- Olah raga Submission Grappling
- Informasi klub kami
- Video2 teknik grappling (akan perlu broadband internet untuk menonton)
- Tanya jawab
Untuk Blog, kami akan tetap hosting di blogspot seperti biasa.
Tolong sabar ya.
Thanks
Martin
Monday, September 11, 2006
Website Universal Grappling
Kami sedang dalam proses membuat situs untuk Universal Grappling. Didalamnya akan ada informasi:
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Jurus atau Sistem?
Ketika saya mulai belajar grappling di tahun 1994, BJJ adalah merupakan barang baru di Amerika Serikat. Banyak orang berbondong2 untuk belajar ilmu baru ini. Ketika itu jumlah guru yang sudah bersabuk hitam di BJJ pun juga masih bisa dihitung jari. Saya pun pada waktu itu juga belajar dari Roy Harris yang masih memegang sabuk ungu (menengah) pada saat itu. Selain itu saya juga sering pergi berlatih ke sekolah2 lain di daerah San Diego, seperti sekolah: Fabio Santos (dibawah Rickson Gracie) & Nelson Monteiro (Gracie Barra). Belajar BJJ dari orang Brazil itu memang ada kelebihan dan ada kelemahannya.
Kelebihannya:
- Kita berasa seperti mendapatkan 'keaslian' murni (ibaratnya seperti belajar agama Islam dari orang Arab, belajar agama Budha dari orang India, makan masakan Padang buatan koki orang Padang, makan sate Madura di pulau Madura, belajar bahasa Jawa dari orang Jawa asli, makan hamburger di McDonald, dsb saya rasa anda sudah mengerti maksud saya). Bagi para grappler, 'Mekah'nya BJJ adalah Brazil.
- Untuk lebih mengentalkan keaslian, kita biasanya berasa 'cool' apabila bisa belajar dari orang yang murid langsungnya keluarga Gracie/atau sepupunya (Machado).
Kekurangannya:
- Sebagian besar orang Brazil tidak bisa berbicara Inggris dengan baik memiliki aksen Inggris yang sangat sulit dimengerti.
- Perbedaan budaya yang sangat drastis dengan budaya Amerika Serikat. Saya tadinya berpikir: "Kan mereka itu sama2 ada keturunan bule-nya ... paling mirip2 lah sama orang Amerika Serikat. Ternyata budaya Brazil itu sangat berbeda dengan budaya Amerika Serikat. Bagi orang2 AS, sangat normal sekali bila kita latihan di beberapa sekolah pada saat yang bersamaan, atau belajar bela diri lain. Bagi sebagian besar orang Brazil, hal2 tersebut tabu dan sudah berbau2 'pengkhianatan'. Jadi bahkan bagi orang2 BJJ yang sudah level tinggi tersebut, ternyata mereka juga masih sering menganggap remeh (tidak menghormati) cabang bela diri lainnya. Jadi kalau kita itu belajar BJJ lalu belajar gulat/tinju/dll, maka banyak kasus dimana guru2 Brazil tersebut menganggap itu adalah 'pengkhianatan'.
- Lalu belum lagi metode mengajar guru2 dari Brazil itu sangat disayangkan. Bila anda datang ke kelas BJJ yang 'normal' maka anda akan diajarkan suatu teknik dengan rangkaian2 selanjutnya. Lalu ketika anda datang beberapa hari lagi, maka akan diajarkan teknik lain dari posisi lain yang tidak ada hubungannya dengan beberapa hari sebelumnya.
- Lalu juga pada saat grappling dengan grappler kelas tinggi, kebanyakan guru2 tersebut tidak pernah mengeluarkan jurus2 yang mereka ajarkan di kelas, biasanya yang keluar malah sesusatu yang kita tidak pernah lihat sebelumnya. Bila kita tanya kepada mereka, mereka selalu bilang: "Yang diajarkan ke kamu itu adalah materi 'dasar' saja, dimana gerakan2 tersebut akan membuat otot tubuh kamu menjadi terbiasa dengan gerakan grappling. Nanti kalau sudah lancar". Masalahnya yang dimaksud dengan gerakan2 dasar tersebut kebanyakan adalah gerakan2 yang sangat mudah ditanggulangi. Akhirnya kita jadi terlalu berfokus terhadap mempelajari 'counter2' dari gerakan2 dasar dan counter dari counter yang kita telah pelajari sebelumnya. Coba saja pikirkan berapa banyak gerakan yang harus dipelajari (dan diingat)? Di dalam grappling ada banyak macam posisi (mount, back mount, guard passing, closed guard, open guard, side mount, kesa gatame, kazuri kesa gatame, north south, Front Head Lock, Side Ride, dll - paling tidak sudah ada lebih dari 11 posisi yang hrs dipelajari) dan dari setiap posisi harus paling tidak bisa melakukan 3 gerakan 'dasar', lalu kita harus belajar 3 counter dari gerakan dasar tersebut, lalu counter dari counter (minimal 3 gerakan dan sudah merupakan gerakan baru lagi dari 'dasar' yang diajarkan) gerakan tersebut. Jadi total2 berapa macam gerakan yang harus kita pelajari? Kalau di 'jurus'kan, grapplign/BJJ akan punya ratusan 'jurus' yang sebenarnya mudah di counter. Arti kata lain, saya latihan gerakan2 yang persentase kesuksesannya rendah.
Jujur saja, gabungan dari semua ini membuat perut saya mual. Dan dunia grappling seperti ini saya jalankan selama bertahun2. Padahal di saat yang sama, saya telah latihan tinju dimana tinju hanya memiliki 3 gerakan dasar (pukulan lurus - jab/straight, pukulan melingkar - hook, dan uppercut). Yang banyak detil2 untuk menyempurnakan (sehingga sulit di counter) dan variasi untuk mendapatkan ketiga gerakan dasar tersebut. Tapi saya tetap pisahkan kedua dunia tersebut karena saya pikir: "Memang bukan olah raga yang sama sih".
Wawasan saya mengenai dunia grappling yang 'kompleks' ini mulai berubah ketika bertemu dengan Niko Han setelah beliau kembali dari Amerika Serikat. Niko menunjukan kepada saya materi yang ia ajarkan di kelasnya. Ternyata yang ia ajarkan adalah yang ia lakukan disaat ia grappling melawan orang yang sekelasnya. Jadi ia benar2 mengajarkan apa yang ia lakukan. Lalu Niko juga banyak bercerita bahwa Eddie Bravo (satu2nya orang Amerika Serikat yang mampu men-Tap Out legenda hidup Submission Grappling: Royler Gracie) pun juga melakukan hal yang sama. Yang ia ajarkan adalah yang ia lakukan.
Niko juga pernah mengatakan kepada saya akan pentingnya 'set-ups' atau jebakan2. Jadi maksudnya, kalau kita itu suka melakukan Arm Bar, yang harus kita latih adalah berbagai macam jebakan2 untuk mengarahkan lawan agar secara tidak sengaja memberikan tangannya untuk kita Arm Bar.
Lalu saya mulai melihat kembali apa yang telah saya alami selama ini. Saya perhatikan pelatih tinju saya, Sonny Rambing, juga demikian ketika mengajarkan tinju kepada saya. Menurut pendapat pribadi saya, Sonny adalah salah satu petinju paling berbakat di Indonesia. Senjata pamungkas beliau adalah 'Jab'nya. Ia mengerti berbagai macam cara untuk melandaskan jabnya ke muka lawan. Yang lebih penting lagi, detil dari setiap Jabnya itu sangat diperhatikan sehingga untuk meng-counter satu jabnya saja sudah bikin kewalahan. Jadi tidak masalah bila lawan sudah mengetahui kekuatan Sonny adalah Jabnya, tapi tetap saja diakhir pertandingan, lawan2nya selalu berdarah hidungnya. Mengapa demikian? Karena Sonny telah melatih/menyempurnakan Jabnya sehingga ia telah memiliki suatu 'sistem' untuk melandaskan Jabnya sehingga sangat sulit bagi lawannya untuk meng-counter. Jadi bisa dibilang bahwa Sonny memiliki Jab yang persentase suksesnya tinggi.
Ketika saya mulai latihan dengan Michael Jen, beliau juga dalam proses transformasi untuk membuat sistematika grappling sehingga lebih 'high percentage' dan 'unstopable'. Analogi yang ia gunakan adalah analogi merakit komputer. Bila kita membeli komputer yang dikhususkan untuk digunakan sebagai 'video editing workstation', maka kita akan dihadapkan dengan 2 pilihan: merakit sendiri atau beli sistem jadi.
Komputer rakitan atau dikenal sebagai 'jangkrik' memiliki banyak pilihan untuk meng-install bermacam2 perangkat keras. Komputer rakitan akan cenderung lebih 'canggih' ketimbang sistem komputer yang bermerek. Tapi bila kita banyak melakukan video editing, maka kita akan dihadapkan oleh bermacam2 masalah 'kompatibilitas' perangkat keras. Secara umum komputer yang dibikin oleh perusahaan bermerek akan cenderung lebih stabil ketimbang buatan sendiri. Memang komputer bermerek sering kali tidak menggunakan perangkat keras yang terbaru dan tercanggih, tapi biasanya lebih dapat diandalkan karena lebih jarang 'crash'. Komputer jangkrik yang bagus pun juga bisa menjadi se-stabil bermerek, tapi biasanya sang perakit komputer tersebut juga sudah memiliki 'sistem' merakit juga.
Hal yang serupa juga bisa kita umpamakan ketika kita membeli mobil/motor. Apakah kita akan membeli kendaraan yang 'standar' dari pabriknya atau kita beli mobil yang modifikasi? Yah tentunya bagi pecandu mobil yang sudah biasa bermodifikasi ria, akan mengambil jalan modifikasi (saya pun juga senang modifikasi mobil). Tapi bila kita bicara kehandalan mobil, maka mobil dengan spesifikasi standar dari produsen biasanya akan lebih langgeng ketimbang modifikasi kita. Para penggemar modifikasi yang sudah pengalaman pun juga biasanya akan memiliki suatu 'sistematika' tertentu sehingga relatif modifnya menjadi stabil.
Semoga tulisan ini bisa membantu anda2 yang juga menekuni grappling atau bidang lain.
Terima kasih untuk membaca.
Martin
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Berbagai Macam Karakter Grappler
Berikut ini adalah kopian dari email yang saya dapat dari teman saya, Niko Han, mengenai berbagai macam karakter orang2 yang akan anda jumpai bila anda sedang latihan grappling. Tentunya di Indonesia belum akan sebanyak ini macamnya karena jumlah komunitas grappler Indonesia belum sebanyak dan selama di Amerika Serikat.
FUNNY BJJ STEREOTYPES
Pre excuse guy - This guy has to tell you of every ailment, injury, pain, he has in his body, to not allow you to attack those areas. "Oh dude, my (insert body part) been hurting, so no (insert submission) today" Sometimes this guy goes into pre excuse emotional problems he has, and how it will affect his training. If he’s been really shitty on the mat lately, it’s because he broke up with his girl, and he'll let you know about it, so you understand why he stinks.
The laugher- This guy rolls with you and is constantly laughing at everything to make the roll so friendly that you won’t push any competition against him, or hurt him in anyway. You're rolling and get by the wall, "Hahahaha.... dude we're way too close to the wall, I didn’t want us to go through the wall....hahahaha...could u imagine, kaplosh!! Then we went through the wall and everyone would look and be like OH SHIT THEY WENT THROUGH THE WALL..Hahahaha"
Your best friend (Talker)- This guy is very similar in his thinking, to the laugher. As soon as you start rolling, this guy wants to know what you did over the weekend, what you've been up to, how you're great with the ladies, and your good at bjj... Again this guy thinks being overly friendly prevents competition.
Drama guy- This guy is somewhat tough, but as you push the rolling, sometimes your feet hit his head (incidental), or you go for a cross face, and everything you do is a HUGE injury to him. He constantly stops training to let you know that your finger almost touched his eye, and how he needs a 5 minute timeout, because it left him completely in a daze...he’s confused at where he’s at now. This guy I hate the most, because he literally kills training with all the drama he puts into every tiny incidental contact.
Practice hero- This guy stinks, so you roll easy with him, and he’s convinced he can "come up" in the rankings by tapping you, so he'll go wild out and try hit some crazy heel hook in an effort to get noticed in the class, and loved by the teacher. He trains balls out with zero technique....he wants to be noticed by the entire class
The UG Guy- This dude never trains but comes in every couple of weeks to let you know all the updated info he has on the MMA game, and how he knows so much more than you do, about what’s going on with rival teams in Brazil.
Dominic's Apprentice - goes to class 4-5 days a week, works his ass off. But no matter how hard he tries he just doesn't get any better. He’ll get caught in the exact same armbar 10 times a roll. He still can't defend the triangle choke. And he gets mounted by everyone.
"Gotta Go" Guy- This guy always "has to go somewhere" at the exact moment when class shifts from technique/drills to rolling. "Yeah, I got a conference call in two hours..."
Reformed Gangster (troublemaker)- This guy usually turns out in the long run to be the coolest, or the biggest douche bag in the short run. This guy covers all forms of troublemakers or gangsters. He’s a cholo who thinks he’s a badass cuz his vario is tough. He’s a black guy who thinks he’s a badass because he’s black. He’s a white guy who thinks he can kick ass because he gets faded on the weekends and starts fights with guys at a trashy bar. Each one of these guys comes in with a huge chip on their shoulder, and they get HUMBLED so quickly. After tapping them 6 ways to Sunday every rolling session, as the months go by (if they continue to train), they completely lose their hard gangster persona.... its funny to see the transition of some cholos to just a tough ass calm dude down the line....
The "instructor" -rolls around like any other guy and can have any skill-level but when you finally get his back and struggle to choke the shit outa him he goes wait, you've got wrong mechanics... wait you gotta do like this.. More like that etc. He lets you understand that he didn't get caught and he's not about to get the shit choked out of him, in fact he's just in the process of showing you how to choke.
The All Hat No Cattle Guy- Has every PRIDE and UFC on tape, has every BJJ book ever published, every BJJ instructional video/DVD ever produced, has a wide range of gis to choose from, has at least 10,000 posts on the UG, can recite the contents of bjj.org from memory, and sucks at BJJ; will be awarded a blue belt in about ten years out of pity.
THE GOOD SHIT GUY- He’s similar to the instructor, in that he can’t accept tapping....so if you are transitioning to a triangle choke, and he’s kind of sunk, but before you fully finish the hold, he'll tap and give it to you. This guy always taps on the transition to a move, not the move itself, and says "Good shit" like he let u catch him....and considering he didn’t tap when you completely had the choke sunk in, you didn’t really beat him.
The 'Let's Go Light Guy' - who then proceeds to decapitate you and tear you limb from limp with neck cranks and head squeezes
The Gasser - Goes all out for 30 secs and blows his wad. Then taps when u get a dominant position
The 'this is my first lesson' guy which translates to 'this is my first lesson here' but I was an NCAA div 1 wrestling champ and trained in Brazil for a few years
The SPY: This guy comes in one day, is very friendly, seems to know a lot about BJJ scene and says he's from out of town. He rolls and blends in with the students, seems like a very promising prospect for the club.
Result: You never see him again after the first class and months later when browsing a competition's website you see the motherfucker in their seminar photos being one of their "regulars".
THE FARTING MACHINE GUY - Guy that always farts every single time he rolls. Knee on stomach.... FART! Mount.... FART! Try to push out of his guard.... FART! Even in north/south.... FART! In your face! FART! FART! FART! Nothing like an ass-in-your-face stink sub.
The Shadow boxer: The guy who has some striking martial art experience (usually a TMAer who can't accept the fact that his black belt is being rendered useless by these 150-lb. guys who tap him relentlessly) and decides to feint it in BJJ class. While rolling, will throw fake shots, to simulate a Vale Tudo match. Convinced that a punch will change the pace of the match from anywhere, in the clinch, from his guard, while mounted by someone much better. Usually, this specimen's actions can be halted with a quick leg grab/take down while he is throwing a knee from the clinch.
Takada Guy:
His one goal is to not tap under any circumstances, considering that lasting is almost like winning. This guy mounts no offence at all and concentrates exclusively on tucking in all his extremities and 'nullifying' your game. After a round of wasting your time and his, will give you the "you couldn't tap me, so we're about even in skill" look and gasp his way to the sidelines to sit the next roll out.
Or the "one move wonder" guy
This is the guy who manages to get really good at one position/submission and only goes for that one particular move. While somewhat impressive in the beginning, this is the eternal blue belt that dominates the beginners but never develops the rest of his game. Normally seen with a bronze or silver medal at the local tourneys.
The Pressure Pointer:
Usually a black belt in some other form of martial art who once you mount him or working on chocking him, he'll try to do some kind of pressure point prior to tapping.
THE "CHALLENGE THE WEAKEST ANTELOPE IN THE PACK" GUY-This is the guy that stands around or stretches when everyone first starts rolling. Then when a new white belt takes a break from rolling, he hops on the mat and says "hey lets roll a bit”. He then proceeds to own the fatigued white belt with an assortment of wild crazy subs.
The natural - some guy, usually young, comes into the gym and at first gets beat all over the mat, but slowly and surely every week, he gets better. After one week, you can no longer have your way with him. After two, you can only catch him with your best moves. After three, you are struggling to tap him. One month passes and you are tapping each other. Another month and the roles reverse. This is the natural. He will soon tap people you've never even gotten close to.
The FALSE TECHNICIAN
Every class this guy’s going up to somebody wanting to show them a “new move” that he’s “invented.” If he considers you “technical” enough he will let you drill his patented omoplata to triangle to armlock to kneebar to toehold combo with him. The major problem with this guy is that he can’t pull any of these moves off on anybody save for the newest guy. The false technician gets owned by almost everybody else and burns with hate for those who school him on the mat with a simpler but more solid game.
The HUMAN VICE
The beginner who plays football or lifts, who's sole form of defense and offense is to latch onto your head and squeeze with all their strength. Then you simply sit in the dominant position, usually side control, until they become exhausted let go and then tap 3 seconds later when you go to knee ride or mount
The Lurker Guy: This is the guy who will sit on the wall and watch you train for an hour w/ every upper belt in the class saving his energy. Then you lie on the mat exhausted, will come up to say "wanna train?" but will never train w/ you when you are fresh.
How about the SWEAT DRIPPER GUY- some guy, usually late 30's, early 40's, that sweats buckets that DRIP on your face when he's in your guard. You pretty much have to tap as his sweat pours into your eyes, mouth, etc.
Rigormortis guy: His plan is to not let you do anything you want to, by grabbing your sleeve, pants or whatever and holding them at arms length. He doesn't really care if he gets swept or not - as long as his arms remain frozen stiff...he's won!
A close relative to Rigormotis guy is Parkinson's disease guy: He displays the same brilliant strategy as rigarmortis guy, but makes it extra special by shaking violently due to muscular fatigue I imagine.
Commando Guy: Thinks that all forms of underwear obviously restrict his game and hence chooses to go without. Nothing like a testicle rubbing on your inner thigh to freak you out and let him pass with ease. (Does help sharpen your north/south position escapes though.)
Kaji-Kempo or Japanese Jiu-jitsu guy- Lets you work on your inferior BJJ techniques and wants to only work on his BJJ techniques as well, but has no problem telling you that if you were "really rolling" he would have done a wristlock to escape but he knows his techniques are superior so he doesn’t need to work on them.
"You have no time to tap" Guy-The guy that thinks that hurting your teammates is a necessity in wrestling and will put his hips into every armbar, triangle, choke, heel hook etc. Gives you no time to tap whatsoever and pops your elbow until you decide you don’t want to wrestle with the freak anymore. The guy may even be apologetic afterwards but if you feel bad why the fuck didn’t you give me a second to tap???
Sambo guy- I get this one all the time. People think that because I studied under Val Ignatov I have awesome leglocks...Actually most of our game was working the top position, getting position, and some cool armbars. We have some good leglocks but don't completely dismiss your guard game because of it.
"The wrestler"-NEVER does the takedowns the BJJ instructor shows because they are inferior, and even when you are drilling that move shows you the "real" way to do it. Always stands up in your guard and you always have long grueling matches with him but he never taps you out. However, your neck is always sore for the next two days because he has such good head control.
What about "THE PROFESSOR"? -- He's the 34 year-old, chubby guy in the corner with the knee-braces who never rolls anymore b/c he's recovering from a neck injury (for the past year or so). That doesn't prevent him from sharing his "encyclopedic" knowledge of grappling with anyone with the misfortune to sit within 15 feet of him. He's "best-friends" with the instructor. He's been to every UFC, every local seminar in the past 10 years, and has memorized every instructional video and book available, and will tell you about every possible variation, especially moves that wouldn't work on a person in a coma.
Oh, and the Professor will be getting his purple belt "any day now" -- "just as soon as my neck's better."
THE GROANER
It is the guy who sits down to roll and groans like his body is 100 years old. He touches every joint and makes facial expressions like he is overcoming all odds to roll......then bam, he attacks with a fury on unsuspecting guys who feel sorry for him. Then after the roll, he staggers off the mat wincing in pain or discomfort, and then repeats the steps above on other victims.
THE PUNNY HUMAN GUY
He doesn't want to use (or you to use) any strength at all (as if Bjorn were supposed to develop telekinetic powers).
Whenever you tap him, he'll look disgruntled because, of course, you only got him by using strength.
The Attention Deficit Disorder GUY
You think he should be force-fed an overdose of Ritalin before every class.
He's rolling with you, but at the same time he's listening to every single conversation happening on the mat, and paying some attention to every other fight.
He'll give advice to the guys rolling near you AS he tries to pass your guard, he will laugh at a joke someone made on the other side of the mat space when you have him in side control, and he will also interfere with someone else's conversation when he is in your guard.
One sure way to tap him is pointing to the entrance and say something like "what's Royce doing in here ?" and then take his back as he begins to look around.
Oh yeah...he's the guy who is always babbling when your instructor is showing a technique too...
The Stinky Guy- We all know one. Take an f’ing shower once in a while.
The Nail Guy- Looks like you just rolled with Freddy Kruger afterwards.
The Nasty Sweaty Zitty Back Guy- Come on man, keep your shirt on
THE PRAPERATION GUY- this guy takes 30 minutes to get ready back stage while the class is doing pushups. He tapes every finger and toe with damn medical tape for some reason
THE "IM WORKING STANDUP TODAY" GUY
THE HOLDER. Thinks getting you in north. South for 30 minutes= success.
The PRE-TAPPER- This guy has such a quick mind that he’s able to tap 3-4 moves ahead of an actual submission!
I love the 'positive reinforcement' guy: Taps you 10 times in 6 minutes and then goes "man, you're getting a lot better."
THE CLASS SIZE REGULATOR- every now and then, when the class gets too big and the instructor starts making money, the monster comes around and injures about 20 dudes- resulting in a much more comfortable training environment for all
"Talker, Texas Ranger" These are the guys who are so afraid of subs that they can't rely on tapping but have to verbally submit. But instead of yelling "TAP!" or "STOP!" They say non-decisive things like "yeah, ok" or "you got it" When someone gets a knee blown out or someone gives up a hold thinking you verbally quit because you can't just tap the guy's body, that’s bullshit.
The spaz": Closely related to "Let’s go light" except he doesn’t try to fool you into thinking he’s going light before he goes spastic. This guy usually is medium sized and just goes crazy in every position available. If you’re on your knees trying to work for position he’ll often either bum rush you or try the traditional shove, the spas will push as hard as he can from every position and often with much force so it’s almost a punch, the spaz is also prone to slamming out of submissions.
THE LATECOMER
This guy shows up to every class exactly when the grueling warm-up is over and is always fresher than everybody else come rolling time.
The Dumb as a Rock Guy:
This is the one that you try to teach him a technique and he just won’t get it. After 3 month of drilling upa, he'll say: "ok, what arm do I grab again?"
The Faux Gay Guy -
He finds it humorous to act gay and scare people on the mat with it. He is known to tie his t-shirt under his gi, or challenge other people while lisping on the mat. Sometimes he will make sexual gestures while rolling while rolling while the victim has no clue why the rest of the class is laughing. He often requests the instructor to put on 80's new wave when he turns on the radio.
WON’T LET YOU PRACTICE SHIT GUY- This guy is the HANDS DOWN WORST guy to practice with. Whenever learning a new technique, or sweep...anything, this guy wont let you do the move (during practice not rolling). This guy comes in different forms.
1. He won’t let you do the move, because he resists it so much, so you're never able to learn the move properly...and you look like an ass because everyone else in the room is doing it, but you can’t because of your "tough as balls" partner. His constant resistance makes you look like crap in front of the instructor.
2. This guy won’t let you learn the move properly because he fucking collapses before you've completed the sweep. This guy is like a loose ass piece of paper. You're transitioning for the sweep, before you even kick his leg to turn him, you find he’s already on his back, and he most likely pulled you on top of him to full mount. Yes, this guy makes you look great, but in the tournament you get your ass handed to you, cuz for some reason, your opponent turns into Douche Bag #1 who resists!!
Can I Try Something On You? Guy- While rolling, this guy (who has never tapped you, and will never tap you) says something along the lines of "Hey, can I try something on you real quick? I just want to work out the mechanics on something..." He puts you in his rear mount, sinks the hooks in, and violently puts you in a choke AT THE EXACT MOMENT THE INSTRUCTOR WALKS BY, you tap, and the instructor says to the guy "Very good! You're showing much improvement!" and looks at you with a mild look of disbelief on his face.
The WhatChaWeigh guy
Whenever he taps to something, he asks what his opponent weighs. If it's even 200 grams more than him, he nods as if to suggest that he only lost due to weight mismatch. He has probably asked you your weight at least once a week for the past year. (Note that when this guy fights smaller people, he forgets to ask)
The Back From Gym guy
Seems to only come to class on days he has worked out at the gym. Lets you know that he is tired and weak from his work out. Makes sure you know exactly how much he benched that day.
The I Suck guy
Any time he gets tapped by someone at the school he starts loudly talking about how much he sucks. He keeps repeating this over and over until someone notices and reassures him that he's good. If anyone ever agrees with him that he really does suck, he sulks and doesn't come back to class for about three weeks.
The Former Star guy
This guy used to be one of the best in the class, able to do anything to anyone whenever he wanted. Stops training for a while, comes back and gets all disappointed that other people have actually improved and gotten better than him since he left. Usually decides to train hard for a week or two to regain his position, but gets frustrated quickly when he doesn't immediately become godlike. Very often decides to write a book about grappling or discuss game plans with others instead of actually practicing or rolling.
The "Getting Serious Again" guy is my favorite. He has been training for as long as you can remember. He comes to class after being out for a while and always says the same thing.."Man, I (insert excuse like injury, wife or g-friend, kids, work, car trouble, finances), but I'm back for good now, you'll see me here everyday!" and then he again disappears after like 2 weeks of training. 3 or 4 months down the road...repeat above sequence.
Or, the "Just wanted to let you know I'll be back Tuesday" guy who you never ever see but calls you or e-mails you every month to tell you he'll be there "Tuesday".
The Asshole -- First day for any whitebelt, the asshole will try to heelhook them, neck crank them, or otherwise grind the shit out of them just to feel an ounce of power. Since the asshole won't train with any serious challenges, however, the whitebelt will eventually surpass him, and the asshole will mysteriously disappear from class.
The Future Champ -- He is pure Bigger wanna-be cariocha, knows the names of every BJJ champ and the latest gossip from the UG. He talks about being Mundial champion from whitebelt, yearns to move to Brazil to train, is always looking to do another seminar or private with a Brazilian, and yet does not attend class regularly, always has an injury or excuse when it's time to compete, wants to drill rather than spar, and talk rather than drill.
The De-Man-Izer -- This is the small person (often a girl) who will single out the biggest, highest ranking male she can find, then fling her tiny body at him and proceed to beat him down and tap him within an inch of his life. Often, her victims will lose all testicular fortitude, cry, and quit the sport for life...
The Tough-Ole-Bastid -- This is the guy who started later in life but despite his age, he is tougher than 90% of the twenty-something’s. He can get kneed in the head, kicked in the groin, or have his arm near torn off, and barely grimace as he continues to grapple (often against someone a lot bigger).
The Tougher-Older-Bastider -- This is the guy who started even later in life and despite a host of injuries, does 1hr of circuit training before class, grapples all the good/big folks in class despite being injured, and then bikes the 20 miles home telling everyone he'll see them tomorrow for morning class.
The Codger -- This is also an old dude who just does it for fun. Against new people, he trash talks--"Can you feel the armbar coming? Can you feel it?" Against better people, he still trash talks "Missed that choke? Something not go as planned?!"
The Bleeder -- This guy got a mat burn the first time he rolled and has been knocking off the scab every time since.
The Can you Show that Again Guy -- This guy never has a good enough angle when the instructor demonstrates the move. Once the drilling begins, he usually has to watch the people next to him do the move at least two or three times before attempting it himself. He sometimes resorts to calling the instructor over and asking a question before he even attempts the move.
THE HUMBLE FUCK YOU UP GUY- This dude is a really good bjj guy but he’s humble, and scared as fuck. This guy will tap you at times, then immediately talk about how he sucks, and you're so much better and it was pure luck....to get over that initial awkward feeling between you two, when you just tapped to him.
The Take Every Advantage Guy:
This Guy can always be found taking any advantage he can get while rolling. If starting on knees, he'll stand up to get leverage. He'll accidentally rip one of your fingers back to break your grip. He'll poke you in your butt to get you to stop from going for that leglock. When you finally get him in a bad position, he'll ask you stop for a minute "because we are too close to the wall," and then he'll want to restart back on the knees. This Guy acts this way because he treats every training session as the Finals of the Pride Grand Prix.
THE LAZY POSSUM:
This guy has some skills but he fights really lazy and defensively most of the time and you think you have his number.
But on occasion when there's an audience or some chick watching he decides to bring his A game and you're in a world of surprise, the guy suddenly becomes Marcelo Garcia on the mats.
The Gassing Giant - This guy is an ex-power lifting bouncer type who throws you around for 5 minutes, but then winds up on his back and as soon as you think to yourself "now it’s my turn" he suddenly becomes too exhausted to continue and quickly says "let’s take a break man".
"SACK OF KNEE AND ELBOWS" guy
A squirmy bastard, usually an explosive athlete, you dominate this guy, but you feel like someone put you in a sack full of knees and elbows and started to shake it violently. After rolling, you are bruised up, if not cut.
THE EX KUNG FU OR AIKIDO GRANDMASTER GUY He always reassures you in the fact that he is a blackbelt in some traditional style , as you start to roll he grabs you with a death grip from hell and will never pull guard , even after two years of training. You pull guard and sweep him with a basic butterfly guard because if you pull closed guard he just grabs and pinches your arms making it not worth your effort. You pass his guard and mount, and even after being told 253 times that you cannot wrist lock a guy and throw him off from the bottom mount, he tries it again, and you start salivating from his arm being extended as you slowly move into the armlock.
The Judoka Guy:
Similar to the "name that sub" guy, but this one names the sub in Japanese "yeap, that’s juji-gatame" and every time the instructor shows a technique he nods his head and name it in Japanese.
The NO-RESPONSIBILITY Guy:
This is the young guy who is maybe 20 yrs. old who lives at home. His mom washes his gi, make him dinner, and all he does is go to 2 college classes a day and trains the rest. He is always saying you should come down to train Wrestling at another place or Striking at another, meanwhile you have a 9 to 5, wife and kids and a mortgage...LOL
THE LOT SHARK- This guy drives to jiu jitsu, trolls the parking lot to make sure none of the guys who hand him his ass's cars are there before coming in.
THE EARLY RETIREMENT GUY- Taps you the one time in his life and then retires "one up" for life.
THE SEGALL GRAPPLER- Tries to take you down by tweaking your wrist....just cant believe that shit won’t work.
How about the "Street tough guy" who watched a couple UFC's and decides to come down to the gym and "Fuck people up." This guy inevitably picks the weakest looking member of the gym and demands to roll with him. Unfortunately for them, the small little guys they pick are usually awesome technicians and they destroy the tough guy. I love playing along with the student when the tough guy demands to spar him. I'll say stuff like "Do you want to roll with this new guy? Are you sure? He outweighs you and looks pretty mean. If you're scared or nervous it's ok."
The "Heel Hook Hero"
This guy has no idea how to pass the guard and he doesn't want to learn. All he wants is to fall back and do his best Ken Shamrock impression. When he meets someone who won't fall for it he convinces himself that he can beat the guy if he just trains a few more leg locks.
FUNNY BJJ STEREOTYPES
Pre excuse guy - This guy has to tell you of every ailment, injury, pain, he has in his body, to not allow you to attack those areas. "Oh dude, my (insert body part) been hurting, so no (insert submission) today" Sometimes this guy goes into pre excuse emotional problems he has, and how it will affect his training. If he’s been really shitty on the mat lately, it’s because he broke up with his girl, and he'll let you know about it, so you understand why he stinks.
The laugher- This guy rolls with you and is constantly laughing at everything to make the roll so friendly that you won’t push any competition against him, or hurt him in anyway. You're rolling and get by the wall, "Hahahaha.... dude we're way too close to the wall, I didn’t want us to go through the wall....hahahaha...could u imagine, kaplosh!! Then we went through the wall and everyone would look and be like OH SHIT THEY WENT THROUGH THE WALL..Hahahaha"
Your best friend (Talker)- This guy is very similar in his thinking, to the laugher. As soon as you start rolling, this guy wants to know what you did over the weekend, what you've been up to, how you're great with the ladies, and your good at bjj... Again this guy thinks being overly friendly prevents competition.
Drama guy- This guy is somewhat tough, but as you push the rolling, sometimes your feet hit his head (incidental), or you go for a cross face, and everything you do is a HUGE injury to him. He constantly stops training to let you know that your finger almost touched his eye, and how he needs a 5 minute timeout, because it left him completely in a daze...he’s confused at where he’s at now. This guy I hate the most, because he literally kills training with all the drama he puts into every tiny incidental contact.
Practice hero- This guy stinks, so you roll easy with him, and he’s convinced he can "come up" in the rankings by tapping you, so he'll go wild out and try hit some crazy heel hook in an effort to get noticed in the class, and loved by the teacher. He trains balls out with zero technique....he wants to be noticed by the entire class
The UG Guy- This dude never trains but comes in every couple of weeks to let you know all the updated info he has on the MMA game, and how he knows so much more than you do, about what’s going on with rival teams in Brazil.
Dominic's Apprentice - goes to class 4-5 days a week, works his ass off. But no matter how hard he tries he just doesn't get any better. He’ll get caught in the exact same armbar 10 times a roll. He still can't defend the triangle choke. And he gets mounted by everyone.
"Gotta Go" Guy- This guy always "has to go somewhere" at the exact moment when class shifts from technique/drills to rolling. "Yeah, I got a conference call in two hours..."
Reformed Gangster (troublemaker)- This guy usually turns out in the long run to be the coolest, or the biggest douche bag in the short run. This guy covers all forms of troublemakers or gangsters. He’s a cholo who thinks he’s a badass cuz his vario is tough. He’s a black guy who thinks he’s a badass because he’s black. He’s a white guy who thinks he can kick ass because he gets faded on the weekends and starts fights with guys at a trashy bar. Each one of these guys comes in with a huge chip on their shoulder, and they get HUMBLED so quickly. After tapping them 6 ways to Sunday every rolling session, as the months go by (if they continue to train), they completely lose their hard gangster persona.... its funny to see the transition of some cholos to just a tough ass calm dude down the line....
The "instructor" -rolls around like any other guy and can have any skill-level but when you finally get his back and struggle to choke the shit outa him he goes wait, you've got wrong mechanics... wait you gotta do like this.. More like that etc. He lets you understand that he didn't get caught and he's not about to get the shit choked out of him, in fact he's just in the process of showing you how to choke.
The All Hat No Cattle Guy- Has every PRIDE and UFC on tape, has every BJJ book ever published, every BJJ instructional video/DVD ever produced, has a wide range of gis to choose from, has at least 10,000 posts on the UG, can recite the contents of bjj.org from memory, and sucks at BJJ; will be awarded a blue belt in about ten years out of pity.
THE GOOD SHIT GUY- He’s similar to the instructor, in that he can’t accept tapping....so if you are transitioning to a triangle choke, and he’s kind of sunk, but before you fully finish the hold, he'll tap and give it to you. This guy always taps on the transition to a move, not the move itself, and says "Good shit" like he let u catch him....and considering he didn’t tap when you completely had the choke sunk in, you didn’t really beat him.
The 'Let's Go Light Guy' - who then proceeds to decapitate you and tear you limb from limp with neck cranks and head squeezes
The Gasser - Goes all out for 30 secs and blows his wad. Then taps when u get a dominant position
The 'this is my first lesson' guy which translates to 'this is my first lesson here' but I was an NCAA div 1 wrestling champ and trained in Brazil for a few years
The SPY: This guy comes in one day, is very friendly, seems to know a lot about BJJ scene and says he's from out of town. He rolls and blends in with the students, seems like a very promising prospect for the club.
Result: You never see him again after the first class and months later when browsing a competition's website you see the motherfucker in their seminar photos being one of their "regulars".
THE FARTING MACHINE GUY - Guy that always farts every single time he rolls. Knee on stomach.... FART! Mount.... FART! Try to push out of his guard.... FART! Even in north/south.... FART! In your face! FART! FART! FART! Nothing like an ass-in-your-face stink sub.
The Shadow boxer: The guy who has some striking martial art experience (usually a TMAer who can't accept the fact that his black belt is being rendered useless by these 150-lb. guys who tap him relentlessly) and decides to feint it in BJJ class. While rolling, will throw fake shots, to simulate a Vale Tudo match. Convinced that a punch will change the pace of the match from anywhere, in the clinch, from his guard, while mounted by someone much better. Usually, this specimen's actions can be halted with a quick leg grab/take down while he is throwing a knee from the clinch.
Takada Guy:
His one goal is to not tap under any circumstances, considering that lasting is almost like winning. This guy mounts no offence at all and concentrates exclusively on tucking in all his extremities and 'nullifying' your game. After a round of wasting your time and his, will give you the "you couldn't tap me, so we're about even in skill" look and gasp his way to the sidelines to sit the next roll out.
Or the "one move wonder" guy
This is the guy who manages to get really good at one position/submission and only goes for that one particular move. While somewhat impressive in the beginning, this is the eternal blue belt that dominates the beginners but never develops the rest of his game. Normally seen with a bronze or silver medal at the local tourneys.
The Pressure Pointer:
Usually a black belt in some other form of martial art who once you mount him or working on chocking him, he'll try to do some kind of pressure point prior to tapping.
THE "CHALLENGE THE WEAKEST ANTELOPE IN THE PACK" GUY-This is the guy that stands around or stretches when everyone first starts rolling. Then when a new white belt takes a break from rolling, he hops on the mat and says "hey lets roll a bit”. He then proceeds to own the fatigued white belt with an assortment of wild crazy subs.
The natural - some guy, usually young, comes into the gym and at first gets beat all over the mat, but slowly and surely every week, he gets better. After one week, you can no longer have your way with him. After two, you can only catch him with your best moves. After three, you are struggling to tap him. One month passes and you are tapping each other. Another month and the roles reverse. This is the natural. He will soon tap people you've never even gotten close to.
The FALSE TECHNICIAN
Every class this guy’s going up to somebody wanting to show them a “new move” that he’s “invented.” If he considers you “technical” enough he will let you drill his patented omoplata to triangle to armlock to kneebar to toehold combo with him. The major problem with this guy is that he can’t pull any of these moves off on anybody save for the newest guy. The false technician gets owned by almost everybody else and burns with hate for those who school him on the mat with a simpler but more solid game.
The HUMAN VICE
The beginner who plays football or lifts, who's sole form of defense and offense is to latch onto your head and squeeze with all their strength. Then you simply sit in the dominant position, usually side control, until they become exhausted let go and then tap 3 seconds later when you go to knee ride or mount
The Lurker Guy: This is the guy who will sit on the wall and watch you train for an hour w/ every upper belt in the class saving his energy. Then you lie on the mat exhausted, will come up to say "wanna train?" but will never train w/ you when you are fresh.
How about the SWEAT DRIPPER GUY- some guy, usually late 30's, early 40's, that sweats buckets that DRIP on your face when he's in your guard. You pretty much have to tap as his sweat pours into your eyes, mouth, etc.
Rigormortis guy: His plan is to not let you do anything you want to, by grabbing your sleeve, pants or whatever and holding them at arms length. He doesn't really care if he gets swept or not - as long as his arms remain frozen stiff...he's won!
A close relative to Rigormotis guy is Parkinson's disease guy: He displays the same brilliant strategy as rigarmortis guy, but makes it extra special by shaking violently due to muscular fatigue I imagine.
Commando Guy: Thinks that all forms of underwear obviously restrict his game and hence chooses to go without. Nothing like a testicle rubbing on your inner thigh to freak you out and let him pass with ease. (Does help sharpen your north/south position escapes though.)
Kaji-Kempo or Japanese Jiu-jitsu guy- Lets you work on your inferior BJJ techniques and wants to only work on his BJJ techniques as well, but has no problem telling you that if you were "really rolling" he would have done a wristlock to escape but he knows his techniques are superior so he doesn’t need to work on them.
"You have no time to tap" Guy-The guy that thinks that hurting your teammates is a necessity in wrestling and will put his hips into every armbar, triangle, choke, heel hook etc. Gives you no time to tap whatsoever and pops your elbow until you decide you don’t want to wrestle with the freak anymore. The guy may even be apologetic afterwards but if you feel bad why the fuck didn’t you give me a second to tap???
Sambo guy- I get this one all the time. People think that because I studied under Val Ignatov I have awesome leglocks...Actually most of our game was working the top position, getting position, and some cool armbars. We have some good leglocks but don't completely dismiss your guard game because of it.
"The wrestler"-NEVER does the takedowns the BJJ instructor shows because they are inferior, and even when you are drilling that move shows you the "real" way to do it. Always stands up in your guard and you always have long grueling matches with him but he never taps you out. However, your neck is always sore for the next two days because he has such good head control.
What about "THE PROFESSOR"? -- He's the 34 year-old, chubby guy in the corner with the knee-braces who never rolls anymore b/c he's recovering from a neck injury (for the past year or so). That doesn't prevent him from sharing his "encyclopedic" knowledge of grappling with anyone with the misfortune to sit within 15 feet of him. He's "best-friends" with the instructor. He's been to every UFC, every local seminar in the past 10 years, and has memorized every instructional video and book available, and will tell you about every possible variation, especially moves that wouldn't work on a person in a coma.
Oh, and the Professor will be getting his purple belt "any day now" -- "just as soon as my neck's better."
THE GROANER
It is the guy who sits down to roll and groans like his body is 100 years old. He touches every joint and makes facial expressions like he is overcoming all odds to roll......then bam, he attacks with a fury on unsuspecting guys who feel sorry for him. Then after the roll, he staggers off the mat wincing in pain or discomfort, and then repeats the steps above on other victims.
THE PUNNY HUMAN GUY
He doesn't want to use (or you to use) any strength at all (as if Bjorn were supposed to develop telekinetic powers).
Whenever you tap him, he'll look disgruntled because, of course, you only got him by using strength.
The Attention Deficit Disorder GUY
You think he should be force-fed an overdose of Ritalin before every class.
He's rolling with you, but at the same time he's listening to every single conversation happening on the mat, and paying some attention to every other fight.
He'll give advice to the guys rolling near you AS he tries to pass your guard, he will laugh at a joke someone made on the other side of the mat space when you have him in side control, and he will also interfere with someone else's conversation when he is in your guard.
One sure way to tap him is pointing to the entrance and say something like "what's Royce doing in here ?" and then take his back as he begins to look around.
Oh yeah...he's the guy who is always babbling when your instructor is showing a technique too...
The Stinky Guy- We all know one. Take an f’ing shower once in a while.
The Nail Guy- Looks like you just rolled with Freddy Kruger afterwards.
The Nasty Sweaty Zitty Back Guy- Come on man, keep your shirt on
THE PRAPERATION GUY- this guy takes 30 minutes to get ready back stage while the class is doing pushups. He tapes every finger and toe with damn medical tape for some reason
THE "IM WORKING STANDUP TODAY" GUY
THE HOLDER. Thinks getting you in north. South for 30 minutes= success.
The PRE-TAPPER- This guy has such a quick mind that he’s able to tap 3-4 moves ahead of an actual submission!
I love the 'positive reinforcement' guy: Taps you 10 times in 6 minutes and then goes "man, you're getting a lot better."
THE CLASS SIZE REGULATOR- every now and then, when the class gets too big and the instructor starts making money, the monster comes around and injures about 20 dudes- resulting in a much more comfortable training environment for all
"Talker, Texas Ranger" These are the guys who are so afraid of subs that they can't rely on tapping but have to verbally submit. But instead of yelling "TAP!" or "STOP!" They say non-decisive things like "yeah, ok" or "you got it" When someone gets a knee blown out or someone gives up a hold thinking you verbally quit because you can't just tap the guy's body, that’s bullshit.
The spaz": Closely related to "Let’s go light" except he doesn’t try to fool you into thinking he’s going light before he goes spastic. This guy usually is medium sized and just goes crazy in every position available. If you’re on your knees trying to work for position he’ll often either bum rush you or try the traditional shove, the spas will push as hard as he can from every position and often with much force so it’s almost a punch, the spaz is also prone to slamming out of submissions.
THE LATECOMER
This guy shows up to every class exactly when the grueling warm-up is over and is always fresher than everybody else come rolling time.
The Dumb as a Rock Guy:
This is the one that you try to teach him a technique and he just won’t get it. After 3 month of drilling upa, he'll say: "ok, what arm do I grab again?"
The Faux Gay Guy -
He finds it humorous to act gay and scare people on the mat with it. He is known to tie his t-shirt under his gi, or challenge other people while lisping on the mat. Sometimes he will make sexual gestures while rolling while rolling while the victim has no clue why the rest of the class is laughing. He often requests the instructor to put on 80's new wave when he turns on the radio.
WON’T LET YOU PRACTICE SHIT GUY- This guy is the HANDS DOWN WORST guy to practice with. Whenever learning a new technique, or sweep...anything, this guy wont let you do the move (during practice not rolling). This guy comes in different forms.
1. He won’t let you do the move, because he resists it so much, so you're never able to learn the move properly...and you look like an ass because everyone else in the room is doing it, but you can’t because of your "tough as balls" partner. His constant resistance makes you look like crap in front of the instructor.
2. This guy won’t let you learn the move properly because he fucking collapses before you've completed the sweep. This guy is like a loose ass piece of paper. You're transitioning for the sweep, before you even kick his leg to turn him, you find he’s already on his back, and he most likely pulled you on top of him to full mount. Yes, this guy makes you look great, but in the tournament you get your ass handed to you, cuz for some reason, your opponent turns into Douche Bag #1 who resists!!
Can I Try Something On You? Guy- While rolling, this guy (who has never tapped you, and will never tap you) says something along the lines of "Hey, can I try something on you real quick? I just want to work out the mechanics on something..." He puts you in his rear mount, sinks the hooks in, and violently puts you in a choke AT THE EXACT MOMENT THE INSTRUCTOR WALKS BY, you tap, and the instructor says to the guy "Very good! You're showing much improvement!" and looks at you with a mild look of disbelief on his face.
The WhatChaWeigh guy
Whenever he taps to something, he asks what his opponent weighs. If it's even 200 grams more than him, he nods as if to suggest that he only lost due to weight mismatch. He has probably asked you your weight at least once a week for the past year. (Note that when this guy fights smaller people, he forgets to ask)
The Back From Gym guy
Seems to only come to class on days he has worked out at the gym. Lets you know that he is tired and weak from his work out. Makes sure you know exactly how much he benched that day.
The I Suck guy
Any time he gets tapped by someone at the school he starts loudly talking about how much he sucks. He keeps repeating this over and over until someone notices and reassures him that he's good. If anyone ever agrees with him that he really does suck, he sulks and doesn't come back to class for about three weeks.
The Former Star guy
This guy used to be one of the best in the class, able to do anything to anyone whenever he wanted. Stops training for a while, comes back and gets all disappointed that other people have actually improved and gotten better than him since he left. Usually decides to train hard for a week or two to regain his position, but gets frustrated quickly when he doesn't immediately become godlike. Very often decides to write a book about grappling or discuss game plans with others instead of actually practicing or rolling.
The "Getting Serious Again" guy is my favorite. He has been training for as long as you can remember. He comes to class after being out for a while and always says the same thing.."Man, I (insert excuse like injury, wife or g-friend, kids, work, car trouble, finances), but I'm back for good now, you'll see me here everyday!" and then he again disappears after like 2 weeks of training. 3 or 4 months down the road...repeat above sequence.
Or, the "Just wanted to let you know I'll be back Tuesday" guy who you never ever see but calls you or e-mails you every month to tell you he'll be there "Tuesday".
The Asshole -- First day for any whitebelt, the asshole will try to heelhook them, neck crank them, or otherwise grind the shit out of them just to feel an ounce of power. Since the asshole won't train with any serious challenges, however, the whitebelt will eventually surpass him, and the asshole will mysteriously disappear from class.
The Future Champ -- He is pure Bigger wanna-be cariocha, knows the names of every BJJ champ and the latest gossip from the UG. He talks about being Mundial champion from whitebelt, yearns to move to Brazil to train, is always looking to do another seminar or private with a Brazilian, and yet does not attend class regularly, always has an injury or excuse when it's time to compete, wants to drill rather than spar, and talk rather than drill.
The De-Man-Izer -- This is the small person (often a girl) who will single out the biggest, highest ranking male she can find, then fling her tiny body at him and proceed to beat him down and tap him within an inch of his life. Often, her victims will lose all testicular fortitude, cry, and quit the sport for life...
The Tough-Ole-Bastid -- This is the guy who started later in life but despite his age, he is tougher than 90% of the twenty-something’s. He can get kneed in the head, kicked in the groin, or have his arm near torn off, and barely grimace as he continues to grapple (often against someone a lot bigger).
The Tougher-Older-Bastider -- This is the guy who started even later in life and despite a host of injuries, does 1hr of circuit training before class, grapples all the good/big folks in class despite being injured, and then bikes the 20 miles home telling everyone he'll see them tomorrow for morning class.
The Codger -- This is also an old dude who just does it for fun. Against new people, he trash talks--"Can you feel the armbar coming? Can you feel it?" Against better people, he still trash talks "Missed that choke? Something not go as planned?!"
The Bleeder -- This guy got a mat burn the first time he rolled and has been knocking off the scab every time since.
The Can you Show that Again Guy -- This guy never has a good enough angle when the instructor demonstrates the move. Once the drilling begins, he usually has to watch the people next to him do the move at least two or three times before attempting it himself. He sometimes resorts to calling the instructor over and asking a question before he even attempts the move.
THE HUMBLE FUCK YOU UP GUY- This dude is a really good bjj guy but he’s humble, and scared as fuck. This guy will tap you at times, then immediately talk about how he sucks, and you're so much better and it was pure luck....to get over that initial awkward feeling between you two, when you just tapped to him.
The Take Every Advantage Guy:
This Guy can always be found taking any advantage he can get while rolling. If starting on knees, he'll stand up to get leverage. He'll accidentally rip one of your fingers back to break your grip. He'll poke you in your butt to get you to stop from going for that leglock. When you finally get him in a bad position, he'll ask you stop for a minute "because we are too close to the wall," and then he'll want to restart back on the knees. This Guy acts this way because he treats every training session as the Finals of the Pride Grand Prix.
THE LAZY POSSUM:
This guy has some skills but he fights really lazy and defensively most of the time and you think you have his number.
But on occasion when there's an audience or some chick watching he decides to bring his A game and you're in a world of surprise, the guy suddenly becomes Marcelo Garcia on the mats.
The Gassing Giant - This guy is an ex-power lifting bouncer type who throws you around for 5 minutes, but then winds up on his back and as soon as you think to yourself "now it’s my turn" he suddenly becomes too exhausted to continue and quickly says "let’s take a break man".
"SACK OF KNEE AND ELBOWS" guy
A squirmy bastard, usually an explosive athlete, you dominate this guy, but you feel like someone put you in a sack full of knees and elbows and started to shake it violently. After rolling, you are bruised up, if not cut.
THE EX KUNG FU OR AIKIDO GRANDMASTER GUY He always reassures you in the fact that he is a blackbelt in some traditional style , as you start to roll he grabs you with a death grip from hell and will never pull guard , even after two years of training. You pull guard and sweep him with a basic butterfly guard because if you pull closed guard he just grabs and pinches your arms making it not worth your effort. You pass his guard and mount, and even after being told 253 times that you cannot wrist lock a guy and throw him off from the bottom mount, he tries it again, and you start salivating from his arm being extended as you slowly move into the armlock.
The Judoka Guy:
Similar to the "name that sub" guy, but this one names the sub in Japanese "yeap, that’s juji-gatame" and every time the instructor shows a technique he nods his head and name it in Japanese.
The NO-RESPONSIBILITY Guy:
This is the young guy who is maybe 20 yrs. old who lives at home. His mom washes his gi, make him dinner, and all he does is go to 2 college classes a day and trains the rest. He is always saying you should come down to train Wrestling at another place or Striking at another, meanwhile you have a 9 to 5, wife and kids and a mortgage...LOL
THE LOT SHARK- This guy drives to jiu jitsu, trolls the parking lot to make sure none of the guys who hand him his ass's cars are there before coming in.
THE EARLY RETIREMENT GUY- Taps you the one time in his life and then retires "one up" for life.
THE SEGALL GRAPPLER- Tries to take you down by tweaking your wrist....just cant believe that shit won’t work.
How about the "Street tough guy" who watched a couple UFC's and decides to come down to the gym and "Fuck people up." This guy inevitably picks the weakest looking member of the gym and demands to roll with him. Unfortunately for them, the small little guys they pick are usually awesome technicians and they destroy the tough guy. I love playing along with the student when the tough guy demands to spar him. I'll say stuff like "Do you want to roll with this new guy? Are you sure? He outweighs you and looks pretty mean. If you're scared or nervous it's ok."
The "Heel Hook Hero"
This guy has no idea how to pass the guard and he doesn't want to learn. All he wants is to fall back and do his best Ken Shamrock impression. When he meets someone who won't fall for it he convinces himself that he can beat the guy if he just trains a few more leg locks.
Sunday, April 09, 2006
Submission Grappling dalam Situasi Bela Diri?
Saya sering sekali mendapat pertanyaan mengenai kegunaan Submission Wrestling/Grappling dalam keadaan bela diri. Banyak grappler2 yang akan memberikan jawaban 'ya tentu saja sangat efektif'. Jawaban saya adalah 'tergantung keadaan ... tapi untuk kebanyakan keadaan tidak akan efektif'. Perkenankanlah saya menjelaskan mengapa ...
Bila anda mendapat jawaban dari para grappler yang berpendapat bahwa submission wrestling itu efektif untuk bela diri pasti akan berargumen bahwa submission grappling adalah merupakan dasar yang sangat penting untuk Mixed Martial Arts. Pertanyaan saya: Apakah MMA merupakan situasi bela diri? Mari kita kaji ulang apa yang kita maksud dengan situasi bela diri terlebih dahulu.
Yang membedakan antara situasi bela diri dengan Submission Wrestling & Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) adalah satu kata: kehormatan (dalam bahasa Inggris: honor). Submission Wrestling dan MMA penuh kehormatan. Mengapa demikian? Karena petarung2 di kedua olah raga ini setuju dengan suatu aturan tertentu dan dengan itikad sportif akan bertanding dalam ruang lingkup aturan yang sudah disetujui. Walaupun aturan dari Submission Wrestling dan MMA akan terdengar terlalu keras bagi publik pada umumnya, elemen kehormatan sangat kental di kedua cabang olah raga ini. Segala macam pertarungan yang sudah ditentukan waktu, tempat, jumlah petarungnya (satu lawan satu) dan aturannya adalah penuh dengan kehormatan. Termasuk MMA, Submission Grappling, pertarungan menggunakan senjata, dsb.
Situasi bela diri (street fighting) tidak mengenal kehormatan. Saya ingin mengajak para pembaca yang sudah pernah terlibat di dalam situasi bela diri. Apakah anda bisa memilih tempat, waktu, aturan mainnya, dan memilih lawan anda (satu lawan satu atau satu lawan banyak orang)? Apakah anda diberi waktu terlebih dahulu untuk melemaskan otot (stretching), atur strategi, atau latihan yang cukup untuk mempersiapkan diri? Pertanyaan terakhir untuk anda ... apakah orang yang memaksa anda kedalam situasi bela diri tersebut pantas diberi kehormatan?
Memang bila kita bicara mengenai 'kehormatan', pasti kita akan juga teringat dengan kata 'malu'. Marilah kita bicarakan mengenai rasa malu ...
Studi Kasus: anda (seorang pemegang sabuk hitam di bela diri kara-tao Dan 5 dan sudah berkeluarga punya anak 3) sedang berada disuatu tempat sendiri dan dihadapkan dengan situasi dimana ada seorang preman mengeluarkan pisau karatan dan meminta uang anda.
Pilihan anda ada beberapa hal:
- Anda merasa malu karena anda sudah sabuk hitam tingkat 5 sehingga merasa harus melawan sehingga ketika melawan, anda mengambil resiko bisa tergores oleh pisau karatan tersebut (pasti kena tetanus), juga bisa terpotong urat nadinya (mati kehabisan darah), tertusuk perutnya (keluar ususnya), tercolok matanya (buta), dsb.
- Anda berikan uang anda sesuai permintaan sang preman dan pulang tanpa cidera.
Sadarkah anda bahwa pilihan 1 mempunyai resiko yang akan mengantar anda ke rumah sakit? Mana yang lebih malu bagi anda. Saya sendiri sih lebih memilih pilihan ke 2 (walau juga malu). Tapi bagi saya yang lebih memalukan lagi adalah bila anda masuk ke rumah sakit lalu meninggal karena tusukan pisau tersebut (artinya keluarga anda kelilangan mata pencaharian = anak istri melarat, kelaparan, dsb). Jangankan meninggal, terkena tetanus karena pilihan 1 saja juga sudah jauh lebih memalukan dari rasa malu yang didapat dari pilihan 2.
Sekarang bagaimana kalau kita modifikasi keadaan studi kasusnya dimana sang preman menggunakan pisau yang dilumuri dengan racun (sianida). Tentunya resiko dari pilihan 1 semua menuju rumah duka.
Nah, mungkin ada beberapa dari pembaca yang masih meragukan: "Apakah bisa pisau tersebut menggores tubuh saya kalau saya sudah sabuk hitam Dan 5?" Ok, kita buktikan saja ... coba cari kenalan anda agak sedikit hiperaktif (apalagi remaja/anak nakal), berikanlah mereka setangkai arang atau kayu yang dilumuri dengan pewarna (seperti crayon). Cobalah suruh orang tersebut untuk menggoreskan kayu arang tersebut ke bagian tubuh anda yang mana saja (biarkan mereka munggunakan akal bulus mereka). Cobalah lakukan dalam waktu 2 menit. Setelah 2 menit, hitunglah berapa goresan arang/crayon yang ada pada anggota tubuh anda?
Mari kita lanjutkan ke pembicaraan apakah seorang submission grappler bisa membela diri dengan baik di situasi street fighting? Memang bagi yang pernah mendengar ucapan para pakar Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (khususnya yang bermarga Gracie), pasti mereka berani bersumpah bahwa Grappling itu sangat efektif untuk perkelahian di jalanan. Beginilah analisa saya: Memang di Brazil para keluarga kesohor Gracie sering berkelahi satu lawan satu di jalanan. Mengapa demikian? Memang ada faktor budaya latin yang mementingkan 'Mano-a-Mano' dengan kata lain satu lawan satu (man to man). Tapi setahu saya juga para anggota keluarga Gracie juga memang selalu pergi kemana2 dalam kelompok besar, jadi mereka jarang pergi sendirian (mungkin juga karena banyak yang cemburu terhadap keluarga Gracie). Sifat 'nge-geng' ini juga terbawa pada saat keluarga Gracie membuka sekolah2 di Amerika Serikat. Brazilian Jiujitsu dan segala jenis Grappling lainnya memang ilmu perkelahian yang sangat efektif untuk situasi satu lawan satu. Jadi cara membuat Grappling effektif adalah bila anda membawa banyak teman sehingga bisa memaksa keadaan pertarungan satu lawan satu.
Jadi bela diri macam apa yang paling efektif untuk situasi 'streetfighting'? Bagi para penggemar bela diri yang tidak pernah melatih diri, janganlah berkecil hati, karena sebetulnya faktor2 bela diri di jalanan tidak hanya sekedar ilmu pertarungan itu sendiri. Menurut hemat saya, faktor terbesar dari keselamatan diri adalah ilmu menghindari pertarungan. Ilmu ini mencakup:
- Menghindari tempat2 yang berpotensi konflik tinggi
- Kesadaran terhadap lingkungan sebelum terjadinya konflik (siapa tahu dengan sadar sudah bisa menghidar/kabur/pergi/dll duluan)
- Kemampuan 'negosiasi' pada saat dipojokan oleh sang bergundal
- Memiliki emosi yang terkontrol (mengalah bukan berarti kalah)
- Dan bila memang konflik sudah tidak mungkin dibendung lagi padahal anda tidak bisa bertarung ... jangan lupa terhadap jurus 'langkah seribu'. Jadi bagi anda2 yang tidak latihan bertarung, paling tidak anda harus bisa lari 100-400 meter sprint dengan waktu yang cukup cepat.
- dsb.
Pesan terakhir dari saya:
Submission Grappling, tinju, karate, Kung Fu, bahkan MMA, adalah olah raga terhormat dimana para petarung bertanding dibawah suatu aturan yang sudah disetujui sebelumnya. Ini sangat terhormat dan pantas dijunjung tinggi. Situasi streetfighting tidak terhormat dan sering kali mendatangkan malu. Janganlah malu untuk langkah seribu. Yang penting anda bisa pulang ke rumah anda dengan selamat dimana anak & istri anda sudah menunggu anda. Jangan buat mereka malu.
Salam
Friday, April 07, 2006
Perjalanan Seorang Grappler
Kisah ini saya ceritakan berdasarkan pengalaman dan observasi saya sebagai seorang grappler yang belajar grappling di Amerika Serikat. Pertama kali saya merasakan pertarungan grappling adalah sewaktu saya masih sering ikut pertandingan bela diri Filipina yang bernama Arnis (1992-1993). Olah raga ini pada dasarnya adalah Mixed Martial Arts + senjata pentungan rotan. Bila berhadapan dengan lawan2 yang pernah belajar gulat, saya selalu kesulitan karena pada dasarnya saya sangat buta terhadap pertarungan grappling.
Lalu pada tahun 1993, saya melihat ada iklan di majalah 'Black Belt' mengenai Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu dan tertarik untuk memesan kopi video: Gracie Jiu-Jitsu in Action 1 & 2. Setelah menonton pertarungan2 yang ada di dalam video tersebut (dimana petarung2 keluarga Gracie mengalahkan lawan2nya dengan telak dan mudah), dalam hati saya masih berkata, “Ah, tidak mungkin seorang pesilat aliran Kung Fu dikalahkan dengan mudah – maklum memang saya juga pernah belajar Kung Fu sih.” Lalu, “Mungkin saja video yang mereka masukan yang pertarungan2 yang mereka menangkan saja. Kalau kalah sih tidak akan dimasukan.” Pikiran2 seperti ini tetap saja terlintas di benak saya walaupun saya sendiri kalau menghadapi pegulat di pertandingan Arnis juga selalu kalah telak.
Lalu pada tahun 1994, saya ikut kelas ekstra kulikuler di Universitas saya (UC San Diego) di kelas yang bernama “Ground Fighting.” Pada saat itu saya sudah bisa menerima keampuhan Brazilian Jiujitsu setelah melihat Royce Gracie memenangkan UFC 1 dan 2 dengan mudah tanpa cidera atau menciderai lawannya. Instruktur kelas tersebut adalah Roy Harris dan asistennya adalah Michael Jen. Keduanya warga negara Amerika Serikat. Kesan saya pertama adalah, “Kok yang mengajar bukan orang Brazil, ya? Tapi kok teknik2nya mirip sekali dengan yang dilakukan Royce Gracie, ya? Ya sudah lah, daripada tidak belajar sama sekali mendingan sama mereka saja, lah.” saya pikir.
Roy dan Mike sebelumnya ternyata juga pernah belajar di akademinya keluarga Gracie. Setelah dari keluarga Gracie, mereka juga berguru kepada Nelson Monteiro (salah satu pembuka jalan BJJ di AS yang tinggal di San Diego). Lalu juga pernah berguru kepada keluarga Machado (sepupu keluarga Gracie yang juga sama tersohornya di dunia grappling). Disini terlihat jelas adanya ketidakcocokan antara budaya Brazil dengan budaya AS. Orang2 Brazil pada umumnya cenderung untuk berkumpul bareng (atau yang kita sebut 'nge-geng' di Indonesia) sedangkan orang2 AS lebih cenderung individualistis. Jadi bagi orang amerika, untuk berguru kepada 2 guru (atau lebih) pada saat yang bersamaan merupakan hal yang normal karena fokus mereka adalah untuk meningkatkan kemampuan mereka sendiri. Sedangkan bagi orang2 Brazil, berlajar dari orang lain yang bukan seperguruan adalah pengkhianatan.
Yang membuat masalah menjadi lebih buruk adalah ketika Roy dan Mike mulai belajar Sambo (gulat Rusia) dari bekas juara Sambo Junior dari Rusia. Sambo adalah ilmu grappling yang mirip sekali dengan BJJ dan Judo hanya kelebihannya adalah dari segi keahlian mereka melakukan kuncian kaki. Kuncian kaki sudah lama dilarang di Judo dan begitu pula di BJJ. Masyarakat BJJ pada saat itu menganggap petarung yang menggunakan kuncian kaki adalah banci. Aneh sekali reaksi manusia terhadap sesuatu yang mereka tidak mengerti/kuasai. Padahal Roy Harris yang saat itu masih sabuk ungu di BJJ sudah sering bisa mengalahkan orang2 yang sabuk BJJnya lebih tinggi dengan kuncian kaki.
Akhirnya mereka bertemu dengan seorang guru BJJ yang sangat berpengertian, Joe Moreira. Joe adalah salah satu guru yang tidak pernah merasa takut untuk mengajarkan semua ilmunya kepada murid2nya. Mungkin sangking terlalu royal sampai sering kali beliau mengajarkan terlalu banyak sehingga muridnya malah jadi bingung karena kebanyakan pilihan teknik. Tapi bagaimanapun juga, saya tetap menghormati beliau karena ia adalah orang yang jujur dan berkepribadian bersih dari permainan2 politik yang tidak sehat. Beliau merupakan orang2 yang pertama yang berani membuka diri mengajarkan BJJ kepada atlit2 MMA non BJJ seperti Kimo Leopoldo dan Marco Ruas. Tentunya hal seperti ini sangat ditentang oleh masyarakat BJJ yang sangat eksklusif. Joe tidak perduli terhadap kritik dari komunitas BJJ karena fighter2 seperti Kimo dan Marco sudah janji akan bawa nama BJJ bila mereka bertanding di arena MMA.
Kembali lagi ke perjalan latihan saya di San Diego. Sewaktu saya baru mulai grappling, saya selalu ikut kelas grup dan tidak pernah ambil kelas privat. Alasan saya, “Ketika saya belajar beladiri lain seperti Arnis, Kun Tao, Silat, Karate, dsb saya tidak pernah perlu les privat, tuh. Hasilnya ok2 saja tuh.” Akibatnya saya selalu berada di bawah karena selalu tertekan oleh tekanan lawan2 saya (lagian tinggi saya hanya 168 cm dengan berat 70 kg melawan lawan2 yang paling tidak 175 cm dan jauh lebih berat). Dan tidak pernah sekalipun saya tidak pernah menyerah (tap out) bila grappling lawan siapapun (termasuk melawan wanita).
Setelah 3 bulan pertama saya selalu habis dilindas oleh semuanya (lagi2 termasuk wanita), saya cari2 informasi tambahan dari majalah pusaka saya (Black Belt Magazine), disitulah saya melihat adanya iklan yang dipasang oleh keluarga tersohor Gracie dengan bintangnya: Royce Gracie. Isinya mengajarkan ilmu2 keluarga Gracie Jiujitsu. Saya masih ingat pikiran saya ketika paket kiriman video tersebut tiba di depan pintu rumah saya. Saya berpikir, “Yess ... no more tapping out to girls!!!” Perasaan yakin semakin mengarungi saya ketika saya memutar video2 tersebut. Disitu saya belajar teknik2 baru yang saya yakin akan membuat teman2 latihan saya jadi kewalahan. 3 bulan berlalu tapi hasilnya kok sama saja ya (saya masih pikir bahwa les privat dengan Roy itu tidak perlu karena saya sudah punya videonya Gracie Jiujitsu – juara UFC), malahan sekarang saya lebih sering kena 'Triangle Choke' oleh teman2 saya (termasuk wanita), pada saat melakukan 'Guard Passing'. Lalu setelah 6 bulan tap out terus, saya datang kepada guru saya untuk minta petunjuk mengenai bagaimana caranya untuk mengembangkan diri lebih lanjut. Lalu Roy menawarkan untuk les private lebih banyak dulu sebelum grappling di kelas.
Setelah ambil privat dengan Roy, saya menayakan Roy mengapa kok yang diajarkannya sangat berbeda dengan yang ada di Video Gracie Jiujitsu. Kemudia ia menjelaskan bahwa sebenarnya materi2 yang ada di video mereka adalah jiujitsu tapi jiujitsu yang sudah dilunakkan. Lunak artinya teknik2nya mirip dengan hard core jiujitsu tapi lebih banyak 'vulnerabilities'nya (kelemahan). Sepertinya ini memang disengaja karena keluarga Gracie yakin bahwa yang membeli set video mereka adalah juga para petarung2 UFC (apalagi para pegulat2 AS). Inilah sebabnya pegulat2 seperti Dan Severn kalah dari Royce Gracie karena terkena Triangle Choke ketika juga melakukan 'Guard Passing'. Rupanya Dan Severn pun juga terjebak karena pernah menonton video instruksional Gracie Jiujitsu, ya?
Waktu berjalan terus, lalu saya pindah kota dari San Diego ke Los Angeles. Disana saya meneruskan latihan BJJ dibawah organisasinya Joe Moreira juga, tapi kali ini guru saya adalah Rick Lucero dan Richard Heard. Rick dan Richard juga adalah guru yang baik dan selalu berbagi ilmu tanpa menyembunyikan apa2. Sayapun juga tetap latihan dengan Roy bila saya sedang main di San Diego. Pada waktu yang sama, Michael Jen juga sudah tamat sekolah di San Diego lalu beliau akhirnya kembali ke kota asalnya di daerah San Jose dan disana ia buka sekolah sendiri (tetap dibawah organisasinya Joe Moreira).
Ketika saya kembali ke Indonesia pada Juni 1998, saya pikir latihan BJJ saya akan berakhir karena tidak ada guru dan teman latihan. Ternyata tidak lama setelah saya pulang, guru Kun Tao saya dan anaknya menghubungi saya dan menawarkan kepada saya apakah saya mau mengajarkan BJJ kepada mereka (toh juga saya perlu teman latihan).
Karena kesibukan saya di Indonesia, hubungan saya dengan Roy dan Mike sempat terputus apalagi pada saat itu sudah banyak sekali video2 instruksional mengenai BJJ yang dijual di Internet. Roy, Rick, dan Mike pada saat itupun juga sudah mampu membuat video mereka sendiri. Video yang dibuat Roy dan Rick laku keras, video buatan Mike lebih laku lagi (sampai jaman sekarangpun video mereka bisa dibilang salah satu video instruksional yang baik). Lalu belum lagi keluar video2 yang dibuat oleh Marrio Sperry, Pedro Carvalho, Ralph Gracie, Joe Moreira, Kazeka Muniz, Rick Lucero, Wallid Ismail, dsb. Bisakah anda membayangkan banyaknya video pada saat itu? Saat sekarang lebih banyak lagi, mungkin 3 kali lipat lebih banyak jenisnya.
Jadi dari tahun 1998 sampai 2004 saya melatih BJJ berdasarkan apa yang saya pelajari dari ratusan video BJJ (termasuk video pertandingan). Setiap kali melihat video baru, saya merasa 'cool' karena bisa menunjukan teknik2 yang baru2 apalagi lawan2 saya belum pernah lihat sebelumnya. Tapi seberapa kuat daya serap otak kita untuk bisa mengingat dan melakukan ratusan teknik dari video2 tersebut? Dari pengalaman saya sendiri sih ternyata teknik2 yang saya ingat dan mampu saya lakukan dalam grappling hanya sekitar 2% dari yang saya lihat.
Dimasa yang sama saya juga banyak bertemu rekan2 seperjuangan yang dahulu pernah belajar BJJ di luar negri (Amerika Serika dan Australia). Ternyata ada beberapa dari merekapun mengalami hal yang sama yang pernah dilalui oleh Roy dan Mike ketika belajar dibawah naungan keluarga Gracie (dimana isu2 politik sering kali menjadi lebih penting daripada latihan BJJ itu sendiri). Dari situ saya merasa beruntung karena saya tidak pernah harus dihadapkan kepada situasi tersebut. Ternyata dikalahkan oleh wanita dalam grappling itu jauh lebih produktif daripada harus menghadapi isu2 politik yang tidak produktif bagi kemajuan 'grappling skill' saya.
Ada juga rekan yang berlatih di lingkungan sekolah yang murid2nya terlampau kompetitif. Jangan salah paham karena kompetisi itu ada baiknya, tapi di lingkungan yang terlampau kompetitif, yang akan maju hanyalah orang2 yang memang punya hasrat untuk berprestasi di pertandingan dan biasanya orang2 tersebut juga cenderung memiliki kelebihan fisik yang lebih kuat dari lainnya. Singkat kata, yang akan maju pesat hanyalah orang2 ini sedangkan murid2 yang hanya ingin belajar untuk olah raga saja dan tidak memiliki fisik yang prima seperti superman (termasuk saya) akan terhambat karena tidak pernah diberi kesempatan untuk mengembangkan sedikit demi sedikit. Latihan yang terlalu kompetitif juga meningkatkan kemungkinan cidera. Bila sudah cidera, maka biasanya kita harus berhenti latihan selama berbulan2. Apakah itu akan membantu perkembangan kita? Untung saja selama saya latihan dari tahun 1994 sampai sekarang, saya belum pernah cidera berat karena grappling (kadang2 saja terkena pegal-linu di leher dan pernah cidera siku kiri karena kena Armbar). Sebenarnya di AS pun orang yang berlatih BJJ untuk kompetisi jumlahnya jauh lebih sedikit dibanding orang yang latihan untuk hobi dan kebugaran.
Lalu pada tahun 2004 ketika saya kebetulan sedang berkunjung di San Jose, saya menghampiri Michael Jen yang ketika itu telah memegang sabuk hitam di BJJ. Jujur saja, ilmu yang diajarkannya kepada saya sangat berbeda (jauh lebih maju) dibanding dengan yang saya alami dahulu ketika Mike masih menjadi asisten Roy di San Diego. Ilmu yang diajarkannyapun juga sangat berbeda dengan yang ditayangkan di video instruksionalnya yang dijual di Internet. Dari saat itu sampai sekaranglah saya kembali menjadi murid tetap beliau. Bahkan dari materi yang Mike ajarkan di 2004, di tahun 2006 juga sudah ada perbaikan untuk materi yang sama.
Minggu lalu, saya baru mengundang kembali guru lama saya, Roy Harris (sekarang juga telah menjadi sabuk hitam di BJJ), untuk memberikan seminar BJJ di Indonesia. Metode mengajar Roy pun juga jauh berbeda dengan yang beliau ajarkan dimasa lalu.
Hikmah dari perjalan grappling yang saya alami ini adalah:
Akan selalu ada cara yang lebih baik dari cara yang kita kerjakan sekarang. Perbaikan adalah merupakan suatu hal yang tidak ada batasnya.
Jadi bagi para pembaca yang ingin menekuni grappling, janganlah menutup kemungkinan bahwa yang anda kerjakan hari ini belum tentu adalah cara yang terbaik. Ilmu yang saya latih pun juga jauh dari sempurna, tapi satu hal yang pasti adalah perjalanan menuju kesempurnaan adalah hal yang paling membahagiakan dan banyak pahalanya.
Salam Hangat
Lalu pada tahun 1993, saya melihat ada iklan di majalah 'Black Belt' mengenai Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu dan tertarik untuk memesan kopi video: Gracie Jiu-Jitsu in Action 1 & 2. Setelah menonton pertarungan2 yang ada di dalam video tersebut (dimana petarung2 keluarga Gracie mengalahkan lawan2nya dengan telak dan mudah), dalam hati saya masih berkata, “Ah, tidak mungkin seorang pesilat aliran Kung Fu dikalahkan dengan mudah – maklum memang saya juga pernah belajar Kung Fu sih.” Lalu, “Mungkin saja video yang mereka masukan yang pertarungan2 yang mereka menangkan saja. Kalau kalah sih tidak akan dimasukan.” Pikiran2 seperti ini tetap saja terlintas di benak saya walaupun saya sendiri kalau menghadapi pegulat di pertandingan Arnis juga selalu kalah telak.
Lalu pada tahun 1994, saya ikut kelas ekstra kulikuler di Universitas saya (UC San Diego) di kelas yang bernama “Ground Fighting.” Pada saat itu saya sudah bisa menerima keampuhan Brazilian Jiujitsu setelah melihat Royce Gracie memenangkan UFC 1 dan 2 dengan mudah tanpa cidera atau menciderai lawannya. Instruktur kelas tersebut adalah Roy Harris dan asistennya adalah Michael Jen. Keduanya warga negara Amerika Serikat. Kesan saya pertama adalah, “Kok yang mengajar bukan orang Brazil, ya? Tapi kok teknik2nya mirip sekali dengan yang dilakukan Royce Gracie, ya? Ya sudah lah, daripada tidak belajar sama sekali mendingan sama mereka saja, lah.” saya pikir.
Roy dan Mike sebelumnya ternyata juga pernah belajar di akademinya keluarga Gracie. Setelah dari keluarga Gracie, mereka juga berguru kepada Nelson Monteiro (salah satu pembuka jalan BJJ di AS yang tinggal di San Diego). Lalu juga pernah berguru kepada keluarga Machado (sepupu keluarga Gracie yang juga sama tersohornya di dunia grappling). Disini terlihat jelas adanya ketidakcocokan antara budaya Brazil dengan budaya AS. Orang2 Brazil pada umumnya cenderung untuk berkumpul bareng (atau yang kita sebut 'nge-geng' di Indonesia) sedangkan orang2 AS lebih cenderung individualistis. Jadi bagi orang amerika, untuk berguru kepada 2 guru (atau lebih) pada saat yang bersamaan merupakan hal yang normal karena fokus mereka adalah untuk meningkatkan kemampuan mereka sendiri. Sedangkan bagi orang2 Brazil, berlajar dari orang lain yang bukan seperguruan adalah pengkhianatan.
Yang membuat masalah menjadi lebih buruk adalah ketika Roy dan Mike mulai belajar Sambo (gulat Rusia) dari bekas juara Sambo Junior dari Rusia. Sambo adalah ilmu grappling yang mirip sekali dengan BJJ dan Judo hanya kelebihannya adalah dari segi keahlian mereka melakukan kuncian kaki. Kuncian kaki sudah lama dilarang di Judo dan begitu pula di BJJ. Masyarakat BJJ pada saat itu menganggap petarung yang menggunakan kuncian kaki adalah banci. Aneh sekali reaksi manusia terhadap sesuatu yang mereka tidak mengerti/kuasai. Padahal Roy Harris yang saat itu masih sabuk ungu di BJJ sudah sering bisa mengalahkan orang2 yang sabuk BJJnya lebih tinggi dengan kuncian kaki.
Akhirnya mereka bertemu dengan seorang guru BJJ yang sangat berpengertian, Joe Moreira. Joe adalah salah satu guru yang tidak pernah merasa takut untuk mengajarkan semua ilmunya kepada murid2nya. Mungkin sangking terlalu royal sampai sering kali beliau mengajarkan terlalu banyak sehingga muridnya malah jadi bingung karena kebanyakan pilihan teknik. Tapi bagaimanapun juga, saya tetap menghormati beliau karena ia adalah orang yang jujur dan berkepribadian bersih dari permainan2 politik yang tidak sehat. Beliau merupakan orang2 yang pertama yang berani membuka diri mengajarkan BJJ kepada atlit2 MMA non BJJ seperti Kimo Leopoldo dan Marco Ruas. Tentunya hal seperti ini sangat ditentang oleh masyarakat BJJ yang sangat eksklusif. Joe tidak perduli terhadap kritik dari komunitas BJJ karena fighter2 seperti Kimo dan Marco sudah janji akan bawa nama BJJ bila mereka bertanding di arena MMA.
Kembali lagi ke perjalan latihan saya di San Diego. Sewaktu saya baru mulai grappling, saya selalu ikut kelas grup dan tidak pernah ambil kelas privat. Alasan saya, “Ketika saya belajar beladiri lain seperti Arnis, Kun Tao, Silat, Karate, dsb saya tidak pernah perlu les privat, tuh. Hasilnya ok2 saja tuh.” Akibatnya saya selalu berada di bawah karena selalu tertekan oleh tekanan lawan2 saya (lagian tinggi saya hanya 168 cm dengan berat 70 kg melawan lawan2 yang paling tidak 175 cm dan jauh lebih berat). Dan tidak pernah sekalipun saya tidak pernah menyerah (tap out) bila grappling lawan siapapun (termasuk melawan wanita).
Setelah 3 bulan pertama saya selalu habis dilindas oleh semuanya (lagi2 termasuk wanita), saya cari2 informasi tambahan dari majalah pusaka saya (Black Belt Magazine), disitulah saya melihat adanya iklan yang dipasang oleh keluarga tersohor Gracie dengan bintangnya: Royce Gracie. Isinya mengajarkan ilmu2 keluarga Gracie Jiujitsu. Saya masih ingat pikiran saya ketika paket kiriman video tersebut tiba di depan pintu rumah saya. Saya berpikir, “Yess ... no more tapping out to girls!!!” Perasaan yakin semakin mengarungi saya ketika saya memutar video2 tersebut. Disitu saya belajar teknik2 baru yang saya yakin akan membuat teman2 latihan saya jadi kewalahan. 3 bulan berlalu tapi hasilnya kok sama saja ya (saya masih pikir bahwa les privat dengan Roy itu tidak perlu karena saya sudah punya videonya Gracie Jiujitsu – juara UFC), malahan sekarang saya lebih sering kena 'Triangle Choke' oleh teman2 saya (termasuk wanita), pada saat melakukan 'Guard Passing'. Lalu setelah 6 bulan tap out terus, saya datang kepada guru saya untuk minta petunjuk mengenai bagaimana caranya untuk mengembangkan diri lebih lanjut. Lalu Roy menawarkan untuk les private lebih banyak dulu sebelum grappling di kelas.
Setelah ambil privat dengan Roy, saya menayakan Roy mengapa kok yang diajarkannya sangat berbeda dengan yang ada di Video Gracie Jiujitsu. Kemudia ia menjelaskan bahwa sebenarnya materi2 yang ada di video mereka adalah jiujitsu tapi jiujitsu yang sudah dilunakkan. Lunak artinya teknik2nya mirip dengan hard core jiujitsu tapi lebih banyak 'vulnerabilities'nya (kelemahan). Sepertinya ini memang disengaja karena keluarga Gracie yakin bahwa yang membeli set video mereka adalah juga para petarung2 UFC (apalagi para pegulat2 AS). Inilah sebabnya pegulat2 seperti Dan Severn kalah dari Royce Gracie karena terkena Triangle Choke ketika juga melakukan 'Guard Passing'. Rupanya Dan Severn pun juga terjebak karena pernah menonton video instruksional Gracie Jiujitsu, ya?
Waktu berjalan terus, lalu saya pindah kota dari San Diego ke Los Angeles. Disana saya meneruskan latihan BJJ dibawah organisasinya Joe Moreira juga, tapi kali ini guru saya adalah Rick Lucero dan Richard Heard. Rick dan Richard juga adalah guru yang baik dan selalu berbagi ilmu tanpa menyembunyikan apa2. Sayapun juga tetap latihan dengan Roy bila saya sedang main di San Diego. Pada waktu yang sama, Michael Jen juga sudah tamat sekolah di San Diego lalu beliau akhirnya kembali ke kota asalnya di daerah San Jose dan disana ia buka sekolah sendiri (tetap dibawah organisasinya Joe Moreira).
Ketika saya kembali ke Indonesia pada Juni 1998, saya pikir latihan BJJ saya akan berakhir karena tidak ada guru dan teman latihan. Ternyata tidak lama setelah saya pulang, guru Kun Tao saya dan anaknya menghubungi saya dan menawarkan kepada saya apakah saya mau mengajarkan BJJ kepada mereka (toh juga saya perlu teman latihan).
Karena kesibukan saya di Indonesia, hubungan saya dengan Roy dan Mike sempat terputus apalagi pada saat itu sudah banyak sekali video2 instruksional mengenai BJJ yang dijual di Internet. Roy, Rick, dan Mike pada saat itupun juga sudah mampu membuat video mereka sendiri. Video yang dibuat Roy dan Rick laku keras, video buatan Mike lebih laku lagi (sampai jaman sekarangpun video mereka bisa dibilang salah satu video instruksional yang baik). Lalu belum lagi keluar video2 yang dibuat oleh Marrio Sperry, Pedro Carvalho, Ralph Gracie, Joe Moreira, Kazeka Muniz, Rick Lucero, Wallid Ismail, dsb. Bisakah anda membayangkan banyaknya video pada saat itu? Saat sekarang lebih banyak lagi, mungkin 3 kali lipat lebih banyak jenisnya.
Jadi dari tahun 1998 sampai 2004 saya melatih BJJ berdasarkan apa yang saya pelajari dari ratusan video BJJ (termasuk video pertandingan). Setiap kali melihat video baru, saya merasa 'cool' karena bisa menunjukan teknik2 yang baru2 apalagi lawan2 saya belum pernah lihat sebelumnya. Tapi seberapa kuat daya serap otak kita untuk bisa mengingat dan melakukan ratusan teknik dari video2 tersebut? Dari pengalaman saya sendiri sih ternyata teknik2 yang saya ingat dan mampu saya lakukan dalam grappling hanya sekitar 2% dari yang saya lihat.
Dimasa yang sama saya juga banyak bertemu rekan2 seperjuangan yang dahulu pernah belajar BJJ di luar negri (Amerika Serika dan Australia). Ternyata ada beberapa dari merekapun mengalami hal yang sama yang pernah dilalui oleh Roy dan Mike ketika belajar dibawah naungan keluarga Gracie (dimana isu2 politik sering kali menjadi lebih penting daripada latihan BJJ itu sendiri). Dari situ saya merasa beruntung karena saya tidak pernah harus dihadapkan kepada situasi tersebut. Ternyata dikalahkan oleh wanita dalam grappling itu jauh lebih produktif daripada harus menghadapi isu2 politik yang tidak produktif bagi kemajuan 'grappling skill' saya.
Ada juga rekan yang berlatih di lingkungan sekolah yang murid2nya terlampau kompetitif. Jangan salah paham karena kompetisi itu ada baiknya, tapi di lingkungan yang terlampau kompetitif, yang akan maju hanyalah orang2 yang memang punya hasrat untuk berprestasi di pertandingan dan biasanya orang2 tersebut juga cenderung memiliki kelebihan fisik yang lebih kuat dari lainnya. Singkat kata, yang akan maju pesat hanyalah orang2 ini sedangkan murid2 yang hanya ingin belajar untuk olah raga saja dan tidak memiliki fisik yang prima seperti superman (termasuk saya) akan terhambat karena tidak pernah diberi kesempatan untuk mengembangkan sedikit demi sedikit. Latihan yang terlalu kompetitif juga meningkatkan kemungkinan cidera. Bila sudah cidera, maka biasanya kita harus berhenti latihan selama berbulan2. Apakah itu akan membantu perkembangan kita? Untung saja selama saya latihan dari tahun 1994 sampai sekarang, saya belum pernah cidera berat karena grappling (kadang2 saja terkena pegal-linu di leher dan pernah cidera siku kiri karena kena Armbar). Sebenarnya di AS pun orang yang berlatih BJJ untuk kompetisi jumlahnya jauh lebih sedikit dibanding orang yang latihan untuk hobi dan kebugaran.
Lalu pada tahun 2004 ketika saya kebetulan sedang berkunjung di San Jose, saya menghampiri Michael Jen yang ketika itu telah memegang sabuk hitam di BJJ. Jujur saja, ilmu yang diajarkannya kepada saya sangat berbeda (jauh lebih maju) dibanding dengan yang saya alami dahulu ketika Mike masih menjadi asisten Roy di San Diego. Ilmu yang diajarkannyapun juga sangat berbeda dengan yang ditayangkan di video instruksionalnya yang dijual di Internet. Dari saat itu sampai sekaranglah saya kembali menjadi murid tetap beliau. Bahkan dari materi yang Mike ajarkan di 2004, di tahun 2006 juga sudah ada perbaikan untuk materi yang sama.
Minggu lalu, saya baru mengundang kembali guru lama saya, Roy Harris (sekarang juga telah menjadi sabuk hitam di BJJ), untuk memberikan seminar BJJ di Indonesia. Metode mengajar Roy pun juga jauh berbeda dengan yang beliau ajarkan dimasa lalu.
Hikmah dari perjalan grappling yang saya alami ini adalah:
Akan selalu ada cara yang lebih baik dari cara yang kita kerjakan sekarang. Perbaikan adalah merupakan suatu hal yang tidak ada batasnya.
Jadi bagi para pembaca yang ingin menekuni grappling, janganlah menutup kemungkinan bahwa yang anda kerjakan hari ini belum tentu adalah cara yang terbaik. Ilmu yang saya latih pun juga jauh dari sempurna, tapi satu hal yang pasti adalah perjalanan menuju kesempurnaan adalah hal yang paling membahagiakan dan banyak pahalanya.
Salam Hangat
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Universal Grappling dan Submission Wrestling
Selamat datang ke dalam blog kami.
Universal Grappling adalah klub latihan olah raga Submission Wrestling/Grappling. Misi kami adalah untuk mengembangkan ilmu olah raga submission wrestling di Indonesia.
Mengapa Submission Wrestling?
Olah raga ini termasuk jenis olah raga bela diri gulat dimana tujuan permainannya adalah untuk mendapatkan 'submission' (membuat lawan menyerah dengan memberikan tanda 'tap out'). 'Wrestling/Grappling' artinya tidak diperbolehkan untuk melakukan tinju, tendangan, sikutan, dan serangan2 benturan lainnya; melainkan para petarung harus menggunakan usaha pelumpuhan hingga lawan menyerah. Dengan kata lain, Submission Wrestling adalah Mixed Martial Arts minus serangan pukulan.
Mengapa Submission Wrestling/Grappling sangat menarik? Memang di Indonesia baru mulai, tapi di luar negri sudah banyak peminatnya karena:
Universal Grappling adalah klub latihan olah raga Submission Wrestling/Grappling. Misi kami adalah untuk mengembangkan ilmu olah raga submission wrestling di Indonesia.
Mengapa Submission Wrestling?
Olah raga ini termasuk jenis olah raga bela diri gulat dimana tujuan permainannya adalah untuk mendapatkan 'submission' (membuat lawan menyerah dengan memberikan tanda 'tap out'). 'Wrestling/Grappling' artinya tidak diperbolehkan untuk melakukan tinju, tendangan, sikutan, dan serangan2 benturan lainnya; melainkan para petarung harus menggunakan usaha pelumpuhan hingga lawan menyerah. Dengan kata lain, Submission Wrestling adalah Mixed Martial Arts minus serangan pukulan.
Mengapa Submission Wrestling/Grappling sangat menarik? Memang di Indonesia baru mulai, tapi di luar negri sudah banyak peminatnya karena:
- Peraturan pertandingan Submission Wrestling relatif bebas dari larangan maka sangat dimungkinkan diadunya para petarung dari disiplin ilmu grappling yang berbeda, contoh: Greco Roman vs Judo, Brazilian Jiujitsu vs Sambo, Judo vs Aikido, dsb.
- Bagi petarung lebih aman dibanding dengan Mixed Martial Arts. Lebih aman dari segi kemungkinan gegar otak dan cidera lainnya.
- Para grappler diperbolehkan menggunakan pakaian yang mereka anggap cocok untuk gaya grappling mereka. Jadi petarung diperbolehkan menggunakan: Gi (kimono yang digunakan di Judo dan Jiujitsu), baju gulat, hakama (aikido), rash guard (baju khas submission grappling dan juga digunakan dalam surfing), kaos oblong, T-shirt, dsb. Ini menyebabkan lebih adanya elemen gaya hidup (lifestyle) yang lebih trendi bagi para penggemarnya.
- Pertandingan Submission Wrestling lebih bertempo tinggi dibanding dengan pertandingan gulat lainnya yang menggunakan pakaian yang tebal (seperti Brazilian Jiujitsu).
- Merupakan dasar yang kuat bagi para petarung yang ada rencana untuk meniti karirnya di dunia Mixed Martial Arts.
Yang dilatih di Universal Grappling
Tujuan utama dari Submission Wrestling adalah mengalahkan lawan dengan pelumpuhan. Banyak cara untuk melumpuhkan lawan (baik pada saat lawan berdiri maupun saat di tanah). Karena faktor mobilitas pada saat pertarungan berdiri, maka akan sangat sulit bagi para petarung untuk bisa melumpuhkan lawan selama kedua kaki lawan masih berdiri. Mengingat hal ini, maka strategi yang umum diadopsi oleh seorang submission grappler adalah untuk membawa perkelahian ke tanah dimana ruang gerak untuk melepaskan usaha pengkontrolan dan pelumpuhan jauh lebih terbatas.
Atas dasar itulah maka kami melatih ilmu2 yang terbaik dari berbagai macam ilmu grappling seperti:
- Brazilian Jiujitsu, yang terkenal akan gulat tanahnya (95% dari waktu latihan BJJ disisihkan untuk perkelahian di tanah). Untuk alasan ini, maka sebagian besar dari waktu latihan kita akan difokuskan untuk menguasai pergulatan di tanah
- Greco Roman Wrestling, terkemuka akan kemampuan clinch (mendominasi poros tengah lawan pada saat berdiri
- Freestyle Wreslting, yang tersohor dengan jenis2 bantingannya
- Sambo (gulat Rusia), yang merupakan ensiklopedi berbagai macam pelumpuhan sendi, khususnya kuncian2 kaki
- Catch as Catch Can (gulat tradisional Amerika Serikat), yang juga merupakan kamus pelumpuhan seperti gulat Rusia
- dsb, tanpa bermaksud untuk merendahkan atau menyinggung ilmu gulat lainnya kami juga terbuka untuk mengadopsi ilmu lain diluar yang dijelaskan diatas
Di masa datang, kami akan menulis topik2 lain yang berhubungan dengan olah raga Submission Wrestling seperti metode latihan, teknik, taktik, strategi, dst.
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