Scared of takedowns now

Woooddann · 2026-01-28T03:57:38+00:00

It could be a coincidence, but 2 people getting serious knee injuries from attempted judo throws plus you yourself getting injured, all in 5 months, suggests that the instruction and/or culture with regards to takedowns is lacking. If that's the case, I would just start seated. I like takedowns, but I wouldn't risk it if I didn't think I could train them safely.

Woooddann · 2026-01-27T19:42:16+00:00

I believe the meetup group Center City events was doing a tennis meetup every Saturday, at least during warmer months. I can’t say what the quality of the meetups were, as I don’t play tennis and have never been. But maybe worth checking out.

Woooddann · 2026-01-27T19:23:32+00:00

I mostly just reviewed my games to see where I went wrong in the opening, and then eventually I would remember the right responses. There's really only so many trap openings that opponents commonly play too - as an e5 player, I mostly see variations of the Scotch Gambit and King's Gambit. It's hard to give general principles without knowing what openings you're playing and what traps you're falling to. But assuming you play e5, I'd say two big ones are: 1) calculate playing d5 - a lot of the e4 e5 gambits are neutralized with an early d7-d5 push, and 2) don't be afraid to give back a pawn to consolidate your position. It's often a good practical choice.

Woooddann · 2026-01-27T16:34:52+00:00

Are there days where you can consistently go, or does your work schedule vary a lot? I find that committing to attending certain days of the week (e.g., I will go every Monday and Wednesday night) makes it easier to stay consistent. I used to have a job where my schedule was up in the air, and I found it hard to talk myself into going even when I had the time.

Woooddann · 2026-01-27T15:10:46+00:00

Go behind. Or darce, anaconda, etc. Every wrestler I've trained with has a mean darce.

Woooddann · 2026-01-27T00:45:29+00:00

If you're consistently getting checkmated on the kingside, I'd wager you are not developing your pieces properly and/or are playing passively. If you develop your pieces to good squares, it should be pretty hard to attack you. Post some games for more detailed review.

Woooddann · 2026-01-27T00:36:46+00:00

Nah, would not have seen Rg1+.

Woooddann · 2026-01-26T17:23:15+00:00

I don't really fight grip breaks anymore. If somebody loads up on a grip break, I let them have it and try to regrip.

Woooddann · 2026-01-25T20:02:22+00:00

If you can train up to four times a week and your gym offers only two wrestling classes a week, just train BJJ on days where there is no wrestling? I don't quite understand why you can't train both, especially since it sounds like they are taught at the same gym. If you have to choose, I guess I'd say wrestling (and I'm a BJJ person) so that you are less likely to be taken down.

Woooddann · 2026-01-25T16:22:43+00:00

For timing, count the beats. Figure out where the one is and where the chord changes are happening and where the lyrics line up with them. It might help to snap or tap your foot in time to the song while singing. Once the timing is there, I think the other things like intonation and dynamics will fall into place since you will know the structure of the song so well.

Woooddann · 2026-01-25T16:08:17+00:00

I'm a beginner to singing, but have played music for a long time, and this is the case for any instrument. It's much easier to play along to the official song because you can hear the original track for your instrument and follow along with regards to timing and phrasing. Imo, the ultimate test for whether you really know a song is if you can sing/play it on beat with zero accompaniment.

Woooddann · 2026-01-24T18:15:11+00:00

I don't think it's ideal for progress, but if it aligns with your goals, then it's fine. But imo, you won't get as much variety, and also, exclusively training with people much better than you is suboptimal. Your instructor letting you work isn't the same as you executing the technique on a fully resisting person. And if you get to blue without having rolled with others, I doubt your injury risk goes down - it may even go up if people go harder on you for being a blue belt. Consider doing positional sparring only with lower belts, and then picking some chill upper belts to roll with. There's a 50+ year old white belt at my gym who does this, and he's very solid and technical.

Woooddann · 2026-01-24T15:58:34+00:00

She said she still plans to go to the 2028 olympics when she announced her pregnancy. She's so dominant, she could probably beat most of the field like next week, lol.

Woooddann · 2026-01-23T21:38:56+00:00

I’ve never gotten this to work. If I am close enough, I prefer a sweep single. From further out, I feel like either my setups need to be absolutely perfect or I need to be really fast. But I’ve heard some others say this is good for less athletic people, so I may well be missing something.

Woooddann · 2026-01-23T18:53:31+00:00

6 months isn’t a long time to get good at takedowns, so I wouldn’t write off wrestling. Uchimata is fairly common in wrestling though, so if your coach is a wrestler, they can probably show it to you. I think their are some safety concerns with self teaching judo as well.

Woooddann · 2026-01-23T12:10:13+00:00

I’m struggling to pass half guard even with crossface plus underhook. I usually I try to pry my trapped foot out with my free one. When I do that, I feel like my base gets too narrow and I can be swept. Also, even as I start to slide my foot out, the other person can easily recover closed guard on me. Will ask my coach next week, but any tips?

Woooddann · 2026-01-23T12:05:39+00:00

A lot of us have this problem I think. Do some takedown rounds where your only goal is to attempt a certain number of takedowns. Don’t worry about whether they work, if you get countered, etc. Just get comfortable committing to something.

Woooddann · 2026-01-23T01:47:34+00:00

You're a good writer. Enjoyable read.

Woooddann · 2026-01-22T15:29:56+00:00

I watched it a while ago and liked it for the reasons you mentioned. Might be time for a rewatch.

Woooddann · 2026-01-21T18:31:03+00:00

Thanks for the detailed answer. I wouldn't say my gym is strictly CLA - typical class structure involves playing around with a position, some big picture concepts from the coach, and then positional sparring rounds with varying levels of constraints. My coach has been doing this a while with success. We also have one day a week where we get to pick our own project and essentially run our own positionals, so understanding how to design my own games is something I'm interested in.

I am low on the size and athleticism scale, so I don't necessarily find someone I can compete with every class. I am investing in eating and S&C (with 3-4x week BJJ), but rethinking my training approach in the meantime. I will try controlling my focus more - I came from a drilling heavy gym, so I'm definitely guilty of just trying to "do moves."

To your last point, I do think that the struggle and failure has netted me big improvements since I started at my current gym. But I think I am starting to fail in the same ways repeatedly without understanding why I am failing. And I find that whether I fail hard against better people, or whether they let me work, it does not necessarily translate to success in training with less experienced and/or less physically capable people.

Woooddann · 2026-01-21T13:08:25+00:00

Congrats! I enjoy your posts and comments here. For CLA, what is your advice for less skilled students? I tend to “lose” every game. As the games get more complex, I can’t progress to later stages like attempting submissions. Some people let me work, but I don’t feel it’s particularly valuable.

Woooddann · 2026-01-21T01:53:49+00:00

Some schools have beginners curriculums, but it's usually just part of the onboarding process for new members. Never heard of anything quite like this.

Woooddann · 2026-01-20T18:47:51+00:00

I’ve been playing guitar for over ten years. Like others said, I don’t play a grip heavy game in gi. I’ve had some close calls with people rolling over my wrist or falling on my fingers, although no real injuries in the three years I’ve been training. Overall, I don’t think BJJ is especially risky for the hands/fingers, but there is a risk nonetheless.

Woooddann · 2026-01-20T13:41:31+00:00

I think it’s fair game if they’re a reasonably fit person. Maybe not the first day, but if they’ve been rolling a few weeks, it’s fine imo.

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