Popovitch BJJ and MMA Blog

Cross training for Grappling Tournaments

I trained with “Juan Carloz Santana” from the Institute of Human Performance (IHP) for the World Submission Wrestling Championship ADCC 2007. One of the things we worked on was to simulate my matches through cross training . Here is an example of some of the exercises we did.

Drag the tire (as show on video)

Flip the tire 2 times (As show on video)

Push the car around the block (As show on video)

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This time I am going to go over one of the most effective foot lock/heel hook submissions from the guard.

This position is great because it gives you the opportunity to finish your opponent with the basic foot lock or a more advance position, “the heel hook”. Also keep in mind that this position can be very effective for MMA as well. By keeping your opponent in a closed distance it limits his ability to strike, giving you a perfect situation where the submission can be applied.

1 - Start in the closed guard controlling your opponent’s wrists.

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How to Deal With Injuries While Training For Tournaments

One of the most common problems while training for tournaments is the injuries you sustain while training hard for a short period of time. You have about 2-3 months to get ready for the tournament but a shoulder, knee, or back injury could keep you on the side line for weeks sometimes.

Taking weeks of training will not only regress your progress but also will mentally make you weaker for your matches. In the back of your head you know you didn’t train like you planned and you might doubt yourself while progressing in the tournament.

What I found out over the years is that even though many times I had injuries that caused me to stay away from sparring and drilling techniques, there are training variations in other sports that can simulate my matches.

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It was nearly two years ago that Johnny Cardona came by the academy and told me of his dreams to one day become an MMA fighter. My first question was, “Have you train any martial arts before?” He answered very calmly that he never trained before, but he had the will and desire to be the best. I sat down with him and explained that to excel in Mixed Martial Arts, he has to master at least one discipline. In this case it would be for me to teach him the ground game (Brazilian Jiu-jitsu) and make him ready to dominate and finish on the ground. Also I told him that it would take longer them he expected to be ready. Johnny asked if he could get in the cage within three months. My answer was absolutely not, you will be not ready.

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I was very fortunate to have the chance to train with BJ Penn. Besides being a world class fighter the guy has great character and is a lot of fun to hang out with.

I started my trip flying from Ft. Lauderdale to California (6 hours), then to Hawaii. I thought I was there but when I got to Hawaii I found out that I had to take another plane to an island called “Hilo”. My god it was almost a twenty four hour trip. I was absolutely exhausted by the time I got there. After finally arriving in Hilo, it was time to pick up my luggage and it was nowhere to be found. Man, a whole day traveling and no luggage lol… it wasn’t my day. Later I was told that they had no idea where my luggage was and they would deliver it the next day. What was cool is that everyone knew where BJ’s gym was, so they were like “Don’t worry we will deliver your luggage tomorrow,