Archive for January, 2015

As a trainer I look at the people training and see mistakes all over the place, foot position, hand position, timing, distance, decisions – and that is just for striking let alone wrestling and grappling. You are most likely thinking “Well, as the trainer, shouldn’t you be fixing the problems?”
This is how I see it – if a new guy comes in to Lockdown and they start striking and their technique is awful then there is no point telling them about distance and timing, rather I just say keep your hands up and then go from there. In wrestling point out the big things that they are missing (usually position and control) and in BJJ it is more about posture. There is no point telling someone who hasn’t got the experience about anything too technical as they are not ready to hear it.

When someone comes up to me and says ‘how do I stop a head arm choke, I always get caught in them’. Then I will give them a nice technical answer and show them defence and different levels, that is the last ditch escape, the “damn that is nearly on” escape then the “I am not letting that happen” prevention. If you showed everyone that move then only a couple of people would be interested as it is not part of their game.

People have to get on the mat and find out where they are having issues, then they ask how to fix the issues. Once they have the hang of that they find something new to work on. This is how people get better at fight gyms, they land a combo, takedown or submission on another student who then finds a way to stop that particular move. This then makes the other student find a new way to beat them which then turns in to another question and another answer and before you know it both people have just improved.

If you put this in BJJ terms, there is no point teaching someone a brabo choke from side control if they are unable to maintain side control. Therefore it is better for everyone involved to teach them how to keep the position rather than show them how to submit someone when they try to escape. So when you are having a technical problem go and ask your instructor as they (should) enjoy helping you solve your problems

Gareth Lewis
Head MMA Instructor
http://www.Lockdown.co.nz/

Doing the same thing against the same people leads to the same amount of improvement in your game as hitting your head against a brick wall. Most people train at clubs that do not have that many skilled people so you are working against the same people session after session and it just does not make sense doing the same things to the same people expecting improvement.

Don’t get me wrong I am all for going up against the best in your club and seeing if you can match or beat them, however if they beat you 99% of the time is it worth while trying the same things against them night after night? Assume the best person on the mat is fantastic at takedown defence and you are very skilled at BJJ, since you can’t get them to the ground your advantage is taken away, so you have a glorified boxing match. If you have better ground than that guy but can’t get him to the ground or keep him there then what are either of you gaining from with boxing with sprawls. Would it not be better for you to start inside their guard so they get to work a skill that that they don’t get to use often and you can really make them work on the ground.

You can do this with anyone on the club, if you are better then start of in bad spots, or work positions that you are not great at. For me I have a striking background which allows me to control distance and then my wrestling allows me to avoid takedowns or defend and then counter them, then once I am on top I usually stay there. So I can keep top position now is that something that I should practice over and over and over again, and keep dominating people or should I work some other skills like my GnP defence or escapes from my back, defence against the cage wall, the list goes on.

On some nights at training we all have quiet nights, it just does not make sense to me to do the same things with the same people over and over again. Try some different skills against the same people, in effect ask different questions and see what happens to your skill set.

Gareth Lewis
Head MMA Instructor
http://www.Lockdown.co.nz/

When you are training for competition you need to know what you are getting yourself in for. Once you know what is in store you make up your mind whether you are in or you are out then you follow through with your decision.

With a fight there are some things that are likely going to happen in your preparation, you are going to get tired, sore, hungry and worried. More often than not you are going to have to make weight, which means cutting weight. Even if you are not cutting weight you should still be eating clean to give your body the best fuel for training and recovery. If you weight 80kg and you agree to fight in 6 weeks time at 72kg then you know you have 6 weeks to lose 8kg this is not a surprise or a shock as you know what you are in for.

If you know that you have 6 weeks to lose 8kg then you know you have to lose 1.5kg a week or around 215g a day. Anyone who knows a little about diet should be able to work this out, to maintain 80kg (with an athletic physique) you need to have around 2820 calories a day to maintain that weight. To get down to 72kg you would need to eat 2535 calories which is a decrease of 285 calories a day. Therefore it would make sense that on day one you would decrease you calorie intake and then monitor it week by week. There are no surprises, so I would not expect to hear on week 4 that this is so hard and I can’t eat anything and I am so hungry as you knew what you are in for. This is something that is just numbers and should not be too hard to sort out, instead you should focus on technique, fitness, fight plan and turning up to training and training hard every session.

If you are in a sport that involves weight divisions then you are going to have to cut weight, I do not feel sorry for you if you have agreed to a fight at a certain weight then you know what you are in for, so tuck in your skirt and get it done.

Gareth Lewis
Head MMA Instructor
http://www.Lockdown.co.nz/