"Drilling is a Waste of Time": A Purely Ecological Jiu Jitsu Program w/ Greg Souders
Oct 18, 2022
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Join Greg Souders as he revolutionizes Jiu Jitsu teaching with an ecological approach, shifting away from traditional techniques. Learn how he introduces submissions, designs practices, and coaches athletes in a completely new way. Explore the benefits of sand training and the unconventional path to mastering Jiu Jitsu.
Focus on low variation exercises for beginners to reduce mental load and hone basic positional alignments.
Structured progression from Arm Lock Breaking to transitions and neutral positions to build skills step by step.
Class rotation covers various Jiu Jitsu positions weekly, alternating between pins, neutral positions, and submissions.
Flexible practice design adapts in real-time to maximize student engagement and understanding during training sessions.
Deep dives
Beginners Focus on Low Variation Aligned Practices
For beginners in the foundations class, the emphasis is on low variation exercises to reduce mental load and allow them to focus on basic positional alignments. Exercises start from specific arm lock breaking positions to more controlled positions, gradually increasing variation as they progress. The three-minute exchanges in the early stages are intensive to ensure effective learning within a short timeframe.
Progression from Breaking to Control in Arm Lock Training
The training approach progresses from practicing Arm Lock Breaking to Arm Control before advancing to transitions and neutral positions. Students learn precursors like putting an arm into extension in the mount position as they work towards grappling from a more neutral starting point. The focus is on building skills step by step, adding complexity as students become more proficient.
Weekly Rotation of Mount, Half Guard, Side Control, and Close Guard
Class structure includes a weekly rotation where different positions like mount, half guard, side control, and close guard are focused on, ensuring students cover a variety of scenarios in Jiu Jitsu. Each week introduces specific skills related to the chosen position, alternating between pins, neutral positions, and submissions to provide a comprehensive understanding of the complete Jiu Jitsu game.
Adaptive Practice Design Based on Student Engagement
The practice design remains flexible and adaptive based on student engagement and response within the class. Lessons are modified in real-time to ensure that students are effectively learning and engaging with the material presented. This adaptive approach allows for adjustments to be made to maximize the effectiveness of the training session.
Understanding Jiu-Jitsu Guard Positions
In Jiu-Jitsu, various guard positions like belly up open guard, seated open guard, closed guard, and half guard are considered neutral because neither player has full control. The guard allows the bottom player to effectively fight back, making it a neutral position. Top players can gain control by passing the legs, leading to a constant battle for control and submission opportunities within guard positions.
Managing Leg Locks and Preventing Injuries
In training leg locks, a culture of respect and safety is crucial to prevent injuries. Students are reminded that safety and long-term health are more important than winning. Techniques focus on understanding entanglements as an extension of guard work, emphasizing controlling hip access to set up leg attacks. Strict guidelines like slow pressure application and verbal tapping help ensure safety during live training sessions.
Physical Invariance and Strategy in Jiu-Jitsu
Jiu-Jitsu training is based on physical invariance and strategy to control the opponent effectively. By manipulating levers through extension and contraction, practitioners create vulnerabilities in the opponent's body for submissions. Understanding structural hierarchy based on the level of mobility leads to effective immobilization strategies in grappling. The approach involves recognizing precursor movements that set up submission opportunities and prioritizes adaptability over rigid techniques.
Join the email list now: combatlearning.com/newsletter --- Today I'm joined by Greg Souders, a 3rd degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and the owner of an academy called Standard Jiu-Jitsu.
In this episode, Greg reveals how he runs a totally, radically "ecological" grappling program, where he doesn't even teach "techniques" in the way we've always seen them taught. Greg has stripped down everything we take for granted about teaching martial arts and rebuilt his program around the Ecological Dynamics and constraints-led coaching frameworks. He's changed everything, even the way he talks about jiu jitsu to his students, which frankly, I think might be revolutionary.
If you're wondering how he introduces submissions to new students, teaches passing and pinning, designs practices, or manipulates constraints, or coaches or cues his athletes, all those questions will be answered during the course of this show.
And before I hand you off to the interview, be sure to visit the Standard Jiu Jitsu Instagram account linked in the podcast description. There you'll find concrete, visual examples of how Greg Souders guides his students to learn submissions without teaching them through the usual lectures, demonstrations, repetitions, and drills...
...he's also had two interviews prior to this one on my friend Scott Sievewright's highly recommended Primal MMA Coaching podcast, links also in the description. Definitely check those out as well.
So if you're excited to jump in, hit the subscribe button on your podcatcher and enjoy the show. --- Find Coach Souders: