Distance and your first Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class
First time students of martial arts all have a great deal of various emotions for their new activity. Most are very excited but some harbor fear of the unknown. You need not be fearful as 2 Timothy 1:7 says “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
So here is what a typical first class resembles and what you can probably expect.
Generally, your first BJJ class will consist of a 10-20 minute warm-up of various exercises followed by the technique portion of the class and ending with the live sparing session. Depending on the school, you may or may not be allowed to participate in the end of class live rolling activity. Some instructors desire for you to have a few classes under your belt before you engage in active grappling. Others will have you involved from your first class but with a patient senior student and the watchful eye of the instructor. At your first class or in a beginner class, you can expect to learn one to three basic moves usually self-defense or escapes depending on the instructor. Self-defense moves are usually where an attacker does something and then you use a technique to defend and escape. For instance, the person tries to strike you and you learn to close the distance and clinch with them helping to minimize further strikes. This may not sound like much but it is. Learning to evade a single strike is very useful. Learning how to control distance between you and your attacker is vast. Initiating the clinch to turn the encounter into a grappling situation is yet another important lesson.
Regarding distance – the control of distance (making space or taking it away) is a constant skill that you will refine and use throughout your martial arts career in BJJ. Every situation is unique, so sometimes you need to create space between you and your opponent, other times you need to remove the space. For instance, at times you need to create space in order to escape from the threat. Other times, you need to remove the space in order to achieve a good position. Once the better environment is realized from you moving to the improved position you can defeat your adversary through control techniques learned in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
This is an important skill for everyone to learn and apply to life. Kids and adults need to recognize that every situation calls for the proper use of distance and space. You distance yourself from bad settings and bring close good ones. Those that can control their own distance between good and bad have an easier route to success both in practice and in everyday life! Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a great catalyst to learning this skill!
**Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a fantastic martial art for self-defense, fitness and building positive lasting relationships. I encourage you to try it. Even better would be to get your kids involved in it with you and all learn self-defense together!**
So here is what a typical first class resembles and what you can probably expect.
Generally, your first BJJ class will consist of a 10-20 minute warm-up of various exercises followed by the technique portion of the class and ending with the live sparing session. Depending on the school, you may or may not be allowed to participate in the end of class live rolling activity. Some instructors desire for you to have a few classes under your belt before you engage in active grappling. Others will have you involved from your first class but with a patient senior student and the watchful eye of the instructor. At your first class or in a beginner class, you can expect to learn one to three basic moves usually self-defense or escapes depending on the instructor. Self-defense moves are usually where an attacker does something and then you use a technique to defend and escape. For instance, the person tries to strike you and you learn to close the distance and clinch with them helping to minimize further strikes. This may not sound like much but it is. Learning to evade a single strike is very useful. Learning how to control distance between you and your attacker is vast. Initiating the clinch to turn the encounter into a grappling situation is yet another important lesson.
Regarding distance – the control of distance (making space or taking it away) is a constant skill that you will refine and use throughout your martial arts career in BJJ. Every situation is unique, so sometimes you need to create space between you and your opponent, other times you need to remove the space. For instance, at times you need to create space in order to escape from the threat. Other times, you need to remove the space in order to achieve a good position. Once the better environment is realized from you moving to the improved position you can defeat your adversary through control techniques learned in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
My nephew - the Smaller kid managing the distance
Clinching and closing the space
Success! Safer control position achieved!
This is an important skill for everyone to learn and apply to life. Kids and adults need to recognize that every situation calls for the proper use of distance and space. You distance yourself from bad settings and bring close good ones. Those that can control their own distance between good and bad have an easier route to success both in practice and in everyday life! Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a great catalyst to learning this skill!
**Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a fantastic martial art for self-defense, fitness and building positive lasting relationships. I encourage you to try it. Even better would be to get your kids involved in it with you and all learn self-defense together!**
No comments:
Post a Comment