Training to win

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.

This is what I think. Conditioning is important. But should be secondary to skill and gameplan. For me, I like to focus on using a strategy that almost guarantees a win. Pull guard, sweep, and get on top. Sounds simple, but here is where I am going with this. By the time you are on top, you are way ahead in the points game and you can relax a bit and start fishing for submissions. If you want to stay on your feet and wrestle, usually the stronger faster more athletic dude will take you down at some point. And you would need to spend a lot of time wrestling, which is not as fun (especially for older guys like me). Now playing the guard game means that you have to have good smart leg work. You CANNOT let your guard get passed. This is something I am trying to get my guys to have. You NEED to have an open guard that cannot be passed. If they can't pass your open guard, they can't do shit to you. But at some point (sooner than later) you will need to establish a dominant clinch position such as half guard/lockdown. You gotta be REALLY GOOD at sweeping from whichever clinch position you choose. If your opponent is too strong/good to be swept from there, you have to have the ability to switch from one clinching position to another, eg. butterflyguard/cocoon to x-guard to lockdown. When you are rolling, be smooth and slick when you are not clinched yet. Think Jeff Glover, Ryan Hall. When you establish your clinch then you need to be as tight as fuck, think Eddie Bravo, Jean Jacques Machado. There are obviously other things to work on, ie. guard passing. If you are not going to wrestle, then basically you are either going to work your guard or work on passing the other guy's guard. If you are really good at both, then you stand a very good chance at winning. :)

IME, even the worst coaches/incompetents can usually coach guys to winning, esp at the early (2 years or less training) levels, simply because there are guys out there who will do well with just about any training, good or bad. A good coach can take a baseline or lower athlete and find a game for them that allows them to compete with the "naturals". The best way to do this IMO, is to constantly drill specific conditions and transitions and ensure athletes are able to perform under duress (mainly tired). This can be in the form of relentless guard pass drills, side control or mount escape drills (where the guy on top is relentlessly attacking so both guys practice a best/worst scenario), and constantly grappling from standing to the mat to be comfortable with transition (this is a big weakness, esp at the beginning levels of sub grappling). Secondly, find, and develop an "A" game for everyone who wants to compete. Some gyms is very obvious as to the "A" games, but often you notice everyone who competes from the gym has a very similar build and style, which means the A game is a one size fits all, but only the most fitting guys get it. To do this it helps to look at the person, ie Long guys tend to find a triangle early, and the shorter/stronger guys tend to find a hip bump sweep and Kimura from bottom faster. Thos two things, 1)constant pressure drills of specific situations and 2) giving competitiors their own "path" to victory instead of a one size fits all are what IME separates the consistent team winners from the flash in the pan, one guy doing well and no one else really doing much in competition.

I want to say that it could be a great benefit to have a "playbook" or guide for competition training. This is jus my Army mind thinking. A 10th Planet unified comp training guide, I say guide bc I know that everyone is unique and not everything will work for everyone. I look forward to all the input that the Masters have.

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Originally Posted by Alder Hampel

How important is playing to the rules? Do you change the way you train for different rule sets?

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strength & conditioning should be at the very top of a competitor's prep list. no amount of flexibility, technique, athleticism, etc. is gonna help you if you are running on an empty gas tank.

the second thing on that prep list should be to have a full understanding of the rules of any and every tournament you will enter. that way you can plan a strategy based on the rules. your knowledge of the rules should be just as good if not better than the referee's.

watch the matches of the competitors/teams that consistently win in competition. they're mostly playing a score and stall strategy. they are playing to the rules; they did their homework. yes, it can be boring, but don't hate the player, hate the game. for the most part, the points game turns the whole game into a snoozefest game.

i'm amazed at the amount of competitors/coaches who enter tourneys and have such a weak grasp of the rules. what's even more amazing is that these competitors/coaches have the audacity to bitch and cry over referees' calls, even though they have zero knowledge on what they are bitching and crying about.

if you don't know the rules, you have zero grounds to question a referee's call. even if the ref did make a mistake, you only knew it after the fact (and that's only if you did your homework and read up on the rules - after the fact).

do your homework and learn the rules of the game; it is your responsibility as a competitor/coach.

so far I think there's been a lot of great comments. What I would say is that competition classes are essential if you're genuinely looking to compete. Your team is only as good as its weakest link, and sometimes it's more discouraging for both the new and experienced student to have to deal with each others egos. Yes, it is important to have a communal approach to learning, but there's only so much hours in a day. During competition time I think it's important to rally as a team to help with the mental and spiritual dynamic. The physical dynamic is the easy part, especially when your pushed by other strong team mates. I think we all get a little bummed out when we can feel that we didn't get everything we could of out of a drill or our mat time because we had to compensate for someone who's easily frustrated, or not giving there all. In this way, I think having a competition team sets a certain expectation for anyone who's stepping on the mat during that specific time.

as far as actual training methods: I like the format of drilling the details of a move, then creating a flow, and then moving on to a competitive timed exercise. Example, king of the mat, or five guys on their back, side, whatever, and the line runs through their guard game. You get swept or submitted, to the back of the line, if you sweep or submit then you maintain the spot and try as hard as you can to keep it. This builds technique in a cognitive way, moves on to building your cognitive ability into a mindless (mushin) approach to technique, and finally tests your mental and physical abilities with a sense of pressure. Timed drills really give you a good measuring stick of where you are at cardio-wise, where ten to twenty minute long sessions don't always maintain the same intensity, and works more the spirit and focus which is a different kinda strength imo. It takes physical prowess, but if that's not the scenario in competition, you shouldn't train with those standards in mind.

training should try to mimic the same situation as competing as much as possible, in my opinion.

As far as game plans, I'm a believer that you have to be open and focussed to the present. Your training and time on the mat will be enough of a mental confidence booster. YOu will know the diligence of your preparation, and the integrity of it's approach if you've left the blood, sweat, and tears on the mat. If you have too many mind during performance time, you've spread yourself thin and your approach won't be as honest as if you were to accept that you've done what you could to that point, and simply need to respond and rise to the occasion. The last samurai illustrates that concept well if you've seen it.

even though fighting, and jiu jitsu are technically individual sports, the understanding and compassion of our teams is what really gives us that place to thrive whithout feeling egotistical, to strive for our personal best, without being self centered. It's alot like AA in how we handle our choices like diet, or intensity, and provides fellowship that keeps us all on the dotted line. I've struggled mentally in competitions on more than one occasion, but some good advice I received is competition creates the black and white of win or lose, but only within that moment. The next tournament, or match, or even day presents us with the opportunity to both be a winner again, or taste the bitterness of defeat. When you visualize your opponent know that you're visualizing the same within yourself, whether it be fear, or confidence, but seek comfort in knowing the preparation and time that both you and your team have put in. This moment has culminated for me and you, but the nature of competing will only allow one of us to walk out the winner and the other the loser, but that will come to pass, so focus your mind on the now, not the past, not the future. Be honest with yourself, and accept your destiny...

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. In addition to this they had a "drilling class" where they literally did 2 moves 30 times each side. It was an advanced class and unless the class was making a general error there wasn't too much explanation. The format was just, "Marcelo pass 30 times each side, go."

What struck me as unique was how their primary passing routes were regimented and standardized within their drilling and competitive class curriculum. Their standard classes where were they developed as unique grapplers but their competitive team in general was sticking to regimented and formulaic way of doing things based upon the competitive strategies of their head coach. I can only assume that their philosophy revolved around grinding this one pass series to the point of excellence rather than trying to get great at 5 different types of passes.

Great posts above. I just want to co-sign La'a Ke One Hanau a La'a's post by saying that I think having a tough, intense, and somewhat rigid competition team atmosphere is essential to producing great competitors. We go so hard during training that when I get out there in competition my mind and body are ready for battle and a lot of opponents simply can't match the pace and intensity I am use to from competition team training. Bottom line: Train HARD and you will compete well.

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Originally Posted by La'a Ke One Hanau a La'a

so far I think there's been a lot of great comments. What I would say is that competition classes are essential if you're genuinely looking to compete. Your team is only as good as its weakest link, and sometimes it's more discouraging for both the new and experienced student to have to deal with each others egos. Yes, it is important to have a communal approach to learning, but there's only so much hours in a day. During competition time I think it's important to rally as a team to help with the mental and spiritual dynamic. The physical dynamic is the easy part, especially when your pushed by other strong team mates. I think we all get a little bummed out when we can feel that we didn't get everything we could of out of a drill or our mat time because we had to compensate for someone who's easily frustrated, or not giving there all. In this way, I think having a competition team sets a certain expectation for anyone who's stepping on the mat during that specific time.

as far as actual training methods: I like the format of drilling the details of a move, then creating a flow, and then moving on to a competitive timed exercise. Example, king of the mat, or five guys on their back, side, whatever, and the line runs through their guard game. You get swept or submitted, to the back of the line, if you sweep or submit then you maintain the spot and try as hard as you can to keep it. This builds technique in a cognitive way, moves on to building your cognitive ability into a mindless (mushin) approach to technique, and finally tests your mental and physical abilities with a sense of pressure. Timed drills really give you a good measuring stick of where you are at cardio-wise, where ten to twenty minute long sessions don't always maintain the same intensity, and works more the spirit and focus which is a different kinda strength imo. It takes physical prowess, but if that's not the scenario in competition, you shouldn't train with those standards in mind.

training should try to mimic the same situation as competing as much as possible, in my opinion.

As far as game plans, I'm a believer that you have to be open and focussed to the present. Your training and time on the mat will be enough of a mental confidence booster. YOu will know the diligence of your preparation, and the integrity of it's approach if you've left the blood, sweat, and tears on the mat. If you have too many mind during performance time, you've spread yourself thin and your approach won't be as honest as if you were to accept that you've done what you could to that point, and simply need to respond and rise to the occasion. The last samurai illustrates that concept well if you've seen it.

even though fighting, and jiu jitsu are technically individual sports, the understanding and compassion of our teams is what really gives us that place to thrive whithout feeling egotistical, to strive for our personal best, without being self centered. It's alot like AA in how we handle our choices like diet, or intensity, and provides fellowship that keeps us all on the dotted line. I've struggled mentally in competitions on more than one occasion, but some good advice I received is competition creates the black and white of win or lose, but only within that moment. The next tournament, or match, or even day presents us with the opportunity to both be a winner again, or taste the bitterness of defeat. When you visualize your opponent know that you're visualizing the same within yourself, whether it be fear, or confidence, but seek comfort in knowing the preparation and time that both you and your team have put in. This moment has culminated for me and you, but the nature of competing will only allow one of us to walk out the winner and the other the loser, but that will come to pass, so focus your mind on the now, not the past, not the future. Be honest with yourself, and accept your destiny...

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+1

My team is just starting to talk about really buckling down and doing this kind of thing. We have a great competition team, but we just train together normally, rather than focusing on specific tournaments. We want to start having rules classes/discussions, and building the specific routes discussed above. What is funny is that we already follow these paths for the most part, but by drilling them specifically, we wouuld become way more confident.

I think a big thing to drill (in addition to the things mentioned in posts above) is any position that you find yourself stuck in often. Whether that is on your back in side control, or in the closed guard. As mentioned above, many top teams score and then control. There is nothing worse than being down 2-0 on a takedown or sweep, and not being able to move, while the ref isn't saying a word about stalling. Have a plan on how to get back on the attack in these positions by drilling side control escape, guard passing in depth, half guard when you are in a bad position (like if the guy on top has head/arm control), and mount escapes. It is amazingly demoralizing to your opponent when he gets the early lead, promptly loses it, and finds the situation reversed.