When going against a new opponent, you have a few calculations to make. Figuring out how hard you need to go against them, for example.

These calculations also have to take a few things into consideration. Such as size, physique, rank (if applicable) and attitude/how many tattoos.

This all came about when I went to another club for some training. It was a gi grappling session. A guy that was smaller, and a lower rank, was being all nice and friendly during the pre-roll chat. Then the round started – he started off easy (well for 3–5 seconds), then bam the intensity went to 11.

He used his grip, pulled guard, and got me in a position that was not ideal. It took a few minutes, but he got the submission – he got me fair and square, and I learned the lesson.

We rolled a couple of times that session and with the subsequent rolls I was ready for his game and this made them a lot more fun for me. But it got me thinking – In a competition or a fight, it doesn’t really matter what happens after the first submission as the fight would be over.

This is on the other side of the ‘Big Concerns’ article. When we go up against new people we are doing ‘primal’ checks to gauge the threat level. In BJJ there are belts which help out. In wrestling, boxing, MMA and so on all we have the physical cues to go on.

As much as I joke about tatts in MMA, I guarantee your threat analysis will pick up someone with tatts over someone without – not saying it’s correct, just saying what happens. Size is the main indicator on how hard we go against someone, if they are smaller, we take it easier, if they are bigger, we will go harder.

The weirdest thing that I have never figured out is that we seem to let the other person set the pace. Which begs the question, are they using assumptions to gauge their pace against us and thinking the exact same thing about our intensity? (logic would dictate yes). This means that perceived skill makes up for a lot in determining how hard we go.

Think about your mindset going up against your instructor/best in the club. Against them you question good positions and other doubts flow through your mind. Then against someone who is new to training your brain is hardly working as you’re under no pressure at all.

When we get the estimate wrong what happens then? If we use BJJ as a guide, due to the fact that in striking you can change your intensity with every punch. You think someone is not going to cause too much trouble, then all of a sudden you are in a spot of bother. This causes you to up your game and do what you need to do, you end up in a good spot and tapping them out.

Now from their perspective they need to lift their game as they just got tapped out. This means their intensity will pick up causing you to go harder and the flow on effect continues. If you overestimate their skill it is almost better as is seems easier to ease off the throttle rather then trying to pick it up.

I have never figured out how to get this right as you just do not know how good someone is. Size doesn’t mean a hell of lot because size doesn’t necessarily represent their skill. People with talent come in all shapes and sizes, and we should treat all people as very skilled and then take it down from there.

We all have stories of going up against someone who looked like a killer and they had no real skill or talent, as well as the person who looks like a gentle librarian who kicks your ass. We should not judge a book by its cover. Rather, have a training goal in mind against everyone we go up against. This is a perfect world and to honest I have a lot of work to do on this front.

Gareth Lewis
Head MMA Instructor

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Gareth Lewis is the owner and head MMA instructor of Lockdown MMA in Wellington. He writes a weekly blog on his website www.lockdown.co.nz. You can follow Lockdown MMA on Facebook.

If you live in Wellington and want to learn from an experienced MMA coach, head to Lockdown MMA on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6:30pm til 8:30pm.