Frank Mir, former UFC heavyweight champion and rival of Brock Lesnar, believes that many Brazilian jiu-jitsu BJJ practitioners are approaching their coaching incorrectly. Recognized for his technical grappling and record-setting submissions, Mir just lately shared his views on the issues he sees in how folks practice.
Frank Mir on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
“I don’t train to make people tap,” Mir mentioned. “The ultimate goal is the choke. Submissions like armbars, kimuras, and leg locks are just tools. “Okay, this is in my way.” It’s type of like scoring a landing in a sport. It’s not over with, however I’m upping the rating in my favor. I assume I type of consider it like a boxer throwing a physique punch. Hey man, in the event you fall down and the struggle’s over, nice. However that physique punch is definitely extra meant to harm you, disable you, and put issues extra in my favor.” That is the philosophy he used to submit a number of opponents int he UFC together with Brock Lesnar.
Mir argues that focusing solely on making an opponent faucet throughout coaching misses the larger image. “People tap in the gym all the time to things that don’t mean anything,” the multi-time opponent of Brock Lesnar defined. “To make them tap in a fight? There are things I’ll tap into in the gym just because they’re uncomfortable. If we’re outside by my car, my kids are there, and you’re in between me and them? I’m not tapping into that. That ain’t happening. Most people won’t. You know what I mean? That’s on them, though. That’s bad technique.”
Evaluating Coaching to Standardized Assessments
Mir in contrast the fixation on tapping to specializing in take a look at scores in schooling, saying that measuring success on this method is deceptive. “It’s like teaching kids to take a test rather than teaching them the subject,” he mentioned. Frank Mir ha damaged a number of limbs within the octagon.
“It’s when you use the measuring stick as the actual test. For example, when they did No Child Left Behind, right? So we educated the kids, and they said, “Hey, we’re going to make sure the kids take this test. How well they do on the test is how well we’ll do for state or government funding to the school.” So what did lecturers do? What people do. They simply taught the children learn how to take the take a look at. They weren’t actually educating them. They mentioned, “Okay, well, we’ll just make you better at the test.”“
“It’s like, okay, so that you’re good on the sport, however for the sake of the sport. You ought to be good on the sport as a result of it reinforces reasonable life conditions and techniques. You’re not bench urgent your self out of most conditions in a struggle.“
Mir believes this mindset is particularly problematic in self-defense and in contrast it to NFL trials, he continued:
“That’s why, like, people watch the NFL Combine. How often do you see a guy, and they’ll show him on ESPN like, “This guy just ran the fastest for his position.” You by no means hear about him throughout the common season ever once more. That was his spotlight, as a result of he specialised to be good on the take a look at.”
At 44, Mir nonetheless trains frequently, typically together with his spouse, who’s a purple belt in BJJ. “When I roll with her, it’s all about technique. I’m not using strength, just precision. It’s like a chess match,” he mentioned. He additionally highlighted the worth of jiu-jitsu for ladies, saying it teaches helpful abilities for self-defense.
Approach Over Power
Mir, who holds the document for probably the most submissions in UFC heavyweight historical past together with one over Brock Lesnar, is a robust proponent of method over uncooked power. He identified that counting on power alone is a standard mistake. In case your sport relies on power, it’s not going to work in opposition to somebody larger or extra expert, unhealthy method doesn’t maintain up in actual conditions.
Submitted Brock Lesnar
Frank Mir, who famously submitted Brock Lesnar with a kneebar and broke Tim Sylvia’s arm with an armbar, says his philosophy extends past the health club or competitors. “But the ego of not protecting yourself, guys—just let it go. I’m like, “No, that reinforces that they’re an idiot.” This can be a sport or one thing. In the event you’re not tapping, I’m assuming meaning my transfer isn’t superb as a result of I’m not breaking one thing. You realize what I imply? Like, in the event you faucet, it means you’re defending your limb, and also you’re reinforcing that I’ve good method.”
Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir
“But if you’re just there to hurt people and make them tap, it’s like… yeah, but right now we all have to go to work tomorrow. There’s a different mentality. I want longevity.”
