Speed

**Goju - Joe** · Posted On: 5/29/2008 10:18pm

BJJ is like an onion or video game or whatever.

Every time I advance one level all I find is more intricate and difficult problems waiting for me in the next one.

While I have found my technique improving, sub defense and sweeps my new issue is speed.

I am sweeping people and getting out of bad spots, from half guard an mount, and such and can see opportunities to go on the offense like their back being exposed to me or whatever and my brain screams "BACK - Take their back!"

But my body however responds with "say what now?" And I just can't seem to move fast enough in the scramble

Is it an age issue? conditioning? or a fundamental flaw in strategy?

Maybe it's just that I am so surprised that the sweep worked I am to busy self congratulating myself.

Or maybe it's that by the time we roll an hour of guard passing and working escapes has tired me out too much.

Has anyone else experienced this? Is it a phase or something?

Am I just a whiny bitch?

**hungryjoe** · Posted On: 5/29/2008 10:47pm

How old are you Joe?

Are you one of us that used to be in great shape, but don't have the endurance of old?

I will say that my reflex movements are as good or better than ever - experience. As in reading my opponent.

Scramble - I don't have the snap of younger years. Maybe it's because inwardly, I know I don't have the endurance of my prime. I don't push early, but rather wait for openings.

Just my perspective,

Joe

**Goju - Joe** · Posted On: 5/30/2008 5:48am

I am 36 soon to be 36. I used to have fast twitchy reflexes and sill do to some extent (as in sparring I can still move quickly cause I hate being hit)

My cardio is up in that I am able to grapple longer than ever - 4 consecutive 5 minute matches is about my limit, although I am not sure how much of that is cardio and how much is experience of knowing how to relax and catch my breath.

I guess age is probably a factor but there has to be a startegy to counter that.

Getting an elevator / scissor sweep is something I am getting decent at but basically we scramble and then I end up pulling guard again and have to start all over.

Maybe it's a technique issue and I need to adapt my grips somehow so that as I sweep the person I am controlling them better and able to get in a dominant position.

**wavy tiger** · Posted On: 5/30/2008 7:31am

How long have you been training? I have about a year under my belt for BJJ, and I know that I hit a point at the 4/5 month mark where I started experiencing exactly what you're describing (I'm 29 btw so I don't know that age is as big a factor). Once I was there it took maybe another month or two of consistent rolling to be able to get my body in synch enough w/ my brain to actually just "take the back" instead of my brain screaming "TAKE THE BACK!" and my body saying...."Who's doing what now?" I still struggle with that to an extent, but it's getting much better.

**Goju - Joe** · Posted On: 5/30/2008 8:10am

How long have I been training? That's a loaded question. I have been taking BJJ seriously for about 6 months but I have years of crappling behind me.

I am hoping this is just a common elementary phase of grappling and not me just being old and slow.

**The Question** · Posted On: 5/30/2008 8:13am

Goju - joe, do you train both gi and no gi? Personally, I train no gi.

But what I have realized is that with no gi, in order to perform well with less than awesome skill, you have to be really athletic, and at times, very fast. Recently, I've been tired because I've been overtraining. When I'm tired and I'm not all on motherfuckers' ****, they're able to yank themselves free of my armbars and triangles and omoplatas and whatnot. Just yesterday I had a ************ just slide out of this omoplata I went to great pains to set up and executed perfectly.

So yes, I think speed is a factor. But like in any other sport, if you lack speed you can make up for it with technique or wisdom.

Also, dude, 36 isn't old for grappling or MA in general. Like what the ****, man?

**wavy tiger** · Posted On: 5/30/2008 8:15am

I'm putting my money on "common elementary phase" because it's something I hear all the time at my school. It's always from my fellow white belts, and it seems to happen independently of age. It's just so much easier to "see" an opening than it is to "take" the opening.

***jnp*** · Posted On: 5/30/2008 8:19am

Originally Posted by The Question

But what I have realized is that with no gi, in order to perform well with less than awesome skill, you have to be really athletic, and at times, very fast.

While this is sometimes the case with evenly matched partners or beginners, the more technical you are, the less it applies.

***jnp*** · Posted On: 5/30/2008 8:41am

Originally Posted by Goju - Joe

I am sweeping people and getting out of bad spots, from half guard an mount, and such and can see opportunities to go on the offense like their back being exposed to me or whatever and my brain screams "BACK - Take their back!"

You need two things to improve. More drilling and more mat time. Try to drill moves that are pertinent to the situations you find yourself in on the mat. You have trouble taking the back? Drill taking the back from the same position that's giving you a problem now.

Your problem isn't age-related. It's time-spent-on-mat related. I've heard plenty of athletic twenty somethings gripe about the exact same thing. You need to enlarge your "unconscious database" of grappling. Mat time and drilling are some of the fastest ways to get there. Training logs and visualization can help as well.

**Goju - Joe** · Posted On: 5/30/2008 8:47am

Originally Posted by The Question

Goju - joe, do you train both gi and no gi? Personally, I train no gi.

But what I have realized is that with no gi, in order to perform well with less than awesome skill, you have to be really athletic, and at times, very fast. Recently, I've been tired because I've been overtraining. When I'm tired and I'm not all on motherfuckers' ****, they're able to yank themselves free of my armbars and triangles and omoplatas and whatnot. Just yesterday I had a ************ just slide out of this omoplata I went to great pains to set up and executed perfectly.

So yes, I think speed is a factor. But like in any other sport, if you lack speed you can make up for it with technique or wisdom.

Also, dude, 36 isn't old for grappling or MA in general. Like what the ****, man?

I did both for a while, but I am concentrating on gi because I want to work on technique and cardio and then in a year or so do more no-gi.

I think for me this is correct line of action.

I just wanted some confirmation that this feeling of being slow is just a common phase in grappling training.