E220 | Leading the Conversation: How to Dictate Tempo, Grips, and Strategy in Jiu-Jitsu

Full Transcript

**** Welcome to Tapped In, my name is David Figueroa-Martinez of DFM Coaching, and today we're going to be discussing leading the conversation.

**** Well, this is a concept that I'm trying to push on students. I've been trying to push this for a while now: my own students and other students that I encounter or maybe I teach at workshops or whatnot.

**** When we when we train, we sometimes—often times, I should say—leave a lot of the conversation to the other person. We're a little too friendly, we're a little too apathetic, and we just kind of let the other person lead. There are moments for that that I do for my own training, which makes a lot of sense. You can defensively, then that makes sense. You want the other person to play more of the offensive role, and so you might start in a bad position, you might start on your butt, you might start on your back, and you allow them to make the first couple of moves so that you can play defense. Completely understood, I get it, I do it from time to time.

**** Now, if we're talking A to A—my A-game versus your A-game—we're not we're not having a conversation that you lead. I'm not playing to your strengths, I'm not playing to your tempo or your speed or your whatever you want to initiate. I want to be leading that conversation from the onset.

**** So I want to make first contact, I want to initiate the grips, I want to initiate where we're going to battle, I want to initiate any and everything possible. Because I understand that that tempo, if I'm leading it, my ability to win the round is going to go much better for me than if I allow you to lead the dance.

**** That first word is what I do with my hands and the kind of grips that I can initiate. Sometimes it's going to be we're going to be arguing over each other, and we're trying to get a hand battle and we're trying to hand fight, trying to get to something more advantageous. And that is just going to be us almost bickering, if you can imagine that. We're going back and forth and I'm trying to get a word in, you're trying to get a word in, all the while the hands are going back and forth: blocking, parrying, trying to dive in for maybe something along the collar, maybe sleeve grips, grips along the elbow, whatever.

**** But that first wave, I have to win it. The minute that they step or they get a little bit of a perch, or they get a grip—something that's more advantageous for me—I am now on the back foot. I'm now addressing things instead of initiating them. And yes, we can we can become offensive off of defense, like I'm not saying that that isn't happening. But if we're going A-game for A-game, that means they're at my level or higher. And that disadvantage of allowing them to get that first grip becomes a problem for me.

**** So I want to have the first grips. I want to be I want to be leading this conversation, and I don't want to allow anything that could result in something bigger later. And that goes for even more so if the person's better or bigger. Sometimes size is going to dictate where things go, and sometimes size trumps skill. If the size is big enough and the skill isn't quite there, the lesser skilled athlete, because they have size, they're going to become a bigger problem.

**** And that's why I have to be even more strict on who leads the conversation from the onset. I want to get the grips that I want. I want to make him have to battle for things that become secondary to him, him or her. I want to become the person that dictates and pushes the the offense first. That way they're always responding to me. They're always pushing or trying to develop or initiate something defensively opposed to attacking.

**** So when we get to that stage, I want to then control the tempo. Let's say I I got the first grip, cross collar. They now have to address the cross collar, and I can dictate what type of tempo I want to play here. Sometimes I want to be a little a little loose and a little lazy and maybe a little slower. I let I let them kind of fight that grip. Maybe they break the grip, I regrip with my my other hand, and then I regrip with my dominant hand all over again. And maybe I'm trying to get them to have to use up some energy before I make my assault. Perfectly clear. It's strategic and makes sense.

**** Then I maybe I'm looking for: do I want ankle pick, or do I want collar drag? Two great dilemmas from that cross collar grip, whether I'm seated on my butt, or one knee up, one knee down, or we're standing. So they might start to lean back, and they have a one knee up, one knee down. That's going to be collar that's going to be ankle pick all day. All day.

**** If they lean a little forward, okay, so maybe I want the collar drag instead. But I'm going to dictate. I'm going to decide when I want to do any one of these things. They're not dictating shit to me at this stage. They are more worried about that that that grip.

**** So now, depending on which route we went, I might be on top because I got the ankle pick, or I might be attacking the back because I set up the collar drag. Once we get to either position, depending on what I'm doing and how secure I feel in my passing, I might hit the gas or slow things down. That tempo is mine to decide; I'm on top.

**** And sometimes hitting the gas is the way to go. And I'm going to hit that gas because I understand maybe let's say they're bigger than me, and I don't want them to get in a hold of anything that will halt my actions. Hitting the gas and getting right to the back is the key for me.

**** Sometimes, if I'm up after the ankle pick and I'm more in a passing position, I might slow things down. And it really depends on who I'm going against. I might slow things down to make them have to worry and use up their gas tank defending how I'm going to pass. Sometimes I half pass, and I let them pull me back to a specific position where they have to carry my weight. So then I half pass again, and they have to do it all over again.

**** And this is me controlling the tempo. I understand that they're not going to be able to sweep me very well because maybe I understand that position better than they do, and I'm allowing them or forcing them to have to use their gas tank. I don't want to sit in a passing position with no weight. I want them to have to carry me. I want them to have to work while I'm just kind of like standing, or lunging, or kneeling in the position. I want them to have to worry about my passing psychologically, and physically the cardio.

**** So then they start to falter a little bit, and I understand, okay, they're getting tired. They're breathing a little heavier. They're addressing certain things a little more sloppy. This is my time to pass, and I hit the gas a little bit. Or maybe I pass slowly, and I apply a lot of pressure, so I want to tax them the entire time.

**** And then there's times when maybe I pass and they start to turtle up, and I hit the gas so I can get back around and start attacking the back. Your job is to get them on their back foot and keep them there. You never want them to get back in the conversation. If we're talking A-game to A-game, you are never allowed to get back in the conversation. I'm going to dictate the entire time.

**** And there's people that I've rolled with who are better than me, but maybe they don't understand the tactical advantage or the tactical deployment of strategy, and they rely on a very strict game. And I understand that I can't be caught there, because it's never going to go well for me. There's someone I have in mind a couple of people I have in mind: if I let them get to certain positions, regardless of their rank, I'm going to pay a heavy toll physically, and my cardio might even be taxed in trying to defend that position. So I avoid it altogether.

**** I don't allow them to get that word in edgewise to get me there. They are defending my conversation the entire time. It's a little bit of a debate. I'm throwing question and throwing questions at them, and they have to respond every time or try to respond, and I throw another question at them, and it becomes this aggressive debate where they can't quite form a thought that gets them off of their heels. That's what we're doing.

**** So those people that I know that tactically they might have size on me or strength on me, and they're much better at a certain position than I am, I avoid them. I don't let you get back into that. I don't let you put me there. I don't let you address those positions, because now I tactically want you to address the things that maybe I'm better at.

**** And it may not even be my A-game, specifically. It might be my B or C-game, but it's still better than yours. So now you're constantly having to battle me, maybe on your hip. You're in turtle, and you're not great at turtle. And then I'm constantly moving back and forth. You might be trying to to granby roll, and I'm stopping that or I'm riding through it. And then now we're back at turtle, and you you are struggling to to get a word edgewise and get something formulated. And then now I'm kind of advancing on another position, and I'm getting maybe a hook in, and I'm trying to get the second hook in.

**** That that's the kind of game that we're going to have to play sometimes. And other times it's maybe I'm we're the same size, maybe even a little stronger, and my game now is just to cut you off every time you want to do something.

**** Maybe I understand we're in top I'm in top of half guard, and you want to get the underhooks. So I let you get the underhook a little bit, and then I stop it. Or I use it against you and I go to more kimura grip. Or I use it against you and I force you straight back onto your back.

**** Like there's moments where I'm hitting the gas and I'm moving, and there's moments where we're just going to tax the hell out of your gas tank with weight, pressure, and failed opportunity. Those moments are just as impressive and just as important as hitting the gas and killing someone with movement. I need to just understand when I can do which one, when one makes more sense than the other. And that cadence is completely up to me.

**** There's times when maybe you are just a fast athlete. I hate going against fast athletes. They're moving around, and I'm just like a step, two, or three behind, and I'm constantly just trying to catch up, and they're everywhere. Absolutely hate those fucks. And then I'm never in a position to really strike and formulate my game because I'm just always behind.

**** And then you might be one of You might be a a tank. The tank doesn't move all that fast, but try to move it. When it's in a dominant position, try to go up against it. So you might be applying weight, pressure, and limiting the movement of the other person. And that might be the perfect tempo and speed for you. And then you hit the gas every once in a while.

**** So understand that cadence. Understand the tempo of the fight and what really suits you and what doesn't. The older you get, the less speed you might be using. You might be using speed very very rare, or sparingly, and that's completely okay.

**** Um I want to be able to pose questions that I know the answers to. I want to create little dilemmas. I want to be able to, if we're in a position and maybe triangle is my thing—which is not—let's say I get triangle and you start tucking the hand, and now I got omoplata. So I pose the question, the answer is: you either let me triangle you, or I'm going to get omoplata. And maybe you start to stack, and now I'm going to go armbar. I understand the answers. The answers that are potential the most common answers are the ones I already know. So then I have answers for them right away.

**** Then there's going to be times when I limit all your answers, and the only one you got is just to tap, just to acquiesce the position. Um let's say you're in real dominant quarter guard, and your pressure's just mounting. Sometimes people just give up the quarter guard because it's more comfortable to be in the bottom of mount than it is in the bottom of quarter guard, because maybe you're making them look the opposite way of the quarter, and the spine is kind of contorted.

**** Every every technique we we apply or we go for is a question. And when our opponent doesn't have answers, that's when we go to submissions and we get to finish the bout. When they do have answers, you have to have the answers readily available. You have to know what they're going to counter with, kind of like if we're having a debate or having an argument.

**** You don't—I think lawyer talk—you don't ask a question that you don't know the answer to. So I don't present a a situation that I don't have options in. Like for example, I don't go to 50/50. I don't play 50/50. It's not something I want to play, it's not something I want to get into, I don't like the position. So I don't I never go there.

**** If I go there, and that person has options that I'm not aware of, they're going to potentially submit me from the position or get to a more advantageous position. So when I go to positions, I'm asking a question: do you have options or answers when I pose this question? So I only go to places that I'm aware of what the outcomes might be.

**** It's like going down in a dark alley. I'm only going to go down the dark alley that I am 100% sure is safe for me, because maybe I live at the end of the dark alley and I know everyone in the neighborhood. I'm not going down random dark alleys. So I'm not going down positions that I am not good at when we're battling A-game for A-game. I'm going to avoid those positions, and I'm only going to pose the questions that I know the answers of.

**** So when you play, make sure that you're you're you're getting to positions that you're knowledgeable of, and out of, in a way, from the ones that you don't. If they're posing a position that you don't know anything of, your first job is to disengage and get away, or reverse the position, or escape into something that you can funneled that you can funnel the battle into that you're more aware of.

**** Again, 50/50, I'm not a person to play that game. But you put me in in reverse De La Riva, I'm good there. You put me in uh uh tech- spider guard, I'm good there. I have answers. I don't have a whole lot of answers from 50/50. I don't have a whole lot of answers from some of the other leg entanglements. So I don't find myself or put myself in those positions. I make sure that the questions that are being posed, I have answers to.

**** I'm hoping that this makes some sense. I know it's kind of theoretical, and I also know that at the white belt stage your job is just to survive, and it may not make a whole lot of sense. You may not have the answers that bridge one position to another, but that'll come with time. For those of you who are at blue and higher, I want you to start being more strategic. Understand where you're good and where you're not. If you have spots where you're not, shore those up with lower belts. But if we are going A-game for A-game, or someone who's higher technically than you, stay away from those positions at all costs.