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For More Interviews with the Worlds Best Grapplers, Visit: www.ScienceofSkill.com
Introduction:
!
Fellow grappler,
!
As an instructor (offline, then online) since 2007, Ive learned that students learn
differently and develop differently. Hence, I have DOZENS and DOZENS of courses
online (www.MicroBJJ.com/Store), not just one or two.
!
But the idea of learning differently extends beyond the realm of technique and
strategy, and also has to do with drilling, skill-development, goal setting, etc...
!
Some people will want to see the full interviews of athletes, read / listen to /
watch them all, and find their own new gems and pearls of Jiu Jitsu wisdom (search
for Black Belt Brain Transfer in the store link above to see what I mean). Other people
are just going to want to get the QUICK facts, the QUICK insights, the QUICK tips, and
they want to use them now.
!
That quickness is truly the focus of this short program: Black Belt Cheat
Sheets. The emphasis is on USE, and the insights youre about to read are the BEST
of my insights from TONS of interviews of BJJ champions, competitors, coaches, and
leaders. This wasnt a 1-night project, this was a 3-year project, and this Cheat Sheet
format is designed to give you FAST access to training strategy approaches that you
can pick up and use any day, anytime, quickly.
!
Maybe youll look through this cheat sheet before your classes or open mat
sessions to decide a new way to challenge yourself, or maybe youll go through it all
now, pick out the ones you like and plan out the week / month ahead with some new
methods to push your game. Either way, Ill be VERY happy if my years of interviewing
made that kind of difference, and if you SERIOUSLY implement the strategies below
(that have come strait from world champs / champion coaches), you will see great
results.
!
-Daniel Faggella
For More Interviews with the Worlds Best Grapplers, Visit: www.ScienceofSkill.com
www.MicroBJJ.com/TechPhys
For More Interviews with the Worlds Best Grapplers, Visit: www.ScienceofSkill.com
Table of Contents:
1) Andre Galvao - Aggressiveness Training
2) Romero Jacare (Alliance) - Self-Designed and Instructor-Designed Training
3) Robson Moura - Drilling and Rolling, Finding the Balance
4) Vinicius Draculinho - Group Analysis
5) Mendes Bros - 3x3x3 Method
6) Mario Reis - Planning Your Cross-Training and
7) Augusto Tanquinho - Train and Think Strategically
8) Fredson Paixao - Cover Your Bases in Drilling
9) Alexandre Soca - Competition Preparation Considerations
10) Caio Terra - Single-Minded BJJ Training Goals
11) Justin Rader - Drilling and Familiarity
12) Rafael Lovato Jr - Fight the Strengths of Training Partners
For More Interviews with the Worlds Best Grapplers, Visit: www.ScienceofSkill.com
they were going to be facing in the coming tournament. Theyd look at the major
strengths and weaknesses of opponents and experiment with new techniques and
strategies to beat specific opponents, coming up with cool ideas and ways to attack and
defend specifically tailored to an opponents game.
IMPLEMENT IT: Whether you compete a lot or not, there are grapplers youve watched
or rolled with all the time (even fellow training partners) whose game youd love to be
able to shut down. Can you set aside come time to brainstorm with other smart students
about new ways to attack a position, beat a type of game, or nullify a powerful attack
from an opponent you can all analyze?
5) Mendes Bros - 3x3x3 Method
THE IDEA: The Mendes Bros are very conscious about their training, and have detailed
plans of training and conditioning programs before all major tournaments (as most
smart athletes do). One strategy that they mentioned to me that they do is they work on
3 techniques from top, 3 from bottom, and 3 submissions, and work on all 9 techniques
for a 9-month period.
IMPLEMENT IT: Run the 3x3x3 project on yourself. Youll be surprised to find what 3
months of focus will do to any area of your game if you drill them and consciously apply
them in your rolling (and ask questions about them to your instructors)! All of my own
projects are now 3-month projects.
6) Mario Reis - Planning Your Cross-Training and
THE IDEA: Mario is a world champion (2007) who is one of the most active BJJ
competitors ever. Hes been on the IBJJF circuit at a high level for longer than nearly
anyone other black belt competing in the adult division (and hes on the IBJJF podium
pretty much every year in one event or another). His advice is that grapplers (especially
competitors) need to PLAN and take seriously their leisure and cross-training. Do you
have any rest days built into your schedule? Many top BJJ athletes (Galvao included)
take Sunday off, for example. Mario occasionally likes to take a number of days off to
clear his mind and focus on walking his dog, surfing, or something else so that he can
still stay in shape - but also come back to BJJ with a clear head and better perspective.
IMPLEMENT IT: Are you overtraining? Think about how your current training session
routine might be running you down, and see if you need a vacation of cross-training.
Alternatively, you might (as many top athletes do) pick a single day that you leave out
training altogether.
7) Augusto Tanquinho - Train and Think Strategically
THE IDEA: Tanquinho rarely ever goes up against opponents without giving thought
(usually in his mind but some athletes map it out on paper) to the strategy hell be using
to beat his opponent. He talked to me about how he took this into account with his
For More Interviews with the Worlds Best Grapplers, Visit: www.ScienceofSkill.com
match against Rafael Mendes in the 2013 world championships (where he ended up as
the underdog winner). He considers strengths, weaknesses, and his own approach is
built around the best way he can apply his style and nullify his opponents style.
IMPLEMENT IT: Do you have training partners with annoying games, or games that
tend to catch you off guard? Before practice, think about what strategies you could use
to avoid allowing them to use their strengths, and go test those strategies in live
trianing.
8) Fredson Paixao - Cover Your Bases in Drilling
THE IDEA: My interview with Fredson was a favorite of mine, and he brought up many
great points. One of which is that he doesnt like to over-focus his drilling or training,
but he tends to like a drilling session where he gets to work on mount, side control,
guard, half guard, etc..., and really keep his game rounded. He likes to work on all the
most relevant skills in his game, not just a few. Its not the only approach to drilling, but
its one that most of us can glean something meaningful from.
IMPLEMENT IT: What fundamentals do you want to NEVER lose in your game? Set
aside a drilling session (once a week, once a month, etc...) to really muscle-memorize
all of the most important areas of your game, from all positions.
9) Alexandre Soca - Competition Preparation Considerations
THE IDEA: Before competitions, Alexandre Soca (my instructor) believes that its
important to train specifically in leading up to major competitions. Around 3 months out,
its best to be pushing yourself thoroughly in terms of your physical limits on the mat.
Around 2 months out Soca likes to also add a lot of sparring with the exact same rules
and time limits as the big tournament he is preparing for. 2 to 3 weeks out, its important
to tone things down enough to preserve ones energy, but importantly to also shield
oneself from injury. 1 week out it makes sense to make rolling much lighter, and to drill
and use the exact moves you will be doing in that upcoming tournament.
IMPLEMENT IT: Got a tournament coming up, or just want to challenge your game to
prep to be your best for a specific event or training period? Follow Socas instructions
above.
10) Caio Terra - Single-Minded BJJ Training Goals
THE IDEA: Caio often gets a single technique in his mind (a sweep, a finish, some kind
of guard pass, etc) before he trains, and then focuses exclusively on hitting that move
as much as possible in a given training session. He told me: That motivates me to train
hard so I can get the move and improves my game since Im always planing on
doing something new. Hes not only forcing himself to find new setups, sequences and
methods of attacking a given technique, hes giving himself an interesting reason to
make training for fun and interesting (see the article on Deliberate Practice and Flow).
For More Interviews with the Worlds Best Grapplers, Visit: www.ScienceofSkill.com
Reminds me a lot of my interview with Ben Askren and the training strategies he was
using in his college years.
IMPLEMENT IT: Got a move you want to work on more seriously? Well... make it the
ONLY move you go for on your opponents and see how that goes for you. When they
start understanding whats happening, the level of challenge increases and you have to
think even harder to learn new ways to apply the same more. Hence, deeper learning
and more interesting results!
11) Justin Rader - Drilling and Familiarity
THE IDEA: Justin firmly believes that in order to build a great game, you need a solid
foundation, and that students who dont understand a move yet should not be muscle
memorizing it the WRONG way. If you REALLY get a move and your instructor has
also told you that you got it, then drill hard, drill intense, and drill all the variations you
feel youre proficient with. However, work SLOWLY on new moves until they are
understood well and performed smooth... THEN focus on picking up the pace. Dont set
a faulty foundation!
IMPLEMENT IT: What moves and sequences are you great at? By all means, pick up
the pace of your drilling and burn them into memory. What new moves do you WANT to
be good at? Work them slow, get lots of feedback, process them and explore them...
and pick up the pace gradually towards intense training once you own the move.
12) Rafael Lovato Jr - Fight the Strengths of Training Partners
THE IDEA: Lovato didnt come up with many other high-level training partners out in
Oklahoma. Hence, he needed to find a challenge against his own students, even if they
were blue or purple belts (and he was a black belt world champ!). So, he likes to fight
directly against the strengths of his training partners. If he has a student with a great
closed guard... he starts there and has to fight out. If he has a student with a great side
control, he starts from that position and fights his training partners BEST skills.
IMPLEMENT IT: Iron sharpens iron - how can you work on your game by directly
challenging the best skills of your training partners? Next time youre on the mat, think
of the BEST skill of all the white belts you roll against, and directly aim to fight that skill
to increase the level of challenge in your training!
For More Interviews with the Worlds Best Grapplers, Visit: www.ScienceofSkill.com
www.MicroBJJ.com/TechPhys
For More Interviews with the Worlds Best Grapplers, Visit: www.ScienceofSkill.com