Damn an alphabet title.
Okay I'm looking for some tips on improving ground and pound techniques and defense to the ground and pound.
Anything will be appreciated since I'm tired of getting beat like a rented circus monkey.
I've always been interested in this... Matt has said numerous times that he prefers a pure BJJ approach to top game, but surely someone in SBG must prefer a GnP approach? Paul Sharp? Adam sounds like a GnPer...
I will write more later but I am a combo guy on top (as is sharp). Strike to pass and pass to strike. Much like Sperry.
Adam
"Strike to pass and pass to strike."
Definitely. Striking, as a general rule, can also be
very effective from mount and knee ride, and to open
up opportunities when you have someone's back.
Striking from top position in cross-sides, however,
should be used sparingly and intelligently. It often
opens up a lot of space for escapes, hence the
tendency toward a more "pure" bjj top game.
Steve Whittier
I've been shown some pretty effective ways to strike with power from inside the guard and although I don't have it down yet I've been hit damned hard by the guy on the bottom.
I train at Mikey's Gym aka Tulsa New Pride Lions Den when I can get up there and me another local guy train a couple of times a week ourselves.
I love strikes.
They have tightened my game up immensely in NHB training.
You aren't as apt to give up a dominant position going for a wild sub if you've gotta worry about getting beaton savagely if you do it sloppily.
Come on guys elaborate the basics of your top and bottom game including strikes.
I've learned also that the little strikes add up i.e. short elbows to the stomach and ribs, eblows to the outside of the thighs, short punches to the shoulders, thighs, ears, and temples.
Oh and not to forget Adam.
I'm waiting patiently my man.
I look forward to your input as well as everyone elses.
Aus needs to get on here as well since I read a bit in some posts about the wrestling in his training.
And I'm talking about striking from top, bottom, in and out of the guard.
was doing G&P with a midget the other day. i put him in my closed guard, he couldnt reach me with his little arms but did land effective headbutts to my abs. then i made the mistake of going for an armbar - he just laughed at me, passed my guard took mount and rained down headbutts.
Alright dang it.
I want everyones input not just the SBG guys but everyone who contributes on this forum.
Forgive my poor title choice.
I have some thoughts on this based on working this with NHB athletes, training up for matches against some good, albeit BJJ only, type opponents as well as training up for guys that are known to have vicious G&P game.
So I've worked it from an offense and a defense point of view, with an actual event, ie; knowledge of the rules and how to exploit them, in mind.
A couple of things to remember. In competition they will stand you up if you settle in all nice and comfy and wait. So, what works in the gym won't do in competition. If you're not active its back on the feet and get to work.
Most places don't allow downward elbows or what they view as vertical elbows but do allow horizontal elbows. So, if you are in cross-sides, you can hit your opponent in the ear and side of head with the tip of your elbow as long as you keep the arm horizontal with the ring....., it looks and feels like a downward elbow, it sure leaves a mark like a downward elbow, but its not?? With that in mind, striking from cross-sides is the way to go in that event, post on the near-side hip so he can't get his knee in, grab your underhook on the farside arm, pin that arm between your upper arm and head, now rain "horizontal" elbows on the side of his head, alternate that with knees in to the ribs and at his head to keep his near side arm up trying to protect from knee shots to the head and you are on your way to knocking him out or tapping him out due to strikes.
One of our guys did just that against a good brown belt about 6 months ago. Set up on cross-sides, pushed him into the bottom ropes, banged with knees and elbows until he quit.
This is also happening with regard to being in someones guard. Most events have banned kicking up from the ground due to some severe injuries. So guys are simply standing up out of the guard and telling the guy doing the to stand up and bang. The refs agree and will tell the scooter to stand up. A lot of guys look at being in the guard as equal to being on top. You can still put lots of pressure on them, land lots of hits and put them up against the cage or bottom rope, taking away their manuverability. Randy is an awesome example of this, he could care less if he is in someones guard. This ain't jits, we're fighting now.
Guys forget that you can't take a lot of hits from fight gloves while your head is braced against the ground. I've seen guys with rock solid chins, on their feet, take 3 or 4 shots on the bottom and their bell is seriously ringing.
As Adam said, train yourself to hit every time there is an opening. Rory did a great job at this in his fight in Japan. I saw this at a Shooto event we were competing in at Belleville, Illinois. The guys were in a scramble, both ended up in quarter facing each other, one guy throws a hard right hand while the other guy is trying to get to his feet, knocked him out. I talked to him later and he said he had been training that for those times when you stand up and rip your legs out of their guard, sometimes you get tripped up and both of you end up on your knees. Instead of just getting up, he had worked on throwing a cross as he got up, to fill that empty space, hopefully keeping the other guy from landing a shot if the other guy got up first. It worked like a charm.
Throw hard, throw often, from every possible angle and watch them do some goofy stuff to try to get away from the hits.
Hope this made sense. =) I'm off to the fight rules meeting, one guy fighting tonight and then tomorrow we head to southern Indiana to corner two guys from my gym in last minute boxing matches they decided to take. Later.
Great post, Paul. What you described sounds a lot like Matt Hughes.
Is there a "proper" strategy for striking in the guard (on top, that is)? Certain kind of strikes (Fedor-ish looping strikes, Tito Ortiz post-elbows)? Timing? How do you balance between controlling his hips and striking?
Crazy Monkey aye.
Well I guess I need to buy me some SBG tapes because I don't know how to do the Crazy Monkey.
Thanks for the info Paul.
I was always told by Matt Thornton to "not" use crazy monkey to defend yourself on the ground. After testing it, I came to the conclusion that while I'm covering up my face with crazy monkey, my opponent is tapping me out with a move I didn't see him start to apply or is passing my guard and preparing himself to attack me from cross-side. Its different using CM while you are on your feet 'cause you can use footwork to move around or sprawl to defend a take-down. Once you're on your back, it changes the CM game totality!. So in other words, Matt was right.
CM structure but sit up, actually explode up, grab his head and arm and pull him in tight.
CM will work when on your back, its just easier to punch through it so you have to get moving and wrap him up or get up.
I haven't discussed or trained CM against G&P with Matt so I don't know what his reference point is in cautioning against using CM there.
"I haven't discussed or trained CM against G&P with Matt so I don't know what his reference point is in cautioning against using CM there."
Same page.
From closed guard, or any position where the opponents head is down in the guard you should be wrapping him up, and attacking.
If he sits upright and you are in spider then the arms and knees work defense much better then the hands. CM does not work well here.
People can blast through the CM when your on the mat. It's also purely defensive there. So you should be busy on the offense. Like the clinch, following the arms from the shoulders, to the biceps, and tying them up, is the best method for defense. . . .covering with the forearms, while the top man has space to blast through is the worst.
Does that mean there may not be a second where you need to cover, no, but I believe the guard becomes a liability when you play defense. It works best when you use it to go on offense.
Pretty much what Paul states here: "CM structure but sit up, actually explode up, grab his head and arm and pull him in tight."
Be aggresive and attack-attack-attack. If I see one our athletes laying on his back, covering up in the guard, while the top guy was dropping punches, then there is something wrong.
You should be on offense, putting pressure on with all four limbs, various grips, and the threats of submissions, sweeps, and the fact that you may sit out of your own guard. Being in the guard should be HELL for the guy on top. That's the overall objective. It should be a place your opponent does not want to be with you.
Sweet thanks Matt.
I swear I'll buy your tapes real soon I've just been broke as a joke lately.
Bump for Aus and the other respected members of the JKD Forum.