Grapple Smart

PART 4: HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING (HIIT)

I’m not going to lie to you, HIIT training is not fun, at least not for me.  It’s not fun like learning a cool Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu technique is fun.  But it is absolutely necessary to prepare your body for what it will go through in an actual submission grappling or sport Jiu-Jitsu match.

Let’s be realistic here your opponents are going to be trying to twist your arm, leg, or choke you until you submit due to fear of a broken/ hyper extended limb or unconsciousness.  It’s hard enough to outsmart your opponent in this game of human chess when you’re well rested.  You need to put your body through the ringer often to make sure your stamina (or lack thereof) is an asset not a liability on the mat.  This is the one element of preparation that people have total control over but often neglect because it hurts and it’s not nearly as fun as rolling in class.

What would a typical HIIT work out look like?

My former coach, grappling phenomenon Tyrone Glover had me do this circuit 3 times per week 4-6 weeks leading into a competition.

Sprint 100 yards

15 push ups

Sprint 100 yards

15 bar dips

Sprint 100 yards

15 jump squats

Sprint 100 yards

You REALLY want to be fit? Try CrossFit!

Allow your pulse to get back down to 110 bpm and repeat a total of 3 sets.  You don’t have to do push ups and bar dips either.  You can replace these movements with basic wrestling moves like sprawls, or shots.  A “shot” is a freestyle wrestling move that refers to the motion of lowering your level and shooting forward to attempt a single leg takedowns.  You could also utilize submission wrestling moves like triangle drills or arm bar drills if you have a partner.  The goal is to drill these movements when you are under great physical and mental stress so that they will become ingrained into your muscle memory and come more naturally when you’re tired in the final minutes of a match, which is where many matches are won or lost.

Here’s another example of a HIIT specific workout:

I hope this four part series on how to train for your first competition will help you to prepare for your first competition or will shed some light as to why you may have fallen short of your expectations in competitions past.  It will always be my goal to help people avoid some of the pitfalls and mistakes that I learned the hard way.

So Grapple Hard But Grapple Smart!

PART 3: PRACTICE MAKES PERMANENT – NOT PERFECT!

The great American investor Warren Buffet said it best “Practice makes permanent – not perfect.”  The same rule applies to everything you do to prepare for your first competition.   You can not expect to be able to effectively execute techniques and think clearly when you’re tired in a real match if you only train when you’re fresh and full of energy.

Goodbye clear headed methodical grappler, hello reptilian brain.

I was ready for my first competition… so I thought.  I felt like I had decent technique and had several combinations that I was ready to execute in my first match.  I was clear headed and was ready to apply what I had learned in a methodical thoughtful manner… WRONG!  I was keyed up from all the anxiety leading up to the competition.  The grappling tournament was poorly run so although I was scheduled to compete at 1pm I didn’t end up fighting until 8pm!  As I began to wrestle and get out of breath, my mind went BLANK.  I couldn’t even remember how to recompose full guard from half guard.  Forgetting technique was the weirdest feeling, it was like having a persons name on the tip of your tongue, and you know you know their name but you just can’t remember it.  Sadly, my reptilian brain took over and I did what felt instinctual.  As many of you may know, doing what comes instinctually or naturally is typically not the correct Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu technique and rarely effective.  For example, when mounted and being smothered by your opponent it is a natural instinct to push the opponent away (extending your arms) which exposes you perfectly to an arm bar.  Correct Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu technique, however, calls for a hip escape to the side to recompose guard.

Simulate real match conditions

Once you learn the mechanics of a takedown or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu technique it is imperative to simulate how you will feel in an actual match.  Although you can’t simulate everything you will experience in a competition match there are a few things you can simulate.

It is important to live spar and practice takedowns when you are physically tired as well as when you are fresh.  It is too easy to execute a throw when you’re well rested with a clear head.  Try executing throws after you’ve done wind sprints or a conditioning workout.  You’ll notice that your muscles don’t feel as strong and your mind isn’t as clear.  This is the time to find out how you react under these conditions, not during your first match!  Did you draw a blank on the simple throws you’ve learned? I did.  Was it really difficult to execute the take down when you were really out of breath?  It was for me.  Now you can make an honest assessment of how prepared you are and make the necessary changes to your training.  You may determine that you need to add some High Intensity Interval Training to your conditioning program.  This will have the obvious effect of increasing your physical endurance and strength.  The other benefit will be that you will feel more confident with the knowledge that you’ve prepared to the best of your ability.

Now go train!

Stay tuned for part 4: High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

How do I prepare for my first competition?

There were so many things that I learned the hard way that I wish I knew before I began competing in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and submission grappling tournaments.  I learned that live sparing during Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or submission grappling class did not completely prepare me for my first competition.

Why not?

Since my coaches had the class begin live sparring sessions from our knees (or closed guard), I had very limited experience taking down an opponent.  I believe they did not have us start from standing, understandably, in order to prevent injuries and reduce their liability.

So what did I do?

After getting taken down quickly in my first competition I vowed to increase my repertoire of takedowns and begin live sparring from the standing position more often.   As I began to train my takedowns more I became more confident with my stand up and that confidence translated into increased effectiveness of my throws.  The term stand-up refers a grapplers ability to take an opponent down as well as defend takedown attacks.  For example, “are we working on stand-up today?”

Keep it simple at first!

When you decide you’re going to improve your stand up game learn a few takedowns well.  Don’t overcomplicate the process by trying to learn a ton of new throws, instead focus on a few takedowns and practice those few relentlessly.  If you are going to do a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competition or Gi competition then I would learn two judo style throws and one wrestling style throw.  By judo style throw I mean learn a throw that involves gaining an advantageous grip on your opponents gi or top jacket (the grip is called a “kumikata” in Japanese) and utilizing that grip to execute a judo throw.  I would suggest a hip toss such as Uchimata and a leg throw like Osotogari.  These are among the most basic judo style throws and common to the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world so most Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu teachers will know how to teach these throws.  I’d also add one of the most common wrestling takedowns called a single leg takedown. This can be simply described as grabbing one of your opponents’ legs (typically with both hands) and causing him to lose balance and fall to the ground.

If you are planning to do a submission grappling or no-gi competition then I would suggest learning one upper body throw and two wrestling leg takedowns.  I would learn the single leg takedown as described above as well as the double leg takedown.  Also you will need to learn an upper body judo style throw that has been adapted to no-gi grappling.  No-gi judo style throws are just adapted to be executed without the advantage of gripping your opponents’ gi.

Learn good takedowns as well as takedown defense and you’ll be a step ahead of the competition!

Stay Tuned for Part 2: When all else fails… Pull Guard!

Give yourself the tools to get better fast and safe!  Get my E-Book and audio “10 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu”.