how do i bride the gap?

[big_cat]

I've done Muay Thia for over a year now, and BJJ for about three months, but i'm still not sure about how to use the two together. Any ideas in training would be nice.

[Ghost]

I havent done BJJ but im quite good at Muay Thai.

This is my opinion and i only know half the story but for what its worth:

I would use the Thai stuff as stand up of course but in the clinch i would use my knowledge of BJJ to STOP me from being taken o the ground and try and use all the nasty Thai stuff standing up in the clinhc.

If the fight went to the ground then i would use my BJJ knowlegde which should alow me to win.

The whole aim would be to stay standing cos i dont want to role around on the floor unless i have too.

Your in a good position as you are doing the two best systems for self defence in the world, wish i could get myself to a BJJ school.

[ryanhall]

Your in a good position as you are doing the two best systems for self defence in the world, wish i could get myself to a BJJ school.

Good Christ, not again. I give up

[platinum_angel]

cry me a river......................thats my saying when people start biatchen and whining.

[platinum_angel]

oh yeah srry forgot again. i've been taking wrestling now for like a month i think mabye more. but the way you bridge the gap is to use them when they are needed. lets say for example the guy is really mad and wants to tackle you. well then you just sprawl. but if he a standing up in the street you don't want to take him down. why. you know why. thats when you could use standup.

be like the formless water my son.

[falcon3624]

You are the same age as me big_cat. I have been doing martial arts since I was 5. The best thing to do is to take different things like you are doing and find out what you like about each one and what works best for you and keep that. I have tried many different martial arts and I just take the things that I like from each and try to apply them to a MMA type of style that is really no style.

I always try to take the fight to them standing at first but if I see that the person might have more skill than me standing I take it to the ground. Then again I am a pretty big guy at 6'2" and 240lbs. so I like to stand toe to toe and knock the crap out of people where as alot of smaller guys might prefer to take it to the ground pretty fast.

I think that most big guys are more comfortable with the stand up game cuz like me although I can fight on the ground, because I am a big guy it is more difficult to move around quickly on the ground and I have alot more body mass to hold onto in the clinch. On the other hand a smaller guy is kinda slippery to hold onto and they can move around a little faster on the ground.

[Tom Yum]

Falcon, are you a power lifter?

I sparred a pro-boxer (boxing rules) for 3 rounds; I had a 35 lb weight advantage, not to mention my bench press is double his. The gentleman whom I was sparring hit extremely hard and was very hard to hit. He had his timing down pat and his hands were up and tight. There's another Pro-boxer here in Houston, who is yet smaller, but has knocked down considerably larger guys who dabble in boxing for NHB training.

You forgot to mention that little guys are not going to just stand there while you exchange punches. Did you see the Roy Jones Jr. v. John Ruiz fight? I think the weight differential was 30+ lbs... anywho the Ruiz supporters said that 'little' Jones Jr couldn't hit with power. The day after the fight on ESPN boxing, we see a classic picture (could have been a good picture for boxing 101) of Jones Jr. slipping Ruiz's massive cross and landing a solid left upper cut to Ruiz'z nose, breaking it, with blood flying toward the camera.

Your strength serves you well for ground control and hitting on the ground.

[falcon3624]

Yes for hitting on the ground power is a good thing, but what I was trying to say is that being bigger gives your opponent more area to hold onto and it makes it harder to manuever with speed. I can guarantee you that at 240lbs. although I am in very good shape can not move around on the mat as fast and agile as someone who weighs in at 180lbs.

I do lift alot and workout routinly because I beleive power makes a big difference in a fight when you have to people who are both trained well the one with the most power or most powerful hits is usually going to win the fight

[falcon3624]

Do you workout routinly? Just wondering if you make emphasis on power or try to rely souly on ability. I wouldn't say that I was a powerlifter although I do spend alot of time in the gym. Last time I maxed on bench I think I did 365lbs. and that was about 1/2 a year ago.

Alot of people say in BJJ power means nothing but I know that everyone in my class complements me on my power on the mat and how hard it is to get me in moves. I know one night a guy came over for a triangle armbar and I grabbed onto is kimono and just picke him up, I had the perfect position to slam him on his shoulders to break the armbar but we don't do that in class.......normally when the teacher see that you are in good position to slam someone or to put on a toe hold or something like that he stops the fight immediately to keep from having someone injured.

[Tom Yum]

Yeah, that's a very legitimate school of thought. All things being equal, power usually determines the winner.

What I've also found is that some fighters try to rely too much on power and forget to work on speed, agility and stamina. I think each person has their own critical size where they have all of the above attributes. I worked out with an amateur fighter who was considerably strong as a heavy weight, but slimmed down to cruiser weight and is beating the crap out of the competition because of improved speed and agility.

For example, if someone can slip punches left and right and not get too hurt in a certain weight category, then they can move up to the next weight class. I don't know if this is the criteria that coaches use, but Jones Jr. has moved up to heavy weight from super middleweight. I think De la Hoya (correct me if I'm wrong) moved up to super welterweight from jr. light weight.

Fighters in NHB competitions sometimes find themselves slimming down. But their are exceptions.

[Tom Yum]

Dang, thats one heck of a bench!

I'm working on my power/strength during offseason. I don't max, but at this moment this is what my bench/squat look like.

Bench Press
warm up set.
1- 205 lbs, 7 reps
2- 215 , 5 reps
2- 225, 3-4 reps

Squat
warm up set.
1 - 365 lbs, 6-7 reps
2 - 385 lbs, 5 reps
3 - 405 lbs, 3-4 reps

You can calculate your 1RM by taking the weight you can only do 5 reps with and divide it by .84, so that puts me a little over 250 bench and 450 squat.

My best 1 mile run time is 6:17, 2 mile- 14:03. I don't run over 4 miles.

I'm weighing in at 170 3/4 @ 5'10"

Do you do other excercises for power? Or is it all lifting?

[falcon3624]

Mostly I just lift for power. I do train for speed as well though. One of my favorite things is practicing my kicks with 10lbs. or 20lbs. leg weights, you would be amazed at how much improvement it makes in your speed. Usually when I lift on bench I do my first set light (around 165-180lbs.) to get warmed up (set of 10). Then I move to about 225lb. set of 10. Then I got to about 275lbs. set of 10. Then I go anywhere from 295lbs. to 320lbs. on the last set for as many as I can get off (10 with 295lbs. and I got a set of 10 with 315lbs. about a week or two ago). I think that I have passed 365lbs. on the max right now. I usually work out with about 110lbs. to 130lbs. on curls (I work sets of 10). Most people are suprised when they step on the mat with me because although I look pretty big they always tell me they did not expect me to be as strong as I am.

I might not be the fastest guy on the mat, but just don't let me hit ya.......lol

[Tom Yum]

Be careful with weighted kicking; it can mess up your ligaments. Do you train in Houston?

[terry]

One of my training partners in BJJ is a 5'10" 260 lb no-fat blue belt that is also my powerlifting coach. He's got a 560 bench, 805 squat and 770 deadlift. He'll be the first to tell you that you have to learn how to relax and roll without using strength in order to learn, but when he turns it on he can rip the arms off brown belts. So, it is not skill vs. strength (false dichotomy), it is skill AND strength.

I'm still trying just to survive against the guy. There are several problems I haven't been able to solve. For example, how do I avoid his sweep if he can clean-and-jerk me (240 lb) easily?

[Tom Yum]

Ouch! Power and technique are a mean combo. Eating heavy weight jabs nearly knocks me down. Don't remind me