Stamina is so, so important in grappling. We are gearing up to a tourney next week, so my instructor upped the intensity to get us ready. After the technical portion of the class we rolled for 4 X 8 minute rounds with 45 seconds of rest in between. I thought I was getting in pretty good grappling shape but last night proved I still have a long way to go. My 4 partners last night consisted of 2 guys with judo backgrounds, one rugby player from New Zealand and a power lift I roll with a lot. The power lift is coming back from and injury so he is in worse shape than I am but he is still strong and out weighs me by 40-50 pounds. Technically, there wasn't a guy in the bunch that I felt was out of my reach. The first 3 rolls went well, I got the better of them some times, they got the better of me sometimes. By the time I got the 4 guy (one of the judo guys and probably the best fighter technically of the bunch), I was spent. I saw things coming but had no answer for them. Even basic things like getting up on a hip when the guy has you in side control were too much for me. It was frustrating. The good news is that the knee injury that has kept we from doing road work is gettting better and I should be able to run again within the week and if we keep up this intensity, I should have no problem come tournement time.
