Sparring with mad men!

[Rainbow_Warrior]

I am not an expert...so I wanna practice technique and no a brute force submision sparring. I am more built than many of my mates but I do not wanna rely on my strenght because the strenght is something I have , and a good technique is something I dont. If I wanna use massive strenght , I go to lift weights.

The problem is , that I have some pals who got desperated when I grab them , and they start pushing, twisting themselves and moving like mad monkeys.... And I am not good with a fast technique enought to stop them.

I can stop them in the same way they act , but I am triying to improve my technique... I do not wanna be another monkey and turn the sparring in sort of ape vs monkey fight....

[bushido_man96]

I think if you stay relaxed and continue to use your technique when rolling with these guys, you will begin to see the rewards. However, don't think that it is a bad thing to use your strength when you have to. After all, there are reasons for being strong, and that is one of them. Use your strength when you have to, and your technique when you can. It will provide a nice balance.

[ps1]

Many beginners face the same problem you're having. Honestly, the best bet is to aviod grappling them until they learn to settle down a little bit. Grapple with the more experienced people in class. They will be more relaxed and you will have more chance to work technique instead of strength. You'll learn alot more that way.

If that's not an option, keep the guys in your closed guard. It's kinda like taming a wild bronco. The first thing you need to do is get them in a corral. Then you can start working the techniques to tame them. It's the same with the guys your talking about. Keep them in closed guard and work your submission and sweep setups from there. Of course...that's always easier said than done.

By the way, do you practice gi or no-gi?

[Rainbow_Warrior]

I grapple with all my mates. We do a rotation clockwise , so we can face diferent tipes of sizes and skills... I roll with skilled and unskilled...

The problem of course ...is with the newbies like me ( or newer).

I keep them in a closed guard... I do that...And sometimes I can sweep them.... They slow down when tired....But some of them have an excelent air in their lungs

[bushido_man96]

These kinds of strategic battles are what make the fighting arts fun to do. Naturally, we all want to fight our fight, play our game. However, we don't always have that option, and we have to adapt our game to come through; something about best-laid plans...

At any rate, use this to help you with a part of your game that you don't like, don't do well, or don't care for, because you never know when you will have to use it.

[some0ne]

overcome the frustration and just keep at it, you'll eventually get better if you stick to your game plan. I used to get yelled at in BJJ a good 8 years ago because I was "too calm" and acted too experienced instead of going faster & rougher on my opponents. Kinda funny if you ask me because I was just trying to emulate my black belt instructors at the time.

[Rainbow_Warrior]

Ps1 : I practice without gi , cuz I do luta livre...its very much like bjj , but we dont encourage taking the rival to the guard from stand up ( ie : we are fighting in a tourney , and I take u to the guard from standing position , that is a point for the rival -is like him doing a takedown-. This martial art was made for valetudo in brasil or MMA, so even when punches are not allowed , the guard is seen as a dangerous position where you can be punched. Like bjj , luta livre came from judo ,and has a lot of freestyle wrestring and submision wrestring moves.

I think that gi work is good too , it permits to lock the other guy with the clothe , what I cant in no gi. But , my school is 100 % oriented toward mma and luta livre , we will never use gi ( BTW I would like to give it a try )

Someone : yes I know that you mean . I try to emulate my older mates , but if I dont have the technique , I cant de so well relaxed.

I can keep the guys in closed guard , that works very well cuz I squeeze them very hard ( and sometimes I tapped them using my arms to add power to my legs), I have a good pain resistance too , so I can hang long timeon when they push with the elbows to pass the guard.

But I am not a good sweeper....I need more speed. I am a VERY SLOW guy. I do not have explosion , I never had it.

[ps1]

Ps1 : I practice without gi , cuz I do luta livre...its very much like bjj

But I am not a good sweeper....I need more speed. I am a VERY SLOW guy. I do not have explosion , I never had it.

I asked about the gi because it's a much slower roll than no-gi. That allows for a more technical roll. With no-gi you have far fewer grips and the game moves much faster because of being more slippery (as you know).

Don't worry so much about the explosion. Remember, power will not win in the long run. You need to set up your opponent to give you what you want. Just keep letting your moves flow together. If you get passed or miss the sweep, figure out why and do it differently next time. You'll never get better if you don't try. Give it another six months or a year...you'll be amazed how much better you get just by feeling the movements better and learning more set ups.

[Rainbow_Warrior]

Yes.... I am starting to try technique , even when I get tapped... I dont care about ´´losing´´ the sparring , I preffer to learn . But some guys think that we are in a dead match , and dont try new things...They go like crazy with the moves that they handle....It is ok for a real fight or for tourney maybe , but we are learning here !.

Btw....I maul them when we practice thai box or just hands. Standed...I can go relaxed with success.... I hope that I could do the same in the floor in some time....

[bushido_man96]

I am sure that if you continue to work at it, everything will come to you in time. You seem to have a good attitude toward your practice sessions, so I think you are on your way.