Why Grip Sets are So Important.

I’ve been basing a lot of my jiu jitsu and the classes that I teach off of grip sets lately. By understanding why a hand serves a certain role depending on its gripping location, it can become more natural to set up a series of attacks and transitions. I believe that through this understanding one can begin to manipulate their opportunities at a much higher level of efficiency than someone that just shoots at the hip. This idea bridges off the same philosophy of training with a purpose.

Time and time again we are faced with new situations in our jiu jitsu game. Whether it’s a new look at a tournament or the same people you train with each day learning new pieces of the game, you have to always be on your toes. Never assume you know what your partner/opponent has in store from you and always be imposing your game on them. The sooner you realize that your attacking makes the other person more apt to making mistakes, the sooner you can capitalize on them and find your opening to set the hook. Setting up these opportunities is critical and choosing the right grips can make this whole journey make a lot more sense.

For example, a pretty traditional grip in the gi is a cross-collar grip and the same side sleeve. This grip controls a side of the opponent’s upper body and sets up for a good amount of sweeping opportunities due to the lack of ability of posting out that arm. With that same grip, you can force reactions from the opponent by pulling or pushing any which way, and set up new grips or even launch attacks from there.

 An example of this can be using this specific grip to break the opponent’s posture and quickly release the sleeve grip. From there we can loop the cross-collar gripping arm around the head and use the released sleeve gripping hand to assist by passing their head deeper into the choke. From there, we reinforce the choke by applying pressure to the back or the head/neck to finish. Boom. Loop choke.

With the same grip set as above, we use the cross-collar grip with our closed guard to extend the opponent away from us. Usually when we force an opponent to do a particular thing, they naturally want to do the opposite. In this case the opponent begins to fight back by driving their weight back into us. As they do, we can release the cross-collar grip and re-grip at their inside tricep. With the same side sleeve grip, the tricep grip and the opponent forcing themselves in, we can set up perfectly for the arm drag by timing the opening of our guard and shrimping away as we guide them to our desired location. Having the opponent pulled to your previous location, you are no set up to start taking their back.

In a third example, we have the same grip set while standing. Similar to before we push the opponent backward to cause them to want to come forward. As they step in, we immediately release the cross-collar grip and shoot for a cross-side underhook. In the same timing we are stepping in towards the opponent and turning in towards their controlled arm while dropping to our knees beneath them. Their weight is forced up and forward and their base gets taken out by our body. They continue to fall forward with the unexpected Drop Seo Nage.

The list can go on and on with the possibilities, but the fact of the matter is that something as simple of choosing the right grips and understanding what you can do with them is where the success comes into play. Take time to experiment with grips and you’ll move more effortlessly in the heat of the moment. They can help build up a stronger game for competition or help you in your leisurely roll in the academy.

Each time you develop options off of a particular grip set, you begin to see how it can get countered. As you discover the counters, you can start to combine other grip sets together or use the counter as a bait for an attack. The same applies when you are defending or breaking grips, you have to respect them or they can and will cause your demise. Become an expert in your gripping patterns and you’ll be one step closer to controlling the roll.

Learning To Teach (Part 4)

This installment of Learning To Teach has come out of the recent events of a pandemic. The normal teaching methods used are not necessarily the most practical because of the need to communication through some kind of virtual software to the learner. It has been an interesting challenge to say the least, but I believe it is a crucial step in becoming a well-rounded teacher.

Think of it like this, what we normally do may cause us to become complacent. Complacency leads to the lack of detail and in turn, holes begin to develop in teaching methods. Now as bad as this could be for the coach, the student also begins to suffer. Now the focus of developing someone becomes lost because of the diminished quality of training. How do we prevent this from happening you might ask? The answer is quite simple; embracing change.

By embracing the change that comes your way, you are more likely to develop new ways to present the same material. The new looks can help influence the student to train harder since their lack of familiarity with the style of presentation can help them focus deeper and in turn, receive the training more effectively. The material does not have to change by any means, but the delivery method becomes a useful tool in make the same old material new again.

For example, recently I have taken the idea of those fundamental movements that most gyms do as warm ups and put them on display for a greater purpose. You see, after you start to learn moves like the forward roll, the hip escape, or even the shot, it tends to get a little boring if someone tries to tell you how to do these same moves as a solo drill. Now don't get me wrong, the repetitions are important for development and combining these movements into a flow drill is also very beneficial for developing that second nature mentality. What I'm trying to emphasize is that by taking these building blocks and showing the application and chaining of these movements together, one may develop a greater appreciation for the simple aspects of the art.

These deep dives into the foundational elements have been enjoyable for me to plan out how to teach and they have forced me to dig deeper at new approaches. I am very thankful to have the opportunity to adapt to the changes and see them more as just another obstacle to overcome. The understanding of these moves and their mechanics has certainly made me appreciate how they help in a live application.

Communication development when the voices are fewer and in the form of text has been another interesting development in my teaching style. The ability to be able to talk to a camera and imagine the viewer listening on the other end is super important for you to be able to deliver the material as it should be delivered. Even if no one is currently watching a live stream or the pre-recorded video, having your viewer(s) in mind helps create a better vibe for the future viewer to watch. Boring video, viewer closes out of the video. If you can hook the viewer with the raw passion of the art, you'll be more than half-way to a successful class/instruction.

Be aware of what your viewers are asking from you and keep those promises that you give them. Did you plan to post a video on a certain day? Follow through. Was a question asked about a topic that you couldn't answer on the spot? Find the answer and follow up with them. Are you giving your audience the opportunity to help shape the learning experience? Remind them that they can request anything that they want to know and see; they are your customer. If you aren't providing a product to your customers that they want, then what is the purpose? You may be the teacher, but without communicating with your students, it's harder to be an effective one.

Learning to work with what you have got, has been another big challenge. It has enforced the need for a grappling dummy, but makes me appreciate the time I get to spend with a physical partner much more. The make-shift dummies work great for awhile, but the effort you put into making them is the quality you'll have to work with. There have been countless live-streams where the dummy has a malfunction and the legs completely separate from the body. At a time like this the class can't just stop, so you have to learn to improvise when things don't go the way you expect them to. That's the beauty of teaching, you have to have a plan, but you have to have several back up plans to that plan; it is just like jiu jitsu.

Obviously the more you practice something and the more experience you get under your belt, the better you'll become at that craft. When your confidence boosts because you have the knowledge and wisdom to flow around those roadblocks, you get a greater sense of accomplishment out of the session. Remember that everyone has good days and bad days, even teachers. That's just the nature of an art form and life as a whole. By realizing that mistakes are going to happen along the way and accepting that, you are one step closer to becoming a better teacher or grappler or person.

Just take the trials and use them to shape your improvements. Each lesson you get is there for the purpose to fix those past mistakes and hopefully pass on that experience with others. Take your time to grow and the journey will be that much more enjoyable.