Getting better at feeling your BJJ

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Getting better at feeling your BJJ

One you start getting better at feeling your BJJ, your game will skyrocket. In Jiu-Jitsu you can FEEL failure before it happens. Use this to your advantage. First, you spend a lot of time drilling moves. As a result, you all know what a good application of the move feels like. As such, when you are sparring and your application of the move is inadequate, you have a tactile sense of failure,  it just FEELS wrong. Moreover, there is a time period from the beginning of the application to the onset of that sense of failure. As you fight to apply the move, you can feel yourself coming up short of the ideal of the move you as you felt it in drilling. THIS IS A CRUCIAL MOMENT. Most people will feel the onset of failure, recognize it, and give up so they can start all over again. Instead, try hard to see this as an opportunity to make a renewed attack either with a re-application of the same move or a switch to a new move. At this point your mind must start searching for follow up attacks. In a game where failure occurs over time and in which failure can be felt before it is fully manifest,  you almost always have time to search for alternative follow ups if you just train your mind to do so. Here our Savarese BJJ Academy (bergencountybjj.com) student Tom, tried a choke from the mount but when it didn’t work, he re-griped to an arm-triangle and finished his opponent. This was the difference between a loss and a win and also, getting the finish in this match enabled him to save precious energy needed for his next 3 matches in his division. This is so important when competing tournament style.

Variations are key in BJJ

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Variations are key in BJJ

Variations are key in BJJ, you must have multiple versions of the same attack. Here is my take on variations. For any given move in Jiu-Jitsu, there are many variations. It is crucial for your development that when you find a move that suits you well, you study it deeply and come to know all its variations and how these work together. Only in this way can you exploit the full potential of a given move. For example, lets use the triangle choke, one of the most commonly seen and effective submissions in the sport. Most people talk about THE triangle,  as though there was only one type. Here at Savarese BJJ Academy (www.njbjj.com), we teach multiple versions of this attack. You have the front triangle (the most well known and common variant in Jiu-Jitsu), side triangle, rear triangle, reverse triangle and back to front triangle, and within each of those main variations there are sub variations. Each is well suited to a specific task. Learning to use them together to cover every possible contingency as you grapple is the basis of your path to mastery. Here is me using one of these attacks on my training partner.

“The more I know, the less I use”

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“The more I know, the less I use”

“The more I know, the less I use”. The great BJJ master Jean Jacques Machado once said “The more you know, the less you use. To use less, you need to know more.” when speaking about Jiu-Jitsu. When we are white and bluebelts, we want to learn everything…and fast!. But it takes a lot of time and repetition to have good BJJ. Want to make faster decisions? Limit your options: One of the most important factors in who wins and who loses in a Jiu-Jitsu match is speed and quality of decision making. This was evident in this years ADCC tournament if you watched. This is something we are high on at Savarese BJJ (www.njbjj.com). Athletes who make good decisions quickly generally beat athletes who make good decisions slowly. One simple and effective way to increase your speed of decision making is to LIMIT YOUR OPTIONS PER SCENARIO. If you have a thousand options you will inevitably slow down as you decide between competing option. Have one or two strong attacks per scenario and the decision making process becomes very easy and very fast. Of course it’s no good to make BAD decisions quickly – they have to be good ones. To accomplish this I suggest researching the most high percentage moves in modern competition in a range of scenarios. If you have a small set of well trained high percentage moves in each of the main scenarios we regularly find ourselves in daily sparring, you will immediately notice decision making is faster and more decisive. And that will result in the fast and decisive action, a key element of winning Jiu-Jitsu.

Drillers are killers in Jiu-Jitsu

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Drillers are killers in Jiu-Jitsu

Drillers are killers in Jiu-Jitsu. It’s an old saying but is very true. Getting to truly know a move requires a lot of drilling. The famed book Outliers by Malcoln Gladwell states that you must do something 10,000 times to master it. In BJJ, this holds true. Jiu-Jitsu does not reward superficial knowledge. If you know a little about a given move, it’s unlikely you will be able to perform it successfully against a fully resistant opponent your own size and skill level. But, Jiu-Jitsu rewards rewards deep knowledge. In order to get it to work, you must know a lot about how it works and how to apply it against someone who also knows how it works. in addition, how to stop it. As such, the general pattern of success in Jiu-Jitsu is to spend vast amounts of time and energy on a small set of moves to gain mastery of them to a point where you can get them to work against the toughest resistance. Here at Savarese BJJ Academy (www.njbjj.com), I teach a relatively small set of moves. For example, ninety percent of my submissions training time with my students is spent on only six submission systems, but my students have an unusually deep understanding of them. Grandmaster Helio Gracie taught off a set of 32 principle of Jiu-jitsu in his teachings. And his sons turned out to be legends. BJJ demands of you mastery so plan your training accordingly. Think of your favorite moves  as trusted old friends who you know better than you know yourself. Spend time with them, studying them and understanding them, Finally, when you call upon them for help in a tough battle, they will be far more valuable to you than a thousand superficial friends and passing acquaintances.

Chokes are your best submission in Jiu-Jitsu

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Chokes are your best submission in Jiu-Jitsu

Chokes are your best submission in Jiu-Jitsu, it can’t be denied. Nothing beats a good choke. Jiu-Jitsu has three major categories of submission attacks – Chokes, upper body joint locks, and lower body joint locks. All are tremendous weapons that can end a match in a second, but chokes have a special set of qualities that elevate them over the others. In any joint lock, your opponents choice to tap is exactly that, a choice. If he is fearless, he may well decide to let the limb break and continue fighting. In the case of strangles there is not choice – you either submit or pass out – but you don’t get the choice to fight on. Grandmaster Helio Gracie used to say “I prefer choke over joint locks because a tough guy may keep fighting with a broken arm. But anyone who gets choked will go to sleep” In addition, Chokes offer offer a flexibility level of intensity to the match. You can apply a choke in ways that range in intensity all the way from a gentle constraint, to a TKO all the way up to killing someone. Joint locks have no flexibility in their application, it’s all or nothing, it either breaks him or no effect, and even if you break him he may elect to continue fighting. As such, chokes are the ultimate weapon of Jiu-Jitsu. Work all your submission skills, but set aside special time for training your chokes from everywhere. Develop a good choke from the back and one from the front and you will have a weapon that will never let you down. Here, our student Jim applies a very tight cross choke to get the finish in a match. It’s easy to see the mechanical tightness of the hold and how even in the most competitive matches, this will never let you down.

Using your head as base in BJJ

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Using your head as base in BJJ

Sometimes, using your head as base in BJJ is necessary and extremely beneficial. Especially in the mount position. Futhermore, you use your hands as a base of support every day. So why not use your head as well? Most beginning Jiu-Jitsu students instinctively use their hands as a base of support and post them on the mat to preserve their balance as they grapple. Don’t forget however, that your HEAD (in particular your forehead) is your third hand. And that can also be used to post on the mat to preserve your balance. Always remember, if you use your head to post on the mat instead of a hand, one of your hands will now be free to perform other tasks. This works particularly well in half guard passing as well where an extra hand can greatly facilitate passing tough opponents. In the mount, using your head as base allows your hands to attack the neck and choke. Next time you step on the mats, remember that in everyday life you have two hands, but in Jiu-Jitsu you have three! Here our Savarese BJJ Academy (www.bergencountybjj.com) student Ivette uses this principle for victory in one of her matches.

Attacks from seated/butterfly guard in Sport BJJ

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Attacks from seated/butterfly guard in Sport BJJ

Attacks from seated/butterfly guard in Sport BJJ have many different lines of attack. I state the word Sport BJJ because many of these attacks won’t work in a street fight or MMA fight. The thing is, things move quickly in combat sports. Opportunities come and go quickly, so when there is an opening one can’t procrastinate. It’s important to have pre-established lines of attack sorted out so that when an opportunity flashes in front of you, you know exactly what to do and have a series of attacks for any mistake your opponent may make.  Or, if you are dictating pace, which I always stress here at Savarese BJJ (www.njbjj.com), have a bunch of chains to attack with. When working from seated guard against an opponent on their knees, the main avenues of attack will begin at either the wrists, elbows or collar. Each presents very different forms of control and very different lines of attack. Make sure you have yours figured out and ready to roll. Here, our student Elliot has this type of guard and is waiting for an opening to counter, a different type of guard play. As such, he targets the head as the initial connection to base subsequent attacks upon. You must have your own chains of attack starting from each of wrists, elbows and head. When you do, you will be a dangerous opponent from seated guard!

Have fun while training BJJ

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Have fun while training BJJ

Have fun while training BJJ, it can be the key to how fast you learn. Most new students, especially bigger and well built ones, constantly try to use all their strength when they start training. And they are not having fun in BJJ. Over time, they realize that that will make you tired and hinder your technique. That is why smaller practitioners usually get better faster, they are forced to rely on their technique to survive, and their defense gets good more quickly because of this. Here at Savarese BJJ Academy (www.njbjj.com), we preach this concept taught by the great Rickson Gracie (ricksongracie.com), widely considered the best Jiu-Jitsu practitioner ever.
“You don’t learn when you are fighting, bringing in all sorts of tension and emotion. You learn when you are having fun, training in a smooth and gentle way. You need to work on improving your technique until you are comfortable in any situation. Eventually, you will develop a subconscious understanding of the techniques and they become reflexes. Only after you have done all this you are ready to take your natural abilities “off the shelf” and add them back into your game. Now the effectiveness of the technique will be at least ten times better.”
Use this principle and watch your explode get better and faster. Not relying on your strength helps you develop quicker and then the fun begins because you are more relaxed in your training.

Gripping and controlling hands in BJJ

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Gripping and controlling hands in BJJ

Gripping and controlling hands in BJJ in an important concept to learn. Control the hands and everything else is a lot easier. When an opponent comes forward to begin passing your guard, he will generally come in and approach BEHIND their hands. Their hands will initiate contact with your lower legs somewhere between the knee and ankles, either gripping the body or the cloth of your uniform. If they establish a good working grip, they will be in the drivers seat. That’s good for them but very bad for you. Don’t just accept hands controlling your lower legs, something my instructor David Adiv taught me early in my BJJ and I pass on to my students at Savarese BJJ (www.njbjj.com). Fight to control their hands and they won’t be able to control your legs. Then YOU will be in the drivers seat. Sometime, I like to use the sleeve cuff to control my partners right hand and a foot in the bicep to control the left hand. This prevents my partner using his hands in unison, a big part of success in these situations. Learn to use your hands and feet to control his hands when working from bottom guard and watch your overall guard game take off!

Turtle breakdowns in Jiu-Jitsu

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Turtle breakdowns in Jiu-Jitsu

Here are my thought on turtle breakdowns in Jiu-Jitsu. Many grappling sports feature turtle breakdowns. You see them in wrestling, Judo and Sambo. The intent of turtle breakdowns in these grappling styles is usually very different from Jiu-Jitsu. However, Jiu-Jitsu is very unique among grappling styles in so far as it awards points (maximum points actually) to rear mounted positions. In Judo, wrestling and Sambo, the primary goal is not to get hooks in and rear mount,  that score no points in itself ,but rather to turn the opponents back and shoulders towards the floor into a pin in those sports. So the whole direction of turtle breakdowns in BJJ is quite different. The primary focus is on getting your two legs hooked into his hips to attain the rear mount,  it does not matter whether you end on top or bottom, if you get two hooks in you score. Interestingly, in other grappling styles such as Judo if you topple an opponent from turtle and end up in a side pin you can win the match if you hold him down for a period of time. In JBJJ, he same action would score you nothing. The different rule structure leads athletes in different sports in very different directions. When practicing Jiu-Jitsu always keep this in mind and make your primary focus the rear mount position. It gets you the maximum points score and puts you immediately in position for the most high percentage submission in the sport, the rear naked choke. Here, our Savarese BJJ student (www.njbjj.com) Eddie this principle.