Archive for May, 2011
Time to sweep
This addition is all about the sweep in BJJ.
Firstly what is a sweep? When you are on the ground and your opponent has top control a sweep means you roll the top person over on to their back so you now you have top position. My #1 Rule: If you are on top, doesn’t matter what type of fight, you are winning.
In terms of BJJ this can be, and usually is, the deciding factor in a big match. At the top level the sweep is usually the match winner as their skills are so even that submissions are not that common. The level I am talking about is the ADCC final few rounds so this is the elite level. So how does this matter for us normal people? simple when you are grappling with your equal (everyone has one of those on the mat) it all comes down to position and the sweep gives you the top position and it seems that people are going for these sweeps in a nice slow and controlled way. The one time this changes is when you are against a ‘munter’ they have no skill and just try and muscle you over – which doesn’t work at all.
With MMA it is much of the same, if you have top position you are winning, so if you can get the sweep and maintain the top position you will be very hard to beat. Plus if you are on your back you are going to get punched, when it comes to punching it is definitely better to give than receive, so if you get the sweep you can unleash on them and let?s face it that is a lot more fun.
The mechanics of the sweep are reasonably simple, turn the person in to a ball or a cylinder and roll them over. The other thing to take in to consideration is take away a post, an arm or a leg, and roll them to that direction. When you remove a post all it means is that the person can’t put that arm or leg down to stop them being rolled. In all my training with different people in different countries I have been instructed on many sweeps and have drilled various sweeps countless times. The one thing that all these sweeps have in common was that when we practiced them they were all done at a slow and controlled speed. As far as I know the reason for this is when you do it slow you get the feel for the move and find out if you have any technique issues. If you need to use strength while drilling then the chances are you are doing it wrong.
I can understand all the slow training and the why it is done but after watching a clip by Marcelo Garica my perspective changed. When rolling, BJJ or MMA, there is a definite hangover from practice as it becomes sub-conscious that we need to do the sweep in a slow and controlled manner. Now if the sweeps can determine the outcome of the match why don’t we go after them with a little more intensity? When we go for a takedown it is all about position then just give it hell to make it happen, as you can be sure the person will be giving it hell to defend the takedown, so why not use that some process for the sweep? When people defend sweeps you see legs and arms go everywhere to do whatever they can to keep the top position, where as the person going for the sweep just keeps it tight and slow – to make this doesn?t make sense.
There are times when the slow and controlled sweeps are needed and used, but there are also times when you need to just make it happen and put a little mustard on it. If you are going for the win why not get in to position and, just like a takedown, go as hard as you can to get that sweep? or every now and then throw in a fast / surprise sweep to catch you opponent of guard.
Practice the moves slow and controlled to get the technique, then for game time switch on and give the sweep a little extra effort. The sweep can give you the win, and do what it takes to get it (with out being a MUNTER). We need to unleash our inner munter with our learnt technique to get the sweep. The good news is – if you have technique it is called intensity, no technique is called a munter. So use intensity and get that sweep.
Gareth Lewis
Head MMA Instructor
Who is the Best?
Here is why GSP (Georges St Pierre) is the best fighter, pound for pound, on the planet.
There used to be three condentors for P4P best fighter, GSP, Fedor and Anderson Silva. Before I get in to why GSP is the best I will say why the other two are not the best.
Fedor: If you go back twelve months this wouldv’e been a harder decision as he was still on his winning streak and dominated larger opponents. Fedor was right up there for me, he is always looking for the win and you are never safe against him. If you are in a fight against Fedor you have to worry about his striking his takdowns and submissions which would make it very difficult to get set against him. His only weakness was his thin skin, he usually looks worse than his opponents at the end of the fight as he cuts easily . Obviously now as Feodor has lost his last two fights he is not in contention for the P4P best, but because of his overall fight record he still deserves to be mentioned – He is the greatest heavyweight fighter.
Anderson Silva: Here is why I do NOT think that Anderson Silva should be number #1. He can’t make a fight, he waits for the other guy to attack then counters yes he is a master at counter fighting, but this means he needs his opponent to bring the fight to him. If you look at his fight against Demian Mia, Silva kept the fight on the feet and against someone who he could pick apart with strikes yet he played around taunting Maia to attack when he never went for the finish. With his fight with Maia he lost respect and and a lot of fans as even the people supporting him got frustrated at his lack of action. Anderson Silva is a very skilled fighter, and he seems to have a nack for throwing the right shot at the right time, case and point his front kick knock out against Vitor Belfort. But here is the reason he is #2, if you are in a fight against Silva you don’t have the pressure form him the entire time as he needs you to attack. If you look at Fedor (take away last 12 months) and GSP they have won alomost all of their rounds in their fights and have dominated their opponents. Silva on the other hand lost all 5 rounds against Sonnen and threw up a hail marry submission in the last minute of the last round. Someone who is considered by many people to #1 should not get dominated buy anyone for 5 rounds in a title fight, that would indicate that they are not the best, in that fight Anderson Silva won 1min of one round.
GSP: #1 as simple as that, he is the most complete fighter in the sport and because of his wrestling skills he can decide where the fight goes he can keep it standing or take it too the ground and no one seems to be able to stop this. GSP has won every round of his fights (don’t know what the judges where thinking in his last fight) since his loss to Serra. When you are against GSP you don’t have time to breathe he is constantly attacking and when he takes you to the ground he keep that top position for the rest of the round then does it all over again round after round. GSP can strike with the best of them, out wrestle the best wrestlers in the sport and passed BJ Penns guard with ease. The one thing counting against GSP is that he fights safe and goes for the win rather than the finish. But overall he has not been in any trouble since his loss to Serra and has taken the sport to another level.
If GSP fights Silva I can’t see how Silva could win. Everyone knows that GSP takes you down and GnP from there and no one can stop it. I don’t believe he would strike with Silva as Silva is very dangerous on his feet, but as he showed in the Sonnen fight, Silva can be lazy on his back and seems happy to lay there and take a beating until the end of the round.
Lets hope that the Silva and GSP fight does happen so we can find out for sure who the best is.
Gareth Lewis
Head MMA Instructor
They went too hard!
There is only one person that complains about people that go too hard, that is the person that just got their arse kicked. The person that just beat you will never complain that you go too hard.
This is a common case, when people are up against a larger opponent they feel that they can go hard as they are the smaller person. The results is the larger person using what is natural their natural advantages, this causes the smaller person to blame the larger opponent for using size and strength. In reality the larger person did not want to be a punch bag and wants to win, so they use their god given talents to overcome the other persons skill.
So lets assume that people are the same size and you have a striker v grappler, the striker steps in lands a solid jab this makes the grappler, who does not want to be punched, get the take down and submission. Because the striker landed the solid jab the grappler is under pressure and puts the a little extra on the takedown and puts the submission on a little harder and faster than usual causing some pain for the striker, after the sub the striker stands up and complains that the submission went on too hard and fast – who’s fault is that? When you punch someone on the face who has better ground skills than you what do expect will happen? On the flip side if you go for a big takedown expect the striker to up their game to keep you away – you get what you ask for.
Before you blame someone else for going too hard have a look at what you are doing, when you put a person under pressure that is not as skilled as you they will make up, for what they lack in skill, with intensity or agression. Then when they throw that hard shot and you or the put on the hard submission you get pissed and go hard on them back and this starts a vicious circle where both people are going hard and the person that losses will blame the other one for going hard.
I have no problems with people going hard but keep in mind who you are up against and if they are better then expect to get a bit of a beating. If the person is less skilled then give them a warning “I will go as hard you go” if they continue then feel free to whip their ass. There are a couple of exceptions to this rule. One is when you are aginst somone who is new and doesn’t know how hard they are hitting, when someone is new they are nervous and no idea how much their tension affects the percived intentions of their punches so you give them a little break. The other time you let people off is fighters who are training for fights, they have to be selfish and all the training is all about them so they can lay the smack down a little more than usual.
Overall think who you are poking with a stick and the repercussions of that action, then if you do decide to step up make sure you do not complain about what happens. Also just because someone is bigger it does not give you a free licience to hit hard because as they are bigger the chances are you will loose the power battle.
ABOVE ALL – it is only the people that get beaten that complain about people going too hard so you have some options. Pull back on the power / intensity, be smarter on who you are going hard against or just get better.
Gareth Lewis
Head MMA Instructor
Get in the Corner
Working the corner is an important part of the fight as the fighter needs to trust his corner 100%.
As part of the fight process the fighter should decide who will be in there corner, this is usually the head trainer and two of the training partners. I think it is important that this decision is made by the fighter as it is their fight so it should be their corner. The fighter then needs to decide who is the one person in the corner that speaks in between rounds, everyone one else stays quiet. Once the main job is sorted then it comes down to carrying a bucket or a towel and who ices the legs during the rounds – now the basics are sorted.
During training the fighter needs to get used to recieving instructions from the person that they have decided to talk for the fight, this is a two part process as the trainer needs to give the fighter the instructions that will help them the other side is the fighter needs to work with the instructions and make them work. The fight plan is a big part of the fight so it needs to be practiced and the enforcement of that fight plan is also very important and each aspect needs to be practiced over and over by all involved.
Come fight time, the ‘head corner’ needs to take charge and take care of everything so all the fighter needs to worry about is their on preperation. Come fight time you know your fighter inside and out and you know exactly what to say to relax them as you are standing in the cage / ring. The first round is over, get in the cage / ring as fast as you can and tell your fighter what they need to focus on. Make sure everything you say is positive as in keep your hands up, control the position, look for the submission. Negative comments such as don’t drop your hands, don’t loose the position and don’t worry about subs all tell a fighter what not to do and gives them nothing to do. The fighters attention span during the break is short so you can only give them one or two instructions on things that they need to do so they can remember them and take them in, if you give them ten things on what not to do then they have nothing to change.
In short keep the instruction’s short and simple, stay positive and keep to the plan.
It is the fighters corner, so they choose who is in there and who gives the instructions.
Gareth Lewis
Head MMA Instructor