Staying on Target

[Andrew Green]

If you watch the top guys competing in combat sports you’ll notice a trend in what they do. For the most part they tend to win the same way, or the same 2-3 ways every time. They do the same techniques on everyone, and the guys they are fighting know exactly what’s coming because they do it every time.

In training the tendency is to find something that works and use it for a while. But then the rest of the class gets wise to it and it stops working. At this point many people simply switch to something else, developing something else that works for a while and then switching it up again when their training partners figure it out.

This is a good method for learning a wide range of skills to a proficient level, but the problem is you never really take any of those skills to the point where you have mastered them.

Over time everyone gets hit with everything, and the advanced guys will have seen pretty much everything thrown at them and be able to defend it. So if you take everything just to the point of being proficient eventually you will reach a point where you can catch beginners at will, with pretty much anything, but have a hard time catching experienced guys with any of it.

The next time you find your go-to techniques no longer working on your training partners, don’t switch to something else, stick with them and figure out how to make them work again. After the cycle has repeated a few times, of you making them work and then your training partners figuring out how to defend and then you making them work again you will have a solid go-to system.

As you progress your “A” game should get both simpler, and more complex. What you want is to be able to control the situation, control possible actions by your opponent, and be prepared for each option available to them. The key thing is it all has to fit together in a logical and deliberate way, rather then a collection of random techniques. Know exactly where you want to go, what the paths leading there are, and how to get back on the path as your opponent tries to knock you off it.

Once you know that path inside and out, know every twist and turn, every point where you might fall of it and how to recover, then you will be a very dangerous competitor.

 

[teekin]

Ahhhhhh. :idea: A very logical and well put explanation Mr. Green. Merci.

Lori

 

[Steve]

At my school, sticking with something too long is called "camping." If you're camping in your A game all the time, you're not developing your weaknesses. While I don't disagree with your basic premise, which is I think to develop your A game to a point of mastery, you won't get there without also becoming a well rounded grappler.

At every stage, it's opening up my game and learning new things that make what I've been doing work better. For example, I remember vividly thinking that I'd never get sweeps to work. I felt like I just inevitably stalled out trying to scissor sweep an opponent until he decided it was time to pass my guard. It wasn't until I began focusing on a few key submissions from guard that I began having success with my sweeps. The threat of a cross collar choke opened up the potential sweep (and vice versa). The threat of an armbar opened up the pendulum sweep. Etc.

Every single developmental leap I've had has been by consciously tabling my A game and focusing on a neglected area of my development. And every single time, my A game has improved as a result.

Roger Gracie catches just about everyone with the same two submissions: ezekial and x-collar choke from guard. He sweeps, passes, mounts and then chokes... EVERYONE. The reason his a game works so well is that he is a threat at every position.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Like Steve mentions above It is pretty simple to have a great A game. I have around three go to techniques that line up and work well off of each other. When I have wanted to I have yet been unable to submit someone using them. However, I actually rarely use them when training? Why because I am interested in working in other areas that are weaker. Spend time taking your weaknesses and making them pluses and you will in turn become more complete and a better overall practitioner. One of the problems I continually see with top tier MMA competitors is that many of them have very poor defensive skill sets based on my expectations. Too many are all offense and their defense is well just lacking. I agree that you need to specialize but not to the extent that your well rounded game suffers!

Here is a post on my blog regarding working on your weakness:
The Instinctive Edge

or yet an even earlier blog post:
The Instinctive Edge

 

[Andrew Green]

which is I think to develop your A game to a point of mastery, you won't get there without also becoming a well rounded grappler.

No, you definitely need a little of everything (unless you are leading up to a competition) If for no other reason then you need to understand it in order to effectively defend it. You also get times where a opportunity just pops up for something, and you need to be able to take advantage, even if its not you bread and butter.

But for people looking to compete, they should know exactly what there game plan is, and how to make everything in it work, what the counters and blocks are and how to work around or prevent them.

But if you are just arm baring the new guys every 20 seconds... that's being a dick

 

[FatGorilla]

that is a good point Andrew i remember when i just got my blue belt their where some areas of my game that were extremely strong purple belt level like my side mount and my guard game but i had a really weak bottom game as i hated it and never wanted to spend any time there. A good white belt of my size and strength could give me fits if i was stuck under him and couldn't get to my strong positions quickly

 

[FatGorilla]

well i've been back in the game for a month after a 5year hiatus and i've taken the opposite approach. my focus on my first month back was my bottom game which was my weak link, and all i do is start every roll from bottom and if i get guard, 1/4 or revers the position i just let the the guy take top again. It's a humbling experience as i'm not forcing my stronger top game on the people i roll but, but i do feel that my bottom game has really gotten better from this isolation. i think it may even be better then it was 5years ago but it's hard to tell as i still don't have my timing back. i know if i'm fresh i can be out from under an average bjj blue belt fairly quickly (regardless of the position i let them start with. however yesterday i noticed that my knee ride bottom game seems to be my weakest link but that's harder to isolate in rolling as i have to find people that have a good knee ride or and prefer to use it as i haven't really gone into detail with what i'm doing people jut thing i'm rolling and like to start from a ****** position.

now i'm kinda wondering if i'm hampering my growth focusing strictly on my weakest link like i am. but then again i see it as your only as strong as your weakest link.

 

[Andrew Green]

Everyone needs both top and bottom, I would say spending too much time on things that don't work for you might not be the best idea. For example some short stocky guys have a really hard time with triangles, and are good with Kimuras. Deciding to abandon Kimuras and work nothing but triangles would likely be a mistake.

We are only as strong as our weakest link, but we do get to pick which links we use for different pieces of that chain.