Archive for BJJ Technique
MMA Technique #1 from UFC 120 training camp in Iowa…
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Hey guys,
I’ve written a lot of stuff about and shot a lot of video of the training here in Iowa with Spencer Fisher as we get prepared to do battle on October 16th at UFC 120 in London, England. I won’t be sharing any training video footage or other training until after the fight is over but I will be putting together a compilation of everything.
I did however record a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu technique –great for gi, no-gi and mma training- that I was working with a group of guys down here. Be careful when you apply it in action because sometimes the other person doesn’t realized that it’s a solid submission and then resist tapping and hurt their shoulder badly. Go very slow with it when you apply it.
Here it is.
Rubens “Cobrinha” Charles BJJ Seminar Day 1
Posted by: | CommentsBack for 3 days from Iowa for the Ruben’s “Cobrinha” Charles at my martial arts school, day one of the seminar went great! Cobrinha showed some awesome sweep from the sit up guard and had everyone work on several omaplata attacks after that. Cobrinha’s omaplata is insane, tough to escape and ultra tight. It’s always great to learn details regarding someone’s most dangerous attacks.
After 2 hours of drilling techniques we hit the mats to roll. An hour later, everyone was tired and smiling from the great experience they had at the seminar. Tomorrow is the no-gi seminar which I know will be excellent as well. Details is where it’s at and Cobrinha does a fantastic job of explaining the tiniest of details when he teaches BJJ.
I’ll let you know how it goes…
8 Beginner BJJ & Grappling Tips
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Beginner BJJ & Grappling Tips
Most people can throw some sort of punch which enables them to jump into stand up sparring and at least do something offensive in the beginning. When it comes to groundwork training things are quite different; most people don’t have a clue as to what to do. If the matted area that you grapple on was an ocean, a well trained BJJ student would be a shark and you, being new, can’t even swim yet. Now that’s Scary!
The good news is that there are a few things that you can incorporate into your rolling and overall training mindset that will bring things into the proper perspective, take some pressure off of you, make you a little harder to tap out and cause your training to be way more fun.
Here they are…
1. Guard Your Arms!
Extending your arms to push a rolling opponent away from you at the wrong time is one of the quickest ways to get yourself submitted. There are times when you should push with fully extended arms but in the beginning you unfortunately won’t know when it’s a safe time to do so. Therefore, It’s a good idea to try to keep both of your arms close to your body at all times, rarely extending them past a 90 degree angle. If you do get arm locked –you probably still will from time to time– try to recognize how your opponent caught you and the next time your find yourself in that same position, work even harder to protect your arms!
2. Guard your Neck!
It’s pretty much guaranteed that you will be choked into submission often when your first start rolling (sparring) with live opponents. Keep this from happening way too much by guarding your neck in several different ways; first don’t let them grab inside your collars with their hands if you’re training with a gi on; secondly avoid putting your head and neck underneath one of their armpits and you’ll avoid the dreaded guillotine choke; and third, when their arms are moving aggressively towards your neck area fight hard with both of your hands to stop them from locking in any sort of choke otherwise it’ll quickly be game over.
If you find yourself caught in a tight choke, remember it won’t hurt very much but it will render you unconscious in only a few seconds. Tap out and you can train again right away; don’t tap and when you awaken from unconsciousness, you’ll feel surprised that you’re lying on the mats in the gym instead of home in your bedroom. Not a good feeling but don’t worry though it has happened to us all.
3. Use your Hips
Try your best not to just lie there while your opponent works you into some sort of choke, arm lock of leg lock. Your two legs can create an incredibly strong bridging motion when you plant them solidly on the floor and lift your hips up high. This bridging motion can destabilize your opponent forcing them to release certain holds in order to maintain their positioning and balance. A explosively strong bridge can also get you out of bad positions sometimes allowing you to move from the bottom position to the top. Keep your hips and entire body moving at all times and you’ll instantly make yourself much more difficult to control and submit.
4. Learn Your Escapes and Defenses
In terms of technique drilling, positional escapes can sometimes seem less exciting to practice than a flashy submission hold or a big takedown but they are exactly what you need to get good at when you first begin training on the ground. Pay attention to detail when learning escapes and spend a lot of time practicing them because it will pay off greatly by allowing you to survive a little longer with the tougher rolling partners.
If you have the money to invest in some private lessons with your instructor do it and use those lessons to hone your escape and submission defense skills. It’ll be well worth it.
5. Leave your Ego at the Door
This is the most important tip of all in my opinion. If you let getting tapped out, flipped, twisted, and squished by students –sometimes ones smaller and weaker than you—depress you and make you feel down, get ready because you’re going to be depressed for quite a while. These things are all part of the learning process and all who have achieved the upper belts in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (or a high level of proficiency in another ground fighting style) were once in your shoes. Instead of looking at training like a competition, try to enjoy your workouts, the fact that you are able to get out there and do it and when you get tapped out simply jump back in there and get back at it. Train hard and you’ll soon feel more like the hammer instead of the nail. Being the hammer is so fun!
6. Drill, Drill and Drill some more…
Underestimate the importance of practicing a certain technique many times and you will pay the price; your movement will never be executed smooth enough or fast enough or with the necessary details needed for it to work against a strong resisting opponent.
When you learn a technical movement, be sure to practice it often within the next month or so. It’s better to repeat one technique hundreds of times within a month then to learn a new technique every day and practice each of them very little. With focused practice you will be great with a few techniques instead of knowing many techniques that you pretty much suck at. This will arm you with a strong technical foundation that you will be able to build upon in the future so be sure to drill, drill, and drill some more…
7. Spend Some Time Stretching!
When you are new to mixed martial arts you will definitely experience some soreness after rigorous training sessions. A lot of punching will tighten the arms, kicking with work the hamstrings and other leg muscles, and groundwork (BJJ or some other grappling art) will take a pretty good chunk of time for your body to get used to.
Most often an instructor will put you through a complete warm-up to prep you for the remainder of class but you will find a lot of benefit in supplementing your training with some additional stretching. Yoga classes are a great option or you could simply repeat, on your own time, the many warm-ups and flexibility improving exercises that you learn in your martial arts classes.
Improved flexibility will help prevent personal injury and will also allow you to perform certain manoeuvres that those with limited flexibility cannot. I can tell you from personal experience that facing a very flexible opponent on the ground is a pain in the butt; their guards are often difficult to pass, they are tough to tap out and often have a great ability to escape trouble. Stretching early in the morning will also make your feel great and set a positive tone for the rest of your day so be sure to try it out.
8. Show up for Classes
As an instructor the most common question that I am asked is “How do I get good fast?” My answer is simple. I tell them to just keep showing up for class.
Over the years, my best students have been those people that rarely miss a training session, the type of student that trains so often that when they don’t show up, you assume something bad has happened. That’s the type of dedication it takes to really excel in any martial art and it’s extra important for MMA training because there is so much stuff to learn.
If there was a magic pill that could make people champions I’d sell it and become very, very rich but for now all I know is that you must put in the time to become a diamond on the mats. So remember, no excuses! Train anytime you get the chance, participate in seminars, book private lessons and immerse yourself in mixed martial arts training to the fullest and I guarantee that good things will follow.
Train Hard, Train Smart and Have Fun!
Looking to Start your MMA Training? If so, you’ve got to check out my MMA QuickStart 12-week training program ==> www.mmaquickstart.com
Beginner MMA Training Program – MMA QuickStart
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My Beginner MMA Program – MMA QuickStart launches on October 6th, 2010
Ever since I began offering online mixed martial arts (MMA) instruction through this website, I’ve received countless emails from people asking for an MMA program training program specifically for those with little to no experience. Many mentioned that they don’t have access to high quality training, others were searching for a head start before they join a nearby gym.
Well, after more than 2 years in development the program is ready to go so I’ve set a launch date…
Check it out…
BJJ Video Workshop – Highly Effective Counter Attacks
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In this video training series you’ll learn to tap your opponents quickly by surprising them with quick counter attacks.
The workshop series contains some quick counters to a variety of your opponents attacks. I also made sure that the counters I taught ended up with you applying a submission hold of your own so that you can end the fight quickly.
From single leg takedowns, to omaplatas, kimuras and footlocks we counter them all, firing back with a bunch of different attacks inclduing toe holds, armlocks, shoulder crushes and more.
You’ll find yourself looking forward to having your opponent attack you so that you can instantly turn the tables on them and get the tap out!
Your confidence on the mats will soar when you master the 14 videos in this training series…
Below is a video from the series showing one of my favourite ways to work against an opponent that is attempting a single leg.
To pick up the entire video series visit the PREMIUM SHOP.
MMA/Boxing/BJJ/Kickboxing Training Tip – Take Notes!
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MMA/BJJ/Boxing/Kickboxing Training Tip – Take notes
Writing down what you learn at BJJ, Boxing, Kick boxing or Wrestling practice is a great way to help your remember attacks, defenses and escapes better than ever before. The writing process will bring the techniques you recently learned back into your mind, which is almost as good as practicing them all over again, as you focus on getting every little technical detail out of your freshly punched or squished head and onto the paper.
Here’s a few tips that I’ve used over the years to help me take better notes:
- Pay attention to the even the tiniest of details and keep a record of every technique, concept and strategy you learn in class, from another student, through observation of sparring sessions or during a private lesson with your instructor. Before you know it you’ll have a ton of stuff to practice outside of your regular training schedule.
- Do not…I repeat do not attempt to remember any detail, no matter how memorable it may seem at the time, in your head. If anything is forgotten, your technique will be much less effective and may potentially not even work at all.
I’ll say it one more time because it is so important. When taking notes be sure to include every single detail!
I’ve run into trouble in the past when my technique description was lacking. For instance, I would often write to use one of my hands for some movement within a technique but forgot to specify if it was my left or right hand. At the time I thought I would easily remember something as small as that and a week later I probably did. A month later that vital information was often lost from my mind. I quickly learned that taking ten minutes or more after class or a seminar to write down everything was worth the effort.
- A pen and paper system has always worked well for me. If you can type pretty fast I also suggest entering into a computer program such as Microsoft Word as it may help you keep more organized. Typing your notes into the computer will give your mind another look at the many techniques that you are hoping to put to use in your training in the near future. The more time you spend thinking about martial arts, the faster you will improve.
- The notes you take won’t be of any value to you unless you go back to them often and practice them with a partner. At first I suggest you work on them several times per week, before class, after class or even at home if you have a good spot to practice. I used to meet up with a different training partner –so I wouldn’t burn them out– every morning for two hours and go over six to eight different techniques.
- Once you’ve mastered the technique’s static application –which they say takes at least a thousand repetitions—the notes are not as important as the movement will have become embedded into your subconscious. You’ll start finding yourself pulling the movements off during training and maybe even competition. That’s when you can begin to move onto to practice the many other techniques in your training notebook.
Keep in mind that carrying your notebook with you to martial arts class, and writing notes in the midst of a seminar might not seem like the coolest things to do but don’t worry it’ll all be worth it. The quick gains you’ll make in skill will soon have you submitting anyone who laughs at your methods. 
Fedor vs. Werdum – A Deep Triangle Choke Position Escape
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Fabricio Werdum did it! He beat Fedor Emelianenko, the man many people believed was unbeatable and he did it with one of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu’s most effective attacks, the triangle choke position. He ended up finishing by applying pressure to Fedor’s elbow with an armlock but it all started with the threat of the triangle choke.
Well more accurately, I believe it was because Fedor punched himself into the triangle choke position which Werdum did a great job of taking advantage of. With little respect for Werdum’s guard, Fedor tried to finish his Brazilian opponent with some intense ground and pound after dropping him to the canvas with a solid shot to the head moments earlier. The only problem was that his repeated one arm bombardment placed himself within the triangle choke several times in a row. He shook out of the first few fairly easily but then found himself in one of the most threatening positions in the game of MMA, trapped within a fully locked triangle choke which left his neck and arm in some serious danger. Even worse was the fact that it was a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu champion that was applying the submission hold on him.
Escaping that type of situation would be like trying to run from an attacker that is holding a gun to you head. Chances are ultra slim that you’ll be able to do but there’s always a chance.
In this video I show you the escape that I use when I am completely stuck inside a fully locked triangle choke position. A final shot at avoiding this excellent submission hold. It must be done as soon as you feel your trapped arm passed across the opponent’s stomach and before he is able to start attacking that arm by straightening it out.
It’s one of over 20 videos from my Submisson Escape workshop that is available in the PREMIUM SHOP.
Try it out in your training.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Counter Attacks – Next Workshop!
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On Sunday July 11th I’ll be teaching another BJJ workshop (with gi) at Joslin’s MMA in Hamilton.
The focus of this one will be counter attacks; covering many ways to surprise you opponent by using his own attack against him. You’ll learn how to knee bar them when then try to sweep you, tap them out when they attack your arms and many other cool way to turn the tables on them in your training and competition.
Whether your a beginner or advanced student you’ll leave this workshop with many new tricks that will keep your training partners guessing on the mats…or tapping I guess I should say instead.
Workshop: BJJ Counter Attacks (with gi)
Date: Sunday July 11th, 2010
Time: 1pm-3pm
Place: Joslin’s Mixed Martial Arts (Map)
Cost: $30 members ($40 non-members)
Register soon as space is limited to 20 people
To register online ==> CLICK HERE
How to Learn Faster From Martial Arts Instructional Videos…
Posted by: | CommentsWay back in the early 1990′s I had been training in karate and kickboxing for some time when I came across a video tape (yes a VHS tape ) that changed my life forever. It was entitled “Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu” and had been created by Renzo Gracie.
I literally watched three minutes of the first tape in the 12 volume series and I was completely hooked!
I began practicing the movements found within those instructional videos over and over again until I was comfortable with every single technique that I could find on them.
Not having access to a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu teacher, as there were very few outside of Brazil at that time –if they did relocate it was usually to Miami or someplace warm, never Canada–, I ordered every single BJJ instructional video set that came out and continued to practice, practice and practice. Sometimes even two or three times a day with anyone of my students or friends that would offer themselves up as a partner.
As I started to travel North America to train at BJJ seminars and many of the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu schools that were starting to pop up within the United States, I really wanted to remember every single bit of knowledge that I came across. If I were to forget even the smallest detail when I returned home, I knew I would never improve as fast as I wanted to. To help me to not forget things, I started creating a manual. In the video below, I explain the extent I went to making it and the amount of detail that was put into the 700+ page monster of a book…
MMA Training Tip – Be Patient Young Grasshopper!
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MMA Training Tip – Patience Will Keep Things Fun!
I really don’t believe that becoming the perfect mixed martial artist is ever possible. Well at least not in the average life span that we as human beings can expect. I’ve been training close to thirty years and sometimes there are some days I still feel like a beginner at some things.
In the beginning mixed martial arts can be a little overwhelming for many students. New students are constantly asking me how long it will take them to become good. I always tell them that there is no easy route or quick shortcut to mastery, that they should focus on attending class as often as possible and always do their best to be a good student. If they are expecting to become a professional fighter overnight, they have no clue how much dedication an accomplishment it actually takes to do so. Mind you they could just jump in and fight pro but they better have some good health insurance.
In terms of your own training, be patient. It will take some time but with some dedication and hard work you’re guaranteed to improve. In a few shorts months you will possess the skills and confidence necessary to defend yourself against the average person in the street. That is a very empowering feeling. I call this time stage one and at this is the point where things really become fun.
Like watching your own child grow, you don’t notice the technical changes and growth you are making daily but before you know it you’ve matured into an experience mixed martial artist. So be patient, have fun and remember that the enjoyment isn’t in achieving the goal, it’s in the journey along the way.
