I've been doing muay thai for over a year now, and i've been thinking i'm getting pretty tough. I attended my first bjj lesson on saturday, and let me just say...wow. A guy the same weight as me was beating me like i was a child. He would do things like, "hold me down, don't let me up, punch me when you get a chance". 2 punches and 4 seconds later i was in an armbar, and had no idea how i got there. The entire day pretty much went like this. When he tought me what he was doing, i was amazed. Amazed at how a little shift in the hips when you're in guard can give you the reach to get a leg over someones head. I watched a few fights today and really paid attention to what they did on the ground. I have a new respect for this aspect of mma.
welcome to the club, brother. feel free to share your weekly bjj training stories and experiances with the crew. you are training bjj now, right?
I am. The classes are only in the mornings so right now i will just on saturdays. But my boss is pretty open to me putting in my hours when ever i feel like it, so i will probably start twice a week after i talk to the boss on monday. Damn am i excited about this shit.
yeah. i got pretty stoked about it when i started training bjj too. i train 3 times a week and im just itching for more.
the long road towards bjj has started.... 8-10 years from now you might be a color other than the ones in a rainbow.
My beginning in jiu-jitsu is similar to yours. Now, I consider myself a groundfighter with good standup, not the other way around...
Yeah, I remember feeling the same way back in 1995. I was pretty much raised with boxing. After watching a few UFC's and not understanding grappling, a friend took me to a class. I was pretty amazed at being held down, defenseless, and then being submitted. It really enlightened me and allowed me to appreciate what the Gracie's were doing as opposed to it seeming boring. The rest is history as I was "hooked" and have been training consistently ever since. Got into the tournaments, those were fun. Be advised that it is addicting, challenging and fun. Having fun with it is the main thing as it is a journey. Enjoy.
Welcome. I think many of us have had a similar experience. I rembember thinking that my muay thai was pretty good and my takedown defense was good so why grapple? A grappler invited me to spar, I could do whatever and he would strictly grapple. As we circled, I THOUGHT about throwing a jab or two (I had a reach advantage) and BAM! I was on the ground. Was on the ground he just played with me and I felt like a fish out of water. I soon joined the grappling class. I later found out that the grappler had cheated, not only did he train submission at my school but he was like a 3 time all-american wrestler at a D1 school (hence the unbelievable takedown).
good story and glad to hear you enjoyed it. i recently took a good friend to his first BJJ class. we rolled after the class and i tapped him about 5 times in as many minutes. he watches a lot of MMA so being tapped like that didn't frustrate him it intrigued...... he's totally stoked on BJJ now.
there is no right and wrong side, all complete each other, you want to be good you got to know it all
