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.

You can join a gym or a dojo but you belong to 10th Planet. I believe with all my heart that there is something going on here that's bigger than all of us. Sounds like your already part of the family to me. Looking forwards to meeting you one of these days. :)

Excellent thread Ari! I started 10th Planet after training with Eddie at a seminar around five years ago. I was a Pedro Sauer Blue belt, and already was a tight guard player (knee squeeze, leg curls etc...) So when Eddie showed me the Rubber Guard, I fell in love with it! It complimented my style so well, it is hard to explain... It was just perfect for my style and flexibility. Then he showed the Lockdown and again I fell in love with the system's strengths, being my strengths. I tapped three or four people with my Lockdown while learning the whip up... It has been a long road since then, used the system to walk the dog in my Academy. Then got shown the door because of training and using 10th Planet. The weird part is Pedro told me to go out and "cross train" with different styles. But my instructor must not have got the memo... But I still use the fundamentals of the system. I am a triangle armbar choke kind of guy, so I use alot of rubberguard to set-up those subs. The deep hooks are crucial to my game now, once my hand gets to my hip, your stuck! TSC has also been a staple, because my top game sucked for so long. Until Eddie taught me TSC and all of a sudden I can hold side control on Black belts (good ones) and not just Purples (which I couldn't even do before...). So it has strengthened my initial game and progressed my top game to a level it had not seen. I am not a big guy 5'10 170, so I always felt light on top, never could hold any top position. But on bottom I could use my entire body and strength and not lose position. Both Demian, Rickson, and Eddie helped to change that! The 10th Planet transitions enable to keep tight and complete control, I love it!!!
My 10th Planet game has evolved my overall Jiu Jitsu game ;) I Love my 10th Planet!!! Eddie actually changed alot in my life besides just BJJ. He is a great friend and coach!!!

It is nice to feel like you belong to something. A group with common interests. Eddie has been very kind to me and in the words of Team America, "I treasure his friendship".

I know i'm gonna go rep the Fuck out of 10th Planet this Saturday at NAGA, Masters Expert Lightweight. Gimme that belt fuckers!


And Ari, as to your question. I've gone up and down the ladder with 10thPJJ offensive techs, but I really haven't ever concentrated on the escapes. Well, my worst position to be in is side mounted, so I really dug in and started working all the N/S, Side mount, & mount escapes. I'm B Smith and Jailbreakin all over the place! I think this is really gonna help me master my worst position. Once I get comfortable with that one hole, the sky's the limit. And Eddie is right when he says flexibility will save your ass! I don't even try the typical shrimp or trap an arm & leg mount escapes anymore, I go straight to cross legs and out the back door...usually end up w/ a pretty good leglock too. I'm really loving training right now, every day is something new.

Word.

Thanks Brian. Makes me feel good to be a part of it as it's happening. I believe we are seeing it as it happens instead of coming in after the fact. As for me, I am teaching out of a local gym now building up my clientele til I can afford my own building. This time if I fail it will be because of me and not outside forces. I am happy that things happened the way they did or I may never have discovered all of this

"I am happy that things happened the way they did or I may never have discovered all of this"
I second this statement!

I was into Rubber Guard chains (primarily the Double Bagger options) when I started getting into Jiu Jitsu last year. Now I'm mostly working the half guard sweeps, Truck entrances and options, Monkey Mount tactics, and Swim Move entrances.

I started with the lockdown and standard closed guard. My coach recommended the RG book and that vastly expanded my half guard game. Since I had the book I played with the RG but my poor posture control and weak squeeze would limit my success. My shoddy grip and child like hands had me using overhook variations and setups of our standard guard moves. The overhook slowly turned into the pyramid since I was reading the books over and over in my off time. The pyramid and overhook game drastically improved my posture control so a year later I began using the RG again but this time with great success.

Meanwhile my lockdown game was getting shut down as people were too acclimated to it. I had to begin using the super stomp, and god father moves as setups back to RG, where I was making good strides. I finally reached a new plateau with my RG game but then my back gave out.

Due to my injury I had to abandon my entire RG game and go back to the lockdown for sweeps only utilizing moves where my lower back could remain in a supine position. From the top I am working basic bread and butter kimura scarf hold stuff. I've recently putting in the numbers for my twister game as well, so I can get more opportunities for the back.

And meanwhile Judo, wrestling, and leg lock development has been going on in the background.

When I started jiu jitsu, it was all rubber guard. So much so that if I couldn't pull guard, I was pretty helpless (in retrospect, may not have been the best place to start). However, even today, it's hard for me to imagine my guard game without the rubber guard. I never understand how guys in MMA feel comfortable just having guys lay in their open guards while they try to play for some crazy triangle/armbar that is either work or get passed. It's nice to have a guy under control and locked away.
However, while my guard game has only evolved in the sense of it going from crappy to less crappy rubber guard, my other aspects have changed a lot. I went from playing a mount based on not getting pulled back into guard and going for basic moves into getting really heavy on the guy and either grabbing head and arm and working for the triangle, or forcing a leg over for a gogo/locoplata from the top. Even though I'm a bit more likely to get rolled doing it, I never worry since it will land me in full guard with them broken down. My half guard has evolved tons. I went from not really having one to having a decent lockdown, and am currently working outside of the 10th Planet System to master the deep half and the open half guard.
While I have a long way to go, I can feel myself learning new things every time I roll. My game gets a bit bigger and badder every day, and it's cool to see how far I've come, and how far I still have to go.

Wow, these are great stories! Thanks for sharing everyone. Keep them coming!!!

I completely fell in love with the Rubber Guard as soon as I saw it. For quite awhile people would shut that down and I would just get smashed. Although that would happen I never lost faith in its effectiveness eventhough I had many people try to steer me away from it as being ineffective. Now 3 years later I don't feel comfortable using the standard guard (double wrist control) and RG has become my bread and butter. I wasn't really as interested in the other core 10th Planet areas until I was a mid blue belt.
To make a long story short RG was what it was all about and now I've evolved and have become more well rounded.

Newest personal evolutions: jap neck tie, perfecting mini stomp, reverse whip up, 5/0 pass, perp jiu, sorcerer, north south, guillotine from side control, mono control, perfect du's, mounted straight jacket, dominator pass, hazelett, flying kung fu to name a few :)

damn... always new stuff...
How is someone supposed to keep up with your arsenal? :)

I'm amazed... Can't wait to be back at hq... Hopefully sooooon.

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Originally Posted by Matthias Sieber

damn... always new stuff...
How is someone supposed to keep up with your arsenal? :)

I'm amazed... Can't wait to be back at hq... Hopefully sooooon.

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That's what MTS is all about. I try to mix all the latest evolutions in along with the oh-so important basics :)

I really love "Mastering The System". It's a great idea!

But still I always think I can't keep up. There's still so much old stuff on my list to "master"... Jiu Jitsu is a life long journey. But I'm really happy to walk that path with my 10th Planet family.

You guys are awesome and I love you all.

On topic...
When I got Jiu Jitsu Unleashed and shortly after Mastering The Rubber Guard I was very much into Rubber Guard and I used Old School and Electric Chair on bigger guys more often. After my first trip to hq in 2008 I became a much better overall grappler and also during my recent trip this year. I try to elevate my skill to the next level in every position. After a private class with Einstein my mount game skyrocket, because he showed me just a small detail I needed to get a better position (for arm triangles). Also my weak side north-south is much better now. My worst position (without strikes) is probably when me and my opponent are standing. I'm working on my takedowns of course, too.

So right now I really try to get a good overall game and fill the holes in it.

it takes at least 3 lifetimes to master all of jiu jitsu's no gi moves, at least. I suck at so many different styles, like 50/50 and deep half :-/ ....but lately my guillotines and n/s chokes are finally coming together :)

I used to work for rubber only but would have problems either getting it or keeping it because of opponents strength. i am 150 to 155 and usually roll with people 180 or heavier. their broad shoulders would give me problems too so i focused more on taking their strength out of the equation with my half guard. lock downs and sweeps transition to side control and a move i call the chogie and it gets me armbars, crucifixes, mounts, or another move i call open sashimi.

maybe ill make a video...

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Originally Posted by Eddie Bravo

Newest personal evolutions: jap neck tie, perfecting mini stomp, reverse whip up, 5/0 pass, perp jiu, sorcerer, north south, guillotine from side control, mono control, perfect du's, mounted straight jacket, dominator pass, hazelett, flying kung fu to name a few :)

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It felt like you had that flying kung fu on lockdown when I rolled with you in March. I can't imagine it getting much better.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Eddie Bravo

it takes at least 3 lifetimes to master all of jiu jitsu's no gi moves, at least. I suck at so many different styles, like 50/50 and deep half :-/ ....but lately my guillotines and n/s chokes are finally coming together :)

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Yes they are, it was very cool being on the recieving end of 5 of your chokes in 6 minutes. Eddie I was wondering, it was very surreal having you coach while I was rolling, is there a chance of getting you to go into more depth with strategy and tactics for competition on mts? The new stuff is awesome but I think I learned more in one match with you coaching than I've learned in the last year.

Oh Eddie,

The mounted Straight Jacket is one of my favorites well. I like to explain to my students that all it is is the rubber guard upside down (or is that right side up)...or the mounted Rubber Guard.

Keep on rocking the free world!