I don't know about the rest of you out there in #steemitbjj land, but there are some great tournaments coming to Ohio to close out the year. We've got Fuji next month, IBJJF in November, and Grappling Industries in December. I'm hoping to compete in at least one but I have a lot of work to do, so I dialed it up a notch starting with tonight.
I rarely train no-gi but I know it can help improve your gi game too. My school has been switching it up every other Friday night for competition class so I decided to give it a go. We started with a good 6-minute roll but no submissions, just positional changes. This was great for me since I paired up with the killer in the red shorts. I typically tap out to him at a rate of once-per-minute but this drill helped me get some good flow going. It's a lot easier when there's no gi grips to work with either.
After that, Uncle Ron (the scary looking tattooed guy holding the cute puppy), took us through some 3 minute drills. First up was 3 minutes of take downs back and forth.
Full disclosure: I am an unabashed guard puller. Don't judge me!
It's harder to get away with that in no-gi so I had to step out of my comfort zone, in spite of the fear of my knees exploding. It wasn't so bad but at my height I really need to work on my level changes. It's very unlikely I'll come across anyone as tall as me in competition. I barely tip the scales at 155lbs with a wet gi on and I'm 6'1". So far I've been able to survive on sprawls when someone shoots in on me but I really need to get low to grab a leg on the shorter guys.
We followed up with a side control drill for 3 minutes each. From top side mount, we'd place our forehead on the same side as our own body on the mat, roll our leading shoulder over our partners stomach and jump over their legs to land in side control on the other side. It works your core from both positions and gives you good positional awareness.
The last 3 minute drill was a back and forth "sit out" drill where your partner has you turtled up on your knees in a north-south orientation. The drill involves driving forward, swimming out with your opposite side arm, sitting your butt outside the frame your opponent has created and circling to their back until you wind up the position they just had you in. It works really well going back and forth and definitely wears you out.
Then we lined up for a "king of the mat" style take down line drill. Three very experienced wrestlers just started at our academy recently and two of them were here tonight. The first one was a few spots ahead of me and he was taking down blue belts with impunity. In front of me was a larger purple belt and he even gave him a hard time. I was taken down three times in two minutes by another wrestler but had a good sprawl or two.
We finished up with 3 sets of up-down-and-out line drills. Five upper belts started down and the rest of us filed in to start in side control. When a submission or positional change occurs, the downed opponent goes to the back of the line and the next steps in. We did ten minutes of that, ten minutes from mount, and ten minutes from back control.
Gnarly wrestlers aside, I felt I had a pretty good night. Am I ready for my first competition as a blue belt? Not even close. Since my promotion, I think I've tapped out more in the last month than my first 3 months as a white belt. But that's why I train. These guys have been my brothers for the past two years and they're always helping me improve my game. It's just that their game is always improving too so it just feels like I'm never getting any better.
Who else is thinking about competing soon? @zekepickleman, got any good training tips for me?
Love, happiness, and rolls.
Oss!
I admit I am pretty much clueless about this stuff. I do agree though the guy with the puppy looks scary lol.
I came over because you were featured in this weeks @pifc curation contest by @dollarsandsense.
Good luck getting that next belt.
He is indeed a frightening fellow, but one of the downright friendliest dudes I've ever met.
We all start as a white belt. The only way to learn is give it a try!
In my experience the meanest looking guys can have the biggest hearts a lot of the time.
I probably will just be content to read along and learn from observation.
Sounds like your training is going really well! I do think it's important to mix the gi and no-gi especially if you're going to compete out of a gi!
@zekepickleman has put it nicely for you, consistency is the key! The only thing that seperates a black belt or a champion from the rest is that they turn up, no matter what.
Keep your strengths sharp while constantly trying to improve your weaknesses the closer you get to comp the more your training should replicate it. Keep hitting those sparring sessions because being fit and strong is never a weakness!
Thanks, @martiallee.
Still not sure if I'll compete no-gi. If I do compete both I could get up to 8 matches in a day depending on the format. I'm not that old, but I' not that young anymore either!
Right on! Take it all in steps and who knows where you will end up! :D
Another Steemit Martial Artist! Right on I will give you a follow and keep checking out your blog. @jiujitsu is a good martial arts leader here to follow too .
Right on! :D Same! It's great to see so many martial artists getting or already into crypto!
@jiujitsu and I already follow each other! Really sound guy!
How did I miss this?
I am really not the best tournament fighter. I do have a string of medals and a few gold ones but I have not competed in a few months.
My advice for training for a tourney is mostly the same for training in general. Consistency in schedule, always roll first with the toughest guys in class, and roll using the techniques you are the worse at.
As I got closer to competition, I would try and figure out that worked the best and craft that into a rough strategy of where I wanted to be and work on conditioning. Also, any takedown you have in your tool belt will help you with guard pulling if they are wondering what you will do.
Can't wait to hear the stories of your upcoming competitions!
Solid. I find that when I go in on days that I especially don't fell like going usually turn out the best. There's no shortage of killers to train with at my gym and most everybody outweighs me by at least 20lbs as it is.
I'm trying to mix more arm attacks into my game, since I mostly got by with collar chokes as a white belt. They're pretty weak right now but I've been making progress.
My biggest concern is just being a fresh blue belt. It feel likes starting all over again. Thanks for the advice!
Oh I can relate! I spent a good deal of time at white belt (because of work/travel/moving interruptions) and was promoted from 2 stripes on my white to Blue. Talk about a surprise and feeling like chum being thrown into the waters of the 4-stripe killers.
I simply started all over again with my goals and began with "don't get submitted. Didn't feel good to miss the medal round on my first tourney but I achieved that goal. Small steps and enjoy the grind.
I find Kimura to be the best one to start with personally because of the variety of positions you can catch it from, the dominance of 2 arms attacking 1, and the control you have while trying to adjust and finish.
Go gettem killer!
Dropping by and supporting your post @disc-jitsu87, due to the entry of it, by @dollarsandsense, into our Pay It Forward Community's weekly curation contest. As part of the @pifc community, we would encourage you to check into it.
With very limited time, I wanted to be sure and take the first step in showing support, prior to the expiration of Steem’s 7-day limit for payouts. As time allows, I will try to get back to provide you more personalized input into what you have written.
Thank you for your effort here to add value to our Steem blockchain!
Interesting post. Nope, no competition for me... I'd rather spend my time doing other things. Eh eh!
PS: I've found you because @dollarsandsense featured you on his entry for The Pay It Forward Contest
¡Hola @disc-jitsu87 ! Te felicito sigue practicando, suerte en tu proxima competencia, como cinturon azul, llegue a tu publicación por que @dollarsandsense, presento tu post, en el Pay It Forward Curation Contest , estas invitado a participar
You are getting better but to your point, they are also getting better. So all you need is to keep up or even move ahead. That is how things should be. You keep moving forward or you will be left behind. Far behind. Keep training. As the saying goes, "practice makes progress."
I came across your article through @dollarsandsense who featured it on his post as an entry to the Pay It Forward Curation Contest. The contest is open to everyone so you are welcome to join.
You can also join #ccc for Guaranteed Daily Income and Payout for Newbies (2.0) in #ccc and Follow the Honor Code - the Creed (Conditions and Limits Inside) AND the latest update <<< please click to read.
Fun post! I enjoy learning about your hobby - it's not something I can do myself, but I can appreciate the discipline in your training and know it helps make you a good person.
I found you thanks to @dollarsandsense's Pay it Forward curation contest entry. Keep up the excellent work!
I wouldn't be so quick to doubt yourself. BJJ can be for everyone regardless of physical ability. It was developed specifically so a smaller and weaker opponent could not only survive an attack but come out on top. Grand Master Helio Gracie was well into his 90s, could barely do a pull-up, and was still tapping guys out half his age and twice his size. Finding the right school that can work with you is important though. Some places emphasize competition and may not have a welcoming environment for people who don't want to compete. Try to find an academy that focuses on self-defense and I'm willing to bet they'll be very accommodating. It's a great activity for kids to get into too!
I'd love to do tai chi, actually - it's something that I don't have to think about an opponent, just developing myself - at least, that's my impression based on a single lesson, lol. Unfortunately, it's beyond our financial means to be sure. Hopefully, at some point...
Tai Chi is actually quite good if you're not into getting all bruised up. My little brother takes it because he has a connective tissue disorder that cause him a lot of joint discomfort.
This post was shared in the Curation Collective Discord community for curators, and upvoted and resteemed by the @c-squared community account after manual review.
Whoa.. never read any stories about how a jitsu school training goes except in the movie 😊 thanks for sharing this with us @disc-jitsu87, fpund your post through @dollarsandsense entry post to the pay it forward contest this week.
Any girls joining the drill or competition?
We've got a few girls that are killers, and one that travels and competes all over the country. We usually have at least one show up for competition class but not this time. I'm sure at least two will sign up for the competition next month. Thanks for reaching out!
And I hope your blue belt will shining on the mext competition too. Really like to read your comment and post @disc-jitsu87. Fighting!
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