Training vs fighting: one of my favorite aspects of UFC champions Georges St-Pierre and Chris Weidman is that when they come to train in my classes they always pull guard at the onset of sparring and work bottom position – this despite the fact they they could easily take down everyone in the room if they chose to. They recognize that the value of training here is in submission grappling, so they expose themselves to that as much as possible in the time they have. They work on their submission grappling skills, even though that will make their work much harder – they will work their takedown training with specialists in that area at another location better suited to that skill. This willingness to come into a room and trade skills with specialists is what keeps them learning and improving over time – and yes – both of them give our submission specialists hell even in our specialized domain! They recognize the need for an mma athlete to see the big picture of skill enhancement for their sport overall as far more important than winning anonymous battles in training rooms by avoiding the skills utilized there and stalling away the training time. They come to gain skills rather than to learn to avoid them. Here Georges St-Pierre works bottom position with Robson Gracie during a tough afternoon training session with the squad.
