“I just pull guard, brah! LOL”. It’s almost a mantra. Sure it’s self-deprecating, maybe even charming, but are you a puller because you want to be, or because you never really had the knowledge to be otherwise? The problem, of course, is not the sport or concepts of wrestling, but the methodology by which it’s usually taught. Did you go to a BJJ gym 15 years ago? How did instructors teach? Generally speaking, it was a roll of the dice. Not bad usually, but certainly an ad hoc process.
I remember training at Roger Machado’s place in Pasadena for five weeks in 2003. He was a very warm, welcoming guy (as were his many students). On any given day, we would learn two to four random ass moves. Was it fun? Hell yeah. Did it all stick in my brain? Meh, kinda? I remember learning a flying armbar and a no-arm triangle. There was also a penchant for there not to be names for things. Not uncommon for those days to start with “Ok guys. today, we do...sweep”. For any of my old-school homies, I’m sure this brings nostalgic memories back to the fore.
Fast-forward to 2018, however, the game has changed dramatically. Instructors are detail-oriented assassin nerds. People learn, combine, and synthesize techniques from far-flung sources. BJJ as an art has made tremendous leaps and bounds in the last five years, let alone the last 15. Many of those innovations accentuate the already accessible nature of ground fighting.
Other grappling arts are not so accessible for a learner and still use an ad hoc process. When it comes to wrestling, Judo, and Sambo, I find that structure is still highly dependant on the coach, but it still tends to be taught to the room and not the individual. And for most of these rooms, the learning curve is brutal. There isn’t really a whole lot of differentiated learning time to get used to the process of tossing other humans before you’re asked to start repping body locks.
I think it's my turn
Just for simplicity’s sake, we’ll take double-leg takedowns as a familiar example. It’s thought of as basic, but I would not call it "easy". Take a look at this sequence: Clear the hands and head, change levels, penetration step, hands in the pockets, head up, back straight, and look across the back. And then we still have to finish. That’s a lot happening in a .37 seconds, and not a lot of class time is devoted to the incremental, microscopic basics.
In BJJ, we’re doing a plethora of warm ups that get us used to moving, and after chaining a few of those at even a glacial pace, most any programmer with a four-year old’s coordination can make something happen. That's why everyone loves BJJ. The realization that using small movements in the right sequence, going at most any speed, can topple another human or dislocate shoulders is empowering. The almost instant intellectual/physical gratification is real. That, coupled with the depth and breadth of it all keeps bringing people back for more.
What about good ol’ wrasslin’, how different can it be? We’re talking about much less surface area on the mat, much more space to cover, and the possibility of someone using that space to use their explosive strength to smoosh you. I understand why people are nervous. There’s less time to feel or ‘discover’ your way out than in BJJ. If their fundamentals aren’t solid, maybe they ought to be nervous. There’s just less room for error than in BJJ.
Quick fixes? Nothing quick, except in the paradigm of the coach. Newbs should do at least a few classes where they acquire the many small, basic, movements needed in wrestling first before doing anything more intricate. That requires an instructor who has spent enough time and thought to break things down to the most digestible morsels. In other words, teaching Wrestling more like Jiu Jitsu is currently taught. I’ll post some technique in the near future.
Get in here!:
*Introducing myself with my face and things
Photo by Nidhin Koshy. Tell me that lighting isn't perfect and that I don't have nice foot arches.