Category: Uncategorized
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Preach, Josh Barnett!!!
The foundation of our hybrid approach at HHGC is catch-as-catch-can wrestling, or simply, catch wrestling, which holds the strange distinction of being the most influential martial art ever, while still being shrouded in obscurity from public consciousness. I’ll save the explanation of both circumstances for a future post, but here, I thought it critical to…
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MOVE YOUR OPPONENT
Recall the first three, foundational skills that need to be developed to dominate the neutral (standing) wrestling position… Now let’s focus on how you should use these three skills to move your opponent… First, consider how takedowns are often taught within BJJ classes. Most often we work most heavily on the shot, that is getting…
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LEARN TO PUSH AND PULL
So much of your success while in the neutral position is relative to your ability to push and pull your opponent. Recall our eight skills that underly standing wrestling— Consider that while implementing any of the last five of these skills, you’ll be close to getting your opponent’s hips to the mat (e.g., a blast…
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The 10,000-Hour Fallacy
Have you heard of the ’10,000-hour rule’ when it comes to practice? The idea, largely popularized by Gladwell’s book ‘Outliers’, unintentionally suggests that expertise is a short 10,000-hour stroll away. As seductive as this notion might be, one problem exists—it’s patently false! The fact of the matter is that many studies, particularly for sports, have…
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READY TO BEGIN???
As a new year begins, resolutions abound, many of which will fall to the wayside in a few, mere days. Some of the most prominent New Year’s resolutions include ‘getting in better shape’, ‘being healthier’, ‘losing weight’, or–to be honest, one which we should all strive toward, regardless of milestones–‘being a better person’. Consider wrestling…
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All fighting is problem-solving around immobilization
In the striking arts, for instance, through feinting and other set-ups, we’re hoping to immobilize an opponent’s head for the briefest of moments to land a devastating cross or hook. In catch-as-catch-can wrestling, the goal is immobilization of the shoulders toward the mat (pin), or limbs for strangling/breaking (submission). The immobilization objective can also be…
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In praise of fundamentals…
With the much-anticipated bout between Makhachev and Volkanovski just six weeks away, we’d like to share this clip in which the former’s grappling skills are on full display. Voice-over commentary provided by the one and only Firas Zahabi of Tristar Gym. One of HHGC’s big takeaways from this exchange is how mission-critical standing grappling skills…
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“The body shows very little interest in what the coach has to say.”
We do our best at HHGC to embrace the implicit learning modality. Why??? According to Dutch Motor Learning Specialist, Frans Bosch, here’s two good motivations: 1) “The body shows very little interest in what the coach has to say.” 2) “Over 300 studies have shown that the best performers in any sport are able to…
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The Problem with TWIT Coaching
Let’s start with a claim that seems provocative, but one which is invariant– THERE IS NO TIME FOR THINKING, FOCUSING, OR CONCENTRATING IN COMBAT SPORTS. Which then lends itself to a critical follow-up question (and which is equally provocative)– IS HOW YOU LEARN GRAPPLING SKILL MORE IMPORTANT THAN WHAT YOU LEARN??? Turns out, the study…
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Lionel Messi and…Grappliing???
It was called a “sprinkling of sorcery” by commentator Sam Matterface on UK broadcaster ITV. Matterface and expert analysts Lee Dixon and Ally McCoist had just witnessed 35-year-old Lionel Messi take apart one of the standout defenders in the World Cup, Josko Gvardiol, to create the goal that sealed Argentina’s 3-0 victory over Croatia in…
Horsetooth Hybrid Grappling Club 