Journey Jiu Jitsu

Ask a Champ: Sijara Eubanks

2012-02-19T02:34:00.000-08:00

The Stats

Age: 26

Belt: Purple

Weight class: Medium Heavy

Length of training time: 4 yrs

From: Springfield, MA

Nicknames: Sarj, Jungle Woman, SarJ in Charge, Sarjie, Sarjinha

Affiliation: Lloyd Irvin

Sponsors: 12P Kimonos

Medal Chaser

2012

IBJJF European Open Purple Medium Heavy 2nd Absolute 2nd

2011

IBJJF European Open Purple Medium Heavy 1^stAbsolute 2^nd

IBJJF Pan Jiu Jitsu Championships Purple Absolute 1^stMedium Heavy 2^nd

IBJJF Brazilian Nationals Purple Absolute 2^ndMedium Heavy 1^st

IBJJF World Championships Purple Medium Heavy 2^nd

IBJJF World No-Gi Purple Heavy 1^st Absolute 3^rd

Abu Dhabi World Pro Trials Purple/Brown/Black 1^st

2010

IBJJF Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championships Blue Absolute 3^rd

IBJJF World Championships Blue Belt Medium Heavy 1^st

IBJJF Pan No Gi Blue/Purple 1^st

2009

IBJJF World Championships Blue Medium Heavy 3^rd

Journey Jiu-Jitsu: At what age and how did you starttraining Jiu-Jitsu?

Sijara Eubanks: In February 2008, just a few months beforemy 22nd birthday I discovered Jiu-Jitsu. At the time, I had been training a few months of kickboxing and karateto lose weight. We had a guest come bythe school one day to show Jiu-Jitsu, and I had heard about it a little bit onUFC clips and stuff, but never knew what it was. I thought it was like wrestling orsomething. And I tried it out and immediatelythought yea I want to do this! So Ifollowed the guy to DC and two weeks later I fought my first tournament, I took3rd. And after a few months, my coach atthe time told me if I really wanted to be good I should find a realschool. So I had heard about LloydIrvin's Academy and it wasn't too far from where I was living. I checked it out and fell in love with it,and took off from there.

JJJ: When did you first compete? How did that work out foryou?

SE: I first competed in April 2008. I won my first match and lost the next twomatches. I thought it was awesomethough. The adrenaline rush wascrazy! Right after I won I threw up inthe bathroom. As I was cleaning myselfup, I kept thinking, "wow this is f*&^ing nuts! I wanna goagain!!"

JJJ: Initially, how did your family and friends react to youtraining? Do they support you?

SE: My friends were cool, but initially they thought it wasa phase, 'cause I had tried so many other sports before that didn't work out,but when they saw I was serious they were behind me 100%. My family took a little bit more time to comearound. I dropped out of college, sothey were always worried about me being broke and not focused. But when I won the Worlds in 2010, they finallystarted to come around.

JJJ: How did you first take to training? Explain some of theinitial highs and lows you had.

SE: Well, when I joined Master Lloyd, I had only beentraining light, like twice a week. But when I joined the Academy, I startedtraining 2 and 3 times a day, every day. My body was killing me, but Jiu-Jitsu was this fresh, new, awesome,amazing thing to me, so I didn't care, I just kept training. I was learning so much new stuff, I didn'tcare that my body hurt. And I waswinning everything at white belt, so it was all high for like 4 or 5months. But when I first hit blue beltand lost a few matches, lost my first Worlds, I hit some mental lows. I had a super big ego at white belt and thosefirst few months at blue belt were very humbling.

JJJ: Lloyd Irvin seems like a very motivating and ambitiouscoach. How has Lloyd Irvin influenced your training and your daily life?

SE: Man, where do I start? I'm going to try to not write an essay on this one! First, Jiu-Jitsu is my life and Master Lloydis my master. He's taught me everything Iknow about Jiu-Jitsu, MMA, wrestling, boxing, competing, everything! He's taught me the importance of drilling andtraining hard and goal setting and game planning. And the things he's taught me in Jiu-Jitsureflect into my daily life, like confidence, mental positivity and strength,honor and respect. Under Master Lloyd,I've learned to be proud yet humble, confident but true. I know that any goal I set, I can reach. And he's been such a huge part of my progressas an athlete, as a competitor, and as a person.

JJJ: How important is it to have a coach whose goals are thesame as yours in BJJ?

SE: Super important! The coach-athlete relationship is critical. There must be trust between the two, and theathlete must have faith and complete trust in the coach. So if I set a goal, and I know Master Lloydis behind me 100%, and I believe he's doing everything he can to help me getthere, how can I not reach that goal? Ifeel bad for other BJJ fighters whose coach won't drill with them, or won't goto tournaments to corner them. I also feelbad for the coach that pours his heart out to a team or fighter that doesn'tappreciate or care. And the athlete hasto understand his position as the subordinate. You do what your coach says, period. And if you believe your coach has the same goals, then it's super easyto follow his lead.

JJJ: How has Jiu-Jitsu changed you as a person, bothmentally and physically?

SE: Physically it's been drastic. I was 200 lbs. before jiu-jitsu, and now Iwalk around at 155. I've gone as low as135, so big change there. Mentally, I'mmuch tougher, much more confident. I wasvery self conscious when I was heavy. Iused to try to please everyone else, and now I know I have to live for myselftoo, do things that I want to do.

JJJ: What is up with that beastly kimura that Team LI is sofamous for?

SE: (Laughs) We all love it I guess. If you know DJ Jackson, they call him theKimura Kid. As white belts, DJ and Iused to drill that Kimura series over and over and over. He's had much better success, though. Master Lloyd showed it, we loved it, drilledit, now it's inbred into our game.

JJJ: What do you feel is your strongest position andfavorite submission? What have you struggled with?

SE: Strongest position is definitely top side control, Ilove it. Hmmm, people always ask me whatmy favorite submission is, I do love the kimura, but I like wrist locks too,and chokes! I love choking the best,like Ezekiel, brabo, there's a rear naked choke variation that Master Lloydtaught me that I love a lot too.

JJJ: What positions are you working on now?

SE: Master Lloyd always talks about how you shouldstrengthen your strengths and strengthen your weaknesses. So, I'm working guard and some transitionswe're looking to hit this 2012 season. And always fine tuning the game plan.

JJJ: Lloyd Irvin has multiple champions in the gym on anygiven day. How hard is it to train in such a (rumored) intense environment? Doyou think the intensity is part of the reason why there are so many elite levelcompetitors?

SE: (Laughs) That is no rumor, it's definitely intense onour mats. It's one of those things thatno one believes until they've been through it. It's rough, you know, but it helps us prepare for competition. At the elite level, guys are training superhard, so we are prepared for anything. Ithink the intensity is definitely part of the reason why we have so many elite,high level fighters. There are otherfactors that play in, but the training Master Lloyd puts us through is a bigpart.

JJJ: Team Lloyd Irvin is known to have a very aggressive,but concise tournament game. How do you guys train to have such killerinstinct? What advice would you give to someone who has problems unlocking thebeast?

SE: The killer instinct is just part of our culture. Always looking to end the fight, because ofyou leave it to the ref or judges, they might screw you. So tap the guy, or beat him by so many pointsthere's no questions. We train reallyhard too, and we're pushing each other, and we're not afraid to kick each other’sbutt. Steel sharpens steel. So when we get out on the mat to fight, we'reprepared, because the opponents going to give it all they got.

JJJ: A lot of people say that schools matter when it comesto competing. Do you think that it matters what school you attend, and why?

SE: Of course it matters to me, personally. Team Lloyd Irvin is my home and I wouldn't bethe competitor I am without Master Lloyd and this team. For other people, it matters because you haveto be comfortable where you're at. You have to be in an environment that's bestfor you and your goals.

JJJ: You hear a lot of elite fighters speaking abouttraining 3-4 times a day, eating clean, and avoiding other vices. How true isthis for you? What does your average training day look like? What do you do toprepare for a competition?

SE: I train 2-3 times a day. I also work at the Academy, sothat balances in. I think all elitefighters and black belts are training hard, multiples times a day, eatingclean, etc. Eating clean is veryimportant. To prepare for a competition,I'm training hard, getting my mind right, and taking care of my body andgame planning.

JJJ: I have been hearing a lot about drilling and positionalsparring. A lot of top guys live by it, and attribute most of their competitionsuccess to it. I have listened to many podcasts and interviews with Lloyd Irvinand I know he especially advocates it. What is your take on drilling, and whatis your preferred method? Is there such a thing as drilling too much?

SE: Drilling is very important. It fine-tunes your techniques and preparesyou for competition in ways that physical conditioning can't help. We drill a lot at Team Lloyd Irvin, and it'sgreat having Master Lloyd there helping you out with every little detail. I don't think you can drill too much, never too much drilling.

JJJ: Endurance is important in competition. What conditioningadvice would you give to the aspiring world champion?

SE: Master Lloyd teaches us that there are differentcomponents to a game plan, and conditioning is one of those components. You can be really technical, but if you lackconditioning, it will be difficult to get into the later rounds, and nearlyimpossible at the Black belt World level to get far without conditioning andstrengthening your body. So any up andcoming world champions should talk to their coach and find a good conditioningprogram. I wouldn't suggest hitting theweights on your own, because there is potential for injuries withoutsupervision of someone professional.

JJJ: What do you feel is the most important attribute to takewith you into a competition?

SE: For me, at this point in my career, is strong mentalfortitude. And a solid game plan.

JJJ: Would you say you were obsessed with jiu-jitsu in thebeginning? What was the one thing you loved about it?

SE: Yes, I was obsessed. Still am. The one thing I lovedand still love most is that it's forever evolving. It's always changing and there are infinitepossibilities with it. Literallyinfinite! It's mind blowingsometimes. Jiu-jitsu is the only sportthat allows you to use EVERY part of your body, and only your body. There are thousands of ways a human can contortthe body, now add another body fighting you for position and looking forsubmissions, and you get something amazing!

JJJ: What matcheshave been significant in your career? Which ones did you learn the most from?

SE: As a purple belt, I don't feel that I've had manysignificant matches. I would say thefinals of 2010; I won the blue belt worlds that year in a really closematch. And this past year, I learned a lotfrom the purple belt finals, where I lost a really close match. I had to really reflect on that one.

JJJ: I read a piece you wrote on competition where youstated that you feel like an animal before competing. How did you develop suchferocity for competition? Was there a time when you were a shivering mess?

SE: (Laughs) I'malways a mess. I get nervous and freakout too, I just am always trying to constantly remind myself that I'm a beastand I can beat whoever they put out there in front of me. And imagining myself as this scary beast likebeing, like what chick in their right mind wants to fight that?! So, when I do get nervous or whatever, I canpush those bad thoughts out.

JJJ: A new year has started, meaning a new year of grapplingcompetitions will commence. What are your goals for this year and what tournamentsdo you plan to compete in?

SE: #1 goal is to win the World Championships. I plan on competing in as many tournaments aspossible before then, including the European Open, Pans, Brazilian Nationals,Grapplers Quests, NY Open, the WPJJC finals, and anything else I can.

JJJ: Team Lloyd Irvin consistently places overall at themajors. What do you think makes TLI so successful? How long do you think itwill take before TLI surpasses Alliance as team overall champions?

SE: Master Lloyd is why we're successful. The coaching, the game planning, and the wayhe motivates, the opportunities he provides, it's all from Master Lloyd andwithout him I don't think any of us would be where we are. And this year, if everyone does what theyare supposed to do, we will pass Alliance and take the top spot, and it won'tbe very long before Team Lloyd Irvin is constantly making our way to the top ofthe stands.

JJJ: You win a lot. How do you take losing?

SE: I didn't take it well at all at first. I'm getting better though, but I hatelosing. (Laughs) Losing is a part of the growth, and theexperience. And you learn more from losing than winning.

JJJ: Who is your biggest inspiration?

SE: My grandfather. He was a Vietnam veteran, and the strongest person in my family.

JJJ: What do you feel is your biggest accomplishment inJiu-Jitsu?

SE: So far, the blue belt world gold, but that's nothingyet! Got to get that Black belt!

JJJ: What do you do for fun besides train?

SE: I'm a homebody, I like staying home relaxing. I like to go to the movies and out to eatwhen I'm not dieting. I like to lookaround the cities I visit when I travel too, new places are always fun.

JJJ: Who are your favorite female and male competitors?

SE: My favorites are my teammates and Master Lloyd! (Laughs)Outside the team, favorite female is Michelle Tavares, and favorite male.... Ihave a few, Gilbert Burns, Galvao, and Jacare

JJJ: What is your guilty pleasure food after training?

SE: Ice Cream! (Laughs)

Follow Sarj at her Facebook fan page Sarj In Charge

Word.

2012-02-17T21:02:00.001-08:00

Abandoned.

2012-02-10T01:22:00.001-08:00

After several months of drilling, you are finally ready to unleash the pain on your fellow rollers. You come to school smiling because you know you have a money sweep that is going to finally have everyone asking, "do you teach privates?" You're in the changing room tying your belt extra tight, making sure your gi is crisp. You can barely sit through class, biting your nails and picking at your toes...waiting for your professor to finally say its time for sparring.

Finally, class ends and you are paired with your nemesis, Charlie Chokem, the sick purple belt that kills you all the time. Game time. You slap hands, get to your move...then WHAM! Charlie down. This happens for a whole month and you are on cloud nine. You have managed to sweep everyone and their mama, and you even got a few submissions off of it to. Can't tell you nuttin.

Few months later...not only is Charlie countering your guard, but so is everyone within a 10 mile radius. Frustrated and heartbroken, you do what many of us do when the fish ain't biting, you pack up the rods and tackle...and leave.

This is a huge mistake that we all have made at least once in our jiu-jitsu lifetime. Rather than adapt and figure out new ways to counter the counters, we just up and give up; abandoning a possible money move, for something new. Back to the drawing board.

Let's take a deeper look into that by using one example from Lloyd Irvin.

In one of Lloyd's old email newsletters he stated that one day while hanging out at his instructors house he had the privilege to watch some old competition footage. In the videos he recognized some top level competitors at the time, not only by their faces but also their games. The only thing though, the tapes were old, so old that most of top level guys were blue belts still. After watching about 20 or so of these tapes Lloyd came to the conclusion that these guys had the same games as blue belts that they have at black belt.These were not just natural jiu-jitsu savants, magically coming up with moves on the spot; they had been developing their games ever since they were snot nosed rascals.

So what does this have to do with us?

A lot. Allowing yourself to abandon a technique that has been proven, and moving on to the next move is MURDER! You are literally killing your game and in 6 yrs, you will pay heavily for it when you realize that you are a jack of all trades, master of none.

Why is a blue belt who has only been training for two years telling you this?

Because for some of us, like me, there is still hope. That sweep you stopped using two weeks ago...the one you shelved in the back of your mind, get it back out and start experimenting and making it better. Patience is a virtue. Good things come to those who wait. He that can have patience, can have what he will. Patience and fortitude can conquer all things. See where I am going?

There is a reason why you chose that sweep or position, because it works for you. Just because it does not work in school, does not mean it won't work in a tournament or on someone who doesn't know you from Adam. Take the time to develop your bread and butter, don't let ego get in the way of your growth! Lloyd said to let the move take you to black belt level, in that time period who knows how much you can do! Your dinky little de la riva hook, could blossom into the new Reverse Pterodactyl guard...

Bruce Lee once said "I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but the man that has practiced one kick 10,000 times" Truer words have never been spoken. Jei, out.

Must Watch: Stepping outside your comfort zone!

2012-02-03T16:24:00.000-08:00

A wise man knows that he knows nothing at all...staying silent on this one guys, watch and apply. Osss!

Ask A Champ: Jonathan Thomas

2012-01-25T23:42:00.000-08:00

The Stats

Age: 25

Belt: Brown

Weight class: Feather

Length of training time: 8 Years

From: St. Louis

Nicknames: Macarrao (macaroni inPortuguese)

Affiliation: Alliance

Sponsors: Ground Control Fight Gear, Gorilla StrengthResistance Bands

2011

IBJJF Pan Jiu-Jitsu Champion BrownBelt Feather

IBJJF Mundials Champion Brown Belt Feather

2009

IBJJF Pan Jiu-Jitsu ChampionPurple Belt Feather

IBJJF World Championships ChampionPurple Belt Feather

2007

IBJJF Pan Jiu-Jitsu Champion BlueBelt Feather

Journey Jiu-Jitsu: At what agedid you start training Jiu-Jitsu?

Jon Thomas: 17.

JJJ: Initially, how did yourfamily and friends react to you training? Do they support you?

JT: My family was cool with me startingjiu-jitsu. They were less excited when Idecided to quit my job to move to Atlanta and train full time. Now that I am doing well with seminars andprivates I think they see it more as a possible real profession when I open agym one day.

JJJ: How did you first take to training? Explain some of theinitial highs or lows you had?

JT: I started in St. Louis with Rodrigo Vaghi, I trainedthere from 2004 until 2008, I learned all my basics and a lot of what I haveaccomplished today is from my time training there. The strong basics I developed there laid avery strong foundation for me to build the rest of my game on.

JJJ: Why did you make the switch?

JT: Once I had decided that Iwanted to do jiu-jitsu full time and eventually compete at black belt one day, Istarted watching a lot of competition videos and saw a lot of the top levelcompetitors using spider guard, x guard, etc and more advanced positions. Idecided that I needed to have more exposure to some of the top levelcompetitors who play these kinds of positions. I found out Cobrinha and Jacare were in Atlanta, so I moved there. I saved up money for a year so I could trainfull time for 8 months and prepare for the 2009 Pans and Worlds, which Ieventually went on to close out with Michel Langhi.

JJJ: How has Jiu-Jitsu changedyou as a person?

JT: It has definitely changed me tremendously, when I started Iwas kind of a shy math nerd; I never exercised and all I did was play videogames, (laughs). After I started doingjiu-jitsu the crowd I was hanging around lead me to start going out more andmaking tons of friends, and now I am probably one of the most outgoing peopleyou will ever meet. I feel like I amvery in tune now with what makes me have a happy life; diet, exercise, goodfriends, relationships, and goals. Youhave to have balance.

JJJ: What do you feel is your strongest position andfavorite submission? What have you struggled with?

JT: Definitely thestrongest trait in my game is my re-positioning. A lot of people are concerned with their offense and want to work allthe new fancy moves, but if you don’t have good re-positioning in your guardthen none of that will matter. When youcompete and you have 4 or 5 matches at some point someone is going to get pastyour legs and try to finish a pass if you don’t have good re-positioning thenyou will give up the pass and you can’t afford that. I would say my passing has always been weakerthan my guard game since I spend most of my time developing my guard. Guard is so important if you don’t come froma strong wrestling background, you can have the best top game in the world butif you can’t sweep the guy or get a take down then you will never get there.

JJJ: How did you improve your repositioning?

JT: Side control escapes. Developing a very good side control escape is one of the best ways to develop your re-positioning.

If you are very good at escaping side control then it is hard for someone to put you there in the first place.

JJJ: What positions are you working on now?

JT: I have been working a lot on mypassing in general. I feel like my passing has come a long way in the pastyear. I really look forward to showing off my guard passing at this year’s Pansand Mundials.

JJJ: When did you first compete? Were you one of those guysthat won at every belt level or did you go through a “suck” period? Lookingback, do you ever cringe at the thought of your older competitions?

JT: I took to competition fairly well.

JJJ: A lot of people say thatschools matter when it comes to competing. Do you think that it matters whatschool you attend, and why?

JT: I came from a smaller gym in St.Louis. I won the Pan Ams at blue belt before I moved to Alliance. I think if you train very smart you canbecome a world champion level athlete up to the brown belt level traininganywhere. I think it is easier if youtrain at a top gym. However if you aretrying to be a black belt world champion I do think you will eventually need totrain with other top level athletes. Youneed feedback that you can only get from sparring with world class competitorseveryday.

JJJ: You hear a lot of elite fighters speaking abouttraining 3-4 times a day, eating clean, and avoiding many other vices. How trueis this for you?

JT: You definitely need to train a lot that is for sure. I hear a lot of people talk about training 4times a day, I think this can be misleading. When you train there are two things you are trying to develop physical attributesand technical attributes. When you aretrying to increase fitness levels such as strength, explosiveness, muscleendurance, or cardio you have to be intelligent about how you train. When you work out your are breaking yourmuscles down, and the most important thing for progress is allowing them to recover. If you go to the gym and kill your body allday everyday then you sacrifice strength gains and can make your body worseoff. You have to train a reasonableamount while still allowing time for recovery and progress physically. However some people who are very gifted oruse performance enhancers can still make gains while training like this butthey are the exception, not the rule.

Training technique is a differentstory. You can train technically as muchas you want there is no physical limit on that. I train 3-4 times a day, but that means I do strength training once,sparring at the gym once, another session where I do light technical trainingto develop technique, and one more session where I do Positional Sparring and drills to solidify stuff into mygame. So yes I train 4 times a day, butI am not killing my body all day everyday.

JJJ: I have been hearing a lotabout this thing called drilling and positional sparring. A lot of top guyslive by it, and attribute most of their competition success to it. What is yourtake on drilling, and what is your preferred method?

JT: I have a slightly different viewon drilling from a lot of people. Iprefer positional sparring over drilling. The problem I see with drills is that people learn a move and startdrilling it hundreds of times, the problem is that they have never used it insparring so they don't really understand how the move works when someone isresisting. When someone drills something100 times and one detail is off they are strengthening bad technique. The first time they try it while sparringthey realize it is completely different from how they imagined the move towork.

The reason people drill isbecause they are trying to improve their pattern recognition. Pattern recognition is your mind/body’sability to respond to an action with out thought, automatically. I prefer positional sparring to develop patternrecognition over drills.

When I am learning a new move iwill drill it 2 or 3 times to make sure i have the general idea of thetechnique. The next thing I do is I tellmy partner to resist the technique as hard as he can when I try to use it. Usually the move wont work after this, thenwe will discuss what happened and keep tweaking the move until all the detailsare correct and it works. After I canperform the move with resistance then I will start drilling it. The other time I like to do drills is when Iget closer to a tournament I will start drilling all the moves that are alreadyin my game to keep them sharp and make sure they are fresh in my arsenal.

JJJ: How do you think the 10khour rule relates to jiu-jitsu? Do you really put in time on this level?

JT: I definitely put in a lot oftime, but I see some flaws with the 10k hour rule. If you don’t train smart then 10k hours canbe as useful as someone else training 4k hours. You have to train smart, that is the most under valued aspect of training. If I am doing intelligent positional trainingin specific positions I can learn in 10 hours of training what would takesomeone else literally a year sometimes.

JJJ: Endurance is important incompetition. What conditioning advice would you give to the up and coming worldchampion?

JT: I only recently started focusing on physical training andstrength training before that all I did was train jiu-jitsu a lot. I would say at the top level being verystrong is important, but for the average white/blue/purple belt coming upstrength isn’t as important. The mostimportant thing for the average white, blue, purple belts coming up is gripendurance, cardio, and good technique.

JJJ: One thing that makesjiu-jitsu unique from a lot of other sports is extreme effort takes you a longway and physical attributes seem to not matter so much. Do you agree with this,and just how hard did you work to get where you are today?

JT: I agree hard work is incrediblyimportant, but so is smart work. Someonecan kill themselves training all day every day, but if they go into competitionand gets put in a new position and they have no idea what to do, then they arein serious trouble. I would say its hardwork done smart.

I worked very hard, but my work ethicis different than a lot of other people. There has been many times I missed class to watch competition footageand positional spar at a friends house. I think this kind of training is important it keeps you engaged andsometimes you learn an unbelievable amount.

JJJ: There is little monetaryreward for competitors in BJJ, what keeps you motivated to keep going day afterday?

JT: One day I am going to open a gym, so I know there will besome monetary reward at the end. Rightnow I make my living with privates and seminars. My main driving passion is my jiu-jitsu rightnow, I love growing my game and I love seeing things come together. I want to be able to compete with the topguys in the world and win. I want tomake a game so technical and smooth that it inspires people to improve theirown game. I look at jiu-jitsu like anart, my game is my music or my sculpture and I am trying to perfect it intosomething that I am proud of and people would want to learn.

JJJ: A lot of times in Jiu-Jitsu, you never get any pure BJJguys, especially those that are winning! Have you trained any other martialarts or sports, and if so how have they helped you?

JT: I actually started in Judo, although I never use any Judowhen I compete, lol. I think one thing Igained from Judo was my guard actually. In Judo you can lose by pin, so a lot of my training in Judo I focusedon escaping pins or side control. Ithink in the beginning this laid the framework for my repositioning to becomewhat it is now.

JJJ: Do you think it isimperative for anyone serious about training BJJ to compete?

JT: I would suggest anyone who doesjiu-jitsu to compete at least once. Ifyou have never had to perform while having an adrenaline rush, it is acompletely different experience and I think is beneficial for both streetsituations and in the gym. I think italso helps build confidence in people.

JJJ: What do you feel is the mostimportant attribute to take with you into a competition?

JT: Being calm is very important forme, I don’t go for the whole kill your enemy mindset stuff. I really just go out there and I act like itsa match in the gym with a friend. I tellmy self if I lose its no big deal its just a competition it doesn’t change howgood I actually am, anyone can slip up during a match. This mindset always takes pressure off me, ofcourse I still try to win but I just try not to make it everything.

JJJ: One of the biggest things incompetition is energy efficiency/conservation. You seem to make every movecount. How does one train to be more minimal in their movements?

JT: I see a lot of people worriedlast second about some sort of strategy or some new move they need to beat theguy. When competition day comes yourgame is what it is, the way you train and spar in the gym is how you will do incompetition. I would say the main thingto have confidence when you compete is to believe in your own skill andtechnique. If you train properly and youare the most technical guy in the division it will show when you compete.

JJJ: What made you startcompeting in the first place? How much of a priority is it in your life?

JT: My original instructor pushed meto go compete and I just did what he said because he was my instructor. After I won my first competition I just keptgoing. I remember one of the guys at mygym Joe Modica said “Jon you could be a world champion one day, I’m not sayingyou will, but you have the potential.” For some reason that stuck in my head and I just kept believing that andtrained hard to try to meet my true potential.

JJJ: Would you say you wereobsessed with jiu-jitsu in the beginning?

JT: Yes, I would watch competitionvideo all the time. I still do to thisday. If you don’t watch a lot ofcompetition video you need to, it is one of the most important things you cando to help you game. You learn moves by watching, but also your mind just seemsto start understanding jiu-jitsu in general. If you really want to get good at jiu-jitsu then you have to bepassionate about it, you can’t just leave it at the gym.

JJJ: What matches have been significant inyour career? Which ones did you learn the most from?

JT: I would say winning the Pan Amsat blue belt, it was the first big competition I ever won. It gave me a lot of confidence and helped memake the decision to keep pursuing my passion.

JJJ: What are you thinking themoment before you step on the mat in your first match and your finals match?

A lot of times I just clear mymind and think about nothing all the way until the match starts. A lot of guys I think stress out to muchabout what they are going to do and over analyze things, you are as good as youare you can’t change anything 5 hours before the match so stop over analyzingit.

JT: Sometimes during the finals or asignificant match at Worlds or Pans I will try to take in the moment look atall the spectators and everything I see and kind of appreciate the moment. I think big moments like that are rare and Ilike to really take them in, sometimes the most stressful things you do arealso the best moments in your life.

JJJ: I watched a few matches ofyours where at one point you were talking to your coaches about an advantage,and also actively listening to their suggestions. How did you develop such acalm demeanor? Was there a time when you were a shivering mess beforecompetition?

JT: My first competition ever was aJudo competition when I was 14 or 15, the day I was suppose to compete I fakedbeing sick to get out of it. I rememberfeeling guilty after ducking out of the tournament so the next tournament I hada chance to do I did it. I lost my firstmatch by throw and my opponent scored the throw of the day award (laughs). Then i did my first jiu-jitsu competition, mygoal was don’t get submitted, I ended up submitting everyone I fought in 6matches. Once I started believing in mytechnique and re-positioning in general, it took a lot of the fear away. If you train smarter and harder than all ofyour opponents you shouldn’t have a lot to worry about.

JJJ: For lack of better words,your guard game is bananas! When did you first realize you were a guard player?

JT: I guess I realized my guard was good after I won the Pans atblue belt. I didn’t really know how Iwould do with guys from top gyms until that tournament. After that tournament I realized even a lotof top competitors had a hard time passing my guard that when I really startedgetting a lot of confidence.

JJJ: If you only could tell a student how to improve theirguard and guard passing in two sentences, what would you say?

JT: Re-positioning is the mostimportant thing for your guard period. it doesn’t matter how good your spider, de la riva, closed, etc is someonewill do something crazy and get around your legs at some point, and if youdon’t have good re-positioning then they will pass.

Understand guard first, once youunderstand your guard it is a lot easier to start learning to pass.

JJJ: What formula would you giveto anyone wanting to place at a major competition?

JT: You have to develop a very smarttraining schedule. You can’t just go tothe gym during normal class and expect your game to magically come together youhave to put thought into it. You need allthese things in your schedule; Positional Sparring, Watching Videos(Competition Footage), Take notes after you spar to analyze, time at gym forregular sparring with different guys, and training trips if you can afford it.

JJJ: A new year has started,meaning a new year of grappling competition will commence. What are your goalsfor this year and what tournaments do you plan to compete in?

JT: My main goal is to start bridgingthe gap between me and the top level guys. I am going to compete in Pans and Worlds again this year, but my realmain goal is getting my skill level up to where it needs to be. I really want to evolve my game and keeptaking it to the next level.

JJJ: Alliance has continued to bea force to be reckoned with year after year. What do you think makes Allianceso successful?

JT: Jacare is so passionate aboutjiu-jitsu it rubs off on everyone. He isstill at every class, most people lose passion for things, but even afterdecades of training and leading Alliance he is just as passionate as the firstday he started.

The group of people we train withevery day is so high level it pushes everyone to evolve to keep their selfcompetitive.

JJJ: You have some of the bestinstructors in the world today. What have you taken from the likes of legendaryteachers like Jacare, Fabio, and Cobrinha? How do you incorporate theirteachings into your daily life and training routine?

JT: Its great having these guysaround because they have seen it all before. When ever you are having a hard time taking your game to the next levelit’s good to have people with so much experience give you insight from theirown experience or any of the other great competitors that have come out ofAlliance in the past.

JJJ: With the advent of more and more Americans on thepodium at white-brown, how long do you think it will take before Americansstart winning at the black belt level at the majors?

JT: I think you will start to see it happen more and more, butwe still have a long way to go. The guysin Brazil are always one step a head we are always playing catch up on thetechniques they are working. With a lotof top guys coming to the States like Cobrinha, Marcelo Garcia, Michael Langhi,or Lucas Lepri we will probably start seeing higher level Americans.

JJJ: Where do you see yourself in10 years?

JT: Owning my own jiu-jitsu gym, still training andtrying to improve my jiu-jitsu and evolve. I also would like to be able to take more time to enjoy other thingslike rock climbing, traveling, just relaxing with friends and family really. I train so much now I don’t have time forother things that are also very important.

JJJ: Who is your biggest inspiration?

JT: I don’t have one person inparticular, but I am inspired by peoplewho pursue their own goals and follow their passion. I like it when people have the courage to dowhat they believe in whether or not anyone else agrees with them.

JJJ: What do you do for funbesides train?

JT: Rockclimbing, Chess, Video Games(Skyrim, Age of Empires 2 The Conquerors, Black Ops Zombies)

JJJ: If you could have anysuperpower, what would it be?

JT: I guess teleporting could comein handy. Fast travel and easy to robbanks.

JJJ: Top 5 places you want to visit in the world!?

JT: UK, Japan, Hong Kong, Spain, Brazil

A little birdie...

2012-01-23T22:50:00.000-08:00

So lately I have been doing a lot of drilling and positional sparring. In the process of all this training, I have realized that in order for these techniques to work...the smallest details have to be perfect! Sadly, they are the first thing that go out the window when I am sparring.

Why is this?

Most of us train quite a bit during the week, and in any given training session we may learn 3-4 techniques. Included with those techniques are minute concepts and details, that if not perfected result in sloppy execution, as mentioned earlier.You see it all the time, as if we think the technique will eventually present itself once we hit the higher belts. Unfortunately, it won't. Which is why we must remain diligent on perfecting our technique.

But how do we remember it all though, Jei?

Good question! After constantly being frustrated day in and day out, I had to find a solution. I'm a very silly guy, so I started to imagine a little bird on my shoulder constantly whispering in my ear. If the image of a little bird sitting on your shoulder while rolling, doesn't at least make you smirk...you need a hug. I keep this little imaginary birdie on my shoulder at all times. His only job is to tell me to do whatever goal I set for myself that day/week.

This prevents me from going to the gym in zombie mode, and making the same mistakes day in and day out. One thing that I think most newer practitioners don't realize is, that if you are not drilling, your muscle memory is going to come from how you roll. If you roll like a spaz, not paying attention to the placement of your grips, hips, etc...you will find yourself in a world of hurt later on.

It is important to have at least one concept of the day or week every time we make it to the gym. If you are a little more advanced, maybe you can have multiple, but my birdie can only handle one thing now. For instance, this week I am going to try to work on breaking grips, last week it was remaining calm when people are overly aggressive and just moving on to another position (I realized in competition I was holding on to people like my life depended on it and I was wearing myself out). Trust me it has helped.

Sometimes you may find that your goal is the same every week for a month, it doesn't matter, as long as you are making the adjustments and improving your game. If you don't like the bird idea, wear a rubber band. If you have a good memory, maybe you don't need anything. Just find that one detail, and stick with it. Eventually it will become second nature, and then on to the next! Thanks for reading!

5 Phases of Drilling

2012-01-20T16:19:00.000-08:00

Today folks I will be sharing the knowledge that I have gained over the last few months regarding drilling. Drilling is something that all black belt world champions say that people do not do enough, yet so many people think they are. The 6-7 reps you knock out during class is not drilling, no matter how you look at it. Let me stop before I get on my soapbox, because this post is simply meant to be informative, and not preachy. I will be breaking down drilling into phases, but first we should understand exactly what drilling is before we get to that point.

So what is drilling?

When we look at a drill and what purpose it serves, we see that it is a tool or piece of machinery that, by way of repetitious movement, digs deep into something (whether it is a hole in the ground or a wall) until it reaches its intended target. In our little jiu-jitsu world, drilling would be the act of studying a move, digging deep to the roots, until you reach the target (which is proficiency).

Now that we got that out of the way, let me simply tell you in a couple of sentences why drilling is so important. Going to class is cool because over time, about 7-10yrs, you eventually accumulate enough knowledge to say that you actually know a little sum'n sum'n. This is perfect for the guy who doesn't have time to sit down and develop his game. For the casual trainer, the holes in your game will eventually be roads that you just don't travel down, but your game will still be decent. If you have a hard time getting triangles, you would just simply avoid doing them. For the driller...all roads, paths, trails, and routes are open, and it takes half the time...just 100x more effort.

Now the nitty gritty! This is by no means the be all and end all method of drilling, and some of you may have another way (please share), but this is just a helpful guide to those of you that are lost like I was a few months ago. One thing I realized after asking questions and watching video, was that the process of drilling is very difficult and complex.This is the number one reason why nobody drills. It is also the number one reason why it takes your game to a whole new level, because it gets the mind thinking and creating. Sure we could be mindless robots and just drill what our instructor shows, but where is the fun in that? So I took all of these complex ideas and simplified them into 5 phases, which I appropriately named the 5 phases of drilling, here they go:

Phase One: Discovery
Isn't it amazing when you're rolling in class and your body does something cool and you end up on your opponents back? It may not be a new concept to the BJJ world, but it is too you. This is the discovery part and it can apply to just about anytime you learn something new, whether it be from your instructor, the Marcelo Garcia blue belt visiting your town, or a seminar. It is important during this time you go over the move, write it down, or even videotape it to make sure you don't lose it. You will see why later.

Phase Two: Brainstorm
This is the phase where you study the move and just think! During this time you may want to research by watching videos of competitions or instructionals to get a better grasp of the position and everyrthing that is available. You also may want to take a private with your instructor or pull him/her aside after class and discuss this move with them in grave detail to see what he/she has to say. The goal of the brainstorming process is getting the details (this means figuring out possible counters, escapes, grips, submissions, etc). You need to make sure all your ducks are lined up, or it could be detrimental to your drilling later on.

Phase Three: Trial
Phase three is important because this is the point in your drilling when you can figure out if the position works, whether or not you have to go back to phase two, or if the move doesn't fit you and needs to be dropped altogether. Sometimes you figure a few of these out while brainstorming, but I'm stubborn and need to try everything out myself. Often times we get paired with people smaller than us or a much lower level, this is the perfect opportunity to try out your position to insure every detail is correct and that it is ready to be drilled. You will probably be going back and forth between phase two and three.

Phase Four: Slow/Fast Repetition

“Repetition of the same thought or physical action developsinto a habit which, repeated frequently enough, becomes an automatic reflex.”-NormanVincent Peale

This is the phase where all of your studying comes together and you can now break your move down into several different sections and begin to drill each and every section slowly until you get the flow. Once you think you have it, maybe after 1000x you can move on to drilling it at a faster pace, usually until you are exhausted. I personally like to do 2-5 minute rounds of back and forth drilling. If you can find someone who will be a dummy for an hour or two, JACKPOT! This helps to build the one thing that we all hear about in jiu-jitsu, and that is muscle memory. Without it, you will only hit your move on new guys and even then you will probably be surprised. Minimal talking during this phase.

Phase Five: Positional Sparring

This is actually where you will spend a lot of time perfecting your move and building muscle memory. It would definitely be a bad thing to go from phase three or four right into a competition...you need to drill with a resisting partner so that you build your timing and can polish up some of those minor details. With a willing partner this is where you call the shots and can direct them to posture this way, defend that way, move over here,etc etc. Make sure also that they are going somewhere around 50-70% intensity...then eventually once you get it down, raise it up. One thing my professor said to do was during live training/sparring get extra reps in by repeating a position over and over. If you know you can pass someone's guard like butter, then try out your new guard pass for however many minutes the rounds are. This is an excellent way to kill two birds with one stone.

Here are some little tips to help you along the way:

1. Play music while drilling. Classical and Jazz are best.
2. Bring a timer.
3. Find someone close to your size to drill with.
4. Don't worry about number of reps, take your time.
5. Try to pick one position per session. It is ok to couple things that flow into each other.
6. Don't talk, do.
7. Always refer back to your instructor if you have issues.
8. Utilize white belts. They are always eager to see what the cool higher belt is developing.
9. Drilling takes time, but if you only have 15 minutes a day...its better than nothing!
10. Work on your cardio. Huffing and puffing while drilling is so 1998.
11. Important! Advanced moves will take you longer to become proficient at, spend your time drilling basics. Basics eventually become advanced.
12. Drilling is about effort and hard work. Don't sit around drinking tea with your pinky out, talking about being the first to create the reverse berimbolo octopus guard. Get in the gym and drill!!!

Try not. Do...or do not.

2012-01-19T06:21:00.000-08:00

Grow your game

2012-01-16T02:35:00.000-08:00

I recently had a discussion with a world champ the other day that went a little something like this:

WC: How long you been training?

Me: Almost two years. Trying to get to the level where I canwin some majors.

WC: Absolutely you can. Just have to train intelligently.Lots of positional training. Most guys just go to the gym and only practicewhat instructor shows you. You really have to to take it upon your self to growyour game.

Those three words sat with me something serious, as I had this conversation a little over a week ago. Often times, we know exactly what to do in order to excel at something, but yet we are absolute idiots when it comes to applying it to that something we are currently doing. EUREKA!

We read biographies and interviews, watch documentaries, and even hang out with extraordinary/successful people on a daily basis. Yet we still walk around clueless, albeit having the answers at our fingertips, about how to improve ourselves in life, relationships, business, and in my case, jiu-jitsu. I hear people complain on a daily basis about how they can't do this, and how this opportunity isn't available for them...bull. The reason I am saying this is because just about a month ago...I was that guy!!!! Until I had this conversation, I was always moping about blaming everyone for my suckage. Hell I was even blaming mother nature on the reason why I couldn't get in great shape (I live in the PNW). Damn, now that's taking complaining to a whole new level.

Often times we talk about our school, instructor, training partners, and family being the reason why we aren't on the podium. Yet in reality, we are the reason. You can't blame your instructor if you're not drilling or studying what he teaches you. You can't blame your "garbage" training partners if Joe Armbar can armbar you just by looking at you still. And you can't blame your three yr old for the reason why you still eat a box of cookies and watch TV after training.

Just like World Champ said, "take it upon yourself to grow your game!"

This means doing everything in your power to improve yourself, despite the setbacks. Sure you may have issues, sure everything may not go your way, but there is always something you can do to improve a certain aspect of your game. If one thing comes up short, make sure you pick up the slack in another area. If you can't drill or attend class, run sprints in your neighborhood park to improve your cardio. There is nothing that a little effort cannot fix. Remember these things.

1. Drilling will increase your game exponentially.
2. Your instructor knows more than you think he does. So ask questions.
3. Classes keep the doors of your school open. They are not a blueprint for success. At best, they will allow you to embarrass your friends.
4. You can always be doing something to improve your game. Watch video, instructionals, working out, eating healthy, drilling, etc.
5. Compete in even the smallest tournaments. Sure it isn't the Worlds, but its better than nothing.
6. Don't turn down opportunities to train.
7. If you really cared, you would make a way. Jus sayin.

"Everyday you are either moving closer or further away from your goal. Make it count."-Lloyd Irvin

Ask a Champ: Alec Baulding

2012-01-13T02:05:00.000-08:00

The Stats

Age: 22
Belt: Brown

Weight class: Middle Weight

Length of training time: 7 yrs.

From: Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia

Nicknames: Cofrinho (piggy bank in Portuguese)

Affiliation: Alliance

Sponsors: Shoyoroll Gi Company, Itsumo Fresh Ahi Tuna

2011

IBJJF Pan Jiu Jitsu Brown BeltMiddle (2^nd)

2010

IBJJF World Championship PurpleBelt Middle (1^st) Absolute (2^nd)

IBJJF Pan Jiu Jitsu Purple BeltMiddle (1^st) Absolute (1^st)

2009

IBJJF World Championship PurpleBelt Middle(2^nd)

IBJJF New York International OpenPurple Belt Middle (1^st)Absolute (1^st)

2008

IBJJF Pan No-GI ChampionshipPurple Belt Middle (2^nd)

IBJJF Pan Jiu Jitsu Purple BeltMiddle (3^rd)

Journey Jiu-Jitsu: At what age and how did you starttraining Jiu-Jitsu?

Alec Baulding: I started training Jiu-Jitsu when I was 15. I was alwayspretty good at school but I wanted to do something different, something that Iwould be great at. I remember looking online to see which martial art was thebest and back in those days there was a website called Bullshido that raisedthis question quite a lot. So I watched a lot of videos and went on a lot offorums and Brazilian Jiu -Jitsu seemed to be the best. Luckily I live in Atlanta,where there aren’t a lot of schools so Alliance came up first. I truly believethat I was meant to do Jiu-Jitsu, because the way that everything in my lifehas positioned me. Somehow I was able to keep training, and I was able to go tocollege right in the city so that I could continue training at Alliance HQ.

JJJ: You are known as Jacare’sprodigy, how did you first take to training? Explain some of the initial highsand lows you had? Did it help that you didn’t have to take a Mecca to Atlantalike some of your other teammates?

AB: I sucked for about 6 or so years then things startedclicking. I have some blue belt matches on the Internet that still make cringe.

There have been too many highs and lows to count. Jiu-Jitsu is a marathon and not a race. However, the best day of my life was when

Ireceived my brown belt on the same day that Master Jacare was promoted to redand black belt.

I think starting at Alliance I was able to develop agreat base and to have awesome training partners. I really think that everyonethere can become a world champion.

JJJ: How has Jiu-Jitsu changed you asa person?

AB: Jiu-Jitsu has made me into the man that I am today. Ihave had so many mentors at Alliance that I feel confident that I can doanything. Besides making tons offriends, Jiu Jitsu has made me a smarter person and has developed in me a workethic that won’t stop until I accomplish my goals. I might still be shy but I feel that I willbecome a Renaissance man.

JJJ: What do you feel is your strongestposition and favorite submission? What have you struggled with? Jon Thomas isknown for his guard at Alliance, what would you say you are known for?

AB: I think I’m known to be better on top but I play a lot ofguard. It really doesn’t matter to me. Ilike all submissions but I usually get a lot of chokes. I am horrible attriangles though because I’m short.

Inside the academy I think I’m known for being smooth.

JJJ: What positions are you working onnow?

AB: I have been doing a lot of work with shrimping and Ialways create new moves whenever I step on to the mat.

JJJ: Jiu-Jitsu is a sport where youdrown until you eventually learn how to swim. With so many carnivores roamingthe plains at Alliance HQ, how hard is it to become a stand out? What is thetraining environment like there?

AB: Standing out at Alliance HQ doesn’t just mean that youare a great competitor and have some tournament wins under your belt, but thatyou are educated and have talents outside of Jiu-Jitsu. Most of my trainingpartners are college educated, love learning and have mental prowess inaddition to physical prowess. The worldchampions at our school have degrees in mathematics, mechanical engineering,biology, and religious studies.

During tournament season things get very crazy and thereare a lot of characters. Emotions run high and every roll, positioning trainingand warm up is like a world championship match. But outside of competing Alliance is truly a family. I like to think of it as the world’s greatestexperiment because there are so many different types of people and somehow weall converged at the academy and really forged unique and life long bonds. Idon’t know of any other place where this occurs.

JJJ: You hear a lot of elite fightersspeaking about training 3-4 times a day, eating clean, and avoiding many othervices. How true is this for you? As a college student, what does your averagetraining day look like? What do you do to prepare for a competition? Do youcondition, do hot yoga, lift, drill, etc?

AB: I’m probably the most straight laced person in theAcademy, but I make a conscious effort to let myself have fun. During tournament preparation all of that isnormal and I probably won’t stray from eating healthy or training an excessiveamount for a good 6 months.

I normally just go to school, making sure to eat healthyand to drink water throughout the day: go to the academy teach the kid’s class for 2hours, take an hour study break and then train. Most of the guys at Allianceare in school or have jobs. Only a few are able to train twice a day and livethe play boy lifestyle.

My training methods change every year, but I add a lot ofbody weight exercises and I just started lifting and of course a lot ofdrilling and watching videos.

I was doing hot yogabut I had a crush on the instructor’s daughter that did not work out. I shouldprobably start up again…

JJJ: Jiu-Jitsu is getting to a levelwhere athletes are beginning to take a traditional approach to training likewatching tape or researching potential opponents and seeking assistance fromfitness professionals. Do you incorporate this and other methods into yourtraining?

AB: I have a lot of friends that like to watch video. ChrisMoriarty and Jon Thomas live by it, but I will watch a match and get fixated ononly one technique and will work on that technique for months. So I have to be carefulto maximize my time. I very rarely research opponents because I would rather dosomething more fun.

I wish I could afford a fitness professional. There aresome in Atlanta but you can imagine the budget of a poor Jiu-Jitsu collegestudent. If you know someone hit me up.

JJJ: A lot of times in Jiu-Jitsu, younever get any pure BJJ guys, especially those that are winning! Have youtrained any other martial arts or sports, and if so how did they help you inBJJ?

AB: I started out doing Tae Kwon Do and then I found Jiu-Jitsu,before that I just played normal American sports like football, basketball,etc.

JJJ: Do you think it is imperative foranyone serious about training BJJ to compete?

AB: Yes, everyone should try to compete at least once just totry it out and to see how they react under pressure. There are so manyprofessionals and parents that just want to put on a kimono, not get hurt andlearn a little bit of technique. You can be passionate about Jiu Jitsu and notbe a world champion!

JJJ: What do you feel is the mostimportant physical attribute to take with you into a competition?

AB: Endurance is the most important physical attribute, howelse can you manage the insane amount of matches. Other than that, having heartmight be the overall best.

JJJ: You were a competing purple beltfor well over 2 years; did that contribute to your success over the years? Didit make the transition from purple to brown easier?

AB: I think I received my purple way too early. Actually, Igot it right as I was starting college in 2007. I learned a lot of toughlessons as a purple belt. I mostlyremember training a lot and losing a lot but it was a lot of fun. It alsohappens that Cobrinha moved to Atlanta around that same time period and thathad an immeasurable impact on my game. The way my game is just takes me a while to improve, I know some guysthat win everything at their new belts, but for me it is a long process oftrial and error. My transition from purple to brown was surprisingly smooth. Idid not win as much as I wanted to, but I had a lot of excellent experiences, especiallyfighting at Abu Dhabi Pro and advances in my drilling technique. Growing painsI guess.

JJJ: What made you start competing inthe first place? How much of a priority is it in your life?

AB: I started competing because it is a rite of passage atAlliance. Jiu-Jitsu is a science for us, so a lot of the moves that work forthe advanced guys are taught to the lower belts. This is why Alliance has such a distinctivestyle.

Jiu-Jitsu has always been one of my top priorities, Iremember always arranging my schedule around my training so there are a lot ofthings that I missed out on while growing up. If you want to be the best, youhave to sacrifice a lot and this is something that any of the long timecompetitors can verify for me. Otherthan all the serious stuff, my life pretty much revolves around Jiu-Jitsu, allof my friends train, I make a living teaching it, and it is something that Iwill continue doing for the rest of my life.

JJJ: What matches have beensignificant in your career? Which ones did you learn the most from?

AB: I think my most notable match was against Willie Leonardfrom Team Lloyd Irvin, because no one thought I could win. My mostsignificant win in my career was wining the Pan absolute and my weight class asa purple belt. I had a lot of setbacks in the years past and that was theconfirmation that I all my hard work was paying off and that I was gettingpretty decent.

I don’t know about other competitors but I always learnsomething new from my tournament matches be it a new technique or mindset.

JJJ: Speaking of absolutes, you have won many titles, yet you are only a middleweight? What do you attribute to your successin the open weight division? And how do you train for it?

AB: I wish there was some secret. I have been getting pairedup with the big guys for a long time and have lost count of how many times Ihave been squished and smothered by our big guy gang. If I were to attributeanything, it would be to desperation. Ifthere is a 280 lb guy trying to past your guard you have to develop a goodguard to survive.

JJJ: Do you go into competition with agame plan, or do you wing it and allow your technique to manifest itself?

AB: Each competitor is different. If I know of the personthen I will try to nullify their strong points, but I really think of Jiu-Jitsu asan art form and like the natural flow. Whatever happens happens.

JJJ: What are you thinking the momentbefore you step on the mat in your first match and your finals match? Are theythe same?

AB: I used to get really nervous, almost like shivering, butnow I have learned to use those emotions to make me better.

JJJ: You are perhaps one of the mostcomplete competitors at your level, this seems to be a trait that runs in theAlliance family. How important is it to be able to do everything, and how didyou develop it?

AB: At the end of the day, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a martialart and an effective one at that. That means that all practitioners should haveproficiency on their feet doing takedowns, passing guard, playing guard and ofcourse everyone should know the key self defense techniques that make Jiu-Jitsuunique.

I would like to thinkthat I am well rounded because of my old school instructors.

JJJ: What formula would you give toanyone wanting to place at a major competition?

AB: (effort x time)+support=success

JJJ: In my last competition, I waschoked out cold. Have you ever been choked out in competition?

AB: Not so far, I tapped my first time in competition at theAbu Dhabi Pro Trial last year…I bet you won’t get caught with the same movenext time right?

JJJ: Oh Yeah!

JJJ: A new year has started, meaning anew year of grappling competitions will commence. What are your goals for thisyear and what tournaments do you plan to compete in?

AB: I’m busy trying to finish up college and starting a newbusiness, but I hope to do the Pan Ams and the World Championship. It’s like abig party!

JJJ: Alliance has continued to blowmany teams out of the water year after year by an impressive margin.What do youthink separates Alliance from many other organizations?

AB: There are so many things that make Alliance sogreat. Everyone is family here and we are able to maintain that ego-freeenvironment that is rare with schools with so many good guys. You have to experienceit for yourself.

JJJ: You have some of the bestinstructors in the world today. What have you taken from the likes of eliteteachers like Jacare, Fabio, and Cobrinha? How do you incorporate them intoyour daily life and training routine?

AB: Fabio is a great instructor, probably the greatest. Anyonethat trains with him will become good and have great basics.

Cobrinha is awesome, he does things his way but he issuch an effective instructor that his move to Atlanta increased everyone’s gameexponentially. I have learned a lot fromhim especially about the tenets of hard work and staying humble.

Jacare is my Mestre and I have nothing but respect forhim and for all the time and effort that he has put into me and all of theother students. Jiu-Jitsu is his life. I know that we may not see eye to eye onsome things, but Alliance is my family and I cannot imagine training anywhereelse or with another team. All of my friends and family train there and it istruly a special place with a lot of great individuals.

JJJ: Kids class at Alliance? Tell mehow and when you got started with that? What should all kids’ class instructorsincorporate into their teaching?

AB: This is my bread and butter. The current instructor DarenRoberts approached me and asked if I like working with kids. Before this, I wasjust a shy kid that did not have many friends at the academy and I really had ahard time opening up my shell. I would also like to note that before workingwith the kids Daren kicked my butt in my blue belt debut.

Our kid’s class is very structured because children lovestability in the class to the point that we are able to accomplish all of ourdaily goals and have time for a fun game or training at the end of everytraining session. After almost 7 years of teaching the kid’s class along withDaren, I feel that we have truly been able to forge bonds with our students andtheir parents that go beyond just the normal teacher and student relationship.We really are a part of their families

I think the best thing that all kids instructors shoulddo is just listen to their students. Children just want attention andaffirmation from their role models and authority figures.

JJJ: Do you feel that in order to be agood instructor you have to focus on it 100%? Same question for competing.

AB: This is a pretty open ended question. I believe someinstructors are great teachers while others should just focus on thecompetition aspect. Luckily, there is a lot of in between. However, when it comes down to competing youmust give everything: time, money, social life. One of Jacare’s quotes is thatthe guys in Brazilian will sell their sister for the chance to compete and win.

JJJ: With the advent of more and moreAmericans on the podium at white-brown, how long do you think it will takebefore Americans start winning at the black belt level? Do you think you willbe a part of that generation?

AB: I think it’s happening now with guys like JT Torres andLovato. The next shift won’t just be Americans winning but also Europeancompetitors placing very soon.

I hope to make my mark on Jiu Jitsu in the future. I’mtaking a small break from training right now, but I have a lot of big plans forthis year.

JJJ: Being a black man, many of myfamily members and friends still think I do karate. Have you dealt with anyof these issues? With a handful of blacks already making a name for themselvesin the competition circuit (you, DJ, the Broadnax twins) What do you think can be done to get more of us in the sport?

AB: I get asked this a lot, so I normally will reference theUFC, wrestling, or judo which are more mainstream martial arts. The only waypeople will learn is if you educate them and you have to realize that somepeople just won’t understand. There area lot of blacks that train; just at the HQ there are four black belts with yearsof experience. Back in 2004 Jiu Jitsu was really popular because of the UFC andand TUF, but I think the move will be towards MMA gyms since they are marketed more.

Jiu Jitsu is a very expensive art form, especially inAtlanta. I don’t imagine many inner city folks will be able to afford it. I waslucky in that my family supported me in my endeavors. My friend Kenny, one theblack belts that I mentioned above runs a non-profit Jiu Jitsu school thatteaches inner city kids and they are all really good. So maybe this is one wayto reach a group that is often overlooked in the Jiu Jitsu community.

JJJ: Last few questions, who is your biggest inspiration?

AB: I love watching the kids have fun training. You would beamazed at some of the techniques that they happen upon by accident and theygenuinely have fun training.

JJJ: What do you feel is your biggestaccomplishment in Jiu-Jitsu?

AB: Being a good instructor is my biggest accomplishment. Winningis cool, but nothing beats teaching a class full of 4 year olds and them givingyou a big hug after a great class.

JJJ: Any setbacks in 2011?

AB: I competed at the worlds last year but did not placeL. There is a picture of me beingawesome on GracieMag from that tournament. Talk about a set back!

JJJ: What do you do for fun besidestrain?

AB: Playing with puppies and watching Netflix.

JJJ: Have you gotten any ladies withthe “I’m a world champion” line? What other opportunities has BJJ given you?What countries has it taken you too?

AB: I wish, Jiu-Jitsu is not as cool in Atlanta as it is inCalifornia. Jiu-Jitsu has allowed me to get through college and to meetprofessionals outside of the mat like my friends David Leibowitz and EnanStillman. I have done most of my traveling within the U.S., but I have beeninvited to go train with the Japanese Olympic judo and wrestling teams. Howgreat is that!

JJJ: Top 5 songs ever, go!?

AB: Right now- Karate by Kennedy, Jail bait by PANTyRAID,Headlines and Make Me Proud by Drake

In the past- People of the Sun by Rage Against the Machine

Mat Fear

2011-12-30T02:21:00.000-08:00

Face it, some people are just going to have your number at the gym. There will always be that one guy you roll with who just cleans your clock. After training he will usually spray the mats with the cleaning solution, and use your mangled body to mop up the mess. That's how the cookie crumbles sometimes. Aside from being the thorn in your side, this guy is usually super friendly so you can't hate him and he almost always has not been training much longer than you. One thing that I have observed and experienced in this particular situation is that we tend to develop a little mat fear when this happens to us on a regular basis.

What do I mean by mat fear?

Mat fear is when you are fearful of rolling with someone who you think is better than you. Symptoms of mat fear are: avoiding the days your nemesis comes in the gym, always making sure you look like you're doing something when that person walks on the mat (my favorite, picking at my toes), cruising the parking lot looking for that person's car, always wanting to roll light with said person, and friendly talking before the roll ("be nice to me, you're so good man"). Jokes aside, this is a very serious issue and can really hinder how you perform in class and in the competition ring.

Mat fear does a couple of things to our psyche. It can cause one to question their skill level and abilities, wreak havoc on their mental toughness, and the number one thing...prevent that person from thinking, meaning making the necessary adjustments to their game that could skyrocket them out of their "mono-plateau" (I know I am making up words, but I can do that!) and dissipate the fear.

The mental aspect of this problem affects you at a time where you need to be mentally solid, either at a competition or in the streets. In the local tournament circuit, you are bound to meet guys that have beaten you before multiple times and I know it sucks, but if you allow that fear to creep inside your head, well, you already lost. Not only are you questioning your own talents, but you are letting what happened yesterday affect your today...which I learned in this sport is NEVER good to allow. Believe in your hard work on the mats, and let your moil and toil do the talking.

How do we get better at jiu-jitsu? We have to disassemble our game, and what better time to do this than after a good ol' fashioned beating! That's what most of us don't understand, and in order to benefit from getting your ass kicked you have to look at it from this angle and this angle only. You won't believe how long it took me to figure this out, so listen up. Here it goes:

The guy/girl handing out ass whippings to you like a Jehovah Witness handing out pamphlets (no offense), is capitalizing on an obvious weakness of yours and usually utilizing a strength of his/hers.

Once you realize this, you will start to evolve. It is important that we have people like this in the gym and I will explain why. Jiu-jitsu is a sport of a million techniques, and as you develop and progress in the sport it is imperative that you do not remain stagnant. If you do so, you will have 6-7 of these mat monsters to worry about, and you will probably end up quitting or getting your belt through the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu's online academy. You probably don't want that. So we must adapt and respond to the stimulus.

This adaptation is one of the biggest game boosters, and to me is the reason why we advance up the ranks. Because we all know, once you get past one mat monster, there will be another lurking around the corner...and then its back to the drawing board. Use these opportunities (butt beatings) as a learning experience and a chance to get out of your comfort zone and try something new. When I was stuck in these little ruts, I found that sometimes all I needed to do was switch from a exclusively guard heavy game to a top game. Or maybe I have to go in a different direction when turtling because the other way exposed my back. Think of it this way, if you were beating everyone in the gym you would think you had a perfect jiu-jitsu game...only to find out later at the BBQ that you're not the hot shot you thought you were. Not saying you should actively go searching for beatings, but when they do come...cherish them.

Avoiding and dealing with mat fear sometimes involves careful self-examination. Sometimes the issue can be completely ego based or a intrinsic fear or anxiety that you didn't even know you had. Maybe you don't like sweaty people or you're claustrophobic? Maybe you don't want to show weakness so rather than say, "hey man, you're going to rough I can't handle you at 100%", you get your face crushed...while simultaneously deepening your fear. Either way, there are a number of different steps you can take to alleviate and even prevent mat fear.

1. Put away your ego. Know when to tap, speak up, and/or stop.
2. Check with your psychiatrist. You might have moderate to severe anxiety (like me) or some other issue.
3. Ask questions. The mat monster probably knows exactly what you are doing wrong. If you don't want to ask him, talk to your professor.
4. Know your skill level. If the mat monster is a brown belt, and you are a white belt............I shouldn't even have to say anything. Roll hard with your own level, leave the higher belts for questions and flow rolls.
5. Make adjustments. If you notice the mat monster passing to your left, taking your back, or knee barring your left leg only. Figure out a way to adjust so that it doesn't happen. Best when paired with #3.

I hope I shined some light on a dark corner for some of you. I dealt with this problem for the longest time, and even threw a fit in class one day because a few higher belts were actually coaching my mat monster (gives me the shivers just thinking about it). Don't let it get that far, going home frustrated is the worse thing that can happen in this sport, because you only end up bringing it to class the next day. Remember, when someone is better than you they will always bring out the best in you because you know you have to either adapt, raise the intensity, or both! I hope you enjoyed the read and as always, Happy Training!

Think About It: Total body awareness

2011-12-26T00:13:00.000-08:00

I have been meaning to write a blog post on this subject for awhile now, but every time I sat in front of my computer, nothing ever came about. Except for today. I guess just like all things in life, sometimes alls we need is a little inspiration. Now I am not a huge fan of football, in fact, I have not watched a single game all season and don't plan on it (watch my daily views plummet now). But today's highlight provided me with the example I needed to get my point across. As you can see in the video, Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Jerome Simpson displays some amazing athleticism and coordination by doing a somersault over his defender for the touchdown.

What does this have to do with jiu-jitsu Jei? A lot.

See the thing that allowed Mr. Jerome to do this somersault was not only his athleticism, but also his awareness of what his body is capable of. Trust me, if this cat didn't know he could do a somersault (at that height in full stride and with a 220lb man-beast coming at him) he would not have tried. He was confident in his abilities, and did not think he would fail. This can be easily paralleled to jiu-jitsu and how we move in our own games.

Usually at the blue belt level and higher, rolling can at times seem slowed down. When you are in the moment, you see multiple paths to get to a certain destination...maybe it is a pass, a submission, or to a more dominant position. In that moment, those precious seconds, you have to decide which path is the one you are most capable of traveling on. Jerome Simpson could have juked, spun, or dodged his way into the endzone, but he didn't. He chose to somersault, because that was in his arsenal...his endless bag of tricks. What if you had the body mechanics and maneauvers to choose and successfully complete any move you wanted? You would probably be unstoppable. Sadly, a lot of us are not equipped yet with these mechanics, and instead of having options we end up forcing something that is not necessarily the correct thing to do.

I have done research on a lot of black belts in jiu-jitsu (this means I just went to BJJ Heroes), and I found out that a lot of them have a background in capoeira. This particular martial art not only gives them this total body awareness, but it all allows them to come into BJJ with no inhibitions. Many of us here in America grew up playing basketball or baseball, and are not used to the mechanics of jiu-jitsu and have to learn them. I know guys that are purple belts and can't do a cart wheel or forward roll properly. In fact, these are the things that most of us forget about completely and never implement into our drilling, warmup, and training routine. For instance, a lot of passes involve switching your hips or doing what is called a baseball slide. If you did not become competent in these two particular movements...how many guard passes are you missing out on? How many times will you force yourself into "tunnel vision" in any given roll?

It is imperative that we have total body awareness in jiu-jitsu. Who knows what situation you will find yourself in one day. Knowing that you can successfully complete what your mind knows it needs to do to advance your position will help to open your game up; allowing you to find a whole new side to your jiu-jitsu filled with mind boggling discoveries. Happy training.

Maia MMA Highlight

2011-12-25T12:31:00.001-08:00

Demian Maia - Highlight [HELLO JAPAN] from Hello Japan on Vimeo.

Think About It: Energy Efficient

2011-12-22T05:27:00.000-08:00

I recently heard a conversation between two black belts that had me up all night. It went a little something like this.

Black Belt 1: When I was training with my good friend -------------- (its a black belt world champion), about 2-3 months before a major tournament, I would see him roll close to twenty times in one night.

Black Belt 2: Oh yeah, well its easy to roll twenty times in one night when you're always winning.

(everyone laughs)

Although this was just a casual conversation, it allowed me to see that a jiu-jitsu player's biggest weapon is not his/her encyclopedia of techniques, but his/her ability to conserve energy by limiting their movements and executing proper technique. To be honest, nobody should even be doing crazy guards and cartwheel passes, because those aren't as efficient as the simple techniques.

Go in any gym and just watch each belt level spar starting from white to black. I guarantee you 9 times out of 10 you will notice the higher belts will have far more energy than the lower belts, even if they just ate an Outlaw burger before class and smoked 30 cigarettes. Its all due to a higer efficiency rating, with black belts being at the top.

How many times have you seen a guy rolling with someone with a good open guard and they immediately start by holding their arms so tight to their side that they have a vein popping out their head? Meanwhile, you look over at the black belt and he's passing guard like he passes gas, easy...second nature...didn't even break a sweat. Or how about when you roll with a black belt and you feel like you are in quicksand, and he is on the phone talking to his wife.......sigh.

How can I get to the point where I can talk on the phone while rolling?

Of course the first answer that pops in anyone's head is mat time, but let's dig a little deeper. As humans, our bodies (blame it on our bodies) tend to want to always cheat a little bit in any given task. Carry a shitload of bags up a few flight of stairs and I guarantee you will stop a hundred times to figure out a way to make it easier or less strenuous . We do the same thing in jiu-jitsu, not knowing that with enough practice and drilling of a particular technique, our bodies will eventually become naturally efficient at it. Instead as mentioned earlier, we do some weird shiet (maybe because we are freaking out or spazzing) that seems easier at first but really it is expending way more energy than we think. Before you know it, you are laying in a pool of your own sweat watching the steam blow of your head.

Here are some tips to improve your efficiency:

1. Drilling makes things like efficiency develop faster: When you roll, believe it or not, you are fighting for your life...especially in this sport. So it is really hard, unless you have been training a long time, to do techniques correctly. The muscle memory isn't all the way there. Getting a move into your muscle memory helps cease all unnecessary movement. So drill.

2. Staying calm and controlling your breathing: I rolled with a white belt the other day who had the veins popping out his head and everything. The fool wasn't even breathing let alone moving. This is the number one way to burn energy fast, and once your juice runs out you forget jiu jitsu and go into survival mode. This is why you see even the most experienced competitors die in the ring within the first minute. Don't let this happen to you. Stay loose and breath.

3. Conditioning: Jiu-jitsu is great exercise, but just showing up to class and rolling 2-3x a week won't get you the conditioning that you need. Supplement your BJJ with high intensity circuit training or something like it. Remember, the more gas you have in the tank, the farther you can drive. Nobody likes that guy that can only go for 2 minutes before he coughs up a lung.

4. Paying attention in class and ask questions: How else will you know how to do that sweep that doesn't involve the little kick you somehow added to it? By actively listening in class and asking questions on how to do a move correctly. It is imperative that we learn how to do moves correctly, or else drilling is pointless. If you are trying to emulate what Professor Charlie is doing, but it takes you 8 minutes and takes him 8 seconds...ask him what he is doing that you are not. Simple.

5. Train: Mat time will eventually fix everything. 10,000 hours.

I still spaz out like a dog under a blanket at times too, it is natural, especially when you have no idea what you are doing in a certain position. Hopefully, these little tips and hints will help someone out there or at least encourage them to think a little more about why they are not as efficient as they can be and what they can do to fix it. Thanks for reading.

The Charm of BJJ

2011-12-07T11:18:00.001-08:00

The charm of BJJ is that hard work and dedication will get you the results you want. It does not matter if you are a man, woman, or child. If you are ultra heavy or a featherweight. It does not scout you based on what country you hail from, or even the color of your skin. If you can't do a single pushup, jiu-jitsu does not care. You could have been captain of the football team or apart of the glee club. Jiu-jitsu will never ask you who your father is, what school you went to, or what your SAT score is. If you are rich or poor, none of those things matter. What matters is the time you put on the mats, and the sweat you wipe from your brow after a hard session. Unlike other sports, jiu-jitsu does not require you to be anything special before you step on the mats. All it requires is that you love it with all your heart and you give it your all each and every day.

The secret formula: Getting the most out of training

2011-12-06T01:03:00.001-08:00

Brazilian jiu-jitsu seperates itself from other martial arts because of the seemingly endless number of techniques and variations involved in it. Perhaps this is why 90% of the people who practice the art are drawn to it in the first place. Other fighting styles seem to be based more on the speed, power and timing built up over time on a handful of techniques, while you could literally spend 3 yrs or more learning just the variations of an armbar. What does that say about jiu-jitsu? That it is really hard for the average joe to get good at it, at least in a short amount of time. The trick is getting on the mats as much as possible, and making the most out of those hours.

In the book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell mentions the 10,000 hour rule, which is the amount of time it takes to become an expert at a given task. Of course this can be somewhat applied to jiu-jitsu, because most instructors will tell you that it takes roughly 10 yrs to become a black belt (give or take a few). Now this general rule of thumb has been tested many many times in jiu-jitsu, as many world champions have received their black belt in shorter times. Yet, one has to call timeout on this to do a little researching to really see what the deal is.

Everyone knows Caio Terra. He is a Mundial gi and no-gi champion, Pan Am champion, and more. He has a sick half guard DVD out, and is very outspoken. He also received his black belt in 3 yrs. You hear a lot of people talk about natural talent, and I am sure Caio has heard that word many times before, but if you look at his story you would realize that not much of Caio's success was attributed to natural ability, except maybe his drive, most of it seemed to be built around his work ethic and love for the sport (eventually).

After his successful finish at worlds in 2004, Caio decided to turn his home into a sparring gym, with mats and everything. The whole shabang. You can only imagine the hours spent here...training, experimenting, and sweating. What it took was for Caio to take some initiative, and take control of his own training. Caio probably didn't reach his 10,000 hours on those mats, but I am sure he was close.

Now lets revisit the 10,000 hour rule keeping Caio and the black belt rule in mind. Suppose you wanted to reach this very lofty goal in 10 yrs, it would mean you need to train about 3 hours a day, 21 hours a week, 83 hours a month. I have heard stories of sleeping at the gym, training till 1am, and even 4x a day training sessions. If you think what you are doing right now is the right thing, read that last sentence 10,000 times.

You need practice. Not just any type of practice. This would mean 3 hours a day of deliberate and focus driven practice. What the heck is deliberate practice?

1. Deliberate practice pretty much follows the mantra of "no pain, no gain". It is a focus like no other. Just going to class and listening to your instructor while drilling the moves 3-4 times is not deliberate.

2. It is designed to improve performance beyond its levels. Your instructor is there to give you a guideline and details. You need to take those and run with them. Time is not everything, you have to be constantly pushing yourself everyday on the mats.

3. Deliberate practice and breaks/time off aren't compatible. If you are constantly taking breaks to go on vacation, lick your wounds, hang out with the girlfriend your technique is going to collect dust. Deliberate practice must be constant, strict, and vigorous.

4. Feedback is a must. You haven't put in the time, therefore you know not what you are doing. Ask questions, get answers from your instructor or coach. Deliberate practice is useless if you are doing things wrong for x amount of hours.

5. Repetiton is the key. If you are not drilling 2 hours out of the 3 hours you are training per day, then you have no reason to ask why you aren't getting better. Deliberate practice is best utilized when you are repeating the techniques over and over. 50 reps each side is a good number to start with. Situational drilling is also a must.

6. Setting goals. If you don't know where you are going, how will you know what to practice. Setting goals is essential in order to get the most out of your practice.

7. Examine yourself daily. Keep a journal on exactly what you did that day. How many reps you completed, who beat you and why, what seemed difficult, etc etc...everything.

Majority of people I see in jiu-jitsu, including myself, have no idea what they are doing when they go in the gym. If you want to become good at something eventually you are going to have to sit down and figure out how you are going to get there. The path is not always clear, sometimes you have to take a lawnmower and a weed eater to that sucker to figure out where to go! The fundamental way to get better at jiu-jitsu is obviously mat time, but it goes beyond just sparring and going to class. You have to know a few things about yourself and the sport, and although I have not been in the game for no more than a year and some change...I have thought a lot about jiu-jitsu and I have realized that there is no SECRET FORMULA. You have to take training into your hands, go through a trial and error phase and don't just talk about it, but be about it. That means you don't necessarily have to be at Lloyd Irvin's or Alliance (champions come from everywhere) it just means you have to make the best out of your situation by training hard and training smart.

A few things come to mind when figuring out how to get better at jiu-jitsu and again this is only my opinion. Doing these things will help you squeeze as much juice out of your lemon (school/instructor) as possible.

1. Ask questions and listen. It really amazes me when I hear people complain to me about how they are not good at jiu-jitsu or how they continue to get caught in something, yet I see them leave every night right after class when there are 30 purple, brown, and black belts still on the mats twiddling their thumbs. You pay 100+ dollars to basically workout if you are not asking questions, that is expensive my friend, and to be honest...not worth it. Utilize your resources and time spent on the mats to the fullest. There are so many details in jiu-jitsu that it is impossible to even know 0.0001% of them if you are a white or blue belt. And every time you do something wrong, you are creating bad habits.

2. Journals and flow charts. You learn something new everyday in jiu-jitsu, yet you probably never write it down. Why? All the pros keep journals and flow charts because in order to get somewhere you have to know where you are going, right? Start keeping track of the techniques you learn and mapping out your own game.

3. Drill. Nuff said.

Start your 10,000 hours of deliberate practice today!

I hope you got something out of this post. If I missed something, or you want to comment please do so. Before I go always remember, all answers lie in training. The more you train, the more things you will discover. Thanks for reading.

Theo dropping knowledge

2011-11-27T20:12:00.001-08:00

"It is not the critic who counts: nor the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory or defeat."- Theodore Roosevelt (1910)

Vegetables before dessert!

2011-11-25T23:44:00.001-08:00

We have probably all heard at one time or another from our parents to eat your vegetables first, then dessert. This is a common way to reward children on doing something pertinent to their growth and development. Most children do not like this, and often try to find ways to get around eating them. When we look at it from a kid's point of view though, it's not really hard to understand. Vegetables, no matter how you cook them are not really all that tasty. Yet, a donut could be left under a sofa cushion for 4 months and still taste delicious. The facts: A kid isn't worried about diabetes or heart attacks when they are 40, they just want what is good.

This same concept can be applied to jiu-jitsu when talking about drilling. Nobody wants to do it, and will often find ways to avoid it (show up to class late, turn drilling time into a sparring match). I know I am not lying when I say that majority of people come to training everyday just to spar. Don't kid yourself naysayer, be real.

It's an epidemic, just like the little fat kids running around these days who don't eat their vegetables. People need to drill, and if you don't, you shouldn't be surprised why you have not been improving in jiu-jitsu all these years. Drilling, just like eating your vegetables, is crucial to your development in BJJ and will often times deliver faster results in a shorter amount of time than just sparring. If you don't think I am telling the truth ask all the medalist in major competitions.

We all hear the word muscle memory thrown around a lot, but looking at the state the average gym is in, it is obvious nobody has gotten it yet. I have probably only been asked to drill a handful of times, but everyone always asks to roll. Let me tell you what rolling does for your bjj when you don't couple it with drilling.......nothing. It makes you hesitant, sloppy, and you eventually develop bad habits. Most of the time I see people rolling with no direction, they get something kinda cool and can never duplicate it again. What's the point in that? Aren't you trying to improve your game?

The benefits of drilling are endless, and can save you a lot of heartache when you reach the higher belts. People who get this concept early, excel! I don't need an extra paragraph for you to know that. So do yourself a favor and eat your veggies before dessert. Thirty minutes to an hour of drilling a night before sparring will go a long way in helping you develop a more technical and confident game. Thanks for reading. Shout out to Georgette for inspiring this post!

Coach Foster teaches Shoulder Walk Escape

2011-11-23T22:35:00.001-08:00

All black belts are a treasure trove of knowledge, which is why we must constantly be asking questions. I had no idea this option even existed, but best believe I will be using it. Shout out to Coach Foster for letting me post this vid and for this very basic, but effective side control escape!

FosterBJJ

Explore BJJ

2011-11-22T03:02:00.001-08:00

Imagine BJJ as a unexplored galaxy and you are a brand new scientist out on your very first expedition. It will take you more than a decade to travel across this vast space, and you are equipped with some of the best technology and surrounded by some of the best in the field. You are given free reign to travel where you please and explore every nook and cranny and leave no stone unturned. The question I want to ask today is, will you waste your time on one planet that you think is really cool looking and has some pretty neat aliens on it? Or, will you try to explore as much as possible to have a complete understanding of the galaxy as a whole?

Where are you going Jei? Well let me tell you...

Lately, especially after this last tournament defeat, I have been contemplating a lot about "my game" and it has driven me to embark on this journey that hopefully will birth a new and improved me (meanwhile, maybe I can write on the subject and help a few people out as well). The journey starts with going back and looking at how I initially started the journey in the first place. I am still a baby blue belt, sometimes I feel like a fetus...not even a recognizable BJJ practitioner! Yet, I have started on this path of prematurely developing a game without even gaining a basic understanding of BJJ as a whole.
Specializing is not a bad thing, hell at the top levels of jiu-jitsu you see guys who specialize in specific positions all the time! But those guys are black belts, and one thing we can't do as lower level belts (white and blue) is fall into the trap of thinking we are capable of doing that. since most of us lack the mat time. I don't know how many times I have told myself I am a open guard player, and that I don't like passing guard and playing closed guard, so I don't (don't think I'm letting you off the hook either reader, lol). I have also seen many people forsake a certain aspect of jiu-jitsu, to focus primarily on one or two things. As we develop in the art, we should be mindful that the longer we allow for a certain aspect of jiu-jitsu to be uncharted territory, the longer it will take to fix because it has developed into a habit.

I had a pretty high ranking guy say to me one day, "I feel like I should still be a purple belt, because all these blues and purples are taking my back and choking me out!" Now how long do you think it is going to take this poor fella to correct the issue, compared to someone who hasn't developed the habit yet of giving up his back and just does it out of inexperience? Don't answer that. Eventually your flaws will come out, and you don't want to be a black or brown belt going back to square one, figuring out why you get your back taken 10x a night.

Pause for a little introspection: This is why my "game" doesn't translate well to competition, because there are people from "other planets" out there, and I decided to stay on the one that I was most comfortable with. Not only am I not use to responding to other positions, submissions, etc. I am not training efficiently and using my mat time wisely. If you go in the gym and do the same thing all the time, you will probably win matches...but never consistently win tournaments.

Experimentation, exploration and trial and error is the only way to get a complete look and comprehension of the BJJ Galaxy as a whole. Asking questions from more experienced grapplers and doing what the pros do also expands your knowledge of maybe the darkest corners of jiu-jitsu. The best advice I can give myself and all you other noobs out there is to explore all areas of jiu-jitsu and don't settle in a place where you feel comfortable. Thanks for reading!

Hard work makes a fearless heart

2011-11-21T02:53:00.001-08:00

My last tournament I competed in I was literally shitting bricks. I walked in the venue at least a pound overweight and weighed in at 190 with the gi, lol. I tried to keep a calm demeanor, but inside I felt a fear that I have experienced only a few times in my life...and usually it involved some sort snarling animal running behind me or a bully getting ready to pound my face in. My first match I went in the ring so scared that I literally told myself I wanted this to be over as soon as possible...I was choked unconscious within a minute. The next two matches I did fairly well in, but that was not good enough for me, it is my nature to analyze...and I desperately needed to know why my skill in the gym and in my mind does not translate in tournaments.

So I asked a few close friends, and they all gave me the same answer, that it was all mental.

No Shit.

So I realized that only I know me, and therefore I was the only one who could figure it out. I needed to take my own advice, because it had to be something deeper! I began to think of my childhood and attending church every Sunday, and I remembered a little word called faith that gave people the utmost confidence that there life was going to turn out well. The preacher said that with faith a man could move mountains. But how does this apply to jiu-jitsu?

When you step onto the mats to compete you have to believe you can win, that is number one. Till this day I still feel inadequate, and I feel like I am never good enough. I have no faith in myself (that is changing). And if you don't believe in yourself, who else will?

As I began to take this concept along with the knowledge of my shortcomings further I looked to current world champions for inspiration and ideas...and what I found that many of them have that I lack is a work ethic like no other. That was the key.

Hard work makes a fearless heart.

Why is it that a world champion is a champion in the first place? Because when he walks out to meet his opponent he believes deep down inside that this man has not worked harder than him and therefore does not deserve to continue. He is fearless, confident in his ability, and knows that the hours that he put on the mat will not be in vain.

My work ethic is good for the gym. If I want to be a gym hero, I should continue to train as I do...just enough to scrape by. However, if I want to be great than I should exceed my limits, train like a mad person, and want to win more than I want to breath so that when tournament day comes I will fear no man...because I know I will be capable of destruction. It's time I stop being a sugar bear.

"Sometimes you only get one chance to be great at something, don't let fear stifle you!"

The Art of Frugality

2011-11-09T21:08:00.000-08:00

You are up on points in a match...you pass your opponents guard for the third time racking up another 3 points. As you land in side control you very hastily (without your opponent even giving it to you) attempt an armbar. You watch in slow motion as your opponent escapes the armbar with ease, reverses you and before you know it you are being choked out...the score was 15 you 0 him. What in the fuck just happened?

My mom used to tell me growing up when I would spend my allowance that "that money burned a hole in your pocket!"...for those of you that don't understand this, it means that as soon as she gave me a little cash I spent it immediately, most of the time on nonsense. I never saved it for something bigger and better, nor did I care to think that far ahead. Usually the things I purchased were not of quality, but hey at least it was something, and something is better than nothing...right? Wrong! I see this same thing happen in jiu-jitsu all the time, only rather than actual currency its a position or submission that's burning a hole in your pocket.

Just like the moms in the grocery stores penny pinching, cutting coupons, and bargain hunting...as practitioners of the gentle art we should practice the same principle, I call this the "art of frugality".

Often times we get too excited when we are rolling and we hunt for submission after submission after submission. It is instinctual, and sometimes we can't help it...I know I sure as hell can't. In the animal kingdom it is called going for the kill, but if it is not timed correctly and executed with precision then the only thing that ends up happening is you blowing your load and your opponent wiping the sweat from his brow. I call these "phew" moments, because that's exactly what your opponent said in his head as he narrowly escaped a submission.

The goal as I said earlier is to practice the art of frugality. Do not be wasteful in your movements, and do not give your opponent anything for free. Be methodical in your rolling and wait till you find that bargain you were looking for. Majority of submissions come from successfully blocking and shutting down all your opponents reasonable options, until finally they do something terribly idiotic...then you move. Think about it, comments are welcome. Thanks for reading!

Less is more, when more is less

2011-11-08T10:40:00.000-08:00

Jiu-Jitsu is tiring on the body, everyone and their mom who trains knows this...yet, as grapplers we seem to make it 100x harder on ourselves by pushing it to the limit every time we step foot in the gym. What many of us new to the game, and even some of the old schoolers don't realize is that if your body can't stand up to the day in and day out harsh routine that is jiu-jitsu, then your game is good as dead.

The gym that I attend is very competition oriented, and although there are barely any meatheads there...we go hard. From the little 115lb girl in the pink gi to the 270lb ex-wrestler...that's just how we do it. But after a good class with specifics, nobody but a few have enough gas in them to roll more than 2 rounds (myself included). This is pretty standard at all the gyms I have attended.

So I started to think about what the problem could possibly be and I realized that its not that we train too much, its that we train too hard and never have the chance to recover. The true jiu-jitsu lifestyle does not exist for many Americans, so we end up with a sort of pseudo lifestyle that does not work well for the sport. The average guy/gal in the gym puts in a 40+ hour work week, goes straight to the gym and trains for two hours. Add in kids, weightlifting, wife/girlfriend, and other things and you can see why recovery is so difficult when you're rolling at 100% a few nights a week.

If you have this typical American life, then you should take what I am about to say very seriously "less is more, when more is less!" For some odd reason, this makes sense to me and if it doesn't to you then you will get the gist of it in a few. We all know that more mat time equals better technique right? We also know that jiu-jitsu is based on leverage, and not really strength and speed (although it helps) right? So why in the world do we continue to go in the gym and train at 100%, only to have to take days off because we are burned out????? Let go my ego.

Your goal in jiu-jitsu should be to get your technique solid and that's it. Not to go in the gym and destroy all humans for two hours and then sit at home for two days because your legs and arms feel like noodles and your neck is stuck at 45 degree angle. How will you get better doing that? The solution and best case is to train everyday at 70%. The keyword in there is everyday, because you will be able to do just that. Not only will your technique improve because you are on the mats everyday (remember 10,000 hours), but you are also giving your body a feasible load to recover from. Advice: Training hard does not mean going really fast and abandoning all technique.

The Gist: Training at a lower intensity, consistently will not only make you more resistant to burn outs and fatigue, but also improve your technique.

Don't forget to condition!
Thanks for reading

The Blurple Belt Dilemma

2011-11-04T18:11:00.000-07:00

So maybe this won't be every blue/purple belts problem, but it sure as hell is mine....just a little warning before. Lately, I have been having a terrible time with prioritizing and organizing techniques (along with their little details) in my head. After asking a few people and listening to conversations on the subject, I decided to write about "OUR" struggles....the blurple belts, bka blue and purple belts. I find these belts to be the two that make or break a jiu-jitsu practitioner, the two belts where you have either huge gains or huge losses and I think it all boils down to how you organize, prioritize, and utilize the techniques you learn.

So why isn't this everyone's dilemma? Well it could be, but let me tell you why I personally don't think it is. At white belt, you are new to almost everything related to BJJ...concepts, techniques, positions pretty much all blow over your head. Your main goal is just to survive and live another day out on the mats. Your encyclopedia of moves remains limited because you lack the mat time needed to learn more. Now the two belts I know the least about, but this is what I observe. At brown and black belt I feel as though you have gained enough experience (mat time) to pretty much know the gist of many techniques. There are not many brown and black belts that have let me down as far as questions go for various techniques. They are a rolodex of information. They have seen it all, and have perfected their own individual filing system.

At blue and purple you can execute the basics, purple even more than blue...but the issue comes down to choosing which techniques are going to help your personal game, and which ones to use for future reference. At this stage in the belts, the blurple belts should be creating their own game to become a more complete practitioner...but what are you supposed to do with all the shiet you learn??? John Bernard Will a very famous black belt from the "Dirty Dozen", the first 12 non-brazilian black belts said that the first thing you have to do is organize the techniques in two categories, what you will use in your personal game and what you will use as a reference. This may sound obvious, but I can guarantee you that you are probably not thinking this way. To me JBW's strategy involves a little bit of analysis of one's game in order to figure out your strengths as a jitsplayer and where you want to go with your game. Once you do this, then organizing them based on position and preference should become easier.

After that, JBW says to prioritize the moves based on your strengths. If you like to submit from the guard then you should think about your favorite submissions and work from there making those moves sharper adding to them as you get better making your solid go-to into a powerful combination of attacks. I think this is a good time to add that you should be careful not to give in to the "cool factor" of new techniques, because not everything will work for you. New stuff should go in the reference file in your head, and saved for later unless it can be used in your arsenal and can be picked up rather quickly. Sticking to your "bread and butter"personal game will only make the introduction of those "cool" moves easier in the future. Carefully adding techniques over a period of time to your personal game seems to be the best way to not get flustered and frustrated. Thinking of 200 ways to sweep someone in spiderguard will only get you passed, so just stick to the few things you know and get skilled at those. Thanks for reading.

Follow me on Facebook!

2011-09-20T12:20:00.000-07:00

Journey Jiu-Jitsu is now on Facebook!!

Take your own advice...

2011-09-20T12:04:00.000-07:00

I intend for this post to go two ways so bear with me, it should be a good one. I spent all night trying to wrap my head around this idea and I think I came to a reasonable explanation that I would like to share with you folks today. It is about not only taking your own advice to others, but also knowing when to not ask others for it and think yourself out of the situation.

There are times when I have foolishly sputtered out some amazing advice to white belts and even blue belts when they have asked me questions, and then a week later I noticed that I don't even do the thing that I told them to do. This is what I mean by taking your advice. It is fantastic to have people come ask you questions. It may make you feel that you are getting somewhere or that you have finally come into your own. However, if you find yourself in an armbar and you're doing everything but what you told that one white belt to do...see where I am going here. Take your own advice. Sometimes when someone ask you a question, it is a good time to drill positions and evaluate not only that person's game but yours also. You may know a ton of different positions, submissions, and escapes...but I wholeheartedly believe that giving advice also means that you must lead by example. You can easily tell someone something you saw your professor do, or a variation you watched on Youtube...but without proper experience (the move being apart of your arsenal or muscle memory) you might not be the right person to ask. Sometimes taking a step back and assessing what you really know is the best thing to do.

My next point will be a short one, but ties in to what I was saying earlier. Sometimes asking questions should not be your first option. (Not for white belts, ask as many questions as you want) Sounds weird I know, but let me explain. When you look in the mirror who do you see? Yourself. You recognize that familiar face that you see because you have lived with it along with that body for x amount of years. When you roll at night and get caught in that armbar 20 times by 20 different people, who goes home with the sore elbow? You. Nobody is more acutely aware of your situation. Nobody is more familiar with every particular scenario and potential outcome than you. So why do we go to others so often in BJJ for help/advice? Because its easy. If someone tells us what to do all the time, we rarely have to think. I said this was going to be short...psssht. And when we don't think it severely hinders our growth in the sport. Thinking for yourself means that whatever option you come up with for your particular problem will be perfectly suited for you. I have a way to clamp on a armbar, that is traditionally said to be a wrong way of doing it (but it works for me), if I had listened to people I probably wouldn't get as many armbars. I have a way of escaping them too, due to my athleticism. Thinking your way through a problem, makes you better and sometimes asking for advice could have made it worse. It's okay to ask for advice, another set of eyes never hurt nobody, but at the end of the day whose BJJ game is going to suffer the damage? Yours. So think before you ask. Take your own advice!

A state of play

2011-09-07T09:45:00.000-07:00

Monday we had a open mat session due to the holiday, and I went in with the mind state that I was going to play. I rolled with fun guys who have great attitudes and always seem to have a smile on their face despite how many times they end up tapping during training (don't get me wrong, even though I am playing I never roll with slouches). The session went well, and I can tell you now that I had a lot of fun on top of learning a lot. What made this training day (no Denzel) so different from the other days was all based on my approach/attitude to training.

Often times as adults we move forward in our endeavors with a very serious attitude. Sure there are things that you have to take serious or else you will end up without a job, in debt, or lonely, but for the most part it is safe to say that hobbies and extracurricular attitudes have a little wiggle room. When it comes to jiu-jitsu, when you are too serious about it all, it hinders your growth. Now I guess I should explain exactly what "too serious" is. I personally love jiu-jitsu with all my heart, it has changed my life tremendously and I would be heart broken if I ever had to stop doing it for some reason (knock on wood), this to me is the good kind of serious that will eventually lead to a black belt. On the other hand, too serious is when you go in the gym and all you can think about is how many people you are going to submit today because your boss pissed you off (or you leave with a count of how many people or who you submitted), or you go in day in and day out and you never smile or talk to anyone you just train, or maybe you get mad when you hear people laughing in the corner and you say to yourself "that's why I'm better than them, they don't take it seriously!". Let me be honest for a sec, I used to be that guy. When I was that guy I was getting better, no doubt, but that was only because I was training 8x a week.

When I started to look at jiu-jitsu as playtime (for lack of better words) that's when I noticed exponential growth. If you are too serious, you go in and you say "I will not tap today!". Someone can be choking you so bad that it feels like you are being beheaded, and you still won't tap. Not because you are trying to escape, but because you're serious. If you do end up tapping, now it's time to go ape shiet. Wrong mentality.

If you're not tapping, you're not learning. If you never end up in a bad position, how will you ever learn to escape? And so on. This is why kids learn so well, they don't give a shiet, like the honey badger! They are always having fun and slowly gaining skills at the same time. You learn jiu-jitsu by exploring and gaining experience through trial and error, not by being close minded and serious. Next time you roll just play around with different positions and create scenarios and see if you can think your way out of them. This is how I started to look at training now that I can't train as much as I did as a white belt, and I can say that despite a 3-4x a week training schedule, I still learn just as much as I did at 8x a week. Its all about attitude and your mentality. Think like a child, minus the tantrums. If you stay in a state of play, you will learn more each day. Ciao!

The better the pressure, the easier the finish...

2011-09-05T16:52:00.000-07:00

One of the main concepts in Jiu-Jitsu is pressure. Pressure, in my opinion is one of the most effective ways to show superior technique, but can also show that a person has not yet grasped the fundamentals of the art. Jiu-Jitsu is based on controlling your opponent and eventually incapacitate him/her. This cannot be done without the right amount of pressure and positioning. Now when I talk about pressure I don't mean just plopping your fat ass on top of someone. There is a difference between pressure and just being plain ol' heavy from weight and burgers. Applying pressure the right way consists of nothing but technique, mainly because it involves proper angles and placement of your body. To back up that claim, think back to a time when you have rolled with a 170lb guy that made you feel as if you were thrown in a trash compactor, and at the same time think back to when you rolled with a 220lb guy that felt like a beach ball. It is all in the technique.

The great thing about pressure being a technical aspect rather than a physical one is the fact that anyone can apply it. Like in the example previously stated, sometimes the lightest guys feel the heaviest and it is a testament to the sport, anyone can do it! I got a good lesson in pressure from Prof. Carlos a few months back. He was watching me roll with a guy and he noticed that I kept bouncing from position to position never applying pressure and always missing submissions. He told me what he had noticed and suggested that I control my opponent to the point where he is so uncomfortable that he hands me submissions on a silver platter. This made so much sense to me because around that time I couldn't submit a corpse. So I began to work on applying the most amount of pressure I possibly could in each and every position that allowed it. The best compliment I have ever gotten after that day was "Geez man, how much do you weigh???". Lol.

Which brings me to my next point, the thing I love about pressure is that it affects your opponents mental state more than their physical (but in some cases it can affect both equally). It gives off the illusion that you weigh more than you really do, causing your opponent to question his own sanity. "This guy just told me he weighs 175, but he feels like he is 300lbs...am I going bananas?". Pressure gives a feeling of being trapped and helpless, and when we become trapped we begin to revert back to our primal instincts which usually involves flopping around and hoping we will get out. Have you ever thrown a sheet over a dog and held him? They go fuckin nuts!!! The same thing with humans, we go crazy because when good pressure is being applied and your opponent is settled...chances of escape is slim to none and therefore you go in "by any means necessary mode" to escape. I have had black belts ball me up so bad I felt like I was stuffed in a mason jar and thrown in a well. No matter what I tried to do, I was trapped. This is why they say position before submission, because good positioning almost always involves great pressure, and great pressure almost always will get you the finish. Do Work!

Plateau.Mesa.Butte.Whatever

2011-07-07T00:44:00.001-07:00

You slap hands, fist pound, and get your grips...the fight has started. Next thing you know you're being tapped in a crazy guillotine your opponent has been working on. Fluke. You slap hands again and this time you go for your famous open guard technique that sets up the triangle beautifully. Stuffed and passed. Baseball choke. You find yourself not only tapping but gasping for air. Your training partner is all smiles, because it was the first time he has ever tapped you. Standing up you realize that you've hit it, you try to lie to yourself as you walk back to the changing room, but it just isn't working because you can't lie to yourself for 2 months straight. You turn to get one more glance at the mats and see Sammy Submission getting high fives from everyone, because they were impressed with his performance and were hoping for an encore. You are devastated.

You are garbage.

As a white belt, I thought that plateaus were a myth. Of course this was me being naive, but its good to be optimistic right? Plateaus happen to everyone for a multitude of reasons, but its important not to mistake it for a "funk". Being in a funk comes from temporary issues and situations that are affecting you mentally and keeping you from performing at your best. Perhaps you are nursing a nagging injury, lost your job, your cat died, or you're just not feeling BJJ right now...in any case, funks are different (and waaaay better). You know you are on a plateau when no matter what you do, the only person you can tap is that one pale and sickly looking white belt who always has to stop to cough or scratch something while rolling...sad. Or the choke that you can get on anybody (yeah the one you got on Roger Gracie back in 2009) doesn't even work on Mallory, the 13 yr old orange belt. This my friend is a plateau, and the bad thing about them is that they can last from a few weeks to months. Hell, I heard about this one guy that plateau'd in 2003 and is still lost up there somewhere figuring out how to hip escape.

How do I get out of this rut, you say...well I actually don't know exactly. But here are 3 things that I have done, and hopefully they will work for you!

1. Take a break. Often times we try to break through our barriers in jiu-jitsu by training more. I know BJJ is all about the details, but plateaus are nothing to mess around with and sometimes you lose sight of the big picture when you only focus on the details. Sometimes it is good to just take a step back and breath in the hopes that some clarifying or potentially game-changing epiphany emerges. If not, at least you got to replenish your chakra in the process.

2. Change your approach. Maybe you are getting tapped out, passed, or controlled by everyone because you make the same mistake all the time and they just capitalize on it. Maybe that is the perfect time to disassemble your game and figure out where your flaws are and fix them. Even if you are not the type to ask questions, this is the perfect time to do so. If you're lucky maybe someone at the gym is good at doing exactly what you suck at and can open you up to a whole new world of opportunities.

3. Think outside your game. Maybe your technique is great, but your cardio sucks. You have excellent flexibility, but you are not explosive. These are things that can send you into a plateau without you even realizing it until months down the line. It's important to have great technique, but your physical attributes count just as much. Try dropping a few training days to go hit up the gym, the park, rock wall, etc. Not only will you be doing a little of #1, but you will also be improving yourself in the process.

Al Bundy is a Black Belt?

2011-06-06T12:32:00.000-07:00

Via Inner Game of Jiu-Jitsu

The difference...

2011-06-04T12:51:00.000-07:00

Kid vs Bear

2011-05-27T23:02:00.001-07:00

What must be learned by us, is instinctual to them...awesome technique this bear has!

Back to square one...

2011-05-23T03:44:00.001-07:00

My first blue belt tournament went down last weekend at Sumner High School at the Revolution. Now for those of you that don't live in Washington, the Revolution is kind of a big deal around here (wow I sound like one of those redneck dudes from Texas talking about HS football). We don't have any fancy IBJJF events, Grappler's Quest, or even a NAGA tournament, what we have is an awesome brown belt by the name of Jeff who has built an event from the ground up and has given us an outlet to compete in BJJ. This one was no different. I have to admit that after 9 tournaments as a white belt, this was the most nervous I had ever been, but I didn't let anyone know this. The main reason being was I didn't know what to expect. As a white belt, I knew what my skills were and I knew that my opponent more than likely had just about as much experience as me (give or take) or far less. However, this does not work at the other levels where the guys could range anywhere between 2-5 yrs of experience. How do you compete with that or even prepare? So I went into my first match with the knowledge that the guy I was fighting has beaten a few of the guys at my school that can beat me. Thanks Alex! :) He also had four stripes on his blue belt. The match started out well with me controlling him in my guard, but I didn't have a strategy or coach so I winged it and needless to say I lost via bow and arrow. The second match I came back from a 4 point deficit to lead 6-4, but also was overcome by experience with another choke. The main point I guess (just thought I would update you guys), is that I am back to square one. I recently had a talk with a friend of mine about this and his exact statement was "welcome to being the bitch white belt all over again!", and he is exactly right. In fact, at this stage in my blue belt I am just a glorified white belt. I can trounce on a white belt all day, but by lack of experience the same will happen to me from a competent and seasoned blue. The thing I learned as a blue belt is that you can learn tricks and beat a white belt with them...my spider guard was dominant, but more than likely a good blue will know how to handle it. Meaning you can rush a lot of things as a white belt and even bypass some basics to win, but as you reach those higher levels it all comes down to mat time and experience. Fact! I am back to being the little pup, against a whole heap of Great Danes...and nothing is going to change that but time on the mat and hard work. Good thing about that is I am ready for it, and will be getting it in this summer at least 7-8 times a week in preparation for the next Revolution, Boston Open, and the US Open. I know I am back to square one, but hard work will eventually allow me to get to the top in no time.

The C in champion...

2011-03-14T18:54:00.000-07:00

Anyone that competes in jiu-jitsu wants to win, even more they want to be champion. No matter what people say, there is no gu/girl going out there that wants to lose (and learn from the experience). Yet, at the end of the day only one person's hand is raised...what's up with that? Many people want to attribute it to skill, but everyone knows that is not the case all the time. Most of us going to Pans or even competing in a local tournament, train our asses off on a weekly basis. So what is needed to become a champion? Warning: Here comes my opinion. Personally, I think champions dissect the mental aspect of the game more that anyone else. Imagine if you are a blue belt training for Pans; you ran your ass off, drilled your armbars 100,000,000,000x, were shark tanked by Helio and Rickson Gracie, and spent 6 months in Brazil. Yet, you still lose. I have been here before countless times. Tournament after tournament I went back to the drawing board tightening up my skill and training ten times harder then I did the last time, only to lose again at the next tournament. The problem was I wasn't thinking about the C in Champion. The C in champion is all the characteristics you need to become one, Here they are:

Competitiveness: Champions love to compete. A competitor is someone who refuses to lose, and finds ways to win. Who shows up on match day and produces results. They don't quit. They take setbacks and mistakes, and turn them into gold. Gold medals that is.

Confidence: Champions are confident. In there mind they are the favorite to win. Confident athletes believe they can't be beaten and have a attitude that nothing can be thrown their way that they can't handle. Confidence keeps thoughts of defeat out of the heads of champions. If you believe you can't win, you won't.

Control: Champions have control. This to me is one of the most important characteristics to have in jiu-jitsu. Often times the main goal of your opponent is to overwhelm you with technique in order to catch you in a submission or bad position. Your ability to maintain poise, concentration, and emotional control will increase your chances of being able to handle whatever is thrown your way.

Committed: Champions focus all their time and energy on their goal. You shouldn't wonder why you are not black belt world champion if you are a doctor. Champions are committed to jiu-jitsu full time...24/7...365 days a year. The reason why is because they want it more. While you want to make more money at your job, appease your family, or finish school...champions are out there ensuring that one day jiu-jitsu can be their livelihood. They are 100% committed.

Courage: Champions are scared, but they still take risk. A courageous person knows what they have to do to succeed, and are willing to get there by any means necessary. They don't let fear stop them. Courage allows you to reach your full potential, and become a champion.

Consistency: Champions are consistent. You never see Roger Gracie losing his first match. Champions possess an inner strength that allows them even at their worst, to compete at their best. How many times have you said, I'm off today? How can you be off today if you wer eon yesterday...think about it. Champions don't make excuses.

Prison Yard competition training...

2011-03-08T15:56:00.000-08:00

Hump or Dump: Training at other gyms

2011-03-06T06:33:00.000-08:00

Hump: OK, maybe the picture is a bit much, but I cannot stress how important it is to train at other gyms. A controversial topic amongst a lot of people, training at other gyms should definitely be a staple in your Jiu-Jitsu diet. Everyone has something different to offer no matter the belt level, age, or weight; so why not try to come in contact with as many people as possible? Now there definitely is a balance, so if you find yourself training at other gyms more than your own, then maybe you need to access some things about your academy because you are probably subconsciously telling yourself you don't want to train there. There is no doubt about it that Jiu-Jitsu has evolved, and part of the theory of evolution is VARIATION. If there is no variation, there cannot be evolution, catch my drift? If you are constantly training with the same people over and over again, eventually your rolls will begin to look like a stale french fry under the seat of your car. This is part of the reason why people compete, to test their skills against people they have never seen before (because rolling with the same cats is like only being able to watch reruns of Happy Days, oh God!)...and it is the number one reason why people who compete are usually the best (at their belt level) in their gym. Yet competition still doesn't provide you with everything you need, and because of the competitive nature of it, the only thing you learn is what you need to improve upon. When you train at different gyms not only do you get to roll with different people, but you also get a different type of instruction. This allows you to have an advantage over people who don't train at other schools, because you are getting this "VA-RI-A-TION". Another benefit is it actually helps your gym in the process because the more new shiet you bring back, the better everyone else gets too. So before you pass judgement on the guy that trains at a few other gyms a couple of times a week, just realize you are being a hater because you didn't think of it first. Payce!

Unstoppable.

2011-03-06T01:54:00.001-08:00

BEAST MODE BITCHES!

Start a timeline

2011-03-05T20:37:00.001-08:00

One thing I have noticed among my friends in the jiu-jitsu world is that they do not keep track of anything in their career. I know to some it is not important, but I firmly believe that it is important to keep track of all of your BJJ accomplishments, big and small. Sure you don't have to go as far as some of us addicts and start a blog, but something as simple as a Word document with dates and a little excerpt, will also do the job. When people ask you when you started training, how you got your purple belt, or how many times you have competed...you should know. Here is my jiu-jitsu timeline, it is still a baby:

March 9th 2010: Started BJJ @ Gracie Barra Ballard
April 14th 2010: Rcvd two stripes on white belt
May 2010: Competed at first inner school tourney (0-2)
June 9th 2010: 3rd stripe on white belt
July 17th 2010: Competed at first local Revolution tourney (1-1)
September 18th 2010: Competed at Texas Open (1-1)
September 29th 2010: Rcvd 4th stripe on white belt
October 2nd 2010: Competed at Seattle Open (2-1) 2nd Place
October 15th 2010: Competed at US Open (1-1)
November 13th 2010: Competed at Revolution tournament (2-1)
January 29th 2010: Competed at Seattle Open (1-1)

Simple. Give it a try.

ACT

2011-03-05T04:44:00.000-08:00

Many people have no idea where they are going, and usually end up somewhere they would not rather be. However, extraordinary people usually know where they are going from day one. Mainly because they live backwards. I know that sounds strange, but let me explain. They create a future for themselves, and live into it doing whatever is necessary to reach their goals. An exercise to help you do this is called ACT:

A-stands for accept your present state. Understand your weaknesses and strengths so that you can improve upon them over time.

C-stands for create your desired state. Close your eyes or sit quietly somewhere for awhile and see yourself exactly the way you want to be. Write down exactly what you see.

T-stands for take the steps to get there. Gather your strengths, weaknesses and dreams together and embark on the journey to your desired future. Set small goals to help you improve in places that need work, and stay in an environment that is conducive to your growth.

"Our lives are composed greatly of dreams, and they must be brought into connection with action. They must be woven together."

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined."

Thanks for reading, Ciao!

I don't know about you...

2011-03-01T17:56:00.000-08:00

...but this is the dopest MMA submission ever!!

Tweaks

2011-03-01T10:46:00.000-08:00

Getting the snot beat out of you on the mats is not fun, but getting said snot beat out of you when you are playing your "game" is even worse. This is the point where I see most people giving up on what they know, due to the frustration of it not being perfect, to adopt something that seems easier but in the end will yield the same results stated earlier. For example, say you have a really good guard game, them Johnny Kimura comes in one day and is passing your guard like Nightcrawler from X-Men, then when he does it he kimuras both of your arms at the same time, while collar choking you with his teeth. You just can't win. He continues to do this all week long until you, fed up with the nonsense, switch to being a guard passer because he makes it look so easy. Bad idea. Now what doesn't make sense about this situation is that you have been perfecting your guard for the last 3 months, and invested about $500 in instructional DVDs, and now since that one guy (or even multiple guys) beat you, you give up on it all together. Never happened to you? Well it has for me, and I seriously tried to become a guard passer for about 3 weeks until I realized that I was being beaten because there were serious flaws in my game. It would have been easier to just run away and start fresh, but would my game improve that way?

Note: The reason I moved on was because I was told by a few higher belts that what I was doing was too advanced, and wouldn't work for me.

So I went back to the drawing board, and started pinpointing the areas that I was having a hard time with. See when you notice little defects, you have to disassemble your game and figure out when you make the most glaring mistakes. Sometimes if those mistakes are not huge, you can make little tweaks here and there. Maybe you just need to drop your hips in side control, or perhaps you abandon submissions too late causing your opponent to escape and get a dominant position, either way little tweaks can go a long way to improving your game. Most of the time it is all you need, while other times may take something extra like, a private with your professor or extra drilling. One thing you have to remember though is that neglecting to fix the problem and moving on to something else is not going to help. Being persistent even when it means getting beat up is the only way you will take your game to the next level. So grab that wrench and tighten up those positions folks!

In case you didn't get the Nightcrawler reference.

Unlocking your potential

2011-02-27T21:30:00.000-08:00

Potential is a mystery to us. We often see it exhibited in others, but never seem to realize that we ourselves have it too. We walk on the mats daily and look at Johnny Kimura and say "Golly, I wish I had a kimura like that!", not realizing that we are capable of that same success and our personal potential is limitless. Most of us have dreams to accomplish what seems to be nearly impossible to us. Overwhelmed by the possibilities, we sabotage our own efforts by either not putting in the work or talking ourselves out of achieving our goals altogether. We all cannot be Roger Gracie or Johnny Kimura, but we can become the best version of ourselves through hard work and dedication. Now I don't profess to be a scholar on the subject, I'm just a white belt, but I have had success in unlocking my own potential on the mats with three simple words: Challenge, Risk, and Persistence.

Challenge
I went through a stage where I was scared to go against anyone higher than whitebelt. Then I started to realize that you can't get any better if you remain in your comfort zone. The key to reaching your potential is to push yourself beyond your limits. We can do this by consistently challenging ourselves and overcoming the barriers that hold us back. Once we overcome these barriers, we then understand that we are not as weak as we thought we were, and that epiphany alone is what causes us to reach a new level. Imagine if you are technically sound, but you are lacking in overall fitness. If you allow yourself to continue in that state, you are disconnecting yourself from what you truly want, which leads to acceptance and compromise. You may compromise your cardio, flexibility, strength, and explosiveness causing your game to lack in many areas, but accepting the challenge to eat right and work out may be exactly what you need to surpass your current limitations and unlock your full potential. "Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they are meant to help you discover what is possible."

Risk
As you begin to challenge yourself on the mats (example: rolling with higher belts) you will notice that you will get more and more opportunities to start taking risks. Avoiding risk is the number one way we inhibit our growth. The scariest thing ever to me was getting out of armbars, there are a few escapes from there and most of them consist of the possibility of getting your arm torn off if you attempt the escape, but in order for you to learn the escape...you have to take the risk. I see more people get tapped on the mats because of inaction, than I do from action, and it is all because they don't take risk. If you take the risk, sure you may get tapped, but at least you have something to work with for next time. "Go out on a limb, its where all the fruit are located."

Persistence
You can challenge yourself all day, and risk every limb on your body, but if you are not persistent in your efforts to reach your potential...you never will. A lack of persistence is what keeps people who have all the talent in the world from achieving success and reaching their goals. Persistence equals action, and action equals results. No matter how long it takes you to reach blue belt, if you remain persistent you will eventually get it. It is all about continuous effort, the minute you stop moving towards a goal is the same minute you convince yourself it is not worth it. "The most essential factor is persistence-the determination never to allow your energy or enthusiasm to be dampened by discouragement."

Do these three things and I promise you that you will start to unlock your true potential. thanks for reading. Ciao!

Sorry guys

2011-02-09T20:26:00.000-08:00

Sorry guys...I have been training for Pan Ams and have found myself struggling to write anything good or even come up with worthwhile ideas. I promise I will get back on it in a few weeks or so. Thanks!

Competing...

2011-02-02T23:32:00.000-08:00

"Competition is the incentive to progress"-Me

A good ol' fashioned ass kicking...

2011-02-02T22:28:00.000-08:00

Today I got my ass kicked by a brown belt named Yuki. It seems that every time he tells me I'm getting better, he kicks it up 8 notches. I am beginning to learn that once you get to that level you almost have a infinite amount of levels. But back to the point. It is important in jiu-jitsu that you get your ass kicked, plain and simple. In a sport that involves technique to succeed, it is very rare that you find a natural talent in the art of jiu-jitsu. And even if the person is a natural, they probably won't have technique. So the most important part of learning jiu-jitsu is getting beat up. You can come to class 7x a week, eat, sleep, and poop jiu-jitsu and still not get good if you aren't getting whupped up on. My professor once told me that if you're going into the gym daily and you're always beating up on people, how will you learn what to do when the guy you go against cannot be beaten so easily...this was a profound statement because for awhile that was my only purpose in the gym, try to beat people. This was done to improve my aggressiveness, but still for a good two months, it killed my progress. To some this may be pretty intimidating to hear, but in a sport that involves live sparring/training...it is imperative that you get beat up. In fact, the more you get beat up...the better you get. Besides, if you don't get beat up, how else will you learn how to dish it out when you're a brown belt? lol

Why I...

2011-01-24T10:56:00.000-08:00

I have wrote a couple of "Why I" pieces before, in fact, I have wrote a piece on the exact same subject I will be writing on today, only this time an effort has been made to really delve into the reason I do things through deep thought and reflection. Today's two questions I reluctantly asked myself (to answer truthfully) is why I do jiu-jitsu and why I compete. The reason why these questions have come up (again) is because I was forced to question myself after a conversation I had with my professor and thoughts of actually quitting jiu-jitsu scurried about my head.

Most of my life I never really had a choice in anything I wanted to do or how I wanted to do it. I went to a total of about 5-6 schools in 4 different states, and I never really made solid bonds with people. I barely played sports until high school and very rarely was I ever doing anything remotely outgoing (I had a very sheltered childhood). I was also bullied beyond belief for me and my mother's financial situation, a very debilitating stutter, and the fact that my father was not in the picture at the time. My mother was also very religious, which like i said kept me from doing anything remotely outgoing (except boy scouts, which was through the church...lol).

I joined the military after high school to try to shape my own path for a change and get away like I did so many times as a child. Packing up and leaving was very easy. But then my military career was cut short by a lot of bad decisions on my part, I completed 3 yrs. I kicked a few rocks around for a bit, trying to figure out what I wanted to do and how to go about doing it. I got married, had a kid but still had not accomplished anything in life worth noting. I had let anxiety and fear of being a failure control my life for so long that I was actually becoming a failure. That's when I dropped all the excuses, all my past mistakes, all the bullshiet I have gone through, all the tears, and pain...and I started jiu-jitsu.

It's so funny when my old friends (ones who remember me as a crybaby that used to get beat up and "punked" all the time) hear that I do jiu-jitsu. First thing they say is, I would've never thought you would do something like that. Not trying to make myself out to be a tough guy or anything, but just trying to prove the point that doing jiu-jitsu is so unlike me.

I hear a lot of people saying that jiu-jitsu saved their life, and I am honestly one of those people. There used to be a time (and there is still some of that old me left) that I would never put myself in a position where I could get hurt, talked about, laughed at, or fail. Which is why it took me 2 years from when I first heard about jiu-jitsu to even start it, even then I loved it. From the start I knew that jiu-jitsu would help me get over some of the issues that I was dealing with, in a way it was kind of like therapy. Most of the people who do it, know the feeling I am talking about, but they attribute it as some sort of addiction.

The way I did jiu-jitsu, you would think it was an addiction though. I showed up to every class I could and tried to soak up as much as I possibly could. I can guarantee a lot of people thought I was going to burn myself out, but the information they lacked was critical to knowing why exactly I train the way I do. You see, in my gym there are doctors, lawyers, IT's, programmers, you know people who have something else outside of BJJ that says...look I did something in life, I made good decisions. I don't. So I train like a madman and hope jiu-jitsu can take me somewhere.

I was talking to my professor the other day and I told him, I hate competing. He sort of laughed and said, " Then why do you do it so much?". I gave him the short and dirty and just said I want to get better and be high level. Nobody wants to hear the whole story, and the only reason I am talking about it on here is because its my blog and 10 yrs from now I am going to look at this and say, I did it. But in reality the reason I compete is because I am scared. The anxiety I feel before a competition cannot even be put into words. The pressure, the intimidation, the crowd scares the shiet out of me. Until those feelings go away, I won't stop competing.

Jiu-Jitsu will help lead me to reinvention.

What's mo' important?

2011-01-18T00:10:00.000-08:00

Magnet Jiu-Jitsu

2011-01-17T02:43:00.001-08:00

As of late, jiu-jitsu has not been my number one priority, because I feel like I know enough general concepts, that I don't have to let it run my life...completely, lol. Yet, I can't help but have those nights where I cannot sleep because I have a multitude of ideas streaming through my head like Netflix. Sometimes I can no longer distinguish the difference between my ardor and obsession with BJJ, so I guess I won't try any longer. This morning's thought (that I must free from the asylum I call my mind) is magnet jiu-jitsu.

Over the last couple of weeks I have watched plenty of BJJ matches and noticed that a guy that "orbits" without remaining tight or establishing control first...never passes or maintains position (unless he is fast and athletic, but that only takes you so far). Now I know a lot of you may be wondering, what does he mean by orbit? Well, an orbiter is a guy that may be in contact with his opponent, but transitions very "loosely" and 9 times out of ten loses position. I see these guys chasing their opponent trying to pass looking very heliocentric, or trying to transition from position to position leaving enough space to rent out. This used to be me.

Now to help explain the concept that I had brewing in my mind, I am going to metaphorically use the magnet. Sure I could have used tape, glu-jitsu, or some other sticky material; but I like magnet, and you will see why in a minute. As we all know a magnet is an object that possesses the properties that allows it to attract to another object. What we also know about magnets, just by going to our refrigerator is that unlike glue and such, it can still move while in contact with the object. This movement is important in BJJ, because it you were glued to your opponent not only would it be messy but you wouldn't move.

Now unlike the orbiter, the magnet will not lose "close" contact with his opponent. The magnet will also ensure that every body part that is near his opponent remains tight, so tight that even the strongest (fastest or most flexible) of adversaries won't be able to relieve themselves of this force or pressure. When you are playing magnet jiu-jitsu your transitions from position to position can still be explosive, but the contact cannot change. For instance, if you are passing the guard your goal is to turn your opponent into a paraplegic (not literally, please). Due to your close proximity and overwhelmingly magnet-like tightness, your opponent is now dead in the water, and you can have your way with him. If you orbit with your arms all lose, with the base of a newborn calf...you will get swept or submitted.

As a magnet you use everything you can to stay close to your opponent. Has anyone ever used their head and shoulder to pin an arm you were trying to armbar? Magnet! Has anyone ever scooped both legs and flattened them out with your chest to pass? Maggggnneeeeeeeet! Almost every position in jiu-jitsu can be applied to this concept, yet we see so many people who can't apply the pressure from any position. Everything can be used, the more used the more effective you will be at it. Remember always stay tight and control your opponent...be that weirdo in the gym that seems like he's hugging everyone while rolling. It will work. Below is a perfect example of Magnet jiu-jitsu...Sebastian gives this guy 0 space.

Habits...

2011-01-14T08:01:00.001-08:00

When you wake up in the morning what are some of the things you do? Perhaps you brush your teeth, take a shower. Maybe you pray, eat breakfast, or do a little workout. Think about when you were a child or when you first started something you wanted to make into a habit, how did it go? You probably did not remember to do it daily, nor did it stick right away. The reason being is because in order for something to be turned into a habit, it must be done on a regular basis. Even if we examine the bad, smoking, we see that lung cancer from smoking doesn't develop until years after your first puff. Or even with the overconsumption of calories per day, it takes a while to get fat, right?

If we applied this theory to our jiu-jitsu, we would realize that we could improve or get worse over time if we choose the right/wrong habits. Often times in class I look around during drills and I see people very lazily doing the technique. They are not actively completing the technique (where they are conscious of the details), but rather they are letting it passively go over them, as if there is something else on their minds. This is the first step to creating bad habits. It's like trying to study with the T.V on, you won't learn anything. When drilling and listening to instruction, you should be an active participant asking questions and allowing the details to stick by doing the technique correctly.

The funny thing about good/bad habits in jiu-jitsu is, you can always tell who has them. It is definitely apparent in sparring when you see someone getting submitted, passed, and just manhandled all day, erday. Normally, the one that is doing the handling is the better technician and the one who is getting handled is lacking the "habits" to protect themselves from the onslaught. I have stressed the importance of drilling on this blog before, but I have not stressed how important it is to get into the habit of paying attention to the details in the technique so that they remain in your mind. It is easy to remember how an arm bar works, but the details in which to make it an inescapable position for your adversary is what counts. I hope this helps fellow white belt.

BJJ in concepts

2011-01-07T23:56:00.000-08:00

This picture pretty much explains it all. It also does a good job of conveying how I felt a couple of months ago. I was learning too much jiu-jitsu! I know some of you are saying, how on earth could you possibly learn too much jiu-jitsu...isn't that a good thing? At first I thought it was, I came to every class and tried to retain everything I saw.Despite my excellent memory, I still became overwhelmed. Eventually, I started to use a technique that would combat this problem and as a result I have watched my jiu-jitsu advance over a matter of weeks. Hell, it would even be safe to say that everyday I make drastic improvements, because of all the little adjustments I make are not based on one single technique.

Which brings me to the approach I have taken towards my jiu-jitsu that has not only helped me improve but saved me alot of time and effort. I think about jiu-jitsu in broad concepts. I started applying this technique first in math class. As you all don't know, lol, I am an idiot when it comes to math. Not only does it take me longer to understand things, but I have a hard time retaining the information. In my Algebra class at school I was doing bad in the beginning of the quarter, I was making 70's on tests and then couldn't remember the math just a week later. It was frustrating. I had to do something quick. The more I thought about the math, the more confused I got, because I was just trying to remember every chapter and every rule in the book.

Then one day it hit me, which this probably hits a 9th grade algebra student immediately, but not me. If you do not understand one concept in math, it will be hard for you to understand the harder material. I began to look back in the beginning chapters and really paid attention to the roots of Algebra...like terms, distributing, getting the variable by itself, etc etc. In a matter of a week my grades rose dramatically in homework assignments and tests. I was on to something. Immediately, I took my idea to the mats and began to figure out the roots of jiu-jitsu. I looked at sweep mechanics, the idea of a choke and arm locks, guard passing fundamentals, etc and instantly saw improvements in my rolls. I was taking the very basic techniques, and since I thought of them as broad concepts, was able to retain more moves without really knowing moves. Weird.

Think of it this way. In the beginning you learn basic arm bars from mount and closed guard, but I guarantee you there are 1,000 ways to get an armbar. Lately, I have been getting arm bars from the oddest places. The same goes for chokes, kimuras, sweeps, guard, leg locks, all positions and submissions pretty much. I see other white belts struggling in class just to get to a position they know, when I see 5 other things they could do to get there. Like my professor always tells me "There is always another way.". This is why jiu-jitsu always evolves because the elite think this way, they have to. There are specific moves that can be done in jiu-jitsu, but they will only get you so far. It is more important to learn the concept of something first, then you can be ready for anything.

"An arm only has to be bent a certain way, to get the tap. Where your body is really doesn't matter."

Ego stroke...

2011-01-06T01:06:00.000-08:00

As a white belt every now and then you get compliments that give you hope. The power of a higher belts words have been known to break or uplift the spirits of even the strongest and manliest of white belts. Today I was told something that seriously had me smiling the whole day. As you all know one of my main goals for this year is to make my guard impassable, in hopes of effectively being able to fend off any and all opponents. While rolling today with one of our awesome brown belts, I thought it was just a routine ass-kicking... but after wards he came up to me and said, "when we were rolling today, I was thinking to myself, how in the hell am I going to pass Jay's guard when he is a purple belt? When I was in side control I had to take a break.". Now I know you're thinking, that is a long way from now, pump your breaks there cowboy. But to hear someone say that means that as of now they are having a hard time dealing with my guard, even though they can still pass. It's progress, baby steps. I am tired of trying to take leaps and bounds, it is easier to crawl before you walk.

The next big thing...

2011-01-04T20:21:00.001-08:00

Life and Jits...

2011-01-03T23:41:00.000-08:00

"Doing well in life and other endeavors has nothing to do with how strong you are, how skilled, or how you look. It is about strategy. Poor planning yields poor results."-Me

Yummy...

2011-01-03T02:36:00.001-08:00

I'm Back...12 goals for 12 months in 2011

2011-01-03T01:30:00.000-08:00

So this not so regularly scheduled program lately is back on air, after a brief hiatus I will be bringing you my thoughts on the daily. Well maybe not daily (school is going to tough this semester), but as often as I possibly can. I am noticing that the new blog craze lately has been resolutions, well I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I have none. My jiu-jitsu game is that of the Gods, and I will win the Europeans, Pans, Worlds, US Open, and every local tournament in every state because that's how disgustingly good I am...and I am a cyborg. Sike. As you can see I am in one great mood, besides the nagging shoulder injury that will not go away, I have reason to be. This year I feel is my year to evolve and although I may come out of every tournament win less, I could careless. Tournaments are no longer my focus because I realize that in my current situation...bjj level, age, marital and child status, lack of health care, and school; I will never be a world champion level jiu-jitsu guy. Yes, I train 5-6x a week (sometimes more)...yes I eat well, and yes I work out. But there is 1,000 guys at the least who are doing it 30x better than I am. With that, I do not stand a chance. Maybe I will shoot for another goal of being a good instructor, and live vicariously through my daughter who will be starting jiu-jitsu very soon at the tender age of 2 3/4. Lol. With all that being said this year I want to make very small goals in order to work my way up to the big un's. Here are 12 goals for the 12 months of 2011:

1st Goal: Win some local tournaments. I feel that if I want to compete at the top level, it would be dumb and pointless to do so if I can't win the local tournaments. I now look at it like high school sports. Not everyone makes it to regional or state, and in order to do so you have to win district. If I cant win the local Revolution tournaments here, I will not go and embarrass myself and my coach at Mundials, PanAms, or US Open. Case closed.

2nd Goal: Make my guard impassable, or as close to it as possible: Jiu-Jitsu is guard. No doubt about it. If people can't pass your guard, there is not much they can do except get frustrated, breath hard, and wipe sweat bullets from their brow. I have improved my guard a lot over the last few months, but it is not where I want it to be. I'm not a blue belt yet, but if a blue belt can easily pass my guard I don't deserve it yet.

3rd goal: Get my blue belt. I was obsessing over this thing for months, and when I was passed up, I realized that maybe I wasn't there yet. So I began to work harder, train smarter, check my ego, and help people. Over the last month I have made strides in my game. Amazing how much weight lifts off of you when you don't worry about those stupid little things. Yet, in order to reach other goals...I need to move up. So it is not necessarily a goal I am working towards, because I feel I am there it is just a goal I am waiting on, that will keep me working hard.

4th goal: Lose the nervousness, it ain't cute. Anyone who has seen me roll or have rolled with me knows that I do not lack skill. You can clearly go to competitions and see who prepared for the test and who didn't. My problem is I am weak mentally. I put so much pressure on myself that I completely lose focus when I am out there on the mats. I am always thinking what people think of me, what my coach is saying in his head, and wondering how long my opponent has been training that I completely forget jiu-jitsu during competition. Because of this I almost quit competing completely, because I hate that feeling. How am I ever going to do well if I'm afraid to put it all on the line? Something I am working on within myself.

5th Goal: Cross train more often. We have a total of 5 Gracie Barra's in Seattle, and I have only trained at 3. We have a few other gyms like Foster's and a new one (on of our purple's is doing the damn thing) too...all full of great people to train with. Our gym has really been stagnate lately, as majority of the people who train there don't really train to maximum potential, and more so do it just for fun. So I need to get in my car and go train at the different academies so I can get some better rolls in here and there. the more games I see, the better I will become.

6th Goal: Work on going for the kill. A couple months ago you could say I had a very lazy spider guard game, and this little period of time may have hurt my game a bit. I was not attacking with submissions as I was a sweep machine. Yes, I could sweep dust of a ceiling fan in a cathedral, but I wasn't really focused on finishing fights. Now whenever I roll, I am looking to end it and even time myself in my head. That is the point of jiu-jitsu right? defend yourself first, but go for the kill and end the fight as soon as possible. Although people say jiu-jitsu is a chess match, they must not watch the matches below black belt, because those lower belts are constantly trying to pass and finish at an unbelievable pace. That's what I need to work on.

7th Goal: Work on flexibility. This is something I used to be upset about. Every time I came to class I would say to myself, look at your leg...that is pitiful you can't put it in that position. I would try to sit in Indian style and say, wow Jamel you have the flexibility of an 80 yr old man. Now 9 months later I am noticing dramatic improvements. I am no idiot though. I am a guard player. I have pretty much been labeled and packaged as one, so I know I need more flexibility than what I have. I have kicked enough people in the head and face to know I am not there yet. I have had to grab my leg and put it somewhere enough times to know I'm not gymnast.

8th Goal: Tap more often. I was going to write a whole post on this, but I thought I would add it in here and kill two birds with one choke. I need to tap more. It's all about saving your limbs and I have had nagging shoulder pains in both shoulders for months now, because I refuse to tap to armbars early in practice. I know how to get out of armbars, so there is no reason why I should be using all my might to get out of them in practice. Just give it to the man/woman, no skin off my nose. I guess that's just a little residual ego, but I will learn.

9th Goal: Drill more. Everyone says this, but most of us don't do it. Well I do, but not enough. The only reason I don't like it is because I hate being the drillee. Getting arm barred 40x is not fun, but doing 40 arm bars is. Any who, I need to do it more because seriously it is an important part of the sport, and if you don't do it...you won't be ready when the opportunity arises to do that move.

10th Goal: Get Stronger, Faster, and more Endurance. This is the big un. I need to literally kick my ass outside of class with the workouts. Right now I have a 4 fight maximum, and in my weight class that is piss poor. I need to be at a 10 fight maximum, or better yet just not get gassed at all. That may take a little while, but like i said, little goals first so I can reach the big ones.

11th Goal: Teach more. I have a thing I am starting. My last roll of the day will always be with a lower belt of my choice, and I will work on getting them better. Simple goal, that will help me in the long run.

12th Goal: Make this blog into something great. I would like this dinky little thing to actually help people out. I read a lot of blogs, and a lot of them don't say much of anything. I really want to make sure the content is always authentic and from the heart. I know that if I put the time and the effort in this blog will shine just like my jiu-jitsu. This year I want to reach 100 followers and actually start doing interviews (not with big names, but the small folks who make a difference in the sport that nobody cares to pay attention too.).

Thanks for reading folks, this year is going to be great.

Beautiful

2010-12-22T02:15:00.001-08:00

BJJ Idol #3: Ryan Hall

2010-12-19T22:50:00.000-08:00

Ryan Hall was born on the 22nd of February 1985 in Arlington, Virginia – USA. He grew up being a fan of Baseball, Basketball and (American) Football, all sports in which he competed as a youngster. In 2004 he started practicing Jiu Jitsu at an MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) academy in New York called Ronin Athletics, his coach was Christian Montes.

He did not care much for grappling at the time and only trained BJJ sporadically, spending most of his time doing Muay Thai. But after a few months of constant beatings at the BJJ class he decided to dedicate more of his spare time to Jiu Jitsu, and by July 2004, after he competed in his first BJJ tournament, he became totally addicted and quit school to focus solely on his Jiu Jitsu.

Ryan cinched that he needed to move to a bigger team to improve his BJJ. He decided to go to Lloyd Irvin’s gym. Lloyd a BJJ black belt famous for his “over the top” advertising campaigns, introduced Ryan to a very competitive team with fighters like Brandon Vera and Mike Fowler. At Irvin’s academy Hall’s Jiu Jitsu blossomed; his amazing limberness, his long limbs and his willingness to learn made the right recipe for a fantastic guard. His name became a constant presence at tournaments all over the country and even abroad. Ryan also became the object of Lloy Irvin’s numerous marketing campaigns, and it came as a shock to the BJJ community when Ryan decided to split from the team on January 2009, a subject discussed to exhaustion in grappling forums throughout the world.

With the split from Irvin, Ryan went on to join Brasa, a Jiu Jitsu team led by several historic BJJ figures. Ryan Hall also decided to open his own academy in Washington – DC, the 50/50 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (website: http://5050bjj.com). In the beginning of April 2010, Ryan finally received his (long overdue) black belt from one of his mentors, 2x Black Belt World Champion, Felipe Costa.

Bio from BJJ Heroes

Wife-Jitsu

2010-12-19T22:36:00.000-08:00

So either I am just plain lucky or I am a telepath,
because not only did I manage to get my sister to join jiu-jitsu last week,
I managed to get my wife in a gi and learn some jits tonight.
It was an awesome time.
I may just be the luckiest man alive.
Also,
she did a forward roll.
The End.

The prescription for fitness in 100 words...

2010-12-16T22:00:00.001-08:00

Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar. Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat. Practice and train major lifts: Deadlift, clean, squat, presses, C&J, and snatch. Similarly, master the basics of gymnastics: pull-ups, dips, rope climb, push-ups, sit-ups, presses to handstand, pirouettes, flips, splits, and holds. Bike, run, swim, row, etc, hard and fast. Five or six days per week mix these elements in as many combinations and patterns as creativity will allow. Routine is the enemy. Keep workouts short and intense. Regularly learn and play new sports.- Greg Glassman

Hump or Dump: Cauliflower Ear

2010-12-16T18:44:00.001-08:00

DUMP: I used to think cauliflower ear was wicked sweet, then I saw this mangled fetus looking thing and it made me change my mind. Cauliflower ear is about as cool as cauliflower. I am still not a fan of headgear, so I won't tell you guys and gals to go out buying it, but at least get the shiet drained if you ever get it. I see so many people with it though, that it kind of throws me off. To be honest, unless jiu-jitsu is your life and you do it on a regular basis...when I say regular I mean everyday, you should not have cauliflower ear. If you train once a week, and you have it after 1 yr then it is probably attributed to poor, rough, technique-less jiu-jitsu. Now I am not afraid of getting cauliflower ear, because face it, I do jiu-jitsu. There are a million other things to be afraid of like, getting choked. But I do not think it looks good, anymore. I do wonder if it is like having unprotected sex though. You may not want a baby or STD, but nobody is really doing anything to stop either of them from happening. Ciao!

BJJ Idol #2: Marcelo Garcia

2010-12-16T18:24:00.000-08:00

Marcelo Garcia was born in a small town called Formiga (which means “Ant” in English) in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil (1983).

He realized he wanted to pursue Martial Arts at a very young age, by watching 1980’s blockbusters as a child, movies like the Karate Kid or older films like Enter the Dragon were amongst his favourites. Even though Marcelinho lived in a Brazilian town, Jiu Jitsu was not available as it was famous mainly in the big cities (in fact Marcelo didn’t hear about BJJ until years later).

Hyped by the films he loved, he began practicing Karate at the age of 8. He spent years dedicating himself to the Japanese Martial Art, focusing on the Kata’s and rigid sequences of this fighting style and often competing in local tournaments. Although Garcia dedicated a lot of energy to succeed in Karate, He couldn’t see how those rigid movements could be applied in a proper struggle and grew disenchanted with his training. After 4 years he decided to stop training all together.

After one year away from martial arts, a friend invited him to a Judo class. Marcelo did not like grappling and had perceived ideas that in a fight a striker would overwhelm a grappler. He still made it to the Judo session, taught by a Judoka, Fabiano de Souza. Marcelo enjoyed the aggressiveness of the Judo game, and decided to give Martial Arts another go.

His love for Judo grew strong helped by some good tournament wins. Getting more familiar with his coach, Marcelo found that he was also a Jiu Jitsu enthusiast, training BJJ 3 times a week in a neighbouring city called Devinopolis. Eager to follow his master’s footsteps, Marcelinho asked him if he could also attend one of these Jiu Jitsu sessions to which Fabiano agreed, and so on the next opportunity Marcelo made it to his first class under Rickson Gracie black belt Iran Brasileiro accompanied by his Judo instructor de Souza.

Soon Marcelo started adding Jiu Jitsu classes to his regular training routine, making 3 trips every week to Iran Brasileiro’s academy. His first BJJ competition didn’t go as planned as he lost on the first match, but that didn’t put out his fire to compete again. He began buying BJJ magazines to learn new techniques, practicing them with his training partners.

At one point, he heard of a good Gracie Barra academy in Ribeirao Preto which was many miles away from his town, in the state of Sao Paulo. Marcelo took a trip down to R.P. and there he saw a much more evolved BJJ game, with guys making spider and half guard, techniques that Garcia had never seen before. He recognized that it would be hard for him to ever become a World Champion training in Devinopolis and started thinking of how he could move to a bigger town were he could train with a better team.

Before he had time to conjure his plan, Marcelo went to compete in a state tournament, there he met Paulo Rezende who invited him to come and train full time at his academy. Paulo Rezende (aka Paulao) had a much bigger team in Poco de Caldas and offered him free training and a place to sleep at the gym in exchange for Marcelo to do day-to-day chores (cleaning the mats, errands, etc). Marcelo agreed, and after getting the nod from his parents he travelled the necessary 10 hours by bus ride to Paulao’s academy, he was 16 at the time.

In this new academy and under Paulao’s supervision Marcelo started training 4x a day, with his first training session at 6am, the second at 8am, the third at 3pm and finally the last one ay 7pm. During this period, Marcelo started working on his guard. Being a former Judoka, his top game was his strength, but his guard needed desperately to improve, and so for months he played on his back getting trashed in the beginning, but managing to successfully ad this new weapon to his BJJ arsenal.

In one competition while he was still fighting in the Junior Division, his coach enlisted him in the adult absolute division, Marcelinho was very reluctant to accept such a tough challenge, but he agreed to be put on the list. Marcelo fought bravely in the tournament reaching the final against an adult fighter who weighed over 300 pounds. The rules were different from standard IBJJ rules, there were no points and no time limit. Garcia ended up winning the fight by choke after a gruelling 45 minute match. From that moment on Garcia started participating in every open weight category he could.

Always trying to compete at the highest level, Marcelinho travelled up and down Brazil, on one of these travels, in Rio de Janeiro, he was barred from entering a tournament because of a problem with the entrance fees. At one point, a girl that belonged to the organization helped him out and convinced the rest of the crew to allow Marcelo in the competition, and so they did. After he finished competing, Marcelo introduced himself to the girl who had helped him previously. Her name was Tatiana, and the two started dating shortly after… She would later become his wife.

With his intense training program, Marcelo started winning championships, first the State championships and later his first Mundials (World Championships) victory. After his first Mundial victory he realised all his potential and really started believing in his potential. His (now) girlfriend, Tatiana, convinced him that his career would benefit a lot from a move to a bigger team in Sao Paulo, and so after an invitation by Alliance’s Fernando Augusto “Terere” to be an assistant coach at his academy, he left to Sao Paulo one of the biggest Jiu Jitsu centres in the World.

Life was hard teaching at Terere and Leo Vieira’s place, the money was scarce and all he could afford was a place hours away from the gym, so when Fabio Gurgel offered him an assistant coach place at his gym in the Alliance Team’s Headquarters, he gladly accepted.

With this new partnership with Gurgel (who is one of the World’s top BJJ instructors) Garcia’s BJJ gave a huge step forward once again. It was also a period in which he started making a little bit more money allowing him to stabilize his finances. During this period, Marcelo picked up on training without the kimono for the first time, he was a Brown Belt then and had never trained or competed in nogi.

Always willing to compete as often as possible, when the Brazilian ADCC trials came up, Marcelo decided to sign up for the famous competition. He fought well and made it to the final, losing it by -1 point (guard pull) against Daniel Moraes. By ADCC rules, he would not make it to the final stage because he did not win the trials, but as Denis Hallman pulled out, he was called in at the last minute as a replacement. Being a huge underdog in the World’s most prestigious tournament he also ended in one of the toughest brackets in the competition, pairing up against Renzo Gracie and Vitor Ribeiro. He defeated both and won the final reaching the pinnacle of Submission Wrestling, with the competition’s earnings Marcelinho offered his father a 2000 Ford Focus to replace his ancient 1984 Volkswagen.

His successful run at both BJJ and Submission Wrestling continued as he won both the World Championships, Submission de Campos and ADCC once again. Having won every major title in submission grappling and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Marcelinho engajed in a new challenge, trying his chance on a career as a fighter in the world of mixed martial arts (MMA) joining the Florida MMA academy, American Top Team. Even though Garcia had set his eyes on this new venture, he was still an avid competitor on the major grappling tournaments and always under the Alliance banner.

In 2009 Marcelo opened an academy in New York, starting to distance himself from his MMA Career, dedicating full time to his new academy and his students. Having lost its spark for MMA, he stated openly in an interview on March 2010, that he would no longer compete in MMA, and also announcing his decision to return to BJJ.

Bio from BJJ Heroes

Good shiet...

2010-12-13T14:13:00.000-08:00

"Jiu-Jitsu is never ending. The better you get at it, the more weaknesses you find in your game. Don't look at it as you getting worse, look at it as you improving."-Andrew Marshall

Often times we are our own worst critic. When we roll at the gym or in competition we notice all of the little things that is lacking in our game, and to many of us this translates into "I suck". If you really think about it the fact that you can even recognize what you are doing wrong, has to be worth something, right? This reminds me of another quote I like:

Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be."-John Wooden

This is the only way making mistakes can ever be negative. If you recognize your shortcomings, and do not change them, then eventually you will fail. But if you can identify the errors and then make the necessary corrections, you just evolved.

"Jiu-Jitsu is not a force, but a process."-Me

Jiu-Jitsu is something you can't force. Know that eventually you will be good, but never perfect. There will always be something that can be changed, tweaked, adjusted, and improved. Like evolution, we have to look at our game, take out what is useless and improve upon what is key to our survival on the mats...until one day we can hold our own.

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away."-Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

New...

2010-12-12T23:06:00.000-08:00

So I have a new thing: I will not compete until I feel confident I can win. I did more than my share of tournaments this year, even a national one (US Open). Every single one I felt either overpowered, outworked, nervous, or outcardio'd. To sum it all up, I was always under-prepared. There are a few select words that I have heard from the pros that sounds somewhere along the lines of "if you're prepared, you won't be nervous". I don't think winning or doing good at competition has anything to do with confidence or the frequency in which you compete...it has all to do with preparation. Sure there are some freaks of nature out there that can eat McDonalds everyday and do 3 push-ups and go out there and win just on raw "talent". But you never see that at high levels. I have heard many things in my short training, and one of them was to compete as many times as possible to get "used to it". I listened to this universal misconception, and every tournament I would get the same results which is usually win one and lose one. It seemed to also make my nerves 10x worse. What I thought was preparation, was really just normal training. When I heard about the things other schools were doing...I was just literally blown away and amazed. This has brought me to the conclusion that I am not ready and until I show discipline in other areas of this sport and my life, I will not compete. Technique. Nutrition. Cardio. Strength. All of these have to be on equal levels before I ever step on the mats again at any major tournament. I will not be unprepared again. The Evolution begins.

BJJ Idol #1: Roger Gracie

2010-12-12T16:29:00.000-08:00

Roger Gracie was born on September 26, 1981. He is the son of Reila Gracie (daughter of Gracie Jiu Jitsu founder Carlos Gracie) and Mauricio Gomes (one of the very selected few who were awarded a Black Belt by BJJ legend Rolls Gracie). Unlike most children born with the Gracie surname, Roger only started his training in his late teens, but his training started by the hands of one of the best coaches in the World, uncle Carlos Gracie Junior from Gracie Barra, Rio de Janeiro Brazil.

With the Gracie blood running in his veins, he quickly picked up the BJJ game very quickly winning several championships by Blue Belt, including the Pan Ams and the Mundial (World Championship) in 2000.

It was around this time that Roger was forced to move to England, London to live with his father after a few personal problems. Being his father himself a BJJ stud and an excellent coach, his BJJ wasn’t harmed by the move and his BJJ campaign continued prospering. He also continued training with his uncle Carlinhos on occasion.

With an ever growing list of achievements in sport Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, his black belt was awarded in 2004 by the hands of the man that introduced him to BJJ, Carlinhos Gracie.

A year after receiving his Black Belt he competed in ADCC (he had competed in 2003 also as a brown belt achieving the 3rd place), being victorious in both his weight and the Absolute (open weight) division. He submitted all 8 opponents to get there, an achievement never accomplished before.

His career has never stopped growing and recently joined the MMA circuit. His first fight was against MMA veteran Ron Waterman, whom he submitted by armbar. Ron had never been submitted before throughout his career. He then went to fight Yuki Kondo a Japanese MMA legend and Pancrase Champion. Roger submitted him by Mata Leao (Choke). His third fight was in American soil in the prestigeous Strikeforce organization, he fought a decaying MMA legend, Kevin Randleman, and as expected finished the fight early in the second round after showcasing some unexpected boxing skills. Just a few days after the fight Roger went on to win the Mundials (World BJJ Championships) for a record 14th time with just a few weeks to prepare for the gi competition. He submitted everyone apart from Ricardo Abreu “Demente” but still managed to win against the Nova Uniao standout with a conclusive 13×2.

He has now signed with the MMA organization Strikeforce.

Roger Gracies BJJ Mundial Record

Year – Weight – Div – Belt – Against – Result
2010 - Absolute - Black - Romulo Barral - Win
2010 - Super Heavy – Black - Ricardo Abreu - Win
2009 - Absolute - Black - Romulo Barral - Win
2009 - Super Heavy – Black - Ricardo Abreu - Win
2008 – Super Heavy – Black – Leo Leite – Win
2008 – Absolute – Black – Xande Ribeiro – Loss
2007 – Super Heavy – Black – Robert Drysdale – Win
2007 – Absolute – Black – Romulo Barral – Win
2006 – Super Heavy – Black – Robert Drysdale – Win
2006 – Absolute – Black – Xande Ribeiro – Loss
2005 – Super Heavy – Black – Xande Ribeiro – Win
2005 – Absolute Black Ronaldo Souza – Loss
2004 – Super Heavy – Black – -Rodrigo Medeiros – Win
2004 – Absolute – Black – Ronaldo Souza – Loss
2002 – Heavy – Brown – Rodrigo Asmus – Win
2002 – Absolute – Brown - Ronaldo Souza – Win
2001 – Medium Heavy – Purple – Etienne Herbert – Win
2000 – Medium Heavy – Blue – Rafael Mota – Win

BJJ family

2010-12-12T12:31:00.000-08:00

I was talking to my boy Andrew one day, and we were talking about our goals in the sport. I mentioned to him that my goal as of now is to get as many people training jiu-jitsu as possible. Yesterday that goal came to fruition when my sister joined up at Gracie Barra Federal Way during the grand opening (see picture above). After many months of trying to get her in the door, she finally did. I am so proud of her. The best thing about it is we can push each other to stick with it. Now I need to work on more friends, family, and strangers. Jiu-Jitsu Life!

2000 page views!

2010-12-12T12:28:00.000-08:00

You guys are making me feel loved! Thanks for the support! Here's a cartoon I drew for you!

Whoop Terere...

2010-12-10T07:32:00.000-08:00

New Layout...

2010-12-10T06:55:00.001-08:00

The layout has changed, but the content has not. Have a look around, visit some older posts, comment if you like. Hopefully these are for the better, tell me how you like it!

Where I will be on Saturday!

2010-12-10T04:01:00.000-08:00

Gracie Barra Federal Way is celebrating its Grand Opening this Saturday at 12pm. The event marks the official opening of the 7th Gracie Barra Academy in Washington State. Second degree black belt Rodrigo Lopes and Carlos Sievert from the Seattle Gracie Barra along with many of their upper belts will be attending. This is a great opportunity to meet the Gracie Barra family, learn some new techniques, and to check out the new gym.

New Book: Manthropology

2010-12-10T03:40:00.000-08:00

New book I have just started reading by Peter McAllister. It is basically a book that talking about every man on Earth except me. Proving how they would never measure up to our ancestors. Not sure why any self-respecting man would ever write this, but so far it has been great and a real easy read. Pick it up for yourself, or for you ladies, that inadequate man in your life!

Disassemble your game!

2010-12-08T01:34:00.001-08:00

Very rarely do we disassemble our game to find the flaws. We often look at how well we do in competition or in the gym and assume our game is as reliable as ever. Others may make small adjustments, but they are only surface details that make them look good for awhile...but eventually everything breaks down. Like cars, sometimes a quick look under your hood just won't cut it. There will be times when you will be rolling, wondering why your game is lacking that horsepower it once had. This is the perfect timing for a complete overhaul of your game...where you disassemble, and check every crevice and nook looking for all the holes and defects you can find. Once you give it a good once over, it is imperative that you allow someone else to look over it also. The key to getting better in jiu-jitsu is being aware of when you are about to plateau and trying to find the problem before it hits. The warning signs are always there, don't wait!

Wow!!

2010-12-08T01:29:00.000-08:00

I love seeing jiu-jitsu in its truest form! Free flowing...

GB doing work!!!

2010-12-07T19:55:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Jonathan Brookins who out grappled Micheal Johnson on Saturday to become the most recent Ultimate Fighter! Not only did he show a will to win but also an amazing chin. He trains at Gracie Barra Orlando under Marcio Simas, and not only did he receive a UFC contract, and prize money...dude was promoted to purple belt in the ring. It's funny you see guys at Pan Ams and the US Open getting promoted on the podium in front of a handful of people. This was in front of millions...lol.

Now for some pure comedy...

2010-12-06T22:51:00.000-08:00

Perks and Urks: Being a whitebelt

2010-12-05T23:41:00.000-08:00

So I decided to add a new facet to my blog called Perks and Urks. Mainly these will be things I come across in jiu-jitsu that have their positives and negative sides. The first installment to this is going to be the perks and urks of being a white belt. It's where everyone starts and I'm sure everyone has felt some of these before. Enjoy.

Perks

1. No pressure or expectations: you're a white belt, nobody expects you to be good or know anything. If you compete and lose, who cares. If you win, who cares. It's not like people are even watching. What you do as a white belt, does not necessarily transfer over into other belts.

2. Everything you do gets a wow or nice: pass a blue belts guard and everyone is singing your praises! Nice pass, nice sweep, nice jumping jack form, etc etc. You are basically a baby, every time you do something remotely cool or advanced everyone claps their hands and say YAY!

3. People help you: Everybody wants to give you some sort of tip or suggestion. It really helps your game out so take everything in, and decipher it later. I've noticed that every time you get promoted you're more and more on your own.

4. It's the ego-free belt: You got your ass kicked 12 times on the first day. If you still have an ego, kill yourself.

5. You outnumber all the higher belts: Which means you always have people to bitch and moan to about problems you're having, injuries, so and so being too rough, etc. Your fellow white belts will always nod in unison with you.

6. None of your questions are dumb: As you move up, if you ask which way is the thumb supposed to be facing when doing an armbar from mount...kill yourself. Fortunately for us white belts we can ask questions like that all day everyday!

7. When you finally tap your first blue belt: You feel like a beast! Rawr!!!

Urks

1. Your opinions do not matter: People will look at you like you're crazy if you have any sort of opinion about jiu-jitsu. What I do, is say (Insert black belt name here) said that drinking coconut milk before competition kills nervousness. This makes everyone nod in unison and say that they read that somewhere on Sherdog.

2. Everyone can kick your ass: Next time there is a big class, look out from the line before you bow out and count everyone in front of you. That is the number of people who can mop the mats with you with their eyes closed.

3. You will probably get made fun of at least once or twice: It happens. You're a white belt. Be ready to be mocked, laughed at, and humiliated. If there are enough white belts, you may be safe from this one.

4. The 17 yr old purple belt, seems older than you: Probably has something to do with respect and stuff, but I still don't get it.

5. Girls at the national BJJ comps don't even look at you: Sigh! Some of them are so hawt too. All you can say is "can't wait till I'm a black belt".

6. When you reach 4 stripe white belt, the head hunters come out: Nothing like getting that 4th stripe on your belt. It means you are progressing and are close to blue belt. So what does this mean? Head hunters galore...other white belts who want to kill you and prove they are at that level too. This causes you to either A) always be on your guard. B) Murder every 1,2,3 stripe you see. Or C) avoid their stupid ass completely.

7. You will only tap, pass, or mount a higher belt once: the next time you roll with him, he will MURK you. Never think you did something good to someone who is only using their pinky toe to fight you.

8. You will probably get tapped 5,000 times: that's the average for a white belt. Unless you're a puss and you never roll.

GMS...

2010-12-05T23:12:00.000-08:00

Also known as Grown Man Strength or Old Man Strength...is the number one reason why most 20-somethings get their asses kicked in the gym by a guy that could probably be their pappy. It's unexplainable, this guy is always talking about how bad his back hurts, or how bad his neck hurts...yet when he rolls with you not only is he going at 100mph, but you can't seem to break his fucking gorilla grip. How do you combat GMS? Well, you really can't...all you can do is hope and pray you never get paired with that old dude who was a Marine during Vietnam.

The purpose.

2010-12-03T03:10:00.001-08:00

"The purpose of jiu-jitsu is not to become the best white belt, but to become the best black belt you can be not only in technique, but in character." - Neato

Of all the things you take from this blog fellow white belt take this...it is not about how many taps you tally, but how many you endure. It's not about your fancy gi, or rash guard, or no-gi shorts with the cool rank designator belt on it. It's not about the medal, the trophy, or your 200+ competitor tee collection. None of this matters if you never reach black belt. None of it. Jiu-jitsu is a lifestyle, not a passing fad. It is blood, sweat, tears, and years on the mats. And nothing less. Leave the pride, arrogance, and ego alone...and welcome in technique, humility, and character. That is all.

Learning Portuguese

2010-12-03T03:00:00.000-08:00

I decided that I will attempt to learn Portuguese. The End.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu 101: Introduction

2010-12-03T02:53:00.000-08:00

Hello readers,

I am currently in the process of working on a series of posts that pertain to jiu-jitsu, for all you people dying to try it, but do not know much about it. Totally understandable. In fact, many people do not know very much about jiu-jitsu and tend to get it confused with quite a few martial arts. The posts will go over history, etiquette, uniform, finding a gym, expectations, negatives/positives, belt ranks, competition, and any other things I can think of between now and when I start. I know you guys are on the edge of your seats, but hold your horses the posts will be up in the next few days after I do a little research on some of the topics.

Jay

Jiu-Jitsu Personalities

2010-12-02T19:23:00.001-08:00

Which one are you?

The Craftsman – You roll with the guy for 5 minutes and get tapped 5 times. The guy is good but even he doesn’t know exactly what he’s doing. He just sees something and tries for it because he knows the joint doesn’t bend that way. You’re learning moves together as he taps you out.

Mr. Goodwrench – This guy just tools you. Not for any negative reason, but just because he knows his stuff. If you go hard, he taps you for being over-aggressive, if you go light he taps you for not pressuring and thus giving up position. If you are in between he just controls you and sweeps or reverses you at will. When you look at him in disbelief he just looks at you like “What… did time run out?”

The Pretzel – Every move you’ve ever practiced becomes difficult because this guy can get into positions that would make a pretzel cringe.

The Risk Taker – This guy does such unexpected, often ridiculous stuff that ends up working because you weren’t expecting a back handspring guard pass or head stand to armbar from halfguard, etc.

The Mailman – This guy takes the same route for 2 years and gets caught in the same submissions or set-ups every time. He never changes his guard passing routes, and becomes totally predictable.

The “just got back from Rio” Guy – This guy is good, and since he just spent 6 months training his ass off in Rio he is super smooth. But he wants to make his home school into the place he trained in Rio. He shakes hands with everyone in the room before sitting down to stretch asking “tudo bem?” He answer’s his cell phone “fala”. He speaks in portuguese with the instructor when he talks about how to beat someone without wanting them to know it. He counts in Portuguese. If you want to get on his good side and get him to show you some cool shit he learned down south, just ask him about his time in Rio, he will be more than happy to tell you about it. Everyone who goes to Brasil is guilty of this when they get back…

Pre -Excuse Guy – This guy has to tell you of every ailment, injury, pain, he has in his body, to not allow you to attack those areas. “Oh dude, my (insert body part) been hurting, so no (insert submission) today” Sometimes this guy goes into pre excuse emotional problems he has, and how it will affect his training. If he’s been really shitty on the mat lately, it?s because he broke up with his girl, and he’ll let you know about it, so you understand why he stinks.

The Laugher – This guy rolls with you and is constantly laughing at everything to make the roll so friendly that you won’t push any competition against him, or hurt him in anyway. You’re rolling and get by the wall, “Hahahaha…. dude we’re way too close to the wall, I didn’t want us to go through the wall….hahahaha…could u imagine, kaplosh!! Then we went through the wall and everyone would look and be like OH SHIT THEY WENT THROUGH THE WALL..Hahahaha”

Your Best Friend (Talker) – This guy is very similar in his thinking, to the laugher. As soon as you start rolling, this guy wants to know what you did over the weekend, what you’ve been up to, how you’re great with the ladies, and your’re good at BJJ. Again this guy thinks being overly friendly prevents competition.

Drama Guy – This guy is somewhat tough, but as you push the rolling, sometimes your feet hit his head (incidental), or you go for a cross face, and everything you do is a HUGE injury to him. He constantly stops training to let you know that your finger almost touched his eye, and how he needs a 5 minute timeout, because it left him completely in a daze…he’s confused at where he’s at now. This guy I hate the most, because he literally kills training with all the drama he puts into every tiny incidental contact.

Practice Hero – This guy stinks, so you roll easy with him, and he’s convinced he can “come up” in the rankings by tapping you, so he’ll go wild out and try hit some crazy heel hook in an effort to get noticed in the class, and loved by the teacher. He trains balls out with zero technique….he wants to be noticed by the entire class

The Internet Forums Guy - This dude never trains but comes in every couple of weeks to let you know all the updated info he has on the MMA game, and how he knows so much more than you do, about what’s going on with rival teams in Brazil.

Dominic’s Apprentice – goes to class 4-5 days a week, works his ass off. But no matter how hard he tries he just doesn’t get any better. He’ll get caught in the exact same armbar 10 times a roll. He still can’t defend the triangle choke. And he gets mounted by everyone.

“Gotta Go” Guy – This guy always “has to go somewhere” at the exact moment when class shifts from technique/drills to rolling. “Yeah, I got a conference call in two hours…”

Reformed Gangster (Troublemaker) – This guy usually turns out in the long run to be the coolest, or the biggest douche bag in the short run. This guy covers all forms of troublemakers or gangsters. Each one of these guys comes in with a huge chip on their shoulder, and they get HUMBLED so quickly. After tapping them 6 ways to Sunday every rolling session, as the months go by (if they continue to train), they completely lose their hard gangster persona…. its funny to see the transition of some cholos to just a tough ass calm dude down the line….

The “Professor” – rolls around like any other guy and can have any skill-level but when you finally get his back and struggle to choke the shit outa him he goes wait, you’ve got wrong mechanics… wait you gotta do like this.. More like that etc. He lets you understand that he didn’t get caught and he’s not about to get the shit choked out of him, in fact he’s just in the process of showing you how to choke.

The All Hat No Cattle Guy – Has every PRIDE and UFC on tape, has every BJJ book ever published, every BJJ instructional video/DVD ever produced, has a wide range of gis to choose from, has at least 10,000 posts on the UG, can recite the contents of bjj.org from memory, and sucks at BJJ; will be awarded a blue belt in about ten years out of pity.

The ‘Good Move’ Guy – He’s similar to the instructor, in that he can’t accept tapping. So if you are transitioning to a triangle choke, and he’s kind of sunk, but before you fully finish the hold, he’ll tap and give it to you. This guy always taps on the transition to a move, not the move itself, and says “Good Move ” like he let you catch him….and considering he didn’t tap when you completely had the choke sunk in, you didn’t really beat him.

The ‘Let’s Go Light’ Guy – Guy who then proceeds to decapitate you and tear you limb from limp with neck cranks and head squeezes

The Gasser – Goes all out for 30 secs and blows his wad. Then taps when u get a dominant position

The ‘this is my first lesson’ Guy – which translates to ‘this is my first lesson here’ but I was an NCAA div 1 wrestling champ and trained in Brazil for a few years

The Spy – This guy comes in one day, is very friendly, seems to know a lot about BJJ scene and says he’s from out of town. He rolls and blends in with the students, seems like a very promising prospect for the club. Result: You never see him again after the first class and months later when browsing a competition’s website you see the mother****er in their seminar photos being one of their “regulars”.

The Farting Machine Guy – Guy that always farts every single time he rolls. Knee on stomach…. FART! Mount…. FART! Try to push out of his guard…. FART! Even in north/south…. FART! In your face! FART! FART! FART! Nothing like an ass-in-your-face stink sub.

The Shadow Boxer – The guy who has some striking martial art experience (usually a TMAer who can’t accept the fact that his black belt is being rendered useless by these 150-lb. guys who tap him relentlessly) and decides to feign it in BJJ class. While rolling, will throw fake shots, to simulate a Vale Tudo match. Convinced that a punch will change the pace of the match from anywhere, in the clinch, from his guard, while mounted by someone much better. Usually, this specimen’s actions can be halted with a quick leg grab/take down while he is throwing a knee from the clinch.

Takada Guy – His one goal is to not tap under any circumstances, considering that lasting is almost like winning. This guy mounts no offence at all and concentrates exclusively on tucking in all his extremities and ‘nullifying’ your game. After a round of wasting your time and his, will give you the “you couldn’t tap me, so we’re about even in skill” look and gasp his way to the sidelines to sit the next roll out.

‘One Move Wonder’ Guy – This is the guy who manages to get really good at one position/submission and only goes for that one particular move. While somewhat impressive in the beginning, this is the eternal blue belt that dominates the beginners but never develops the rest of his game. Normally seen with a bronze or silver medal at the local tourneys.

The Former Star Guy – This guy used to be one of the best in the class, able to do anything to anyone whenever he wanted. Stops training for a while, comes back and gets all disappointed that other people have actually improved and gotten better than him since he left. Usually decides to train hard for a week or two to regain his position, but gets frustrated quickly when he doesn’t immediately become godlike. Very often decides to write a book about grappling or discuss game plans with others instead of actually practicing or rolling.

The “Getting Serious Again” Guy – is my favorite. He has been training for as long as you can remember. He comes to class after being out for a while and always says the same thing..”Man, I (insert excuse like injury, wife or g-friend, kids, work, car trouble, finances), but I’m back for good now, you’ll see me here everyday!” and then he again disappears after like 2 weeks of training. 3 or 4 months down the road…repeat above sequence.

“Just wanted to let you know I’ll be back Tuesday” Guy – The guy who you never ever see but calls you or e-mails you every month to tell you he’ll be there “Tuesday”.

The Asshole – First day for any whitebelt, the asshole will try to heelhook them, neck crank them, or otherwise grind the shit out of them just to feel an ounce of power. Since the asshole won’t train with any serious challenges, however, the whitebelt will eventually surpass him, and the asshole will mysteriously disappear from class.

The Future Champ – He is pure Bigger wanna-be carioca, knows the names of every BJJ champ and the latest gossip from the UG. He talks about being Mundial champion from whitebelt, yearns to move to Brazil to train, is always looking to do another seminar or private with a Brazilian, and yet does not attend class regularly, always has an injury or excuse when it’s time to compete, wants to drill rather than spar, and talk rather than drill.

The De-Man-izer – This is the small person (often a girl) who will single out the biggest, highest ranking male she can find, then fling her tiny body at him and proceed to beat him down and tap him within an inch of his life. Often, her victims will lose all testicular fortitude, cry, and quit the sport for life…

The Tough-Ole-Bastard – This is the guy who started later in life but despite his age, he is tougher than 90% of the twenty-something’s. He can get kneed in the head, kicked in the groin, or have his arm near torn off, and barely grimace as he continues to grapple (often against someone a lot bigger).

The Tougher-Older-Bastard – This is the guy who started even later in life and despite a host of injuries, does 1hr of circuit training before class, grapples all the good/big folks in class despite being injured, and then bikes the 20 miles home telling everyone he’ll see them tomorrow for morning class.

The Codger – This is also an old dude who just does it for fun. Against new people, he trash talks–”Can you feel the armbar coming? Can you feel it?” Against better people, he still trash talks “Missed that choke? Something not go as planned?!”

The Bleeder – This guy got a mat burn the first time he rolled and has been knocking off the scab every time since.

The Can you Show that Again Guy – This guy never has a good enough angle when the instructor demonstrates the move. Once the drilling begins, he usually has to watch the people next to him do the move at least two or three times before attempting it himself. He sometimes resorts to calling the instructor over and asking a question before he even attempts the move.

The Overly Humble Guy – This dude is a really good bjj guy but he’s humble, and scared as hell . This guy will tap you at times, then immediately talk about how he sucks, and you’re so much better and it was pure luck….to get over that initial awkward feeling between you two, when you just tapped to him.

The Take Every Advantage Guy – This Guy can always be found taking any advantage he can get while rolling. If starting on knees, he’ll stand up to get leverage. He’ll accidentally rip one of your fingers back to break your grip. He’ll poke you in your butt to get you to stop from going for that leglock. When you finally get him in a bad position, he’ll ask you stop for a minute “because we are too close to the wall,” and then he’ll want to restart back on the knees. This Guy acts this way because he treats every training session as the Finals of the Pride Grand Prix.

The Lazy Possum – This guy has some skills but he fights really lazy and defensively most of the time and you think you have his number. But on occasion when there’s an audience or some chick watching he decides to bring his A game and you’re in a world of surprise, the guy suddenly becomes Marcelo Garcia on the mats.

The Gassing Giant – This guy is an ex-power lifting bouncer type who throws you around for 5 minutes, but then winds up on his back and as soon as you think to yourself “now it’s my turn” he suddenly becomes too exhausted to continue and quickly says “let’s take a break man”.

All Knees and Elbows Guy - A squirmy bastard, usually an explosive athlete, you dominate this guy, but you feel like someone put you in a sack full of knees and elbows and started to shake it violently. After rolling, you are bruised up, if not cut.

The Ex Kung Fu or Aikido Grandmaster Guy – He always reassures you in the fact that he is a blackbelt in some traditional style , as you start to roll he grabs you with a death grip from hell and will never pull guard , even after two years of training. You pull guard and sweep him with a basic butterfly guard because if you pull closed guard he just grabs and pinches your arms making it not worth your effort. You pass his guard and mount, and even after being told 253 times that you cannot wrist lock a guy and throw him off from the bottom mount, he tries it again, and you start salivating from his arm being extended as you slowly move into the armlock.

The Judoka Guy – Similar to the “name that sub” guy, but this one names the sub in Japanese “yeap, that’s juji-gatame” and every time the instructor shows a technique he nods his head and name it in Japanese.

The No-Responsibility Guy – This is the young guy who is maybe 20 yrs. old who lives at home. His mom washes his gi, make him dinner, and all he does is go to 2 college classes a day and trains the rest. He is always saying you should come down to train Wrestling at another place or Striking at another, meanwhile you have a 9 to 5, wife and kids and a mortgage…LOL

The Lot Shark – This guy drives to jiu jitsu, trolls the parking lot to make sure none of the guys who hand him his ass cars are there before coming in.

The ‘Early Retirement’ Guy – Taps you the one time in his life and then retires “one up” for life.

The Steven Segall Grappler – Tries to take you down by tweaking your wrist….just cant believe that shit won?t work.

Street-Tough Guy – Guy who watched a couple UFC’s and decides to come down to the gym and “fuck people up.” This guy inevitably picks the weakest looking member of the gym and demands to roll with him. Unfortunately for them, the small little guys they pick are usually awesome technicians and they destroy the tough guy. I love playing along with the student when the tough guy demands to spar him. I’ll say stuff like “Do you want to roll with this new guy? Are you sure? He outweighs you and looks pretty mean. If you’re scared or nervous it’s ok.”

The “Heel Hook Hero” Guy – This guy has no idea how to pass the guard and he doesn’t want to learn. All he wants is to fall back and do his best Ken Shamrock impression. When he meets someone who won’t fall for it he convinces himself that he can beat the guy if he just trains a few more leg locks.

The Pressure Pointer – Usually a black belt in some other form of martial art who once you mount him or working on choking him, he’ll try to do some kind of pressure point prior to tapping.

The “Challenge The Weakest Antelope In The Pack” Guy – This is the guy that stands around or stretches when everyone first starts rolling. Then when a new white belt takes a break from rolling, he hops on the mat and says “hey lets roll a bit’. He then proceeds to own the fatigued white belt with an assortment of wild crazy subs.

The Natural – some guy, usually young, comes into the gym and at first gets beat all over the mat, but slowly and surely every week, he gets better. After one week, you can no longer have your way with him. After two, you can only catch him with your best moves. After three, you are struggling to tap him. One month passes and you are tapping each other. Another month and the roles reverse. This is the natural. He will soon tap people you’ve never even gotten close to.

The False Technician – Every class this guy’s going up to somebody wanting to show them a ‘new move’ that he’s invented. If he considers you ‘technical’ enough he will let you drill his patented omoplata to triangle to armlock to kneebar to toehold combo with him. The major problem with this guy is that he can’t pull any of these moves off on anybody save for the newest guy. The false technician gets owned by almost everybody else and burns with hate for those who school him on the mat with a simpler but more solid game.

The Human Vice – The beginner who plays football or lifts, who’s sole form of defense and offense is to latch onto your head and squeeze with all their strength. Then you simply sit in the dominant position, usually side control, until they become exhausted let go and then tap 3 seconds later when you go to knee ride or mount

The Lurker Guy – This is the guy who will sit on the wall and watch you train for an hour w/ every upper belt in the class saving his energy. Then you lie on the mat exhausted, will come up to say “wanna train?” but will never train w/ you when you are fresh.

Sweat Dripper Guy – Some guy that sweats buckets that DRIP on your face when he’s in your guard. You pretty much have to tap as his sweat pours into your eyes, mouth, etc.

Rigormortis Guy – His plan is to not let you do anything you want to, by grabbing your sleeve, pants or whatever and holding them at arms length. He doesn’t really care if he gets swept or not – as long as his arms remain frozen stiff…he’s won!

Parkinson’s Disease Guy – A close relative of Rigormortic Guy, He displays the same brilliant strategy as rigarmortis guy, but makes it extra special by shaking violently due to muscular fatigue I imagine.

Commando Guy – Thinks that all forms of underwear obviously restrict his game and hence chooses to go without. Nothing like a testicle rubbing on your inner thigh to freak you out and let him pass with ease. (Does help sharpen your north/south position escapes though.)

“You Have No Time to Tap” Guy – The guy that thinks that hurting your teammates is a necessity in jiu-jitsu and will put his hips into every armbar, triangle, choke, heel hook etc. Gives you no time to tap whatsoever and pops your elbow until you decide you don’t want to roll with the freak anymore. The guy may even be apologetic afterwards but if you feel bad why the fuck didn’t you give me a second to tap?

“The Wrestler” - Never does the takedowns the BJJ instructor shows because they are inferior, and even when you are drilling that move shows you the “real” way to do it. Always stands up in your guard and you always have long grueling matches with him but he never taps you out. However, your neck is always sore for the next two days because he has such good head control.

The ‘Instructor’ - He’s the 34 year-old, chubby guy in the corner with the knee-braces who never rolls anymore b/c he’s recovering from a neck injury (for the past year or so). That doesn’t prevent him from sharing his “encyclopedic” knowledge of grappling with anyone with the misfortune to sit within 15 feet of him. He’s “best-friends” with the instructor. He’s been to every UFC, every local seminar in the past 10 years, and has memorized every instructional video and book available, and will tell you about every possible variation, especially moves that wouldn’t work on a person in a coma. Oh, and the Professor will be getting his purple belt “any day now” — “just as soon as my neck’s better.”

The Groaner – It is the guy who sits down to roll and groans like his body is 100 years old. He touches every joint and makes facial expressions like he is overcoming all odds to roll……then bam, he attacks with a fury on unsuspecting guys who feel sorry for him. Then after the roll, he staggers off the mat wincing in pain or discomfort, and then repeats the steps above on other victims.

The Puny Human Guy – He doesn’t want to use (or you to use) any strength at all (as if Bjorn were supposed to develop telekinetic powers). Whenever you tap him, he’ll look disgruntled because, of course, you only got him by using strength.

The Attention Deficit Disorder Guy – You think he should be force-fed an overdose of Ritalin before every class. He’s rolling with you, but at the same time he’s listening to every single conversation happening on the mat, and paying some attention to every other fight. He’ll give advice to the guys rolling near you AS he tries to pass your guard, he will laugh at a joke someone made on the other side of the mat space when you have him in side control, and he will also interfere with someone else’s conversation when he is in your guard. One sure way to tap him is pointing to the entrance and say something like “what’s Royce doing in here ?” and then take his back as he begins to look around. Oh yeah…he’s the guy who is always babbling when your instructor is showing a technique too…

The Stinky Guy – We all know one. Take an f’ing shower once in a while.

The Nail Guy – Looks like you just rolled with Freddy Kruger afterwards.

The Nasty Sweaty Zitty Back Guy – Come on man, keep your shirt on

The Preparation Guy – this guy takes 30 minutes to get ready back stage while the class is doing pushups. He tapes every finger and toe with damn medical tape for some reason

The Holder – Thinks getting you in North-South for 30 minutes= success.

The Pre-Tapper – This guy has such a quick mind that he’s able to tap 3-4 moves ahead of an actual submission!

The 'One Trick Pony' - this is the guy who ever since he was a white belt has perfected one move and one move only. He can get it on Rickson Gracie with his eyes closed. Make him do something else, and he's lost.

The Spaz – Closely related to “Let’s go light” except he doesn’t try to fool you into thinking he’s going light before he goes spastic. This guy usually is medium sized and just goes crazy in every position available. If you’re on your knees trying to work for position he’ll often either bum rush you or try the traditional shove, the spas will push as hard as he can from every position and often with much force so it’s almost a punch, the spaz is also prone to slamming out of submissions.

The Latecomer – This guy shows up to every class exactly when the grueling warm-up is over and is always fresher than everybody else come rolling time.

The Dumb as a Rock Guy - This is the one that you try to teach him a technique and he just won’t get it. After 3 month of drilling upa, he’ll say: “ok, what arm do I grab again?”

The Faux Gay Guy – He finds it humorous to act gay and scare people on the mat with it. He is known to tie his t-shirt under his gi, or challenge other people while lisping on the mat. Sometimes he will make sexual gestures while rolling while rolling while the victim has no clue why the rest of the class is laughing. He often requests the instructor to put on 80′s new wave when he turns on the radio.

The ‘Won’t Let You Practice’ Guy – This guy is the HANDS DOWN WORST guy to practice with. Whenever learning a new technique, or sweep…anything, this guy wont let you do the move (during practice not rolling). This guy comes in different forms.

1. He won’t let you do the move, because he resists it so much, so you’re never able to learn the move properly…and you look like an ass because everyone else in the room is doing it, but you can’t because of your “tough as balls” partner. His constant resistance makes you look like crap in front of the instructor.

2. This guy won’t let you learn the move properly because he collapses before you’ve completed the sweep. This guy is like a loose ass piece of paper. You’re transitioning for the sweep, before you even kick his leg to turn him, you find he’s already on his back, and he most likely pulled you on top of him to full mount. Yes, this guy makes you look great, but in the tournament you get your ass handed to you, cuz for some reason, your opponent turns into Douche Bag #1 who resists!!

The ‘Can I Try Something On You?’ Guy – While rolling, this guy (who has never tapped you, and will never tap you) says something along the lines of “Hey, can I try something on you real quick? I just want to work out the mechanics on something…” He puts you in his rear mount, sinks the hooks in, and violently puts you in a choke at the exact moment the instructor walks by, you tap, and the instructor says to the guy “Very good! You’re showing much improvement!” and looks at you with a mild look of disbelief on his face.

The 'Hunker Down' Guy - While rolling, this guy gets in your guard and will not budge. He buries in there like a parasite and will wait till you make a move. Not only is this frustrating and annoying, but the other guy normally uses this as his 'patent' move and think its good. Usually due to fear of being submitted, or bested so when in doubt...wait it out! This is usually an indicator of this persons game overall.

The WhatChaWeigh Guy – Whenever he taps to something, he asks what his opponent weighs. If it’s even 200 grams more than him, he nods as if to suggest that he only lost due to weight mismatch. He has probably asked you your weight at least once a week for the past year. (Note that when this guy fights smaller people, he forgets to ask)

The BackFromGym Guy – Seems to only come to class on days he has worked out at the gym. Lets you know that he is tired and weak from his work out. Makes sure you know exactly how much he benched that day.

The ‘I Suck’ Guy – Any time he gets tapped by someone at the school he starts loudly talking about how much he sucks. He keeps repeating this over and over until someone notices and reassures him that he’s good. If anyone ever agrees with him that he really does suck, he sulks and doesn’t come back to class for about three weeks.

The originator of this post can't be found, I got it from here.

Flow

2010-11-24T01:12:00.000-08:00

Letting go...

2010-11-23T14:47:00.000-08:00

Jiu-Jitsu is art. A beautiful art. So beautiful I weep every time I see a highlight clip. I also weep when I see this beautiful art damaged by people who can't let go. These are the people in the gym who stall in half guard or closed guard in fear of being submitted or humiliated...in the gym. You have to let go guys. The guys that sit down when someone gets them in spider guard and allow the sweep, rather than get swept. You have to let go. The guys that always have to warn you about their neck or pinky toe or finger nail before every roll. Let go. Even the big or strong guys who feel that they have to smash everyone they come in contact with...let it go.

My observations alone have seen that this type of behavior impedes growth. If you are afraid of being submitted, toppled, mounted, or controlled by someone you are in the wrong sport my friend. How will you ever learn if you never taste brutal defeat? How will you ever learn to defend anything if you are never in trouble? If this is you, you have a long road ahead of you or had a long road.

The number one thing people were telling me months ago is that I cannot only rely on a particular move, and that I had to open my game up if I wanted to get better. This was some of the best advice I have gotten because it made me seek out what I needed to improve on and add to my game. If you don't get anything out of this post...get this. Do not rely on anything except technique, and even then have a variety of things you can do. Let go of your inhibitions and fears, and let your game flow my friend.

The gym is a ecosystem.

2010-11-23T13:55:00.000-08:00

An ecosystem is defined as a community of living and non-living things working together. If one thing in the ecosystem fails, everything will systematically fail also. In the gym everyone needs to work together to reach a common goal. There cannot be too many carnivores and their cannot be too many grazers. It's all about homeostasis. A balance is created through consistency, variety, and efficiency.

Consistency in training to keep the school running.

Variety in training partners and instructors.

Efficiency in the training received to produce skillful students.

In an ideal BJJ ecosystem, there would be one high belt for every white belt. Everyone who signed up would train frequently. 5-6 different black belts teaching weekly. A structured curriculum would be taught. Drilling and hard work outs would not be an option. Ahhh, if only things were perfect.

Think about it.

Sorry to my readers...

2010-11-22T14:20:00.000-08:00

I have been feeling a bit under the weather lately, and my body has been very sore. I am taking a mental and physical break from Jiu-Jitsu for awhile. Stay tuned in the next week or so.

Creating a training regimen for jiu-jitsu...phase 1 analysis

2010-11-14T14:54:00.000-08:00

Evolution...

2010-11-14T13:48:00.001-08:00

"Competition is not about going out there and seeing how well you do. Its not about extra practice. Its about hard work, preparation, and the manifestation of the two on the mat"- Jamel Kennedy

The evolution will not be televised.

Another day of crappling...here is how I feel

2010-11-14T12:47:00.000-08:00

Bring it on home...

2010-11-14T12:46:00.000-08:00

Man, I love this song!

What the hell am I afraid of?

2010-11-11T13:13:00.001-08:00

I have often been very nervous right before a fight, and I think it has affected my performance on numerous occasions among other variables. But I am sure nerves has been the number one reason why I cannot bring the fight to the other fighter. While thinking about the upcoming tournament earlier this week I asked myself a brilliant question, what the hell am I afraid of? I decided to answer this question in order to confront my fears and hopefully do away with them completely. So lets list all my fears going into a competition, starting with the number one cause:

1. I will lose in front of my professors and teammates- this is my number one fear. Although they have told me that it doesn't matter, I know it does. When you put your time and effort in to someone their performance is a direct reflection of you. I don't want to make my teachers and teammates look bad in front of our peers, so I always feel that winning is everything. It may not be this way, but I feel this way.

2. Stripe shock- this is a little word I made up when you look at the person's belt and judge how good they possibly are by their stripes or amount of dirt they have on their belt. This has been true for me, except for one time. This always gets me. For a guy that has had little mat time and experience, anyone with 4 stripes is a little intimidating, because I know they have some time under their belt.

3. My school is not competition based, am I prepared?- this is another question I ask myself. My school doesn't have a lot of competitors and a lot of our people do not want to train with that level of intensity, so am I prepared for the aggressive guy from the MMA academy or comp school. At white belt level, I have not been.

4. Getting hurt- there is nothing worse than getting hurt. If I get hurt badly in competition, it will keep me from training for weeks or even months. I can't have that happen. I get hurt a lot in class, what makes me think it won't happen in competition.

5. The audience- I know people don't pay attention to the white belt matches usually, but I can still see them and I feel like I am out their grappling naked and everyone is laughing.

I have always had a high anxiety level, it is one of the main reasons I compete, so I can get over it. I get the sweaty palms, the knots in my stomach, and lightheaded...but every time I get out there and do it. I know there is nothing to be afraid of, but I need to really start believing in my skill and get out there and do the damn thing. So to help me out, here are a few videos to help me get over it!!

1000 readers!!!

2010-11-09T04:44:00.000-08:00

Why I compete.

2010-11-09T04:37:00.000-08:00

" The major reason for setting a goal is for what it makes of you to accomplish it. What it makes of you will always be the far greater value than what you get." - Jim Rohn

Jamel, what do you want to be when you grow up? Cobrinha!!

2010-11-09T02:25:00.000-08:00

How to practice to get better and preventing plateus, Part 1

2010-11-09T00:49:00.000-08:00

From my recent research and study I have come to the conclusion, that majority of jiu-jitsu practitioners do not practice correctly. Let me explain. The definition of practice is a systematic exercise for the purpose of acquiring skill or proficiency. The key word being systematic. Drilling is practice. Specifics is practice. Rolling could be practice, but most of the time is not! Now I know what you're saying...he has lost it, but keep reading.

The first thing we have to look at is, is our "practice" specifically designed to improve performance? Lets take a look at the class structure. Every day there is usually a fundamentals or advanced class specifically designed by the professor. During this segment of the class he/she presents a move, demonstrates it, then instructs the class to drill it. The keyword in the question is designed. The professor has designed this program, and when you are drilling the move he/she walks around and tells you what you are doing wrong. You cannot see yourself while rolling, the person you are rolling with cannot see you...and 9 times out of 10 nobody else can see you because they are also rolling.

The number 1 comment I receive after rolling with a higher belt is, you're moving really well. Rolling does not provide you with in depth analysis of your weaknesses especially at the lower levels. It is unrealistic to say that you can honestly make a clear assessment of your performance on a daily basis...and if you could, at this level you would not be able to design the best practice activity for that moment in your development.

Question: How many times have you been able to remember what you did wrong after a roll?

Practice is meant to stretch you beyond your current abilities and with the right tools and methods, development will steadily rise and go beyond what you thought was your peak. As obvious as that may sound, most of us do not practice this way...including me. We get on the mats after fundamentals class and we spar, using the same stale game...wondering why we haven't gotten any better. Remaining at the level of performance we reached months ago, and for some of you...years!

Deliberate practice first requires the individual to pin point his weakness, then work intently on them. This in our sport is called specifics. A good method to use before starting your specific training would be to draw three circles; labeling each comfort zone (middle), learning zone (outer), and panic zone (outer). In each circle write where you feel comfortable at, in the learning zone what you can improve, and in the panic zone where you feel the worst at. The learning zone is in your control...here you can put yourself in these positions and figure out ways to remove yourself from them. You should force yourself to stay in this zone continually till a light bulb goes of or you say Eureka! The comfort zone should be avoided completely, and the panic zone should be saved for privates or when your professor has time to work with you on these things.

When we practice, what is the number one thing we are trying to accomplish? Becoming proficient in BJJ, right? So in order to become proficient what do we have to do...rinse? No. Wash? No. Repeat? Yea man! But most of us really don't get exactly what repetition is, and it ends up wasting time and being highly ineffective. Take the example I used earlier. You drive your car everyday, up and down the highway...you zoom, you brake, you even hit corners hella fast just to scare your girlfriend. But does that mean you're ready to go qualify for the Indy 500? Hell no. Same thing applies to jiu-jitsu. Majority of the time when we do roll we are only working on what we normally do day in and day out. Very rarely are you repeating any technique at high volumes and very rarely are you focused on doing anything in particular other than rolling. Yes you are repeating this activity, but it is not the repetition you need in order to be successful.

The number one gripe I hear with new white belts and even some blues is that they aren't getting better. When I hear this I ask a few questions to help them figure out what the problem is. The questions I ask are; are you asking questions and are you asking people to watch your rolls or technique? If the answer is no, I say there lies your problem. There is a famous quote that says "practicing without feedback is like bowling through a curtain that hangs downs to knee level". You can work on technique all you like, but if you can't see the effects...you won't get any better. You can only rely on yourself for so long in jiu-jitsu. One day you will either get tired of sucking or you will open your mouth. The feedback from teachers and higher belts is just as important as repetition of technique. At some point in time you will need a sharp eye to help you identify the most minute detail in your technique. On some things you might be able to lift the curtain and see all the pins fall, but most of the time you will sit wondering why you never get a strike...and the answer is often times sitting right next to you.

What makes jiu-jitsu so fun is that we think the practice aspect of it is fun. Everyone looks at rolling and sparring as practice, but the way we do it makes it just plain ol' fun. Swimming is fun until you have to swim laps. Basketball is fun until you have to shoot 100 jump shots. Jiu-Jitsu is fun until you have to drill arm bars. See where I am going. Doing things we know how to do well is enjoyable. Practice is not inherently fun, it is doing the most painful and difficult task imaginable and repeating it over and over and over again...until it becomes fun. Then you move on. So a rule of thumb is, if you're having fun on the mats, you need to be doing something else.

Part 2 will be available after the Revolution this weekend....

Marcelo Garcia says:

2010-11-08T01:57:00.000-08:00

"The more you attack, the more your opponent will make mistakes."

Word.

45% of your training time should be devoted to drillin...

2010-11-08T01:43:00.000-08:00

A nice little excerpt from an interview I read with jiu-jitsu black belt Cobrinha...

JJK: When training and teaching Jiu jitsu, how important is it to spend time drilling the techniques learnt? And roughly what percentage of time do you spend drilling techniques verses live rolling with team mates?

RC: I cannot stress enough how important it is to drill technique over and over. I think this is one of the most common errors individuals make in training. Everyone wants to learn a whole bunch of moves but no one wants to spend the time drilling and practicing each one in order for it to become automatic for them. It is no wonder I see blue belts who are aware of many, many moves but unable to execute more than a handful in sparring or competition. They are just aware of the move – they often really don’t understand the details of the position, and they definitely do not drill it enough to be able to execute it without thinking. If they would spend 1.5 hours drilling just 2 or 3 positions … that would really help their game. In terms of overall percentages, I’d say that you should drill about 45% of your training time, spar 55%. If you are just a leisure participant in the sport or do it purely for fun or fitness, you can drill a higher percentage of the time.

Courtesy of Jiu-Jisu Kingdom

Lloyd Irvin: Dropping knowledge

2010-11-08T01:03:00.000-08:00

As you all know I pretty much explore the internet for opinions, theories, philosphies, and techniques pertaining to jiu-jitsu. Every now and again I come across gems that will affix themselves to mind for a long time. This interview I read over at Fightworks podcast with Lloyd Irvin was one of the best I have read...so good I will share. I hope you guys enjoy!

Interview w/ Lloyd Irvin

Lost in transitions

2010-11-07T22:34:00.000-08:00

Jiu-Jitsu is all about the sequence. When you train, never do 1 thing at a time. Train from point A to D. I can do 500 cross collars chokes from mount, but if I am awful at passing, maintaining side control, and mounting...I will never be able to show my proficiency at the choke. You never want to be lost in your transitions, because the minute you have to think. You DIE.

Remarkable training day...

2010-11-07T01:09:00.000-07:00

Like the title says today was a remarkable training day. I decided last night that I was going to do no-gi in the tournament next weekend, and even though I am not confident, I am excited for the new experience and direction I am going. Today, everyone was exceptionally helpful. Not saying they aren't usually...its just this time it was exceptional. I began my training day at 10am...it was the kid's class and it was my first day as an assistant instructor. It was pretty fun and the kids are great, although I do see how it could be a challenge in the future when our program grows. Once that class was over Michelle taught a really good side control escape that I REALLY liked. I hope to be incorporating it into my game from here on out. We then went into the no-gi portion of our class and since I am doing no-gi it only made sense for me to participate. It was awesome. Micah taught a few really good techniques that seem to naturally fit my game anyway. After class Micah set up a little takedown corner for the guys that were competing. This was fun, but I was still in no-gi attire and let me tell you my takedown game is something that needs to be worked. JB sort of noticed this and with the help of Andrew worked some takedown drills with me...it was a treat. Then came the rolling. Dave our new black belt from Tejas, rolled some no-gi with me and I learned a lot of new holds and techniques that seem to get the job done. I rolled with Jeff afterwards, and thus the mopping up continued. I thought for my relatively short time in no-gi that I didn't do half bad. Gi is definitely where I shine. I rolled a little gi afterwards and finally burned myself out working take downs again with JB...today was a good day. Got a smoothie and went home conked out. After today, I know I'm in this for the long haul.

Nicknames...

2010-11-05T19:14:00.000-07:00

Lately I have had this obsession with nicknames in jiu-jitsu. Not only do I want one, I want everyone I train with to have one. Because it is cool and funny as hell when they are good. I know you're not supposed to give yourself a nickname, but what happened to this culture? Did Americans just forget about it...because most Brazilians have them. This prompted me to do a little research to find out popular competitors nicknames and their meanings. Maybe it will help me on my quest to finding perfect nicknames for my own teammates...or maybe just an interesting read for you guys.

1. Ryan "Creepy" Hall- cause he is creepy?
2. Alexandre "Pulga" Pimentel- Pulga means flea
3. Roberto "Cyborg" Abreu-was in a bad car accident and survived then won 2nd in the Brazilian Nationals.
4. Fernando "Terere" Augusto- Terere is a herb used in tea. It is dark and energetic. Racist! lol
5. Rubens Charles "Cobrinha"- little snake. He agile and flexible.
6. Jeff "The Pipe Layer" Glover-he used to be a plumber. This name is pretty homo.
7. Ricardo Almeida "Cachorrao"- means big dog. He was famous for kicking people out of the sea at his famous surfing spot.
8. Ronaldo Souza "Jacare"- he was the most prominent fighter on his team whose mascot was an alligator.
9. Marcio Cruz "Pe de Pano"- what Sugarfoot (from woody the woodpecker) is called in Brazil.
10. Fernando Pontes "Margarida"- means daisy.
11. Cole Miller "Magrinho"-skinny
12. Anderson Pereira "Deton"-a young student couldn't say Anderson so instead called him Deton.
13. Alexandre Freitas "Soca"-he was a boxer for a little while.
14. Marcos Galvao "Louro"- parrot, someone who talks a lot.
15. Vitor Ribeiro "Shaolin"- he used to sit in the Lotus Flower position and pretend he was meditating like a monk.
16. Rodrigo Medeiros "Comprido"- Long and lanky.

There are dozens more, but I really don't want to spend all day doing this. thanks for reading.

Journey Jiu Jitsu

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