First grappling tournament, and why cardio is important.

Just had my first tournament on saturday and learned something I already knew but in a harsher way. Cardio is key. I have 1 month experience and was going with a guy who has a year or so. I will be the first to say im in crap shape but im working on it and this was a learning experience. I noticed after the match that I only needed to hang on for 4 seconds and I would have won. ( I think, by points). Pick me apart please,

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cardio is big, but even more important is conserving energy. good job competing so early in your training though!

 

Thanks. Ya I felt I did a half decent job reversing him when he swept me but I definetly gassed out harder then ever. Maybe the excitement, maybe the 4 hr wait to compete I dunno. I had a great time though and I definetly know what to do for the future. How would you score that?

 

you're cardio suffered because you did alot more work then you had to from certain positions

 

over excited and under experienced. I just cant wait to get back to the gym and start learning more and working harder.

*edit* Im gonna look back at this in 5 months or so and see how I have improved. *edit*

 

It depends on the type of tournament. many use different point systems.

What I can say is that you were definitely ahead any way you look at it. if you came up to your knees that sloppy armbar wouldn't have been an issue.


You looked like the more experienced grappler here no doubt. everyone makes mistakes when they first start. learn from it and next time kick ass

 

i've definately found the key to being energized is not in how much cardio you do but in how well you relax... when i started i was nuts on cardio and strength training and i'd gas all the time, now i havn't done anything outside of grappling (just started yoga) in months and my tank never runs low

 

Good job man. Yeah, I have pretty good cardio and I have gassed when competing too. The wait is sometimes more draining than the match.

 

I have shit cardio. I smoke 20 smokes a day. and i drink like a fish.

I am goin ginto my first tourny in 21 days lol.

im banikng on my experinece of being in alot fo street fights to deal with nerves.

and my obsession with flying triangles.


i will porobaly get killed, then take cardio seriously, but then again i could be the ricardo mayorga of BJJ.

WAR nictoine!

 

I just watched the video. you did very well bro. thats BJJ man one slip and your done. you did very well you basically dominated the whole match.

anyone can get caught bro.

 

It won't matter how good your cardio is if you don't learn how to relax. Once the way you breathe in and out is not correct the whole thing can become a disaster.

 

Where was this tournament held? It looks like someones basement...

 

Cardio is KING in No-Gi. How many good grapplers have you seen gas and loose to a lesser opponent?

As for conserving energy, to me that mind set will get you killed. While conserving energy you get tapped. Push the fight. The aggressor wins in No-Gi. I wouldn't say to conserve energy, I would say you should know when to go balls out with it though.

I'm assuming that you take BJJ. Most people on this board do. I have a feeling most BJJ players don't understand grappling conditioning. It's not like regular body conditioning. You need to press your body and your heart. With a Gi you don't need nearly as much cardio (but I'm sure it helps).

If you run on the tread mill or ride the bike for hours that's not grappling cardio. As you know in BJJ, SAMBO, catch, Greco-Roman, etc. you are trying to move an opponent against his own weight/strength very often. This takes ALOT of effort from you. On top of that you have to move your own body weight. Even getting you up off the mat is a chore for your heart. For Big Jamokes like you and me it takes even more work for the heart when we exert force.

The type of traing you need to do is resistence cardio training.
Carry bags of sand while running stairs. Hold the bag in front of you, throw it over your shoulder, carry it on your head or back. Mix it up as you run.
Do cardio deadlifts or cardio squats. Lighter weight, explosive movements, much higher reps.
Jump rope with or with out a weight vest. Definatley one of the best.
Sprints with the small parachute tied around your waist (avalable at large sporting goods stores).
Tie a tire around your waist and run up a hill. Pick the tire up at the top and run down the hill. Immediatley drop the tire and run up the hill again, Pick up the tire and run it down the hill. Repeat this until you throw up. Wipe your mouth then drop the tire and keep going.

Have fun!

 

You seem to have some good ideas regarding BJJ training. Is this the type of stuff you do? And if so, do you have any other options for people who don't have their own property and don't want the local dog walkers at the park looking at you like a maniac?

To the OP, I thing there is a thread here in the Grappling Forum on "how to stall" in a match. It's not something I endorse as such, but you clearly dominated 4/5ths of that match, and probably didn't deserve to lose. Just a thought.

 

Well, I don't know about BJJ training, I only know about grappling training and what it takes.
As for not owning property or being looked at funny. I look at these kind of things as excuses to not train. There are all kinds of training methods. Just be creative or look on the internet for ideas.

 

he did things with no direction, it is ultimately pointless to push the pace if you are going nowhere with it. you need to control the pace of the fight to your liking, and not waste your own energy on needless movements that only serve to create a needless scramble or pointless waste of energy.

 

The tournament was held at Marmacs athletics in Truro, Nova Scotia. It actually is the basement of the building it's in. They have some good fighters and grapplers there. The fella in the red shirt is Jason Mackay, 8-0, local champ.

Nice gym, but the mat space was very narrow. I was here and it was a really good tournament, huge beginner divisions, and alot of really good matches with some of the newer guys.

 

i know what you mean bro. i recently had my first tourney as well. i have only had a few bjj classes (4) and entered into a no-gi tourney. i couldnt believe how tired i was just from working for takedowns. i got caught in an arm triangle 4 mins in

 

Im pretty sure that was one of the first things I forgot, was how to breathe lol

 

Your technique should always come first, and then you work on things like weight training and cardio workouts.