Judo + Jiujitsu

About 8 months ago I started training Judo with the intent of supplementing my jiujitsu game.  I approached it very apprehensively because I had heard and seen a lot of people getting injured while training it but hey it’s martial arts right?  Long story short,  deciding to train Judo is one of the best things I have done for my jiujitsu game.  In addition I fear that in addition to jiujitsu I may be hooked on Judo for life:/  I initially started training Judo because in a tournament I participated in previously I had been thrown pretty effortlessly by my opponent. I was able to win the match but I did not like that I didn’t even see the throw/takedown coming. So, I decided to do something about it.  If training BJJ is like making a sword then I would say adding Judo to the mix would be like extending the sword so I have a longer reach so to speak.  Everyone knows that every fight starts on the feet, so why wouldn’t you train various ways of getting the fight to the ground where you want it?  While I am still just a simple white belt in Judo I already feel more confident in my takedown game.  At the very least I feel I can identify an attack and nullify it at the very least.  Much like jiujitsu, Judo is proving itself to be more complicated the more I train it.  The various grips you use, takedowns in the gi versus no gi, fighting guys taller, bigger, or shorter then you.  All of these things and more add interesting wrinkles to the game.  It’s a challenge and ultimately that’s why I’ve grown to love it.  In addition Judo has given me more options in tournament settings as well as in simple rolls at the gym.  I tend to grip fight a little more now.  In tournaments I can be less predictable to my opponents by either opting to go for the takedown or to pull guard.  In short, Judo has given me far more options.  It has expanded my tool bag so to speak.

In addition I would add that learning how to fall properly has greatly added to my enjoyment of this art.  I think that if you want to have any longevity in this art you need to learn to fall correctly to minimize impact on yourself.  Unfortunately sometimes that may require taking a hard fall here and there, but it’s totally worth it.

So the take home lesson of the day is train Judo, it is fun and it will do wonders for your jiujitsu. (Also Judo tournaments are generally a lot cheaper then BJJ tournaments:)

Robson Moura

Just a cool video

Build Your Foundation On Technique

For each person that trains jiujitsu or any martial art there are certain techniques and movements that come easier then others.  We have all seen the muscle bound meat heads who walk into the gym to train “UFC” or learn how to “fight”.  Many of these individuals develop their jiujitsu game around their physical attributes be that strength, size, flexibility, etc.  While no one who has ever been in a physical altercation will argue that strength is never a factor it can be said that technique can even the playing field.  I take the approach that one should develop their jiujitsu around good solid technique and then add their physical attributes on top, the icing on the cake so to speak.  We all strive for perfect technique.  It is something that high level jiujitsu practioners exhibit, and something we all want.  I believe the student of jiujitsu who has success is the one who develops good, clean, solid technique and then adds the other elements to the recipe.  Speed, strength, endurance or any number of physical traits that may give you an edge.  In my limited experience on the mats the guy that does not take the time to develop good technique is generally the guy who does not last with jiujitsu.  I believe this is because that person may do well at first, they will use their strength, speed, flexibility, or whatever to dominate people who have similar experience levels on the mats.  As time goes on those who may not be all that strong are forced to develop good technique and as a result they start to catch up to that super strong guy. Said guy gets frustrated and quits.  We have all seen the revolving door of people who will train for a month or two never to be seen again.  I believe this is a big reason why.  That and the fact that jiujitsu is just hard in general.  It takes a lot of humility to be willing to return to the mats after getting tapped out by someone 50 lbs lighter then you.  So to reiterate, in order to have a successful jiujitsu “recipe” first add technique and never stop refining that technique and then add the natural abilities that you already have.

Prevention=The Best Defense

Last night during training Professor Rob Handley pretty much blew my mind when he started talking about the best defense for positions like top side control and defending the mount position.  Professor Handley told us he knew black belts that never trained mount defenses.  At first my reaction was did they buy their black belt on eBay? How do they not know mount defenses!? Then Professor Handley proceeded to explain that these individuals didn’t practice mount defense because they never got mounted.  

Their defense was in fact so good that they never needed to use mount defense so why waste time training it?

This opened a whole different aspect of jiujitsu for me.  This is not to say  I’m going to stop training mount defenses and escapes but it made me realize that at high levels of jiujitsu there is so much beneath the surface that the average person doesn’t see.  It also reinforced the fact that I have a LONG ways to go as far as my own game goes.

Having the mindset that I will never need a mount escape because I will never get mounted is a very novel concept for me.  On the surface this attitude may seem lazy, but if you think about it this is not the case.  To be so good that you never get mounted means a number of things.  For one you will probably need to have an insanely good guard.  You can’t be mounted if they can’t pass your guard.  In addition you should probably have a nasty top game as well.  Again, if you can’t get reversed or swept, you can’t get mounted.  I’m sure there are a number of other aspects to one’s game that should be polished and perfected in order to reach a point where you don’t “need” mount escapes but the take home point here is that Jiujitsu is just as much mental as it is physical if not more so.  Your mental state can make a huge difference in how you roll and train and can open or close doors to your progression on the mats.

Transitions

While rolling today I had a thought (this is a big deal because with me thoughts are few and far between:).  Rather then think about the mount position from the bottom as a place were you have to defend.  Why not think of it as a transitional position in which you perhaps allow the other guy to get there for a second and then transition to a position that is more advantageous for yourself.  Now I am not saying give up the mount position intentionally and this plan could certainly backfire if the other guy is savy to you and locks down the position, but in a roll in which there is lots of flow I think this could work.  Maybe it would only work once but hey I’m just trying to think outside the box here.

So many guys fight tooth and nail (including myself) to not give up the mount position and they certainly should, especially in a tournament situation were points are being given for getting to a dominant position.  I think at some point though you reach a place were jiujitsu becomes less of a physical game and more of a mental one.  When it turns into that type of fight it would probably be beneficial to throw out some decoys so to speak and start doing mental gymnastics around your opponent.  Letting them get to mount and then continuing to transition to another position would definitely mess with their head.  At least I know it would with me....

I think this type of thinking can be applied to all aspects of a jiujitsu player’s game.  From passing the guard to escaping side control messing with the other guy’s head is always a good thing.  For myself sometimes its just as simple as pretending you have control of the other guy when it reality that control is tenacious or non existent.  All that matters is that the other guy THINKS your the one in control.  Then he will most likely have a defensive reaction rather then an offensive one which of course is good for you and puts you one move “up” so to speak.  If the other guy is reacting to you he isn’t thinking about imposing his will.  I’m gonna go ahead and shut up now before I confuse myself and leave you all to work through that maze of rhetoric.;)

Enjoy The Journey

Training Brazilian Jiujitsu is a very unique experience and I think most would agree when I say that it’s all about the journey and not the destination.  I would imagine that it is a very small percentage of people that actually attain the rank of black belt and even then there is still light years to go.  

I think those of us that love this art really like the fact that there is no end.  Can anyone honestly say that they have “completed” jiujitsu? Maybe an argument could be made that Carlos and Helio Gracie did, but I am betting that if they were around they would say that even they are still learning.  Jiujitsu is about evolution and adaptation.  It is a thinking man’s game, it is essentially human chess.  There is a counter to everything and to every counter there is a counter.  It is circular and never ending.  Those of us that train strive to be the absolute best that we can be but if we are honest with ourselves there is always someone out there who is maybe a little better.  Who has trained a little longer and who is a little more polished.

Those that get obsessed with getting their next belt or stripe I think are missing the whole point of training.  Let yourself evolve, train with goals in mind, and constantly work to improve BUT at the same time enjoy the whole world that is Brazilian Jiujitsu.  Of course we all love it when we get promoted and there is nothing wrong with taking pride in the fact that we have earned our various belts through a lot of blood, sweat, and tears (yeah sometimes I feel like crying when I roll with certain people:) but if we get to wrapped up in that I think that will take the fun out of training.  If we get to wrapped up with tapping so and so because they have a darker colored belt then us then we are basing our progression to only one area of jiujitsu (submissions), obviously this is important but there are other areas that are just as important such as submission defense, passing the guard, posture, control, etc, etc.  

The point is just enjoy that you get to train in such a unique and intelligent art.   Enjoy the fact that you work hard at jiujitsu which at times can be very painful. Most people don’t put themselves through what BJJ practitioners do and honestly I think there is probably something wrong with all of us in the head when you think about the fact that we pay to go to a place to get choked and arm locked, but hey crazy people don’t know they are crazy right? So I say carry on, and keep training.:)