How has your 10th Planet game evolved?

When I first started doing 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu, I was a MASSIVE rubber guard player. The first technique Eddie ever showed me was the "Pump". It was a real trip learning it (and the system as a whole). I remember thinking "will this stuff ever make sense?"

What is hard today is easy tomorrow (Pedro Sauer)

As my confidence grew (along with my knowledge of the system), I really got settled in as a RG player. An injury forced me to step away from grappling for several months in 2007 and I couldn't play the RG on my left side anymore (the dominate side for most 10th Planeteers). I had to switch to my right leg mission control.

Anyways, as the years have gone by, I have seen an evolution of how my game has evolved. I went from RG to a HUGE lockdown/half guard player to a s mount attacker to a TSC attacker and now back to RG and open guard stuff.

How has your game evolved? What are you not using anymore? What are you using all the time?

Being a white belt, I am still big with the RB. I think that it is the most important place to start. Well, that or half guard. I really need to step up my lockdown game. I lost my first match because I didn't have a big lockdown game. My opinion is, as soon as one is good at rubber guard, or whatever have you, he or she will naturally already have another game they want to start drilling hardcore. For me, lock down for sure, but most of all, jiu claw.... that is the next step after rubber guard. In my recent match, I won with a go-go plata, but thats because I knew i didn't want to transition to jiu claw. So, having been through that, I now know the next part I need to focus on... But I do know the importance of needing to step up my lockdown. I'm not good at whipping up yet, but I am picking up the stomp pretty quickly. youtube "10th planet indy ego" and you'll see what I mean about not wanting to make the transition. I'm flexible enough to stay where I was. Hell, it was a comfort zone! He was where I wanted him. But thats because I knew I wasn't comfortable in Jiu claw.

Tonight in class, I saw my own game step up as I pulled a godfather sweep for the first time while doing some live rolling with one of my fighters that I train. No big deal, right, well considering that I primarily teach these days focusing on techniques and then letting my young guys have all the fun rolling. And since I have just started hardcore 10th planet jj teaching, I haven't ever taught the godfather yet because all of my guys are newbies who are learning basic lockdown and rubber guard control. So tonight, me and one of my students were rolling when I pulled eg and quickly transitioned through to juiclaw but as I was moving to omoplata, I made a rushed mistake! And he flipped and landed in side where I pull half and as I was trying for the lockdown, he defended, and it came to me. It worked beautifully. I love this shit!

I have noticed a shift towards half guard. I was at a tournament last month and the ref said that Half Guard was not an advantageous position. Needless to say, I was not impressed. Half Guard is the evolution of 10th Planet and No-Gi. I hope it gets recognized soon.

As I dint get the opportunity to roll frequently and can only attend classes when in my capital city everytime I roll my 10th planet shit evolves continuously. Mainly because of the slight tweaks you hav to do to adjust each position, coz there's always that small gap between something working and it not. But I have to say each time I rolled my focuses changed, which has been good for me in regards to being more diverse.

In the beggining all I had was lockdown. (self taught) Yuma is like wrestling central. Cain Velasquez, Aaron Simpson Efrain Escadero and many other national and state champs are all from here. I never wrestled a day in my life but lockdown seemed to be the big equalizer after being dumped on my ass (which was always). I was cramming many many hours of techs off sub 101 and training with the gi but against these guys nothing else worked. There was an upstart MMA gym here co-run by Chance Farrar. He's a two time national champ who fought for a WEC title against Faber and competed ADCC. He's fought Einstien a couple times (I know there's more history because I've heard Scott and John Botello talk about him like he's the boogy man). Any way 2 weeks after starting to train there I'm guilted into teaching because both Chance and his partner have crippled themselves trying to tear out of my lockdown. Now that I have a blank check to teach what I want I really start pushing 10th planet. Which means I have to kick teaching it to myself into high gear. (thankyou youtube, Ari and mastering the rg dvds) I'm still training traditional at a Fabio Santos school but this is way more fun. A couple years and a couple school expansions later I start pushing to bring Eddie out. I keep pushing but Chance isn't that excited. About 6 months later I'm rolling with Chance and I catch him in a whole string of 10p moves ending in a carni. (by this point I was landing way more that just 1/2 guard). Now he tells me we should maby now look at bringing Eddie out like it's his idea. Not waiting for him to change his mind I jump on it. It's then I find out that Eddie will only work with gyms that are looking to affiliate. Not having a clue what I'm doing or what that means I start blindly down the path that leads to the birth of 10th Planet Yuma about a year later. My biggest dream 2 years ago was just to meet Eddie now I'm part of his family. How cool is that?

"My biggest dream 2 years ago was just to meet Eddie now I'm part of his family. How cool is that?"

Exactly!

Live the dream my brother

Brian, that is one of the coolest and most inspiring things that I have heard. I too, was at a gym that I helped start with a guy who had money but no training whatsoever. After I bust my ass and sink money into helping what I thought was "our" dream, he gets a couple of other instructors in there and then when it was time to start sharing the profits, I was suddenly not needed. His money, my knowledge, his money trumped my knowledge since he thought he had other instructors if you no what I mean. Well, I set out with a vengeance to do all I could to fuck this guy right back, ( I know, bad juju and all) but I was furious and hurt that after all my hard work, I was tossed out like nothing. So I go back to my old sport karate coach and we decide to get into mma as a boost to his school. And then it hits me that at the old school, I was primarily the standup coach. I had did traditional juijitsu 10 years ago, but shit, I hadnt done any active rolling, mush less teaching in years. So I got out my old jit school cheat sheets and hit the internet looking to make sure that I had some of my skills in memory, and thats when I ran across sub 101, and Ari introduced me to 10th Planet. I was amazed and happy that I found this site that was showing a philosophy that mirrored my own way of thinking about martial arts evolving past gracie jj. Another two years of work, and a move to a bigger building, all looks to be going great. Then in feb., My instructor and partner died suddenly of a massive heart attack. I was devastated and felt as though I had lost my father. His wife decided to close his school and once again, I'm out of a home and not really even caring because of the depression I was experiencing. Then I start getting calls from people who wanting to know where I was going to open again. Being that I'm not wealthy and dont have the best credit after taking a huge it when the economy collapsed, my options werent looking good. So I started teaching out of my house in a spare room. nothing big, just a few students but since space was limited and the old lady would kill me if I knocked holes in the wall, we focused on grappling techniques. I went out and bought the books and dvds of Eddies and started at page one. We're through the sweeps and are now focusing on rubber guard. I drive three hours one way, every other week to train with neale horle at 10th planet lynchburg, in hopes that soon I will get my blue belt and be able to become part of the 10th planet family in eastern NC. So thats my story, and my dream. Thanks to all of the 10th planet guys and to Master Eddie for giving me my will to live and teach martial arts after all these years.

Oh yea, I forgot that my girlfriend who knows me like a book, decided to try and bring me out of my depression back in april, by paying for me to go to bear, delaware, for kevins eddie bravo seminar, on my birthday. Had to be the best birthday ever. We got up and drove seven hours from Goldsboro, NC to kevins, where I got to meet eddie and take my first ever 10th planet class and then we drove back home same day. I have been die hard 10th planet ever since. What a great year I am having after such a horrible start.