Tried BJJ last night

**FingerorMoon?** · Posted On: 7/30/2003 8:46pm

I tried BJJ for the first time last night.

It was interesting. I was in the beginners class and we worked on positioning, and transitions between positions. I'm used to ground fighting but we only go full on at all times.

This has positives and negatives.
The positive is that you're used to grappling at full speed/power because thats all you do. The negative is you don't ever get a chance to refine, or try something new or that you're unsure of.

I had trouble adapting, and kept trying to do things too fast.

I'm not sure how important it is to 'put your hand in this exact position' and 'grab the collar exactly like this'. Some of this stuff seems to me exactly the sort of stuff that breaks down as soon you go full on.

I learnt a lot though in one class and enjoyed myself. I think I'll keep going back

**Boyd** · Posted On: 7/30/2003 9:10pm

What grappling did you do before this?

Humans rule. Dolphins can suck it.

**PizDoff** · Posted On: 7/30/2003 9:38pm

"The positive is that you're used to grappling at full speed/power because thats all you do. The negative is you don't ever get a chance to refine, or try something new or that you're unsure of."

um, you don't get to try it out slower at first?

--
Hard work, Patience, Dedication.

**NSLightsOut** · Posted On: 7/30/2003 10:09pm

FingerorMoon?, where did you ultimately end up at?

Trust me, you get better grappling at full speed then you do starting at half speed. Just learn from what people tell you what you were doing wrong, and try to pick up as much of the technique drills as you can. It's the 'straight into the deep end' approach to learning..

The placement of hands is important because incorrect placement will set you up for submissions and sweeps.

For example: The guard

Leaving your hands above the beltline will leave you open to armlocks, leaving elbows sticking out will leave you open to Kimuras,etc.

Grips are important, as the wrong grip can be the difference between that collar choke cranking on or not. Also they can be of importance to you, as if you are grabbing the inside of your opponent's sleeve in Gi BJJ, if your opponent jerks away suddenly, you may end up with a handful of broken fingers.

Be patient. It takes time to get anywhere near half-decent.

**FingerorMoon?** · Posted On: 7/30/2003 10:34pm

Boyd:
At the center I go to we do submission grappling but are taught to go for chokes (and a few neck cranks).

Cross body isn't used that much, we are taught mainly to achieve the mount, and when on bottom to work from the guard (either choking or attempting to reverse position.

Piz:
Nope, don't go slow at all.
The instructor started the center over 10 years ago, attempting to break away from TMA (no he is not a UFC fan at all...let me hold a UFC night for everyone there but wasn't interested in coming himself...)
The idea is that slowing things down and worrying about perfect hand positioning, etc will not help you at all when everything moves full speed with a fully resisting opponent. The idea is to explore and see what you can do while going full on.

NSlightsout:
I ended up at Dominance Jiu Jitsu
http://www.djj.com.au/
I'm travelling in the opposite direction to the traffic that time of night so its actually not a bad drive.

I'm not sure if you read my post correctly. I meant we only go full on at my current art. The BJJ I did last night slowed things down so we could understand the finer points.

Thanks for the advice.
Yeah, I am a patient person by nature. I'm not going there with the intention that I can become any good in a handful of lessons.

**FingerorMoon?** · Posted On: 7/30/2003 10:53pm

I should add though, one of the reasons I still love Freeform is although the founder may believe what I've listed above is best, you are allowed to do anything you want while wrestling. The idea being to explore what works for you.

For the last year, I've been going (with success as well...) for armbars, shoulder locks, and leglocks (although I suck at leglocks).

**deus ex machina** · Posted On: 7/30/2003 11:16pm

I should add though, one of the reasons I still love Freeform is although the founder may believe what I've listed above is best, you are allowed to do anything you want while wrestling. The idea being to explore what works for you.

For the last year, I've been going (with success as well...) for armbars, shoulder locks, and leglocks (although I suck at leglocks).

Add all sorts of neck cranks and you've got somethin' goin.

~
danny

"That baby better watch his mouth. I rape kids like him as part of my warm-up for raping teenagers, grown men, and eventually charging rhinos." - Boyd

**Pandinha** · Posted On: 7/31/2003 2:05am

Fingermoon,

Nice stuff. In the group class, it is usually fast paced, with everyone going for the submission. Pretty tiring. One on one classes, where it's slow and you have to do the moves perfect was absolute Hell. I was more tired in 30 minutes of a private with Rener, than rolling an hour in group class. At least twice as much.

Good luck with it, and keep us posted!

==================
"When we go to the ground, you are in my world. The ground is the ocean, I am the shark, and most people don't even know how to swim." RCJ Machado

**hmeboy** · Posted On: 7/31/2003 11:23am

"The idea is that slowing things down and worrying about perfect hand positioning, etc will not help you at all when everything moves full speed with a fully resisting opponent"

I'm not sure if you personally agree with this, but I gotta say this is a horrible training ethic. The best way to develop bad habits is to not practice a technique before attempting them in sparring (rolling). We used to do this before I seriously trained; we flailed around, tried to achieve positions with no clue on how to get there and forced submissions. It was tiring and counterproductive.

In a couple months, your ground game will improve so much, you'll be amazed; trust me!