This article is made for you grappling enthusiasts out there, specifically the wrestlers and BJJ players that are just starting out or need to revisit their passion for their sport. – By: Taylor Winzeler
You’re stepping on the mat. The home and sanctuary of all of your blood, sweat, and tears. Where you have spent a countless number of hours practicing, drilling and training. Now it’s time to put it together. A familiar feeling sends a wave of adrenaline down your spine as you step on to your playing field.
Are you a wrestler strapping on an ankle band? Or are you the BJJ player unweaving the tattered belt? Whichever you are,you share an unknown bond. The mat.
Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and Collegiate Wrestling are not the same, nor do they have the same origins or scoring systems. But with all their differences, it is intriguing to look past and focus on what lies underneath the root of competition.
Think of back to the first day of your sport.
Do you remember thinking about where and when you should position your body to gain an advantage? Remember trying to resist a maneuver with pure strength and then getting crushed by somebody who has correct technique and the speed and power to back it up? This is the starting point for both sports. The struggle. This is how both clean white belts and fresh wrestling shoes begin their journey.
What’s amazing is when look back to the first technique that actually worked for you. Whether it be the arm-bar or half-nelson, the realization is both sports contain almost the same system of learning. Only by repetition and drilling does technique become a part of muscle memory.
So how do we keep progressing?
First, find a technique that really catches your eye and study it. Then break it down, understand it, and eventually perfect it. Once the you begin to pull it off, it’ll become a new drug and you’ll want to do it over and over until it is second nature. Every grappler or wrestler knows exactly what I’m talking about. Once you have it down, move on to the next one. And repeat that over and over with different techniques for the rest of your life.
Remember, with grappling and all things in life, it takes drive, passion, and discipline to continuously get better. Achieve that sense of accomplishment never comes easy but the juice is worth the squeeze. After all, succeeding at something that at first seemed like a foreign language will always be satisfying no matter what you do in life.
Ever heard of Ginastica Natural? This method, developed by Brazilian, Alvaro Romano, is a workout which influenced in large part by many of the same ground movements we see in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and other martial arts.
This style has been gaining popular over the years. I remember seeing Ginastica movements for the first time in BJJ Master Rickson Gracie’s fight documentary Choke. In that film, Rickson can be seen performing a ginastica workout on a beach in Rio. At the time I had no idea what he was doing but now, I can see that this workout helps tremendously with BJJ. It allows muscles to memorize some the would-be rigorous movements we see as practicians of BJJ and grappling on a daily basis.
Ginastica Natural is all about keeping your body in constant motion by combining many different movements incorporated from Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. This can be considered a strength exercise because of the resistence one’s own body provides. It also incorporates flexibility and breathing techniques to help with cardiovascular conditioning as well.
Certainly a very unique and innovative way to keep your body & mind in tune with your techniques.
Watch the Andre Galvao video below for an example of Ginastica Natural being incorporated into a BJJ Workout. Galvao also gives a good explanation for why he does this and how it helps as well.
Balance is one of the key aspects of BJJ. It affects every part of your mat ability from keeping your base to passing to posturing for submissions and defending against them.
Oddly enough, strengthening ones balance is also one of the most neglected aspects when drilling, especially when it comes to newer practitioners. After all, it’s not one of those areas that you consciously think of drilling. It sort of just comes with the game right?
Wrong. There are ways for grapplers to drill on their own in order to improve their balance.
Enter the stability ball.
We’ve all seen them. The big inflated rubber balls you see floating around the gym. They are used for a variety of things. Usually you’ll see people stretching their backs on these things but by using them in a variety of ways, you’ll not only improve your balance, but your core as well. It helps the core muscles in your abs, hips and legs. There are also many different drills designed to improve your guard and mobility as well.
Do some research online. Find yourself a workout. Then grab a stability ball and start drilling them on your own.
Watch this video of Leo Viera and Andre Galvao drilling with the stability ball as an example of what I’m talking about.
Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and Collegiate Wrestling are not the same, nor do they have the same origins or scoring systems. But with all their differences, it is intriguing to look past and focus on what lies underneath the root of competition.
First, find a technique that really catches your eye and study it. Then break it down, understand it, and eventually perfect it. Once the you begin to pull it off, it’ll become a new drug and you’ll want to do it over and over until it is second nature. Every grappler or wrestler knows exactly what I’m talking about. Once you have it down, move on to the next one. And repeat that over and over with different techniques for the rest of your life.
Ever heard of Ginastica Natural? This method, developed by Brazilian, Alvaro Romano, is a workout which influenced in large part by many of the same ground movements we see in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and other martial arts.