My first Offfical Sub Wrestling BJJ Lesson

Millionaire

Hi Lads

After putting it off many many months, I finally got it together, and today had my 1st offical grappling lesson.

I am taking from an Italian MMA teacher who lives in Thailand and got into MMA after seeing UFC 1.

Right now I am only learning grappling/ground (as that is what I asked to be taught) on a no gi basis.

Today we worked very slow and easy on me using some basic stratgies on "passing the guard"...

Have to say, I found it very very technical, and for me to work slow and easy, someone must have spiked my water with a tranqulizer! LOL!...

However I was able to perform all, as instructed after a few goes, all be it at a relaxed and slow pace. (as some of you may guess I am a brute force guy, to I decided to leave all the muay thai, all the kickboxing, all the scraps outside the door of the hall, and some in a complete begineer, which I am when it comes to ground).

Sure I have done ground before...basic tricks, more aimed at getting on your feet in a street fight, and in Krav Maga in Israel I did a bit over the month I was there, but not to the techincs of this instructor.

It was quite interesting too, as I discover my muscles, tigh muscles especially really burned in a much different manner to the full on muay thai I do daily.

Anyway, I am committing to 3 lessons a week going forward. I am going to take my time, take it slow, and be in no rush with this grappling.

I also decided to put all ideas of how this might work in RBSD out of my head.

I reckon it may take me 6 months to even 12 months to get the hang of it.

As expected we will do Greco and Free Style from the Thai clinch, down to the BJJ on the ground.

I am not even going to worry about putting it together with striking...maybe in 6 months or more.


Now this 3 sessions of grappling in afternoon, has to go on top of 5 or 6 morning sessiosns of Muay Thai. (plus I am also dabbling with a bit of Jeet Kune Do, on an on-off basis on sundays).

This week from Wednesday I am re doing my Krav Maga Instructor Cert (well doing a conversion course to a slight different system of KM).

It is called Tactical Krav Maga, and is the version taught and trained by the Yamam which is sort of an Israeli SWAT Team. This KM is very scaled down, very simplified, and the drills are full contact. Their more interest in result, that in what the technique looks like or how many techniques you can do, like alot of KM is. (whiched turned me off KM)

See the founder was in Yamam for years and then was close protection trainer for them...a Israeli called Itay Gill who I believe is also a BJJ Black Belt, and big into MMA in Israel. (hes on youtube rolling and stuff).

His austrailan instructor is in bangkok on other biz and we're spending a few days of intensive training.

www.tacticalkravmaga.com.au

Nothingcompares

Sounds like you're on the right track gerry best of luck

Millionaire

just moving forward here in case anyone is interested in how someone with many years in the striking MA's is getting on in learning grappling on the ground...

Had a few lessons since OP post. After next week, I am committing to 3 lessons a week. I am taking private 1-2-1 lessons with instructor for now. As I am a fumbling begineer, its best I have someone experience teach me fully focused on me only for the 1 hour session, as opposed to me fumbling with another begineer and an occassional 5 mins from instructor. (I can worry about rolling with different body types, sizes, skills etc in a few months when I get the basics down).

So far we have been focused on basic standard techniques of passing the guard. (I am told advanced players have many other ways of doing this, some of which they can invent themselves, after years of experience).

By biggest issues is leaving what I know already outside the door of the trainign hall, and also not using brute force, but more to relax and go with the flow.

My instructor is very honest and very straight. In this opinion he says it can take up to 1 year of committed training, to get to a basic standard on the ground, so to be patient, work hard and have fun.

Again for an experienced MA person like me, a strike, you have to leave alot of ego outside the door and come in as a complete baby on the ground.

Some of the lads are fighting in a grappling competition this weekend, its their first one, and most have been training around 1 year. so maybe next year I will be ready to rock and give one a shot too.

For me, I am going this to be a well rounder fighter. I enjoy striking more, its more exciting to me, but if I cannot grapple I will be on thin ice. Plus its challenging to learn something new.

like striking, I got that down....its more endurance, and speed that needs work on, while this grappling stuff, you need to think more!

dlofnep

Congrats! Keep at it buddy.