Training Partners Part 1 (Take Control of Your Training)

Your instructor/coach may pair you up for some or most of your drilling and rolling. This post is for those other times when you have a "choice." Many BJJers seem to have this idealized picture of the "perfect training partner" - they would literally spend one of their three genie wishes to aquire this mythical beastie.

I have a slightly different take. I'm not looking for a perfect training partner. One perfect training partner isn't going to cut it. Here's why. Until a fairly advanced level almost everyone really only has one "style" (aggressive/grinder/tactican/loose/tight) or "game" (wrestiling/judo/guard puller/closed guard/half guard/knee passer/standup passer). This means the available training partners at your weight may only be presenting you a small subset of the things you need to work against.

It is vitally important that you have a good partner "mix." It is crazy to train with the same guy/girl every practice. When you hit the mat you want to line up your training partners for maximum effect. You don't need to roll with a dozen different people every practice. You might work it so that you "target" rolls with two or three different guys on Monday, "target" two different guys on Tuesday and Wednesday, and "target" a different group the end of the week. (and of course it depends on when you train and they train. If you typically train on M/W/F and only see the same guys each session try and throw in a T/Th or Sat. session when you can to expand your opportunities)

If you are like me, your favorite person to roll is usually the guy who gives you a good fight but that you can still beat fairly handily. It is only natural, but that is likely NOT the guy you are going to face in competition. Work with guys that stop your favorite takedown/throw so that you have to work alternatives or the guys that usually take you down so that you work your defense. If you are a guard puller, work with guys who really give you trouble and pass effectively. Be proactive to make sure you get a good training partner mix every session and across sessions. I'm not saying you need to get your backside handed to you every roll but make sure you are not coasting and ducking the guys that give you a hard time.

I want to get rolls in with guys who are heavier/stonger, lighter/faster, more advanced, less advanced (do you see a trend). Even on nights that I roll everybody, I try to have a strategy/plan of what I want to work on with each opponent. I will try and share some examples in future posts.

Until then, take control of your training by getting a good mix of partners (make sure you include a healthy dose of guys that frustrate you or take you out of your comfort zone) and try to have an idea of what you want to work on with each one.

Quote of the Moment - Make the Most of Your Training

"Sometimes I let my opponent move to maximize my time in transitions. Other times I go straight for the finish when I feel a big challenge. Sometimes if I feel someone doesn't want to give the back, I'll fight very hard to make him make a mistake and give the back. Sometimes I might just train my squeeze for a session. Other times I'll work on my grips. My whole life I have learned how to make my own training by creating little challenges no matter who I am rolling with. This is very important."  

~ Marcelo Garcia

Quote of the Moment - Be Hard My Friends

"Be hard my friends. How do you get hard? You train hard - and if you train hard, you'll not only be hard, you'll be hard to beat."

Wheeee!.........Ow! That's Going to Leave a Mark

It has been a wonderful week of Jiu Jitsu and training. Great heavy workouts, great additional strength and conditioning work, great classes (multiples each day), and did I mention rolling? Lots and lots of rolling. Rolling before class, rolling after class, and being the last person off the mat each night.

The result of all this creamy Jiu Jitsu goodness? I can barely move. I need a massage, a chiropractic adjustment, some ibuprofen, and a cold beverage. I would handle items 3 and 4 myself, but I can't move. Seriously, I sat down and my entire body has frozen. This post would have been up hours ago but I'm having to type with my tongue.

Allright, maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit.  There are no major injuries, just lots and lots of deep bruises and other assorted micro-trauma from all the rolling coupled with deep muscle fatigue and serious central nervous system overload.

In my delirium  I'm grinning like an idiot at how much I have to pay attention to keep our great group of upcoming whitebelts off my back (you give them an inch and they are all over you) and how hard the "death matches" are amongst the upper belts (in a good way).

And I still have Friday's no-gi class tomorrow to survive, which is good because I don't think I could put on a gi and tie my belt - I can't wait :-).

My friends and relatives considered putting me in an institution but they knew that within a week I'd be running Jiu Jitsu classes from all the rubber rooms. I'm sure I could stop anytime, but who wants to :-).
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Life is not a journey to the grave with intentions of arriving safely in a pretty well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming ... WOW! What a ride!

Strength and Conditioning in BJJ - Sunday Workout

Tonight's post is brought to you courtesy of Gladiator. I was trying to be lazy and ignore the fact that I needed to have a deadlift day. But as I'm trying to do my best imitation of spudus supinus, remote in hand, Russell Crowe starts taking on the Roman Empire and I'm all "Glaaaadiaaatoooor!" And suddenly I felt the urge to do antisocial things. I quickly channeled these urges into a force for Good instead of Evil and proceeded to eat raw meat and move heavy objects.

I wasn't going to write about this workout as there is not anything particularly interesting or fun about doing deadlifts. But these S and C posts seem to be some of the most popular so I will try to include them a little more often (but this blog is not going to be my training log). Also, as I mentioned in my last post, the basic compound exercises (deadlift, squat, and some type of overhead press) should be the core of the strength part of your workout.

If you are not doing some form of these 3 exercises you may be "working out" but you are not "training" for strength. Learn how to do these lifts with good form and don't let your ego get in the way and you will see the benefits on the mats in just a few months. These exercises suck - they are hard, but the juice is worth the squeeze.

I plan on posting more general info on Strength and Conditioning for BJJ in the coming weeks. Why, because:

1. as I already mentioned these posts seem to be very popular.
2. if you go to a bodybuilding forum you'll get some warped info (different "sport" different objectives).
3. if you go to a powerlifting or other type of strength forum you'll get some warped info (different "sport" different objectives).
4.  if you go to some of the popular mma sites you can find some good info but the examples are generally for fulltime athletes - I will try and show examples for a motivated "average guy" focused on BJJ/grappling (and a little bit of mma).
5. if it provides a little inspiration to get you started if you're not doing any S and C (some is better than none) or improves the value of the time you spend on S and C then good karma comes my way.

And on to the workout:
Deadlifts (approximately 2 minutes rest between sets)
   1x5 at 135 lbs.
   1x5 at 185 lbs.
   1x5 at 205 lbs.
   1x5 at 225 lbs.
   1x1 at 255 lbs.
   1x1 at 275 lbs.

Reset the bar for Clean and Press (note press not jerk)
   1x5 at 95 lbs.
   1x5 at 115 lbs.
   1x5 at 135 lbs.
(The first 2 sets I was trying to move the bar as fast as possible and didn't really stop in the clean position, they were almost a snatch with a press to lock out instead of a drop back under the bar.)

   2x10 each leg Wrestler Shot Level Changes then a step back into a full lunge (with 50 lbs vest)
   3x8 TRX Inverted Rows (with 50 lbs vest)
   2x15 TRX "atomic" pushups (pulling knees to elbow on alternating sides)

"Strength and honor." ~ Maximus Decimus Meridius

Strength and Conditioning in BJJ - Wed Workout

This is the second post titled "Strength and Conditioning in BJJ - Wed Workout." I don't just workout on Wednesdays, that's just the day this workout happened this week.

5 minutes medicine ball (15 lbs) throws with a partner
20 Kettlebell swings (16 kg)
20 Kettlebell clean and press (16 kg each hand)
20 Kettlebell bentover rows (16 kg)
20 Air squats

This workout was a light "all rounder" before class. I normally like to end a workout with ballistic or plyometric exercises like the medicine ball throws but I decided to grab a partner before they could run and hide :-).

For the throws start about 6 feet apart and use a two-handed "chest pass" to throw the medicine ball back and forth with your partner. Approximately every 5th pass - back up one step. When you reach the limits of how far you can "chest pass" with control on both the throw and the catch, come back to the 6 ft. mark and start again with a two-handed "overhead pass." Continue swapping between chest and overhead passing until the 5 minutes is up.

If you don't have a partner you can throw the ball "overhand" straight up and alternate it with "underhand" throws catching it yourself.

The rest of the workout is fairly self explanatory. You can do this workout for time, but I prefer to make sure I always keep kettlebell exercises under control and don't try to rush anything. On the air squats you can use the kettlebells in a "clean position" for extra resistance or add a jump at the top of each squat. For me, I was concentrating on getting my rear down as low as possible and making sure I had a good "stretch" through my knees and hips.

This weekend I should have a deadlift day which in and of itself is pretty boring so I probably won't blog anything about it. I'm saying something about it here so that you know it is important. If you can only do one "barbell" exercise it should be deadlifts. Also note if you are rolling a lot (1hr or more 3 or more days a week) or doing a lot of "conditioning" oriented exercises you won't be able to lift as heavy as when you are only training for strength. For example, right now with all the rolling I am doing I would  be lucky to pull a max over 300 lbs. but if I was just strength training I should be able to pull over 400.

Strength and Conditioning in BJJ - Wed Workout

Had a light week last week getting ready for the Nashville BJJ Open. This week has been a lot of extra mat time so no heavy lifting days. Wednesday's workout was once again very simple but if you try it you will hate like it.

5 rounds for time with NO rest between exercises and NO rest between rounds:
     10 Burpees (full Burpee with a pushup and jump at the end)
     5 Pullups (pullups, not chinups, and each rep should begin from a dead hang)

The only place you can "rest" is at the hang of your pullups. DO NOT let go of the bar. If you can not do 5 pullups each round without having to drop off the bar, do as many as you can and immediately move on to the next set of Burpees. In other words, if you drop off the bar your set is over - keep moving at full speed into the next round.

The first set is relatively easy. But each successive set becomes more "interesting." If you are going as fast and hard as you can (the start of your Burpee will look like a solid sprawl, the pushup will be almost plyometric, and the jump will look like your basketball dunk) you will start breathing deep by the second set and this should give you a new appreciation for the dead hang pullups.

On the other hand, you can loaf your way through this routine and wonder what the big deal is.

Power Kouchi Gari

After our seminar with Lucas Lepri this weekend, Jeremy spent some extra time going over one of Lucas' favorite takedowns. For lack of a better name I'm calling this the "power kouchi gari."

It differs from the traditional Judo version in a couple of ways. Instead of the traditional setup of getting your opponent to step forward and then "picking" the ankle (requiring perfect timing for the kozushi),
you give a pull on the lapel, step back with the lapel grip leg, change level, and "pick" his lapel grip side ankle with your other foot. Then you drive forward and power through chest to chest. Your non lapel grip hand drops to the outside of his hip thigh.

As he falls step wide with your lapel grip leg and secure a strong half guard top position.




You can see this takedown in action at 12 seconds in, again at 15 seconds in, and no-gi versions with an arm drag at 37 and 40 seconds in.

Roll Baby Roll!

Last night I met some friends early for some rolling before the start of evening classes. It was a great time. Some rolls were strictly "flow" (keep moving, keep advancing position, subs=catch and release), some were more "competitive," some were "learning" (keep looking for specific sweeps/subs with a lot of experimentation), and some were "teaching" (with the couple of the newer guys).

Professor even started regular class a little late since we had sucked several unsuspecting early-birds into our group. But all good things must eventually come to an end and after nearly two hours of continuous rolling without a break I dragged myself off the mat.

I intended to stay for the fundamentals class but I didn't think I had the mental acuity left to even be a decent grappling dummy and headed for home.


Still, all and all, a great night.

"Quanto mais voce suar quando praticar menos sangue perdera em combate".
"The more you sweat in practice, the less you bleed in combat".

Training Day - Tuesday's S and C and Jiu Jitsu

Strength and Conditioning Work:
   10 minutes warmup
   10 minutes of shoulder rehab work with powerbands
   15 minutes - Rounds (no rest between rounds) consisting of:
      Pullups x10
      Kettle Bell Swings x10 (16kg)
      Dips x10
      TRX Inverted Rows x10
      Wrestler Shot Level Changes x10 each leg
( pullups started taking multiple sets  to get to 10 (7+3, 5+3+2,...) after the second round, same thing for dips after the fourth round - just started round 6 at the buzzer)

Jiu Jitsu
   S and C followed by about 20 minutes of rolling before class

   1 hr Fundamentals Class - drilling favorite takedown, favorite guard pass
   1.5 hrs Advanced Class - open guard transitions
   40 minutes of rolling

I like to do my S and C on  days I'm not hitting the mat or when there are no such days - after class and rolling. Today S and C went first and I could definitely feel it in my gas tank. I had to dig deep to keep rolling.

Status: Tired
Mood: Satisfied
Listening To: Rodrigo Y Gabriella - Buster Voodoo

It's Alive!

We've had quite a few new guys come through the academy these past few weeks and I seem to be caught in repeating conversations that go something like this:

New Guy #1 - "Wow, I've been watching tons of videos on the net and I either can't remember anything or can't seem to use what I remember on a real person."

New Guy #2 - "Yeah, and there are all these details you are walking us through that I never even imagined."

New Guy #3 - "My friend and I have been trying to train by ourselves rolling around a couple of times a week and we thought we were pretty good but nothing was working until you started helping us clean it up.  I guess we really do need training partners who know what they are doing."

Really Big New Guy #4 - "mrruummmph (accompanied by massive flailing and squirming), I can't even move, arrrghhhh!" after having a much smaller guy apply a little bit of pressure in side control.

New Guy #5 - "Oh so this technique is all muscle unless he is putting pressure on us here, but if he does it is an easy sweep."

My response - "That's right guys.  BJJ is alive. It requires the right movement, timing, and energy for the magic to happen. That is what you will learn here."

Other martial arts I've trained have been "alive" to varying degrees but the use of spontaneous movement, unpredictable timing, and real energy (resistance/full intent) is built into the very fabric of Jiu Jitsu. This is one of the things I love about it. There is never a question of would it work against a bigger guy - you grab a bigger guy and find out.  Will it work if I go full speed - go full speed and find out.

Of course we start slow as we learn something new and we need to be careful with those with less skill or physical attributes - we don't have to rip each others arms off to see that an armbar works.   In fact, a sign that you are mastering a technique is that you can do it under control at all times.

When we start learning a technique for the first time we go through the gross motions and then start to add details.  This stage is necessary to learn but it is where a lot of martial arts stop. It is not alive yet but it has potential.

Then we start applying a technique against a training partner that starts adding more and more resistance.  It starts to be alive, but it is not fully realized.

At last we start to use it in sparring.  As we first start to work it into our game our training partner (the good ones) might feed us some openings or we may start with positional sparring that lets us work the technique over and over.  Finally, we can use the technique when appropriate as part of our game - It's alive!

For more on the concept of aliveness go here Aliveness 101 Blog.