Must Watch: Stepping outside your comfort zone!

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

Think About It: Total body awareness

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

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

Coach Foster teaches Shoulder Walk Escape

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

Al Bundy is a Black Belt?

Via Inner Game of Jiu-Jitsu

The difference...

Kid vs Bear

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

The C in champion...

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...

I don't know about you...

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

Yummy...

Beautiful

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

These Team Lloyd Irvin videos get me hyped!!!

Amazink!

Mastery!

Just to reiterate...Rhadi Fergusson

Ryan Hall Guard Flexibility Stretches

I really recommend you watch all these videos, Ryan Hall's guard is bananas...so I can only guess his flexibility is the reason why.

Workouts and warmups

I have been really interested in workouts and warmups for BJJ this week, becuase i have learned that the normal 1940's jumping jacks and squats just don't warm me up. If anything they just make me more tired. I have been intentionally skipping warm ups during class and coming in a little later to do my own warmups...ones that work for my body and get me loose. Here are a few that I found.

These look fun:






This is where I want to be:

Simplicity works...but don't take my word for it!

Growing up every activity I ever competed or participated in was never based on who had the best basics, it was based on who had the most tricks. I remember when And-1 first came out we couldn't wait to get our hands on those videos. We hadn't even totally mastered the game of basketball, yet we were out there trying to "break each others ankles". Sure we were eager to learn, but only the tricks that made us look badass. We would expend all this energy dribbling and carrying on, only to reach one goal...making the shot. Wouldn't it be easier to apply a simple cut to the hoop and make a lay-up? Yes, it would. But this my friend is the first mistake of most jiu jitsu practitioners, including myself. We expend so much of our precious energy trying to advance to the next position. We jump, juke, spin, split, kick, and dance until we're a sweaty mess with our opponent on top of us applying some painful armlock we haven't learned the name of yet. Funny thing about it is, some still don't learn. The flash and dash of the sport is hard and 9x out of 10 you won't get it, so why not work on your basics...the basics are easy. Both will get you to the same destination (with time and practice of course), but one will never fail you. This is why I like Roger Gracie...super duper elite black belt, that employs this idea of simplicity in every match. He even says that all that razzle dazzle stuff is hard. The amazing thing about it is that he uses these "basics" on other black belts...which goes to show you that if you practice them and leave the fancy pants stuff to the clowns, your game will be just as effective as said clowns, probably better. Enjoy the video. Ciao!