Question on the squeeze and telegraphing techniques.

First, a little background on me to pint a better picture of my situation.

I primarily did No-Gi "Submission grappling" at a school for a few years before moving back home where it is now mainly Gi twice a week with BJJ Coach, with a couple of MMA classes with the head coach (Martin Stapleton, Bellator).


So, white belt in my Gi, I'm rolling with a purple belt on Monday who gave me the advice to relax a little while I roll; he said that he can feel how strong I am, but I'm constantly using that pressure, so it's letting him know exactly where I'm going to move all the time.

I took his advice on board because it sounded solid.

When I got home I was thinking it over and I wondered if this is only "Gi applicable"?

Since the squeeze and pressure due to lack of grips and handles in No-Gi is so important, are my No-gi tendencies giving the game away here?

I'm partially thinking that it could just be my inexperience of setting up combinations of submissions.


Any thoughts, my 10P brethren? :cool:

sooo much to say on this for me, I could type a book on this,but I'll just say, he is correct, kinda. You might have to break it all the way down to the extreme first. I have a saying" roll non stop for 45 minutes WITHOUT breathing hard". For sure, when rolling with this guy, relax every non essential muscle. I don't mean be a wet noodle that is no fun to roll against. You do all the right things that being a good grappling dummy should. Base, posture, protect the neck, arms in, shrimp onto your side, side in overhooks/underhooks when open, etc etc. Yes, you will tap a lot, just tap and start again right away. Turn off the muscle and open you mind, think about every move he is doing to you and why. Soon you will learn to close windows and seize them when they open. You will then have a whole lot of energy reserved for the important squeeze to close the choke. The whole be like water, invisible Jiu Jitsu , fight fire with water, technique is king, flow jitsu, human chess thing can be difficult to learn for some. If feel that this is what made Rickson so good. He was able to turn off muscle until technique was mastered, then he was able to turn it back on and destroy.

You can clinch, roll hard, roll fast, and dominate an opponent while being completely relaxed. Jiu Jitsu is the "gentle art" for a reason. Be like water.

B Mc told me last night something that may help. He said you can be heavy and mobile at the same time. I think you can be relaxed and pressure at the same time also, when you squeeze it doesn't have to be 100% and grunty. It's all about control. Locking the hips and controling the head. The position and gravity can do a lot of that for you. The squeeze is important but don't force it. Let it develop over time and repetition

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Greg W

I feel that this is what made Rickson so good. He was able to turn off muscle until technique was mastered, then he was able to turn it back on and destroy.

---

There is so much truth in this statement, I'm in awe. Amen, brother. Amen.

Selective tension is what you're looking for. It's not squeezing as hard as you can; it's squeezing enough.

And squeeze a lot in practice. Exhaust yourself. Build your squeeze endurance.

Sometimes I think I get accused of using my strength or because I'm big I'm dominating - but I think they are insulting my technique. Baring in mind I'm not gassing at the end of my rolls - and my fitness isn't great either. I'm not sure.

I do appreciate what you said Greg about seizing windows to attack. I sorta felt he was toying with me a bit in thisM4 4DR one. He barely attacked, maybe being more relaxed might bait my opponent out more. Selective tension sounds like a perfect analogy Brandon.

Cheers for the input guys. Much appreciated.

For some reason I have two accounts...

The one on my phone is an old one? Before the forums got nuked? :/

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Greg W

sooo much to say on this for me, I could type a book on this,but I'll just say, he is correct, kinda. You might have to break it all the way down to the extreme first. I have a saying" roll non stop for 45 minutes WITHOUT breathing hard". For sure, when rolling with this guy, relax every non essential muscle. I don't mean be a wet noodle that is no fun to roll against. You do all the right things that being a good grappling dummy should. Base, posture, protect the neck, arms in, shrimp onto your side, side in overhooks/underhooks when open, etc etc. Yes, you will tap a lot, just tap and start again right away. Turn off the muscle and open you mind, think about every move he is doing to you and why. Soon you will learn to close windows and seize them when they open. You will then have a whole lot of energy reserved for the important squeeze to close the choke. The whole be like water, invisible Jiu Jitsu , fight fire with water, technique is king, flow jitsu, human chess thing can be difficult to learn for some. If feel that this is what made Rickson so good. He was able to turn off muscle until technique was mastered, then he was able to turn it back on and destroy.

---

This!
That's how I roll, and I tap alot, even to lower belts, but I like to find holes in my game from all angles and try to plug them before competition. That being said, when someone decides to "hulk out" while rolling I've found that being loose and letting technique take the wheel exposes them more often than it exposes me. It's called the gentle art for a reason

H ever rolled with a black belt? It feels like they aren't even trying, not even breathing hard, yet they get you in whatever they want. That's the level I want to get to

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Brandon Mccaghren

Selective tension is what you're looking for. It's not squeezing as hard as you can; it's squeezing enough.

---

Damn B Mac, you talk good, you jiu jitsu good and you talk jiu jitsu good.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Joe Firth

First, a little background on me to pint a better picture of my situation.

I primarily did No-Gi "Submission grappling" at a school for a few years before moving back home where it is now mainly Gi twice a week with BJJ Coach, with a couple of MMA classes with the head coach (Martin Stapleton, Bellator).


So, white belt in my Gi, I'm rolling with a purple belt on Monday who gave me the advice to relax a little while I roll; he said that he can feel how strong I am, but I'm constantly using that pressure, so it's letting him know exactly where I'm going to move all the time.

I took his advice on board because it sounded solid.

When I got home I was thinking it over and I wondered if this is only "Gi applicable"?

Since the squeeze and pressure due to lack of grips and handles in No-Gi is so important, are my No-gi tendencies giving the game away here?

I'm partially thinking that it could just be my inexperience of setting up combinations of submissions.


Any thoughts, my 10P brethren? :cool:

---

I think relaxing is smart in gi or nogi. If a water bed is on top of you, or a heavy stiff door, it's usually easier to move the door. That's a huge generalization, but the idea is pretty true. All the best nogi guys I've rolled with all are incredibly relaxed on top and incredibly heavy. I got to roll with Gui Mendes in the gi and nogi, and in both he was pound for pound the most pressure heavy person I've ever felt, and he wasn't stiff or tense at all.

By relaxing, you force the other person to carry all of your weight. It also makes you more sensitive to feeling the other person's movements so it sets you up to be better prepared for scrambles. Learning how to balance between being light and being heavy is hard and it takes a lot of time, but is important in gi and nogi both. In nogi you're going to have to scramble and move around a bit more, and in the gi there are spots where you can rest a little bit more. But I don't think you have to use your body differently in each one. Good grappling is good grappling. You can grapple in the gi and choose to not use many gi grips, like Marcelo Garcia or Jeff Glover. And in nogi, you can still have a very tight/pressure heavy game. You don't always have to be scrambly.

Hope this made sense.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Brandon Mccaghren

Selective tension is what you're looking for. It's not squeezing as hard as you can; it's squeezing enough.

And squeeze a lot in practice. Exhaust yourself. Build your squeeze endurance.

---

Not to hijack because I think it's related, and I may get shit for this but in regards to squeezing for chokes, squeezing your ass off may help in competitions and against tough opponents, but you can squeeze for a hell of a lot longer if you just focus on getting the best angle and grips, and just maintaining pressure. Just like Brandon M. said, it's about selective tension. If you can maintain 70% pressure with the right angle and grips on a choke, it doesn't matter if it takes 5 seconds, or 50 seconds for them to go to sleep. It's very demoralizing when you just feel a constant but slow ramp up in pressure. If you have a RNC or a darce or an arm triangle, and you get so tired squeezing that you have to let go, chances are you need more practice relaxing and settling into the pressure.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mike Nall

Not to hijack because I think it's related, and I may get shit for this but in regards to squeezing for chokes, squeezing your ass off may help in competitions and against tough opponents, but you can squeeze for a hell of a lot longer if you just focus on getting the best angle and grips, and just maintaining pressure. Just like Brandon M. said, it's about selective tension. If you can maintain 70% pressure with the right angle and grips on a choke, it doesn't matter if it takes 5 seconds, or 50 seconds for them to go to sleep. It's very demoralizing when you just feel a constant but slow ramp up in pressure. If you have a RNC or a darce or an arm triangle, and you get so tired squeezing that you have to let go, chances are you need more practice relaxing and settling into the pressure.

---

Squeezing like an anaconda, ala Denny. A choke slowly, steadily, and consistently turned up to 100% is a crappy feeling, especially after you realize the only way out is a tap.

Squeezing to control, squeeze no more than you need to. Squeezing to submit, slow, steady, ever-increasing, never relaxing.

Going back to your original question about telegraphing...

I can often tell when a guy is gonna make his move based on not only his increase or decrease in tension, but in his breathing. Try to really take note of what your breath is doing before, during and after a movement/technique. I'm willing to bet that's where you're giving away your intentions.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Chad Clark

Squeezing like an anaconda, ala Denny. A choke slowly, steadily, and consistently turned up to 100% is a crappy feeling, especially after you realize the only way out is a tap.

Squeezing to control, squeeze no more than you need to. Squeezing to submit, slow, steady, ever-increasing, never relaxing.

---

We're saying the same thing, I think you either mistook what I meant by relaxing, or I picked the wrong word. When I say relaxing, I mean not freaking out and holding your breathe and gassing yourself out. I mean just being calm and relaxed and increasing the pressure. It's not even a thread hijack, I'll tie it in with the original post. I think staying calm, relaxed, and heavy pressure and finding the ability to switch between the fast-twitch explosiveness and the heavy control, that everything will work out just fine.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Brandon Mccaghren

Going back to your original question about telegraphing...

I can often tell when a guy is gonna make his move based on not only his increase or decrease in tension, but in his breathing. Try to really take note of what your breath is doing before, during and after a movement/technique. I'm willing to bet that's where you're giving away your intentions.

---

Thanks man - I'll definitely keep it in mind from now on.

I just got back from BJJ, was definitely a bit more patient this time round.

That's what I've noticed when I've rolled with some really high level guys. They aren't even exerting effort and they are in complete control. It's something to aspire to.