If I could offer one piece of advice from a purple belt to a white belt it's work on your sweeps. The better your sweep game, the better off you're going to be in the long run. In the kids class I teach I refer to them as reversals, for a lot of sweeps can be taught, and a lot of them can just be made up on the spot, and you can score the two points on them in a tournament. So I'll change my advice to work on your reversals. That all starts by wrapping the legs and off balancing your opponent/training partner. The more you keep them off balance the better off you will be. Works wonders for the female bjj players out there.
Your comment makes me happy. My sweeps are the only thing I think that I do decent for my skill level. I very heavily favored guard when I first started, and my hesitance to submit people left me only with sweeps. lol So I worked them... a lot. Plus, I think my build may give me a slight advantage in the sweep department. It gives everyone else a huge advantage in the bar Stephanie department since my limbs are twice the length of most peoples. lol
I'm glad I could be of help. I'm an older dude (38 this August) and have trained a ton over the years. Eventually the body starts to break down, especially after 35 when the recovery rate is much slower. I don't have the speed and the power to keep up with the people in my class in their 20's be it male or female. So I play a lot of guard, and look for sweeps all the time. It took me almost two years to develop a top game in bjj because of my lack of the above mentioned items. That top game developed into an "old guy" style also which relies heavily on leg control and some nasty cross-facing. That being said the sweep game has become a huge part of my game. Now I feel like I can set up a sweep or reversal from anywhere, and a lot of times it is not even a technique. I just wrap them up (as best as I can, take away their posting arm, and start rolling (sometimes back and forth). It's quite amusing actually, but it gets me on top where I can put the pressure on. The only drawback when trying this is that you may dump a training partner or two on their head (by accident), but don't stop until you have reversed them. There are mats in your gym, they will be okay. One other thing, never be discouraged about having to play guard a lot. Consider that a good thing. High level bjj is very guard heavy it seems, and the better that part of your game is the better you will be.
If I could offer one piece of advice from a purple belt to a white belt it's work on your sweeps. The better your sweep game, the better off you're going to be in the long run. In the kids class I teach I refer to them as reversals, for a lot of sweeps can be taught, and a lot of them can just be made up on the spot, and you can score the two points on them in a tournament. So I'll change my advice to work on your reversals. That all starts by wrapping the legs and off balancing your opponent/training partner. The more you keep them off balance the better off you will be. Works wonders for the female bjj players out there.
ReplyDeleteYour comment makes me happy. My sweeps are the only thing I think that I do decent for my skill level. I very heavily favored guard when I first started, and my hesitance to submit people left me only with sweeps. lol So I worked them... a lot. Plus, I think my build may give me a slight advantage in the sweep department. It gives everyone else a huge advantage in the bar Stephanie department since my limbs are twice the length of most peoples. lol
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I could be of help. I'm an older dude (38 this August) and have trained a ton over the years. Eventually the body starts to break down, especially after 35 when the recovery rate is much slower. I don't have the speed and the power to keep up with the people in my class in their 20's be it male or female. So I play a lot of guard, and look for sweeps all the time. It took me almost two years to develop a top game in bjj because of my lack of the above mentioned items. That top game developed into an "old guy" style also which relies heavily on leg control and some nasty cross-facing. That being said the sweep game has become a huge part of my game. Now I feel like I can set up a sweep or reversal from anywhere, and a lot of times it is not even a technique. I just wrap them up (as best as I can, take away their posting arm, and start rolling (sometimes back and forth). It's quite amusing actually, but it gets me on top where I can put the pressure on. The only drawback when trying this is that you may dump a training partner or two on their head (by accident), but don't stop until you have reversed them. There are mats in your gym, they will be okay. One other thing, never be discouraged about having to play guard a lot. Consider that a good thing. High level bjj is very guard heavy it seems, and the better that part of your game is the better you will be.
ReplyDelete