Cooler than a polar bear's toenails.
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Cooler than a polar bear's toenails.
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(This'll take several parts which aren't necessarily connected. Read them in any order you want, or not at all) In Brazilian jiu-jitsu, you'll hear that it's "the journey, not the destination", that matters. And for the most part, that's true. When the journey involves getting repeatedly choked, however, you start looking for ways to speed it up. That's where the pursuit of improvement comes in. Everyone has their own methods of improvement. A quick Google search for "how to get good at BJJ" yields 574 million results. Keenan Cornelius, Kit Dale, and Andre Galvao have all given their personal tips on the topic. Even though any of them would twist me into a pretzel, I needed a blog post, so I figured here are mine. Before anything else, you have to realize that jiu jitsu is a knowledge based sport. This is one of the reasons why people have such a hard time when they're just starting. Like learning a new language, they can only understand bits and pieces at once. The fix for this is visualization. You see, most people won't spend any time thinking about jiu jitsu other than when they are in class. By taking time during the day to visualize moves and play with positions in your mind, you can consciously begin to wrap your head around the bigger picture. This translates to what's called "fight IQ", which is when you can understand what's going on. Watching someone with high fight IQ grapple is a very enjoyable experience, as it looks like they can see the future. Every move is planned for, and their opponent seems to make mistakes and fall into traps. Spectators look on in awe as the grapplers decimate their opponents, who are left wondering "how did that happen?". Some good examples are the Mendes brothers. While passing guard, they skillfully float around their opponents, who are pretty much powerless to stop them. (credit to Mendes brothers) I really can't stress the importance of visualization enough. It's been proven by countless athletes and sports psychologists to be nearly as useful as actual practice. While not a substitute for training, it will help you outwork your opponents even when you're sick, injured, or can't get to the gym. Where it really shines, though, is when you're perfectly healthy and use it just to compliment your training. The second way to improve is goal-based training. Remember when I said that jiu jitsu is a knowledge based sport? While that's true, you can't try to focus on everything at once. Whenever you spar, you should do so with a goal - the more specific the better. Against a higher level opponent, you might focus on a stronger part of your game. When rolling with a lower level opponent, you could practice a technique that isn't as developed. Doing this also helps prevent burnout and discouragement. When I roll with black belts or other high level opponents, I look for the small victories, like opening closed guard or not being swept. I try to force them to play my game instead of blindly falling into theirs. If you don't have a plan like this, you're getting about the same benefits as getting into a garbage can and being pushed down a flight of stairs. It might build your toughness, but nothing else, and it's definitely not recommended. Focused training goes hand in hand with visualization. When you try to apply the moves that you've visualized, the live training will spotlight flaws in the technique and problems you might not have thought of. This is a good thing! By becoming aware of these issues, you can start looking for solutions to them. An overlooked way to progress is through unorthodox training. By this, I mean using games and other training methods to build skill. While normally thought of as being limited to kids classes. there's no reason why adults shouldn't be using training methods other than drilling and sparring. For one, they break up the monotony that can sometimes take over training. In a very Mr. Miyagi way, they can also help you learn skills while not even knowing it. A good way to think about games and unorthodox drills is that they are simply methods of indirect learning. They are innovative ways of training concepts instead of techniques. Walk into any wrestling mat room and you'll see some variation of the "toe touch" drill being played. The concept is simple: touch your opponent's foot with your hand. During wrestling practices, I always thought this drill was a waste of time. However, my opinion changed when I realized that it's an invaluable method of learning how to get in on your opponent's legs. Here you can see Iowa Hawkeye Brent Metcalf demonstrating the toe touch game (credit to FloSports and FloWrestling). Finally, the last method we'll talk about is maximizing productivity in training. This is pretty simple. During class, make an effort to be mentally present. Don't allow your mind to wander. Leave all your problems off the mat. There's a time for training and then there's a time for everything else. You're there to improve, so why is your mind wandering? I don't mean to take it so seriously that it becomes a drag; there's no quicker way to lose interest. But be conscious of your actions and make the most of your time. When drilling, strive for 100% perfect repetitions. When sparring, do so with the intent of improving. Don't cut corners by choosing a lower level partner when you could be going against the best. In the end, it all comes down to dedication, and how bad you want it. The only thing holding you back is how much you are willing to focus. Put your efforts towards progression and watch the results unfold! rick
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Most of us are no strangers to conflict. Whether it be verbal, mental, emotional or even physical, there's a large chance that we have to deal with some in our lives on a daily basis. It's understood that this world we live in isn't anything close to fair or easy.
How you handle it, however, varies from person to person. You get some people who blow up at the world, criticizing others and never taking the blame. Others assume a cynical sense of humor, distancing themselves from their surroundings in a futile attempt to hide from their problems. It's easy to do either of those things. It takes no effort to put up a facade, to hide from conflict, to pretend it's not there. It's a little more difficult when you can't hide from it. You can't run. You can't do anything but face it head on, and you especially can't blame it on anyone but yourself. To me, that's what Brazilian jiu-jitsu is. Some people use it purely as sport, others as a social activity, and some as a means of self defense. I fit into all of those categories - I started it for its self defense benefits, the sport aspect keeps me motivated, and the social part builds up many of my friendships, but when you really get down to it, I view it as a form of self-improvement. On the mats, your grades don't matter. You're not focused on your family, your relationship, your popularity. One thing matters, and it is the task at hand. You're grappling with the person in front of you, and nothing more. Everything is irrelevant, except your opponent. Your anxiety is gone, your problems solved, if only for a moment. All that is on your mind is the goal of taking them down, of passing their guard, of taking their back, of submitting them. One thing at a time, and so it goes. Walking into the stadium, you look out at the mats laid out and the referees scrambling to put the brackets in order. Your music playing through your headphones, the emotion leaves your face. You become stone cold. You know what you have to do, and you're just waiting until they call you up. You're shaking a little as they call you up, but damned if you're going to let anyone see it. Under the eyes of everyone in the crowds, you're a different person. Nothing matters but the fight. You don't smile, you don't frown. There will be time for that after the match. And no matter the outcome, you know you can't make any excuses, because out there, in combat, it's all you. You take off your shoes, shake a bit of the energy out, and step on the mats. Look your opponent in the eyes. Slap hands. Bump fists. "Combat!" and it's on. rick |
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