Originally Posted by Wrestling_Prodigy

It sounds like you are really getting into the sport now. Your planning to do MMA?

And are you going to compare and contrast the likes and dislikes of bjj and wrestling like you said you would? Because that would be interesting to me.

I havent made any decisions on mma yet as I wanted to see how I progress in the different disciplines. Tonight was my first night of kickboxing, and there is a long road ahead before I am competent in that. In about 6-8 months Ill have a better handle of what my future holds.

Ill do a write up tomorrow on the similarities and differences between the two. There are some things that I really like and there are some things that drive me insane about bjj including the mentality and culture.

So I officially suck at writing a blog. The problem is I cant really get online at work at least not for extended periods of time. I can shoot off quick responses on the other forums but I dont really have time to think about what I want to say and take my time writing a long write up. Of course after work I am at practice then home to eat dinner and hang out with my gf.

I would say right now you would be hard pressed to find someone who trains as much as I do and is not a professional or amateur fighter.

My schedule is pretty good so I can go to practice every day of the week adn on several days I can do multiple practices.

I have off on Fridays so i have started doing the 9am mma class and then I either go back at noon for a bjj class or I wait till later that night when I can go do a bjj class and a kickboxing class.

Mondays I do the kickboxing and bjj, and on wednesdays I do the bjj class then the mma class.

So essentially I am getting anywhere from 7-11 classes a week in. At least half the classes are not that intense but more technique based. I like that mix because I can go hard around 5 times a week but then I can still take the time to build up my technical skills.

The instructor for the mma classes is amazing, he is the most talented striker and grappler that I have seen in person. Everyone in the gym says he is more talented than Nate Marquardt and when he spars with Leonard Garcia (fighting for the WEC championship) he absolutely destroys him. Last night I was watching him punch and kick the mitts, and I have never seen someone so small kick a box so hard and that was with both legs. He is also super athletic and very technical. He is a great coach and is able to pinpoint exactly what you are doing wrong. I also like him because he doenst try to force a particular style on you he helps you mold your style to be more effective. He knows that I am a wrestler so he has helped me with ways to set up my takedowns by either throwing my own punches or slipping punches into a takedown.

I have seen a ton of improvement in my bjj game. I was able to submit a good purple belt the other day that was the first time I submitted anyone above a blue belt so I was pretty happy. My one instructor is forcing me to go more off my back and I am getting better there but I still want to work from the top position. I want to be completely dominant from the top position, I want to be able to pass anyones guard and have a variety of submissions from side control or mount. I listened to an interview with Jake shields where he said that the biggest problems with wrestlers coming into mma is that they are too stubborn and dont develop their grappling skills or they try to become a straight up bjj guy and forget about their wrestling. He has been so successful because he has successfully molded the two. He has a great top game that is hybrid of his wrestling and bjj. That is how I want to be, certainly I am working off my back but mainly I want to sweep or get back to my feet.

I have a tournament coming up in about four weeks that I am very excited for. I have not had a real competition in four years so I am sure I would be nervous and anxious. I am going in to win and it should be fun.

Got in a bjj class where we worked on defense to kimuras and even turned the kimura into a transition into an armbar.

I then did a kickboxing class. Just some basic techniques including checking legkicks, and working on a few different jab combinations.

2/23/09
Tonight was a randori class. Got to go with a few different people had some nice rolls. One guy got a little rough going for a rnc, so I had to return the favor.

2/24/09
Did a technique class in bjj then stayed for the mma class. Did alot of intense drills from the over under position against the wall simulating wrestling against the cage. It was constant rotations so it was quite the cardio workout. Got to go against the instructor, I had the size advantage as well as the wrestling advantage in the clinch. A couple of times I dropped my head and he was able to throw some knees that would have landed flush if it was a real fight. I was happy though once it went to the ground I was able to work out of some of his submission attempts. He is a high level brown belt so it was nice to see some of the techniques I have learned paying off.

2/25/09
Tonight was the advanced bjj class. We went over some chokes from side control and north south. I have struggled on picking up some of these chokes. I think they would be good for me since I am in the positions alot I just need to get the actual transitions smoother.

2/26/09
Did the am advanced bjj class where we went over a few things from the guard but then started randori. Went against a guy who was hard to control. he would constantly shrimp from side to side regaining half guard or guard. I dont mind if a guy gets back to guard cause I just pass again. Eventually it wears him out and frustates him.

Went to the night practice. The first half was technique, I asked the instructor to show how to better control the guy from side control. We went over switching from side position 1,2,3. From there we worked on positions if he got under hooks and switching to position three to control the hips andthen transtionined that into armbars or kimuras. The second part was randori, I went against a guy who has pretty good triangles so I like going against him. I submitted him with a americana and a darce choke.

2/27/09
The first hour of class this morning was all technique. Went over a bunch of different sweeps from the bottom both from half guard to guard. I like learning the sweeps because it not only helps me if im on bottom but helps me when Im on top knowing what to look for and what he may try.

Then we went to randori for the second hour. One of the guys i went with for awhile is a 200lb dude who is solid muscle. he is a blue belt who had some high school wrestling experience. His wrestling isnt great but he is very very strong. We got into some good scrambles I almost pulled off a few submissions including an armbard from side control and an americana. I like going against bigger stronger guys because it forces me to be tighter with my positioning and technique. Against a guy I am bigger than I can get away with being sloppy or loose in transitions but the bigger guys can escape from positions.

I have tomorrow off and then I am getting back at it on monday. The two tournament is two weeks away so I am just trying to get in better shape and sharpen up a few positions.

Just to catch up on some recent news. We had our blue belt roll off for people who thought they were close to a blue belt. I won the tournament submitting my opponents. Previously I did not have any stripes which i was a bit frustrated with. But after the tournament they gave me four stripes, but wanted to hold off on the blue belt so that i could tighten up in a few areas. they said as a grappler i could beat blue belts but they want me to have the proper technique in all areas specifically off my back. they also said they were happy that i had kept an open mind in terms of not just sticking with my wrestling but developing my bjj skills. I had no problem with not getting the blue belt just yet as I had only been doing bjj for five months so i want to be sure that my bjjs skills are good not just my wrestling skills.

The following week i had my first bjj tournament. i won my division (165-180) i had three matches submitted one guy and beat the others by quite a few points. it went pretty well but i didnt do a lot of the stuff i had gotten decent at in practice. I also felt a little sluggish so i am looking forward to my next competition. eventually i will be going down to the next weight class i just need to start running a little.

My next tournament is on april 18th i will be doing in the intermediate division which means there will be purple belts in this division. it will be tough to win but if i can be tight with my top game i should be alright. if i win i get my flight and entry fee paid for the grapplers quest in vegas.

Been awhile since i have posted.

Was awarded my blue belt today by Nate Marquardt so that was cool. Also received an invite to start sparring on saturdays with the pros at t(s)ko. It will be pro boxers, kickboxers, mma fighters, and some amateur mma fighters. I will get whooped really bad as my striking is still very raw but it should help a lot.

I am also now the wrestling instructor at nate marquardts high altitude martial arts gym. it is just coaching the general students but i am excited to be teaching again.

Thanks, how is the knee feeling?

Originally Posted by p-jersey

Been awhile since i have posted.

Was awarded my blue belt today by Nate Marquardt so that was cool.

I am also now the wrestling instructor at nate marquardts high altitude martial arts gym. it is just coaching the general students but i am excited to be teaching again.

Well done on both Mr. Jersey...