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lol. I was going to post a new topic about this and then I found this gem.
For a few months now, I've been getting smashed by people who are much bigger and stronger than me while trying to play the clinch game (lockdown half, quarter-guard, etc). I've been told time and again that I need to create space, but every time I do, my opponent is able to capitalize and smash me even worse. It was enough to put doubt in my mind that the clinch game is the best way to unify my gi and no-gi games.
When I heard Eddie Bravo say that he's been playing more open guard to get people to commit to clinching him, a light bulb went on in my head. Sounds like a fun idea.
Last night, I attended a seminar from Professor Redzovik. Had a great time, learned a lot. I was toying with the idea that my open guard game was super weak and that I couldn't ignore it any longer. Now I'm sure that's true.
The professor presented a simple framework within which we can think about and classify various open guard / half guard positions. He humbly designates this as "his perspective" which made his ideas easy for me to incorporate into my own very limited doctrine (even though there are undoubtedly plenty of black belts who have their own theories, I can't name a single black belt who doesn't deserve my attention when he or she speaks, particularly those who know that there are a lot of theories out there).
I'll re-share the video someone else linked to months ago in a way that's easier to click. I think it would be easy for clinch-minded folks to get defensive about some of these things, but I'm beginning to think there is harmony rather than discord between open guard and a clinching style of half-guard / quarter-guard. Professor Redzovik has helped me see where that harmony might be.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pnq9mN2odAg
For what it's worth, this white belt thinks that if 10th Planet academies want to grow the open guard aspects of the System, Adem's ideas might help.
Y'all should think about bringing him in for a seminar IMHO. He's a cool dude, and what he had to say may improve my lockdown game. :)
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It was a great seminar and awesome seeing you there Josh. I was in Seattle so I wasn't gonna miss it and even though it's stuff I started to incorporate over a year ago training at his school, there are deeper levels and deeper understandings that just keep popping up. One thing to note from this seminar that all 10p could benefit from was this idea of stability and mobility, using your shoulder, hands, and elbows as stable base points to assist in you gaining greater mobility while on your side. This way, you can more easily manage the weight with which one is smashing you. It's basic DNA-level stuff that can allow guard players and jiu jitsu artists in general to gain a greater appreciation and deeper understanding of the tools and weapons they have at their disposal to battle someone with your open guard. You brought up a point that several black belts have their own theories. With this, I agree. I also propose that none of them are necessarily wrong. They are all, at the end of the day, different perspectives. But Adem's the man. You guys would all definitely benefit from getting to know him.
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When I watched this video, I really started implementing these fundamental in my game and it improved quickly. The principals are great. Much indebted to Adem and I think he's just an overall cool guy. He has a great history
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i wounder why sertain people care about how instructors speak, the sound or setting of the lights in a video, what format it is? personally i just looking to learn more and maybe extend my network in the martial arts field. Regarding accents and languages, all white americans came from other places, so, quickly forgotten he he