Foundations
No matter what we do in life, if we want to succeed there needs to be a strong base on which to build from. Most of us try to get ahead and speed up this process only to find ourselves back at the basics before we know it.
If you look at the best combat athletes on the planet all of them do the basics really well. Some add flair onto them while others perform the basics to perfection. When you think of a fight it starts from positioning – putting yourself where you want in the cage. From there it is footwork that keeps the position. It keeps you out of range or closes the distance to implement your plan. Footwork is one of the fundamental skills in the fight game, just ask Lomachenko. Yet a lot of us neglect footwork in our training and practice, and it rather becomes a by-product of other drills we do. If you have better footwork than your opponent, it can make up for a lot when striking. Then if we take another step forward with this (couldn’t help but make that pun) you can look at the most used punches in the striking world, the jab and the cross. The jab, when used correctly, is a formidable weapon, (Larry Holmes). This single punch can keep range and control the distance of the fight, set up the next punch or combo or be used as a defensive weapon to stay out of trouble. Most people overlook the jab as a true weapon. Rather, they see it as something to do before the bigger punches. If done well, the jab sets a foundation that striking can be built upon. Then with a good cross you can become world champion, just check out Klitschko who would pop out jabs to set up the right hand and find a way to make it land. Most of us will not be world champions, but it gives an indication on how important the basics are and if done well, how far we can go.
In BJJ it is the same, as it’s all about position. If you can get a takedown, pass guard, and maintain top control that will get you a world title. Of course, it is not that easy, however, that does not mean we need to complicate things. The tougher the opponent the more basic our goals need to be. When going against more skilled opponents in BJJ I keep it simple, get my hands on them rather than them getting my hands. Get control of a leg and work that side for a pass. As soon as there is an opportunity, I get my weight on them. From there, the goal is to maintain top position as long as I can. If/once I lose the top position then I just do my best to stay off my back and avoid getting submitted. Then I repeat the system, none of it is high-tech – It is all just the basics. Roger Gracie, one of the best grapplers of all time, gets to mount then does a collar choke, everyone knows what he is up to but good luck stopping him even at the world championship level.
In wrestling it is more of the same, this is a sport of biomechanics. If you keep good position and posture then you will do better than most. If you add one effective offensive move, you can do very well – just look at John Smith if you don’t believe me. John Smith had a low single that every knew about but after 4 world championship and 2 Olympic gold it would seem to be very effective – people could not stop it. When coaching, John has his students holding their wrestling stance for the duration of matches. Doesn’t sound like much as wrestling is only three 2-minute rounds. But here is the kicker, they have to hold that position the entire time, the 6-minutes of drilling plus the time between the rounds and maintain the position until the next drill and so on. This means that they are in their wrestling stance for almost all of the training session – basics. Everything comes from that position, so John wants his people to live in that wrestling stance. The thing with the wrestling stance is that only wrestlers can make it look normal, like how boxers look normal with their hands up compared to non-boxers. The wrestling stance, if you did not know, is like you have missed a step in evolution (which suits me well) bent knees one foot forward leaning forward with your chest and head up and arms in (Gorilla back, Turtle neck, T-Rex arms).
As we progress with training there are times where we feel like we are hitting a talent wall. This is the best time to go back and review a skill that we think is basic. Sometimes we confuse basic with simple – we can always make the basics better which in turn makes us better. Across all sports there is a constant theme that the true greats have; Roger Federer, Tom Brady, Lewis Hamilton, Michael Phelps, LeBron James, work the basics more than everyone else. Then they have a little thing called talent that takes them to that next level. Compare this to people with talent that don’t work the basics and they do well but they are never the greats.
Gareth Lewis
Head MMA Instructor