Troubleshooting as a white belt

[JowGaWolf]

You

What method should I use to figure out what I'm doing wrong when I roll? Right now my approach has been "just show up, have fun, roll, and try and do a little better each time", and I am doing that. But if possible, I'd like to be able to better assess my mistakes and be able to actively fix them.

Have to pay attention while you are engaged. Real time analysis of the situation. Does the person like to move left or right? What does their weight shift feel like. How do they respond when you do A? B? C? what did the do to get you there? What were they targeting? If you know how they got you into the position then bait them so they can do it again. what ever it is you have to be aware of what's happening to you in the small details.

For example. It not enough to remember that I was thrown. I have know what led me to it. How did he position me for the throw. What did it feel like? If you can feel those tiny shifts of weight and position , then the better you'll be with countering and preventing.

 

[wab25]

I'm assuming this based on how you've told me over and over again that I'm doing Taekwondo wrong

I have never told you that you are doing TKD wrong... please show me where I have stated that.

So when my professor asks me to do a live roll, if I follow your advice of doing my own drills instead, is that not a deviation from "I do exactly as the sensei asks, to the best of my ability...and without questions"? Am I supposed to listen to him and do the live rolls, or am I supposed to do things the way you're telling me now?

See the bold below:

Typical class at my school is drill a pass, drill a sweep, do a pass/sweep round, do a live roll from the position of the pass/sweep, and then do a live roll from the feet. Complete newcomers will usually stick with just pass/sweep the entire class.

"Prof, I would like to stick with the pass/sweep thing, for the entire class, so I can work on the foundations... "

You said that the class was set up this way... and that it was an option for the beginners to work on pass/sweep for the entire class... I was suggesting you do that.

 

[JowGaWolf]

I forgot one item on the list.

Instead of worrying too much about why the specific technique (sweep, submission, pass, whatever) didn't work, focus on the smaller elements. Ask yourself - did I compromise my opponent's structure before I attempted the technique? Did I compromise my own structure in the process of attempting the technique? Do I even understand what the correct triggers are which should lead to me attempting that particular technique?

This applies to all martial arts. It's very difficult to train any technique without understanding what is happening in real time. Once the person knows how to trigger the response then it will lead to multiple attempts in sparring.

 

[JowGaWolf]

I have a different perspective on that. Each attempt at a technique is an experiment that helps gather data

this should always be a thing that is always on.

 

[JowGaWolf]

I know this was a response to Wab25, but I'll try to clarify because I think he's trying to make the same point as I was in one of my earlier posts.

Absolutely, try to do your techniques, your sweeps, passes, submissions, escapes, etc. But when they don't work, don't fixate on "why couldn't I execute that?" Instead, think about your grips, your setups, your structure, etc and try to identify something you could have done better with those.

In addition, don't be in a rush to try those sweeps, passes, submissions, etc. Start by establishing your own structure, then getting your grips, then breaking your opponent's structure ... and then try your sweep, your submission, whatever. If you spend an entire round just fighting for grips and maintaining your structure without attempting a single sweep or pass, you will make more progress than if you spent the round trying to execute "techniques" without establishing structure and grips.

If your opponent catches on to what you are trying to do then it becomes harder to pull of a technique. This is when I go for a different technique for a bit so that he can forget about the one I really want to work on.

I suck at ground fighting but I've become very good at not being on the ground. I collect data on how he tries to get me on the ground and make a note of what that feels like.

 

[JowGaWolf]

This happens in all martial arts once you start trying to use the intermediate techniques. The only difference is that in traditional MA people quickly abandon the technique after a few tries but in BJJ the students will work AR the technique until they get it.

@skribs you may not agree but your original post has the same things others gave been telling you for months. You are only coming to this understanding because you are earning the techniques even when you have little success with them. I don't train Bjj but I have to deal with it. The same learning process for me to deal with Bjj is the same one I had to go through to use Jow Ga Kung Fu Techniques. The learning path is the same even if the systems aren't. It's the only reason why what Tony says makes 100% sense to me.

 

[jks9199]

I've seen posts telling you to talk to your partner, to ask them to reset and work that technique with you. Maybe even help you learn it... I know, crazy... partners helping each other learn.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned is SLOW DOWN. Many people try to get past struggles with techniques with speed. Don't do that... Just get your rolling partner on the same page with you because it doesn't work if you're moving at half his speed.