As I may have mentioned before, my dojo has many people with extensive backgrounds in other arts.
Two of my dojo mates who study with different gracies were rolling around last night after class, and one of my seniors was giving them advice.
So, I asked him to give me a few pointers, and this friday after class I will begin to learn the basics of wrestling, judo, and jiu-jitsu. As it turns out, we have a 3rd degree black belt in judo, an ex-collegiate wrestler, and several people studying with the gracies to roll with.
don’t panic, learn to keep cool and use your head, but don’t delay.
Even if you are a naturally strong guy, learn excellent technique, because the guy on the street trying to muscle you around is going to be bigger (he is looking for a smaller target)
all beginners get whupped by the experienced guys, so swallow your pride, tap out before your elbow snaps, and learn how he got you.
I think you shouldn’t listen to people that say keep your chin tucked and your arms in . It’s more educational for you to “experience” exactly why they tell you those things.
Getting caught in a triangle choke can teach you alot about what to do and what not to do to avoid it in the future .
MP and Ryu give some especially good advice. Please, please don’t due the freak out and flail thing. Keep your arm bent in and tucked. Remember, you wouldn’t box with your arms or legs straight, there’s no reason to do it that once your on the ground.
I have fought many full contact san shou matches, and I am not afraid of takedowns (but that’s where it always end in san shou).
I have no intention of striking anyone. We’ll see if it is more demanding than striking.
I don’t think it’s more demanding than striking arts like boxing, san shou or muy thai…it’s a whole different way of fighting. Most that tried it for a month are hooked…but if u’re a standup fighter by heart…u’ll just do it to round yourself out…
Sounds like you have the right attitude anyway, but treat as an opportunity to learn something new and share an experience with new people, not as a contest of arts where one has to be better than another.
If these guys start with the basics (as they should) you WILL see potential “opportunities” to counter by striking or ways to escape their positions or attacks. Bear in mind that there are many layers and that your “counters” will have been dealt with before if these guys have experience. If you keep trying to trip these guys up buy saying “but I could just do this …” to everything they show you, you’ll all get ****ed off.
Getting tapped is part of learning. If you’re never gettnig tapped, you’re playing too safe or you need more challenging partners. It’s no disgrace, so don’t push it to far and get injured yourself or injure someone else.
So - keep an open mind, don’t question thnigs you don’t yet understand fully, be friendly, and enjoy.
I don’t know much about grappling so I will give you only general advises.
1:Always brush your teeth before a grappling session
2:wear clean underwear in case you rip your pants
3:Always welcome a bigger and stronger opponent with open heart and legs!
4:Never bite the nipples of a 245pds guy who’s on top.
5:When you see a bright white light and hear a strange celestial music, you know you should have tapped.
6:If you get backmount,don’t start daydreaming!
7:Beer ,peanuts and beans are a bad idea before rolling
. It’s more educational for you to “experience” exactly 