by:
Lloyd Irvin (credit)
It is never a good idea to enter into ring with the intention of �going
with the flow of things.� You cannot walk into a game and expect it to
flow in your favor. You have to give some thought to specifics in terms
of how you want to play your game and manner in which you will handle
your opponent. In the absence of a game plan, all your moves will be a
reaction to your opponent�s moves. Do you want to merely react all the
time or do you want to play your best moves? Your chances of winning a
game increase when you plan moves and use those at which you are most
skilled.
Here�s a likely scenario of what might happen if you don�t have a game plan for your grappling or combat-athletics bouts:
� Your opponent may have a good open guard, and you may have problems with it since you did not anticipate it at all
� Your opponent may launch an attack and try to dominate the game at a very early stage of the match
� You may or may not be able to think up a strategy on the spur of the
moment to tackle your opponent�s holds until its too late and the round
is almost over
� When you finally find your momentum and initiate a submission, time may be up!
A framework for developing the game plan is outlined next.
1. Size up your opponent and Develop a Strategy �
� Analyze the history of the opponent�s performance in terms of wins or
losses and skills or weak-points displayed in previous matches
� Try to recall and bring to fore any tactics that your opponent uses, so that you can build a strategy to neutralize it
2. Develop Strategies
It is essential to develop an opposing strategy prior to a game. If you
merely size up the opponent, then you are only half way there.
Strategies define the manner in which you plan your line-of-attack and
the tactics that you will employ to unsettle your opponent. Your
strategies will differ in accord with your opponent as no one is alike.
Steps for developing the strategies
A. Issues
Play to your plus points
Your strategy should revolve around what you do best, your strengths and
the plus points in your skills. Analyze the styles that you are good at
and select those that you believe will be effective against your
opponent.
Beware of your vulnerabilities
An honest appraisal of your strengths and weaknesses will put things in
perspective in your own mind as to what you can do and cannot do on the
mat. You should also put in more practice behind problem situations so
that you don�t find yourself powerless in an actual encounter.
Know your opponent�s weak point
Strategize your counter moves or even initiate your moves based on what you know of your opponent.
Be flexible and develop alternative strategies
Every encounter is different and, even if you are playing the same
opponent again, you must be able to change strategies to throw your
opponent off balance. There are a couple of techniques for this:
1. �If Statements�
This is a problem-solution method. When you use �If Statements� you
paint a picture of a circumstance or a problem that you may encounter in
the ring and then arrive at different solutions to tackle it.
2. Modifying your approach � Revise or reframe
This technique requires you to evaluate your moves studying order to
determine whether or not you can change your emphasis in any way;
increase/decrease your emphasis on hand or leg or body movements in a
way that makes the move more powerful.
B. Tactics � Plan tactics to make your strategy workable. When you plan
your tactics, you get into the realm of mind games. You get in to
details like:
� The pace at which you want to move
� The manner in which you plan to carry out
� The level of aggressiveness that is necessary at the start, in the middle, and toward the end of a bout
� When to use your most powerful move
This is the stuff that tactics are made of in a strategy.
C. Mental Preparation Techniques - The techniques that you can apply to
practice your game and fine-tune your strategy are simulation,
visualization, viewing video recordings, and computer simulation.
Simulation
Simulation is a technique in which you create a situation as close as
possible to what you are likely to encounter in the ring. Simulation
attempts to recreate the stresses under which you perform in a match. It
is a method used in practice situations to imitate the real thing and
hone your performance. It is a way to familiarize yourself with the
experience in a real bout.
Simulation exercises
a) Get used to external sources of strain/stress
� Noise: The commentator�s voice and constant yelling and screaming from
spectators, and in general, the racket at a grappling or
combat-athletics event can be quite nerve-racking and downright
distracting. To get to used to the noise level, use audio recordings of
matches to simulate your game during practice. This will help you
prepare for these sounds.
� Presence of spectators: Allow an audience into your practice area to get used to people being around the ring.
� Unknown Venue: The rings for grappling and combat athletics are
different. So it helps to play at the actual venue during training to
acclimatize yourself to the space, dimensions, and feel of the venue.
� Weather: Training in extreme weather conditions is a big help when you
actually encounter it in a competition. There cab be days when the heat
has gone through the roof s well as days when temperatures are at
sub-zero levels. The temperature may not be regulated at all the venues
in which you play. So you may be exposed to extremes at some of them.
Often times, matches in brazil are held outside in extremely hot
conditions.
b) Simulate physical stress:
Recreating a match situation also has another far-reaching advantage.
You will be exposed to a certain amount of physical wear and tear akin
to a real match. While playing out scenarios, you usually experience
almost the same level of physical distress as in a real encounter. So
you have the additional benefit of experiencing a real adrenaline rush
as well and can use the feeling of strength and power (caused by the
adrenaline) to learn how to defend yourself and counter-attack.
c) Deal with exhaustion:
Practice and push yourself to your limits when you are tired and feeling
fatigued. This is exactly what will happen to you in an actual match.
You have to learn to maintain your alertness and concentration even when
you are exhausted and low on energy.
d) Play beyond the time limit:
Extending the time limit is another way to push the envelope and exert
both your body and your mental faculties. Continue to fight for a longer
period than strictly necessary. By practicing beyond the time limit,
you will learn to operate at higher levels of stamina and mental energy.
Visualization
Visualization is a technique that uses mental images to recreate a game
situation. Through visualization a grappler or combat athlete can create
mental pictures of the moves he or she plans to make and also visualize
responses to the opponent�s tactics. It builds imagery into your
thought processes to recreate an entire scenario in your mind. It can be
a potent tool that can be complement your practice sessions and
simulation exercises. Through visualization you actually get to practice
in your mind on your own time.
Developing your visualization skills
Visualization is really quite easy to understand and practice. It�s much
like doing math in your head. You call images onto your mental screen �
images of yourself playing an opponent, the styles that you plan to
use, the manner in which you will break out of an opponent�s grip, and
so on.
When you visualize, you get to see your moves before you actually
perform them. Many writers make a distinction between visualization and
imagery. The difference is actually very subtle. Imagery is considered
to be a little more vivid than visualization, and a person who practices
imagery is able to incorporate sound, smell and touch in the mental
images.
Through mental visualization you are mentally getting acquainted with
the form that the actual encounter may take. The pressure and trauma of
the encounter is considerably reduced if your visualization conditions
your mind on what to expect and this conditioning prevents going blank
and freezing in tough situations.
View Video Recordings
When you are unable to visualize all moves, a good alternative is to
view the many videos available. There are instructional videos as well
as videos of matches played by legends in grappling. Watching the moves
is a form of memorization of techniques and styles: it helps you
immensely in your mental preparation, especially when you are in the
process of thinking through and strategizing your game plan.
Computer Simulation
Video games are available that have a built-in computerized
grappling/combat-athletics system that provides the various move
options. This is not kid stuff, but an interesting way to gauge the
styles that you will automatically use when you face a particular
situation on the mat. In a way, it is a memory enhancer that tests your
ability to call on the best moves relevant to a particular situation.
3. Focus
Focus is actually extremely crucial in maintaining good mental form and
is of vital importance if you want your plan to work. Focus is
multidimensional and encompasses several factors that go into the mental
framework of the �complete� sports professional.
Focus is the ability to converge your mental processes into thoughts
that further your chances in a game and diminish the unnecessary surface
noise (irrelevant thoughts) that fills the mind. The mental processes
that can help you with your game revolve around certain traits and
behaviors. Everything from attitude to ego to motivation and discipline
come under the purview of Focus.
About The Author
Lloyd Irvin is a martial arts coach,
competitor and a businessman. He graduated from Bowie state university.
He holds the rank of 7th degree black belt in Thai Jitsu, 2nd degree
black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, 5th degree black belt in combat sombo
and 1st degree black belt in judo. He is a Multiple Time National Judo
Champion, a Multiple Time National Sombo Champion and after coming out
of a three-year retirement he recently became the 2005 Brazilian Jiu
Jitsu World Champion. In 2002 he was named The United States Judo
Federation International Coach of the year. Also in 2004 he was named
the NAGA North American Grappling Associations Instructor of the Year as
well as The Grapplers Quest 2004 Instructor of the Year. Lloyd's
coaching experience includes having taught many different law
enforcement and military agencies including the Secret Service, FBI,
NAVY SEALS, DEA, SWAT and Bounty Hunters.
