Training to win

[ian quinto]

I was fortunate enough to get invited to sit in on a competition class at a Gracie gym. The actual competition class focused on long discussions about the rules and their competitive strategies towards those rules.

wat?

[AJ Camacho]

wat?

There was a competition class.. I was invited to attend just for fun... half the time was spent discussing strategy and not actually rolling. The drills then followed those ideas discussed in the class.

[ian quinto]

There was a competition class... half the time was spent discussing strategy

wat?

[AJ Camacho]

wat?

we talked about our feelings

[James Fazzolari]

Conditioning is very important. After that, each individual should be developing a strategy for themselves, based on their preferences.

At my school, we have a heavy emphasis on wrestling, guard passing and topside transitions, so we drill that a lot.

Practice comp rounds are ideal as well, preferably a little longer than what you will actually compete under, this will drain you has tank more.

[La'akea Sanborn]

James, as much as I appreciate the over time to build cardio, I wonder whether this gives you a false sense of patience. I guess that's what coaches are for, to point out how much time is left, or offer positive advice, but the way I see it, you should train in the constraints of what you will compete in.

just some food for thought.

[James Fazzolari]

I do see what you're saying - but if you can go full pace for a slightly longer round often, you won't really ever have to worry in a regular round - and I have always found that knowledge comforting.

I do believe it could lead to many becoming a bit complacent, for sure.

[La'akea Sanborn]

In hilo Jay would often spend the last 20 - 30 minutes of class on non stop 5-7 min matches with either a 30 sec or 1 min rest in between. This method addresses both of our concerns, but I can see and agree with answering that question within your own mind to be able to push that extra minute or two. one thing i was told in hilo was that I had lazy jiu jitsu, and that even though i was game to go all day, I was asked if I was genuinely trying to win the whole time on the mat. It really changed my perspective on how I approach timed rolling sessions and competitions in particular.

I also like how eddie talks about time as an investment. Whether it be training, or in the match itself, you wanna invest in your time wisely to increase the percentages of your success rate. Meaning, if you're not a wrestle, why even bother standing on your feet, or if your specialty is top game, it may be wise to supplement it with strong wrestling or takedown defense. that was another strategy that has always stuck out and made an impact on me.

[robert gero]

I love this topic...ttt

[Scott Yockel]

As a coach, I'm constantly looking for the best ways to create competent competitors. My goal is to one day have several champions in my stable. As long as I've been running 10th Planet Van Nuys, I've been playing with tons different ideas, philosophies, and techniques as they apply to competition. Every time something works, we take note and try to improve or expand on it. When things don't work, we make the decision to either fix it, or stop using it all together. Call it the Tao of Jiu Jitsu.

My question to you guys is, what do you feel are the best ways to train for competitions? How to you divide up your training? How much rolling, strength and conditioning, warming up, drilling, game planning, dieting, flexibility training, wrestling, private lessons etc should you do?

How important are things like coaching and training partners. How important is playing to the rules? Do you change the way you train for different rule sets?

Coaches, how do you prepare your team? What do you do to ensure your team has a good showing? Do you have a competition class? How do you motivate your training partners or students to get out on there the mats and compete? How do you train your students so they feel comfortable and confident when the ref says, "go"?

Looking at some of the teams like Gracie Barra, Alliance, Atos etc what are those guys doing to win?

Information is key. Let's share with each other what works and what doesn't so we can create the best grapplers we can. 10th Planet has a wealth of talented people, I'd like to see us turn out some big wins in 2012!

Who knows, maybe with all of our answers, we can come up with a basic guideline to getting ready for tournaments. Let's brain storm.

Well I can give my thoughts has a fighter and as an Instructor.
Has a Fighter: i'm looking for atleast 2 hrs a week on cardio, plus a good diet to get my weight wear it needs to be. I work takedowns for 2 yrs a wk also. For ground work I'm putting reps into my go to moves from each position. Whatever time is left i'm rollin on the mat atleast 3 nights of the wk. My gym plan is pretty much the same for every event but I might change 1 or 2 things based on the rules. I've put a lot of time into an attacking system that sets me up for top position or a sub. Game plan is huge not to mention the right mind set. Are just as important as an being able to defend a choke.
Has a Coach:
I spend time watching my students roll and see what they are hitting in class. I take that and find ways to build off of that, and i spend time with all of them before and after classes to fine tune things. Class format changes by add situation drills, takedowns into matwork, lots of movement drills. I try to get my students on a string of positive things when we start getting ready for tournaments also, to help with mind set. It starts off simple with drills like stopping takedowns in drills. By the end They hitting subs or transition they couldnt do before.
Just some thoughts, hope it helps. I may add more when I have more time!