Aggression: when and where?

[stonewall1350]

I have a theory about jujitsu that I have been working on for myself. Tell me how y'all feel about this. Aggression is the best way to win at the very start. If you hit hard in that first second you can literally rock your opponent off balance. I have found this works well on anyone close to your size, even bigger opponents. The key is speed. Make them react and if you can't win it in that second get out. How do y'all feel?

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[Cyriacus]

It depends on you, really. If you have the confidence for it sheer aggression will take you a long way with any kind of MA. Of course, theres also systems pretty much built around trying to counter that.

 

[msmitht]

Depends on if your timing is right and your technique is good. Like when you pull hooks guard and loop choke really quick. If you are too low on the lapel it won't tighten enough. Or if they block and jump over to 1/2 guard or mount. You have to be technically sound and confident in your ability to defend if it goes wrong.

 

[jthomas1600]

It's also easy to expend too much energy at the start of the match/fight. It only takes a short time to gas out and then you lose to something stupid because you don't have the energy to improve your position of defend against submission.

 

[msmitht]

It's also easy to expend too much energy at the start of the match/fight. It only takes a short time to gas out and then you lose to something stupid because you don't have the energy to improve your position of defend against submission.

Once you are proficient with the techniques you will know when to switch and you will waste less energy. Say by purple/brown...

 

[JiuJiuBJJ]

Are you talking about in a gym or in a tournament? As far as for a tournament, going strong at the beginning is helpful for a number of reasons: the psych-out factor, getting into a dominant position, etc. However, as far as for gym rolling, I don't agree.

Some possibly relevant pieces of information about me: I'm 37, a woman, and a 4-stripe blue. I often find that the people using a lot of aggression in the gym are white belts - partly because they don't have the technique to back it up. Nearly every purple and brown and black I know do NOT go aggressive at the beginning. They save their energy. So when a white belt goes aggressive with me, lately my thinking has been "Okay dude, REALLY? Is that REALLY how you want to roll?" And if I have the opportunity to get on top I will go very strong - not douchey, but with a heaviness I normally don't break out on the young white belts.

I tend to use my aggression and energy to get out of really bad spots - it will often take them by surprise.

In many ways, aggression is a bit like yelling during a conversation. If you start out yelling, it sets a tone that your opponent will either shy away from or work to out-yell you. So when I use aggression during an escape, it's sort of like screaming when someone is dominating a conversation - startles them. ^_^

 

[DennisBreene]

Are you talking about in a gym or in a tournament? As far as for a tournament, going strong at the beginning is helpful for a number of reasons: the psych-out factor, getting into a dominant position, etc. However, as far as for gym rolling, I don't agree.

Some possibly relevant pieces of information about me: I'm 37, a woman, and a 4-stripe blue. I often find that the people using a lot of aggression in the gym are white belts - partly because they don't have the technique to back it up. Nearly every purple and brown and black I know do NOT go aggressive at the beginning. They save their energy. So when a white belt goes aggressive with me, lately my thinking has been "Okay dude, REALLY? Is that REALLY how you want to roll?" And if I have the opportunity to get on top I will go very strong - not douchey, but with a heaviness I normally don't break out on the young white belts.

I tend to use my aggression and energy to get out of really bad spots - it will often take them by surprise.

In many ways, aggression is a bit like yelling during a conversation. If you start out yelling, it sets a tone that your opponent will either shy away from or work to out-yell you. So when I use aggression during an escape, it's sort of like screaming when someone is dominating a conversation - startles them. ^_^

It strikes me that this is relevant in many forms of martial arts. As you progress, your technique becomes more precise and your timing improves. You begin to learn that every technique has a counter and every counter has a counter. When raw aggression meets skillful technique, I suspect the technique will usually prevail. The most effective practitioners I have seen seem to consistently apply assertive technique (as opposed to aggression) with very good results.

 

[jitsguy]

Hey guys, first time poster in here ! in my experience the ability to counter aggression with composure has always served me better on the mats wether in training or competition. there are time's when a little extra aggression comes into play but i like to be the bullfighter instead of the bull. when someone goes bananas and just attacks overly aggressively i kinda just focus on prolonging what they're doing so they burn as much energy as possible, especially if they have a similar level of knowledge. I'm not big on fighting fire with fire (more like fight fire with water) so i'll try to frustrate the guy as much as possible, have em burn energy, and THEN i'll get aggressive to finish if i need to. sorry for the cheesy analogies lol

 

[Tony Dismukes]

Jitsguy, what you are describing is the classic old-school Gracie Jiu-Jitsu approach to dealing with a stronger, more athletic opponent. Since most of my sparring partners are half my age, that's the approach I prefer also. On the other hand, there is something to be said for a more aggressive approach in the context of a sportive competition with time limits.

 

[DennisBreene]

Hey guys, first time poster in here ! in my experience the ability to counter aggression with composure has always served me better on the mats wether in training or competition. there are time's when a little extra aggression comes into play but i like to be the bullfighter instead of the bull. when someone goes bananas and just attacks overly aggressively i kinda just focus on prolonging what they're doing so they burn as much energy as possible, especially if they have a similar level of knowledge. I'm not big on fighting fire with fire (more like fight fire with water) so i'll try to frustrate the guy as much as possible, have em burn energy, and THEN i'll get aggressive to finish if i need to. sorry for the cheesy analogies lol

I've gotten old and decrepit enough that I'd prefer to apply my aggression towards keeping out of the fight. I don't have the stamina to wait someone out any longer so if I'm unlucky enough to have to weigh in, my hope is to neutralize the opposition long enough to get the heck out of there. I plan to fight dirty and mean. (I consider that part of the mental skill set). I realize the OP was directed at training and competition; I'm just taking the opportunity to extend the analogy a bit.