Okay, so I’ve been seeing a lot of buzz about Alex Pereira’s striking, obviously, but I wanted to see what his jiu-jitsu game was like. So, I decided to dive in and, well, try to learn a little bit myself based on watching what is avaible on the internet.
Digging for Footage and First Moves
First, I spent a good chunk of time just trying to find videos of him grappling. It’s not as easy as you’d think! Most of the stuff out there is all about his kickboxing.
After looking on the internet I found a few clips, some training footage, and bits and pieces from his MMA fights. I started by watching those over and over, trying to pick up on any details I could.
Trying to Break It Down
Then, I tried to actually do some of the stuff. My experience about jiu-jitsu is none,so you know, it’s not like I’m an expert. It’s more like, “Hey, that looks interesting, let’s see if I can even remotely pull that off.”
- I focused on posture first. Seemed like Pereira was always super aware of his balance, even when he was on the ground. So, I spent some time just working on keeping my back straight and my weight centered.
- I noticed he uses his grips a lot. Not just grabbing, but really controlling with his hands. So, I practiced grabbing my gi (yeah, I dug out an old gi for this) and trying to feel how to use my hands to control movement. It’s harder than it looks!
- I saw him go for a few simple takedowns, mostly single-leg stuff. I tried those. Emphasis on tried. Let’s just say I need a lot more practice before I’m taking anyone down. I tripped myself so many times!
- I attempted some basic guard passes, just trying to mimic what I saw. I am sure I have been doing it wrong a lot of the times, because I’m a beginner and learning through the internet, you know.
My Very, Very Amateur Takeaway
Honestly, it’s clear that Pereira’s ground game is developing, but I can see his striking background really influence his style. He’s not necessarily looking to play a long, drawn-out grappling match. He’s looking to control, create space, and get back to his feet if necessary. This practice shows how hard it is to do jiu-jitsu, and how hard it is for a professional fighter develop his skills on it.
My attempts were clumsy, no doubt. But it was fun to try and break down what a high-level fighter like Pereira is doing, even if it’s just on a super basic level. It gave me a little more appreciation for how much goes into the ground game, even for a striker.
