What are your 10 Grappling fundamentals?

[Calibur]

If you were to start training someone who was completely raw, what would be the first things you teach them? When I say that I mean mindset, strategy, as well as techniques. Mine?

1. The "leave your ego at the door" thing that everyone likes to quote.

2. What the tap out is, and all the ways to do it.

3. Breakfalls (its scary how many people dont practice these)

4. Shrimping (they will be doing this the rest of their grappling life)

5. The cross knee guard pass. (again, basic)

6. A proper guillotine.

7. "Dont turn on your stomach unless you got a plan"

8. A proper RNC

9. A kimura (chains with the guillotine)

10. And the triangle choke (I think the highest percentge sub among novices next to RNCs)



When I see new people begin, I usually see the instructors teach them armbars, their drills and variations, but after doing this for a few years I wonder why. It is probably one of the more complicated techniques outside of spider guard and half guard, and it is low percentage in my opinion.

What is your list? What would you change?

 

[Murdoch]

i'd find some room in there for proper posture. lot of people forget about it.

 

[batman69]

yeah, i would stick to more basics of passing the guard and sweeps till they were down cold before i worry about submissions.

 

[Calibur]

yeah, i would stick to more basics of passing the guard and sweeps till they were down cold before i worry about submissions.

Everyone says that, but how many people would stick around if they just practiced sweeps.

I would teach children only sweeps and guard passes and worry about subs months later, but we all know grappling/BJJ is a combat sport.

How long was it before you were taught your first sub? How long before you are taught to do a throw in Judo?

 

[triso]

Everyone says that, but how many people would stick around if they just practiced sweeps.

Exactly, especially new people to grappling, if all they are doing is positioning and guard passing, they are not going to want to stick around.

That's just the way it is, subs are the exciting part of submission fighting, there is nothing wrong with teaching them to beginners. The newbs will eventually figure out that they need to work more on setups and positioning.

 

[Calibur]

Now, I am not saying that understanding posture and sweeps arent as important as knowing a gulliotine even though thats what my list implied.

These are just the 10 things I would teach first. On second thought I would omitt one of them for posture.

 

[krellik]

Introducing someone to groundbased fighting 101 from my perspective.

1. Go over all the possitions, their names (so they understand what you talk about when you instruct them, so they understand their teamates, etc) and their basic functions, in other words in this possition you are unwise to try and do something offensive, before you do that you have to pass his guard, here we come to sidemount this is a more offensive possition, and so on..

2. While doing that you give them a few vital pointers regarding posture etc.

3. Explain to them the protocoll of the tap.

4. Give them one guardpass that you find is basic and effective, let them try it out on eachother and then have them do the "pass the guard" drill. In other words they start out in eachothers guard, let them do free positional sparring without subs where they try and use this guard pass they have been taught in "live sparing" as soon as they have managed to pass the guard, they change place and start over. This gives them some feeling for passing guard and eases them into free rolling.

4. Teach them one escape you find effective, drill it, let them try it out in some form of more "alive" drill.

5. Teach one simple basic sub, repeat the instructions regarding the tap. Let them drill it.

6. If time permits let them do some free rolling, have some feeling for if they should only do "possitional ground fighting" (as in without subs, only try and advance possiton) or if you allow them to try with subs to.

That is how I try and do it with newbies.

 

[tudor_bjj]

The importance of:
1. Ground fighting (I have a very good example for my new students. I show them the mount and I ask them if they can show me a similar position when fighting from standing. I tell them that the only similar postion would be tying up a guy's hands with ropes and putting him in the corner of the walls, but in that situation you will stil not have the same weight control over him)
2. Positions and the concept of improving positions related to "real" fighting.
3. Control and the damaged that can be done from a position when you got control (eg. maintaining mount and doing damage with punches - including hammer fist and elbows).
4. Leverage.
5. Takedowns and how a good takedown and a similar sidecontrol can end a fight either BJJ comp, MMA comp or self-defense

Then practicing:

6. Self defense techniques from standing and takedowns..
7. Escapes from the ground (get up safely when confronted with a guy that's standing in front of you, escaping from mount, escaping headlocks etc.)
8. Escapes from submissions.
9. Sweeps.
10. Submissions

 

[Shadowdean]

1) Positin, Position, Position
2) Establish control
3) Limbs kept close to the body
4) KNow how to tap, know when to tap.
5) No Ego
6) Technique over muscle
7) KNow what positions each escape puts you in, know the benefits and negatives of each submission
8) Conditioning!!
9) Establish position!

 

[Bama Zulu]

The importance of moving your hips.

 

[Balto]

When I see new people begin, I usually see the instructors teach them armbars, their drills and variations, but after doing this for a few years I wonder why. It is probably one of the more complicated techniques outside of spider guard and half guard, and it is low percentage in my opinion.

I think the reason a lot of instructors teach armbars early on is because advanced BJJ guys seem to favor them more than any other basic submission. The armbar is my own personal favorite sub (not that I am advanced or anything), and I have found through experience that if I don't teach it to new people very soon, they feel a little cheated.

Since I am mainly subbing them with armbars but I haven't really taught them in detail what it is, they feel like I'm holding back some sort of secret technique. I usually just teach the armbar right off the bat so they at least feel like they know what it is, even if they can't actually pull it off in rolling.

That's probably also the reason that very simple submissions like guillotines and kimuras aren't drilled as much. Advanced grapplers don't use them as much because they either require significant strength or are easily countered by skilled fighters. The more finesse submissions like armbars work better against skilled opponents, so perhaps the reasoning is to get the newbies started on them early so that it won't take quite so long for them to become proficient.

 

[RetiredWisFighter]

#1-10 are all the same: Flow with the go

 

[Tom Hishon]

1. Position before submission
2. leave your ego at home
3. keep it tight, two in two out
4. don't spaz on training partners
5. triple attack approach to offense
6. always look for offensive opportunity
7. don't beat on weaker or newer training partners
8. help other students learn
9. focus at least 35-40% of your time on takedowns and takedown defense
10. keep your personal hygiene up.

 

[triso]

Not in any particular order:

1. Grips
2. Posture
3. Position
4. Mat movement
5. Conserve energy
6. Explode into the technique
7. Conditioning
8. Takedowns
9. Submissions
10. Chaining techniques

 

[Q mystic]

#1 and the rest comes easy.

 

[Zankou]

The armbar is the most effective sub ever, I don't know why you wouldn't teach that. In fact I would teach it that way: "armbar is the best sub ever."

 

[Brad]

1. Proper posture

2. Proper body movement

3. Proper sub defense and escapes - the best grapplers are the ones you can't hold in a bad position

4. "70% of fights may end up on the ground, but 100% of them start standing" - takedowns

5. "Position before submission....... except with regards to feet/legs/ankles"

6. "You miss 100% of the shots you never take." - don't be too afraid to go for a sub if you do see it, and if you see it commit to it totally.

7. Momentum and leverage will defeat strength every time

8. don't neglect training your leglocks and anklelocks, it's amazing how many people neglect to train them in an offensive manner, let alone the escapes or reversals.

9. Learn when to relax, and when to tighten up.

10. You can drill at home, you can visualize things in your head, you can study web sites, look at instructionals, buy out the sherdog DVD store, but when it comes down to it, there is nothing that will make you a better grappler than hard work and heavy mat time. Nothing. - There is no substitute for hard work.

 

[Tom Hishon]

OK if we are talking technique these are the 10 weapons every man needs to have for a ground fight.
1.mount
2. side position and side position escape
3. guard escape and guard control
4. straight arm bar-from mount and belly down
5. trianlge
6. double gi choke
7. kimura
8. americana
9. single leg takedown and subsequent sweep
10. under/overhook suplexs'
if allowed 11
11. ankle lock

 

[GracieMMABarra]

PROPER BASE and nothing is more important then knowing how to properly use your weight on a oppontent

 

[Spoonman7]

Learn takedowns, movement, position, submission, keep ego in check, don't get discouraged, practice, repetition. its only eight but that is all I can think of right now.