How many times have you heard, read, or asked this question, or variations, during your bjj journey:
Why does “insert whoever here (instructor/white belt/wrestler)” feel so heavy when they are on top of me in bjj?
Key concepts before you start devouring this:
1) The angle – the angle with which you apply this pressure is crucial. Too low and you might not maximizing what you can deliver. Too high, you might get swept.
2) The pressure – you will see how to maximize it below.
3) Potential energy – you want to create as much potential energy as possible, get the proper angle, and apply it to them.
These 3 points are important because it means:
- your opponent has to carry that weight.
- They then have to negate it.
- Then they have to create enough additional energy to create their own offense.
Giddy up.
from scienceofskill.com
I think if I had to name one attribute of my grappling game that I think is the strongest, I would probably say top control. My gameplan for the last year or so has been to either pass guard or sweep, and then to apply smothering top control. I love it. Applying so much pressure that it causes discomfort is the easiest way I believe to break somebody’s will. If they are suffering just from your pressure, imagine what will happen when you finally slap on a submission.
As the tagline of my website states, this is the thinking man’s bjj site. So I have been thinking about it. How do some people that only weigh 150 lbs feel so immovable? Why do wrestlers seem to be human blankets when on top? I think I have a bro-science answer for you. It all has to do with, yep, you guessed it – physics, engineering, and evolution.
Put your gis on, tie them belts, and buckle up. If you really think about what I am going to try and write below, it has to be true. Right? It may be hard to follow but once you grasp it, will be super simple to understand.
You’re not doing bjj Steve
I used to hear this a lot. I probably still would if they probably didn’t get sick of hearing themselves tell me that. Also, it used to hurt my feelings. Sniffle. I don’t care anymore though. I bask in the creating pressure glory now, I enjoy the suffering. Maybe I don’t do jiu-jitsu. Jake Shields has American Jiu-Jitsu, maybe that’s what it is. You could call it that or even wrestling jiu-jitsu. The goal of these styles would be to be on top as much as possible, control, and then submit. Again, for whatever reason this is often criticized as not being bjj.
Why are wrestlers so good at creating and applying pressure? Why are their top games often stifling?
Core Strength and Potential Energy
from gcsescience.com
Wrestlers drill, drill, and then drill some more. In wrestling, if you are on the bottom, you are losing. In folkstyle, you always want to escape while in freestyle you always want to stall so the match gets brought back up to the feet. It becomes second nature to 1) be on top and 2) to control.
I say because of the constant drilling and the goal of controlling from the top, wrestlers develop both a strong base and strong core from always being in and fighting from these positions. This is just like how trying to throw a judoka is nearly impossible, why trying to break open the guard of a veteran bjj player is so difficult. All of these bodies have been trained, refined, and honed, to be awesome from there. It is similar to how a football player can catch a pass without thinking about it, or how a shortstop can throw a ball to 1st automatically.
Because they are always trying to control another person that is resisting, wrestlers build a very strong core. However, that is not all.
Now we get into the fun stuff, how it happens and how you can do it too. Physics. Newton. Gravity.
Potential Energy
What is it? Any ideas?
It is the energy of a body or a system with respect to the position of the body or the arrangement of the particles of the system. What?
In the nuclear Navy, we quickly covered kinetic and potential energy. I think the easiest way to understand potential energy is to think of a stone sitting on the edge of a cliff. It isn’t moving but while it is perched up there, 100 ft up, it has potential energy.
from brainlesstales.com
If it falls, gravity takes over and accelerates it towards the Earth. When it hits the ground, that energy is transferred via the heat from the collision, as well as the sound it generates.
The Conservation of Energy
You have heard this before I’m sure:
Energy can neither be created nor destroyed but only altered in form.
We can observe this rock and its potential energy, as soon as it starts moving though, we got some kinetic energy. Another example would be using water from a dam that turns a turbine that then generates electricity. We’ve got water above a dam with all that potential energy waiting to be released. It falls down the turbine causing the shaft to turn. As the shaft turns, the brushes mounted on it rotate through a magnetic field, creating electricity. You then consume this energy through heating your house (and subsequently the atmosphere,) or cooling your fridge.
Why are push-ups hard?
Hello Superman.
And no I am not implying that wrestlers are better at applying top pressure because they do push-ups, although I’m certain it probably helps. I am saying that wrestlers are trained to try and transfer that potential energy to their opponents. Let’s look at the equation and hopefully some very basic diagrams.
Potential Energy Equation
U = (m) x (g) x (h)
where:
U = potential energy
m = mass of object
g = gravitational acceleration
h = height
And it’s not heighth. I got corrected on that about 10 years ago. It’s not heighth and width. Heighth is not a word. The more you know.
So from that equation, you can see how the mass of the object and the height are important factors. G – not so much as it is constant unless you are shuttling between different planets. Which some of you might be based upon the emails and tweets I get.
U = (m) x (32 ft/sec2) x (h)
For an example, let’s use a mass of 100 lbs and a height of 10 feet.
U = (100 lbs) x (32 ft/sec2) x (10 ft)
U = 32,000
How about 200 lbs and 2 ft?
U = (200) x (32) x (2)
U = 12,800 (double the weight but only a 1/5 of the height.)
Keep in mind that these are perfect, ideal physics conditions. There is no way in hell that we are going to be able to transfer every ounce of energy straight down onto them. We have to figure in motion, resistance, weight distribution etc. But this concept of potential energy should give you an idea of what you can do to maximize how much you can apply.
Ways you can maximize yours:
1) Get off your knees. This is however not necessarily true in bjj. Like in top side control you want your knees up close blocking their hip and shoulder. If you want to temporarily create pressure and cause discomfort, get off your knees.
2) Use smaller points of contact or pressure. If you read the post on using force in bjj you know that by using the smallest point of contact possible, you are transferring the same amount of pressure to less of an area, therfore increasing the force.
Again, by doing this you are forcing your partner to carry more weight. As such, in order for them to generate enough energy for them to creat their own offense, they will first have to neutralize your downward pressure and then come up with their own to get you off balance. It’s almost like a double whammy punch to the dome.
Using our rock perched on a cliff example from above, you want to be the rock. You want to be this big boulder on top of your opponent, making them the ledge holding you up. Earth is trying to suck you back down, make your opponent carry that weight.
Feeling Heavy on Top in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
No comments:
Post a Comment