Articles
How Far Are You Willing to Go to Improve Your Jiujitsu?
Ask yourself this question seriously.
How far do you want to go in your Jiujitsu skills?
Now, how far are you willing to go to get there?
Obviously within reason, you should go after your training goals with a "do whatever it takes to get there" attitude.
That "whatever it takes" could be making sure to ask questions after every class and taking notes. It could be making sure to stay focused during class on developing your technique and forgetting your ego while training. It could be driving 2 hours to the nearest training gym but doing it anyway.
The main key is to stay focused on consistent goals.
Without this attitude you'll find your motivation wavering.
This is one of the leading causes of quitting in most martial arts, Brazilian Jiujitsu included.
It's a fact that most people who start training in Jiujitsu will quit after obtaining their blue belt.
Read that last sentence again.
Do you want to ensure that you aren't one of those that end up quitting?
Well, developing and sticking to an action plan is one of the leading ways to make sure that you don't end up as one of those quitters.
Find a place that you see often, it could be your wall at home or a spot of the wall where you train.
Ask your instructor if he would let you write a question on the wall where you train. Better yet, do like I do and write it on your Gi where you can see it every time you train.
Write, "How Far Are You Willing to Go to Improve Your Jiujitsu?"
By writing this phrase somewhere that you see it often, it will help remind you of your dedication.
Eventually you will have to answer this question if you are ever to truly develop your grappling skills.
The best time to answer it is now.
Kosta Megas
The Drifter VS The Visionary
Imagine a sparring match.
Imagine two fighters facing each other.
Let's look into the background of each of these fighters.
The first trains everyday and for hours each day. Whenever he trains. He focuses on what he' s doing, however, even though he occasionally does make progress and enjoys his training, he just seems to drift along in it and is not nearly at the level he should be with the amount of time and energy he puts in.
His strategies are also sporadic and sometimes he realizes where he went wrong after his mistakes so he tells himself next time I'll do better.
Let's contrast this with the other fighter.
Although practicing the same martial art and fighting with a similar style, this fighter is different in his approach compared to the first one.
For one thing, even though he doesn't train as much as the first fighter, he always has clearly defined goals of what he wants to accomplish in his training.
Furthermore, he always takes notes after his training on how close he came to his goal, what he needs to remember and what he needs to work next.
Most importantly, his approach involves him envisioning what he wants to do and how he wants to do it. Paying attention to the specific details involved. Basically he' ll take a move or strategy and visualize what it would look and feel like through his eyes to pull this move off.
Now when he does physically do the move he can more naturally remember the details involved.
Now, who between these two fighters do you think improves faster?
Who do you think has a clearer idea of strategy?
Who do you think will be the better fighter?
Ultimately, ask yourself which one of these two fighters will you be?
Kosta Megas
A Strange Approach for Progressing In Jiujitsu (Or Almost Any Other Martial Art).
If you want to progress in grappling or almost any other Martial Art for that matter, this is the most effective approach you can take.
The origin of this approach dates back to ancient times but I can assure you it is just as relevant today.
This approach can be applied to competitive martial arts like Brazilian Jiujitsu, Judo, and Muay Thai. It can be applied to modern self protection systems. It can equally be applied to traditional arts as well.
But don't be fooled by it's simplicity, there are countless martial artists who have used this approach to succeed and it has been written about in books like The Book of 5 Rings by Japanese master swordsman Miyamoto Musashi.
What is this approach?
To perform at your highest level, empty your mind of winning.
This was known as Mushin, or no mind.
Although you don't need to meditate for years or practice meditation at all to apply this to your training.
All you need is to place all of your focus on your performance in the moment, not winning or losing.
Sounds simple doesn't it? As simple as it is, IT WORKS!
Do you see the irony here?
The more you focus on winning , the further you get from your goal because you get distracted and subject yourself to unnecessary pressure.
When you focus all of your awareness on your performance in the moment, the greater you improve your performance on a moment to moment basis, which greatly improves your success rate.
Try this ancient approach in your training and see for yourself.
Kosta Megas
The Smarter Way To Train Jiujitsu.
During my years of training I've learned that there will always be obstacles that will come along.
Even once you think you have so much of this art figured out, there will be something that will stop you dead in your tracks.
It could be an injury that you feel could have been avoided. It could be a new strategy you never thought of that's being used against you.
It could just be a rut, you've reached a plateau and just can't seem to get past it.
Now there is a hard way and easy way you can try to work through this.
The hard way is to train even harder all day, stay obsessed, and never give up.
My question is, why struggle when you don't have to?
This easier way can help you in all aspects of your training especially when things feel like they're getting dull and repetitive or when things just aren't working.
Obviously, this works or I wouldn't be talking about it.
Here's the short formula:
1. Realize where you already are. That is to say, go over what you've already learned, developed and overcome, and realize this hurdle will be overcome as well.
2. Stop stressing about where you feel stuck, ask your instructor questions about it and play with the answers.
3. Act on opportunities as they appear.
That's it.
It's useful for those times when you feel stuck and can't seem to get past a certain situation like, let's say you keep getting armbarred from inside your opponents guard and can't decide on what you should be doing.
The bottom-line is this:
Detach yourself from what's happening and look for windows of opportunity as they present themselves and act on what appears.
If you have trouble finding opportunities then ask your training partner or your instructor to show you where you're going wrong. But focus on finding opportunities to disrupt your opponents moves or for you to act and gain the advantage.
This will result in much more productive training.
Let's explore this in depth.
1. Detach yourself from where you feel stuck and focus in the moment.
It doesn't matter what the situation is. By doing the right move at the right time you will get past it.
2. Calmly visualize yourself as successfully accomplishing the move or escape you're looking for, feel as if it is easily achieved.
3. Act on the opportunities as they appear.
You might see an opportunity to escape or take an advantageous position.
Act on it. Staying focused in the moment really helps here.
Is that really all there is to it?
The basic process is simple. Let's walk through it:
1. The reason your are getting stuck is either because you don't have the technique to answer a situation you're in or you have the technique but are not executing it properly or your speed and timing when executing the technique are off.
2. Ask your instructor to go over your options when you come on this situation, what techniques can you use?
What are the exact details?
What is the proper timing, feel and execution?
3. Now pay attention. As you go on training, pay attention to the opportunities that arise and act on them.
When you find yourself in a given situation look for the exact window of opportunity to use your technique, make sure you have the technique down to be able to execute it properly and make sure you are timing it properly.
You'll need to be able to stay focused and take action.
Take notes on how you perform.
Write down the details, experience them, and then check back in a few weeks and see how you are doing and how far you've come.
Above all, remember to have fun in your training. This is an important part of staying motivated.
Remember the only difference from your performance and someone else's is the difference in what you are doing and they way you are doing it.
Kosta Megas
What's The Biggest Mistake Most People Make in Their Jiujitsu Training?
I can't tell you how frustrated I get when I hear people say things like,
"I can't do that because..."
Whether their reason is,
"I'm just not fast enough." or "I'm too old," or "too young" or "I just don't have the time."
Others might say they can't improve because they're not meant to or they don't have the talent or potential that others do.
There is no limit to the excuses some people will give. The key here is to remember that all excuses are just that, EXCUSES. The truth is that even the greatest grapplers had to learn, train, and develop their skills.
They weren't born doing it.
Just like me. Just like you.
They had to work hard to develop their strengths and even harder to work past their weaknesses. They had to find a way or they made one. Ok, so let's destroy your excuses!
Complete this next sentence. I can't do it because _______.
Now determine if your excuses are real or imaginary.
Have you ever tried to get past them?
Are they something that you just tell yourself or are they something that you repeatedly face? If they're real, great! Then you just need to formulate a plan of actions you can do to get past them. If they are only imaginary, that is, something you just say to yourself, then try ignoring them.
Pretend they aren't there and just take action.
If there' s a technique you can't pull off, whether just drilling it or sparring, ask yourself why not?
If it's simply because of something you're doing then change what you are doing.
If it's anything else then it's just an excuse.
Remember that's the BIGGEST mistake grapplers can make!
Now my question is, are you going to make that mistake?
Kosta Megas
What To Look For in The Right Training Gym or School.
In order to figure out what you should be looking for in a martial arts gym or school, you need to be clear on the most important factor.
Why do you want to learn Jiujitsu or any martial art for that matter?
Do you want to learn to defend yourself?
Do you want a hobby and to get in better shape?
Do you want to compete?
It's always best to be clear on what you're looking for before you go to see the school.
From there prepare a list of questions to ask the instructor. Watch a whole class if you can and see how the students are interacting with each other as well as how the instructor is interacting with them.
You might want to ask the instructor what type of student his school focuses on?
Do they compete alot?
Watch the other students to see how they train.
If the school is full of students who are young, train hard, and spar even harder and your goal is just to train to stay in shape and follow a hobby then that might not be a right fit for you.
One very important factor to watch out for is if the instructor is in control of the sparring. Sparring can be a very dangerous activity and if not properly supervised by the instructor it will most likely lead to students being injured.
If you are concerned with getting injured,(which you should be as an injury can sideline your training and even put an end to training altogether even ending a competitive career.) Mention it to the instructor and see how he responds. If he doesn't seem concerned, you should look elsewhere. A good instructor will always look out for his students' well being and be attentive when his students are sparring.
Another important yet overlooked aspect that will determine how well you will do in the art is who you train with.
How are the other students?
Are they of mixed ages and backgrounds?
Is there anyone who is around your age?
What about skill levels?
Do the students appear serious or are they sparring with their ego as a priority?
Lastly is the cleanliness of the school.
Does the gym look clean and well kept?
This is actually a big sign of how well the instructor takes care of his students. Always remember, Jiujitsu, like most martial arts, is a contact activity. If the mats and gym itself are dirty this leaves more chance for getting infections. The hygiene of the students is important here as well. Ringworm although rare, can and does occur.The students as well as instructor should have some knowledge about this as well as take precautions and try to avoid these types of conditions which can be avoided by the cleanliness of the gym and hygiene of the students.
The best advice is to prepare a small list of your goals and concerns and discuss it with the instructor as well as see how it compares to what you see when watching a class.
Kosta Megas
The Top 4 Ways To Improve Your Jiujitsu
Want to improve your Jiujitsu?
Do you ever feel stuck and wonder why you aren't improving?
Here is a list of the 4 best ways for putting yourself on a path to constant improvement of your Jiujitsu game. Based on my 14 years of training, these are the best strategies to improve your skills and keep getting better.
1) Get clear on your goals and the obstacles keeping you from them. Every training session should have a specific goal behind it.
Keeping a log of your training is one of the most important things you can do if you want to keep improving and be your best.
This means you'll write down what you want to accomplish; your goal, and more importantly, the obstacles you're facing that are keeping you from it.
Let's say for example, you always get stuck in your opponents guard and are unable to pass. So your goal will be to pass the guard.
Now write down exactly 2-3 different techniques for passing the guard, drill them, try them while sparring and write down any specific difficulties you might be having. Now ask your instructor to help you correct these difficulties and practice until you have it down and can pull it off while sparring.
2) Take focused action. Once you know exactly what you need to improve, nothing will happen unless you make it happen. So, focus on what you need to practice and follow through.
When sparring, put yourself in the situation you're having difficulty with, this way you'll be purposely working on overcoming your obstacles with resisting opponents and getting comfortable with them which will lead you to overcoming them.
3) Make a list of all the times you were stuck and the different skills you learned and developed to get past those points. Having a list of all the times you showed improvement will help you keep track, keep you motivated and help you get into the positive habit of always looking to improve.
4) Have high expectations. The more you expect to get out of your training the better off you'll be. Not expecting much from yourself and making excuses will surely keep you down. Expect to succeed and eventually you will. Whenever you're in a position where you get stuck or caught with a submission, find out exactly where you're going wrong, find out what your best options are, practice and implement them, and finally expect yourself to improve.
These 4 habits are proven to put you on a path of constant improvement in your Jiujitsu game.
Kosta Megas
The Importance of Grappling Basics
Every modern martial artist should realize a simple truth; that in order to be a complete and capable fighter you'll need to know and be functional in at least the basics of Grappling and Brazilian Jiujitsu.
The basics start with knowing the positions and the possibilities from there. Notably the most basic positions are, the guard, mount, side control, half guard and some of the variations.
This begins with getting familiar with maintaining the positions, transitioning, escaping them, and setting up submissions from them.
Although you might not want to go as far as getting a black belt in Brazilian Jiujitsu, especially if you concentrate on a stand up or striking art.
Getting to blue belt or purple will definitely help to round your skills off and make your understanding of the ground solid enough to hold your own against most unskilled and moderately skilled opponents.
Be aware though that many who have taken this approach of just wanting to learn the basics do eventually get bitten by the grappling bug and end up working their way to black belt level.
However if your only goal is to become proficient enough to have an understanding and want to keep your grappling within the context of being useful in a mixed martial arts approach then there is nothing wrong with that and your MMA game will definitely improve by developing grappling skills as well.
This isn't to say that practicing MMA will limit your grappling skills, just that by training grappling strictly for MMA, you might not want to continue on gaining proficiency in the more advanced aspects of Grappling that won't play a role in MMA.
One thing is for sure though, that the journey of discovery offered by training in the grappling arts is sure to make any martial artist a better fighter.
Kosta Megas
Developing a Dangerous Guard
Have you ever noticed that there are two common approaches beginners take when getting their opponent in their Guard?
Either they go completely on the defensive and try to defend the position against their opponents offense or, they try to directly go to a submission like an armbar from there and most likely fail at both attempts.
If you compare this to a more experienced grappler you'll see they take a considerably different approach and experience a better result.
So let's take a closer look at what makes a difference here.
Why is it that although apparently both fighters are going to the same position, the intent and following outcome is different?
Most importantly how can you use and implement this in your training to be successful in making your Guard game more dangerous.
If you look at the possibilities that can come from the Guard position you'll quickly realize that although it is considered a defensive position, very little about it is actually defensive. Your main options and set-ups from the Guard are; Armlock, Triangle Choke, Kimura as well as an array of sweeps and reversals.
Now, it helps to think of the Guard as a transitioning position. Basically a position that enables you to transition to a better position or from which you can more easily set something up.
You might think this is obvious to most, and yet if you watch most beginning grapplers and white belts in Brazilian Jiujitsu, you'll see that often they go to the Guard and immediately go into defensive mode trying to avoid their opponents offense.
This is even more dangerous in Mixed Martial Arts, where the opponent will simply start distracting with one attack and keep combining with others which, in a matter of time, will lead to you getting overwhelmed with strikes.
Ultimately the Guard is a position that's ideal for unbalancing and setting your opponent up and that's the fundamental approach more effective practitioners take when training it. This approach is critical to developing a dangerous Guard game and not falling victim to using it strictly to defend against your opponents offense. Instead, your ideal strategy of breaking your opponents posture, preventing him from maintaining his balance and setting him up through combinations will enable you to launch further offensive possibilities.
Kosta Megas
The Top 5 Ways to Avoid Injury in Brazilian Jiujitsu
Being that Brazilian Jiujitsu is a contact martial art, there is a possibility for injury while practicing. These are the top 5 tips for avoiding injuries both to yourself as well as your training partners.
-Make sure you have proper room and look out for objects and people.
You'll need at least 10x8 feet worth of training space per 2 people and even more for sparring. Get any objects like chairs or any other equipment out of the way and keep an eye out for other people falling into your training space.
-Warm up properly before training, stretch well and maintain your flexibility through regular stretching.
Trust me, this will take you a long way in your training and preventing injuries like pulled muscles and strained joints and ligaments.
-Control yourself during training and more particularly during sparring.
Avoid jerky movements for no purpose. The spaz is someone you don'T want to be known as where you train and if there are others like this in your gym then avoid training with them.
The point of training is to know what you're doing.
You'll want to keep moving in particular situations but you'll want to develop an awareness of what you're doing during training and if you don't know what you're doing then the best thing to do is to find out, not spaz out. This is one of the leading causes of injuries so avoid it.
-Focus on the technique.
This is also a great way to control yourself. Always keep technique in mind, if you're using too much power and just trying anything then you are defeating the purpose of why you are training; to develop technical skills and strategies and an awareness of them. This is the most important point of your training.
-Lastly, give your training partner a chance to tap and tap early if you have to.
Never crank a submission at full power. Always give your training partners a chance to tap by applying progressive force to the submission and give them a chance to tap. If you are caught in a submission, tap early if you feel your partner is cranking too fast and hard or if you're in doubt of their control.
Well, there you have it. Put these five tips into practice and your training will be more productive and you'll spend less time with injuries and more time on the mats.
Kosta Megas