First goal: Grappling tournament in August

[kmk25II45]

Alright, I've been training MMA for about 3 months, mostly grappling and takedowns for an average of two hours total a week. However, there is a comp. in August that I'd like to take part in, so I'm going to ramp up training a bit for that. I asked my coach if I could do the advanced classes where this is more rolling involved and he agreed so I'll probably go up to doing 4-5 hours of grappling a week plus an hour or two of takedowns and some striking. I'll also weight train (I'm pretty good here, so mostly maintaining) and do cardio in that time (want to compete at 195 or less) and work on my flexibility (which sucks); I just made a thing to help me with stretching my legs (as in, do to the splits).

Thanks for reading :)

[vikesfankevin]

I will keep track of your log. Good luck! Let us know how it goes!

[kmk25II45]

Had an hour of grappling yesterday. Worked with a coach that only works on Monday; it's nice because he does things a little different than the usual coach. Anyway, we practiced escapes from side control (bridging up and sweeping, only works if the guy doesn't post well..results in having the opponent in side control, and shrimping and getting to full guard). Also practiced getting out from being on top in full guard (elbows to thighs and going over the leg, pulling the leg from behind and going over and going under).

There were 4 other people in class and the coach had us practice each of the positions against everyone else (see if we could get out in 30 seconds). The best guy taking the class who just go silver at a competition got out of side control and top of guard on me at will. On top, in a fight, I'd probably be best to try to immediately transition to full mount, or do a better job of locking up his neck and arm while keeping me knee up against his hip to prevent him from getting to guard, or see if I can get one of his shoulders up off the mat. He also got out of my full guard pretty easily; what I need to do there is to do a better job of controlling him with my legs. I need to pull him in more by moving my hips. If it could get him off balance and falling towards me, then I could potentially control his head which would make things much more difficult for him.

Also, had a little trouble getting out of top of full mount. My main problem was when someone got control of my head. I need to sit back on my heels and then do technique (should try pulling the foot more since I didn't try it much during the practice, usually went for elbows to thighs + trying to muscle it out). Another thing I need to do is do the techniques we get taught and not just struggle out or muscle out.

Also, I've been working with my new stretching apparatus and it's helping a lot..I even got some bruises from stretching so much :)

[kmk25II45]

Went today, was supposed to do two hours...had a great first hour of working on passing guard mostly and preventing someone else from passing guard...worked with one of the really good guys..however, I hurt my arm ..something which has happened quite a few times before in the grappling classes...my left bicep is really strained and sore. So I decided to pass on the 2nd hour and head home. It hurts like a biatch. I think it may be from me overusing my muscles in trying to get out of certain positions instead of thinking about or using good technique.

[kmk25II45]

Didn't go to Takedown class on Wednesday; my girlfriend is over at my house and I'm more focused on grappling classes right now.

Went to grappling class on Thursday; had a brain fart and showed up at 6 (time classes start on Tuesdays...they start at 5 on Thursdays) so I just did an hour of the advanced class. Interestingly enough, two of the other 3 guys there have less experience than me. Anyways, we learned knee bars from top of full guard and from top of half guard (spinning both ways). Was nice to learn a new sub but had trouble spinning around the leg for the knee bar from top full guard. I need to practice that a bunch more.

The last 20 minutes or so we spent rolling. I rolled with the two guys who have less experience than me. First guy I controlled the whole time (about 3-4 minutes) and was trying for an americana when he tapped from exhaustion. Next guy is a tall, muscular (not fat) former football player..although i think i might have a slight strength advantage. We started with him in my full guard and I immediately got his back and sunk in a body triangle and then the rear naked. We started again with him in my full guard and we transitioned a bit with mostly me in side control or full mounted. Tried americans and kimuras but couldn't get them ( need to work on this...perhaps set him up by pushing his arm the opposite way i want it so he compensates by countering the force and then I can get him to "help" me put the arm in the right place..also i should get it so that I can immediately secure the lock with my other hand once I grab his wrist). I got this neat neck crank thing but didn't quite have the energy to make him tap (and never had it done to me so wasn't even sure he'd tap if I did it all the way). Finally, after another transition I got him in a guillotine and got the tap.

Overall, it was a very nice confidence boost. I remained calm and was able to recall escapes and use good technique most of the time. I'm looking forward to getting tooled again by the elite members of my school so I can learn more though.

[kmk25II45]

had an hour of grappling today. We practiced kimuras, kimura defense, and then a counter to that kimura defense. The kimura defense was just pulling in your elbow and putting your hand flat on your stomach. The counter to that was to sweep the opponent onto his back and get the kimura there. We switched partners a few times and except for one guy, I'm much more powerful so my technique didn't matter as much as it should have (which sucks). There is another guy who is very strong though and I had to keep the elbow in (and I even grabbed my hand with my other hand once) to prevent the kimura.

Anyways, I'm not super happy with the day, I wish we learned some more defenses (oh, we also learned to front roll out of the kimura if they don't have their legs locked) because when the strong guy was dead set on continuing to go for the kimura, all I could manage to do was sit there and wait for him to run out of energy. Maybe I'll ask the other coach tomorrow about other defenses.

[kmk25II45]

On Tuesday:
Trained for two hours. Practiced arm bars from the bottom and counters (once they essentially have your arm). The counters were: stack + do some other sh*t, like put your other arm between the leg coming up and your face and you can wiggle that through...f*ck..i forgot. The most important part was quickly stacking though, lol. In the 2nd hour I did some uneventful rolling..no subs..I got too gassed. We started on our feet and I suck at takedowns.

Going again today. I think I may want to concentrate more on escapes and gaining favorable positions. It's very likely I wont be submitting a lot of people at the tourney so I want to make sure I don't get submitted and that I can gain good position and points on the other guy.

[kmk25II45]

Had grappling last night. We practiced arm bars and escaping them again. A different coach than last time and he offered a diff. technique..."holding the phone" and preventing the leg from coming up over your head. Seems every arm bar defense requires stacking and trying to keep the arm that's in, bent. Also, practiced turning the arm bar into a triangle if the guy defends it by 'holding the phone' .. although seemed like it wasn't all that easy to get the arm out (we were counting on the defender to pull it out voluntarily as he was still thinking about getting arm barred).

Got another practice tonight. I need to get a knee wrap thing cause my knee has a scab and I was bleeding on the mat a bit..also, i'm reading eddie bravo's book about the rubber guard and he uses them so they must work, lol.

[kmk25II45]

Last tuesday we covered some stuff to do in side control, was cool.
1. with the guys arm in front of you down by his waist, coach showed us a way to to a very weak arm bar on it..mostly just a control point..then posture up, put your knee on the other side of his head (so you're sitting on his head) and then kimura him. We also looked at counters (well, not really, some of us just did them to resist a little) such as gable gripping your own hand or lifting the knee to block the path of the kimura and counters to that (digging into the chest with elbow, smashing the arm down into mat to loosen it and then brining it back up).

2. If the guy tries to bring his arm back up, catching it for a kimura on the way up.

3. If the guy loops his arm wide and gets it back up, worked on getting a neck crank or head and arm choke.

Last Thursday, I brought up half guard to the coach and he went over some of Eddie Bravo's stuff (cool, since I just bought the rubber guard book). We went over lockdown and whip up and some other thing if the guy does a wizzer (sp?) when you try and get up. All was well until this guy that I usually roll with showed up late and coach basically let me try it on him....the guy was totally able to stop the whip up and I had a tough time getting anything done...Coach then stepped in and even he had a hard time getting this guy off...granted this guy is a former football player and big, but good technique wins 99% of the time so perhaps we weren't executing the technique very well.

Also, we sparred at the end of Thursdays practice. I sparred with the big guy. Previously I've owned him in sparring, but this time he got me. I tapped to a head and arm choke he locked in from the bottom (it was more of me being exhausted and unable to get out than an actual choke). He also got me in an arm bar (fuuuuuck). I got him back seconds later with a kimura though. We switched partners and I got a smaller guy. I kimurad him a few times (maybe an americana also), and controlled him easily. He does have very flexible shoulders though and I could've gotten him in 1 or 2 more kimuras but he was flexible enough to withstand/get out. I was on top, controlling and then, BAMN, he arm bars me. fuuuuuuu. Note from that night: I rock on kimuras but suck at defending arm bars. I need to start looking for other subs and I need to react quickly when someone is attempting an arm bar. Part of my problem was that I sort of think that I can rest while on top...that's not working out for me, lol...need to work on cardio more so being tired isn't so much an issue. Will do more cardio because I need to be in better shape for the tourney.

Anyways, that was a long log...got practice today...got a shock doctor mouth guard...got a pilates kit from sport mart..i need to get better at stretching and find a system that works for me.

[PrettyPinkDonut]

sounds good man, your class sounds structured a lot like mine drill-wise

oh and its called "amp" up training, lol

[PrettyPinkDonut]

oh and your going to want to shy away from standard bodybuilding lifting and cardio
use this website for structuring your workouts
http://www.fightauthority.com/martial-arts-topics/training-your-body/mma-strength-workout/

[kmk25II45]

oh and your going to want to shy away from standard bodybuilding lifting and cardio
use this website for structuring your workouts
http://www.fightauthority.com/martial-arts-topics/training-your-body/mma-strength-workout/

cool man, thanks for the link..i will check it out. Strength isn't so much an issue for me now as much as cardio and flexibility (i'm stiff as a f*ckin board..sucks)

[PrettyPinkDonut]

cool man, thanks for the link..i will check it out. Strength isn't so much an issue for me now as much as cardio and flexibility (i'm stiff as a f*ckin board..sucks)
if your training for a grappeling com...grappeling for 5x5minute rounds with multiple oppponents is one of the best workout you can do to improve your sport specific cardio and endurance

[kmk25II45]

Had an hour of grappling today..worked on reversals from guard...
1. grab right arm, twist hips, left leg up with shin high against the postured up opponent, other leg low, sweep and take mount.

2. hold the guy close with the elbow grip (don't know what its called) with one hand, hold his head down with other hand, then do a one legged bridge basically while pulling with your arm thats controlling his head to the side of the controlled arm....this is hard as ****..but it's easier with 3..

3. push the guys knee back with one leg and then sweep.

Also, today was cool too because I rolled with the best guy in my school and I got him to tap...i had a very weak choke but he was tired and it was the middle of class so he tapped to save his energy for later..still i'll take it...we then rolled and I kept trying for kimuras but couldn't get one. He controlled me the whole time pretty much which sucked. However at one point he tried an arm bar when i was in his guard and i stacked and got out (i got caught in two arm bars last practice so im happy im at least defending a little better now). I was about to puke when we finished rolling because I was so exhausted...i need more cardio, lol

[kmk25II45]

so..yesterday had 2 hours.

first hour: defending a guillotine in someone's guard. Grab wrist, chin to ribs, put arm over their back, "rocks", stack with shoulder to their face. Seems pretty effective at making the guy at least squirm enough to get out.

second hour: worked on pretty much on transitioning from a failed kimura to holding the opponents arm with one arm and going for a sweep..if they go up with you and prevent the sweep, slide arm around their neck as they posture up. Then you can go for a guillotine or cup their neck. From there you put them in "stocks" (not sure if thats what its called) basically have their neck under arm and do a gable grip with your hands. From there you can sweep. If the stop the sweep by holding their arm in (not sure how that does it), can grap their arm with the opposite arm, lift leg over their head, and do some sort of shoulder lock thing (lol). If this doesn't work, can also work in the omoplata(sp?).

[kmk25II45]

My school is taking a summer break this week, so no classes. I weighed myself the other day at the gym and was 205. The comp in August has a weight class at 195 and that is my target....so I got about 1.5 months to lose 10 lbs. Did 30 minutes of cardio the last two days and I went and bought some good food (chicken breast, thighs, lean cuisines) to assist in losing the weight. I'm also going to spend the week working on my stretching, i'm finally noticing some changes...can tell that I'm getting more flexible compared to where I was and very importantly, I'm getting used to the pain of stretching (it's just a different type of pain) and i'm able to relax and really do a much better job of getting in a good stretch. Anyways, if I could come close to splits by the comp, I'd be absolutely stoked.

[kmk25II45]

went back to class yesterday, there were 4 of us..2 new guys, me, and the best guy in the school. Naturally, I partnered up with the good guy and the 2 new guys went together...let's see if I can remember what we were taught..

1. Opponent has full mount..grab arm control on one side, bridge and gain top position.
2. Opponent has full mount..worked on a few different arm control techniques such as the one where you grab the tricep and hook their hand..worked very sh*ttily..lol..we were all slippery. There was one variation where instead of grabbing their tricep we grab our bicep and keep the opp's arm bent and it worked fairly well.
3. Grapes from top in full mount: he escaped at will..the other coach talked to me afterwards and suggested: 1. drive my hips forward into the guy more and we came to a consensus that it would work better as I get more flexible and can move my legs out more. When I was on bottom, I was trying to get both legs out instead of just getting one out so that I could bridge.
...hmm, don't remember what else we learned and I need to get back to work, lolz...have another 2 hours today. Also, i'm more committed to dropping down to 195 and ate very well yesterday and am starting today off very well also.

[kmk25II45]

Went to class last Thursday...i think we worked on some escapes from full mount...nothing much. Didn't do a 2nd hour because...well, we started bsing and the coach and another guy had a fight in a couple days and I figured I'd let them do that instead of forcing them to do the class.

didn't go yesterday, but going later today after work.

[kmk25II45]

Class today had me feeling like a pro for 95% of it and like a bum for the rest. First hour, 50 minutes, we went over stuff I've already done before (although, it was good to practice some of it again) .. mostly submissions from side control. actually, we went over a kimura from full mount also which was pretty cool (although it's probably rare).

Then I ended up rolling with the best guy in the class again. I was feeling confident in my side control defense so we started their...and motherf*ck held me down like it was nothing. Excluding submissions (which are hard to get from here), I have about 3 escapes that I know of, that I tried. Backdoor, brigde and roll, and shrimping...none of them worked on this guy. He used to wrestle and he knows how to keep his weight down where I want to move him. I need to A. learn how he's countering my escapes and B. learn how to counter his counters. Also probably wouldn't hurt to learn a few more escapes from side control..

Oh, also I was in his guard for a second and he got out and got on top of me like it was nothing....fffffuuuuuuuuuuu...pathetic.

On the plus side, I did use less energy because I was actively trying the moves I'd learned instead of just trying to brute force him off me (which wouldn't work anyway).

[kmk25II45]

First hour we worked on maintaining full mount.
1. If they push against your knee, grab above the elbow, lift and shove your knee further down their armpit.
2. If they push against your knee and your stomach in order to shrimp, lean down on them and move their head off-line, taking away their power.
3. if they put their arm against your stomach (like across), then grab and twist to move it all the way across your body. If they put to arms, go underneath them to shuck them off. Also can use your body to get their arms across by turning into them.
4. if they turn so they're on their shoulder, let them..doesn't help them and there are a bunch of things to do to them
5. if they bridge, "ride em"

In the second hour, we worked on a couple things. First thing was maintaining side control (I asked about this) and I got to work 1 on 1 with the coach. Basically just giving me some more very helpful pointers so I can try to keep people in my side control (there is 1 guy that gets out at will). It's mostly about feeling the way the guy is moving and posting to prevent getting rolled to either direction. Also, understanding what it takes to prevent certain escapes..being high up with leg posted out helps prevent bridging..although that may make it easier for him to backdoor escape.
We also worked on knee bars from half guard. They were pretty easy.

[kmk25II45]

Went to class last night, just an hour of class on Mondays.

1. Practice arm bars from full mount...yeah, i know, basic sh*t...but actually..i don't think i've ever been to a class where we've covered this, so it was okay to get it taught officially. actually, i thought i sucked at this because it's akward to get my leg over the guy's head in 1 move, but after practicing it a few times, I can tell i'm not that shabby at it.

2. An escapes from arm bar from full mount. To shrimp (so that it's like having my arm straight up instead of perpendicular) then continue and grab the guy's leg and put head up against it (hold the leg to prevent a triangle attempt), and get into side control.

3. Covered 2 types of arm bars from full guard. 1 which I knew already (grab arm, bring up same side leg over opp's head) and another which I haven't gone over before (grab arm, bring up opp side leg, need to keep palm up, hold wrist in with tricep). The 2nd one is a bitch and I doubt I'd try it unless it was practically given to me. Again, the defense is to bend the elbow and stack. I needed to practice the escapes and I got a few reps doing this in class which was great.

4. rolled a bit with the best guy in the class. Did better than I have in the past which was great...however, he did get me a couple times and i made some stupid decisions (got caught in arm bar from full mount at least once..even though we just covered that escape..it's a different thing entirely when it's happening for real). I definitely need to relax a little more when on bottom and not panic. At the same time, when chaining escape attempts I need to go fast and react quickly.

Got another two hours today, woot.

[neomage2021]

Is it a local tournament or somethign like grapplers quest or NAGA?

MY very first tournament was a local tourny 3 weeks after i started training I did okay taking 4th but was mostly clueless Second tyourny was grapplers quest las vegas. Greta comp adn i learned really quick that my gas tank was not good enough.

liek others said i found the best way to improve your grappling cardio is to do as mcuh rolling as you can with minimal breaks between rounds. Begginer tournaments usually have 4 minute macthes so i would say try to end class/right after class with 5 5 minute rounds. Keep doing this and once you get to the tournament. Single 4 minute matches will be no problem.


Good luck! Have fun