Here's the fourth black belt learning strategy from the Gracie Academy. Agian, full disclosure, these strategies are reprinted from the Gracie Insider newsletter. If you would like to get them from the source you can signup here: http://www.gracieacademy.com/gracieinsidersignuppage.htm
Black Belt Learning Strategy #4: Become a Type 2 Student
There are three basic steps involved in mastering any technique of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu: 1) Learn the steps 2) Develop your reflexes, and 3) Build your confidence. The most critical of these steps is the first, because if you do not learn the steps, you cannot develop the correct reflex or the confidence in the execution of a technique. Regarding the ability to learn and incorporate new techniques, we have found that students can be categorized into one of two groups. If you are in the first group, it will take almost double the time for you to reach black belt than if you are a member of the second group.
Type 1 Students: Those who think they know how to learn the steps of a technique.
Most students fall into this category. They come to class on Monday, watch the technique presentations, practice the techniques in class, spar at the end of class, win some, lose some, and go home. They come back to class on Tuesday, learn the new techniques, spar, win some, lose some, and by this time they have totally forgotten the steps of the techniques from the previous day’s class. When a Type 1 student is taught the same technique for a second or third time, they tend to be very lazy in their viewing of the presentation, since they think they already know the technique. Generally speaking, Type 1 students have adopted the belief that they will progress as rapidly as everyone else as long as they show up to class and go through the motions, and they couldn’t be more wrong.
Type 2 Students: Those who know how to learn the steps of a technique.
Very few students fall into this category. Type 2 students treat each new technique as if it were a newborn child. They realize that unless they care for it through infancy, childhood and adolescence, it will never reach adulthood. When watching a technique presentation, Type 2 students are totally focused on ever y detail as if it could save their life (which makes sense, because most details could). When practicing a technique for the first time, their only concern is to incorporate every detail presented by the instructor. They realize that any detail that is not incorporated in the practice of the technique may be lost forever, or at least until they learn the same technique again. When sparring, Type 2 students are primarily concerned with incorporating the technique they just learned, and often times they will ask their partners to cooperate and create the opportunities for the techniques during the sparring session. These students are more concerned with incorporating recently learned techniques in a sparring session than they are with winning or losing. After each class, these students take written notes on the newly learned techniques, aware of the fact that memory alone is not enough, since it is constantly overburdened by the adding of new techniques. Any time a Type 2 student views a presentation of a previously learned technique, they are as attentive as they were the first time they learned it. They realize that if they pay attention, they may get one detail from the presentation that they missed the previous time, and that this detail may be the one that leads to their successful mastery of the technique. Generally speaking, Type 2 students realize that although the Gracie Academy provides them with the resources necessary to achieve black belt, it is how they manage these resources that will determine the speed with which they reach the top. In other words, they take full responsibility for their progress.
It is a fact that the instruction at the Gracie Academy is so effective that regardless of which student group you fall in to, you will eventually learn how to defend yourself and ultimately reach black belt. It is also a fact that you can greatly reduce the time it takes to reach your goals if you simply learn to take more from each class, and the key to doing that is becoming a Type 2 student.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008
Black Belt Learning Strategies Continued
The below strategies can be found in the Gracie Insider, which you can sign up for free at http://www.gracieacademy.com/ . I decided to reprint them here for those who choose not to get the Insider. Strategy #3 makes allot of sense to me, it actually validates my thought process about rolling live with my classmates. I think I fell into this sparring methodology by chance or maybe it was just that when I started BJJ everyone was kicking my butt, so I immediately was working on my defense, because I was always defending (Survival Strategy), it wasn't until we got new students was I able to move onto the Attack and Test strategies. And of course most often I'm still gettin' whooped up on. Such is life! Just gotta' keep rollin'
Black Belt Learning Strategy #3: Spar Smartly
Black Belt Learning Strategy #3: Spar Smartly
Here at the Gracie Academy, approximately half of each advanced class in the Master Cycle program is dedicated to learning the technique of the day, and the other half is dedicated to sparring. Over the years we have found that although sparring is a very exciting way to develop reflexes (and a great workout), the full benefit from sparring is rarely achieved by students. This is because most do not know how to "spar smartly"
Most students develop comfort with a specific set of techniques or sparring strategy and then use this strategy every time they spar, regardless of who the opponent may be. What they don't realize is that in order to progress most rapidly, and benefit most from each sparring session, they must adapt their strategy based on who their opponent is. There are three basic strategies that each student should seek to adopt:
1) Attack Strategy: If you are sparring with someone who matches your skill level, you should utilize the Attack Strategy. Focus on avoiding defeat at first, and once you feel comfortable with your ability to defend, seek to defeat your opponent with your most reliable attack strategies. Use this opportunity to put your "bread and butter" techniques to the test and sharpen your reflexes.
2) Test Strategy: If you are sparring with someone who is less skilled, you should utilize the Test Strategy. Select one or two techniques that you are not too comfortable with, and seek to apply them on the less skilled student. Since there is no real threat of being defeated, you can use this sparring opportunity to practice techniques that you are not fully comfortable with, but would like to master. Once you can successfully apply a technique at will against less knowledgeable students, you will have the confidence to test it on a equally skilled training partner.
3) Survival Strategy: If you are sparring with an opponent who is much more skilled than you, or much heavier, you should adopt the Survival Strategy. The most common sparring mistake is to utilize the Attack Strategy against a much more knowledgeable opponent. Any time you are sparring with someone who is supposed to defeat you, your best option is to focus entirely on neutralizing their attacks. The danger in trying to attack someone who is has sharper reflexes and opportunity recognition skills, is that you unknowingly create a multitude of opportunities for them to submit you. If instead, you focus on defending, not only will you make it much more difficult for them to defeat you, but you will be much more perceptive of their techniques and strategies and ultimately learn much more from each sparring session.
Students who utilize the same strategy every time they spar tend to get very good a handful of techniques very quickly, but fail to perfect all the rest. By using the three "smart sparring" strategies listed above, you will progress faster and will be more well rounded once you reach black belt.
On a separate note, you must never forget that although jiu-jitsu sparring is a great way to enhance your skills and develop reflexes in the execution of your techniques, because punches are not thrown, you can easily develop bad habits without knowing it. When sparring, you should get the habit of asking yourself the following question: “In a real fight, would this technique leave me exposed to get punched or kicked?” If your sparring habits are causing you to expose yourself to potential punches, you risk developing habits that can lead to your demise against a larger, more athletic opponent in a real fight.
Most students develop comfort with a specific set of techniques or sparring strategy and then use this strategy every time they spar, regardless of who the opponent may be. What they don't realize is that in order to progress most rapidly, and benefit most from each sparring session, they must adapt their strategy based on who their opponent is. There are three basic strategies that each student should seek to adopt:
1) Attack Strategy: If you are sparring with someone who matches your skill level, you should utilize the Attack Strategy. Focus on avoiding defeat at first, and once you feel comfortable with your ability to defend, seek to defeat your opponent with your most reliable attack strategies. Use this opportunity to put your "bread and butter" techniques to the test and sharpen your reflexes.
2) Test Strategy: If you are sparring with someone who is less skilled, you should utilize the Test Strategy. Select one or two techniques that you are not too comfortable with, and seek to apply them on the less skilled student. Since there is no real threat of being defeated, you can use this sparring opportunity to practice techniques that you are not fully comfortable with, but would like to master. Once you can successfully apply a technique at will against less knowledgeable students, you will have the confidence to test it on a equally skilled training partner.
3) Survival Strategy: If you are sparring with an opponent who is much more skilled than you, or much heavier, you should adopt the Survival Strategy. The most common sparring mistake is to utilize the Attack Strategy against a much more knowledgeable opponent. Any time you are sparring with someone who is supposed to defeat you, your best option is to focus entirely on neutralizing their attacks. The danger in trying to attack someone who is has sharper reflexes and opportunity recognition skills, is that you unknowingly create a multitude of opportunities for them to submit you. If instead, you focus on defending, not only will you make it much more difficult for them to defeat you, but you will be much more perceptive of their techniques and strategies and ultimately learn much more from each sparring session.
Students who utilize the same strategy every time they spar tend to get very good a handful of techniques very quickly, but fail to perfect all the rest. By using the three "smart sparring" strategies listed above, you will progress faster and will be more well rounded once you reach black belt.
On a separate note, you must never forget that although jiu-jitsu sparring is a great way to enhance your skills and develop reflexes in the execution of your techniques, because punches are not thrown, you can easily develop bad habits without knowing it. When sparring, you should get the habit of asking yourself the following question: “In a real fight, would this technique leave me exposed to get punched or kicked?” If your sparring habits are causing you to expose yourself to potential punches, you risk developing habits that can lead to your demise against a larger, more athletic opponent in a real fight.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
