Winning Through Losing
The tip we will talk about is winning through losing. Damn
I really hate this exercise but it works.
You have to put your ego aside and go for anything when
training. Whether you think you are going to get
caught...Whether you think you are gonna get stuck in a
triangle...Whether you know he is going to hit you with a
leglock. You have to let it fly and not worry
about having to tap.
You cannot ever really take your game to a new level
unless you lose.... That is right losing is part of
training and probably the most important part.
Now I am not talking about in a match. That is not the
time to be training. I am talking about with you
sparring and rolling buddies.
I noticed about two years ago that my matches with my
friends were really taking on a "scripted" almost worked
look. I also noticed that the new guys were getting
better faster than us old guys. Pretty soon it was
hard to tap the new guys so you start going to your best
moves over and over. You know I am not going to tap ever
to a white belt... Well what happens is you just
stop getting better. Yes you may win and win and win.
But If you are not being the best fighter possible
you have a problem. What will happen is you will get
board of training and start doing something else...
Like fishing :)
So in order to progress you have to be ready to sometimes
just freak out and try everything. It also lets you work
on escapes...cause you are gonna get caught when you
try weird stuff.
So here is the training drill of the day. Roll with
someone who you always dominate and do not at any cost
go for your normal stuff. You know his arm is right
there in your face...so tempting to take it and get the
arm bar...take it an do something else instead of the
arm bar. Also, go for multiple leglocks and after that
try to get a arm bar and leg lock at the same time. That
one always confuses me...but try it. Try to hold to
submissions at once and do not be conservative. Remember
you have already told yourself who cares if you lose and
have to tap.
I still hate this one because there is always some stupid
dude you roll with who will say...hey man how could you
tap to that guy. Smile, take his name and next time you
roll with HIM put a little extra hurting for his smart
mouth...and know that you are going to get better.
Train Hard...(Today it is o.k. to tap)
A.J. Comparetto