Musings from the BJJ GI #12, lesson 13, clinch (conservative opponent), & take the back from the mount, R.N.C
My second round of doing this lesson, and it went a lot more smoothly than the first time. I usually have some issues with my footwork in regards to establishing clinches and doing takedowns, more so when it's orthodox stance (I'm right handed) vs south paw, but the footwork made a bit more sense this time. For this one at least (establishing the clinch), you take a big step forward with your lead leg to close the distance and make contact with your 'helmet' (arms up protecting your face/head) to their chest, and then you take a follow up step with your rear leg to establish hip-to-hip closeness/contact, and kind of straddle their leg on the side that your rear leg stepped around, while simultaneously establishing a thumbless grip behind their back - the arm (wrist) wrapping around behind their back gets gripped by the one coming from the front side.
No matter how many times I get taught/shown the steps of the rear naked choke, there are always additional technical details which stand out to me which I have prevously been neglecting. It seems like there are almost infinite ways of making it more technical, increasing the leverage, making it come on faster, making it more inescapable, setting it up faster, and so on, it's awesome! So in some ways, I feel like I know how to do this technique, and in other ways, I feel I like do it with a technical proficiency not dissimilar to a drunk caveman attempting an Olympic figure skating performance. But I enjoy it nonetheless. The take the back from the mount, followed by strong side and weak side RNC's was good though, we got that sequence flowing pretty nicely by the end. This lesson was the first opportunity I had to leap at the chance to partner up with someone who hadn't done the lesson yet, and I'd only done it once myself, but it was cool seeing someone put it all together for the very first time.
My posts are pretty dry and boring without photos attached, but there's not always something to take a photo of to add to every post. But this time, I've attached a photo of my Combatives curriculum card, to show the structure of the Combatives curriculum, and also where I'm up to at this point. It's a brilliant curriculum, and flows in numerical order from start to finish and then repeats. The goal is to do each lesson at least 3 times, and I think each Reflex Development class either twice or three times, I can't quite remember that detail. You can begin attending the RD classes after you've completed each of the Combatives lessons at least twice. Once you've done all of that, you can test for your Combatives belt if you feel competent to do so. As you can also see on the right hand side there, white belt stripes are given out after you've completed blocks of 20 classes. So you will have completed 80 classes upon recieving your fourth white belt stripe, and 3 cycles of the 23 Combatives class curriculum = 69 classes, so it's not that you cease attending Combatives classes once you complete the 69 or 80 classes, but those are the bare minimum you need to attend, on top of 2 - 3 cycles of RD classes before you can even consider testing for a Combatives belt. But nonetheless, there are always plenty of Combatives belts, and up to 4 stripe blue belts in the Combatives classes I've been attending, which I think is really cool. I guess you can, and should, never stop learning the basics.
Cheers,
- David.
I really like how the Combatives curriculum is clearly structured! E.g. in my gym we don't have that clear structure - means you don't really know what you missed if you couldn't come to class. We're doing one main position per month + some its modifications.
Also, I really like that you think about orthodox/southpaw stance in there. That has never been mentioned in our gym.
What I don't like a bit though is that person is guaranteed a stripe after 20 classes. I mean - people develop and learn in different pace. We are not all winners. I doubt everyone is on the same level after 20-40-60 classes, yet it sounds they are just awarded with stripes categorically based on number of classes, rather than skills. Also, I'm wondering - so you basically get first stripe after 5 weeks if you train 4times a week? That's kind of too fast IMO or? I've been training for 1 year, 4-5 times a week and I'm a 2 stripe whitie :D And there are guys who started with me and have just 1 stripe...We're a bit old school gym though, so dunno....
Good luck with your progress!
Thanks for the comment man! Yes that's how the whites stripes are given out in this curriculum, but only the white belt stripes, Combatives belt, blue belt, and every stripe thereafter has it's own grading test. But for white belt, it's equally as much about giving newbies incentive and encouragement as it is about recognising their skill. Because the Combatives curriculum is all about self defence, there's absolutely no sparring/rolling or sportive BJJ included, and so I can see how offering incentive to absolute beginners; people of all ages, quite a few with zero martial arts experience of any sort, it's a good way to encourage them to keep going.
In a previous lifetime (around 2000-2004) I trained BJJ in the more traditional/old school way, with the first half of a class allocated to technique, and the second half to rolling, from lesson 1! And we had no stripes in our academy either, just solid belt colours, and I was a white belt for like 3 years or so, and got my arse handed to me and many injuries in the process in so many different ways until I eventually got my blue belt. And that was fine for me at the time, as a 20-something year old male, quite willing to get thrashed for years. But there was also a high turnover of students there, many people quit, or tried it and never came back, and certainly no older people or people with health issues or injuries/disabilities, or even people who were just intimidated by the whole 'getting thrown in the deep end' thing would have even given it a second look. But those are exactly the sort of people who need BJJ! The vulnerable people who are intimidated easily and have no idea how to defend themselves.
So anyway, that's the utility in getting the white stripes quite easily in my opinion. I know lots of people wouldn't be a fan of it, preferring the traditional model of BJJ academy training, but I really dig the idea of BJJ being made more easily and safely accessible to the people in the community who want it and need it, but would ordinarily be too intimidated or concerned about injury to ever sign up. The Combatives belt, and blue belt, and every stripe from then on has it's own highly challenging grading though. I think that the classes you attend are still documented on a card like this, and there's a bare minimum required before you can attempt the grading test.
Good luck with your training too man!
Oh yeah for sure...I didn't realize you're not aware of the discussion I had 2 days ago haha :D I praise this system quite a lot, especially cuz it keeps beginners interested...here my comment, just so you have my full point :) Also, what do u mean by "past life"?
Comment:
Oh wow, didn't know that these Combatives Belts even exist in this grading system. Interesting...I honestly dont get it why R&R brothers are getting so much shit for their way of promoting bjj. I mean...they've just introduced more system into those first loong years of being a whitie. Whole bjj community is kind of proud that just 10% of whites get it to the blue. I've always found it a bit weird...I understand that it makes those blue and purples proud, cuz they are part of that chosen 10%...but at the same time, lets just think if all those dropouts would make it to blue as well. The whole bjj would get into much wider audience...and I guess that's the positive thing of what R&R are doing. People have a clear path ahead of the. E.g in our gym, our sensei is a brown and he's not allowed to give us stripes nor promote belts. So we always just wait till the main sensei drops by in our town and then we almost all get stripes :D bit weird but I wouln't change my gym even if I could...but with this approach you've just described, people have it clear, what they need to do.....e.g I have no idea what and when my next promotiion will be :D And I mean, I don't care one bit, cuz Im doing it for the fun of it. But might be pretty discouraging for other people...Spending first 8 months without any stripe at all..so they leave...hope u get my point haha :D
Absolutely man! I totally get it, and I think it's awesome to have a variety of types of BJJ club and teaching/grading methods around to fit everyone's wants and needs :) Apparently when BJJ first started, not only were there no stripes and it took forever to grade, but there were also finite numbers allowed for belts, so to grade up from white to blue, you also had to wait for a blue belt space to be vacated by someone grading up to purple, and so on. Intense!
By "past life", I didn't mean it literally haha! I just used that phrase because my first venture into BJJ was so long ago now that it seems/feels like a past life to me. I trained from 2000-2004, starting when I was about 21 years old, competed twice, got a bronze medal in one of them, and got my blue belt sometime in my third year. But then the academy closed down unfortunately, and I had nowhere to train anymore, so I had to stop training for a period of almost exactly 10 years due to having no accessible options. I then resumed training BJJ again via Gracie University on mats in my garage with a friend in late 2014, and continued training like that until early 2018. We passed our Combatives belt grading via Gracie University online (filmed 5 grading test videos each and emailed them to Gracie HQ in California), and we trained in the Master Cycle (blue belt stripe 1 curriculum) for about 2 years.
And now I train at a Gracie certified training centre. I was welcome to continue wearing a Combatives belt, or even a blue belt given that I'd earned one before, but I chose to start from the start again as a zero stripe white belt, because it's a perishable skill set, and I no longer felt that I was skilled or able enough to justify wearing either a blue or Combatives belt. Plus, I just love the process, and love getting a good handle on the basics.
Given that there's no rolling/sparring at this academy until after you have your blue belt, and I'm certainly not entering any competitions anymore, there's no problem with me starting from the start again as a white belt, and I'm also always completely open and transparent with my instructors and training partners about the level of my past training experience. This process of starting over from the start again was the reason for starting this blog actually, as I wanted to document the journey, and I've documented my BJJ story so far in my earlier posts if you're interested :)
Structure is great. Sometimes it can be too structured though I'm talking about places I've trained. Sometimes they forget about learning jiu jitsu and it's more business structure. I like the structure your gym has and the way that card is layed out. People I train with have a curriculum then practice the move and then drill drill drill drill drill. Thanks for the post and being able to hear about your progress. Keep pushing!