Like father, like son. Since we are doing Snap Downs in BJJ this month, here Gunnar explains how to collar drag into Front Head Lock into a Guillotine at the 2004 CSW Camp at the Inosanto Academy in Marina Del Rey. 4 years old growing up on the mat and just playing around is the best way to start your journey. Then when you get in your 50’s just keep doing the same thing. ‘The wise man keeps the heart of a child’ and some of us keep the mind of one as well 😜
Bob Burgee
Pure Bred Tough
Most of us are born tough. We have to be to get through all of life’s battles and fights. From the beginning I ran and pushed the rules. Injury #1, I stuck a screwdriver through my tongue on a slide. Can’t remember how old I was but, it did t stop me from pushing on hard.
Snap Downs
Snap Downs all month. Today from Whizzer to Snap Down to Front Headlock and go behind. Back control to arm triangle (Kata Gatame). Working back control submission flow tonight.
Start Small
You can’t boil the ocean, so start small. It’s like when learning takedown, submissions and ground & pound. Don’t start with big people that can beat you…start with small children and build your confidence 😁 Life Hacks!
Life Hacks
A little Whiteboard wisdom: you can have everything laid out for you, all the instructions spelled out, even have great instructors showing you the way but, if you are not willing to use all that has been laid out, spelled out, explained and taught to you… Good Luck! I’ve been on both sides of this, still am in some areas. As a coach I show what I know, and what has worked well in the past for others. However, the worker has to do the work, not only that, they have to figure stuff out on their own. I am still trying to do both, the work that I need to do and figure stuff out. Unfortunately, I use the ‘figure stuff out’ excuse to not do some work I need to be doing. Life’s a fight, fight back!
Tar Tactics
Practice Makes Habit? Don’t forget the Combative Martial Arts were originally designed for self defense and fighting. The vast majority of the time you are wrestling, grappling, rolling live…on very forgiving mats. Tar, cement, tile, ice…is not so forgiving. I have lost a fair amount of skin on the tar tackling and actually fighting to control and subdue the less than friendly. In addition to losing skin, your bones bouncing off of cement, tar and tile will wreck your body. How many times have you posted on your head, or your face has slid on the mat? Well, good bye skin on your face. The next time you grapple live think about if you were actually on tar, pebbles, sand and stone. I have a ton of stories and experiences of others and myself having many ‘learning experiences’ that shape the way I grapple. Remember, self defense is a big part of the martial arts experience.
Attack From All Directions
Fun with the son! Two different distinct combos the first was a 1-2 then attack liver, Bob & Weave the hook and follow up with a Cross-Hook-Cross, which brings the hands up. This leaves a hole for the left knee to hit that liver again, followed by 2 elbows and a rear knee (inside 4 count). The second combo is after the 1-2 your opponent drops his head and bulls forward. While retreating and coordinating with his footwork hits 3 uppercuts to bring the head up then followed by a quick stopping Hook-Cross. You have to be able to attack going in all directions and change up your shots given your opponent’s movements and opening. Plus it is just plain awesome to work with @guapoghoul … and making him pay a little for getting out of shape 🤣
Repping The Basics
Working the basics is far more than going through the motions. Being solid in your base and balance, strong in your structure, disciplined with your defense and distance, focused on form… the basics really do form the foundation on which your ultimate growth is built on. In an art like Muay Thai everything is about being able to winning the exchange. That means managing distance, being strong in your overall structure (before, during and after) when you start your training, focus on form, what your hitting with, how your hitting, maintaining a strong defense knowing strikes will be coming back. By really focusing on the details, and repping them out with a real goal of getting ever better, you are conditioning far more than your body. Intense focus and striving to become Good, Better, Best becomes who you are in other areas of your life. Training with intent to be better always is no different than any area of your life.
Never Give Up!
Ups and Downs, good and bad, happy and sad, mountain tops and deep dark valleys, wins and losses, dreams and despair… this is what life is made up of and everyone has to deal with them. If you have to cry, cry hard. If you have to scream, scream loud. If you need to fight, fight with everything you got. If you need help, get the best help you can. But, just NEVER GIVE UP! I can tell you the worst things in my life, which I still have residual effects 16 years after, guess what, I am healthier, happier and have more energy than now than I did a couple years ago. The battles will come and go, some big, many small. Just know you are never alone and NEVER GIVE UP!
Live & Learn
Mistakes are made, we do dumb stuff, do more than we can handle, ‘good ideas’ backfire, things go wrong…Live and learn! Sometimes the lessons are really painful, they may take a while to figure out. Never allow a fixable problem, a mistake that you can recover from, anything that you can survive to take you out of the fight. Take your lumps and then get up and get after it. Never Give Up!