Weight Application: Part 1

GET IT OFF THE FLOOR

My instructors used to tell me to put my weight on my partner. I thought I was doing exactly this but still I couldn’t seem to shut them down effectively. Over time, these thoughts occurred to me:

- I have a limited amount of weight to use
- That weight has to be somewhere
- Where, exactly was my weight, at any given moment?
- I noticed that much of it was dispersed on the mat itself
- If I took it off the mat it had to go somewhere
- And that ‘somewhere’ was in fact, onto my training partner

So there you have the first, most basic principle of Weight Application that there is. The more of your weight that you take off the floor, the more of it will ‘pour’ onto your opponent. And every ounce counts! There’s a T-shirt right there! EVERY OUNCE COUNTS! Look for your weight, you will find it on your elbows, on your knees, your feet, etc – try to get it off these ‘support points’ and it will flow onto your partner. When I began thinking in terms of getting my weight off the floor, rather than putting it on my partner, I became far more effective. Begin then, by asking yourself, where your weight actually is – at any given moment. Please pay attention to these few blogs, even through they may seem somewhat obvious ... I guarantee gains.
Best wishes all
JBW