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Everyone likes to do well and run through guys, but what do you guys feel improves your game more, getting shown the holes in your game by being dominated by people with higher skill levels, or being able to run your game and be on offense with people of a lesser skill level? Or does it just take a mixture of both? Just wanted to get others perspective on this.
I think its a mixture of both. Being dominated by more skilled person doesn't always show ur holes but that the person with the higher skill has put in the numbers. And when you run thru someone you're just doing a sweep or a sub that you already knew you can do. I personally like to try things on newer people that i just learned and try to perfect it on them, then after i put the numbers in i can try it on a higher belt. But thats just my 2 cents.
superior opponents will help you work your defence, inferior opponents will help you work your offence
I've stopped rolling hard for the time being, really wanting to polish up whatever (not much!) technique I have. Slow rolling is perfect for that, linking up techniques trying to keep everything playful.
Just like the rest have said though, it's usually work defence against more experienced players and offence against less experienced players.
I like a mix, I like to go against people who have less reps (I don't always like to use the term "inferior or lower level opponent") and work some top game, and then pull them into guard and work more sub combos. Against better opponents I like to see how they go about breaking my guard or defending my attacks, and I also find mixing it up and training against new partners helps grow too because after a while ur common teammates start to pick up ur game and defend/predict ur preferences more.
I'm a white belt so it's the better opponent that helps me. I need help on not telegraphing my moves.
i would have to say i like to go against people that have put more reps in most of the time because i feel i work harder when i do, but then again its definitly nice to work right through things when guys arnt sure what u are doing.
best rolls ive ever had though were with guys pretty mucha t the same level as i was. these rolls would always go over time and i felt i learnt the most from these. you can get your moves in without being shut down right away but u cant feel like u can dominate them yoursself.
You definatly need both for different reasons, but I learn best from high level people that are using skill, not just speed and power. A technique vs technique roll with a high level player is where it is at for me to improve alot is a short period. I'm like a sponge in these situations that is why I really want to roll with Eddie someday.
I feel like I grow most when I get tooled by better grapplers or have competitive rolls with someone very evenly matched. I get nothing but an ego boost and sometimes slight guilt for burning through new white belts. I prefer to get beaten or get challenged. The lessons I've learned at the hands of coach Zog, Scott, and Sarkis, along with my training partners, has been invaluable. Especially my guys Jeremy and Ben.
With higher skilled opponents, your reaction time is forced to increase since they tend to keep moving in transitions, while newer people settle and pause during each position
You need to be crushed as much as you crush.
IMO what will make you better quickest though is after you crush someone teach them how to properly defend what you did so it keeps getting harder and you gain deeper understanding of how the move works.
Every combination. Worse than you and bigger, better than you and your size, you need everybody. If there actually WERE people smaller than me, I would train with them too, but I look too old to get into a kids class….Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris "Beowulf" Burchell
You most definitely need them all. I also feel it has alot to do with your mindset going into your rolls with these people. If you are rolling with the lesser player to learn and grow, you will. But if you are rolling with them to just smash and get an ego boost, you won't.
Congrats on the blue by the way chris. Great job homie :)
A combination. Things just starts to click that werent working before. Or when you surprise yourself with teshit you have been pulling off.
I find I can *discover* my weaknesses more clearly with a higher belt, but I really need to play around with solutions/ideas with lower/equal belts to actually fix them.
Losing in Competition teaches me more then a month worth of classes...... but it still sucks.
I grow the most when I can isolate and identify my problem. You have to roll to find this but drill to fix it. And once you find the problem you have to find the proper technique to drill. Many times stuff fails because we try to force a square peg in a round hole. It's like trying to beat a nail in with the side of a wrench. Sure, you'll get it done but this is negative reinforcement. Over time you may get even get better at it, but as soon as you use a hammer you will never use a wrench again and wonder why you used the damn wrench so long in the first place. Being able to properly analyze your problem, then use the proper resources to find the right tool is invaluable. Of course you could also be using the hammer the whole time, but just need to turn the damn thing around.
I also agree that losses in competition expose these issues blatantly. Believe it or not, training around injuries also force growth. You have no choice, but to slow down and roll outside of your comfort zone. Proper form is paramount to make a tech work in this case and it stays with you when you heal.
Thanks sean i appreciate it, and its good to hear different views on this subject. It seems like you all feel the same way, and i agree. I think the trick is being able to look at everything from a positive perspective so that we can move forward no matter if we are the least skilled grappler in the room, or in a room full of first day guys. I will be implementing some of the ideas from this thread into my mindset moving forward.
Awesome post.Quote:
Originally Posted by bobby rivers