Mastering the rubber guard dvd

[ern]

Ok, so here it is. I am an old fat guy compared to the young hungry lions in the gyms I go to. I have been trying to teach myself rubber guard through online vidoes, MTS, and this site. I have been working on my double lotus and I am getting closer to the ground all the time in my butterfly stretch. I watch BJJ videos like some people watch porn (loved marcelos breakdown of the north south choke - excellent stuff there). No one in my area does 10th planet shit, not the rubber guard and not twister. I am constantly getting stuck in shit and can't figure it out.

WIll the DVD solve some of my issues? does it break down when dude does x you do y like the MTS stuff does? I know I should travel and go to a moon and train once in awhile with some 10P people, so I can learn this stuff for real, but between work, wife and kid, and my normal 3 days of training a week I am runnign short on free time. I know excuses, excuses. Nearest moons are 4+hr drives one way (without snow). I have been to one of master eddies seminars and have been using the s grip like a mother to dog fight, been doing lockdown, and trying to incorporate everything, but I am not getting better, especially in transitions. I have no ego in BJJ in that I will go anywhere and get my ass kicked by anyone, so long as I learn new stuff. My trip out to vegas showed me how bad my BJJ is when compared to guys rolling 1-2x a day several days a week - to be read I got my ass handed to me. I normally split my gym time between BJJ and standup, and I will not lie, I like standup alot (not that I'm good, I just like punching and kicking people).

I don't want to type on here forever, just hard to put it out there where I am at and how I feel. I know I am missing stuff, like when I try to hit kung fu move and dudes are managing to wiggle and jam me up. I am burning myself out squeezing in mission and hugging the shit out of that arm once I zombie, grip around my knee till it bleeds, I feel like I got them and bam, some fuck wiggles a shoulder in and I can't hit it. Im hitting jui claw, but not submitting the oma, maybe I'm just a fucktard. Today pissed me off at the gym, had guy hiding his elbow, baited him, got the zombie, went for kung fu and he got away from me (not completely out, but had to start all over again). It took me 3 minutes to get him there. Did that ever piss me off. The younger guys have cardio to spare, I don't. It takes me half of the rest of the day to recover and the young guys are out drinking and partying the same night. fuck it I'm done typing.

opinons welcome - I just want to get better. wow did I ever get to ranting.

[Brent Smith]

The DVD follows the book but is a bit more clear on certain transitions and is broken down a bit more. Just keep at it man. If you feel like youre getting stuck in a certain transition or your opponent is shutting down a certain move research it or even come on here and youll get plenty of good advice. Repetition is key. Try to hit that 10,000 mark and youll be able to do it in your sleep And youll have guys just hulk out of things. It happens, just keep working your squeeze too and youll find less and less people escape your wrath.

[ern]

thanks brent. I normally don't have guys hulking out on me, I go around 225 (235 if I havebeen hitting the pasta and not watching what i eat). There are definetly stronger people than me at the gyms I go to (I don't lift weights anymore), it seems to happen more often with smaller guys (185 ish). They tell me they are uncomortable and sometimes it hurts, but they manage to wiggle free none the less. I really don't try to out muscle people smaller than me, I try to use technique.

Guess I should order the rubber guard dvd and get to drilling. Sorry if the prior post seemed like I was whining.

[Brent Smith]

No worries. In the past 7 years I've had plenty of frustrations. You wont be disappointed with that purchase. Its good you are aware about not using your size. I know a few people your size that their main goal is to grab ahold of something and twist and pull. So scary to roll with those guys, I avoid it. You'll figure out how to keep ahold of those little guys. It might just be a small fix to your technique that will make all the difference in the world. Just takes time. If you keep with it youll be smashing guys with perfect rubber guard technique.

[Isaac Atley]

i feel you man, ive been working on my RG for ages and ages. had my tournament and got the gogoplata so close and the guy just muscled. jiu jitsu is full of frustrations. with your omaplata, if you arnt getting the twist enough by getting your knee to the ground etc, you can walk around anti clockwise and that gets the shoulder going more and then when you link your arms underneath his free arm or just get an underhook under the free arm then pull back makes it tighter too.

hope that helps.

just keep on doing the reps and pushng through. think about what you were like 6 months ago, or a year ago etc and then u realsie how much better your game is. ive found my expectations of what i do in a class have exploded. used to be like man lets get through without getting tapped, now m thinking, want to work this move ths way wth ths guy when he does that etc. its insane.

good luck man, keep your spirits high

[Josh Passini]

Embrace the journey my friend. Its a long awesome road!

[Marty McLaren]

I have found that sometimes you feel like you are not getting anywhere and that you may be going backwards. What has helped me is realising that I am in this for the long haul and that everyone has plateaus and times when they get frustrated but perseverance is the key. The next breakthrough is always just around the next corner and the only way to achieve your goals in jiu jitsu is to keep pushing forwards.

[Matt Wallace]

I'll take an alternative route and say that maybe you're working on an area that may not be beneficial to you. I love 10P, trained with Eddie, Zog,etc. and enjoy the hell out of it. I use some form of 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu EVERY time I roll. However, I don't use the whole system. Parts of it work really well for me and flow beautifully. Other parts I've drilled to death and just don't fit with my body size, style, gameplan, etc. It's not a condemnation of the art; if ANYTHING, it's an affirmation that I don't have to master the entire system to use it. I'm not saying don't drill, don't learn, give up, etc, but to keep an open mind on what your limitations may end up being and what is fun for you to do. Once I figured that out my game really took off. Best of luck in your journey!

[Eddie Bravo]

Lots of great advice on this thread. The one thing you are missing is a class filled with open minded ninjas eager to master as much as possible. DVDs, MTS & YouTube can only take you so far, ultimately you need a nice group of grapplers on your level mentally with a super knowledgable head instructor that is obsessed with drilling. Until then, do what josh said, enjoy the journey and be grateful for where ur at right now

[brianspinaltap]

Ern, I think the frustrations you are describing are not unique to 10th planet, it's just the process of learning jiu-jitsu. It's the same everywhere.

Remember, a black belt is a white belt who didn't quit!