Plus Juan
Orange Belt
- Joined
- May 27, 2006
- Messages
- 419
- Reaction score
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"Every long journey begins with one step"
Relax bro, you shouldn't even make a thread like this. Grappling or anything you want to be good at takes a long time and alot of practice. It takes years to become good and even then, you still have a long way to go.
To become good in grappling, you need alot of tools, but here are some pointers:
-Practice. Seriously, this is the best thing you can do. If you're not a natural athlete, or even if you are, practice will: condition you, help you learn new things, make you stronger, sharpen your skills, and help you to pick up things quicker. Training one day a week is not enough if you want to really improve your skills. You need to eat, sleep, and think about grappling all the time. You need to live it.
-Basics.A mistake I see people doing all the time is trying to learn all these advanced moves. "Oh, I heard so and so black belt does the "insert really complicated move here", so I will try it. When you get a little better after a few years of grappling, try to pick up more advanced stuff, but until then... learn your basics. Basics are the foundation of your whole grappling game and you need to burn them into your memory. After years and years of training, you will begin to create your own style out of this. Even famous grapplers and black belts all around practice the basics every time they train and implement them in their fights.
-Be a sponge. You are spending money to train and maybe compete, so you better use your time wisely. Don't try to rush technique training. Really pay attention to every detail and work the technique as slow as you can until you can pick it up. Ask questions to anyone that can help you and always try to do whatever you can to learn more. Go out of your way to learn. Hell, even bring a notebook to class to write down the techniques or record what you do in class after each training session. Roll with the more experienced guys or the tougher guys in class. If one of them catches you in a submission, ask them how they did it or how they set it up. Keep your mind open and your ego at the door.
-Condition on your own. Train on the days you're not going to class. When you are really conditioned, you will think alot more clearly in training or rolling. You won't make the same silly mistakes you did when you were gassed. Also, after class, try and roll with the guys that stay after. Usually, people will try to help you with stuff you missed or didn't get in class if you ask for help.
-Be tough. That's right; don't be a wimp. I'm not trying to sound mean but people will respect you alot more if you don't complain all the time. Suck it up and train hard.
"Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved."
Eat right. Throw out the junk food and eat well. You need to learn what foods are good for you and can help you get enough energy before practice or help your recovery afterwards. There have been many times that I have felt sick in practice just because of what I ate beforehand.
Sleep. This is very important, because you will be at your best physical and mental capacity when you get enough sleep. Getting enough sleep will help transfer to all other areas of what I've told you so far. You will be more alert, in a better mood, and will recover alot faster from injuries.
Stretching and warming up. This will help release the toxins in your body and will definitely reduce injuries. It will also help out your grappling game, because you will definitely be in some uncomfortable positions where being flexible helps. Many grapplers don't give this enough credit and get injured in the long run.
You need to love this sport most of all, if you want to be good at it. Skill is not enough to succeed at this sport. You need a desire, a borderline obsession. I'm not going to lie; this is a tough sport and is not for everyone. Everyone has different goals when they train, but if you want to really improve, you need to have heart. This can't be taught. You will be tested many times through out your journey and only you can triumph over adversity.
Relax bro, you shouldn't even make a thread like this. Grappling or anything you want to be good at takes a long time and alot of practice. It takes years to become good and even then, you still have a long way to go.
To become good in grappling, you need alot of tools, but here are some pointers:
-Practice. Seriously, this is the best thing you can do. If you're not a natural athlete, or even if you are, practice will: condition you, help you learn new things, make you stronger, sharpen your skills, and help you to pick up things quicker. Training one day a week is not enough if you want to really improve your skills. You need to eat, sleep, and think about grappling all the time. You need to live it.
-Basics.A mistake I see people doing all the time is trying to learn all these advanced moves. "Oh, I heard so and so black belt does the "insert really complicated move here", so I will try it. When you get a little better after a few years of grappling, try to pick up more advanced stuff, but until then... learn your basics. Basics are the foundation of your whole grappling game and you need to burn them into your memory. After years and years of training, you will begin to create your own style out of this. Even famous grapplers and black belts all around practice the basics every time they train and implement them in their fights.
-Be a sponge. You are spending money to train and maybe compete, so you better use your time wisely. Don't try to rush technique training. Really pay attention to every detail and work the technique as slow as you can until you can pick it up. Ask questions to anyone that can help you and always try to do whatever you can to learn more. Go out of your way to learn. Hell, even bring a notebook to class to write down the techniques or record what you do in class after each training session. Roll with the more experienced guys or the tougher guys in class. If one of them catches you in a submission, ask them how they did it or how they set it up. Keep your mind open and your ego at the door.
-Condition on your own. Train on the days you're not going to class. When you are really conditioned, you will think alot more clearly in training or rolling. You won't make the same silly mistakes you did when you were gassed. Also, after class, try and roll with the guys that stay after. Usually, people will try to help you with stuff you missed or didn't get in class if you ask for help.
-Be tough. That's right; don't be a wimp. I'm not trying to sound mean but people will respect you alot more if you don't complain all the time. Suck it up and train hard.
"Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved."
Eat right. Throw out the junk food and eat well. You need to learn what foods are good for you and can help you get enough energy before practice or help your recovery afterwards. There have been many times that I have felt sick in practice just because of what I ate beforehand.
Sleep. This is very important, because you will be at your best physical and mental capacity when you get enough sleep. Getting enough sleep will help transfer to all other areas of what I've told you so far. You will be more alert, in a better mood, and will recover alot faster from injuries.
Stretching and warming up. This will help release the toxins in your body and will definitely reduce injuries. It will also help out your grappling game, because you will definitely be in some uncomfortable positions where being flexible helps. Many grapplers don't give this enough credit and get injured in the long run.
You need to love this sport most of all, if you want to be good at it. Skill is not enough to succeed at this sport. You need a desire, a borderline obsession. I'm not going to lie; this is a tough sport and is not for everyone. Everyone has different goals when they train, but if you want to really improve, you need to have heart. This can't be taught. You will be tested many times through out your journey and only you can triumph over adversity.
