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.:)

Aftermath of Competition

If any of you are anything like me the days after you compete in a jiujitsu competition are very happy and content days, whether you won your division or got subbed your first match I think its important to recognize that you had the courage to step out on the mats and compete, that in and of itself is praiseworthy.  For myself the days are also spent thinking about what I can improve on in my jiujitsu game.  I feel like the list is endless but after competing I definately am able to refocus and walk into my next training session with a specific goal in mind. 

As is probably obvious I competed in the S7 Submission Grappling Event this past weekend and had a blast.  My record for the days was 2 and 3.  I took second in the men’s blue belt welter weight division.  I didn’t have much success in the Absolute division but I’m still glad I did it.

To give a brief overview, my first match I won via triangle about 50 seconds into the round.  I gotta say getting such a decisive win right off the bat felt great.  My second match was against a very talented kid who edged me out on points 3 to 2 at the last second.  Of all the matches I’ve had this one was by far the funnest, it was very back and forth with both of us on top at some point.  I attempted a cross collar choke from guard and he threatened me with a straight ankle lock several times.  With about 20 seconds left in the fight he set up a great armlock which I was in the process of defending when time expired.  That is a loss I can certainly swallow as I felt that we both fought hard and were competitive.  My third fight was against a very tough opponent who had originally signed up in the 30+ blue belt division but since they didn’t have enough competitors in that bracket he stepped down to the 20-29 year old division.  This guy was very talented and strong as an ox.  I started out by just going to open guard and managed to get a sweep right at the beginning of the round, I quickly passed his guard and went to north/south I spent the rest of the fight transiting between north/south and side control attempting to sniff out my favorite choke.  He defended it beautifully and it was all I could do to stay on top as he attempted to escape.  I managed to win on points and that got me a silver medal. 

My last two matches were in the absolute division and... Lets just say I learned a lot.  Both my opponents were very skilled and both had a significant amount of weight on me, my first match I felt like a rag doll getting tossed around, I ended up tapping to a kimura.  My last match was a bit more competitive and I was actually up on points before getting submitted with a nice straight arm lock.  My opponent pulled guard early and I managed to pass his guard to side control but I made the fatal mistake of not keeping track of my arm as I passed and he capitalized on it.  A lesson well learned and props to the other guy. Well played sir, well played...

I think one of the biggest things I learned in this competition was that often times your biggest enemy is you.  We question and second guess ourselves and we end up psyching ourselves out but if we step out there with confidence and simply walk out with the knowledge that we do know jiujitsu, that we have trained hard to get here, and that we can impose our will on the other guy then all will be well.  

I started out strong in this tournament and I slowly faded out.  I could say that I was tired or that the other guys were bigger, stronger, etc but the reality is that I was in control of every fight I participated in and in the fights I lost, I was the one that gave up control.  The take home lesson for me is, you start out in control of the fight, and the only one who can really give up that control is you.  The other guy can try to take control but if you dictate the fight you will be the one moving forward and he will be backpedaling the whole time.  In competition stay on the offensive and attack, attack, attack,never let the other guy get comfortable enough to were he can start attacking.  If he is busy defending he probably isn’t thinking about attacking.  Keep training all, Peace:)