23 years of Taekwondo, 1 hour of BJJ (so far)

Jaeimseu

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I experienced my first actual BJJ class tonight. Although I pretty much knew what to expect, it was still awesome. I live in Korea, and the class is taught 100% in Korean, so I can't understand the explanations in their entirety, but fortunately I have a long martial arts background, so I am able to pick up a lot by observing the instructor do a technique, and I was able to feel whether or not things were working, both when I was doing something and when something was being done to me.

It was a great experience for me to be a white belt again. The instructor is also a longtime Taekwondo practitioner like me, and everyone was chill and friendly. The class was relatively small (6 students) and we were all white belts. I'm not sure how many non white belts there are. This is a new school.

We worked entirely from the ground tonight. i had a lot of fun. I got a mental and physical workout. It's really quite amazing to feel so helpless when someone puts you into position correctly.

We finished by "rolling" with the instructor. It was comical to me, because all of us knew going in that we were going to get "killed." Two things struck me. The first was just how quick and agile the instructor was from his back. I felt as if I was at a disadvantage, even though I began from a standing position and he was laying on his back. Of course, there were ground rules in place so I couldn't attempt to punt him or anything, though I got the impression that it might not have made a difference. He was able to read my body and anticipate where I was going to move when I was at a certain distance, and he was able to feel where I was going when I was close. It put me in the interesting position of just trying to hold off the inevitable. The second thing that really impressed me was how little energy he had to expend. He took on four guys, one after the other. Two of us outweighed him by at least 10 kg, but it didn't matter. Each of us was breathing heavily after just one "round." At the end, he wasn't breathing heavily at all. He looked like he could have just kept going all night.

I can't wait for tomorrow!
 
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Tony Dismukes

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Welcome to the dark side. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile. Soon you too will be indoctrinated into the ways of combat cuddling.
 

Hanzou

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Welcome to the dark side. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile. Soon you too will be indoctrinated into the ways of combat cuddling.

tumblr_nwwacnynQn1qh2md7o1_500.jpg


@Op: Congrats on your first class bro!
 

drop bear

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It is kind of a trick by the way. The instructor knows the mechanics of ground fighting and you dont.
 
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Jaeimseu

Jaeimseu

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It is kind of a trick by the way. The instructor knows the mechanics of ground fighting and you dont.
Oh, of course. I've done the same thing at the Taekwondo school. The same kind of thing applies to almost any activity.


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kuniggety

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I'm only a blue belt in combat cuddling and I've done the same rolling back to back with a handful of newbies, tapping them out, and not breathing hard at the end while they're spent by one tussle with me. It'll take time but one of the biggest things you'll learn in BJJ is to relax on the ground. You'll get the intuition of when you're not really in danger and can just lay there while your opponent struggles and when it's time for you to make your move. It's a great adventure. Welcome aboard!

Who did you start training under? I passed through Seoul and trained with a guy named Kris Kim. Awesome dude... Much smaller than me and threw me around like a rag doll, haha.
 

Hwikek

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If you've never done grappling before then remember to relax and not to focus on keeping headlocks. It's better to get hip control than to think that holding someone's head in anything other than a chokehold will fix the problem since most places do not allow neck cranking. If you're pretty flexible from your TKD training you will probably be able to adapt and do triangles. Just tap early, don't try and be and be a macho meathead.
 

Gwai Lo Dan

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I experienced my first actual BJJ class tonight. ... The second thing that really impressed me was how little energy he had to expend.
I work out by myself at a UFC gym. The thing that strikes me about the BJJ classes is how relaxed and patient the experiences guys are. They're just lying on their back, sometimes looking around, and just waiting, adapting, and working for the right opportunity.
 

Kung Fu Wang

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The thing that strikes me about the BJJ classes is how relaxed and patient the experiences guys are. They're just lying on their back, sometimes looking around, and just waiting, adapting, and working for the right opportunity.
If elbow striking is allowed, it will change the game completely. Try to watch the 2nd half of the following clip.

 

Langenschwert

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Groundfighting is a whole new world. We always included some in our modern combatives, but now that I've been doing Judo for two years in a newaza-heavy club, I'm enjoying it more and more. I forget who said it, but it's "like being a shark when no one knows how to swim".
 

Steve

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Groundfighting is a whole new world. We always included some in our modern combatives, but now that I've been doing Judo for two years in a newaza-heavy club, I'm enjoying it more and more. I forget who said it, but it's "like being a shark when no one knows how to swim".
Carlos machado said, "the ground is my ocean, I'm the shark, and most people don't even know how to swim."
 
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Jaeimseu

Jaeimseu

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Carlos machado said, "the ground is my ocean, I'm the shark, and most people don't even know how to swim."
And it's true. It's humbling to realize that someone else has total control of your fate. They can finish you whenever and however they want. Better learn how to swim.


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drop bear

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And it's true. It's humbling to realize that someone else has total control of your fate. They can finish you whenever and however they want. Better learn how to swim.


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I think you need a bigger boat.
 

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