Sunday 27 July 2014

Competition No.1: Part 2...



While on the subject of competing, I was reading about an article about Joshua Waitzkin last week.


Waitzkin was a chess prodigy, who then became a world champion at tai chi. Now he's a BJJ black belt under Marcello Garcia and he also designed his website by basing it on chess websites.

I've read Waitzkin's book, The Art of Learning, and thought it was very good, so I was intrigued to see what the website was like and how it was organised. And it's quite clear and very well done with a clear path through.

Thinking about Waitzkin and looking at the website, though, made me think about my own BJJ and how that needs to grow to be effective in competitions. And, at the moment, it looks something like this:
i) My stand-up grappling is OK. I have decent throws, sweeps, arm drags and trips so I need to utilise these to ensure the fight only goes to the ground on my terms.
ii) Once on the floor, I need to ensure I end up on top and use my weight to pressure the opponent.
iii) If I end up on the bottom, I need to not allow the opponent to settle into a position and fight to improve my position if I can't establish either guard or half-guard.


Things to remember: Develop a game plan that plays to your strengths. Ensure it has a strong through line.

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