10/11 ADCC Style Matches in the CAGE, had the honor of grappling a Sixel too

[stan myaskovskiy]

5 weeks into my knee popping at my last comp, I couldn't help myself but to enter another local comp. I promised myself if there were any guys over 160 (my weight) I wouldn't compete and risk injuring myself again before I heal. The athlete in me apparently disagreed. I ended up facing two gorillas. Once of which belongs to MMA royalty.


Here is my first match, which I won via my strongest submission, the Marcelotine:

[stan myaskovskiy]

For those of you who do not know. Dave Sixel is a legend in pankration. Here is the bio: http://www.sixelsfightclub.com/Instructor.html

I had the honor of grappling against his son Mike Sixel in the comp. He weighed in 20-30 lbs heavier and boasts a pro MMA record of 4-1. I lost via D'arce around the 2:43 mark. Dude's a beast! I felt good defending both initial kimuras. But my D'arce defense needs work. It was an honor and a privilege to fight someone so highly regarded. I was very thanful for the match, so I made sure to give him a big hug and thank him for the match too.

He respected my butterfly guard actually as well, which was a true honor to me. In the beginning you can hear him say he promises he won't strike if I promise not to play my butterfly guard ;p lol

[stan myaskovskiy]

Idk... In this match I was 30-40lbs lighter. I gave up top position like an easy prom date and the guy didnt want to engage. This happens way too often now with wrestler heavy fighters. THIS IS WHY I LOVE SUB ONLY like EBI!!!

I tried rolling iminari... I tried donkey guard. I tried inverted guard. I tried meditation. I tried modeling... He did feel the need to poke my contact out ( 100% accidentally), ouch!!! And all he did was run away 90% of the time..

I didnt want to stand and get thrown across the cage with a bum knee, but I even stood up and tried to give him a single leg for a guillotine or kimura.. Didn't want no part of it... What do you guys do when this happens to you?

I feel I tried everything in my arsenal EXCEPT standing and playing his world. So he could what...? Take me down with gusto, maybe break a rib on the way down, land all his weight, and STAND BACK UP? lol No thank you ;p

Regardless this match was by far the MOST fun I ever had competing. I let loose and had a great time, even though I lost on Pts (ADCC style).

Also once he got on top he didnt do ANYTHING... it was brutal.. I actually gave away fully extended armbars hoping he would try to snatch it up, but all he wanted to do was lay on me.. That was rough. Any advice here would be great!

[Brian Debes]

Idk... In this match I was 30-40lbs lighter. I gave up top position like an easy prom date and the guy didnt want to engage. This happens way too often now with wrestler heavy fighters. THIS IS WHY I LOVE SUB ONLY like EBI!!!

I tried rolling iminari... I tried donkey guard. I tried inverted guard. I tried meditation. I tried modeling... He did feel the need to poke my contact out ( 100% accidentally), ouch!!! And all he did was run away 90% of the time..

I didnt want to stand and get thrown across the cage with a bum knee, but I even stood up and tried to give him a single leg for a guillotine or kimura.. Didn't want no part of it... What do you guys do when this happens to you?

I feel I tried everything in my arsenal EXCEPT standing and playing his world. So he could what...? Take me down with gusto, maybe break a rib on the way down, land all his weight, and STAND BACK UP? lol No thank you ;p

Regardless this match was by far the MOST fun I ever had competing. I let loose and had a great time, even though I lost on Pts (ADCC style).

Also once he got on top he didnt do ANYTHING... it was brutal.. I actually gave away fully extended armbars hoping he would try to snatch it up, but all he wanted to do was lay on me.. That was rough. Any advice here would be great!

I hate that too. Every once in a while, you face someone harnessing the spirit of Brandon Schwab. This is what I would tell my student that was going to face that guy again: For the first 30 seconds or so, you did the right thing. Let it be painfully obvious who's stalling. Then stop. Seriously just stop. Look at the Reff. Your down, he must engage. Don't give up any points (should be easy, he's not doing anything). Pressure will be on him then. It sounded like at the end he said he had never done jiu-jitsu (just a wrestler?). Those guys do that allot trying to play a rule set out of desperation, you have to show them that they can't.

On a slightly more uplifting note: I see this (this exact type of stalling) a TON in beginner divisions, a little in intermediate divisions and very little in expert. So this get better

You CAN NOT get sloppy and give something like mount to a staller though. If you put them ahead on points, they will stall even harder (even possibly disregarding the reff because they know they have enough lead to cushion a penalty even after a warning). Also, the type of stalling done where your opponent just holds a position is much more common and is penalized much less.

Best of luck to you buddy, and don't let this one get you down

[stan myaskovskiy]

I hate that too. Every once in a while, you face someone harnessing the spirit of Brandon Schwab. This is what I would tell my student that was going to face that guy again: For the first 30 seconds or so, you did the right thing. Let it be painfully obvious who's stalling. Then stop. Seriously just stop. Look at the Reff. Your down, he must engage. Don't give up any points (should be easy, he's not doing anything). Pressure will be on him then. It sounded like at the end he said he had never done jiu-jitsu (just a wrestler?). Those guys do that allot trying to play a rule set out of desperation, you have to show them that they can't.

On a slightly more uplifting note: I see this (this exact type of stalling) a TON in beginner divisions, a little in intermediate divisions and very little in expert. So this get better

You CAN NOT get sloppy and give something like mount to a staller though. If you put them ahead on points, they will stall even harder (even possibly disregarding the reff because they know they have enough lead to cushion a penalty even after a warning). Also, the type of stalling done where your opponent just holds a position is much more common and is penalized much less.

Best of luck to you buddy, and don't let this one get you down

Thanks for the reply and advice Brian! It is all taken to heart and much appreciated. I will work on these aspects!
My opponent was an experienced wrestler with 9 months of jiu jitsu experience according to his coach. I do think this was his first grappling competition though?

Actually, If you watch the first time he actually engaged, we ended in North/South position and I locked on a strong South/North choke from the bottom. That make him even more reluctant to attack my guard because his coach was saying the North/South choke was his go to submission after the match lol That's why you see a huge smile on my face when he bailed out of there. I knew I was in his head after that and then I just had fun. I honestly didn't get too frustrated, I expected him to come out and try to win on points after the 7min of sub only. He played smart boring game and I didn't counter it properly. Valuable learning experience.

I did get a little sloppy and desperate myself which definitely lead to the mounts, and will work to make sure that doesn't happen again.
I also had a little more success when I fake grabbed for the hands, and launched on a leg. I only did that once, and it lead to the only sweep I had the entire match. Can anyone point me to some good setups from here? I usually grab on and try to hit deep half from there (assuming the put a knee down), or turkey wrap, but if they are committed to standing I am a bit at a loss.