Questions for the grapplers.

[Ghost]

This is for the likes of Tant01, Jubs, treehugger, jujujason etc.

1)First question is obvious, what is your style?

2)What got you into grappling in the first place and did you nearly end up taking something else instead?

3)Do you have a core set of techniques that are your favs and what are they?

4)Do you do any additional training outside of class and if so what? ie weights, running, any kind of functional training.

5)How do you feel about MMA, do you feel they have nailed their grappling game or do they look like they have some techniques and the rest is just fitness and raw power.

6)If you were to learn another system now, what would you choose?

[jubaji]

This is for the likes of Tant01, Jubs, treehugger, jujujason etc.

1)First question is obvious, what is your style?

I think you know.

2)What got you into grappling in the first place and did you nearly end up taking something else instead?

Oldest brother was a wrestler. Other older brother was a wrestler. Natural progression.

3)Do you have a core set of techniques that are your favs and what are they?

That's sort of a long story.

4)Do you do any additional training outside of class and if so what? ie weights, running, any kind of functional training.

Of course lifting, running, and I like to work out with friends of a variety of disciplines.

5)How do you feel about MMA, do you feel they have nailed their grappling game or do they look like they have some techniques and the rest is just fitness and raw power.

MMA is a specific context different from wrestling and I think the training and execution of that context is developing just as one would expect it to.

6)If you were to learn another system now, what would you choose?

MMA I reckon, and I dabble now and then (maybe once or twice a week on average), but I don't know that there's anything I haven't trained that I wouldn't like to give the time and opportunity.

[treelizard]

1. I train in BJJ, before that I did no-gi submission grappling/MMA.

2. I started with karate as a kid, then a lot of WSD, then some FMA with a sprinkling of silat/JKD, then switched into MMA along with no-gi and now BJJ. I switched to BJJ because I thought it would help me improve my technique. It seems to be working.

When I started trying it was with the idea of SD in mind, but now I train because I absolutely love it.

3. core techniques... It's just basic techniques for jits and mostly based on posture.

4. I do a lot of weight training, mostly with DBs at home now because I got this kick-ass DB set that is in 10# increments up to 100#. I used to do a bit of Olylifting but since I insist on going to the most expensive BJJ school in town I couldn't afford BJJ AND weight training. I follow the New Rules of Lifting workouts, mostly. I also have my med balls, pull-up bar, homemade rings, etc. I consider BJJ my metcon and the rest of what I do on my own is resistance training.

5. It depends on who's doing the MMA.

6. Probably Muay Thai.

[Bjjexpertise@be]

This is for the likes of Tant01, Jubs, treehugger, jujujason etc.

1)First question is obvious, what is your style?

2)What got you into grappling in the first place and did you nearly end up taking something else instead?

3)Do you have a core set of techniques that are your favs and what are they?

4)Do you do any additional training outside of class and if so what? ie weights, running, any kind of functional training.

5)How do you feel about MMA, do you feel they have nailed their grappling game or do they look like they have some techniques and the rest is just fitness and raw power.

6)If you were to learn another system now, what would you choose?

1) I do No-gi BJJ and Judo, started with a little bit of wrestling but never got too good at it. Going on to 2.5 years now for BJJ and almost a year with Judo.

2)When I was 13 my cousin and I were dabbling around with Martial Arts, mainly wingchun. Then he showed me a video of UFC 5 he recorded. Royce Gracie had a style that was different and unique and I definitely wanted to try it. On top of that supposedly "the ground neutralizes some weight and strength advantage" (think one of the announcers said that). They didn't have BJJ where I live since it's a fairly small town so I turned to wrestling. I did wrestling for 3 years before I ran into my friend. I saw him looking at BJJ books at Barnes and Noble and became friends with him. Turns out him and his friends trained and they were both blue belts.
Luckily for me, he was really technical and solidified my foundation in the basics.

3) Hmm I have a lot of favorite techniques and a lot of moves I go to. Just to name a few: Triangle (I got short legs but I seem to have a knack for securing it), Scissor sweep, armbar (in my opinion, this is the poster child move for jiujitsu, it's a perfect example of using your entire body weight against one limb), arm triangle series.

4) I run stadiums at my college's football stadium (FSU, go noles!) on the 2 days I don't have class. I do the BJJ and Judo classes back to back on MWF so I'm stuck there for 4 hours. That and Mike Brewer's pushup thing in the mornings.

5) I think some have definitely made a good transition from grappling to MMA. The grappling in MMA will be different since punching to the face is now a viable option to escape certain positions. I definitely think that some fighters need to work on their ground game though. I can't tell you how many times I watch a fighter on bottom halfguard just open his legs and let the guy pass.

6) If I were to learn another system right now it would be boxing. I LOVE boxing. If I weren't juggling school and Judo on top of my BJJ, I'd totally do boxing. It's amazing to me how boxers are so proficient with their hands and upper body in that they can dodge strikes flashing at them from a foot away.

[Tant01]

Missed it...

This is for the likes of Tant01, ...etc.

1)First question is obvious, what is your style?

2)What got you into grappling in the first place and did you nearly end up taking something else instead?

3)Do you have a core set of techniques that are your favs and what are they?

4)Do you do any additional training outside of class and if so what? ie weights, running, any kind of functional training.

5)How do you feel about MMA, do you feel they have nailed their grappling game or do they look like they have some techniques and the rest is just fitness and raw power.

6)If you were to learn another system now, what would you choose?

You ask too many questions!

1. Lets call my style Judo. (with an edge) You can call it "Tantojutsu".

2. Judo was an elective at my High school and Co-Ed! Nothing else was available. I lived too far out in the woods to participate in WRESTLING.

3. No. I like whatever FEELS right at the moment. I spent a lot of time working counter throws and "illegal" for competition techniques but I've had the best results (in the real world) with come alongs and chokes. Restraint techniques are better than outright destruction....So far.

4. Hardly ever. It's been years since I had anything like formal training. I don't really consider the local JKD/BJJ academy students worth mention. Most of my INFORMAL drills are solo "balistic" cutting practice for fun. I still like to climb rocks and teach a bit.

5. I get frustrated with the so called "professionals" in MMA competition. I don't consider myself a "FAN" per-sey but I like to watch. Few modern fighters actually impress me. I enjoy the good technical submissions more than the striking ko's. As impressive as some of them have been I'd rather see a guy tapping to a good leg lock or choke. than getting his teeth knocked out.

It just sucks to see a "blackbelt" struggle with a technique he should KNOW how to apply.

6. arnis-eskrima-silat

[treelizard]

No.

Here is another question.

If you were in a real combat survival fight, and not a sport fight as in MMA what would you do differently? And don't you agree that Kung Fu has alot to offer in this area?

.......

[jubaji]

Here is another question.

If you were in a real combat survival fight, and not a sport fight as in MMA what would you do differently? And don't you agree that Kung Fu has alot to offer in this area?

Or an even better question: If you just got your pathetic ass banned from the DL for repeating your LARPerific agenda over and over, why would you pull the same shit here?

[Tant01]

Here is another question.

If you were in a real combat survival fight, and not a sport fight as in MMA what would you do differently? And don't you agree that Kung Fu has alot to offer in this area?

NO! I think GUN-FU is the MOST REASONABLE AND REALISTIC option for THOSE situations...

[TTEscrima]

NO! I think GUN-FU is the MOST REASONABLE AND REALISTIC option for THOSE situations...

True, but when guns aren't an option the Army Green Beret's, Delta, Rangers and Combat Divers rely on the same thing the Force Recon Marines, Det-1 and The US Navy SEAL's do...Chinese Kung Fu. So while the MMA crowd crows the merits of their sport, the men who've been there done that have roundly rejected MMA methods outside the ring as suicidal when facing anything other than drunken fools. What did they request to replace the MMA with? YEP! the CMA options that have been proven to work for them.

[TigerClaw]

True, but when guns aren't an option the Army Green Beret's, Delta, Rangers and Combat Divers rely on the same thing the Force Recon Marines, Det-1 and The US Navy SEAL's do...Chinese Kung Fu. So while the MMA crowd crows the merits of their sport, the men who've been there done that have roundly rejected MMA methods outside the ring as suicidal when facing anything other than drunken fools. What did they request to replace the MMA with? YEP! the CMA options that have been proven to work for them.

Hey, very good post. I agree, CMA has been a viable option and should be.

[DJColdfusion]

1)First question is obvious, what is your style?

BJJ, Now a Black Belt Under Jeff Kunze and Ricardo "Ica" Medina (Rigan Machado Black Belts)

2)What got you into grappling in the first place and did you nearly end up taking something else instead?

Started wrestling as a kid. I have been involved in Martial Arts for 24 years . . . I've studied a wide range of systems and styles.

3)Do you have a core set of techniques that are your favs and what are they?

Of course. Favorites? Anything that keeps me from getting hurt.

4)Do you do any additional training outside of class and if so what? ie weights, running, any kind of functional training.

Judo as often as I can and general fitness (The good Lord knows I need it!) Have a few guys that are showing interest in doing Kali again but I really don't know if I want to lead a new group. I want to start Muay Thai again (absolutely love it) but I am concentrating on the PanAms in a few months and the World Seniors and Masters next summer in Brazil.

5)How do you feel about MMA, do you feel they have nailed their grappling game or do they look like they have some techniques and the rest is just fitness and raw power.?

Sometimes I like it. Sometimes I feel like its incredible. Sometimes I look at it and wonder WTF are these people doing in the cage? I have more problems with the attitudes they show when they come into my school and want to prove how tough they are. They typically don't last that long.

6)If you were to learn another system now, what would you choose?

100% honestly . . . Sambo. Love it. Love the transitions, the attacks, the attitude. It's an incredible martial art.

[Belatucadros]

This is for the likes of Tant01, Jubs, treehugger, jujujason etc.

1)First question is obvious, what is your style?

2)What got you into grappling in the first place and did you nearly end up taking something else instead?

3)Do you have a core set of techniques that are your favs and what are they?

4)Do you do any additional training outside of class and if so what? ie weights, running, any kind of functional training.

5)How do you feel about MMA, do you feel they have nailed their grappling game or do they look like they have some techniques and the rest is just fitness and raw power.

6)If you were to learn another system now, what would you choose?

1) All jiu jitsu, all the time! (Okay, some judo)

2) Absolutely...I took karate for a year or two as a kid. Bored me, took a ~8 year break, and signed up for jiu jitsu after finally growing a pair about training again (I had debated on and off for literally 3 years)

3) That's sort of hard to break down as I'd either feel like an idiot for leaving stuff out or end up with a list of most techniques! I can categorize. I'll do subs/takedowns/sweeps

Submissions

Even this should be broken down positionally, but my 3 all-time favourites:

Rear Naked Choke (Hadaka Jime)
Triangle Choke (Sankaku Jime)
Armbar (Juji Gatame)

Throws/Takedowns
Large / Small inner reap (Kouchi/Ouchi gari)
Double Leg Takedown (Morote Gari, but I prefer to shoot it like a wrestler)

Oh lord, I can't name the third...does it even have a judo term?

Basically a body lock takedown....to pick a side: duck under the right arm and get to the back, secure the body lock (hands clasped near his ribs on his left side), pull him backwards tripping him over your right leg.


Sweeps

Elevator Sweep
Scissor Sweep
'old school' (half guard sweep)

4) Just basic conditioning/GPP stuff (rosstraining.com is a good resource if you are just starting out)

5) This is really vague. Striking changes grappling so very, very much. Almost every single position changes. I think there are some very slick submission artists for MMA, dustin hazelett being the new up and comer

6) Do you mean, "if you could do it all over again, what would you take" or "now that you've done this, where to?"

to the first part - I wish I had wrestled in high school, then done some judo to get my gi experience/basic groundwork, then on to jiu jitsu, then maybe some sambo.

Me personally, considering the latter part...I'd like to focus on some wrestling.

[nogibjjgear]

I am new to nogi bjj so i don't really have a style yet and if i were to choose again i would still choose nogi. It is just so exciting to me.. I am looking to buy some nogi gear online so it would be of such a great help if you guys could suggest some place to get it from without getting scammed? I have actually found this site nogibjjgear they have really really cool stuff but idk.. Has anyone of you guys tried getting gear from them and had a good experience?