What’s the first thing you should do when an opponent attacks you – when they go to establish a dominant position, sweep, or submit you? Well yes, you should seek out how to defend… But you shouldn’t rest on merely defending against their attack; you should, instead, look for opportunities to recover and counterattack as well.
Marcelo Garcia explains why you need to shorten your recovery time and counterattack as soon as possible.
REDUCE YOUR RECOVERY TIME & COUNTERATTACK AS FAST AS POSSIBLE
Marcelo emphasizes that when, for example, your opponent goes to pass to Side Control, you shouldn’t look to lay flat on the mats and then start framing from there. That you shouldn’t just be looking how to defend, but how to recover your guard (in this case, Butterfly Guard) and how to get your own offense on the forefront.
By approaching the Gentle Art with this mindset, you will become a much more dangerous athlete than you’ve been before.
Sure, it isn’t going to be easy. But there are always ways to do this, if only you learn a couple of basic pointers for each position. For instance, if they’re passing to Side Control, look for ways to control the space by pushing their head, pushing their elbow, and by gaining inside control with your legs.
Watch how Marcelo Garcia does this and his further explanation on the importance of reducing the recovery time, on the video below:
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