How to tape your fingers for BJJ
I’ve been asked how I tape my fingers for competitions or when they get injured. Here is a video of how I personally like to tape my fingers. There are other methods but this has always worked for me.
I’ve been asked how I tape my fingers for competitions or when they get injured. Here is a video of how I personally like to tape my fingers. There are other methods but this has always worked for me.
This is a match during the Ohio Grappler’s Quest in 2012. I had a match against a tough Black belt. My passing felt good that day and I eventually secured a wrist lock at the end.
So I’m going to begin rolling next week and I am looking at different face mask options so I don’t re-injure my nose. If you have a moment, please take a look at the picture below and tell me if you think I should purchase A. B. or C. I’ve read some reviews and just want to see if anyone has any input or has possibly ever used one before.
Thanks!
Here is a video demonstrating how to use aspects of a wrestling switch with the kimura / kimura sweep position from full guard.
21 things about me you probably didn’t know (It started off as 10, oops)
4 Ways To Deal With Anxiety In BJJ
My first competitive match in a one on one sport came back in 2000. Even though that was nearly 14 years ago I still remember it like it was yesterday. I was terrified. I didn’t feel like I was going out to wrestle, I felt like I was going out to my execution. Have you ever felt like this before a BJJ tournament?
About 3 years and well over 100 wrestling matches later, I had my first BJJ match. I had been training Brazilian Jiu-jitsu at this time for around 2 weeks and was given a crash course in the rules of the tournament 2 days before the competition. You’d think that the years of wrestling competitions would get rid of the nerves before a match, but it didn’t. I was still very anxious and my mind found itself in its normal irrational state, where the only thing I could focus on was the next match. Maybe it was because BJJ was new to me?
But, last year was no different. While I was warming up at various tournaments, regardless of whether it was a local tournament or a big IBJJF competition, I felt the nerves. It might come as a surprise to some, that after 13 years of competition under my belt I’m still not free of the pre match anxiety. But I’m not and I’ve actually grown accustomed to, and in a strange way, I sort of enjoy them. It kind of makes me feel alive.
A lot of BJJ practitioners have never done a one on one sport before.
Competition is something that is deeply entrenched within Brazilian Jiu-jitsu culture and many newcomers, in my experience, have never competed in a one on one sport. Because of this a lot of practitioners have never learned how to deal with the nerves before a match. A common question I get from students is,”how do I get rid of the nerves before a match?” They always seem so surprised when I say you don’t and that I still get nervous.
The tournament I didn’t have any pre match jitters
I remember only one tournament where I didn’t get my pre-match jitters. I had just finished 3 MMA fights and when I got to the tournament I just felt super relaxed. I didn’t have my customary bubble guts (In case you’ve never heard the term, I’m talking about that funny feeling in your stomach). I came in with the outlook of “no matter what happens, I’m not getting punched in the face.” Needless to say, that tournament didn’t go so well. When I got out on the mat I was just flat and lacked that urgency needed to win a competitive match. I’ve lost matches before, but during this match. . . It’s hard to explain. I’ve been beaten plenty of times but I’ve never felt unable to fight back. This was, by far, the worst performance I can remember, ever.
Some nerves are good
You definitely wouldn’t want to get rid of your nerves completely. Your body can do some super beneficial stuff for performance when it’s stressed. But I get it, being nervous isn’t enjoyable. I remember early on in my grappling career I used to want the same thing. I thought no nerves would be helpful. Now I understand that having nerves before a match is a good thing; it gives us our “edge.” It is important though, to have a way of dealing with the jitters. If we don’t keep our pre match anxiety in check, it can leave us exhausted before we step out on the mat.
Below I’ve listed some ways that I have personally learned to deal with the anxiety leading up to a match. This includes BJJ and MMA competitions. Keep in mind that I am probably slightly more anxious than the average person. Oh and if you’d like to read about some of the interesting things your body does when it’s stressed. Do a search for “fight or flight response and sports performance,” and you’ll find some really fascinating stuff.
4 Ways I Deal With Anxiety Before A BJJ Tournament
– Simply accept that the anxiety you feel before a match is your body’s way of getting ready –
I tell my students, “It’s simply your body getting ready for battle” when on the subject about their nervousness before matches. I’ve found personally and through the experiences of others, that by accepting, and anticipating that your stressed body is going to go a little haywire you can more effectively control it.
– Focus on yourself – In my experience the most important thing to help channel my heightened focus prior to a match, is to zero in my thinking in on myself. While I am in an irrational state of mind brought on by the stress of an upcoming match, it’s very easy to build my opponent up and become fixated on the negatives. Going down a slippery slope of “what if’s”. Instead, I reel it in and concentrate only on my techniques and abilities. I visualize myself successfully using my techniques in the match and having with my hand raised. If I execute all my techniques perfectly, I win, right? This has always helped me over the years. Especially in MMA where bodily harm is a high probability and in recent years as a black belt when every opponent is a beast in their own right.
– Music – I try to keep myself as calm as possible before matches. When the match or fight is hours away I will listen to something that calms me. In most cases I listen to a lot of classical music. Then as the match gets close I start my warm up routine and listen to something that gets me pumped up. I find that listening to music that gets me excited long before the match ends up making me tense and leaves me exhausted by the time my match finally is up. Staying relaxed till its time leaves me with more energy for the match.
– Practice mock tournaments with your friends in the gym – Military manoeuvres and war games are used to prepare units for battle. It gives the armed forces of a country the chance to test strategy and get an idea of how things might work without actual warfare (Sorry, military history nerd coming out again). Mock tournaments in a gym are a great way to get a taste of what it’s like in a competition without having to go to an actual tournament. We do these often in my gym. Having that clear “win or lose” situation with points involved and people watching really helps prepare us for upcoming matches. We can also test out strategy by placing ourselves in unique situations (such as being down by points with a short time limit to mimic the end of a match).
So don’t let your anxiety and nerves hold you back! Get out there and compete!
As always, if you have any questions. Feel free to shoot me a message.
Chewy
Whats something you use to motivate you for training?
For me it’s videos. Right now with the nose still healing, its terrible. I can’t help but watch jiujitsu videos when I have some free time which gets me psyched up and it sucks because I can’t roll to get rid of some of that energy. Oh well my lifts are coming up which is good and I’ve been getting lots of reps drilling.
Here are two of my favorite videos to watch when I need a little motivation.
Andre Galvao Budovideos clip
I remember seeing this back in 2009 when I was watching DVDs I ordered from their website. This video always brings be back to a time where I had cleaned out all the debt I had left, and began training full time. It always gets me pumped up to train even though its not super action packed or anything. Just reminds me of how far I’ve come since then.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCGxMZoov8c&w=560&h=315]
Rodolfo vs Buchecha
This is just such a fantastic match. Even though my personal favorite (Rodolfo) loses. The match is incredible and always leaves me wanting to push it during some of the harder training sessions.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7DLFqLCFqg&w=560&h=315]
Have you ever had someone close watch you go through a gauntlet, if so what was their reaction? Most of my students say their wives, husbands or whatever say, “WTF is wrong with you guys!”
Biggest Belt Promotion Ever!Well, at least for my gym.
Last Thursday I had the honor of promoting 21 people. 11 Blues and 10 Purples. I have always been very stingy with belts. I refuse to water down the sport and just give belts away. I think that by being slow to promote, it allows people to focus on what really matters. The community, getting better, competing and learning more about your self through hard work. But I messed up. I didn’t have a clear cut idea of what each belt should look like in my gym. You know. . . when you get your black belt its not like someone hands you an instruction manual on how to run a program. Instructing and running a program is unique to each gym and instructor so I had to develop my own views and ideas that matched up with that of my academy. When I finally finished ironing out what I expected out of each belt, I realized that during the last 2 years while the gym has experienced some incredible growth, many of my students were beyond where there current rank would suggest. Many of them had been at their current belts for 2 years and some up to 4! Yikes. So I had to reward their hard work, and to make it more fun I decided to do it all together. It made for a really fun day. My hats off to my students as I have not once heard a complaint or ever been asked for a belt promotion. Not once. So I am glad my students understand the whole point of this pajama wrestling stuff. Its not about the dyed cotton around our waist.
Anyways, I just wanted to give people an idea of why there were so many promotions and to share the video of some killer gauntlets. My morning class had around 20 people and my evening class had about 55. Made for some crazy belt whippings.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPVGY0AKcnc&w=560&h=315]
There are so many things that contribute to make BJJ such an awesome martial art / sport. But over the years the thing that stands out for me the most is the community; the people. The people I’ve met over the last 10 years have literally changed my life. I’ve learned so much from them, both in regards to my BJJ and life. I now have friends all over the U.S and in plenty of places around the world.
This weekend was another reminder of that. I went to Nashville to take part in my friend Shawn Hammonds’ association meetup and Pans team training. There were over 100 people on the mat from all over the U.S going after it and the atmosphere was incredible. After the training my students and I had dinner with some friends from Tucson, and Beau (a brand new black belt) said it perfectly. He said something to the effect of, “It’s amazing how close you can feel to someone after a 3 hour training session. You’ll see someone everyday and you don’t feel that close to them, but then you see this guy you met at a gym somewhere and trained with for a few hours. When you see that guy you get excited like its one of your best friends.” I agree with that completely. When I see a training partner from another gym I get excited and in almost every instance I give them a hug instead of a hand gesture. I would say handshake but not that many people handshake anymore, its weird. That fellowship that exists in BJJ is what I believe makes it so special. We live in a world with so much technology separating us from any real human contact. It’s nice to have an outlet where we can let our social barriers down and be around like minded people.
Because I couldn’t train this weekend (my nose) I ended recording video of everyone else. I did a pretty poor job of it, but I pieced together what I could and made a short video of the training. If you ever had a chance to stop by Shawn’s gym you really should. He’s a fantastic coach and just an all around good dude. Oh and in the meantime be sure to take advantage of the community in BJJ around you. Go out to dinner with your teammates after training, go make trips to friend’s gyms, go compete. . . you get the idea. You only have so long to do this stuff. I know that sometimes going out of town to train or compete can be a hassle, but you’ll never regret it.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAnYQbW8JA4&w=560&h=315]
So I have started doing leg lock classes with my students every Friday. I figured I’d get an early start and share this one. Enjoy.