Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Chronicles and Concepts

Whenever I roll with professor and get some extended 1 on 1 time I always try to make it a point to take note of the little things he tells me, as they go a long way.

Just a couple small details from today.  When on top in half guard, it is essential to go 2 on 1 and break the grip if the opponent on the bottom has a deep collar grip on your lapel.

When passing open guard, keep the legs forward and low, and keep your posture up tall and back.  Don’t try and pass from a wrestling stance.

Still dumbfounded that Matt Brown is in the UFC, and now I would go on to say that I am now flabbergasted since he won tonight’s fight.  How did Dana White manage to find someone who was worse on the ground then Matt Brown?  Thompson looked like he’d never stepped foot in a wrestling room or on a BJJ mat before.  I refuse to believe that Matt Brown is a fighter worthy of being in the UFC, he merely got a matchup that worked perfectly in his favor.  Honestly that match up would have worked favorably for anyone who did JV high school wrestling or browses Submission 101 videos on YouTube for a couple hours a day.  Smh, if you don’t have at least a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu you have no business being in that octagon. 

On a lighter note, Rory Macdonald looked amazing tonight.  He is just a year older than me and already has 12 professional MMA wins.  Makes me feel like I am not doing anything productive with my life haha.  Props to Che Mills though, he took that beating like a man. 

Just looked at the complete card for tonight’s UFC and could not believe what I saw.  Can anyone explain to me why Matt Brown is still in the UFC?  He gets the easiest fights and still manages to lose 4 out of his last 6.  It’s not like his fights are thrilling to watch either. He is no world champion jiu jitsu fighter or powerful K1 knockout artist.  I’m glad his fight is on the FX prelims so he gets his butt kicked tonight on national television. 

I just don’t understand why it is a big deal whether or not a fighter’s lineage traces back to the Gracie family.  I have only trained at schools under professors with a Gracie lineage, but the baddest dude in the game right now, Rodolfo Vieria, does not come from the Gracie line so it shouldn’t matter.  That’s like saying the only cars with only credibility are Fords because they first created the model T. 

Recently I have been having a lot of success sweeping and taking the back from De la Riva and deep half….but not quite all the way.  Often times my opponents have been going to the turtle position to avoid me getting my hooks in, and from there I am having a hard time mounting any kind of offense against the higher belts.

I used to wrestle, so I’ll try some of the basic breakdowns but often times those allow the higher belts to just roll back to some form of guard.  After talking with some guys after class today, we determined that it would be my best bet for now to either grab a hip and drag them on their side towards me, or go two hands underneath on the opposite tricep and bulldoze them over into side control.  Going to try and start working these the next few weeks.

Obviously I am always trying for a crucifix or clock choke but against advanced guys those are harder to come by.  Does anyone have any other tried and true methods to attack from the turtle position against higher belts in gi and/or nogi? 

Hi, I am omoplato, and deep half guard has revolutionized my BJJ game.

Jiu Jitsu gives me something to look forward to tomorrow, every single day

Been working lots and lots of open guard lately and I’m really loving it.  Changing your game and focusing on training a completely different aspect is like re-inventing the sport for yourself. It makes it really fresh and exciting once again.  I’ve been hitting lots of omoplatas from the spider guard, but using them more for sweeps than being able to submit.  De la Riva guard is coming along, but I get tempted to abandon a gi sweep and just sit up into the single leg takedown every time and haven’t progressed as much as I would have liked to.

However, this weekend I do not have much going on and my body is feeling really healthy, so I may be taking a road trip over to Alliance Orlando to see how their new school is coming along.  My best friends from high school all go to college near there, and another very good friend of mine I met through BJJ trains at Alliance Miami and will be there this weekend.  Could be a very fun weekend, I’ll be sure to write about my first Alliance experience with Michael Langhi if I make it there this weekend.  Oss

Chael Sonnen clearly won the 1st and the 3rd rounds.  Anyone who disagrees is as out of their mind as Sonnen is his own. 

I’m already tired of seeing all the British wankers whining about Bisping being robbed in this fight.  Stuff a takedown and land some meaningful strikes if you want the win Bisping. 

After having success in my last tournament hitting my takedowns and controlling from the top, I am feeling satisfied about my ability to control a fight at my belt/weight.  My control from the top was pretty strong, and I was able to submit every opponent I faced after working and baiting several submissions from side control and the mount.  However I did get sweeped a couple of times and when I was on the bottom I did not feel nearly as comfortable. 

I realize I will face bigger/stronger/faster wrestlers than me so in some tournaments I will end up on the bottom, and I need to be prepared when this happens.  I think for these next few months of training, when rolling with blues and whites I am going to try and work solely from the bottom.  I plan to focus more on more detailed sweeps and work more actively for the basic submissions.  I am going to try and work more open guard as well because if I end up on the bottom it’s most likely going to be due to a powerful wrestler type who likes to crush you with his weight.  When rolling against the higher belts I will try to maintain my current style of top control, and continue to improve it. 

Just some thoughts I have about my training for the next few months to make myself a more rounded grappler.  I believe it’s always good to revamp your game and rolling style every several months to keep things fresh. 

Oss 

I’m on the right, that’s one of my good friends from high school on the left, and in the middle is my first BJJ instructor I have trained with since high school and when I am home from college.  I took 1st in blue belt gi 180-199, and 1st place in intermediate no gi 180-199.  My buddy brought home the golds in 200+ white belt and beginner.  Great to finally get back in a tournament and find out the biggest areas in which my game needs to be improved.

So tomorrow is the tournament I have been preparing for this past month, and I am amped up!  Just got done weighing in, and now I’m just trying to re-hydrate, eat some healthy foods and mentally prepare for tomorrow.  Today also marks the amateur MMA debut of one of my training partners, so that will also be very exciting.  A big weekend for fight sports in Florida!

I could be wrong, but in my opinion when you get past the noob stages of BJJ, outcomes of matches can largely be based on the match up. 

There are some higher belts with which I can hold my own against just because of my tall/lean body, wrestling experience, and rolling style.  However, shorter muscular guys who also have a lot of wrestling experience coupled with several years of BJJ tend to give me the hardest time and frustrate me to no end.

However, the beauty of BJJ is that there is ALWAYS a counter, and I know I just need to find a better way of dealing with my opponent if I can’t play my usual game.  Because of this I have been trying to work my open guard game a lot more, and am starting to cope better with these stylistically poor match ups.

Because of my upcoming tournament this weekend I’ve been thinking a lot about match ups and how I will fight each match, so this is where tonight’s rambling came from.

Train Hard!  Oss   

First of all, I’d like to say Palhares did not disappoint tonight at UFC Rio.  Awesome display of top level BJJ.

Today marks one week out from my BJJ tournament, and I’m trying to focus in more than I ever have for a tournament.  Yesterday I had posted a question on how some of the other bloggers that fight personally prepare for a tournament, and here were the general remarks:

-Eat healthy

-Get hydrated

-Know your “go-to” moves and have a game plan, and stick to them in the fight

-Stretch thoroughly and be warmed up come fight time

I have been supplementing my fight training the past few months with triathlon training as well, and at least as far as how I’ve felt during training it has helped me tremendously.  We’ll see how much it pays off come tournament time, but I think it could only help if I’m on my 6th or 7th match of the day and my cardio and legs are still there.  Going for a run/swim/or bike in the mornings and then training at night have been huge for me these past few months.  If I can get the triathlon training in the morning, or at least by early afternoon between my school classes my body is more awake and stretched out when it comes time to train BJJ at night.  Some days I have to admit that I’ve worn myself before I even get to BJJ class and my training my suffer, but I look at those times like every minute is the 6th minute of the championship grappling match and I have to push through it and get the win. 

To prepare on the mat I’ve just been drilling as much as possible.  Honing in my best submissions, and specific training the areas I am particularly weak in.  I try to be the last one off the mat every day.  If I rolled 5 matches at the end of class and I’m tired and want to go home, I just think about the tournament and go for one more roll. 

Just thought I’d give a first hand view of how someone else trains for a tournament to maybe give some new thoughts or inspiration to any other grapplers out there.  Remember, “The more you sweat in practice, the less you will bleed in battle.”

Oss