# I need advice for structuring some training drills.



## bootcampbj (Jun 24, 2008)

Hi guys,

  Myself and a mate who both train in BJJ 3 nights a week at the moment, have the keys to the dojo to open up for some extra mat time at a time the dojo is closed.

  We are training for competitions, so I imagine we are going to work on Take downs, fundamental submissions - transitions,  and guard work.


  Any ideas from you guys with some experience training for comps would be great,  wrestling or judo or jiujitsu, it´s all relevant.  Any Drills you found that improved your game or any ideas on structuring the training session *we have 2 hours or so to work*. 

I want to make the most out of the session.


Cheers

  - BJ


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## MJS (Jun 24, 2008)

bootcampbj said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> Myself and a mate who both train in BJJ 3 nights a week at the moment, have the keys to the dojo to open up for some extra mat time at a time the dojo is closed.
> 
> ...


 
I've never done any BJJ comps. but I have done quite a few in Kenpo.  If I was going to do a form, I'd drill the hell out of it.  I'd do it slow, stopping after each move to check stance, position, etc., I'd use the mirror to aid in this, and I'd have someone watch me, to offer tips on things I may have missed.

The same can be applied here to BJJ.  Make sure your basics are sharp.  Work on position.  Take the mount for example.  Your partner gets mount on you.  His goal is to keep you down and yours is to escape.  Then switch roles.  Do this with the guard, side mount, etc.

I'd also suggest picking a few of your best techniques and really fine tune them.  When I would spar, I'd have my old stand by techs. that I'd drill the hell out of so they'd be 2nd nature.  Do the same with subs.  Pick 3 or 4 from the guard and drill them over and over and over.  Then the mount, etc.

I really don't think there are any training secrets.  Its just hard work and being consistant.  Watch the pre-fight clips of guys training in the UFC.  You see a clip of Chuck prepping for his fight.  He's in the gym, working combos, etc.  The same thing needs to be done here. 

Good luck. 

Mike


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## Brian R. VanCise (Jun 24, 2008)

Personally I love sprawl drills.  There are lots that you can do from the person actually going for the double leg and you sprawl and maybe transitioin to the back to the person just faking the double leg and you sprawl like a push up almost and then pop back up and execute some striking techniques.  Definately work on flowing from one lock to the next.  Say you are in the guard and then get the armbar then to the sweep etc. or in the guard and then move to the triangle then to the armbar then to the sweep.  Those fundamental type drills really help your transitions.


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## bootcampbj (Jun 24, 2008)

Thats more what I was looking at Brian.   We do a lot of rolling/sparing in  most of the standard classes, but we havent been doing a lot of drills to really cement in the takedowns or transitions.

Things I´m after are:
- examples of drills to do (youtube links always help)  

-How to structure the hour or 2 we have.  Do we spend 20 min on takedowns, 20 min on transitions and 20 on a guard of choice for example.  Or spend a whole hour on takedowns,  or do 10 min sets of 3 different drills and cycle through them like a circuit?

Weve never really drilled,  I know its huge in wrestling but I´ve little experience in it.   

Cheers again 

 - BJ


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## Brian R. VanCise (Jun 24, 2008)

Well here are a couple basic drills that I use to teach regularly.

Start in guard with top person working any guard pass to the crossbody then the top person goes to the mount via hip swith or knee driven method.  The bottom person then bumps and rolls and walla it is their turn to then begin the guard pass.

Now take it to takedowns and it could go something like this.
One person does a double leg takedown either standard, brace or lift and then moves to the crossbody then moves to the mount via hip switch or knee driven method and the bottom person bumps and rolls to the guard.  Now the bottom person initiates and standing guard pass but disengages and decides to stand up and the person on the ground must now stand up in base and then you are both standing and can start all over.

If you play with it enough the combinations are endless.


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## SensibleManiac (Jun 24, 2008)

Great posts so far.
It sounds like you're at white or blue level.
I definetely wouldn't try to be learning many new techniques as this could only confuse things, also how far away is the competition?
The best advice I can give is do tons of isolation drills and focused sparring.
For the isolation drills as already mentioned by another poster, get in a position (do this for all positions) and work your escapes, then once out work offense from that position on your opponent. 
Let's say you start in his guard, work to pass then switch and work from your guard to submit or sweep or reverse.
Very importantly take note of any flaws or difficulty you're having and ask your instructor to help you through these points.
This will definetely get you ready for competion by working your timing and execution against a resisting opponent not to mention sharpen your game.
Good luck.


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## Ybot (Jun 24, 2008)

Depending on how far away the tournament is you'll need to adjust your training.  If your far enough off, then that is the time to fill in the holes in your game, and learn new stuff.  As it gets closer you want to develop a game plan that works to your strengths, and train to always bring the match back to your game.

For example, I'm a guard guy, so I will work on good sprawls and stuffing or reversing takedowns (because, even though I like working from the bottom, I don't want to give up the 2 points), and work on aggressive guard pulling.  I will also work isolation drills as pointed out by an earlier poster, but with a focus on regaining your game from a worst case scenario (ex. I get taken down and have my guard passed, now I have to regain guard).  Also, I would pick my strongest sweeps and subs from the guard and drill the hell out of them.

As it gets closer yet to competition time increase the intensity of your training.  You want to be able to go full out for the time limit that the tournament is going to give you, plus a little (because of the stress of competition makes you more tired than in training).  So, as a brown belt I know that my matches will be 8 minutes, so I try to train high intensity for 9 or 10 minute intervals, with short rest periods in between.  So, say I'm doing an isolation drill with the guy starting cross side on top of me.  I drill it for a full 9 or ten minutes without the usual settling and resting you do when you are actually rolling.  If I escape (pull guard or reverse him), I immediately go back to the bottom and continue, if the other guy taps me, the same was immediately start again and I go for the whole 9-10 minutes.  Short break, then switch with him on bottom and me attacking from top.

Last week or so your gonna want to back off on intenstity and just roll smooth.  Don't spend time learning anything new, just roll with good flow.

Things you could focus on to help develop a strong game (you can rep this stuff):

Your favorite sweep
then, favorite sweep, guy defends, back up sweep
then, favorite sweep as set up for sub
then, favorite sweep, following with favorite sub from top
Then, favorite sweep, guy defends, back up sweep with finish from top
From standing, aggressive guard pull, right into favorite sweep
etc.

Favorite guard pass
then, favorite guard pass, guy defends, transition to another pass
then, favorite guard pass, and sub from side control
then, favorite guard pass, transition to knee on belly
then, favorite guard pass, transition to knee on belly, then sub
then, favorite guard pass, transition to mount
then favorite guard pass, transition to mount, then sub
from standing, favorite takedown, transition to guard pass
etc.

One of the best things to do when preparing for competition, I have found, is what we call the gauntlet.  As a Brown belt my match will be 8 minutes, so I find 4 guys and they rotate in fresh every minute for 8 minutes with no breaks.  I go as hard as I can, and if I get tapped then we stand back up.


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## bootcampbj (Jun 25, 2008)

Thanks guys! Thats some great stuff, a big help.

The tournament we are looking at is the Pan Pacific Championships - Melbourne, Saturday 15th + Sunday 16th November.

We will both be in the white belt devisions.


Any other tips, please dont hesitate to add them.  And thanks again for such great feedback so far.

 - BJ


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## Chitmunk (Jul 30, 2008)

A drill we used allot for defense in wrestling;

have the defender open up their stance and allow a shot, or takedown in.

once the attacker has the move in solid now start a live drill until either a takedown is scored or you are back in a neutral standing position.

This drill is really helpful for defense when you have not reacted fast enough to sprawl and have to rely on your secondary defensive abilities.


other than that like other posters have said, drill drill drill drill and drill some more until your moves just happen and you can focus on strategy rather than techniques.


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## NubreedKaliSilat (Sep 4, 2008)

I hope that some of these drills help you out good luck on your competition

*Guard Position ( Closed) *Hold the position for 15 sec. 

*Guard Position (closed) *15 sec. to escape

*Guard Position drill*-  By using the legs climb up the back-Keeping the knees tight use your foot on the hip to change the angle of your upper body turn your hips ( paralle) apply armbar. Drilling both sides and Having your partner tighten up his control after each rep. making it harder each time you attempt it.

*Guard position (open)-* hold the position for 15 sec. Develops mobility, and should work to spinning on your head and going under and between the legs??

*Guard position (open)-* 15 sec. to escape

*Guard Position (open) bottom *drill-Gi grab the slves  and work on placing the feet in the arm pits, hips, hooking knees. then mix them up at various levels. Grab the bottom of the pants and work to escape the control

*Guard Position (open)  *grab the bottom of the gi pants and try to hold on as your partner tries to break your grips with his feet.

*Guard combination attack:* Triangle choke to armbar to kimura behind back. Work this over and over and then mix them up

*Guard closed:* use legs only to control opp. forward movement

*Guard:* submission apply arm triangle choke

*Guard Closed:* Practice for the bottom grappler defense only as the top grappler trys to grab and control your collar, practice breaking the control then sit up to gain control of top grapplers neck. And the he starts breaking the bottom grapplers collar grips. This is a great strength drill and you develop some pretty cool counters.




*Closed Guard:* (Defense for attempt at standing) as opp. tries to stand up open guard use the back of your thighs and using a up and down motion with back of your thighs to kick the opp's thighs back down to the guard, close the guard back up and use your hands and move your body backwards to off balance the opp. forward, you can go across the floor like that.

*Guard: *(opp. stands up counter) drop and grab their ankles and back sweep, follow them back as you grab the gi, and stand up. Then it is reversed by the grappler on the bottom. You can also drop into the guard gain control and have the bottom guy hold on to you in closed guard, and you stand up like doing a squat. Make sure you keep you posture straight and lift with your legs. bend you knees and place them under their rear end and balance them their, then push down on one knee to break the guard open. As they fall they grab your ankles and sweep backward and on you are on the bottom. These are just a few off the top on my head.

Good Luck, let me know what you think of them?


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## jarrod (Sep 5, 2008)

there's a pretty light drill i like to do called mat chess.  you start out in whatever position, then you take turns making moves and most importantly explain what you are doing & why to your opponent.  explaining makes you think through the move a little more than you would during.  an example might go as follows:

grapplers are in side mount:

bottom grappler: "you left some space between me & your hip, so i'm going to shrimp in & try to get my elbow between us." (it works)

top grappler: "i want to get your elbow out, so i'm going to hook your elbow & sit through to kesa gatame/scarf hold" (it doesn't work)  

bottom: "it didn't work because you grabbed my forearem instead of my tricep.  now i'm going to..."

you get the idea.  this continues until one person gets a tap.  it's a good, semi-competitive way to correct each other & think about the techniques.

jf


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## tko4u (Sep 5, 2008)

bootcampbj said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> Myself and a mate who both train in BJJ 3 nights a week at the moment, have the keys to the dojo to open up for some extra mat time at a time the dojo is closed.
> 
> ...


 

Okay, we had some drills in wrestling that might help build necessary muscles.

1. Kind of hard to explain but here it goes:
Have Partner 1 get on all fours (Knees, elbows, almost fetal position but on all fours) chest facing the ground, You (partner 2) put your chest on his back, hands behind your back, now start circling around him, this builds a lot of upperbody strength. any questions just ask.

2. For bjj, you need a lot of dexterity in your legs. Stretch in weird ways. Especially for triangles. Lay on your back, bend your leg like going for a triangle, and then pull it toward your head. Each leg, do it enough to get flexible, then try to bring it up to your head without your hand.

3. Leg strength, easy, wall sits. These are the classic move you can see on "coach carter". its where you put your back against a wall, then sit in a imaginary chair, knees at 90 degrees. then just hold that position for as long as humanly possible. This will build your thighs, which will be good for posturing up in the gaurd/passing.

4. This one is easy. Partner one "pin" the partner two, spend 2 minutes with partner two trying to get up/out (really try, with everything you can, non jj style, because this builds your back muscles) then switch roles, and go for 2 more minutes, as many rounds as you can.

Hope that helps, Any questions just ask.


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