I give in, oh mighty grapplers

[shaolinboxer]

As I may have mentioned before, my dojo has many people with extensive backgrounds in other arts.

Two of my dojo mates who study with different gracies were rolling around last night after class, and one of my seniors was giving them advice.

So, I asked him to give me a few pointers, and this friday after class I will begin to learn the basics of wrestling, judo, and jiu-jitsu. As it turns out, we have a 3rd degree black belt in judo, an ex-collegiate wrestler, and several people studying with the gracies to roll with.

It looks like fun :).

Any words of advice?

[Brad Souders]

Yes if it hurts or feels uncomfortable TAP OUT

[Merryprankster]

Keep your chin tucked.

Resist the temptation to go to your stomach to get up.

Have fun :)

[Nichiren]

Technique is everything so try to relax and don't use brute strenght. Be prepared to tap a lot in the beginning. Good luck to you... :p

I almost forgot; Keep your arms close to your body!

[Ryu]

Also relax. Don't go crazy trying to beat them. Flailing around with tense limbs can get you hurt, and is a mistake a lot of beginners make.

Have fun, grappling is great fun, and good excercise. :)

Ryu

[rubthebuddha]

and for the love of pete, stretch when you're done.

[ShaolinTiger00]

learn to fall properly

don't panic, learn to keep cool and use your head, but don't delay.

Even if you are a naturally strong guy, learn excellent technique, because the guy on the street trying to muscle you around is going to be bigger (he is looking for a smaller target)

all beginners get whupped by the experienced guys, so swallow your pride, tap out before your elbow snaps, and learn how he got you.

[Tigerstyle]

I think you shouldn't listen to people that say keep your chin tucked and your arms in ;) . It's more educational for you to "experience" exactly why they tell you those things.

Getting caught in a triangle choke can teach you alot about what to do and what not to do to avoid it in the future :) .

[JWTAYLOR]

MP and Ryu give some especially good advice. Please, please don't due the freak out and flail thing. Keep your arm bent in and tucked. Remember, you wouldn't box with your arms or legs straight, there's no reason to do it that once your on the ground.

JWT

[Water Dragon]

PRAY

[kungfuyou]

Don't wear tights, bend over for too long, or whisper anything into their ears!! ;)

Just joking!! Have fun!!

[Xebsball]

Tell them to keep their hands away from your manhood.

[DelicateSound]

*Don't keep stopping to re-arrange your gi. It p!sses us off, and interrupts the pain we're dishing out :D

*DO, ask to take breaks, it'll be more demanding than striking, trust me.

*Don't, react with a nippy lil' punch. Even out of instinct. Ever.
Read the above statement again.

*Don't get disheartened. You will get taken down every time you attack.

*Don't act brave when you get Ashi-Guruma'd via the happy-sack. It's OK to sob, whimper, cry and whine.

[Ryu]

"*Don't act brave when you get Ashi-Guruma'd via the happy-sack. It's OK to sob, whimper, cry and whine.
"


DelicateSound has discovered the tightly kept secrets of grappling.
;)

Ryu

[shaolinboxer]

I have fought many full contact san shou matches, and I am not afraid of takedowns (but that's where it always end in san shou).
I have no intention of striking anyone. We'll see if it is more demanding than striking.

And I'll be sure to wear a cup ;).

[LEGEND]

I don't think it's more demanding than striking arts like boxing, san shou or muy thai...it's a whole different way of fighting. Most that tried it for a month are hooked...but if u're a standup fighter by heart...u'll just do it to round yourself out...

[Budokan]

Make sure they're wearing rubbers.

[anerlich]

Sounds like you have the right attitude anyway, but treat as an opportunity to learn something new and share an experience with new people, not as a contest of arts where one has to be better than another.

If these guys start with the basics (as they should) you WILL see potential "opportunities" to counter by striking or ways to escape their positions or attacks. Bear in mind that there are many layers and that your "counters" will have been dealt with before if these guys have experience. If you keep trying to trip these guys up buy saying "but I could just do this ..." to everything they show you, you'll all get ****ed off.

Getting tapped is part of learning. If you're never gettnig tapped, you're playing too safe or you need more challenging partners. It's no disgrace, so don't push it to far and get injured yourself or injure someone else.

So - keep an open mind, don't question thnigs you don't yet understand fully, be friendly, and enjoy.

[old jong]

I don't know much about grappling so I will give you only general advises.
1:Always brush your teeth before a grappling session
2:wear clean underwear in case you rip your pants

3:Always welcome a bigger and stronger opponent with open heart and legs!

4:Never bite the nipples of a 245pds guy who's on top.

5:When you see a bright white light and hear a strange celestial music, you know you should have tapped.

6:If you get backmount,don't start daydreaming!

7:Beer ,peanuts and beans are a bad idea before rolling

8: Don't become a troll!;)

[red_fists]

May I add NO garlic for 3 Days before sparring.

Kissing the Guy when he hugs you close is a NoNo.

When you he hear a crunch or twig snapping sound followed by a sudden sharp pain you know it is too late to tap out.

Some Spectators will shout "mount him, mount him", and it isn't what you think.

[fightfan]

On a more serious non trollish note,
if someone bites your nipple scoop his eye out like your cleaning a chicken thigh. ;) Just kidding O.J.!!!
a good way to keep your opponents full weight off of your chest is to keep your arms (elbows) in tight and your hands under your chin (kinda like your resting your elbows on a table and your resting your chin on your hands).
Youll be surprised how easily you can breathe like this. Otherwise your rib cage wont be able to expand and youll gas quick!
Oh, and dont try to muscle your way out of stuff. Let gravity and leverage work for you. Example : you have someone in your guard and their laying all their weight on top of you. Dont press them off of you, instead turn your hips until your on your side and hell dealing with the ground and leaving all kinds of openings.
Most importantly have fun!!!
Hope this helps!
:)

[Matt-le-kat]

Just get ready to be humbled!

Like everyone says, relax!

The first time i rolled all out in BJJ, i was nealy puking! (i wasn't very fit at the time!)

[Sharky]

matt where in the uk do you do bjj? is it that anachonda place in london? that's the only place i know of. it's the one kevin chan studies at.

[KnightSabre]

I had 4 of my friends (6 - 8yrs kung fu) come and learn BJJ at my school for about 6 months and they absolutely loved it.

It's a pity that politics forced me to stop training them.

[LEGEND]

BJJ is awesome...it's like a chess match...the fact that it's soooo technical is remarkable.

[myosimka]

it's soooooh tempting to take the humour vein but I'll refrain.

Biggest thing is the age old classic of empty your cup. Yes, you are trained in other things and that training can serve you. But as one poster pointed out, seeing a counter in a situation can be helpful but do the drills as trained. You came to learn from them, just remember that. (Plus those BJJ guys are ****ed devious; sometimes they'll do things like open the guard so you think you can pass and then your sucking wind in a triangle. *******s, everyone of them.)

Never assume something doesn't work because you can't get it. Ask why you can't get it. Watch people do this all the time in class. Like the guard passing example I mentioned. You stack them hard and the triangle is pretty tough to get. There are 2 guys in my class(big guys) who keep telling me that passing the guard is to dangerous, never mind that I routinely pass theirs in rolling at the end of class. They never stack and they never bother to learn how.

Remember the rules. You may be taking it for street applications but if they are not training for that, keep it in mind. Nothing ticks me off more than some smart ass(esp. a couple of JKD students I know) telling me I am leaving my face open and smacking me as I roll on a gi night. Funny thing is these same guys don't say it on the Vale Tudo- no gi nights. Why is that? Oh that's right. Sport rules are different. And these guys routinely tell me that what I am doing would get me hurt on the street. Duh! But that's why alot of BJJ schools have sport BJJ and Vale Tudo nights. They are not the same thing.

summation: Empty your cup. If you've done your research and you've picked a good instructor/coach, trust them. Listen to what they are saying and do it that way. If you feel you need to modify it for your fighting style, go ahead but do it on your own time.

Blue skies,
Hank

[KnightSabre]

Hi Myosimka,

Good post.
I agree with you in so many ways.

We also train Vale Tudo seperate from Gi and No Gi grappling.
It's important to understand the differences between the 3.

Where do you train and for how long?

[Matt-le-kat]

Sharky, I train in hull which is near to where i live. (north east).

There are actually quite a few BJJ places in london right now.

Actually, if you read Martial arts illustrated, you might have heard of Andy Norman. I train with him.

[shaolinboxer]

Switching from san shou to aikido was enought to teach me how to empty my cup. I am not interested in wining matches or specifically improving my fighting style. I simply want to know what groundfighting IS, rather than have this vague notion from watching NHB.

The nice thing I have gotten from this thread is the two great rules everyone seems to agree on: don't let your arms hang out, and don't go to your stomach to get up. I think that will be very helpful.

Any other practical advice?

[Archangel]

Watch your weight distribution when you are on top of the guard. If you feel his shins resting on the inside of your legs he's going to try to sweep you. Keep a wide base.

[Sharky]

matt - yeah i stopped MA magazines cos... well it's just boring to me, so i'm not really aware of the new surge of schools. it's good though, about time!

train hard :cool: