It’s been a while since we’ve done a Jiu-Jitsu Times Weekly Challenge, so here’s an extremely challenging but fun training method that I’d like to present to the community:
Have you ever been winning the whole time in a competition, but all of a sudden, your opponent gets a dominant position and rides it out to win by a point or two?
We’ve all been there at some point or another, and it sucks.
There is a training method to help combat that, though. I call it “beating the clock.”
Try this method at least once per training session: roll with someone of equal or higher skill than you and wait until the last minute of the round. Then, try as hard as you can to score a submission. Obviously, you will want to be careful not to hurt your opponent, but use all of the tools at your disposal. This is just as hard as it sounds, and it requires some finesse.
The better you get at this, the faster you’ll get that tap once you decide to dial it up. This will also be a good test of your physicality. Be explosive, be just a bit violent, but also be careful. If you aren’t great at hitting submissions, don’t try this challenge just yet.
As the week progresses and you get better at this, try doing it when there are only 45 seconds left in the round – or even 30 or 20.
Can you go from an inferior position to getting the tap in a short period of time against a person who is of comparable skill and size? If you can’t, then it’s only a matter of time before you lose via points in the last minute of the match.
Try this challenge out with training partners that you trust to tap in time. You don’t want to injure someone because they too are trying to wait the clock out.
What do you think of this challenge? We are going to start bringing these challenges to you more often. Any ideas for us? Any methods that you currently use that help you develop your game for competition?
