Fundamental question: Drill Wrong or Don't Drill?

[peidro223]

So I have a grappling dummy and I've generaly enjoyed working on it. My problem though, is that I feel like the only moves that I'm 100% confident I have down correctly are really the ones that I should be drilling the least. The real positions I want to drill over and over again when I come home frustrated from rolling are the ones I'm completely unfamiliar with. So my question is, is it better to drill a hole in your game but potentially do tons of reps slightly incorrectly because your not 100% comfortable or familiar with what your drilling, or to only drill stuff you have down pat but not really expand your game in any major way?
Thanks!

 

[King Creatine]

Based on the way you are responding to this, I assume you realize the potential danger of practicing the wrong thing the wrong way. I think there's some maxim out there saying: "Practice doesn't make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect." Something like that, at least.

I think drilling with a dummy sucks. Doesn't replicate a real person in any capacity. Personal opinion.

 

[Balto]

Practice seriously. Go slow at first and make your reps quality.

But you really can't wait until you are 100% comfortable to drill stuff. You'll never drill anything that way. Even black belts make changes to their basic techniques over time.

Try to be perfect, but remember it's just a theoretical goal. Don't let perfect be the enemy of good.

 

[BillyPilgrim]

I think the important thing is to drill slow at first and make sure you're detail oriented, not cutting corners. Even if your technique isn't perfect, the way you get in trouble is doing reps of a move for speed or whatever else and cutting the same corner every time, just going through the motions, then you "learn" the wrong technique. Do it slow and as perfect as you can, focusing on every grip, every hip shift, etc. and I think you'll do much more good than harm. I used to like to drill one particular move for a while and then hunt for it that day in practice. It really helps you appreciate why the specific details of a move are in place.

 

[ostapbjj]

Practice seriously. Go slow at first and make your reps quality.

But you really can't wait until you are 100% comfortable to drill stuff. You'll never drill anything that way. Even black belts make changes to their basic techniques over time.

Try to be perfect, but remember it's just a theoretical goal. Don't let perfect be the enemy of good.

I would agree with this. It is a tricky problem. As much a you can, use a dummy to explore positions and techniques (obviously not as good as with a partner) and get some good reps in.

At the end of the day all you techniques will be change over time. A lot of the stuff I drilled in the past I do completely differently now, but having the experience and understanding of those past techniques makes my jiu jitsu better.

Once you have a variation of a technique that you are convinced is better, drill that one instead.

 

[lhx58]

Well if you drill constantly you probs learn more faster any move. (okey this depends, people are different) But for me when i drill a lot even bad way you learn some usually transititions and you get faster, later on its has been easier to correct some moves and details. Those technigues what i havent drilled i am always like fish out water and its harder to learns those.

 

[tap nap or snap]

you'll figure out soon enough if the way you're drilling works on a resisting opponent, and you can adjust your drilling accordingly.

Just don't drill on the dummy if you could be training in class or with a parter instead.

 

[thewhiteSRR]

Drill Wrong

 

[Dirty Holt]

The only thing drilling BJJ ground positions on a dummy is good for is speed/muscle memory. Dummies are made for throws and takedowns, not intricate ground positions. You might get some benefit from drilling armbars from mount/knee on belly but thats about it.

 

[SuperSuperRambo]

I don't see how you can drill anything other than switching knee on belly with a dummy. Holt pretty much said it.

As to your question, it's fine to drill something that you don't have down 100%. That's how you get better at it. Just make sure you're not doing it sloppy and skipping important parts. But do it on an actual person before/after training.

 

[peidro223]

Everyone on here seems to have a really narrow view of the dummy. At the end of the day what works for me, works for me but there's certainly a ton more you can do with it than just side control or knee on belly like has been suggested.
Just in the few weeks I've had it, I've drilled back control finishes, back control escapes, knee shield passing, front headlock escapes (duckout, sucker drag, etc) and open guard passing.

It's definitely not ideal but when it's either that or not really drillin much at all, it's a life saver.

PS besides getting into an actual dummy debate thank you guys for all of the legitimate responses and help with my question.

 

[Waldorf]

I also think dummies are better for conditioning type of work, as opposed to working timing and feel.
As far as perfect practice, I think its okay to make mistakes while you're drilling, but the key is to be aware of the mistakes your making so you can make the corrections. So unless your drilling to develop speed specifically, don't go so fast you're not aware of where your loose. Having a good partner who can test you at specific points and give you good feedback. Ideally you you would have a coach watching who could give you feedback. That isn't always possible, but if you make effort to be aware of key points and just aren't pumping out reps it you will still get better. So even if you don't know every detail for the perfect arm bar, focusing on what to do know, say control posture, knees tight, on every rep will help you out.

 

[virtuoso]

The only thing drilling BJJ ground positions on a dummy is good for is speed/muscle memory. Dummies are made for throws and takedowns, not intricate ground positions. You might get some benefit from drilling armbars from mount/knee on belly but thats about it.

I completely agree. I drill two things on dummies and that's knee-on-belly/mount transitions and armlocks from knee-on-belly/mount. I have to say, I've really seen a huge improvement in my armlocks since I've been drilling them on the dummy and because armlocks are basically the same from any position, I've been getting good at armlocks from any position.

The way I first practiced was I made sure I did 200 reps really slow and focused on every single detail, making sure I was doing it correctly. Then I started to speed it up. The transitions are really good to work, but you just have to make sure you keep your feet up on your butt, because if they hang out a lot you'll get caught in half guard.

But, those are the only good uses I found for dummies, other than throws.