Collin and I headed to Matt Thornton's seminar in Berkeley yesterday  It was actually a three day seminar, but one day was all we could make.  Good thing too, cause it was one looooong day, as you'll see.

We arrived at 11am and the seminar actually got going around 11:30.  We then spent 30 minutes rolling with a variety of partners in the ModCom gym.  It was pretty intense.  I'd say our games held up very well and our cardio was pushed more than we usually do in our typical laid back classes.  It was nice to roll with different body types - that was worth the price of admission so if you ever get the chance to visit another location, definitely don't pass that up.  Incidentally I should note that I spoke to Jude who runs the Fremont location for Modcom and they will be in their new building within a few weeks.  Once they are a go, we will be making some road trips there to cross train.  Very cool!

Back to the seminar...  Matt is always fantastic at teaching, but I honestly learned more in this day of training than I have in any other single day.  We started with some basics of posture in the guard and a very high percentage method of opening the legs from the knees.  Of course, we work basic posture and opening a lot, but the little details he provided really helped me a lot.  I feel like my posture is now 3x better.  I just love little adjustments that you can put in your game right away.

We then went on to learn Matt's current top game.  Ironically, I rolled with Matt at the start of the seminar and he gave me a personal lesson on this for about 10 minutes where I was stuck under him, unable to move.  His pressure is unreal.  Of course he is 6 foot 4 and likely 240lbs, but still, I had no game at all - zero, zilch, nathan, nada.  Looking back, my big mistake was "playing" a bit at the beginning - easing into the roll.  We'll that didn't work, I was swept and locked down in side before I knew what was happening.  I am sure we would have ended up there no matter what, but I would have liked to given him a bit more of a challenge before being squashed into oblivion. [Note to all who roll with Matt, never play, ever.]

Back to his topgame...The basic idea is to use a deep prybar grip and tight far side elbow control.  From here you wait and simply adjust depending on what your opponent does.  They roll away, you sprawl, they turn in, you prybar (lift elbow), they reach up, you kill the arm with your hips and attack.  We will definitely be working this game a lot in the coming weeks.  It's super effective, simple and works gi and no gi (adjusting the grip of course).

Once we were all comfortable with the holding of the position, he showed a few of his bread and butter attacks, mainly the paper cutter choke and the step over lapel choke.  Both of these are already staples at the gym, but he seeing how he weights his body during both of these cleaned up some weaknesses I have.  He also showed a different entry to the paper cutter that may be more effective.  Again, small improvements in what we already do fairly frequently.

The last section of the seminar was all about passing with the knee.  Matt covered 5 different passing options.  I had seen some, but I find this area of my game to be the weakest once I get beyond the simple bull pass.  All of this material is solid and once we started to fold it in with some isolation rounds it became clear how the combination of the knee drive threat with the torreando becomes very tough to deal with.  It was also nice to polish up some principles of the sitting up guard.  Again, fundamentals I will put into my game immediately.

After the seminar, it was time for Matt to take a look at Collin's game.  I have never seen Matt belt test, but I was expecting more of a "roll with a bunch of people while I watch" model.  This is how I was promoted by Dave and it is also the model I think of when I see SBGi Irormans.  Instead, Matt paired Collin up with a strong blue belt and had him work a variety of positions.  It started with Mount bottom and progressed through head and arm, side bottom, knee ride bottom and on and on.  Each time Collin would work his escape only to be reset in a bad spot.  After about 15 minutes of this, Collin took top in the same set up positions.  From there he worked his game. Then at the end, they rolled twice to submission with Collin nailing a paper cuter choke and an armbar.  This went on for about 30 minuets, all after our 11-4pm seminar, ending with Matt skull riding while he tied the blue on Collin.

I could not have been more proud of his performance both technically and personally.  Anyone who trains with him knows he is just a quality individual who happens to have really strong jits.  It was a great day and he deserves all the credit for his accomplishments.  Please join me in congratulating Collin!

I just found out that Matt will be in town for a 3 day seminar at Modcom.  Here is the schedule:

Oct 10 (Fri) 7~9 pm at Fremont Gym
Oct 11 (Sat) 11am~3pm at Berkeley Gym
Oct 12 (Sun) 11am~3pm at Berkeley Gym

Cost:
Fri - $40 (ModCom Member) $60 (Non-Member)
Sat - $70 (ModCom Member) $90 (Non-Member)
Sun - $70 (ModCom Member) $90 (Non-Member)
Sat & Sun - $120 (ModCom Member) $150 (Non-Member)
Fri, Sat & Sun - $130 (ModCom Member) $170 (Non-Member)

I think you'll get the member prices if you're in SBGi.  Let me know if you're going...

I ran across this new interview Matt did on Dirtime.org.  Check it out!

The last few weeks have been great.  Life has been full of many activities, most of them not related to BJJ.  Sometimes I can lose myself in jits and it tends to overtake my life.  I am sure all of you have had the same experience where every waking moment, and most of your dreams revolve around this sport we love.  However, recently my head hasn't been in the game and rather than fight it and force myself to "work" at it, I have let it go.  Hanging out with the kids, reading, swimming, biking, trying new restaurants, watching the olympics, politics, and more.  It is great to get a little reminder of just how insignificant this art is in the grand scheme of things. 

Of course, I still train 3x a week - it's just less serious for now.  I am in the ebb, and I know the tide of bjj obsession will flow back in soon.  So I am trying to enjoy the calm before the storm.  It's a natural process if I let it be.

That said, I trained Sunday with Dave and had a great lesson on side control and some fun rolling.  Of course we covered the usual fundamentals of the position like body and hand position, but we went into a more advanced game based on grips.  It was great to get some insight into what higher level players do on the mat to force movement and change the position up.  More and more I see that Dave's game is based a lot on the idea of push-pull.  Forcing a reaction and then using that reaction to your benefit.

It was also yet another example to prove that in bjj there is no black and white.  I think this dynamic reality is what makes it so tough on people new to the art and even tougher for people looking to advance to the higher ranks.  You cannot simply remember a few principles and be "good".  Once you get beyond keeping your elbows tight, what then?  It's a lot of timing, sensitivity and movement.  It has to be learned through patience and sweat on the mat.

As a quick example of this duality, look at side control.  I originally heard of two types of top games, smashing and floating, from Matt Thornton.  In hearing that, I assumed you either played one or the other.  Of course, everyone has to learn both, but my thought was you apply the floating game when you play against a bigger opponent and the smashing game when you want to dominate.  I certainly think this is one way to look at it, but it can be blurred.  You can move between them as needed.  If you want more movement, which typically equals more attacking options, then play a floating game, but you can always move back to a smashing game at anytime - and visa versa.  There is no set formula, no hard rule.

photo by San Diego Shooter.

At the Andre Galvao seminar last weekend, Marco Nascimento was introducing the World Champion and mentioned his phenomenal progression from novice to elite in just 8 years.  Andre's explanation was that he trained "all the time".  I have found a similar parallel in reading Marcelo Garcia's introduction in his X Guard book.  In it, he mentions how he would train 4 times a day and drive hours to find different people to "test" himself against.  For those looking to be the best in the world at anything, I am sure this is the level of dedication it takes, but that is simply not most people (or me).  This article is for the other 99% who have jobs, wives, kids, and friends.   This is for the people who love jiu-jitsu and training, but realize that it is only a part of their life at this point, and while they may want to train more, they realize that balance is a more suitable objective.

So the question arises, how does one improve without sleeping on the mats? 

In my opinion, it comes down to a few things and some simple math.  If you have less hours to work on your game, then you must make those hours count.  For most people, anywhere from 2 to 6 hours a week of training is realistic.  Not a lot to work with, so you absolutely need to focus that time on what matters most, and that means you need a plan.  In this effort, I think that focusing on certain concepts can help make your time more productive on the mat. 

So what is a good plan?

There is no perfect plan for everyone, but there is a perfect plan for someone (ie. you!).  I find this to be a mix of their experience level (belt level) and current skills (strengths and weaknesses).  In my opinion, these two things are not equally weighted in creating a plan.  One is more general (you are a blue belt) and the other is more personalized (Can you pass guard?).  Perhaps counterintuitively, I find belt level to be the best component on which to build a foundation for development as a blue belt.  Not that you should ignore your personal game, but that it is of secondary importance in development in the first few years of bjj.   

Why should belt level guide my development plan more than my personal strengths and weaknesses?

Frankly for two reasons.  First is that your belt is a measurement placed upon you by a 3rd party.  Someone else will always have a more detached view of your performance and this makes it highly likely that their evaluation of your skill is more accurate than your personal view.  Secondly, there are things at a given belt that you should be doing regardless of what you personally may want to work on at that time.  Did you ever notice in school that your bedroom was cleanest during finals?  Cleaning, although not very fun, sure seemed like a better alternative than studying all night.  In that case, your personal choice of what to do was almost certainly not what you should have been working on.  

So is belt level always more important for development than personal game?  What about white belts, brown belts, etc?

First I should that I am writing this as a personal process shared for all to see and I am a blue.  So in a way I can on'y really speak to what I have been through (white and most of blue).  That said, there is method to the madness as I am not sure that for white belts, creating a detailed plan to improve is what they need.  Let me explain:

New white belts really are just learning things like position names, what position is "better" than the other, adapting to the closeness of the game, feeling what a submission is, and more.  It's habituation.  I think at this level you should not be worried about learning anything fancy nor having a specific plan.  As a white belt you may think that getting a great X Guard is really important, but I can tell you, it's not.  When I was a white belt, I just tried to understand everything I saw and avoid anything that seemed complex.  Just getting on the mat, day in, day out, without a plan but listening intently and being open to what happens is what I think makes sense here.  Be patient, don't get frustrated and don't quit is the best advice I could offer.

So what should the other belts work on? 

Blue Belts: So here I am.  I feel pretty good in some positions, but weak in others.  My side control top game is solid, but from north south bottom I am weak.  My half guard top and bottom feel great, but my guard passing needs a ton of work.  After the recent Galvao seminar where he showed a lot of Z Guard, I walked out saying, "Man, I really need to go work that and get a good z-guard".  Wrong!  Another moment of personal choice and measurement pointing me in the wrong direction. 

I need to work on what blue belts need to work on, which is getting solid escapes from everywhere and feeling comfortable (ie I have a plan) in every position.   A plan means a plan both offensively and defensively, but on the offensive side, flow is a good direction.  A recent comment made by Matt Murdock on the NHB forum where he said "A purple belt beats you softly" demonstrates this nicely.  I am not there yet, the key is not to sabotage myself by months of De La Riva and X Guard work at this point.

Purple Belts: I will comment on purple as I have a sense of what that belt is all about even though I am not there yet.  For me personally, I anticipate that this will be when I really explore all those areas that I have ignored up to this point.  This is when I will pull out the notes from the Galvao seminar and work his reverse DLR sweeps.  Sure, it would be fun to work now, but I have more imporant areas to tackle right now.  It's a matter of prioritization not ignoring.

Given that I am only a blue belt I feel too distant to comment on any other belts.  I think Matt Thornton's article has some great tips on belt progression and traps for students and coaches - worth a read for sure. 

So I need a game plan appropriate for my belt level and targeting my weaknesses, how do I build one? 

There are six primary positions:

1. Mount
2. Side Control (including knee ride)
   
3. Back
4. Guard (closed, open)
   
5. Quarters/Turtle
6. Half Guard
   

There are three big buckets of work to do in bjj: Escapes, Holding Position, and Submissions (Flows, Counters included). These are the big three where I feel people should spend their time - in that order.

So how does each position relate to concepts like escaping, holding, and submitting? 

The key is to look at each position and honestly evaluate yourself (perhaps with the help of a friend or coach).  I think everyone should start with escapes and holding for reasons commonly understood in the bjj community.  Ask yourself, how good are you at escaping from each position?  How good are you at holding each position?  Give yourself a score of 1, 2, or 3.  The scoring is as follows:

• "1": No game
• "2": Competent
• "3": Rock Solid

Now that you have a baseline evaluation, pick each "1" you have and spend one day drilling that position a week.  This means dedicated drilling.  Not starting in that position and rolling, but working on that one area for an hour straight.  I would drill the escapes and the holding at the same time.  They are highly related and you will learn about escapes from holding and visa versa.  Once that area (ie. north south) feels like a "2" in both escaping and holding, go back to the "1" list and repeat for another position until everything is a "2" or higher.  Then what?  Pick the "2"'s and do the same thing until they are all "3"s.  See where I am going?  Pretty complex stuff huh.

Once you have a strong escape and holding game I would move to the submissions.  On the submission front you could use the above scoring method, but I think it would be better to list out common attacks that you hit regularly.  This will give you a much better view than say, thinking about what you know and giving a score.  It's not what you know, it's what you actually pull off with frequency.  Once done, you should have a sense of where you are strong or weak (ie. I never hit an armbar from side control or I never armbar anyone from the guard).  This exercise will make it very clear what areas to work on.  Once done, I would follow this approach for subs:

1. Establish 3-5 sound attacks that you hit often from each position, work til smooth, once done for all positions move to #2...
   
2. Pick a single sub (ie triangle) and learn to hit it from each position, work til smooth, once done for all positions move to #3...
3. Go back to each position, map out common resistance to your 3-5, and counters, work until they flow naturally.

Hey this is a personal evaluation - you said we should use an objective measurement to base our development plan?

Yes, the actual plan is not always based on objective feedback.  If you can get your teacher to work with you to create or validate your scores that is even better.  However, some people don't have a teacher close by or perhaps their teacher isn't willing to spend the time, so a personal assessment here is fine as it is relative anyway.  The key is that you are starting within the objective measurement of belt level so you are safe from errors (ie. you're working escapes instead of reverse DLR).

Personal Note:

I guarantee you that as a white belt I thought a lot about submission chains.  Why?  Because they are cool!  They impress your friends, but look at my order above.  They are dead last - only worked after I have a rock solid escapes, holding, and a deep submission game.  I expect that by the time I get through escapes, holding, and subs as I outline above, I will be several years into a purple belt (just do the math if you don't believe me). 

This is the approach I plan to take.  If I can follow this plan, I have no doubt the level of my game will rise dramatically.  Again I should point out how different this is that the "just train more" model and how it also avoids the pitfalls of working what you like - all in the effort to maximize my precious time.

I hope you enjoyed reading my process and 'd love to hear any comments or suggestions on how to improve it. 

See you on the mat! 

Paul

1- Make a list of all the core fundamental positions within BJJ.
2- Determine what the top 3 to 5 things (major points, principles, concepts) are as it relates to holding that position. And ask yourself why those are the 3-5 things.
3- Determine what the top 3 to 5* things (major points, principles, concepts) are as it relates to escaping that position. And ask yourself why those are the 3-5 things. *(I seldom go above 5 because it's usually over complex if I do so)
4- Determine the order in which those 3-5 things arise naturally during a competitive roll. And ask yourself why those 3-5 things occur in that order.
5- Create a drill to develop the top 3-5 habits in an Alive environment.” - from article

I completed the task for mount....

Mount: Top

    * Holding Position
         1. Knees Tight to...limit their hip movement.
         2. Strip Grips/Hands or threaten attack to...free my hips and knees to climb.
         3. Knees High to...take their hips out of the game and open elbows for attack.
         4. Grab head, drive shoulder, off balance to...limit their escapes (both), distract attention, set up arm triangles.
    * Order During a Roll:
          o 1, 2, 3, 4.
          o When taking mount, I immediately clamp my knees.  Typically, they are beginning to block the climb with their hands/elbows.  Then I will feign a choke or strip the hands and climb the knees high once their is space.  Once high on their body, if I really want to secure the position, I will grab the head, apply shoulder pressure and weight to the open side heavily.  I should note, that grabbing the head never happens before I climb the knees, I just feel too stretched out and offbalance (ie vulnerable to an elbow escape).  Also of note is that the wrapped head position limits the attacking options a bit, but provides a very stable position.    From there I am usually going for an arm triangle or ezekial.
    * Drills:
          o Start mounted with knees high.  Try to hold position.  Bottom guy works to get elbows to the mat and frame on hips.  Top guy works to maintain position and wrap head if possible.  If either succeed, reset.
          o Start mounted with elbows on mat and frame in place.  Top guy works to remove the frame and climb.  Bottom guy works to maintain the position.
          o Start in side control.  Knee slide or hip switch to mount.  Once in mount top guy works to climb and wrap head, bottom guy works to frame and get good posture.
          o Repeat any of the above and add goal of escape for bottom and goal of submission for top.

Mount: Bottom

    * Escaping:
         1. Elbows to the mat to...limit their climb and minimize options to attack the arms.
         2. Frame their hips to...stop their hips from advancing.
         3. One leg flat/bladed hips to...offbalance them, stop them from crossing their feet, and creating a path for the knee to escape out.
         4. Head pressed to mat to...stop them from grabbing your head while reminding you not to turn torso to the side.
    * Order During a Roll:
          o 1,4, 2, 3.
          o When mounted, the immediate reaction must be elbows to the mat.  I also try to drive my head to the mat and frame their hips at the same time.  These are what I would tie to Matt's concept of "visceral" reactions.  I place the "one leg flat" response as last since it depends on my escape route.  If I am going for am elbow escape I need that, but it is less important than stopping their hip from advancing since I can survive longer with a leg up than their knees up.  I would also say that if I was to go for an upa, I would not flatten a leg, but instead bring my toes to my butt for maximum drive.
    * Drills
          o See Mount Top.

This exercise helped me to gain some clarity into my mount game and more importantly, reminded me of the fundamentals of mount.   Knowing this helps me to structure classes more effectively rather than showing a few techniques.  The focus is on drilling these core concepts and then exposure to other ideas for the position.

See you on the mat.

Everyone wants to improve.   Whether our goal is for a black belt, to stay in shape, or to simply learn a few moves for self-defense.  No matter the end goal, a progression forward is required.  Since most people are looking to improve at BJJ, let’s look at how that is best accomplished.

The reality is that many newcomers to the art are overwhelmed with its complexity.  Every move has is 4 or 5 steps and just when you think you’ve got it, someone shows you the counter, and the counter to the counter.  It is daunting and seems like there is no firm ground to stand on.  In truth, there are counters to every move - this is a reality.  However, there is a clear path to improvement.

When the beginner runs into this reality, the immediately think they need to learn more moves that the next guy to stay one step ahead.  I would argue that the answer is not in knowing more moves, but rather, perfection in the simple moves we all know.  Think back to the last 4 or 5 matches you have seen in sport bjj or mma.  How many were won by a crucifix?  Now think, how many were won by a rear naked choke, or an armbar?  

Even at the high levels, the basic moves apply.  The only difference is the ability of the practitioner to execute them against resistance.  So we return to our original question, how does one get better.  Simply stated. it is by correctly learning the fundamental movements and drilling them over and over against resistance.  

It is for this reason that in our classes we cover only the basics.  We learn 2-3 moves per class (oftentimes a refresher on something already taught), and we drill that position against resistance.  Every class ends with rolling to integrate the material into an overall game, but to skip the drills is a mistake that costs years of time to the practitioner.

Why is that?

Many of us have been at schools where the class follows the following format:  
(1) Instructor showing a move, say an armbar from the guard
(2) Class practices this slowly
(3) Repeat for a few more unrelated moves
(4) Everybody rolls

The issue with the above format is that everyone in the class has an ego.  Even if you try to suppress it, it lives on.  So when you roll, you are competitive with everyone.  Additionally, you know everyones game to some extent and have a mental track record of wins and losses.  You know what you can pull off and what you can’t.  So most people roll the same way every time in order to not lose.  No one is going to try the new armbar and give up a great position - they’ll return to their tried and true moves.  

Now fast forward a few weeks.  At this point you haven’t used the new move since it was taught, your game is about the same as it was, and worse yet, you likely forgot the moves you were just shown.  The good news it that you’ll probably be shown it again in a few months so you can re-”learn” it.

Now, contrast this to learning a move slowly and then drilling that for a few minutes using progressive resistance.  Done well, there is no ego, its new to everyone.  You can try without risk of failure.  After all, if you go for it and lose position, you just start over - big deal.  You now have a chance to try out a move, feel how it works, and see if it works for you.  At this point you are much more likely to try it in sparring should it arise, since you have started to fold it into your game already.  As a final benefit, you actually spend more time working positions instead of scrambling in a roll.  

So in our classes we cover a few things for each position.
1. Holding (principles)
2. Escapes (typically 3 high percentage moves)
3. Attacks (typically 3 high percentage moves)

This may not seem like much, but the beauty is that these are the bread and butter fundamentals that you will go to all the time.  This is not to say new moves aren’t great, but without a firm foundation in the above, you are wasting your time working on the wrong things.  Even black belts drill elbow escape and warm up with shrimp drills.  There is a reason.

See you on the mat.