Pre-Competition Game Plan and Post Competition Evaluations are essential to improving.
Keeping records of wins, losses, points scored for and against and the specific techniques used
along with timing and mat strategy analysis are key components of the winning
athlete. If you are not willing to do those things you may be a physical and
technical monster but you will be beaten by the athletes who are willing to do
the paperwork. NFL athletes practice and study 8+ hours a day during their
training camps. About 3 of those hours are physical work, the other 5 are spent
learning plays, studying film and looking for weaknesses in their opponents. To
be a more successful grappler you must adopt this philosophy if you want to be
successful.

If you are serious about winning then you need to contact the man that helped me,
Joey Johnson, and start training with his Worthy to Win system!

Study Greatness

If you would be great study greatness. Too many people study the loser and why they lost.
They study how not to lose. They try to figure out how they can avoid making the same
mistakes as the loser. Historians tell us the falsehood of “those who do not study history
are bound to repeat it.” I have yet to see anyone who has studied history not repeat it.
Human nature is a repeat phenomenon. Studying the history of losing will teach you that
there have been some major failures in the past. 

This is fine if you want to continue to lose. You can’t study losing and
expect to win. 

Your mind cannot dwell on the reverse of a thing. You cannot dwell on losing
and expect to win. 

If you want to have more success in your endeavors study those who are
already successful. Study how they won. Figure out how you can repeat similar
successes as to what they have created. Borrow their ingenuity and example.
Develop the next step from where they left off. 

If you think that studying history will help you for heaven’s sake study the
winning team! Study the dominant figures and systems of the past. Understand
what they did and why they did it. 

Spending too much time on trying to understand someone else’s mistakes is the
surest way to avoid fixing your own. I would rather fix the holes in my own game
first. Jesus said ‘first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt
thou see clearly to cast out the mote of thy brother’s eye.’

 As you study successful strategies you will start to see the world
differently. You will start to do things differently. You will find greater
effectiveness and efficiency. You will find more and better solutions to
problems both big and small. Your mind will expand and you will ask better
questions. When you start asking better questions you will start getting better
solutions. 

Look for the way things are being approached. Look for the setups. Look for
transitions. Look for the finishes. Look for subtle things like timing and
positioning. 

Learn from the successes of the past and you will have a successful future.

Studying Chess to Improve Your Grappling?

Though at first glance chess and grappling may not appear all that similar they are both indeed a game of strategy and creativity. I found some very insightful thoughts on chess that I was able to relate to my grappling game by watching a chess video on YouTube. 

I have no idea who the video’s creator is but he left me thinking about
several things that I can implement into my grappling game.

Here are the thoughts I took from it:

• Always look for the space left behind.
• In strange situations both players tend to miss things because they are playing types of positions
that they both unfamiliar with.
• You have to flow with the moment. Be open to every possibility. Don’t be flustered with the unknown. Move with the struggle. Enjoy the chaos. Trust yourself. You can figure everything out.

How can these be applied more specifically to grappling?

Controlling Space
In grappling there is always a certain amount of space
necessary for every technique to be performed. This space always allows for new
opportunities to attack or defend. The better you are at controlling the space
the better your chances are of successfully attacking and defending. The best
attackers and defenders know exactly how to create openings for attack and how
to simultaneously shut down space to nullify attacks. 

Where are the spaces that you are leaving behind? Where does your opponent
have an opportunity? Where is your opponent leaving you an opening? Is there an
easier submission available?

Start looking for that “space left behind” and you will see new
possibilities.

Recognize Positions
One of my core philosophies is: The faster you can
recognize positions the faster you can turn it into an opportunity to attack or
defend. So much of what we do absolutely depends on recognition of body
positioning, yet how often do you actually train that? How often has anyone even
talked about that? In my experience it has been minimal. Most coaches often
overlook this all important philosophy. 

If you look at the best athletes they are masters of understanding where they
are at all times and the accompanying pitfalls and opportunities. This is why
you will see some athletes naturally gravitate toward a control game or wide
open game. There are few that can or prefer to do both. This is due in large
part because recognition is different for everyone. Some do it by feel, some do
it by sight, some do it by mental calculation. No matter how you do it
recognition has to become a large focal point of your game.

Flow
You can only flow in grappling once you have the ability to control
space and recognize positions and opportunities. Without those first two skills
trying to flow will often be like riding down the river on the way to a
waterfall. There are so many great grapplers out there who just like the chess
master can predict 3,4 and 5 moves ahead because they understand openings and
recognize positions so well. There is always a little ‘key’ that they find and
unlock your whole game. You can learn to do the same thing. All it takes is
time, patience, practice and a little creativity.

Trust Yourself
Every time I try to figure out a black belt’s guard game I
have to ask myself; “Where are my arms? Where is my base? Keep the pressure
here. Look for the opening at this point.” Etc. I have to trust that my
abilities to execute are as good or better than his in the areas in which I plan
to attempt my techniques. 

It is very much a situation of knowing where you want to go and looking for
the best path to get there because there is no ‘right’ or ‘perfect’ path. It
comes down to trusting in your physical and mental abilities as an athlete. You
have to believe that you can solve the problem and unlock the riddle that your
opponent presents. 

For anyone interested in watching the actual original chess video and seeing
what you can glean for yourself here is the link. 
ChessMaster GrandMaster Edition: Kogan A vs Waitzkin J
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ygrb_yp-Hdc 
 
Until next time good luck and good training!
 

Honesty and Integrity

You may be asking what do honesty and integrity have to do with grappling, or
any other activity for that matter? 

Well at the heart of it they are two of the most important principles of
success in life and in athletics. In life when you purchase a product you expect
to pay the required price. You expect that you must pay for an item before you
can take it out of the store. Your level of integrity dictates whether you will
pay for the item, or if you will just walk off and steal it.

 When you ask an honest question you expect an honest answer. When you drive
down the road you expect that the other drivers will have the integrity to obey
the traffic laws. You expect that when you compete the other competitors will
follow the rules for safety and scoring that have been established and that you
agree to when you sign the entry waiver.

Honesty and Integrity are everywhere. Without these values there would be no
chance for much of anything in society. 

How does this more directly apply to you as an athlete? 

Honesty:
You must be honest with yourself and what your true goals are and
why you are pursuing them. You may be holding yourself back by hiding behind
situations and circumstances. You may be telling yourself little lies that you
aren’t able to do something because of family or because of work. You may be
making excuses to avoid putting in an honest effort physically. You may be
making excuses to avoid facing the reality of the pressures and stresses that
competition places on you. You may be hiding behind lack of coaching or
experience.

The honest athlete will learn to discern the truth from the errors, the
misconceptions and the lies both big and small that get made to excuse ourselves
from loss and disappointment. The honest athlete stares the reality of potential
loss and the opportunity of winning in the face and knows exactly which side
they are moving toward.

Integrity:
Integrity s when you come to grips with the need to be
completely honest with yourself and your level of commitment, desire and effort.
The athlete with integrity holds their self to a higher standard, one that
recognizes an excuse but makes the effort anyway. The athlete with integrity
gives forth their best effort and then builds upon it. The athlete with
integrity takes responsibility for their actions both on and off the mat. 

Honesty leads to better workouts and better insights into flaws and strengths
in technique and strategy. It is the beginning of development; it is the
beginning of understanding. Integrity is the inner strength to hold oneself to
their commitment to improve. Developing these two virtues in your life and in
your grappling game will lead you to greater and greater success.