Competition Nerves And Anxiety

If I had a £ for every time I spoke to someone about this I would have...well, more than I have now but is a serious topic that can kill even the most well trained athlete.

When I first started martial arts, Taekwondo actually, I started competing right off the bat. The last thing I had competed at was whilst at school I was in the chess team, I was told that chess and fighting are very similar but I quickly worked out only mentally, no one tried to kick me, punch me or choke me out playing chess, as much as they might have wanted to.

I am not by nature a fighter, have no aggression and have no 'natural' talent if there is such a thing (read The Talent Code) so to start to compete in a full contact martial art was daunting. I did the first competition and lost by 1 point so of course I wanted to try again.

The first time is great, not knowing what to expect or fear, all the excitement but the second time I was so nervous. The voice in my head telling me I was going to die or at least fail miserably and everyone would think I was no good.

The damned voice in my head wouldn't leave me alone so I figured that the more I competed the easier it would be to ignore. I set myself a target of 50 matches spanning a bunch of different martial arts, some striking only, some grappling only and some combining both then I would be cured.

50 matches came and went and I wasn't cured at all so the nerd in me rose to the surface and decided to research the whole nerves thing.

I enrolled at Park Lane College in Leeds to take a qualification that was called Peak Performance, that entailed exercise, nutrition and more importantly sports psychology. I aced the qualification and started to get more of an appreciation of the mental aspect of training.

My next 10 matches after that were a little easier, I was putting into practise the things I had learnt. I spent a load of cash and tons of effort continuing to study and research the way the mind can affect your performance. I went through all the questions and scenarios that I felt had affected me before and compiled feeling and action tables to offset any anxieties I had.

The following is an excerpt of my findings and subsequent practises;

"The guy looks way bigger than me" - I am a short-arse anyway, it's not like I haven't faced bigger people than me (in fact the only guy shorter than me I faced in competition looked like Harry Potter and things didn't end well for me that match)

"The guy looks way stronger than me" - can't be any stronger than some of the guys at our gym, I spar with Ryan and Karl etc, this guy is nothing compared to them

"The guy has got massive arms" - good job it's not a body building competition then

"Look at the guys belt, it's all faded and raggy" - obviously not his from new, it's a hand-me-down

"I've won 2 matches all ready so if I lose this one it doesn't matter I've still won more than I've lost" - don't believe it, I came here to win not start making excuses for if I don't

"It's really noisy, the crowd are really on his side" - good job I'm not fighting the crowd as well then besides it's just white noise, it doesn't mean anything

"The guy looks really good, he just won 3 matches to get to the final" - so did I, dumb ass

And so on..................

I took every opportunity I could to visualise my performing under pressure and winning, right from the start of the match to the point where the ref holds up my hand, this proved to be so effective that I once lost a match by referee's decision (because I was playing 1/2 guard and the opponent was therefore on top) and couldn't believe it, I had visualised winning the entire tournament but was now relegated into fighting for 3rd place, gutted I believe the word is.

I took this lesson, one of the most valuable I have learnt, the result is not the important part it is the process. I had entered the tournament with very little nervous feeling (I don't believe it ever truly 100% leaves you but that's good) and performed to the best of my ability.

What I do now when faced with a stressful situation and I hear the voice, I imagine it is a little guy stood on my shoulder whispering in my ear so just give him the brush off Usher-style. Literally pretend to brush the guy off my shoulder which stops me and makes me focus.

Remember, whatever you are feeling, the other guy will be feeling it just the same.

Final tip I got from listening to an interview with Chris Moriarty "just smile, when you smile the body can not differentiate between whether you are really happy or not so it assumes you are and makes you relax. Plus the opponent will see you smiling when he is nervous and either think you are supremely confident or totally unhinged, either way you get into his head"

Really hope this helps you as much as it helps me.

Darren

White Belt Only Interclub

To be held on 27th May 2012

At Allegiance MMA gym in Batley

Weigh in and drugs testing from 11:00am, ready to start shortly after. Weigh in will be with gi.

Competitors will be assumed to have adequate insurance and will need to sign a waiver on the day to say they are voluntarily taking part in a combat sport where there is a risk of injury. Don't worry this is just SOP.

Please display the best sportsmanship and respect your opponent, the officials and yourself.

You must wear a gi and belt, gum shield is ok but no groin guard, no bulky knee pads and no footwear. Competitors may wear a rash guard/t-shirt under their gi as long as it is plain and contains no hard materials that could cause damage to themselves or their opponents.

No footwear to be worn on the mat at any time but footwear must be worn off the mats especially for toilet breaks and the like.

We will be following IBJJF rules (download here) although common sense will prevail. For example, if you are attempting a technique that is not allowed , a knee reap maybe, then you will not be instantly DQ’ed but will be stopped and explained what you are doing wrong.

We will be using IBJJF weight categories but again common sense will prevail. For example if you are 71kg you may end up fighting in the under 70kg if the numbers allow it. Say, there are only 2 entries in the under 70kg but 9 in the under 76kg then if someone weighed in at 71kg they may be dropped a weight group. 1kg over won’t make much difference but being 5kg under could. I hope this makes sense and you are in agreement.

Depending on numbers this may run as a tournament or may just be single matches, either way we will give you as many matches as practicable as experience is key.

Don’t solely focus on the results, focus on the process too. I completely understand that everyone wants to win but in a tournament only 1 person can win therefore I don’t want the other guys going away feeling as though they lost because if you compete you don’t ever really lose. You may not get the "W" but you get something more precious than that.

Winning a tournament is basically saying you were the best that day, the following day the results could be way different. If you lose don’t get too down and if you win don’t rip off your gi top, waving an imaginary sword about and run around going crazy.

Please be professional and respectful to everyone, if you feel you have a genuine complaint then please ask your coach to speak to us.

I would like as many people as possible to support this as it is a great evaluation tool for us, helps us keep the standard high and make sure that everyone is on the same page.

This is a great opportunity to compete in a friendly yet competitive environment that will be the fairest competition you ever do, doesn’t matter what club you are from, you will all be treated equally. Don’t expect that when you start to do open competitions though.

Saying this we have kept the entry cost down to £5 just to cover expenses.

Give 100%, learn from the experience and enjoy. If you would like to enter, speak to your coach and either you or your coach email me at combatbase@hotmail.com with your:
Name.
Club.
Weight with gi.
Length of time training.
Any competitive experience you may have.
Any specific medical conditions we should know about.

Pre-register with me and pay on the day.

Hope to see you all there.

Black Belt Superfight @ Manchester Open

The first ever black belt match took place at the Manchester Open BJJ Championships on 21st April 2012. Was a great show of technical Jiu Jitsu featuring Ryan Hunter from Combat Base and Scott Pickering from Team Sukata. Enjoy.

New IBJJF Rules

Make sure you know the rules or you are not fully prepared.

Click here.

Paper Cutter Series

This not meant as an instructional, just a reminder for the guys that have trained this recently in class. It's all about angle and pressure.

Another good paper cutter entry is covered on CBNE blog here.

Choke Details
Grip first; hold their right lapel with your left hand and 'jab' it off their shoulder. Right hand 'upper cuts' under their right arm pit and grabs the collar, effectively giving you the paper cutter grip.

Go to drop seionage (as Helen demonstrates) or osoto gari (as Pete demonstrates) keeping the grip.

Notice that straightaway the shoulder must pressure the ribs/chest and the top of the head must put pressure on their neck and jaw to turn their head away from you. This is crucial to make the choke work, you don't want them looking at you.

Stuff the arm through and trap it with your knee before circling the arm over to choke.


Arm Bar Details
From paper cutter grip, keep your hands in that position and start to step up. The left arm with give a little neck crank when straightened so use that to minimise their movement.

Keep your left hand gripping their collar.

As you sit back, keep the driving pressure of your shin into their neck and stretch everything out so there is minimal chance of escape.

In Helen's version she lets go of the collar at the last minute and throws the right leg over for extra control.


JJM Shin Choke Details
First saw this performed by Jean Jacques Machado and was impressed by his thinking of using other body parts to finalise his choke because of his "disadvantaged" hand.

A version of this was recently revived by Roberto 'Cyborg' Abreu to great effect.

Bring the shin up to pressure their neck while keeping the paper cutter grip.

Following the line of their jaw reach across their throat and grip the opposite side lapel. Pull lapel across and you drive shin into their neck.

The angle of the shin is crucial, it needs to be driven on an angle not straight. For competition you don't want knee on the face so angle your knee to face their left hip/ribs.

Go practice.

Training At Combat Base UK trailer

Knee Ride - The Trailer

3 Arm Attacks from Knee Ride

A real mix of influences from Chris Haueter, Marcelo Garcia, Judo and traditional Jiu Jitsu.

Elbow Crush

1.     Pop up to knee ride; underhook the far arm as though you are going to spin to the far arm bar. Everyone knows this so will be waiting for the transition to escape.

2.     Straighten the arm out for the elbow crush and step your left leg over their head then sit back and finalise.

Shoulder Lock

1.     Pop up to knee ride; underhook the far arm as though you are going to spin to the far arm bar. Everyone knows this so will be waiting for the transition to escape.

2.     You try to straighten the arm out for the elbow crush but you find you can’t straighten their arm out. Gable grip your hands together and still sit back.

3.     Pull the arm into your body and using your full rotational force, not just arms, turn anti-clockwise to finish the shoulder lock.

4.     Switch arms to traditional kimura if you need to.

Straight Arm Lock

1.     Pop up to knee ride; underhook the far arm as though you are going to spin to the far arm bar. Your opponent frames against your left knee/grabs your gi pants so you can’t step over their head.

2.     Keep your position but reach down with your left hand to lift their right arm up under your armpit and clamp down hard with your elbow to your ribs.

3.     Slide your shin into their armpit as far as you can and sit back. Immediately throw your left leg over their face to finalise.

 

Important details with description below

 

Elbow Crush Details:

Clip 1 - If they try to escape the arm when you have knee ride catch it between the side of your head and shoulder.

Clip 2 – Don’t try to ‘choke’ or gable grip the elbow, the opponent can rotate the arm and escape.

Clip 3 - Use your hands to cup the elbow instead so they can’t rotate the arm out, cupping gives better control until you get to the point of no return.

Clip 4 - Don’t lay back with the arm or you will lose it and not make sufficient leverage to finalise.

Clip 5 – Stay sat up and as you pull the elbow in towards you, slightly crunch your top half forward. Make it a full body move rather than an arms move.

Clip 6 – If you feel off balance, shuffle yo’ ass back a little while keeping control of the elbow. You will find the sweet spot easier with repetition.

Shoulder Lock Details

 

Clip 7 – VERY IMPORTANT!! Learn how to efficiently break the grip. A lot of people seem to try to strength the grip break (God knows enough people have tried it on me) but you need some science with your strength. From my old traditional martial arts days you always tried to ensure you are trying to break towards the weak part of the grip, the path of least resistance.

If the opponent has a standard grip then you should always pull in the direction the knuckles are facing. In this clip Helen pulls the hand towards her as the knuckles are facing that way.

Clip 8 – If switching to a standard kimura, make sure you do not lose control of the arm. Common sense really but worth mentioning.

Clip 9 – You can come up to control opponent’s head to finish off the kimura but again look at how the grip has to be broken.

Arm Lock Details:

Clip 10 – When your opponent braces against your leg to stop you stepping over, pull their arm up at the elbow, the weakest part of their arm. Slide your shin as hard as you can into their arm pit, you will need it shortly.

Clip 11 – Driving the shin into the arm pit will stop them getting up or at least severely hamper their attempts at getting up. The leg is very important and must be driven hard into the armpit. Can’t stress this too much.

Clip 12 – If your pressure is not enough or if you lean back too much, you can get rolled.

If you do get rolled, keep the same structure and throw your left leg over their face to finalise from your back.

North South Choke

Helen demonstrating the North South choke as featured in this month’s Jiu Jitsu Style magazine.

UK BJJ at th Euros 2012

Glad to see that UK BJJ seems to be growing in stature with a few firsts at the Euros this year.

Our own Adam Adshead was the first ever UK brown belt to medal at adult with his silver medal.

Followed later that day by Luke Costello from Barra becoming the first ever UK brown belt to win gold at adult, double gold to be precise.

Then the day after Oli Geddes from RGA became the first ever UK black belt to win a match at an IBJJF major.

Onwards and upwards.