Shark tank training is one of my favorite forms of rolling.
I’m sure you’ve heard of it although it may go by different names at your academy.
I want to delve a little bit deeper into the specifics of my own training because it’s something that I get asked about a lot.
I just want to start off by saying that this type of training isn’t just for competitors. It’s great for all level of students and an easy way to organize rolling.
Shark tank training usually involves groups of three or four, and is designed to give students more rounds of sparring than they could achieve from normal training rounds.
Typically the rounds are short. Not more than three minutes. In order to allow for lots of sparring without having one person sit out for too long. I’ve also seen really short rounds ranging from 30 seconds to one minute. This is great for serious competitors but probably not good for students just wanting to train for fun.
With groups of three, one person will stay in for two rounds allowing the other partners to alternate resting and rolling. After completing two rounds. That person then rests one round. Repeat for as many rounds as you want.
The benefit to this type of training is multi-layered.
For one, you don’t have to pair students up after every round. This can be time consuming and honestly takes time to develop. Pairing partners is an important part of teaching that often gets overlooked. It’s a skill in itself.
Two, students get a lot of rounds of sparring. With normal training rounds you might roll at most 10 times assuming you go for 6 minutes. That’s 1 hour for my math shy friends. Now, say instead of normal training you do the shark tank training instead. At 3 minutes a piece for a little over 1 hour you could squeeze in 21 total rounds if everything goes perfectly. With about 14 sparring rounds per individual.
Again, you’re gonna save a lot time pairing partners. Even if you have the students pair themselves it never goes smoothly. Some students are shy and have trouble getting partners. Some students will use the time in between the pairing to get water or to use the bathroom. Further slowing down the pairing process.
I don’t know about you guys. But I’m really conscious of my management of the time during my classes. I want to offer the best instruction and class I can for the time that I am allotted. Because I fully understand that time is a precious commodity.
With groups of four, the concept is essentially the same. However, instead of having one individual rest. Both pairs of students will roll twice. Making sure to alternate partners accordingly within their group. Then taking the third round off for rest. Rinse and repeat.
Again, this is a great method of training. It’s excellent for pushing students out of their comfort zone. During a long training session many students will take their time and can play it safe. But with the shark tank training you can push your students a little bit harder. There’s less time to work with so students will have to take more risks in passing, sweeping, and going for submissions.
Try adding this to your training and watch your level rise.