SLC MMAExploring MMA and Jujitsu in Salt Lake City Utah

Play Around To Become A Better FighterFiled Under: Instruction

Note: My remarks were sparked by some thoughts given by Paul R Scheele in his incredible book, “PhotoReading“. If you’re into accelerated learning or speed-reading, check it out ASAP.

Also Note: This lion cub is totally submitting the other with the rear naked choke (mata leo choke, ten finger variation).  I’m totally going to make “grrrrrrr” noises next time I get this move.

Also Also Note: Fedor choked out Sylvia in the Affliction Banned event with this choke. You know, FYI.

Summary

Strict practice has it’s merit and place. Try incorporating playfulness to sparring or drills and being creative with your training methods. Keep your ego subdued – compete against opponents, train with friends, and have fun with a lifetime of martial arts.

The Human Animal

Man, as a species, is an unusual animal. We are the only animal that is not born with the innate knowledge of how to survive. When it comes to fighting, we may have the natural emotion and cause to fight, but we don’t intuitively know how to do it. Children have the inborn inclination to wrestle, but do so without technique.

This type of play-fighting is done by most hunting animals (lions, tigers, etc), and is an essential part of activating their abilities to stalk, strike, and kill. For humans it’s no different – playing is a big part of how we acquire skills.

Overcoming Ego

The biggest obstacle to becoming a better fighter is, quite simply, you. I’ve heard several UFC fighters say something like, “The gym I’m at is awesome. We leave our ego at the door, train hard, and help each other out.”  To me, this means that you don’t over push yourself. You don’t try to kill people by cranking your submissions.  In sparring, you tap out early and often. You don’t get competitive with your training partners. You don’t get angry after “losing”. You don’t get angry during practice.

Removing your ego means that you are in control of your emotions and body. If someone gives you a good training tip, no matter how advanced  you are, humbly consider it. If someone gives you un-helpful training advice,  don’t freak out and try to put them in their place. You resist the urge to help people just to show others how awesome you are ( I know this is hard). You let people learn at their own pace. You don’t force things.

Lion cubs have a natural sense of how hard to wrestle when playing.  Even though they are practicing biting throats out, they don’t get hurt. They let go and continue playing around. When training stops becoming fun and becomes a quest to satisfy a bruised ego (or fill a large hollow ego), it’s time to stop training.

Play Fighting

It’s fun to tussle with your friends.  For me, sparring is a place to activate techniques I’ve installed through focused, disciplined hard work. It’s not a time to try to “muscle in a technique”.  Ease up on the physical effort and see if your body mechanics are correct.

There is a time for boot camp drills, fighting for your life, competing and playing. Competition kills play, and it’s when training partners compete with their egos that people get injured.

Fighting Games

To get a boost in your training, play games that model elements of fighting.  Ideally, the fight games should be fun and have enough similarity to overlap so they can increase usable fighting skills.  I’ll mention only a few.

One of my favorite games is pseudo-sumo wrestling. You can have any rules you like, but I like these: you try to push your partner out of bounds or to touch the ground first with some body part other than the feet.   Start matches in a big arena and then shrink it down after each match. When it becomes too tough for two people up to stand up in the arena, game is over.  Be creative, emphasize learning. It is far more important to learn balance than to “win”.

Another “game” is to have one fighter punch some focus mitts held by another team member. While executing different combo’s, other 3-4 guys randomly whack the fighter with foam padded sticks. The fighter can block, parry or dodge them but he must continue throwing his striking combinations. Increase the speed and number of foam whacks until there is no way to evade all of them. The striker must learn to strike through the barrage and focus on his target.

Also, you can practice and play with your submission escapes by having one person completely sink in a submission or position on a relaxed opponent. Not tapping them out, but holding firmly, the relaxed person has to struggle to escape under the handicap. The “holder” doesn’t fight back but tries to retain the hold.

Explore Training Your Training With Creativity

Play with the moves you know – see how they work if your eyes are closed or if you can only use one hand. Try a submission from a new position – like an omoplata from mount.  Mix it up.  Over at Aesopian’s jujitsu blog, he has a article that embodies this kind of thinking called Rethinking Position.

Also, if you’re training with guys who have truly left their egos at the door, you’ve got an environment where you can learn new moves and tweak old ones.

For the formulaic, Paul Scheele (see note at top) discusses a mastery pattern called NOPS -Notice it, Own it, Play with it, and Stick with it.  If you get a chance, film yourself competing and sparring. Notice what punches land and ask your self why they hit. Figure out what submissions you pull off successfully and determine what factors made them work. Own your successes and really get into studying and performing them.  Mess with your success (Play with it) and keep practicing (Stick with it).

Epilogue

Have fun training. Enjoy what you do. I hope these ideas have sparked something in your brain to be a better fighter.

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Tags: Philosophy, training