Thoughts on BJJ Year One...

Several years ago I promised myself BJJ was something I was going to study at some point and in 2012 I made it happen.

I may have only made 47 classes and got in about 65 hours of total mat time, but I can see this is something I'll stay with and I've already worked out how I can attend double that amount of classes in 2013 without compromising the other martial art I study or jeopardising any other commitments.

Later this year I'd also like to compete so I'm including a regular schedule of press-ups, sit-ups and neck-strengthening exercises. It's not much but a little a few times every week will add up when coupled with the other training I'm doing.

I learnt lots of techniques and bits of techniques in class in 2012 but the main BJJ principles I learnt were:
i) Position before submission. It speaks for itself but there's no point applying a slick joint lock if your opponent is not pinned and can move before you apply it.
ii) Mobile hips. Lots of things happen through the hips in BJJ, from setting up armbars and triangles, to escaping mount and re-establishing guard, to sweeping. Good hip mobility creates leverage and is a key to success in BJJ. Also, in a related point, never be flat on your back. Ever. This is a bad position. Always get up onto a hip and create space and fight for space to apply leverage.
iii) Isolated arms. In sparring don't allow your arms to get isolated. An isolated arm can be trapped and can be used to choke you. When you are battling for position both arms must operate together and either be inside an opponent's guard or outside an opponent's guard. This simple rule makes you a less easy target for all manner of bad stuff.
iv) Posture. When in your opponent's guard, you want to be posturing up to help escape. If you have an opponent in your guard, you want his posture collapsed. And remember the elbow gi pull to collapse a locked elbow. This is a goodie.
v) Weight. Make sure the opponent is carrying your weight when you are on top in any position. This makes it harder for him to control and move you. Use your weight.
vi) Grip. Grip fighting and securing handles is very important. I need to learn more about this but grip-strengthening is something I can always work on by myself.
vii) Kuzushi. This is the judo theory of off-balancing and it's used a lot in the other martial art I study and it's invaluable in BJJ, too. If you understand how kuzushi works then it can help you a lot in the takedown, sweeping or wrestling part of BJJ.

All in all it's been a fab year. Roll on 2013...