Quote: (01-26-2017 11:30 AM)heavy Wrote:
Admittedly, I didn't know what I was doing on the Ezekiel choke, I was just making the best of a non-ideal situation. Also I tried an arm bar on another more experience guy that failed, after which he showed me some tips. So yeah failure definitely offered more growth than success.
The big things I've learned so far, somewhat in chronological order (obviously the learning blends together):
- Breathing and pacing...always breath, and understanding when to exert energy and when not to. This is huge. Don't just continue struggling.
- Posture...pretty basic stuff but tough to ingrain. Keep shoulders back and head up, butt down, solid foundation and balance.
- Body weight...use gravity as an advantage. Most of our weight is in torso and head...use this as a tool to for position and to cause discomfort.
- Make opponent uncomfortable...as much as possible. To go with the body weight thing, causing discomfort for the opponent can offer a distraction, cause him to do something dumb, and generally let him know that victory will come at a cost.
Obviously we've learned some specific positions, movements, and submissions, but those are far less important than some of these general tips and tricks that come only with experience.
It's been just under 2 months, and I'm already seeing newer guys than me where they don't know what they're doing. Feels good to know I used to be that guy.
First bold item, that's basically what grappling becomes when you get an opponent who knows what he is doing. You fight for control and when you see an opportunity among the chaos you strike, even then chances of hitting it are slim but once you get it in you're golden.
Your comment about the head up is something most people neglect, but is one of the most important things. Not to mention simply keeping your head up can prevent that newb trap of a guillotine or other chokes like it with ease.
The last item, have you tried tickling?