Hi. I'm new here. I'll try to post a pic of Bubba.

[bubbamaker]

Those are good questions, and I'll try to answer all of them. You buy Bubba from the Gracie Academy at Gracieacademy.com. He has a limited one year warranty. However, if you ever have problems with him, I can probably tell you how to fix him or you could send to me for surgery if necessary. I haven't had one returned for repairs yet.

Bubba is not a limp dummy. There is a lot of engineering that goes into him (as the picture shows). He can support a lot of his own body weight when he is standing which allows for throws and takedowns. He feels realistic in all ground positions, and his joints are very realistic. His arms (and legs) bend and straighten with some resistance. If you interlock his fingers, he will resist you getting too close to him. If you tie his hands after interlocking his fingers, he can give you one hell of a bearhug.

When he's in my guard, his body tends to be straight from the hip to the knee then bends at the knee.
When you put one of his knees up, the pressure at the hip makes that leg pretty straight. When I'm in his guard, I can either use him like he is or tie his ankles together with a belt for a tight guard (the closer the ankles are together, the tighter the guard will be). This is wonderful for passing a tight guard, for practicing ground and pound, etc. His belt is tied around him (not attached) just like a belt you would wear (I hope this is what you're asking).

I hope I've answered your questions. The feedback I get on Bubba is tremendous. Thursday, a guy called me. He received his Bubba that day, and he called just to thank me and tell me how much he liked it. He said it was even better than he thought it would be. I love this job.

[sabrutat]

If you only made a version of the Bubba for lonely drunk men in foreign lands then you'd have a billion dollar product


Cheers

Stef

[bubbamaker]

I'm afraid I'd have to add a few more body parts. I actually had a guy at one of Royce's seminars tell me that he'd buy a Bubba if it had the "right" parts. Very sick.

[GuardMaster]

Bubba

Thanks BubbaMaker for the quick and detailed response.
Do you have some sort of monthly payment plan for the dummy, as its too pricey for me to pay for in one shot?

Do you find from the buyers that they are much more productive with this dummy in practicing their skill work? I figure that 4 days a week practicing on bubba, and 3 classes a week practicing on real people will be a better learning experience for me that 5 classes a week on their own.

Reason: Skill is done through repetition, and with Bubba you have a slave at your convenience for hundreds of reps.

I'm very interested. Thanks for the response, and I'll check the link at the Gracie Academy.

GuardMaster

[bubbamaker]

No, we don't have a monthly payment plan. However, the academy does take credit cards. If you are good at paying off your credit card debt, this might be a good plan for you. Watch out for those high interest rates.

Bubba IS a big help. Like you said, repetition is very important.
Also, you can do things with Bubba that you can't do with a human training partner. You can put tremendous leverage into jointlocks, you can hold chokes as long as you want to strengthen your chokes, you can practice full-power punches, elbows, headbutts, heels to the kidney area (this is one of my favorites), and so forth.

[sabrutat]

"I actually had a guy at one of Royce's seminars tell me that he'd buy a Bubba if it had the "right" parts. Very sick."

Not that sick if you really think about it mate.

Cheers

Stef

[GuardMaster]

Bubba and flow drills

BubbaMaker:

One question that pop's to mind:

How do you get Bubba to work with flow drills?
For example, its not enough for me to try to choke my opponent, my opponent may then extend their arm and I'll armbar, or come and reverse the position into my triangle.

Is there a way to be able to quickly bend and Bubba's limbs so that I can practice a realistic flow drill.

My practice goes beyond moves in isolation. Its all flow. I'm wondering how to duplicate this with Bubba.

GuardMaster

[bubbamaker]

I think Bubba will do what you're wanting. Sometimes, you will need to put him in position to flow to the next technique (extend his arm, for example), and sometimes the opportunity just happens (as it would with a real opponent). You're only limited by your imagination.

[bubbamaker]

I like to practice techniques in a certain order sometimes, and I assume this is what you mean by flowing. I'll do a takedown or throw, get the crossmount and do 2 or three different chokes and armbars, mount and do the same thing, take his back and choke him. If you could give me some more examples, I'll give you my opinion of doing them on Bubba. Thanks.

[GuardMaster]

Bubba

Ok as for flowing examples.

Your in closed guard, you need to pass and go to crossbody. This requires bubba having his legs crossed at first, and then having them open, and then reacting to the crossbody position.

Here's a typical one. Bubba is on top and you have to sweep. His legs have to be in a certain stance. When you sweep perhaps you flow in counte sweeps as his posture changes to resist you. If it were as simple as sweeping a static position it would be fairly easy to stand bubba up. But if he has to keep changing his stance (to simulate a counter fighter) while you work countering those stances from the bottom, well how could you possibly get Bubba to keep on the move!

The trick is Bubba in motion. If he has to keep moving, well then you'd have to keep changing his stance manually, stopping what your doing and then trying to counter it. It doesn't work for flowing techniques very well as you can see.

Most flows i'm thinking of are related to guard, and passing guard. Getting bubba to act like a smart grappler consitently changes stances while you execute moves, well how would that be possible without you stopping each time to shape him!

[bubbamaker]

You can practice passing the guard without using a belt around the ankles, or you can tie with a half knot so the legs will come apart. You can sweep Bubba, and there is no telling how he might wind up. It's true that he won't think ahead and constantly counter what you are doing, but then he's only a white belt. However, it's not hard to position him for your next move. You seem to have already drawn your own conclusions, so it sounds like you'll miss out on the benefits of a great grappling dummy.

[GuardMaster]

Bubba on the move

I'm definitely interested in purchasing Bubba , don't get me wrong, and I think he's the best dummy on the market.

I'm just being picky because its a costly investment, and I'd like him to truly simulate a live partner. One reason is I can't constantly make it to class, and even if I could I don't get the necessary drill time to get some serious study in.

Bubba would be the perfect, at home, grappling opponent, where I can practice my techniques till I'm sick of them. Perhaps by me posing these questions we'll create a clearer picture of all the things bubba can do!

[bubbamaker]

That sounds good. By the way, I'm sending a Bubba to Beverly Hills tomorrow (the zip is actually 90210). He'll probably get his own TV show or marry a rich blonde. I hope he remembers who created him.

[GuardMaster]

Bubba playing BJJ

How good is Bubba at the open guard? What i'm asking is when on his back can he keep his legs up and open so I can practice passing the open guard, or will his legs fall and hit the ground ?

[bubbamaker]

Hello again Guardmaster. Bubba's legs will stay up as long as they are resting on my legs but will go to the ground if they are not resting on me (they won't stay glued to the me). I pass the guard a lot with him having an open guard. His legs are resting on my upper legs when I start. If I stand up, they usually stay with me. If they don't, I adjust them. When standing (and holding Bubba's Gi), I pinch the legs inward with my legs to control them and his feet will point outward like they are supposed to.