Although most grappling drills involve a partner, you can work on some skills while alone. You can improve your personal attributes, which you can apply to your grappling the next time you have a partner. The solo drills that you complete work on every aspect of grappling, as you can even practice your technique by imagining the presence of an opponent.
Technical Skills
Many solo grappling workouts force you to visualize what an opponent does during a bout and execute your own moves in relation to this visualization. Begin by slowly going through all of the motions that go into completing a move. Always go through these moves in their entirety, as some grapplers only focus on certain parts of the move. If you want to execute an arm bar, you must put your body in the exact position it ends up in while doing this maneuver. Stopping short limits the benefits of these exercises.
Conditioning
Your conditioning program should include both aerobic and anaerobic workouts. You can get most of your aerobic conditioning done as you go through your technical skills. Increase the speed at which you go through these moves to increase the effectiveness of your workout. Do not stop between techniques, and practice moves that take you from standing position to the ground. Incorporate anaerobic exercise into your routine by treating your techniques like you would interval training. Begin by going at a medium speed, followed by quick burst where you complete 10 moves as quickly as you can. Space these anaerobic bursts out every five or six minutes over the course of your 90-minute workout.
Agility
Agility and coordination have importance in grappling, as they provide you with better control of your body. To improve your agility, do some tumbling drills like cartwheels and rounds offs before you begin doing functional exercises. These exercises also teach you how to fall properly, which can prevent injury during a match.
Heavy Bag
You can use a heavy bag for some drills, as it provides you with weight similar to that of a person. Lean the bag against one of your legs, which mimics an opponent going for a single-leg takedown. Fall backward with the bag on top of you and then practice reversing the bag or getting back to your feet. Although you cannot do arm and leg submissions on a heavy bag, you can work on your choke submissions.
References
- "Solo Training 2: The Martial Artist's Guide to Building the Core for Stronger, Faster and More Effective Grappling, Kicking and Punching"; Loren W. Christensen; 2005
- "Drills for Grapplers: Training Drills and Games You Can Do on the Mat for Jujitsu, Judo and Submission Grappling"; Steve Scott; 2008
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