Starting First BJJ Class....

[NightOwl]

ah! First real class (non-introductory). it was like going to the chiropractor from Dante's 9th circle of hell...I'm looking forward to going back tomorrow!

I'm outwieghed by everyone by at least 60 pounds, so there's definately a good amount of resistance...I've heard though that it's a bit less cardio intensive once you know what you are doing...is that true? lol, I was paired off with a 200 lb BJJ purple belt (I weigh 130) and all I could do was curl up into as tight of a ball as possible and see how long I could last!

[ps1]

ah! First real class (non-introductory). it was like going to the chiropractor from Dante's 9th circle of hell...I'm looking forward to going back tomorrow!

I'm outwieghed by everyone by at least 60 pounds, so there's definately a good amount of resistance...I've heard though that it's a bit less cardio intensive once you know what you are doing...is that true? lol, I was paired off with a 200 lb BJJ purple belt (I weigh 130) and all I could do was curl up into as tight of a ball as possible and see how long I could last!

It's definitely true that once you know how to do stuff it's less intense from the cardio sense. That is, it becomes less of a sprint and more like a marathon. You'll learn to move super efficently and, therefore, be able to do it longer. It's great and I'm happy to hear you like it.

Congrats on member of the month by the way! Well deserved.

[bushido_man96]

I'm glad to hear that you had a good time at your first class! Keep us informed, and let us know what you learn as you go.

[NightOwl]

Class #3:

I was the newest guy there by 3 months, so I got trashed around a bit....

Worked on side guard and some shrimping and guard changing

first guy I went with had only practiced for 3 months, but outweighed me by 180lbs...

next guy was even smaller than me but had a year + experience under his belt ...yet was not as tough as the first simply because the matches ended faster (him winning of course). Ha ha, so after a month I REALLY hope another 'new guy' shows up.

Lessons learned:

Being big gives you an advantage

Don't extend your arms for too long

Shrimping is your friend

[Ottman]

Lessons learned:

Being big gives you an advantage

It may seem that way now, but those big guys will get easier to handle when you start getting more comfortable with your own style of grappling and start learning more techniques to deal with them.

Keep training!!

[ps1]

Lessons learned:

Being big gives you an advantage

Don't extend your arms for too long

Shrimping is your friend

Shrimping is your most bestest friend in the world. If you weren't aware of how important controling your own hips were before, you will now. The winner is almost always the person who keeps control of his opponents hips the best.

Avoid extending your arms if at all possible. It's usually just a bad idea. Try to look like a T-Rex when you grapple.

[baronbvp]

Try to look like a T-Rex when you grapple.

Now that's an image I can remember when I start training BJJ next month.

Shrimping is your most bestest friend in the world. If you weren't aware of how important controling your own hips were before, you will now. The winner is almost always the person who keeps control of his opponents hips the best.

What exactly is shrimping?

[Rainbow_Warrior]

store your ego in a trunk at home

Good Advice... I didn´t keep my ego at home when starting grappling , and now the poor ego is destroyed

[Ottman]

What exactly is shrimping?

Shrimping refers to the motion used to execute a hip escape.

It basically consists of bridging (while lying on your back) then rolling onto one shoulder and shoving your butt out as far as possible.

(You look like you're curled up like a shrimp when you're finished)

The purpose is to lift an opponent off the ground if he is on top of you and create space underneath. You then roll into that created space and get out from under your opponent (or try to) by pushing your butt (and therefore your hips) away from the opponent.

You'd then try to get back to your knees and eventually all the way up.

[baronbvp]

We used to do that in wrestling, but I don't think we called it that. Makes sense.

Like Rainbow Warrior, I expect that I, too, will need to leave my ego at home when I start training next month.