On The Mat Day 833: Marco Barbosa Lesson

I took off to class last night, which is unusual for me, since I always train in the daytime. Marco Barbosa is in town and was teaching at our club. The room was packed full of people and also some folks who came along with Barbosa himself from both Brazil and I think Peru.

The techniques he showed were, as expected, painful. He stressed controlling the head which basically meant putting your ribcage and upper body on the opponent's face while in top position. This controls their movement and opens up attacks. It's extremely painful to be under that kind of pressure. I never compact the head of my opponent but go for the standard chest to chest with an over and under hook. Compressing the head is really effective but might not make you a fan of your team buddies. I can see its application in MMA and a street fight. The conundrum is, how to train using this kind of painful pressure so that you can use it naturally when the time comes but not alienate your training partners.

His philosophy seems to be:
If you are on the top, make your partner as uncomfortable as possible, so that he wants to tap or make a mistake.

I sparred with both him and Diego Martins who both seriously made me want to shrivel up and die under their top pressure. It's both extremely claustrophobic and soul-crushing. I admit that there were a few times I considered tapping under the pressure. I think if I was in the physical shape I was 2 months ago before starting to work out in the mornings I may have tapped out. It was just sheer determination that kept me going and I got a glimpse of what it was like to be a white belt again.

I know I need to develop this kind of pressure of control and as I sped off home on my bicycle after the lesson I wondered to myself if I am just too nice to people when we spar. It's not the first time I've had this thought. Am I too kind? Should I be mean and put more pressure on my opponent? It certainly is a great weapon to have.

Group photo after the lesson

One Year BJJ Anniversary

The time went by so fast and it has been a year. This is just for me to reflect on where I am in BJJ.

Areas I have improved in BJJ

I am much better fighting off my back (something that at first was unusual for me as a striker)

My side control and mount is much harder to break out of

My main submissions are chokes from side control, arm bar from knee on belly or side control and the occasional crucifixion choke

My best escapes are from mount

I have 2 main takedowns, ude-gaeshi and hikkoki nage along with a few tackles at single and double leg

My half guard/quarter guard game is probably my strong point

My main sweeps are scissor, flower and quarter guard sweeps

Guard breaking has improved a lot I think because I have added more variation and combinations

Areas I need to work on in BJJ

Side control escapes against larger or stronger opponents

Rear mount escapes

Takedowns

Cardiovascular ability so I am always moving

Passing the spider or inverted guard

Always looking for the underhook and stopping the crossface

Half guard sweeps

Using triangles – I suck at them or miss the opportunity to finish with them

Factors that have improved in my life due to BJJ

Reflexes

Since starting BJJ, I sometimes feel like Peter Parker in the first Spiderman movie where he catches the girl’s tray and all her stuff on it with lightning reactions. I’m fairly clumsy by nature and always dropping things from shelves as I scrabble for some object. In the last year, everything that has dropped I have caught mid-air and many times I have surprised myself at how quick my reactions have become.

Strength

In the past, I have done lots of weight training such as multi-joint moves such as squats, deadlifts and snatches. Right now in comparison to where I was, my strength is much lower. This probably has a lot to do with me not doing those heavy weights any more rather than gaining no strength from BJJ. On the other hand, my grip strength is so much better but at the cost of a few deformed knuckles.

Cardio and weight maintenance

I have been in better cardiovascular shape having done a few rounds of Beachbody’s P90X. My heart rate is still fairly low (60s) and I have continued to stay at the steady weight of 73 kg throughout the entire year. When I ever stopped doing P90X in the past my weight inevitably moved from the 72 kg bracket to 76 or 78 kg within 6 months. BJJ definitely keeps the weight off.

Stress

Now this is a big thing with doing BJJ. If you ever wanted to get rid of stress, BJJ will help you to do just that. There is no other feeling that beats a night of BJJ apart from sex with a hot chick. If you’ve ever heard Arnold talk about “The Pump” and how euphoric it can be as all those feel-good chemicals swill around in your brain, BJJ is just like that.

Ego

Before starting BJJ, I as many other guys, have been under the false impression that I could take care of myself. That small guy over there, yeah, I could take him sort of attitude. BJJ teaches you that appearances can be deceiving. It teaches you to lose the ego and accept your failings. There will always be a bigger fish than you, as they say. I am much calmer nowadays thanks to BJJ. I am also more wary of people and don’t jump to conclusions but I also carry a confidence I didn’t have before.

The Negatives

Injuries and pain

Sadly, this is one area that has made me at times think about quitting BJJ. It made me ask the question “Is it worth it?” For a younger guy this may not be a problem but as the body ages it can become less resilient. To date, I have dislocated my thumb, gotten ear pain, broken my left foot, developed a right groin strain (which still is not perfect), pulled my left shoulder muscle and hurt my neck. I know lot of guys who have ripped the cartilage on their ribs, hurt their knees and had broken fingers. BJJ seems gentle at first but it can hurt you at the most inconspicuous of times. I’ve heard that as you become more adept, injuries will decrease.