Califighter

I know what it is like to be low man on the Totem. My trainer Submitted Ricardo Almeda in a jujitsu match. He taps me out in around 20 seconds. Seriously. I get happy when I last longer. But the main thing I can say is don't worry about it. (easier said than done. especially since you are worried already) But just ask questions to everyone who taps you out or takes you down. You will learn so much quicker. I would also recommend buying or downloading DVD's. If you are low on $$$$, Youtube is overflowing with hours and hours of jujitsu and wrestling technique. And as far as endurance goes. Work out eat right drink lots of water. (No big secrets) Although if you still have trouble you might want to check your breathing while you roll. It was a problem hard for me to overcome. Breath the WHOLE time.

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Evil Ira

I have been doing MMA training (No-Gi Jujitsu, and Muay Thai) for about six months. I haven't done my belts yet, but will start to do them soon. Even though I have been doing MMA for about half a year, I am still relatively new to it.

When did I get the hang of it? I cannot specify a time for when I started to get the hang of it, but I am tapping people out at practise, so I have definately gotten the hang of it.

Actually, if I can remember right, it was a few months in. Depending on your speed of learning, yours may differ to mine.

Hope this helped, and good luck.

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coldcall420

First off welcome to the forum dude its good to have you here....

I have a Black in Tae Kwon Do and at first, I think there are many thinks you can do at home that will benefit you....The 2 you mentioned are great, but also employ what you are trained at your house, practice stance and throwing kicks and punches, but mostly I would work on endurance and cardio....

bare knuckle push-ups, sit ups at least 300 - 500 per day, you can also shadow box....these are just a few of the small things that add up in your training.....

Grappling is something that isn't as prevalent in TKD its more going to be encompassed with your BJJ.....

As far as intimidation....good you should feel that way otherwise everyone would know Tae Kwon Do....the fact that you are there is your biggest obstacle overcome all ready....yeah at first you might get beat on a little but that will turn into feeling kinda good and eventually you will feel right at home......

Good Luck.....

CC420

TraMaI

When I first started I was in your same position. Training with experienced grapplers can be off putting and painful, but dont let it get the best of you. Learn from the mistakes you make and try to replicate what they did. A few things you can do from home:

- Yoga/Core Exercises: Seriously important. Your core is one of your biggest weapons in BJJ. If you have a great core you'll be extremely hard to grapple against. I use Yoga and a few other exercises to work my core like light weight lifting (don't try to get buff, try to get lean) and a few other things.

- Learn Anatomy!: I know it's high school science all over again, but knowing the human anatomy is something that proves itsself extremely useful in grappling. Think of it this way, if you're stuck in a bad spot but you don't know a submission/sweep to get out, think of the bodies weaknesses and exploit the nearest one. For instance in one of my grappling sessions I was in an armbar by a guy who outweighed me by about 60 lbs, and it was deep. He made the mistake (some people do it anyways, but I don't solely for this reason) of crossing his feet next to my head. He had my arm fully stretched, outmuscled me and there was no way I was slamming him. So using my knowledge of anatomy, I realised I could ankle lock him from that position due to his feet being crossed by pressing one ankle down on top t he other and stretching the tendons in his foot. He tapped when he had me in a deep armbar

- I know Slidey says video's aren't the best but they definately help. Look up some things and practice them, but dont forget to talk to the instructor about them later to ensure you aren't making mistakes.

- Practice with a friend from class, or even a wrestler from school. Wrestlers are really good to practice sweeps on since they're usually used to defending them.

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IronMan

O.K. I need to say this first because it's important: there's only so much you can do at home. Mat time is important. Make sure you log it in whenever you can. Working the techniques under the guidance of a good instructor and drilling them with talented, tough training partners is the best way to get better.

That said, there are lots of things that are worth practicing at home, lots of drills that can help you.

The best thing from grappling conditioning, from my experience, is to do pullups and burpees. Both of these will make you stronger and help build the kind of cardio conditioning that grappling demands.

That said, there are lots of things that are worth practicing at home, lots of drills that can help you.

The first is stretching. Developing a good guard is all about having flexibility. Work basic stretches and help to develop that flexibility and you'll see an improvement in your guard game, for sure.

Work out when you can.

I use a grip trainer, as a gi grappler, to help build my grips. I use the thing when I'm just hanging out with people, keep it in my pocket when I'm working out. It's something I actually picked up from a buddy of mine who does wrestling and rock climbing and has really good grips.

There are plenty of other drills, and I'm not going to go into all of them. I'd buy the Encyclopedia of Joint Mobility DVD series by Steve Maxwell. I've trained with Steve (who's a BJJ blackbelt, on top of being a world class conditioning coach) and will say that those drills still help me improve, even as I've been doing them for a long time.

did you feel discouraged when you first started?

Honestly, I started a long time ago, and don't really remember having an adverse reaction to training.

I've never really minded getting beaten up by bigger, better guys.

Remember that it's a learning process. Everybody starts off getting the sh*t kicked out of them. Then you figure out the basics, then you get better, then you start beating people.

It's a process. It's not just going to magically fall into place one day. It's about putting in the time, taking your licks, and pushing through the workouts.

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johnkreese

Start running on the days you can't go to class. You should try to squeeze at least 3 days of running in there. As for sucking at grappling... expect to suck! You're new. Focus on working on your guard, and passing theirs. After a few weeks, try to last through the matches without getting subbed(you're going to get subbed, don't worry). The subs will come eventually. I'm almost 3 months into my training, and I'm just starting to sub people on a regular basis. It takes time. Everyone feels discouraged at some point. You have to understand, it's normal to get tapped, especially when you're new. I took/continue to take private lessons to work on my technique and conditioning.

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’’apparently the the only way to kill a lion is by rear naked choke…personally i’d just kick it in the head.’’ – Bas Rutten