Why I Suck at Jiu Jitsu ...
Truly, it is easier to write that having won first place at the Pacific Northwest Jiu Jitsu Championships in April. But three days into the new practice gameplan, I'm still feeling as if the time between those tournament wins and the present is a chasm of lost skill and forgotten technique.
Intellectually, I know that's not necessarily the case. I did miss a total of four weeks between now and the end of April due to a pair of injuries that did limit my mobility and ability to use my legs. Arguably what I'm suffering from is a combination of old bad habits I wasn't likely to break anytime soon, with the added handicap of a strained/torn hip adductor muscle (read: groin).
But enough of this. On to the reasons I suck at Brazilian Jiu Jitsu!
1. Cannot break posture of opponent in guard.
2. Cannot pass the guard.
3. Cannot reverse from side control without using strength when on bottom.
4. Cannot submit from side control when on top.
5. Cannot prevent guard from being passed once opened.
There's more to be sure, more specific problems. But these are the big five.
Fortunately, I've got solutions to these problems. The trick for the next few weeks before the next tournament on July 29th is to fanatically dedicate myself to applying those solutions to these problems. I could argue that if I can get past these five problems, then the path to blue belt will be a lot smoother. But that's getting ahead of myself. Right now, I want to fix these problems in order to do better against the blue belts that have been a steady diet ever since I came back from the hip adductor injury.
Solutions.
1. Cannot break posture of opponent in guard.
PUT A FOOT IN THE HIP AND PULL ON THE CUFF OF THE SAME SIDE
GRAB CUFF WITH BOTH HANDS AND PULL ACROSS YOU
If all else fails, CROSS-OVER SWEEP
2. Cannot pass the guard.
PICK UP STAND UP
PICK UP STAND UP
PICK UP STAND UP
3. Cannot reverse from side control without using strength when on bottom.
ELBOW TO THROAT
SWIM ARM UNDER FAR ARM
WALK LEGS AWAY FROM OPPONENT
GO FLAT
GRAB PANTS AND PULL YOURSELF TO KNEES
TUCK HEAD INTO SIDE OF OPPONENTS BODY
COME UP ON HEADSIDE KNEE AND DRIVE OPPONENT OVER
4. Cannot submit from side control when on top.
SIDE CONTROL
MOUNT OR KNEE-ON-BELLY
THREATEN CHOKE, FINISH WITH ARMBAR
5. Cannot prevent guard from being passed once opened.
USE THE GUARD REPLACEMENT DRILL: If the guy is coming to your right side, escape your hips to the left and then swing that same "plant" leg up over his head and across his body to rest on the opposite shoulder. Hook the body, butterfly style, with the other leg/foot.
Easy as all that ... See you on the mat.
