How to be more relaxed on the ground

[IronFist]

On the ground I'm pretty tense. Is there a good way to conserve energy. I'm tired afterward because my grappling matches take so long because I only know 3 submissions :) I was fighting another new guy and it took us like 5 minutes to end it. 5 minutes of tension is hard. Maybe I should do Stone Warrior again :)

Dude it was nuts, this guy somehow slid out of my rear naked choke. A more advanced guy was like "stop" and he came over and showed my opponend what to do and then we started up again from that position and he eventually slid out.

Then again I wasn't applying it as hard as I could have. Once I applied it I pretty much figured it was over so I slowly started tightening it. I was wrong.

I ended up winning tho, with a rear naked choke. :D

Ok, question part 2, cuz I just thought of this. Say you are behind someone and have them in a rear naked choke. You wrap your feet around their waist or whatever and hook your feet like when you have someone in your guard. How important is that, and what direction are you supposed to be pulling with your legs?

Thanks,

IronFist

[SevenStar]

The best way to realx is to keep training. You're pretty tense now because you really don't know what you're doing and are thinking more on not getting subbed than anything else. eventually, you will stop thinking like that, and as a natural progression, you will realx. Trust me, it'll come.

[SevenStar]

sinking your hooks in is important because it makes it harder for the guy to escape. as far as pulling, move the way you want to - you can lean to the side to force yourself onto your back, or you can "pancake" yourself by forcing your hips down and flattening him out.

When you sink your hooks in, remember NOT to cross your ankles

[Mr Punch]

Try sleeping.

[morbicid]

"When you sink your hooks in, remember NOT to cross your ankles" - posted by sevenstar

Yeah I remember seeing a guy get a nasty ankle lock move done on him cause he crossed his ankles after getting his hooks in.

Anyways, I thought i would share some poetry with you guys. I wrote it for you, Ironfist. Because I think we should be friends.

Sitting around, watching martial arts trends
I think back and wish me and Ironfist were friends

I'm sad and I'm lonely, I lay on my floor
I am too sad to even go out to the store

Ironfist is cool, people like him a lot
I wish I was cool too, but they say that I'm not

If Ironfist only would give me a chance
I'd be so happy I think I would dance

So please be my friend Iron, I dont mean no harm
If we could just hang out I'd give my right arm

[Merryprankster]

Seven pretty much said it. Train more and it will come.

[Xebsball]

follow taiji principles

[Suntzu]

I'm no NAGA champion or anything :rolleyes: ;) :p but we play around with ground work… I try to tell myself to relax when I'm not tryin to work something… for instance if I'm just holding on to a, lets say headlock… I just keep the lock tight… and relax everyhing else… and just breathe… also have the more experience people around u tell when to relax... after awhile you'll know when on your own...

[yenhoi]

grapple more, and think about relaxing.

:eek:


You could also pick up a few position changing drills. Like with a partner go from being mounted, to in his guard, then pass his guard to the side mount, then into the mount...

best thing is just to roll.

:)

[FatherDog]

Well, hell, Sevenstar and MP pretty much said all there is to be said.

Relaxing and staying calm on the ground really is the biggest thing. I used to be winded and soaked with sweat after one roll with my coach; this Sunday I rolled for 5 hours, never resting for longer than 5 minutes. My cardio's gotten better in the interim, but it hasn't gotten THAT much better; mostly it's been learning to relax and getting used to grappling.

The more you roll, the more relaxed you'll be.

[ShaolinTiger00]

flow wit da go...

In case you didn't understand the above: a direct quote from Rickson Gracie , whom obviously meant "go with the flow".

Relax. seriously. very few submissions happen in a split second like striking, so you're going to be able to avoid many of them or counter by simply relaxing, relaxing your mind so that your not panicking. it waill also help you "feel" his weight distribution and balance.

Grappling is a chess game. you move. he moves, you set him up for x an wait until he does it. he does the same to you.

be relaxed, methodical and calculated. in time this will be natural.