Some great training last night. I usually go to a Fundamentals class and an Advanced class on the nights I make it to the gym. I don't think I will ever "outgrow" the Fundamentals class - every time I go over even the most basic techniques, I find new technical details that make my game tighter. Sometimes I work through these details with somebody with less experience and I can feel and see obvious differences in pressure or I think it through thoroughly because I want to clearly articulate some part of the technique and "coach" them into doing it better. Other times I'm on the other side of the equation and have a more experienced training partner that requires that all the details come together or it doesn't work.
Although there are still a lot of techniques I probably haven't even seen, I think one of the things that separates a blue belt from a purple belt and above is the level of precision and detail that the upper belt brings to even the simplest techniques.
Last night was a classic case for me with a more experienced player. At one point we were drilling making space with a bridge/shrimp to recover guard when under side control. My training partner and I were working on a version we call the "Rickson Bridge." In nutshell, instead of taking a big shrimp and trying to open up a lot of space to get a knee through, you take a small step out and bridge into your opponent with your hips while bringing your bottom shoulder under your body (I'll post another time about training with Rickson and what I recall from his seminar on "invisible Jiu Jitsu"). Both techniques can work, but the "Rickson Bridge" is a much smaller more precise movement that takes a lot less energy and when done right makes it almost impossible for your opponent to flatten you back out.
And when done wrong leaves you stuck to the mat. My training partner was great and made sure I went nowhere unless all the details were there. I managed to mangle every detail of the technique multiple times, from not keeping my posting foot planted strongly and flopping around like a fish, to not coordinating pulling my bottom shoulder under enough so that it became a battle of strength, to not staying connected with my hips, to easily half a dozen other details. BUT, eventually everything started to click and get burned into kinetic memory.
I enjoyed the Fundamentals work last night as much as learning the cool choke set-ups from Butterfly Guard in the Advanced class. Call me Crazy.
Connection, connection, connection.
ReplyDeleteI was very sad to leave the beginners class when I got my blue at the Roger Gracie Academy: the beginners class is only for white belts. Once your belt changes colour, you have to train with the more senior students. On the one hand, that's good, as it forces lazy people like me to pair up with tougher sparring partners.
ReplyDeleteHowever, on the other hand, like you I don't think anybody ever 'outgrows' the fundamentals. There is always more to learn about a basic side control escape, or how to open the closed guard, or making space under mount.
So, I'm pleased that at Braulio Estima's school, I can train in any class I want. That means I can keep on working on the basics of getting out of side control, and the basics I still really suck at (like passing guard), while still having the option of a tough roll with purples, browns and blacks in the advanced session.