Hello once again.

A couple weeks ago I started a thread (http://www.bullshido.net/forums/showthread.php?t=96470) about how I was wondering if I should get back into TKD, as it was soon to be offered at my judo club on days when there was no judo. I haven' heard jack about it for quite some time, and when the tkd classes were brought up, it seemed like nobody could give me any hard details.

Well, now that I have more income and time to spend training more, I figured what the hell, screw the tkd and will be signing up for bjj and kickboxing classes at a nearby mma gym this upcoming Wednesday.

I checked the place out with a friend a few weeks ago, and it seemed like a really good school; they did well in competitions, instructors who looked like they knew their stuff, trained alive (of course), and most of all I had a blast!

Their website is here (http://www.guidrytraining.com/) and I am really excited to start training there.

So here is a question to those who train mma/bjj/kickboxing or boxing:

What can I expect to learn training-wise during my first few weeks? Is there anything I can do beforehand that could help with me understanding the basics a little better than most who go in without any preparation?

I know that some of my tkd will help, though it will be minimal, and that my judo will be similar to the bjj classes in some regards, so I am not too worried that I will be a total spaz pissing off the instructors and seasoned students. I just want to make a good impression.

Also, they offer what they call, "Fight Fit Conditioning" as well, and am greatly considering joining that to help improve my cardio, muscular strength/endurance, and lose some weight.

Any advice would be appreciated.


Sincerely,

ZoA.

If you want general advice, post in the general forum. The technique fora are for threads asking questions about specific techniques.

To answer part of your question, attend class with the intent to learn rather than trying to win against your sparring partner, and you will do better than most noobs.

If you're a a typical TKD-er, hands up, chin down. Please don't do that hands at the side stance. I die a bit every time I see a TKD-er with that stance.

Pain.

But seriously, expect most people to help you out, and not going ballasitic on you :)

If you want general advice, post in the general forum. The technique fora are for threads asking questions about specific techniques.

My mistake. I will remember this from now on.


To answer part of your question, attend class with the intent to learn rather than trying to win against your sparring partner, and you will do better than most noobs.


Right. I will make sure to do my best to learn and not try to be all macho and feel like I have to prove anything.

Thanks.

expect to be worse before you get better. your judo and tkd wil work better than the bjj and mt on your first day. this is not because you have more knowledge but because you are more cormfortable. Dont fall into the trap of trying to use them or convert their techniques. learn their stuff their way.

What can I expect to learn training-wise during my first few weeks? Is there anything I can do beforehand that could help with me understanding the basics a little better than most who go in without any preparation?

The instructor at the school you mentioned has a really solid record, looks good in his fights. Definitely a good choice.
Now about your question, depending on the teaching style of the school you may find yourself in an Introductory class for the first few weeks where you will learn things like Shrimping and how to Upa and learn about mat etiquette as well as doing a lot of movement drills. You'll probably also learn 2-3 basic escapes in an intro class. After that when you move to the regular class you'll actually have some stuff you can use while you are rolling instead of just being confused and helpless.
The other side of the spectrum is that you'll just get thrown into the regular class right away, you'll be taught whatever technique the class is working on at the time and then thrown to the wolves.

If you want some advice for what to learn before you go to class it would be this: Learn to shrimp and practice it a bunch. Learn to Upa and practice it a bunch. Make sure you are familiar with all of the basic jits position names so that you don't have to slow down in class to figure out where to go.

For the striking stuff.... hands up, chin down. Not much else I can offer you on that.

expect to be worse before you get better. your judo and tkd wil work better than the bjj and mt on your first day. this is not because you have more knowledge but because you are more cormfortable. Dont fall into the trap of trying to use them or convert their techniques. learn their stuff their way.

I will definitely listen to this and try not to treat the bjj like my judo class, or treat the kickboxing class (not muay thai, just kick boxing but leg kicks afaik) like a tkd lesson. I will make sure to start fresh and not try to reverse engineer any tkd stuff while still being a kickboxing noob. That will be for later ;).

For BJJ:

1) Don't try to throw the other person around. Move yourself.

2) You learn more when you tap to get out of a submission than when you spaz to get out of a submission.

For Stand Up:

1) A lot of your defense is not being there to be hit. Footwork is your best friend. Move yourself.

2) You learn more when you get hit with a solid shot than when you spaz and slap box to try to defend against that shot.

To Skippy and Kin, things like shrimping and the like are very basic. The way they do it though is probably extremely advanced.

I still sweat like a mofo even after a year of training in BJJ and a background in boxing. Warm-up, drilling, and rolling. My GI is soaked in sweat. Get ready to work hard.

No-one else has mentioned this so i will chime in. The "fight fit conditioning" class?? i would probably not go there just yet. Get used to the cardio required for the kickboxing class and bjj classes first. They're quite diff fitness requirements. The conditioning type classes tend to be fuckin killers that can hve ppl puking by the end (in the ones i've been to) if they/you are not already at a good/appropriate fitness level. Judo fitness is NOT Kickboxing fitness.

Balls 'n All approach is not an approach if you want longevity outta the gym. Chill out,roll often,don't spaz and MUST WIN ARGGHHH,and as always??? enjoy yaself.If it aint fun then you might have just wasted ya moneys.

No-one else has mentioned this so i will chime in. The "fight fit conditioning" class?? i would probably not go there just yet. Get used to the cardio required for the kickboxing class and bjj classes first. They're quite diff fitness requirements. The conditioning type classes tend to be fuckin killers that can hve ppl puking by the end (in the ones i've been to) if they/you are not already at a good/appropriate fitness level. Judo fitness is NOT Kickboxing fitness.

When I sign up there later this week, I will ask how the fight fit conditioning classes are run. I was unsure whether or nor they would be killer classes for their top fighters, like you mentioned, or if they also offer basic workout routines for noobs like me as well. I will let you know the answer when I go there this week.


Balls 'n All approach is not an approach if you want longevity outta the gym. Chill out,roll often,don't spaz and MUST WIN ARGGHHH,and as always??? enjoy yaself.If it aint fun then you might have just wasted ya moneys.


Yeah I definitely will do my best not to spaz, and am doing this for the fun of it as well. I always make sure I go into my martial arts classes without an ego, to make sure I am in the right mood to learn, and not show up to try and prove stupid bullcrap.

I found what worked best in BJJ, in addition to all the other comments, are to ask questions. When you start rolling with guys, they'll usually take it a bit easy, give you a chance to move or attempt an escape, then proceed to just keep doing their thing until you tap.

When they give you that chance, if you know the escape, go for it; if you have no idea what the hell to do, ask...but don't spend the whole time talking, short quick questions: How do I turn? Where should I put my hand, foot, etc.? Then don't ask another question for a while...over the weeks and months they'll add up anyway.

Or ask right after you tap: what's the escape or how do I defend that?

There are better guys to ask than others, take your time, figure out the ones that are happy to answer a question and help you out, that roll with new guys at a relaxed pace. And also give yourself a chance to see what gets you stuck most, and ask about that.

I still ask higher ranks stuff while we roll...usually when they've got me in some kind of arm lock or a choke that's not on yet "is there any way out of this" I ask...they'll tell me what I should have done, then point out that at this stage I'm screwed and tap me...everyone has a good time.

Be friendly. Work hard to the best of your ability. Listen to what your teachers are telling you, even if it's for the 1000th time. Learn from everybody, even those you are better than. Everyone has something to teach you. Treat your classmates as your teammates. Have fun !

As far as the ego thing goes. I've come to realise the whole "leave your ego at the door" thing is not fully accurate ( we have a sign that says that on our wall ). It implies the ego is something we can simply discard as long as we want to. Really, unless you are some kind of Buddha, your ego will always follow you around. It will show up when you are getting your ass handed to you and also when you are giving someone else hell. It will show up when you are showing a technique to someone and they say "but what if I just do this ?" and you don't really know the answer. It's about how you deal with it. Do you allow your ego to control your actions, or do you take the more difficult, but honest route, which is to humble yourself ( be honest about what you do and don't know ) and therefore open yourself up to deeper learning ?

expect to be worse before you get better. your judo and tkd wil work better than the bjj and mt on your first day. this is not because you have more knowledge but because you are more cormfortable. Dont fall into the trap of trying to use them or convert their techniques. learn their stuff their way.

i'm learning the hard way not to reverse engineer TKD. i have been making it work, but guys who have trained WAAAAAAYYYYYY less time than me are just as good if not better than i am. now i'm the oldest guy there trying to keep up with the teens. your best bet is to try to forget your TKD experience all together and just start from scratch.

you are already comfortable with newaza and alive training, so just keep a good student mentality.

no gi grappling is a whole different world. i find i'm much better at it, while others find grappling with a gi to be more there speed. remember that things that worked at the judo club might not work in this environment, at least not at first anyway. keep your eyes and ears open and you'll be fine.

BJJ tip number 1. Breathe and relax. You're not controlling a person by trying to squeeze crush them.
2. Passing guard isn't about throwing their legs and diving forward. Nor is it about running around it.
3. BREATHE!!!