For the majority of my time training, I've held mixes feelings for live rolling (sparring). It holds a very important role within Brazilian Jiu Jitsu - more so than almost any other martial art. In other arts, like Karate or Akido, there is usually a very limited amount of practice on any sort of resisting partner. This practice creates many issues, chief among them being the fact that you don't know what it feels like to have someone resist. This means that lots of people training this way amble through life thinking they're an ass-licking machine, only to find themselves at a loss when their karate chops and forearm blocks are ineffective in a real fight. Now I'll say here that I don't think that these other martial arts are ineffective - only that this mindset can cause huge issues.
BJJ on the other hand revolves around its sparring. You might drill something for 1000 hours, but you won't know if it works or if you've got it down until you try it on someone who won't just let you do it. For me, rolling has always been terrifying. Before I had met surgery I was told that if I got injured enough, if I damaged the screws in my spine, the surgeon would remove all the hardware from my back. He was very clear in saying that I'd either be OK, or I would never walk again. Whenever I'm rolling the many conversations I had like that are constantly spinning around my head and I'm always in fear of injury. If I manage to push past my fear then the next thing I have to focus on is my lower back. I have only the slightest bit of bend in maybe 1-2 inches of my lower back and, along with my bad shoulder; this is the big worry when it comes to injury. When most of your spine can't move, it's the bit that can that stands to be the easiest to injure. This means staying out of certain positions and worrying about rolling with new people.
All of these things culminated to make me extremely hesitant to roll with anyone but good friends or higher belts, who know the nuances of position and pressure enough to be safe. I had surrounded the notion of rolling with fear and nervousness and it was keeping me away from open mats and progressing my skills.
A while back however, my old friend Floyd got back into Jiu Jitsu. I've mentioned Floyd numerous times throughout this podcast, and he's one of the guys I initially trained with back in the Shed Days. Floyd and his house mate had bought a small patch of mats and when I was over his house we had some quick rolls. It was the first time I could roll with good friends that weren't far beyond me in terms of skill, and I had a great time. At this time, Floyd and his house mate were very fresh and I managed to submit both of them. This was a very new experience for me, because the majority of my rolling is with people far better than me, and I'm not good enough with my defence yet to turn it into offense. Fast forward a month and Floyd has improved tenfold and started submitting me just as frequently as I can submit him. I've known Floyd for more than 10 years and I feel completely safe rolling with him, so when we roll I can really open up and be creative without worrying. These fun, crazy rolls have given me a new perspective on rolling and even Jiu Jitsu and I've gone from being worried about rolling and avoiding open matts to turning up before class in the hops of drilling or flow rolling with team mates.
This long weekend heralds the first 'BJJ Camp' I'm holding at my house. I've invited 5 white belt friends to my house for two days. They're bringing their mats along and we're going to setup in my garage and train for two days. We've got a fridge full of water, a TV for BJJ/MMA to stream and some speakers for music. I'm very excited to have a fun relaxed tee so days of BJJ and to continue to pull down the walls of fear and have some fun. I believe that throwing yourself into the flames (with people you trust) is the best way to improve with this sport. I need to truly learn that it's OK to be put into bad positions and situations. I need to have belied in what I've learned and touch up the stuff that needs work, and I know that I can do much of this with my good friends.
I'll be posting some photos and possibly video of the camp on my Facebook page, which you can find by flicking the Facebook link at the top of the page. If you read my blog regularly and haven't checked out the Facebook page, please do so. I post extra content on that page that I wouldn't necessarily be able to stretch out into a full post.
I hope you guys all have a good Easter weekend!
/Anthoney.
BJJ on the other hand revolves around its sparring. You might drill something for 1000 hours, but you won't know if it works or if you've got it down until you try it on someone who won't just let you do it. For me, rolling has always been terrifying. Before I had met surgery I was told that if I got injured enough, if I damaged the screws in my spine, the surgeon would remove all the hardware from my back. He was very clear in saying that I'd either be OK, or I would never walk again. Whenever I'm rolling the many conversations I had like that are constantly spinning around my head and I'm always in fear of injury. If I manage to push past my fear then the next thing I have to focus on is my lower back. I have only the slightest bit of bend in maybe 1-2 inches of my lower back and, along with my bad shoulder; this is the big worry when it comes to injury. When most of your spine can't move, it's the bit that can that stands to be the easiest to injure. This means staying out of certain positions and worrying about rolling with new people.
All of these things culminated to make me extremely hesitant to roll with anyone but good friends or higher belts, who know the nuances of position and pressure enough to be safe. I had surrounded the notion of rolling with fear and nervousness and it was keeping me away from open mats and progressing my skills.
A while back however, my old friend Floyd got back into Jiu Jitsu. I've mentioned Floyd numerous times throughout this podcast, and he's one of the guys I initially trained with back in the Shed Days. Floyd and his house mate had bought a small patch of mats and when I was over his house we had some quick rolls. It was the first time I could roll with good friends that weren't far beyond me in terms of skill, and I had a great time. At this time, Floyd and his house mate were very fresh and I managed to submit both of them. This was a very new experience for me, because the majority of my rolling is with people far better than me, and I'm not good enough with my defence yet to turn it into offense. Fast forward a month and Floyd has improved tenfold and started submitting me just as frequently as I can submit him. I've known Floyd for more than 10 years and I feel completely safe rolling with him, so when we roll I can really open up and be creative without worrying. These fun, crazy rolls have given me a new perspective on rolling and even Jiu Jitsu and I've gone from being worried about rolling and avoiding open matts to turning up before class in the hops of drilling or flow rolling with team mates.
This long weekend heralds the first 'BJJ Camp' I'm holding at my house. I've invited 5 white belt friends to my house for two days. They're bringing their mats along and we're going to setup in my garage and train for two days. We've got a fridge full of water, a TV for BJJ/MMA to stream and some speakers for music. I'm very excited to have a fun relaxed tee so days of BJJ and to continue to pull down the walls of fear and have some fun. I believe that throwing yourself into the flames (with people you trust) is the best way to improve with this sport. I need to truly learn that it's OK to be put into bad positions and situations. I need to have belied in what I've learned and touch up the stuff that needs work, and I know that I can do much of this with my good friends.
I'll be posting some photos and possibly video of the camp on my Facebook page, which you can find by flicking the Facebook link at the top of the page. If you read my blog regularly and haven't checked out the Facebook page, please do so. I post extra content on that page that I wouldn't necessarily be able to stretch out into a full post.
I hope you guys all have a good Easter weekend!
/Anthoney.