This is so true. The same thoughts have also informed my beliefs on concealed carry. If you don't practice with a weapon A LOT, your chances of using it well in a violent situation are low. Practice doesn't just make you better at your craft, it makes you aware of what is possible. When I was doing a lot of kickboxing we had a 16 foot ring. It is SHOCKING how fast someone can cover that distance. A trained fighter can do it in 1 step before they hit you. I think an average person doesn't know what a safe distance is from a violent individual.
Well said... anything is always better than nothing. Just like basic physical training... A walk alone is better than couch surfing. A lot of the mind set by most people, thinking they can fight, as lots to do I think with fight movies, where all actors make it seem easy. You know exactly the effort and the physical endurance it takes to grapple/train/spare on a real world application, so the movie set-up of the protagonist going up stairs in a building, fighting multiple assailants and coming out on top, is ridiculous but entertaining to say the least... lolll
If nothing more then confidence sure. Even grabbing and control will help if you train with a Gi. I just know from experience that the last place you want to be in a street fight is the ground, even if you are on top. Head kicks will come from guys/girls.
Definitely. In my opinion that's just one of many reasons not to get into fights, period. If you're engaged with one person, it makes it very easy for another person to hurt you. If you square up with some dude on your feet there's no guarantee that his buddy standing behind you doesn't hit you with a pipe. I like BJJ for defense but I think the important thing is that you train and expose yourself to violence. Any martial art is better than none. There are plenty of techniques that put your opponent on the ground and leave you with the option to run away.
I saw this all the time in the kickboxing gym and now I see it in the BJJ gym. The average suburban dude has never tried to physically impose their will on another human. Especially one that was resisting. Even more especially... one that is trained. It's an eye opening experience.
Lol exactly. Everyone’s a hard ass until they get waxed by some dude that makes them look and feel like toddler. We treat new guys with care and support (Don’t want them quitting, it’s a bad business model to destroy your clientele) and we let them set the pace. It’s their mistakes that open up subs and sweeps. The further you get into it, you actually get less aggressive. You don’t panic, and you don’t worry about getting subbed or smashed as much. Just use the technique you learned and know and wait for the mistake or opening your opponent or training partner give you. That way your training your defense and offense simultaneously.
Well, that was harder than I thought it would be. Getting a blue belt at the age of 49 from a gym that doesn’t hand out belts easily is tough.
I moved to the Chicago area last year and I'm looking to get back into training. Anyone have places they'd recommend? I work in Buffalo Grove and will be moving closer to there in a month so would prefer north chicago/suburbs but I'm open to options.
My cousin recently started his journey with Lake County BJJ. He seems to like it there. A lot of it depends on what you're looking for. If you're hyper competitive and want medals and glory you'll choose a different school than if you just want to learn and have a social group. I'm kind of in the middle, so I train at a place that has excellent instruction and a chill atmosphere, and when I want to go to war I'll drop in at open mats. There are a few gyms in SD that are full of killers and only have one speed. Its fun but at 42 with a long list of injuries it's not something my body will tolerate daily. Since you have experience, drop in at some places and feel out the vibe.
I actually dropped in there a month or two ago to check it out on the recommendation of a buddy and overlapped with the end of the kids class a bit, a kid did a breakfall when he wasn't supposed to while they were drilling (like 6 or 7 years old probably) and they made him run laps until he cried and then told him if he kept crying they'd make him run laps until his mom came to pick him up... really put a bad taste in my mouth and seemed a little closer to the super high strung competition vibe than the laid back have fun choking each other vibe I'm looking for. Maybe it would be worth checking out again but even outside of that they seemed pretty hardcore.
Jesus. Are you sure you didn't walk into Cobra Kai? That's outrageous. I do my no gi and MMA training at a pretty competitive gym, but that shit is uncalled for. Occasionally a wannabe MMA fighter shows up and goes way too hard, and you'll see the real tough guys line up to teach him a lesson, but that's just gym justice. Doing that shit to kids is pathetic.
Agreed... I'm sure (or at least hope) there was some context outside of it that maybe the kid goofs around a lot and had been warned before that I didn't see but it just made me really not want to spend anymore time there. The final nail in the coffin was when they texted me asking how I liked the class and I gave my feedback including the kids class and their response was "Thank you for the feedback and coming in. Good luck in your search"
While the combat sports community rivals motorcycle racing when it comes the best people I've ever met, it's not without its assholes. That shit drives me crazy because at the end of the day, you're training people to hurt people. It's a lot of responsibility.
And… in training you’re purposely putting yourself in positions where the other person could hurt you. Respect and responsibility are critical.
Gordon's just going to steam roll everyone. Looking forward to seeing him and Galvao later today. Was surprised that Cyborg got dealt with so quickly.
Being in NYC and training in the blue basement from hell I've been fortunate (or unfortunate) to get the shit choked out of me by all the D.D.S guys. This might be why my knees hurt all the time. Also F.U to the guy that immediately rolled into a reverse heel hook within 2 minutes causing me to miss 2 months of work. That place is brutal!!!
Yeah man, the leg dark arts will fuck you up before you even feel anything. We do a lot of catch and release. No sense in destroying someone's knee for a tap.
