actually be helping your opponent instead of you!
So listen to you your coach, but also listen to your opponent's coach. It's a real life application of the old adage "keep your friends close but your enemies closer".
And if you coaching or cornering someone in a match take care what you say and how you say it. It can be a little hard to do, but try to give advice which doesn't give any useful information to the opponent.
Labels: teachers, the mental aspect
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August 12, 2008
Thoughts on Lesnar vs. Herring, UFC 87
Like many of you, last Saturday night I sat transfixed, watching Brock Lesnar maul Heath Herring at UFC 87. While I was watching, a friend leaned over and asked me if I'd injured myself recently: I had gotten so tense while watching that my neck was all stiff and my shoulders were creeping up to somewhere around my ears.
My tension (and interest in the fight) arose for at least three reasons.
Firstly, as you've probably noticed, Brock Lesnar is a very large human. He actually has to cut weight to get under the 265 pound limit for heavyweights. The combination of huge size and great athleticism makes for such fascinating viewing that if one of those Pacific Northwest earthquakes had hit while I during that fight I probably wouldn't have noticed.
Secondly, my friend and mentor Erik Paulson was in Lesnar's corner. Brock Lesnar was very happy with the training he'd received from Erik Paulson and Greg Nelson for his debut fight against Frank Mir, and so, despite a disappointing initial loss, decided to stick with his coaching staff. From personal experience I know just how good an instructor Erik is, but it's always nice when someone famous agrees with you.
Thirdly, I was fascinated by how disciplined Brock Lesnar was. He didn't get greedy or overreach, he just stuck to his gameplan and methodically continued the beatdown. He paced himself and never used dipped too deep into his anaerobic reserves. Also, when Lesnar was in mount and Herring turned to his belly, Lesnar DIDN'T put the hooks in and move into rearmount as most MMA fighters would do. Instead he dismounted, leaving Herring turtled beneath him. Years of amateur wrestling have made Lesnar very comfortable in what is basically a modified referee's position, and it worked great for him.
The point here is NOT that you shouldn't take rear mount if your opponent gives it to you - I love the rear mount and always take it if given the chance. The point is that you shouldn't change horses in midstream, especially if the horse you're on is taking you the right way anyhow. Lesnar had a strategy that had worked for him in wrestling and had worked for him in MMA training, and now it worked for him in the UFC.
Here are some links and resources relevant to some of the topics I discussed today:
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My tension (and interest in the fight) arose for at least three reasons.
Firstly, as you've probably noticed, Brock Lesnar is a very large human. He actually has to cut weight to get under the 265 pound limit for heavyweights. The combination of huge size and great athleticism makes for such fascinating viewing that if one of those Pacific Northwest earthquakes had hit while I during that fight I probably wouldn't have noticed.
Secondly, my friend and mentor Erik Paulson was in Lesnar's corner. Brock Lesnar was very happy with the training he'd received from Erik Paulson and Greg Nelson for his debut fight against Frank Mir, and so, despite a disappointing initial loss, decided to stick with his coaching staff. From personal experience I know just how good an instructor Erik is, but it's always nice when someone famous agrees with you.
Thirdly, I was fascinated by how disciplined Brock Lesnar was. He didn't get greedy or overreach, he just stuck to his gameplan and methodically continued the beatdown. He paced himself and never used dipped too deep into his anaerobic reserves. Also, when Lesnar was in mount and Herring turned to his belly, Lesnar DIDN'T put the hooks in and move into rearmount as most MMA fighters would do. Instead he dismounted, leaving Herring turtled beneath him. Years of amateur wrestling have made Lesnar very comfortable in what is basically a modified referee's position, and it worked great for him.
The point here is NOT that you shouldn't take rear mount if your opponent gives it to you - I love the rear mount and always take it if given the chance. The point is that you shouldn't change horses in midstream, especially if the horse you're on is taking you the right way anyhow. Lesnar had a strategy that had worked for him in wrestling and had worked for him in MMA training, and now it worked for him in the UFC.
Here are some links and resources relevant to some of the topics I discussed today:
- Brock Lesnar on his coaches and training to prepare for Heath Herring
- How to cut weight for MMA
- How to apply the Rear Naked Choke, my favorite rear mount submission
Labels: Brock Lesnar, MMA, teachers
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July 02, 2008
Paulson Podcast
My friend and coach Erik Paulson was recently featured on the MMA Podcast Carson's Corner. It is a very interesting interview in which he candidly discusses his recent (triumphant) return to the ring, why he wasn't allowed to compete in the early UFC, and coaching such fighters as Ken Shamrock and Josh Barnett.bookmark this! del.icio.us | Digg it | reddit | Yahoo MyWeb | Google | StumbleUpon
April 13, 2008
Congratulations to a Leglock Master
I'm delighted that Oleg Taktarov recently stepped back into the cage and defeated Mark Kerr with a kneebar, which has always been one of Oleg's signature moves. Oleg was very influential on my leglock game development, both in terms of technique and teaching method. He always taught in a clear, systematic manner, using examples and analogies to get his point across.
If you want to see the fight, it is floating around out there in cyberspace (hint: try dailymotion.com).
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If you want to see the fight, it is floating around out there in cyberspace (hint: try dailymotion.com).
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April 02, 2008
Dan Inosanto on Adaptation
Last weekend I had the pleasure of learning from Dan Inosanto at a seminar. As he often does, he stressed the importance of adapting techniques to make them work for you, regardless of whether those techniques are Filipino stick disarms, Jun Fan kickboxing or BJJ submissions.
Your teacher might have a great triangle choke, and if you pay attention you will learn most of the small details that make it work for him. Before you can make the triangle choke your signature move, however, you are probably going to have to adapt it, because it is very likely your physical and mental attributes will differ from those of your instructor.
Physical attributes are very important in determining which techniques will work best for you. Most of the time your physical attributes won't actually make it impossible for you to do a specific technique, but they will affect the ways in which you need to tweak the technique so that it works optimally for you.
It is also important to recognize that your physical attributes will change over time. I recently talked to a fighter who said that he could never quite finish the triangle choke when he weighed 155 lbs, but that this technique started working for him when he got over 170 lbs. This fighter was quite tall (6' 2"), and at 170 lbs his legs had become a bit more muscular, just large enough to fill up the room around his opponent's necks.
Mental and emotional attributes are also important. An MMA fighter who is willing to stand and trade punches - Wanderlei Silva for example - needs a lot of pain tolerance and aggression for that tactic to be successful. A more patient and calm person might have a difficult time pursuing such a strategy, and might be better suited for a counterattacking style of fighting.
All this dependence on attributes can make life difficult for instructors. It's easy to teach students when their physical and mental attributes are similar to your own, but this changes when the people you're trying to teach are very different from yourself. This is one reason why you should pay attention to techniques and variations that you don't like: you may need to teach them to someone some day.
Consider how you would have to modify your bread and butter techniques to make them work for:
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Your teacher might have a great triangle choke, and if you pay attention you will learn most of the small details that make it work for him. Before you can make the triangle choke your signature move, however, you are probably going to have to adapt it, because it is very likely your physical and mental attributes will differ from those of your instructor.
Physical attributes are very important in determining which techniques will work best for you. Most of the time your physical attributes won't actually make it impossible for you to do a specific technique, but they will affect the ways in which you need to tweak the technique so that it works optimally for you.
It is also important to recognize that your physical attributes will change over time. I recently talked to a fighter who said that he could never quite finish the triangle choke when he weighed 155 lbs, but that this technique started working for him when he got over 170 lbs. This fighter was quite tall (6' 2"), and at 170 lbs his legs had become a bit more muscular, just large enough to fill up the room around his opponent's necks.
Mental and emotional attributes are also important. An MMA fighter who is willing to stand and trade punches - Wanderlei Silva for example - needs a lot of pain tolerance and aggression for that tactic to be successful. A more patient and calm person might have a difficult time pursuing such a strategy, and might be better suited for a counterattacking style of fighting.
All this dependence on attributes can make life difficult for instructors. It's easy to teach students when their physical and mental attributes are similar to your own, but this changes when the people you're trying to teach are very different from yourself. This is one reason why you should pay attention to techniques and variations that you don't like: you may need to teach them to someone some day.
Consider how you would have to modify your bread and butter techniques to make them work for:
- a 110 lb woman who wanted to learn BJJ
- a group of senior citizens interested in self defense
- Bob Sapp (a 370 lb MMA fighter) looking to improve his MMA game
Labels: older grapplers, teachers, the mental aspect
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March 23, 2008
The Art of the Tap
Stephan's note: The following tip is courtesy of Roy Dean, who is a black belt in BJJ under Roy Harris, as well as a third degree black belt in Seibukan Jujutsu. Today he shares with us a refreshingly different perspective from the ‘thug-jitsu’ that has become the norm at many schools.
There are many ways to view things, and the most popular viewpoints are not always correct.
Many Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and submission grappling students look down on tapping to your opponent. Surely, it signals submission. Some see that submission as losing- a loss of face, a diminishment of your stature in your academy hierarchy, proof that the person you just wrestled is "better than you."
In the beginning of your training, tapping others is the goal. Later, generally at purple, brown, and black belt levels, tapping other people (especially lower ranks) becomes easy. What was once so difficult to do, and took so much struggle to attain, becomes boring and routine. Just "doing it" no longer thrills you, and how you do it becomes much more important. The quality of experience takes precedence.
BJJ is a dance, a sophisticated martial interplay where warriors jockey for position and leadership. One person may lead, and in an even match, the dynamic will switch back and forth between the two partners. After dominating the dance a thousand times, allowing others to lead refreshes the dynamic of the game. And if you're really good, you can guide your partner into submitting you gracefully, without tipping them off on how you opened that door for them to walk through.
Every time I tap to my students, I share a little more of the art, and empower somebody else to experience success. During my blue belt tests, I am the last person to spar with the candidate. At that point they are exhausted, and although I may tap them once or twice in the last 5 minutes of their exam, the challenge is to have them dig deep and conjure that warrior within. I create a genuine struggle for them to not give up, to stay mentally strong, and seize the opportunity to finish the fight that will eventually present itself.
True martial arts is about service: to the art, to your students, and to your teacher. Part of my service is to teach those that train with me how to lead, and how to follow. This creates a much friendlier, safer, and open training environment, where experimentation is encouraged and another's success is equal to your own. Ultimately, this will accelerate the moral and technical development for all participants.
Roy Dean
www.jujutsujournal.com
www.roydeanacademy.com
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There are many ways to view things, and the most popular viewpoints are not always correct.Many Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and submission grappling students look down on tapping to your opponent. Surely, it signals submission. Some see that submission as losing- a loss of face, a diminishment of your stature in your academy hierarchy, proof that the person you just wrestled is "better than you."
In the beginning of your training, tapping others is the goal. Later, generally at purple, brown, and black belt levels, tapping other people (especially lower ranks) becomes easy. What was once so difficult to do, and took so much struggle to attain, becomes boring and routine. Just "doing it" no longer thrills you, and how you do it becomes much more important. The quality of experience takes precedence.
BJJ is a dance, a sophisticated martial interplay where warriors jockey for position and leadership. One person may lead, and in an even match, the dynamic will switch back and forth between the two partners. After dominating the dance a thousand times, allowing others to lead refreshes the dynamic of the game. And if you're really good, you can guide your partner into submitting you gracefully, without tipping them off on how you opened that door for them to walk through.
Every time I tap to my students, I share a little more of the art, and empower somebody else to experience success. During my blue belt tests, I am the last person to spar with the candidate. At that point they are exhausted, and although I may tap them once or twice in the last 5 minutes of their exam, the challenge is to have them dig deep and conjure that warrior within. I create a genuine struggle for them to not give up, to stay mentally strong, and seize the opportunity to finish the fight that will eventually present itself.
True martial arts is about service: to the art, to your students, and to your teacher. Part of my service is to teach those that train with me how to lead, and how to follow. This creates a much friendlier, safer, and open training environment, where experimentation is encouraged and another's success is equal to your own. Ultimately, this will accelerate the moral and technical development for all participants.
Roy Dean
www.jujutsujournal.com
www.roydeanacademy.com
Labels: teachers, the mental aspect
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January 16, 2008
Training with Erik Paulson
Last weekend I got to train with one of my coaches and friend Erik Paulson, who was hosted in Seattle by Chris Clarke of Northwest Kali. As usual Erik covered an amazing amount of material that I'll be digesting for long time. It was great that several seminar participants came up to me and introduced themselves as readers of this newsletter. Sometimes I forget how big this mailing list has become, and so it's still a thrill to put faces to email addresses and realize that there are real actual people reading these newsletters!
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November 12, 2007
The Amazing Dan Inosanto
I have to share this footage of one of my instructors, Dan Inosanto, doing some BJJ sparring. This incredible man is now in his 70's, and I hope I learn to move that smoothly some day... He continues to train, teach and inspire at a pace that would kill most men half his age.
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Labels: teachers
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September 16, 2007
How to Stand in the Guard
Last week I discussed the differences between standing and kneeling guard passes. One thing I pointed out was that some schools tend use only kneeling guard passes whereas other schools tend to mix up their guard passing and use both standing and kneeling passes.
My BJJ coach Marcus Soares tends to prefer standing guard passes. What makes his passes different is that when he stands up in the guard his legs are NOT STRAIGHT - he actually squats down into a deep crouch position which lowers his center of gravity and makes it much harder to sweep him.
His standing guard passing posture is very similar to the bottom position of the bodyweight squats that he loves to include in his legendary 'warmups' (the sixth exercise in this sequence). Obviously endurance in the leg muscles is an asset to standing guard passes - if you legs get tired you will begin to straighten them, your center of gravity will rise and you will become ever more vulnerable to sweeps.
Here are some other things to keep in mind if you want to develop your standing guard passes:
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My BJJ coach Marcus Soares tends to prefer standing guard passes. What makes his passes different is that when he stands up in the guard his legs are NOT STRAIGHT - he actually squats down into a deep crouch position which lowers his center of gravity and makes it much harder to sweep him.
His standing guard passing posture is very similar to the bottom position of the bodyweight squats that he loves to include in his legendary 'warmups' (the sixth exercise in this sequence). Obviously endurance in the leg muscles is an asset to standing guard passes - if you legs get tired you will begin to straighten them, your center of gravity will rise and you will become ever more vulnerable to sweeps.Here are some other things to keep in mind if you want to develop your standing guard passes:
- Do you know how to defend against the anklelocks and kneebars that your opponent might attack you with if you stand.
- How can you free your foot if your opponent cups your heel (one idea is discussed here).
- What are you going to do if your opponent underhooks your leg with his arm. One of my favorite responses is to drop that knee back down to the ground and attempt to apply the arm behind the back guard pass.
- How can you control your opponent's hips while standing (i.e. the principle of caging the hips)
Labels: conditioning, teachers, the guard
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May 09, 2004
All else being equal, work on your endurance
Endurance is the key. It doesn’t matter if you run in the park, skip rope, swim in a pool or go mountain biking: if you aren’t training to increase your stamina you are short-changing your potential on the mat.
The legendary martial artist, Dan Inosanto, once said that he thought endurance was the most important of the various physical attributes. “If you are tired you’re not strong, if you are tired you’re not fast, if you’re tired you don’t have good technique, and if you’re tired you’re not even smart”, he said.
Being able to bench press 400 pounds is impressive, but this fact alone doesn’t tell you much about a grappler’s level of general conditioning. The more interesting statistic might be how much can someone bench press right after running a 6 minute mile!
Bruce Lee called running the ‘king of exercises’ and used to take his running shoes with him when traveling to scout out movie locations. Put on your running shoes and you’ll be in some pretty prestigious company!
Read my article on cardio for martial arts
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The legendary martial artist, Dan Inosanto, once said that he thought endurance was the most important of the various physical attributes. “If you are tired you’re not strong, if you are tired you’re not fast, if you’re tired you don’t have good technique, and if you’re tired you’re not even smart”, he said.
Being able to bench press 400 pounds is impressive, but this fact alone doesn’t tell you much about a grappler’s level of general conditioning. The more interesting statistic might be how much can someone bench press right after running a 6 minute mile!
Bruce Lee called running the ‘king of exercises’ and used to take his running shoes with him when traveling to scout out movie locations. Put on your running shoes and you’ll be in some pretty prestigious company!
Read my article on cardio for martial arts
Labels: conditioning, teachers
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