Grappling Discussions

[boboplata2.0]

for guys that train bjj or wrestling, post your worst/best grappling experience, problems in training/competition, mental attitude. everything about grappling.:)

mine would be overcoming size & strength through technique & cardio. i rolled with this guy who has 30+ lbs over me. caught me in an arm triangle, i tapped because he was cranking my shoulder! hurts like hell! felt shitty getting subbed by a lousy move. but hey you'll learn right. & learn to tap immediately, theres no shame tapping to a less experieced guy. there is no room for ego in training. & the most important thing is to enjoy. :)

[CnS 2.0]

Best experience: Back when I was rolling, I tapped my instructor with a triangle from the bottom.

Worst: Spraining my MCL when doing drills. Another time I had an absolute war with this guy for over ten minutes. Was going back and forth. He finally got me with a kimura from the bottom. That was probably my favorite grappling session, but it just sucked losing like that.

[boboplata2.0]

yep, me & my friend noticed it too while watching two judo guys cross training with us. " the longer the sparring the higher the stakes". they were at it for like 20 mins. anyway those judokas were awesome. they taught me a trip take down & a transition if the guy was able to balance himself. pretty cool. although their newaza is kinda noobie hence the cross training.

[CrazyThai]

for guys that train bjj or wrestling, post your worst/best grappling experience, problems in training/competition, mental attitude. everything about grappling.:)

mine would be overcoming size & strength through technique & cardio. i rolled with this guy who has 30+ lbs over me. caught me in an arm triangle, i tapped because he was cranking my shoulder! hurts like hell! felt shitty getting subbed by a lousy move. but hey you'll learn right. & learn to tap immediately, theres no shame tapping to a less experieced guy. there is no room for ego in training. & the most important thing is to enjoy. :)

A little tip I learned the other day for defending the arm triangle:
The arm that is across your chest (your own arm) that is choking you, if you grab behind your knee on the same side and hold it (basically you bring your knee to your chest and hold it with your arm that is choking you). This relieves the pressure form the choke so it doesn't choke you. It's not an escape, but the guy will tire out from not being able to choke you and will have to give up after a while. I know you said you tapped from your shoulder being cranked, but I thought I'd throw it out there.

[CrazyThai]

Just some tweaks I put in my grappling game lately which have helped a lot. I've switched my game to always try to be in the top position. My highest rate of submission is from my guard, so I tend to always try to get to guard, but the better people I spar, with the better their submission defense is, so they can ussually stall me in guard, and eventually pass my guard, making me lose by points (when we are keeping score). Now I just focus on keeping my top position. It's helping my top game a lot, and it keeps me ahead on points (not to mention very good for real fights where striking is involved). I still end up with guys in my guard from scrambles and other situations, but I'm focusing more on sweeping from my guard rather than submitting (because my submissions from guard are already pretty good), and sweep attempts also set up certain submissions really well.

[X Guard Soldier]

for guys that train bjj or wrestling, post your worst/best grappling experience, problems in training/competition, mental attitude. everything about grappling.:)

mine would be overcoming size & strength through technique & cardio. i rolled with this guy who has 30+ lbs over me. caught me in an arm triangle, i tapped because he was cranking my shoulder! hurts like hell! felt shitty getting subbed by a lousy move. but hey you'll learn right. & learn to tap immediately, theres no shame tapping to a less experieced guy. there is no room for ego in training. & the most important thing is to enjoy. :)

I can relate on the second part. Im one of the smaller guys at my academy and Im constantly getting beat guys who are bigger and stronger than myself, mainly because they are bigger and stronger, not because I have poor technique. Personally I think I have excellent technique, which is why it gets so frustrating to loose to strength.

[CrazyThai]

I can relate on the second part. Im one of the smaller guys at my academy and Im constantly getting beat guys who are bigger and stronger than myself, mainly because they are bigger and stronger, not because I have poor technique. Personally I think I have excellent technique, which is why it gets so frustrating to loose to strength.

Yeah it sucks being a smaller guy. Your technique just has to be that much better than your opponent's. Also, having good cardio helps when going against a big guy. They tend to gas out quicker than us smaller guys, so if you push the pace the entire match, they tend to tire out.

I love having new guys come to the gym that are big and muscular and just completely controlling them. However, once and while I'll get some guy who is just so much bigger than me that I get caught in a choke where they're not choking me, but crushing my face with all their weight and I'm forced to tap.

[KINGofLA]

Not really a bad experience but I just had the wrong mind set in the start of my training.

You know... that spazzy white belt? That was me.


But after my first tourney I realized that training was meant to get better and all those cliches. I felt like my BJJ IQ really went up.


I actually started tapping white belts and being able to roll with the blue belts w/o getting sub'd the entire round.


Point is, I learned how to really relax in training. Really be receptive to what moves I was doing and storing them in my techniques bank in my brain.


Damn I love/miss BJJ.... it really teaches you how to be cool and calm under any situation.

[CURTIS111480]

Not sure that I would call this a bad experience but defiantly a humbling one. I have worked out with weights since I was a sophomore in High School & have always for the most part been able to handle my own, well one of my old weight lifting buddy's took up JJ & had been doing it for about 2 1/2yrs & was blue belt with 2 stripes anyway at the time it didn't mean anything to me but after him repeatedly trying & trying to get me in there to try it out & me basically always saying no because I thought that if I wasn't planning to "cage fight" there was no reason to & besides if somebody did put me in a submission I would just "power" out LOL yeah I would tell him that all the time & oh would I get him worked up & he never tried to prove me wrong other than to say I should come in & try it you don't need to be a fighter etc... & you will love it...

So he finally talked me into going & was basically tapped out by just about everybody & my buddy basically had his way with me tapping me about every 10-15 seconds or at least seemed like it, so yeah we left that night after about 2hrs of training JJ & I was beat down exhausted but thought wow most these guys in here don't look like much of threat & the thought reoccurred in my head about "being able to handle my own" & I think in general yes I probably could but then again you just never know who you might end up against... Anyway I have now been at it close to two years pretty consistently with a little hiccups here & there with my wedding & putting my yard in etc... & am now getting close or at least I'm hoping to earning my Blue belt.

Never really thought I was a badass or anything just never realized how helpful having martial art like Jiu jitsu could help me in a situation & how much fun it was to do & my buddy was defiantly right I have enjoyed the heck out of it & it sure has made watching the fights more in particular on the ground much more exciting to me

[boboplata2.0]

crazy thai. thanks for the tip. i'll try that tomorrow. & having a good guard game does boosts your confidence when playing top position coz you won't be rattled by sweeps/reversals.

X guard soldier, there's nothing more scary than a big guy who has great technique. it sucks. but it would help you at tourneys since you'll be competing in your own division, unless you compete in absolute then you just have to drill sweeps more often than subs.

KingofLA, we've all been there, hehehe. sometimes i still spazz when i can't get a big guy off me!

Curtis111480, good luck on your blue belt!

[Dave The Shocker]

In order to have an effective guard, you have to truly BELIEVE that NO ONE can pass it.

Even if they can.

I get passed in training, but I still think my guard is untouchable. Whether yours is or isnt, you have to have faith in it.

Just some quick fundamentals that are often forgotten.

-When your on your back, and they have passed to at least half guard, try to keep your arms tight to your body. Not giving them any room to slip in a hook, or isolate an arm. Unless your attacking, stay really tight.

-Breathe. Cant stress it enough. JUST. FUCKING. BREATHE.

-Posture, Posture, Posture. Excellent posture goes a LONG way.

-Position before submission.

-Ball up. Frank Shamrock is hated at AKA, because of how their relationship ended, but theres one thing he would do that the trainers have praised him for. Whenever the shit gets thick, ball up. Be tough to control, keep moving, but calmy. If that makes sense. I dont know how to explain it, but Frank would almost look like he was having a seizure sometimes, and the opponent would get freaked out.

-Fuck Frank Shamrock. (had to throw that in there)

-Use your legs as hands.

-Train with everyone. Whether hes the black belt stud, or the 6 year white belt that sucks and spazzes and doesnt know shit, to even the new guy. You can learn from anyone.

-The moment you think your better than any one person, your game will stop progressing. Yeah, its cool to know who you can take and what not, but being more talented/skilled doesnt make you better than anyone.

At least from my experiences.

[War Munchies!]

Just some tweaks I put in my grappling game lately which have helped a lot. I've switched my game to always try to be in the top position. My highest rate of submission is from my guard, so I tend to always try to get to guard, but the better people I spar, with the better their submission defense is, so they can ussually stall me in guard, and eventually pass my guard, making me lose by points (when we are keeping score). Now I just focus on keeping my top position. It's helping my top game a lot, and it keeps me ahead on points (not to mention very good for real fights where striking is involved). I still end up with guys in my guard from scrambles and other situations, but I'm focusing more on sweeping from my guard rather than submitting (because my submissions from guard are already pretty good), and sweep attempts also set up certain submissions really well.
This has been my biggest problem in competition. I like to pull guard since I'm smaller than just about everyone in my class and I'm not likely to overpower anyone. I learned my lesson in my first competition. Won my first two matches with triangles but then I just couldn't catch the next guy in anything. He eventually passed to half guard, then side mount, and then I got back to my guard. But he stayed on top and won on points.

Nothing pisses me off more than losing on points. I think if you lost on points, you didn't really lose. Like that Saulo quote in bobo's sig, every tap is a fake die. If you haven't fake killed your opponent then you haven't won. My worst BJJ experience was in a No Gi tournament where I lost in my first match to a wrestler who did nothing but stack me. I couldn't do shit but he wasn't trying to do anything either. That really pissed me off.

My biggest problem is that I give up my back way to much. I have to much confidence in my RNC defense and never really think about points.

My best experience was getting my blue belt. But in general, my favorite times are when I roll with a higher belt rank or someone who's just clearly better than me and I can hold my own. It's great when you roll with someone who can teach you as you go.

[IE_Grappler]

I have the exact oposite situation than most of you. I'm the biggest guy in class. It teaches me to be smooth and use technique though. Our class is usually 12-15 guys and I can easily submit everyone (except one guy) by using size and power.

Because I'm there to learn and not compete I try my best to not do that. Rolling with the smaller guys makes me focus on technique, because it pumps my ego when they tell me I out thought or out moved them. And they're all honest about it too.

I went in on Saturday to roll gi with my best friend. He taught me the more common gi chokes and tehn we rolled for an hour or so. He said it beast that if I used all my strength 100% of the time I'd win every time, and that if I used zero strength he'd win every time. We ended the session with him getting one tap and me getting two.

[boboplata2.0]

agree with DTS, also never lie flat on your back. always face your opponent. IE Grappler, try starting in a difficult position when rolling with smaller guys. like side mount, mount or turtle position.

[Toehold]

Best experiences:

Getting first place in an absolute (no weigh limit) division in a tourney in New Jersey. Tapped first guy with arm triangle from guard, second with a flying knee lock, and in the finals I tapped a 220lbs Purple belt with a triangle who had about 60lbs on me and also took 2nd in another division that day

Then two weeks later I took another first place at a tourney in Delaware

Also, when I was a 3-stripe Blue belt (I'm now 3-stripe Purple) I tapped a Brown Belt with a Toehold in competition (hence the name LOL)

Also, felt good about the last NAGA where I got 2nd place, tapped first guy with a heelhook, 2nd with a triangle and only lost by one point, 4-5, to a Brazilian Black Belt in the finals

Worst experiences:

Any of multiple times I gas out in tournaments and lose just because I don't have good enough cardio and/or good enough takedowns or takedown D...basically, multiple times I lose to wrestlers with great cardio who just take me down and do the bare minimum not to get tapped and I feel like shit knowing if I had better cardio, better takedowns and takedown D and a more aggressive guard I could have won...

Also...

I just blew my damn knee out and will find out Friday whether or not I will be out for 7 months...which the doctor said there's an 85-95% chance of being the case...

Fuck...

[boboplata2.0]

Damn! Toehold's got game. i heard there's a no time limit/ no point/ submission only tourney, forgot which state & when. should be awesome. that'll filter them wrestlers.

[War Munchies!]

Damn! Toehold's got game. i heard there's a no time limit/ no point/ submission only tourney, forgot which state & when. should be awesome. that'll filter them wrestlers.
If you get any details on this could you PM me about it?

[Troll]

I have the exact oposite situation than most of you. I'm the biggest guy in class. It teaches me to be smooth and use technique though. Our class is usually 12-15 guys and I can easily submit everyone (except one guy) by using size and power.

Because I'm there to learn and not compete I try my best to not do that. Rolling with the smaller guys makes me focus on technique, because it pumps my ego when they tell me I out thought or out moved them. And they're all honest about it too.

I went in on Saturday to roll gi with my best friend. He taught me the more common gi chokes and tehn we rolled for an hour or so. He said it beast that if I used all my strength 100% of the time I'd win every time, and that if I used zero strength he'd win every time. We ended the session with him getting one tap and me getting two.

I'm bigger than every guy I train with and I've found it to be a disadvantage when it comes to competitions. Unless someone gets aggressive with me I never use my size/strength and I constantly give up dominant positions to try and even things out. When it comes time for competition I've lost points because I'm used to letting a smaller guy work something from side mount or giving up the takedown.

Definitely something I need to wrap my head around.

[boboplata2.0]

guys, what do you do/watch to keep you motivated? me, i watch arte suave everytime i do my morning/evening routine of body weight exercises(20 mins of pull-ups, push ups, sit ups & burpees) since i don't lift weights.

[Baphomet3]

Tapping guys who've had cage fights is fun.
Going from frantic and confused to calm and composed is fun.
When the instructor starts using you to show the class shit, that's cool.
Starting to see counter moves/setting up moves is a fun breakthrough.

Gassing out blows.
Getting tapped more than once in one round blows.
Gi grappling with someone who knows what they're doing blows goats.
Coming home and writhing in pain for hours because your joints are torqued blows donkeys.

[boboplata2.0]

our resident pro-fighter is still too strong for me. i'll catch him someday, someday.

[CrazyThai]

If you get any details on this could you PM me about it?

Here's a submission only/no time limit tourney coming up November 1st in VA:
http://www.usgrappling.us/events/110108/
If you're thinking about competing in it, make sure your cardio is as good as you can get, because a buddy from my gym competed in one last year where he won his first match two matches in under 5 minutes, but his 3rd match was 25 minutes, and his last match was an 45 minutes!!!

Where do you train in DC Munchies?

[IE_Grappler]

I got a question for those of you who do Eddie Bravo stuff. When I go from lockdown to electric chair and can't get the submission. Instead of sweeping I go out the back door and take the back.

Does anyone else do this? Is my size helping me do this? Am I putting yself at risk for something, but just not realizing it?

[KINGofLA]

Man all this BJJ talk is making me anxious to get back in it.


Out of all the guys I remember tapping, it was all w/ subs from my guard. I love the triangle and I have a super sneaky arm bar.


I think the only time I sub'd someone w/o going from my guard was a clock work choke on a big guy that had like 20-30 lbs on me. But he was hella gassed hahaha.


I actually prefer to pull guard for some reason. That must be my white belt mentality.


I've never known the feeling of getting someone in a RNC, so when I start training again I want to focus on getting people's backs.


How do you guys feel about garage training? If I had an extra room in my house I'd put down grappling mats and invite local grappers (ie you guys) to come over and roll.


Luv2Slooge invited me to roll w/ him at his house when he put mats down but I guess he got banned or something.


You guys think it's a good idea? I really think there's a great benefit to it, if it's organized right.

[boboplata2.0]

IE, i'm not quite familiar with those position even though i have his books( i went back to basic.). haven't played much from bravo's half-guard game. although the rubberguard helped me in my early stages of my bjj training.

KoLA, i've never trained in an academy, the instructor at a gracie barra affiliate in our area is a good friend of my instructors & keeps on inviting us to roll with them. so basically all i have is informal training. i'm confident with my friend's jits coz even if he isn't ranked he rolled with a much bigger gracie purple for 30 mins b4 getting caught. good times. my point is, we're grappling for fun if we do decide to be ranked & get proper or advance instructions, that's the time we'll enroll. & garage training is better than no training at all...oh yeah, about rnc; armdrag is your fren.

[Dave The Shocker]

Man all this BJJ talk is making me anxious to get back in it.


Out of all the guys I remember tapping, it was all w/ subs from my guard. I love the triangle and I have a super sneaky arm bar.


I think the only time I sub'd someone w/o going from my guard was a clock work choke on a big guy that had like 20-30 lbs on me. But he was hella gassed hahaha.


I actually prefer to pull guard for some reason. That must be my white belt mentality.


I've never known the feeling of getting someone in a RNC, so when I start training again I want to focus on getting people's backs.


How do you guys feel about garage training? If I had an extra room in my house I'd put down grappling mats and invite local grappers (ie you guys) to come over and roll.


Luv2Slooge invited me to roll w/ him at his house when he put mats down but I guess he got banned or something.


You guys think it's a good idea? I really think there's a great benefit to it, if it's organized right.

I think it would be awesome.

L2S was definitely one of the better posters, im gonna try to contact him.

I always look to take someones back. I have a sneaky ass reverse triangle I like to do, so the back is one of my favorite spots. I dont do the RNC in training, because I know how to do it already. You really cant get better at it once you learn. I practice the reverse triangle and arm bar from back.

[KINGofLA]

so it seems like we're mostly grapplers here but does anyone also do MT regularly?


I think I'm going to try to commit to MT (shorts and all) the same way I did to BJJ.


Hopefully that'll get me interested in transitioning to MMA but we'll see. So yeah do you guys have the same passion for MT/Boxing as you do for grappling?

[Dave The Shocker]

BJJ/GJJ is my passion. I love it like no other. That being said, I fucking love putting the gloves on and hitting fools. I train boxing/MT probably 20-30% of the time. 70% BJJ.

[Toehold]

I've only done a little Muay thai, boxing and MMA, suck at them but wanna get better.

Dave the Shocker: Do you have a belt in BJJ? You sound pretty advanced seeing as reverse triangle from rear mount isn't a simple move to pull off, I've never pulled it off but then again I've only ever practiced it a couple times, I should work on it, and I'm a 3-stripe Purple belt.

I guess it's all about which positions/subs you work on, I'm definately in need of switching up my game and trying new stuff, I'm just a tad bit leg lock-happy if you can't tell from my SN LOL

[War Munchies!]

Here's a submission only/no time limit tourney coming up November 1st in VA:
http://www.usgrappling.us/events/110108/
If you're thinking about competing in it, make sure your cardio is as good as you can get, because a buddy from my gym competed in one last year where he won his first match two matches in under 5 minutes, but his 3rd match was 25 minutes, and his last match was an 45 minutes!!!

Where do you train in DC Munchies?
Yeah bobo just hit me up about this. Hopefully I will compete in this cuz VA really isn't far at all. I guess I'll try to cut out weed, cuz that can't be helping my cardio.

I train at a Sport and Health center under Luis Pantoja, a Mario Yamazaki brown belt. We share a room with a Yoga class which pisses me off.

Class got canceled tonight cuz of thunder storms :mad:

[War Munchies!]

Luvs2Splooge is still here, he just went back to his old name OmaPlata.

[boboplata2.0]

reverse triangle is a bit tricky, god knows how many times i attempted(failed horribly)this move, but a good thing is like a normal triangle you can still hit the armbar(again, failed horribly).

as for the MT, we've never tried it. but if you guys can only see my friend's sweet ass gym you could tell we're all idiots for not training MT. the thing is we don't have a decent instructor & our resident pro-fighter comes & go & is a prick(good riddance).

[Dave The Shocker]

I've only done a little Muay thai, boxing and MMA, suck at them but wanna get better.

Dave the Shocker: Do you have a belt in BJJ? You sound pretty advanced seeing as reverse triangle from rear mount isn't a simple move to pull off, I've never pulled it off but then again I've only ever practiced it a couple times, I should work on it, and I'm a 3-stripe Purple belt.

I guess it's all about which positions/subs you work on, I'm definately in need of switching up my game and trying new stuff, I'm just a tad bit leg lock-happy if you can't tell from my SN LOL

Do I have a belt? It depends who you ask.

Im a white belt, but skill wise, Im up there with the blues. Dave Camarillo really stresses attendance in class, and regardless of whether your skilled enough for it, if your not always there, he wont give it to you. Ive been injured for a while, a few different times, so Ive never been able to stay in there. And he doesnt hand out belts like nothing. But skill wise, I can hang, and submit blues. Ofcourse they submit me back. Id say beginning-mid stage blue belt.

I went to Ralph Gracies just to fuck around with a friend there, and I ended up rolling with ralph. He was shocked when I said I was a white.

But I respect Dave Cams system, and will call myself a white until he thinks Im deserving enough. I have a verrry good understanding of BJJ overall though, and Im able to explain it pretty clear. I think thats what makes people think Im much higher than I am.

[Toehold]

Do I have a belt? It depends who you ask.

Im a white belt, but skill wise, Im up there with the blues. Dave Camarillo really stresses attendance in class, and regardless of whether your skilled enough for it, if your not always there, he wont give it to you. Ive been injured for a while, a few different times, so Ive never been able to stay in there. And he doesnt hand out belts like nothing. But skill wise, I can hang, and submit blues. Ofcourse they submit me back. Id say beginning-mid stage blue belt.

I went to Ralph Gracies just to fuck around with a friend there, and I ended up rolling with ralph. He was shocked when I said I was a white.

But I respect Dave Cams system, and will call myself a white until he thinks Im deserving enough. I have a verrry good understanding of BJJ overall though, and Im able to explain it pretty clear. I think thats what makes people think Im much higher than I am.

Oh, didn't know you were a Dave Camarillo student. That guys' obviously regarded as one of the best BJJ teachers in the U.S. ESPECIALLY in GI Jiu-Jitsu, though I'm much more of a No-Gi guy.

Are you in Cali? If so, I know a guy I used to train with who was out there about a year ago named Jay...got his Brown recently, think he was a purple when he went out there. Ever see him? Probably not.

Surprised your white or even blue belt level hitting the reverse triangle from rear mount, then again, if I were to spend enough time practicing it I could probably get it too, but that's an advanced move so props on that.

I usually hit the reverse triangle from sidemount but rarely tap guys with it unless they have big necks, otherwise I use the position to get a kimura, key lock or Americana.

I also used to have a guy at my school I rolled with who was a Dave Camarillo Brown Belt.

Great guy who I used to have great rolls with.

From the way your game sounds you should have been a blue long ago.

[KINGofLA]

DTS i think we have the same mind set when it comes to our belts... I feel like I'm a white belt but because I don't attend as often and the instructors super traditional that's just the way it is.

I don't really mind cause that just means the level of competition and the expectations of the gym are where I want them to be.

Of course DTS is probably like a white belt + a couple black stripes (whats the official name for that?)

[Dave The Shocker]

I dont mind it. I know I can be a blue belt if I go somewhere else, like Ralphs, but the training, instruction, and training partners are as good. I like where Im at.

Hopefully I can get back in the gym soon.

[Dave The Shocker]

But to answer your guys question--I practice all that sneaky stuff a lot. Because I have a weight disadvantage against most guy. Im 155, most others are 180+....so I try to throw in as much sneaky subs as I can.

KoLA---We'll get there man. Just gotta keep working.

[KINGofLA]

DTS I'm going back to train BJJ at sidyodtong this month after like a 6 month lay off. F*CK YEAH!

Was wondering if you guys know Alberto Cranes BJJ credentials. Heard he was a black belt. He teaches the AM BJJ and weekend MMA.

Also, Brandon Hahn (sp?) from Wander Braga teaches the PM BJJ (i'll probably go to PM classes due to work)

[Dave The Shocker]

Alberto Crane is a world class grappler from what I hear. I know TOIAP used to train under him, so he would know more. But hes a good grappler. Just too small for the UFC LW division.

[boboplata2.0]

we did the rotation thing last night. the one where you grapple with 4 guys 1 at a time. felt like shit. i'm better at no-gi than with the gi so all i did was stall, grip their lapels like crazy & survive the round. i'll be more aggressive next time.

KoLA, welcome back to the martial art of man-hugging.

[Toehold]

deleted post

[CrazyThai]

we did the rotation thing last night. the one where you grapple with 4 guys 1 at a time. felt like shit. i'm better at no-gi than with the gi so all i did was stall, grip their lapels like crazy & survive the round. i'll be more aggressive next time.

KoLA, welcome back to the martial art of man-hugging.

Yeah, we did a "king of the hill" type of rotation with takedowns last night in no-gi. You get the takedown, you stay in. It was divided between the heavyweights and the guys under 180, and there was only 6 of us under 180, but 4 out of the 6 had a lot of wrestling experience. It got pretty brutal after awhile. I think I bruised my rib again, but luckily I can't go back to train until Monday anyway, so hopefully that will be enough time for this pain to go away. I'm way better at takedowns with the gi, because I have a few solid judo throws, but that shit doesn't really fly with a wrestler (especially in no-gi).

[KINGofLA]

Thanks Bobo it's good to be back.


DTS you're like 5'10 160 right? what size MMA shorts do you wear? If i wear 34 Jeans should I get the shorts in 34 or should I get like a size bigger/smaller?

I'm pretty sure all brands are different but any advice would be cool cause I'm ordering online. Don't wanna have to send it back and wait again.

[boboplata2.0]

KoLA,i'm no expert on fight shorts, but sprawl suggests that you order 1 size bigger from your actual size. so you should order 36 if you're looking at sprawl.

Crazy Thai, the shitty part yesterday was before the rotation started i was already sparring with my buddy for a good 10 mins then they decided i should be the 1st. so that's like a good 25 mins of surviving. although i tapped plenty of times when i got stacked by a guy way bigger & more technical than me. & there was this one time yesterday when he caught me in a triangle so i stacked, stepped over my foot whatever to escape, this went on for a couple of minutes until i ended up in the bottom with the triangle still locked & my arm was covering my face with his whole weight on it. i freaked out, tried to shout but i can't coz my face was all covered & it took me like 3 seconds before i realize i can tap. scared the shit out of me. does it mean i'm claustrophobic or something?

[Dave The Shocker]

Thanks Bobo it's good to be back.


DTS you're like 5'10 160 right? what size MMA shorts do you wear? If i wear 34 Jeans should I get the shorts in 34 or should I get like a size bigger/smaller?

I'm pretty sure all brands are different but any advice would be cool cause I'm ordering online. Don't wanna have to send it back and wait again.

5'11'' 155.

I wear 32. but even then, I gotta tie them so they dont get pulled off when grappling. Your looking for a Gi?

[Dave The Shocker]

Your wear 34 jeans, but thats with a belt right? They probably wouldnt fit without one. Id go with 32. you want a tight, snug fit with shorts.

[KINGofLA]

Your wear 34 jeans, but thats with a belt right? They probably wouldnt fit without one. Id go with 32. you want a tight, snug fit with shorts.

cool thanks. I just went with the black Premier Fighter shorts.

[Dave The Shocker]

nice. I recently got the new tapout shorts, the white ones. Really comfortable and good fit.

[super_fly]

My worst experience would have to be getting my leg broke this July. I had only been in class for six weeks, I was pretty bummed. I have a plate and eight screws in my left tibia and I thought my grappling days were over (I'm 33 years old)
My best experience would be on Thursday when I went back to class. I got to do some drills and then rolled a bit. My wife thinks I'm crazy, but I always wanted to learn jits and if my leg will allow it I'm gonna do it.

[boboplata2.0]

did the doctor gave you the go signal or do you just rely on what your body is telling you? better get a doctor's approval bro. i'd rather wait so i could grapple than grapple & damage my body even further. although i never had serious injuries before. most of it were being stacked by a behemoth having to tap coz my neck was about to snap. i miss my last class because i can't move my neck to the left & it fucking hurts my left shoulder.

[super_fly]

bobo, I had the docs approval. It was a light roll with an experienced guy who took it easy. My instuctor and myself are on the same page, just taking it easy for a while.

[CrazyThai]

Fucking new guys. I try to give them the benefit of the doubt (because I was one of them not too long ago), but they spaz the fuck out! They ussually match up more experienced guys against with the newer guys just so it's not two new guys just beating the shit out of each other, so I got matched with this new guy who was a lot bigger than me. I always go easy on them, and try to work on an aspect of my game that I'm developing (currently working on my offensive turtle guard). Anyways, the guy comes charging at me, and I get him in my guard. I throw up a sloppy triangle real slow, so he can try to work on defending it. The guy stands up, and fucking Rampage slams me right on my back (which is a no-no when sparring, especially in class). So the intructor sees and tells him he can't do that, and he's like "Well what am I supposed to do? Just tap!?" I throw up another triangle that he just tries to muscle out of, but ends up tapping. Now he's super pissed, he pulls guard, so he can try getting a triangle. I can see what he's trying to do, so I let him get the triangle locked up, so I can show him how to escape it. So I get out, while explaining to him what you're supposed to do. Then he's pissed and says, "Try to get out again". At this point he's getting on my nerves a little, so I let him pull guard, but I don't even let him throw up his legs for a triangle. The guy kept starts spazzing the fuck out kicking his legs up in the air, and kicks me the mouth hard as shit over and over (luckily I was wearing a mouth piece). So, I'm like "Dude calm down, you've kicked me three times now, we're just training". He rolls his eyes and starts grunting trying for a triangle again. So I decide to turn it on, I instantly pass his guard to side mount, and mounted him. He starts bucking, and freaking out, and I can tell he's a few seconds away from COMPLETELY gassing, so I put my forearm in his neck and just pin it to the mat with all my weight (I ussually wouldn't do this, but this guy deserved it). He's starts gurgling (even though I'm not really choking him), and the instructor tells us there's 10 seconds left, so I grab the Americana, he turns, and I finish with a armbar (just to show him, I could have had him the whole time).

Sorry for the rant, I know no one wants to hear about it, and I may come across as a little douchy here, but I'm just trying to vent. The guy slammed me on my back, kicked me my mouth a few times, and had a pretty shitty attitude the whole time, so it kind of made me turn it up on him. Seeing his face when I was putting my forearm in his throat made it all worth it, though.

[KINGofLA]

CT that rant had me bustin'


We actually had this dumb ass brute just like that but he was a purple belt... slam one of the instructors sons a blue belt. Everyone was just shocked!


Same dumb ass tells the instructor one day he just wants to take it easy so he matches him up with me (white belt) and tells him to help me work on my game (like how you did CT)


This mother f*cker starts subbing the shit out of me like torqueing my arms. This guy is atleast 215 and like 6'0. Instructors comes back over like WTF are you doing and told him to go spar with another purple belt.


Some dudes just dont get what training is for. I'm glad I'm passed the spazzy white belt phase. I dislocated this brown belts big toe and that was the day I decided I wasn't going to be that guy.

[boboplata2.0]

crazy thai. every gym has a moron. our's actually are kinda ok but what he told to our instructor behind our backs pissed me off. they're judo guys who cross trains with us to improve their newaza. so we kinda went easy with them, teaching them as we roll. we always remind them to tap immediately after all it's just training. this guy sparred with my buddy, my buddy armbarred him. he didn't even cranked it & told the judo guy to tap, he didn't, maybe it's an ego thing coz he's like 30+lbs heavier than my buddy. said he was ok after training. when we left the gym the judo guys began complaining to our instructor. said that he should tell us to take it easy & shit. my instructor flat out told him that we are the most gentle, no aggro shit batch that he ever taught & that it was his fault. fucking moron.

[dasmike]

I finally made a long put off return to judo tonight. I haven't been for about a year, and even then I'd only been going for a few months, but I've been doing some semi-regular no-gi grappling with a few friends since then. I thought this little bit of experience/knowledge would have me hanging with a few of the regulars. Did it fuck!

Rolling with a gi on really is a totally different ball game. Everyone there had an iron grip that I just couldn't get away from. And there are 2 words (and one expletive) that will be haunting my sleep tonight: GI FUCKING CHOKE!! Oh man, I kept seeing what they were going for, and knew it was coming, but just couldn't do a thing about it.

Whilst nobody was going too hard on me (everyone I rolled with was great and there were no assholes), there was no doubt that I was their bitch. There was an old grey haired woman who was a black belt. I didn't roll with her but I've got no doubt what so ever that if I did she would have been making me tap like it was going out of fashion!


Despite this probably coming off as me whining a bit about the class, I loved it and can't wait to get back next week. We only practiced a few throws today and mostly did ground work (newaza). I didn't get involved in the randori at the end but I'm looking forward to getting stuck in next week :)


So any tips for gi grappling anyone would like to offer? I think I've made it obvious that I need all the advice I can get!

[ajl416az]

CT you are a better man then me

i would have tried to break his arm
im not a petty guy, but anyone who upkicks me in the mouth more then once, and then doesn't apologize, is going to get fucked up. i would be absolutely brutal with him, chokin and crankin shit like we're fighting for the fuckin' UFC title, since that seems to be his mindset.

[boboplata2.0]

grips & hips dasmike. don't lie flat on you back so it would be hard for them to control or choke you with the lapel. always face your opponent in halfguard & side mount.

[super_fly]

CT maybe in a year or two I'll be good enough to do that. It's funny that most all the new guys I started with roll the same way they drill.
They fly thru the moves like it's a race, even when the instructor tells them to take there time. I'm a little guy so I can't rely on brute strength and I put alot of emphasis on technique. The first thing he said was position before submission and I guess that stuck.

[IE_Grappler]

So I wanted to publicly pat myself on the back for an awesome set of transitions I pulled off. Sweep to side control then hit the Americana. He defended by turning into me. I stepped over and hit a straight armbar.

Simple stuff really, but it all just kinda flowed together. It was a thing of beauty. I normally have to think my way through transitions, or have a preset gameplan. This one just happened.

[boboplata2.0]

niiiice. drills & quality mat time will develop muscle memory. read my sig! right now i'm drilling the armbar from mount then transition to omoplata when my opponent tries to stack. never done it on actual sparring though. my basic transition is crossface, americana, if he straighten his arm i go for the armbar or kimura, if he defends by holding his other hand i go for armbar. that's why i'm drilling the omoplata as plan c or d.

[Dave The Shocker]

Fucking new guys. I try to give them the benefit of the doubt (because I was one of them not too long ago), but they spaz the fuck out! They ussually match up more experienced guys against with the newer guys just so it's not two new guys just beating the shit out of each other, so I got matched with this new guy who was a lot bigger than me. I always go easy on them, and try to work on an aspect of my game that I'm developing (currently working on my offensive turtle guard). Anyways, the guy comes charging at me, and I get him in my guard. I throw up a sloppy triangle real slow, so he can try to work on defending it. The guy stands up, and fucking Rampage slams me right on my back (which is a no-no when sparring, especially in class). So the intructor sees and tells him he can't do that, and he's like "Well what am I supposed to do? Just tap!?" I throw up another triangle that he just tries to muscle out of, but ends up tapping. Now he's super pissed, he pulls guard, so he can try getting a triangle. I can see what he's trying to do, so I let him get the triangle locked up, so I can show him how to escape it. So I get out, while explaining to him what you're supposed to do. Then he's pissed and says, "Try to get out again". At this point he's getting on my nerves a little, so I let him pull guard, but I don't even let him throw up his legs for a triangle. The guy kept starts spazzing the fuck out kicking his legs up in the air, and kicks me the mouth hard as shit over and over (luckily I was wearing a mouth piece). So, I'm like "Dude calm down, you've kicked me three times now, we're just training". He rolls his eyes and starts grunting trying for a triangle again. So I decide to turn it on, I instantly pass his guard to side mount, and mounted him. He starts bucking, and freaking out, and I can tell he's a few seconds away from COMPLETELY gassing, so I put my forearm in his neck and just pin it to the mat with all my weight (I ussually wouldn't do this, but this guy deserved it). He's starts gurgling (even though I'm not really choking him), and the instructor tells us there's 10 seconds left, so I grab the Americana, he turns, and I finish with a armbar (just to show him, I could have had him the whole time).

Sorry for the rant, I know no one wants to hear about it, and I may come across as a little douchy here, but I'm just trying to vent. The guy slammed me on my back, kicked me my mouth a few times, and had a pretty shitty attitude the whole time, so it kind of made me turn it up on him. Seeing his face when I was putting my forearm in his throat made it all worth it, though.

eh, rolling with noobs is a love/hate type thing. I like to help them out, and show them the ropes. Most times it goes smoothly. Plus my instructor encourages us to help the newer kids. So I do. Occasionally some spaz roid head will come and mess everything up.

One time I was on my back, I gave him side mount, and the dude tries to mount me and TOTALLY SPAZZES. Throwing his hands everywhere. He hit me in the eye with a poke and kneed the same eye going for mount, and I couldnt open my eye bc of the poke. So I move my knees out from his side mount and get to turtle guard to show him I was messed up, both of us on our knees, my eye is fucked beyong belief, and he sees an opportinity to take my back. He spazzes again going for it and must have kneed me in the head/face 10 times before I tied him up and told him I had to stop. It all happened so fast I couldnt really tell him my eye was destroyed. He didnt get the hint when I moved to turtle.

Also theres this 'slow' kid that trains with us sometimes. Hes a nice kid, and I always try to help him out, but he ALWAYS manages to knee the shit out of my balls. Every damn time. I never see it coming either.

[Seraph]

Rolling with new guys who try too hard is actually a load of fun. Case and point:

I'm 6'4 190, a new guy, a police officer who trains weapons tactics, 6'2 220. He's an older guy...was in the prisons during the LA riots (to put it in context). So we start from our knees and I pull guard. I keep it open and he's just working it...hard. He's trying to grind and for someone who had never takena jits class he was awfully intuitive about trying to pass guard. I keep him in front of me and let him work four about a minute and a half. Then I go for the money sweep...the kimura sweep. I mount him, let him work for another minute off of his back and he turns his back...he's done. I don't let him get all the way to his stomach and I trap the arm and arm triangle him. But the doufus doesn't tap. Nearly had him out when I let go...but he's not done. He keeps going and tackles me into guard...he's getting pissed. I want to laugh but I opt to work from rubber guard instead. I consider using an omoplata but I noticed a gogoplata open and I slowly work it in. He finally taps.

Afterwards, I found he was really a cool guy...he just said he has a hard time remembering to give up because most of the fights he's been in he didn't have that option. Also, he was a pro boxer at one point.

I felt really good cause I know if i run into a cop in the streets that I can take him in hand to hand :D

[boboplata2.0]

I felt really good cause I know if i run into a cop in the streets that I can take him in hand to hand :D


try pulling guard when he tazer's your ass.:D

[Seraph]

try pulling guard when he tazer's your ass.:D

I said hand 2 hand! I'd choke out that sucka before he pulls that tazer!:mad:

[boboplata2.0]

question to all of you:

you're in a street fight & you're all focus & shit. then one of the onlookers shouted something to your opponent that'll make you nervous, what would it be?

a: you can take him out, your a purple belt in bjj!
b: uchi mata his ass! you've got a black belt in judo!
c: c'mon son, show them how you won the golden gloves!

[dasmike]

My first instinct is to say B, because I know when we get close I'm going to be on my ass and it's more than likely not going to be a soft landing! I'm tempted to go with C though because you know the guy will be able to take a punch and there's not a chance of you clipping him with a few shots and him pussing out.

BJJ could end up being the most effective but it's the Judo black belt comment that would make me think "fuck!"

[Dave The Shocker]

My first instinct is to say B, because I know when we get close I'm going to be on my ass and it's more than likely not going to be a soft landing! I'm tempted to go with C though because you know the guy will be able to take a punch and there's not a chance of you clipping him with a few shots and him pussing out.

BJJ could end up being the most effective but it's the Judo black belt comment that would make me think "fuck!"

The one I would wanna hear most would be C. Im no golden gloves boxer, but Im no slouch either. Id just take his ass down gladly and end it with a sub or GnP.

B would suck too, but once he throws you, you have the ground advantage.

A. would suck.

[boboplata2.0]

street fight+judo throw+cement=???

[conk2000]

BEST:
I went to Utah for Easter break and beat a guy who was training for the Olympics at BJJ. He was only a one stripe Blue Belt, but I was a one stripe white belt at the time. :)

WORST:
I was rolling with an assistant coach at my old gym who was like a few weeks from a purple belt when he sweeped me from the top and I hit my head hard on a piece of wood next to the mat. I went unconsious for two seconds and woke up in an armbar. Not a fun experience.

[conk2000]

question to all of you:

you're in a street fight & you're all focus & shit. then one of the onlookers shouted something to your opponent that'll make you nervous, what would it be?

a: you can take him out, your a purple belt in bjj!
b: uchi mata his ass! you've got a black belt in judo!
c: c'mon son, show them how you won the golden gloves!

I would say A because the boxer would prolly be an easy take down. The Judo guy could throw me on my head, but if i could weather that, I'd be taking the ground game with ease. And A means he has the same strategy I do, except he is better at it.

[ajl416az]

question to all of you:

you're in a street fight & you're all focus & shit. then one of the onlookers shouted something to your opponent that'll make you nervous, what would it be?

a: you can take him out, your a purple belt in bjj!
b: uchi mata his ass! you've got a black belt in judo!
c: c'mon son, show them how you won the golden gloves!

the purple belt. he will be constantly pressing to get to the mat, and if he is not some unathletic turd, he very well might catch me coming in, and beat my ass on the mat

the other 2 would just get beaten in their weakness.
i would stay away from the judo guy, keeping away from the clinch and hitting him if he tries to get a grip
and i'd shoot on the boxer in a second.

[dasmike]

There was an old grey haired woman who was a black belt. I didn't roll with her but I've got no doubt what so ever that if I did she would have been making me tap like it was going out of fashion!

Yup, the old lady got me in a TIGHT gi choke last night. I tapped out straightaway but my throat is pretty sore today and I'm sure that's why.

Enjoyed it again this week. Anyone else here just starting out with Judo (or BJJ)?

[boboplata2.0]

Yup, the old lady got me in a TIGHT gi choke last night. I tapped out straightaway but my throat is pretty sore today and I'm sure that's why.

Enjoyed it again this week. Anyone else here just starting out with Judo (or BJJ)?

i'm no expert on gi, but you could trap their arms by using your forearms when they're doing the lapel choke. & crosstraining with the judo guys is more like 85% us teaching them newaza & 15% them teaching us tachiwaza.

it's fun rolling with judo guys. we start out kneeling but we'll taunt them to stand up. when they get closer we butt scoot. hehehe. & their fying armbar demonstration was fucking awesome. i never thought i'd see that from a 16 yr old white belt judo kid.

[rocketman766]

Ok, total bone head question here, coming from a guy who always wanted to train, but never did/could and now is too old (ie, no time...work, family, school, daughter's schedule...), anyway, question is....why do fighters always pour water on the mat in their corner? If the other guy does it too, does it just mean nothing now? Sorry for the lame ass question but I have to know...

[ajl416az]

usually they do it and step on it, and wipe it off so their feet get some traction from having a little bit of moisture.

[OmoPlataV3]

Ive just gotten back into training BJJ (with GI) regularly...been in there for about a two months now. It took me a little while to get my cardio back, but once i got my wind back I feel like i never left. I had almost forgotten how horrible it feels to be completely gassed out and not be able to do shit other then keep from getting completely flattened out. Puked on the way home a couple times during the first two weeks, but thats behind me now.

Training is a great fucking thing. Nothing else inspires me to be so strict on my diet, making sure im getting enough water everyday, not wanting to drink, pop pills, etc... I HATE getting schooled and these are all things that can contribute to that.

For the poster ( i cant remember whom it was) that said that they are getting all of their subs from the guard, Id recomend working strictly on your top game for awhile. Ive found through experience that when something is working for you a little too well, you need to start working on the weaker aspects of your game. Subs, passes, sweeps, whatever...if your hitting one over and over again, start to work on something else.

Tonight, my goal is to work on my butterfly guard. I used to nail a couple sweet sweeps from there, but just havent worked it in so long that ive gotten really rusty. Cant have that shit...

[boboplata2.0]

omoplataV3, believe it or not i've been constantly practising omoplatas for weeks now. now, i just release the arm whenever i secure an americana or kimura & let them sweep me to be more confident with the guard. the thing is, i never drill omoplatas, i'm just trying to set up transitions to get it during randori. needless to say, i'm still not successful.lol!

[The Dude]

Is it just me or was the gi invented by Satan to hamper grappling and destroy innocent fingers?

[boboplata2.0]

guys, have you seen rickson's budo challenge? i'm watching the aoki match. they have like 3-3min rds. grappling matches & jiujitsu stars competing.


DAYUM!! aoki just spend like 40 second mat time to finish 2 opponents! 1 with a fying armbar 10 sec into the match & a footlock in the final match!

[boboplata2.0]

guys, how can i develop explosive grappling skills? i only do body weight exercises, i don't lift weights. i started noticing that i can barely survive grappling with guys i've been pawning a year ago. i have transitions, counters & sweeps. i'm not just explosive. kinda lazy while rolling. or is it just the way i grapple?

[Troll]

guys, how can i develop explosive grappling skills? i only do body weight exercises, i don't lift weights. i started noticing that i can barely survive grappling with guys i've been pawning a year ago. i have transitions, counters & sweeps. i'm not just explosive. kinda lazy while rolling. or is it just the way i grapple?

Were you beating them because of power or technique?

I think when you reach a level of competency where you aren't that worried about being submitted your game can slow down a lot. Why expend a ton of energy and potentially gas (which most people are inherently afraid of) when you can defend?

My suggestion would be to go hard every second or third session and start building back up.

[boboplata2.0]

Were you beating them because of power or technique?

I think when you reach a level of competency where you aren't that worried about being submitted your game can slow down a lot. Why expend a ton of energy and potentially gas (which most people are inherently afraid of) when you can defend?

My suggestion would be to go hard every second or third session and start building back up.

interesting...i think this maybe it. maybe it's ego/pride on my part that i only do body weight exercises compared to them dieting & weight lifting. maybe i got complacent & their getting better/stronger for me to keep up. i'll be sure to try your suggestion, thanks!