Wednesday.  Gi Marathon Roll.  Except that yet again, hardly anyone shows up to roll with.  Its me, Andy, Shanna (finally) and Seph.  Seph is still on the shelf and there’s a bit of size difference between Shanna and the guys, so we instead work material.  Probably due to the wrestling class at night, Seph opts to work on double leg takedowns to start.  He wants us to get good enough at these that we can use them as a warmup drill, ala arm bars or triangles.  Well, to start we actually start with grip fighting.  This feels more natural to me.  Stay in a hybrid wrestling/judo stance til you get the grips, then you can come up.  First drill:  grab partner’s sleeve, then collar, he breaks sleeve, then collar and holds your sleeve.  Repeat.  Often.  Then onto grip fighting.  It felt pretty natural but is still something I could use a lot of work on.

Next up was the takedowns.  Same as the last time, take a deep penetrating step with lead leg, continue to that knee, grapevine their legs, other leg steps up 45 degrees ready to drive, lead leg steps out to the side, drive lead knee down.  Keep your head up the entire time.  When we had trouble with this, we worked on the move down the floor.  Slowly.  If you forget to lift the dragging foot, your big toe will bleed.  Remember this.  Then back we went to practicing.  It is feeling a little better, but still out of character.  Wonder how long it will take to work in.

From here, we went to sitting, with a partner on knees in base.  Work on pulling them in, so that they pull back.  Then swivel the lead leg behind you and put your forehead in their chest as you drive forward.  You can do the same thing to someone with one foot up or standing by working the ankle pick low and pushing them high.  The class ended with one person in the middle for five minutes, and the other three (including seph) take turns trying to pass the guard.  It was really helpful and showed how much farther my guard passing needs to come, as well as my open guard.  That wrapped up the beginning of the day.  I went home and fucking pigged out on food.  Not sure why I was so hungry.

7:00 rolls around and its time for James Torres wrestling seminar for $20.  Its amazing how much good instruction we have the chance to take for very cheap.  He began by just working our posture/position and a jab step.  From wrestling stance, just driving off the left foot and moving quickly with your right.  From here, we talked about sprawling.  Torres wants you to just sprawl straight down…not the usual sprawl I usually see.  Your hips almost hip in to stop their momentum.  Quick drill with a penetrating step, shot and then sprawl.

On to the double leg takedown.  First, James works extremely quick.  And I have found out that I do not.  At all.  Not with wrestling moves.  Not really with jiu jitsu moves.  Madden is a different story.  Any case, jab step almost 45 degrees to the right, left foot comes across the partner almost even or behind them, lock your hands under/around their ass, right foot plants to their left outside.  Drive.  Hard.  Luckily I had Dave as a partner and he really helped since I couldn’t follow a thing.  From here, we worked snapping the head down and going into the takedown.  Then a lower level takedown around the knees.  Say you snap their head, right jab step very close to their left foot, right hand hooks their right knee, left foot steps up parallel as you buckle their right knee, left hand grabs their right ankle as your left knee plants and your right leg swings around to behind you.  Down they go.  I might not ever understand what the fuck I just wrote…but its there.

Then to the single leg.  Same snap down, this time, snatch their front leg up and pinch between thighs with your hands locked.  (Side note:  Once hands are locked, they only unlock to lock another bodypart.)  To take them down here, just move.  Hard and often.  They are on “one fucking leg.”  Or you can bring the leg up higher to the ankle lock position and then take them down.  We worked the defense of whizzering the arm of the leg thats up, clasping underneath, swiveling the leg to the outside, pull elbow and stomp.  Simple.  That I can do.

We finished with some work on snapping the head down.  James says you are “trying to bounce the other guy’s forehead off the mat.”  Two ways are either a tricep grip and clubbing the head, then stepping back and snapping.  This makes an easy corner to turn and gives the back…or snap the head while the other hand frames their chin to prevent escape.  Elongate the neck by pulling and put them down.

James was very good at conveying the similarities between wrestling and BJJ in that every movement must be made with the intention of completing it.  You don’t half ass something to draw them into a counter, or you might just fuck yourself.  It is definitely a game of reaction and timing.  I learned a lot, and the seminar made me want to hit up wrestling class at least once or twice a month.  Okay, I’ve done enough and written enough to earn my sleep so I can be ready to go tomorrow.

This post will cover the last two days of class.  First was Wednesday, the gi class.  It was supposed to be a marathon roll, but only Will and I showed up.  A common theme this week, since it happened again on Thursday.  Anyway, instead of the marathon roll, we worked on de la riva guard.  Well, we advanced to that.  To start, we just worked from feet in hips, and lapel/sleeve grips and transitioning to a very simple sweep.  Left hand grabs the ankle, feet push you so that you can be on your side, and you sweep their far ankle with your right leg.  It can also be done in no-gi, but you won’t have the ability to let their momentum pull you up.

Next, we moved into actually getting your dlr hooks from the having both sleeves and feet in hips.  Its very simple.  Let go of their sleeve with your right hand and crossgrip their right hand.  Left foot hooks inside their knee to pull you close enough to grab their right ankle with your left hand.  Use your right foot to press and lift your hips into position so that your left leg can go around their right thigh and under.  Right foot now slides down to press their left knee out.  Done.  Now you can work sweeps/single leg takedowns.

The simplest is to just scoot your hips back a bit and sit up.  Keep your head up!  Right hand passes their right sleeve under their leg to your other hand.  Now your right hand can grab their lapel to control posture.  Now stand up.  You can also try to get their other hand fed under their leg, if they start to push on your far hook.  If they try to step back, block it with your left leg.  All of the sweeps that we learned the day before can also be used here.

We worked on this for a while, then drilled some starting from dlr guard.  It felt pretty good.  My next step is to figure out when I can flow into this.  I feel like when my opponent stands in guard, I should be able to flow into one of these guards…

Thursday’s no gi class was fucking awesome.  We worked wrestling skills.  I have none of these.  I have never taken a wrestling class and mostly suck on my feet except for the occasional sweep.  Seph is very aware of this, so we first we just did some hand fighting.  If they catch your wrist, you take it back.  If they club you, you push it over and move on.  First I wasn’t staying low enough.  Then my standard kung fu stance was much too sideways.  I was constantly leaving my lead leg out way too far.  By the end, I fixed this slightly.  But I will need to constantly keep this in mind.

Then we moved on to a double leg takedown.  Some simple steps:  1.  Make sure you are within a bent arm’s reach of your opponent.  2.  Lead leg (usually my right) takes a big step.  Go as far as you can still control, you want to make them back up since usually they will be moving back anyway.  3.  Continue on to that front knee, while grapevining their legs.  KEEP YOUR HEAD UP!  4.  Back leg comes up to a 45 degree angle.  5.  Buckle their knee that is farther from you.  6.  Pick up lead leg and plant near their far leg.  7.  Drive your lead knee into the ground and your shoulder into their belly.  You should be in side control.  I will be practicing this series often by myself until these steps seem simple.

After what seemed forever, we moved on to wrestling at normal speed.  Quang showed up a little late and was drilling with us so we were able to rotate who was in.  I felt incredibly lost against Will, and only dominated Quang due to a large height, weight and reach advantage.  I really need work on this.  We followed it up with a few rounds of sparring, where I felt alright.  I will try to post some Youtube of double leg takedowns if I find any that fit the style I learned.

Was machst du, wenn die Halle gesperrt ist oder das Training wegen Feiertagen ausfällt. Oder du dich verletzt hast und deswegen nicht aktiv auf die Matte kannst? Oder du einfach zusätzlichen Input und neue Anregungen suchst oder bestimmte Techniken noch einmal nacharbeiten willst? Wie wäre es mal mit einer kleinen Theorieeinheit?

Um es gleich vorweg zu nehmen: Der 100fach zitierte Satz, dass man einen Kampfsport nicht aus einem Buch (auch nicht dem besten) lernen kann, hat seine Berechtigung. In unserem schönen Sport gibt es jede Menge Theoretiker, die sämtliche Bereiche stundenlang mit dir diskutieren können. Hier gilt Eines: walkers walk and talkers talk. Wenn also Einer anfängt dir etwas zu erzählen, ist es meistens sinnvoll dir die Ohren zuzuhalten und schreiend davon zu laufen. Das Zuhören ist nämlich meistens Zeitverschwendung. Es sei denn, du bist einmal ein Stück mit ihm gegangen und weißt, dass er walkt wie er talkt

Das nur am Rande um zu betonen, dass bloße Theorie mit wenig oder keiner praktischen Anwendung in etwa so viel wert ist, wie das ganze Grünfutter nachdem es durch einen Paarhufer gelaufen ist. Als Ergänzung und Vertiefung ist die Theorie jedoch ein sehr wertvolles Mittel um besser zu werden. Als Trainer ist sie ein MUSS aber auch der “normale” Sportler kann enorm davon profitieren.

Nach dem ganzen Vorgeplänkel will ich dir an dieser Stelle immer mal wieder ein paar Bücher oder Videos vorstellen, die mir persönlich gut gefallen. In Zukunft halte ich die Einleitung auch kürzer

Jetzt also zu “Wrestling for Fighting” von Randy “The Natural” Couture, seines Zeichens UFC-Legende und einer der ganz Großen.

Das Buch ist ein typisches Krauss-Cordoza in der heute, für gute Kampfsportbücher üblichen, guten Aufmachung. Die ersten paar Seiten umfassen eine Kurzbiographie des Helden. Die einzelnen Kapitel haben eine ausführliche Einleitung. Die einzelnen Techniken werden erst in einem Kurztext beschrieben und dann in farbigen Bildern als Abfolge mit Beschreibung, aus meistens 2 bis 3 verschiedenen Blickwinkeln dargestellt.

Das Couture-Buch ist in folgende Kapitel unterteilt:

• Teil 1: Wrestling (Freistil)

• Wrestling Introduction
• Four Basic Wrestling Takedowns
• Finishing the high Single
• Tie-Ups
• Sprawling
• Single-Leg Defense

• Teil 2: Greco (Griechisch-Römisch)

• Greco Introduction
• Basic Pummeling
• Basic Greco Takedowns
• Arm Drags
• Advanced Greco Takedowns
• Defensive Techniques for Greco

• Teil 3: Wrestling for Fighting

• Wrestling for Fighting Intro
• Strikes to Double-Leg
• Closing the Distance
• The Clinch
• Cage Tactics
• Ground Tactics
• Submissions

Sprache ist natürlich mal wieder Englisch. Hat aber sehr viele Bilder Umfang: 213 Seiten.

Als gelernter Ringer geht Mr. Couture kaum auf Submissions ein, für Takedowns ist das Buch aber eine wahre Goldgrube. Es hat natürlich den üblichen Büchernachteil, dass die Dynamik der Bewegungen nicht richtig rübergebracht werden kann. Abgesehen davon steckt es aber voller Anregungen und interessanter Details.

Viel Spaß beim Lesen.

Ok, ihr trainiert also jeden Freitag beim Budokan Bad Rappenau Luta Livre?! Ihr scheint ja von der Sache ziemlich begeistert zu sein und jede Menge Spaß zu haben, aber was macht ihr da eigentlich genau?

- Mit zwei Sätzen lässt sich das nicht beschreiben. Mein Vorschlag: Die 3 “k”, kommen, Kucken, kämpfen. Oder die 3 “t”, teilnehmen, trainieren, tierisch viel Spaß haben Warte, warte, warte, einen hab ich noch, die 3 “b”, beginnen, besonderes erleben, begeistert sein. Doch genug der Wortakrobatik, kommen wir zur Sache. Was geht aaaab? Hier ein paar Eindrücke in Wort und Bild.

Der Pilger und Rojhaz im Clinch. Neutrale Position, keiner ist im Vorteil.

Der Pilger springt in die Guard.

Dreht noch in der Luft die Hüfte und landet in der richtigen Position für einen Armbar.

Oder Rojhaz ist schneller und springt direkt in den Armbar.

Selbst wenn sich der Pilger auf den Beinen halten kann, hilft ihm das nicht wirklich. Ihm gehen nur 3 Dinge durch den Kopf und zwar in folgender Reihenfolge: Mist – Aua – besser tapen.

Ziemlich blöde Situation. Dein Gegner liegt vor dir auf dem Boden, du bist oben auf und trotzdem verlierst du. Die Technik ist super wenn sie klappt. Klar, das müssen wir noch aus einem anderen Winkel sehen.

Nächste Technik: Schnelles Absenken des Schwerpunktes und Ansatz Double Leg Takedown.

Von unten arbeitet man sich in die Sidemount vor. In dem Fall ist der Arm des Gegners rechts von unserem Kopf. Wir sichern die Position und heben das Schulterblatt an.

Eng übersteigen und Abschluss Armbar.

Sollte der Arm des Gegners links von uns sein, schreit das nach einem Sidechoke. Wir holen uns also die Position und wollen gleich die Submission ansetzen, müssen vorher aber noch die Seite wechseln.

Eine Möglichkeit ist das enge Übersteigen. Spektakulärer ist aber diese Variante

Hier sind wir wieder im engen Clinch. Allerdings sind die Beine spiegelbildlich positioniert.

Für den Takedown bietet sich hier der High Single an.

Zum Schluss noch ein netter Beinhebel.

So viel erstmal für heute. Mehr, wenn wir uns wieder sehen. Ihr müsst unbedingt schauen wie es weitergeht:-)

Luta Livre – Wettkampf, Fitness und Selbstverteidigung mit Spaßgarantie !!!

This was a take down We used to drill over and over:Mr Devin Willis would

Here’s a nice step-by-step illustration. on  Lockflow.com This was a take down We used to drill over and over:Mr Devin Willis would 

 STEP 2 they talk about changing elevation, or more commonly known as a level change. Very important – Bend at the knees, not your back. And dont lead with your face. His posture is excellent.

However, take a look at his right leg. That forward step should actually as deep between his opponents legs as possible. More on this in step 3.

STEP 3 shows your position as you make contact. Kale has his left hand behind the knee, and the right hand is around his partners waist. This is text book positioning. BUT…

Remember my comment about taking that big step as far as possible between your opponents legs? Here’s why…

If you step deeply between the legs when you make contact you will unbalance your opponent, making the takedown easier. The initial “bump” is very important. And when you make contact, you should still be driving forward.

In STEPS 4 and 5 , Kale completes the shoot by continuing to bring the left foot foward and turning the corner (STEP 5). And as you can see, in STEP 6 the takedown is complete.

In STEP 5 Kale could have done a pick up and slam, but that requires more power than turning the corner. I personally prefer turning the corner rather then a pick up.

 Also  make  penetration into a  leg as well. If it falls short is when we worry about stepping around with the outside leg for a hook to take him backwards or a base to dump him sideways. A good, deep step initially will make everything a lot easier

Devin believed  wrestler cannot run as fast or move as fast on his knees, butt, back, sides etc. as he can while he is on his feet. Shooting takedowns and staying on your knees will stop your motion. he was not saying you should not shoot to your knees. However, don’t stay there if you cannot finish quickly while there. Learn to hit on the knee and get off of it quickly or work on your takedown technique by not going to your knees. We found we had more success by not allowing our wrestlers to go to their knees on double leg and single leg takedowns. Their technique for the setups and penetration was much better by doing this. We did allow them to go to their knees while doing fireman’s carries.  see- TheMat.com