I grappled a guy yesterday afternoon who was relatively new to BJJ (I think. I have no idea how long he's been training) and who just locked me up and tried to beat me up with his weight the whole time while were grappling. He wasn't getting any submissions because either he didn't know how or wasn't trying to. And the positions he was locking me up in weren't working towards submissions either. Whichever way I moved, he just latched onto me and slammed his body down on top of me. If we were being scored, he probably would have won because of the fact that he was in a dominant position most of the time. Though I was able to keep him from passing my guard until the last few minutes. I kept catching him in half guard, but for some reason I couldn't sweep him and eventually he busted through my half guard and got in side control, where he remained for the rest of the grapple.
The thing that frustrated me so much was that I lost control of my emotions while I was grappling. He was being rough, but I should have been able to handle it. At one point I almost started crying. I kept telling myself not to freak out, to relax and just think. He had me locked up, but apart from slamming his body weight into me, he wasn't actually hurting me. I felt like I couldn't move under that guy's weight. He was pinning me down and locking me up and I knew I needed to sweep him, but I felt like I couldn't move. I guess I was so worked up and frustrated that my game went down the crapper.
On the upside, I did well in my other grapples. Though, I was still on defense the vast majority of the time since I went against almost all higher belts. That doesn't bother me. I expect to be on defense against higher belts. What bothered me so much was that I lost my cool, you know?
Oh well. I'm sure I'll have another chance to grapple that guy and next time, I'm going to relax and let him tire himself out locking me up. I just need to stay cool and look for an opportunity to sweep or hip out.
It was really frustrating.
Things are really, really bad.
2 months ago
4 comments:
You're not alone in that reaction. All of us girls have done it at one point. It's normal. (Doesn't make it any more fun, but it is normal). Guys get frustrated and punch something; girls generally cry (sometimes while we're punching something, too).
Also, just because you "should" be able to handle it (that is, you have the knowledge to do it) doesn't mean that you'll necessarily be able to do it all right the first time. Now that you've seen Mr. Lay-n-Pray, I think you won't be so overwhelmed and frustrated next time and can work more of what you know.
Thanks Leslie! Makes me feel better to know that I'm not the only one to have the experience!
Absolutely you're not. I have twice had something like that happen against GIRLS! Just feel myself panicking that I'm trapped, smooshed, and smothered. Not really claustrophobia, but same results.. Part of what helped me was learning more about my breathing. Don't let yourself get into the fast shallow breathing pattern-- which will insufficiently expel your carbon dioxide, resulting in more feelings of shortness of breath. Just chill, close your eyes if you like, and give a few strong, complete exhalations.
Sounds like you are developing the right mental attitude though. It does get better!
I will definitely try that next time! If nothing else, I'm glad this happened during practice and not during a tournament. Hopefully I can learn from this and not freak out next time. ;)
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