Grappling Fight Team

 

Luiz "Dentinho" Eduardo

Had great training last week at two different Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu schools that hosted a seminar by Luiz "Dentinho" Eduardo from GFT (Grappling Fight Team). Special thanks to Chris Griffin of Griffin's Submission Academy & to Brian Jones of Valhalla Academy for hosting the event. Thanks to Josh Johnson from Elizabethtown/Bowling Green BJJ & Judo for working with Chris & Brian to set this up.



Griffin's Submission Academy

Valhalla Academy

Dentinho showed applications of offensive and defensive techniques (half guard passes, chokes from mount, sweeps from guard, standing guard pass, and other miscellaneous techniques as a result of the Q & A sessions.

My favorite technique was passing from half guard. The #1 thing Dentinho emphasized was to stay tight and to drive your shoulder into your opponent's face the whole time. I was joking around with one of the black belt instructors about the half guard pass and it went something like this, "step 1: smash face with shoulder, step 2: turn your hips, grab the knee and smash his face, step 3: I forgot what is next - smash his face, step 4: keep smashing his face." You get the point! If you drive your shoulder into the side of his face hard enough he is going to let you pass. The trick is to get your arm over his inside shoulder, reach down across his back and grab the gi as deep as deep as possible. This puts your shoulder up against the side of his face, which is golden! Now all you have to do is drive your shoulder into his face and he is at your mercy. Good stuff!!

All of Dentinho's moves were based off of solid Jiu-Jitsu fundamentals. Non of his grappling techniques required strength - just timing, weight distribution, and applying pressure in the right places. We have all heard the speach about the basic fundamentals of Jiu-Jitsu but many of us get away from it. Most of us get so caught up in learning new slick/fancy moves that we get away from the basic principles that make Jiu-Jitsu so effective. So get back to the basics and smash their face:)

And remember......when in doubt, smash the face! Did I mention smash the face? Just in case I didn't - SMASH the face!!!

Click here for previous post on "Carlson Gracie Black Belts."

Carlson Gracie Black Belts

Ha - check this out! I came accross a post about Carlson Gracie Sr. The article gives a general biography - which most Carlson Gracie students are familiar with; but what I found interesting is the list of black belts at the end.

What grabbed my attention is that this list of Carlson Gracie Black Belts was put together by Carlson Gracie himself. Not only did he put the list together but he also had it published so there wouldn't be any way  to dispute the list. This is valuable for anyone tracing their Jiu-Jitsu lineage. Is your Calrson Gracie school legit or a fruad? Click on the "Carlson Gracie Black Belts" link above to find out. No matter what Carlson Gracie school you are in you should be able to trace your lineage back to one of his published black belts.

My BJJ lineage starts with brown belt Tim Hurt (Lawrenceburg Martial Arts), to black belt Mike O'donnell (4 Seasons MMA), to black belt Carlson Cracie Jr. (Carlson Gracie Federation), to Carlson Gracie Sr.

What is your BJJ lineage? Let us know by posting a comment.

Click here for previous post on UFC pioneer "Don Frye."

Don Frye



Don Frye at Four Seasons MMA

Recently I attended a Don Frye seminar at Four Seasons MMA in Lexington KY. When I first heard about the seminar I thought, "who is Don Frye"? I have't heard of this guy before and I was obviously not educated on the early days of UFC nor had I followed any of the Pride fights. After reading through Don's bio and learning about the true warrior that this guy is I decide to attend the seminar.

Don walked in during the meet and greet and looked like he'd walked in off of a movie set; a movie starring a character comprised of John Wayne and the Incredible Hulk with a killer mustache. - I think he may have actually tapped people out with that mustache - ha! So there I am watching the fans get autographs and taking photos with the legend and all I'm thinking is, "what can this guy do for my Jiu-Jitsu"? Being totally closed minded I was wondering if it was worth my $4.09/gal of diesel to drive up here. And yes, it was worth it.

If not just for appreciating Don's sense of humor it was great learning how to crush someones face when the guillotine attempt fails (put your forearm on their cheekbone and squeeze). Or, driving your knuckles in behind your opponent's jaw under the ear to hit a pressure point and get them to squirm their head so you can get the rear naked choke. The double arm russian and the arm drag were good for stand up situations. There were several other fun techniques that would get you disqualified in a grappling tournament but would be good for street or cage applications.

For some reason Don kept using me to demonstrate the armbars. I was nervous coming off an armbar injury from a few months back, but I went along with it anyway. He threw me around like a rag doll and about snapped my arms like twigs. It was funny because several of the participants had a look on their face like "oh crap that must suck - is it ok to laugh?" I imagined it looked something like David & Goliath with Goliath ripping David's arms off so David couldn't knock him out with his sling and stone.

All in all it was fun and I'm glad I got to meet the legendary creature they call the "Predator".

 

 

 

Click here for previous post on "Tournament Jitters."

 



Disclaimer

This blog is a diary of my Jiu-Jitsu related experiences, opinions, and reposts of other information (articles, videos, websites, etc.) that has validity to me. I am not a professional and do not claim to be an expert on any subject matter in this blog.

Jiu-Jitsu is not an exact science and therefore should not be treated as such. We all look at things differently based on our experience and learned methodology. As my Jiu-Jitsu grows so will the perspective in which I see things - expect my posts to reflect that as time goes by. A white belt and a black belt reading the same post will each get something different out of it.

Should you decide to practice/perform any technique or any activity that is associated with this blog, you do so at your own risk.

I try to give credit where credit is do, often by giving a shout out and/or linking to the person, facit, or facility that deserves the credit. If you post a picture or video via facebook, YouTube, websites, blogs, forums, twitter, or any form of social media I may repost said media when talking about or linking to whatever it is associated with. If, for any reason, you do not want me to repost your media (pics or video) then please notify me (via this blog) and I will cease and desist with any activity related to your media.

I do not want to offend anyone. If you see something that personally involves you and want to see it removed then please let me know and I'll take it down.

There are banner adds on this blog, if you click on the banner add and purchase the item there is a chance I may receive a referral fee. The purpose for these banner adds is to give you an opportunity to discover other possible training tools and to be exposed to other Jiu-Jitsu related items that you may have not otherwise been exposed to. Any referral fees that I receive are use towards my Jiu-Jitsu training expenses. The more funds I can raise, the more Jiu-Jitsu training opportunities I have which in turn gives me more material/advise/opinions/reviews that I can share with you. So please, help a Jiu-Jitsu brother out by clicking on the banner adds and checking out the products.

If you have any questions, advise, or topic ideas that you would like to talk about then please let me know by posting a comment. I will not publish any derogatory comments or any comments containing vulgar language. There are a lot of kids and teens looking for Jiu-Jitsu related info - I will keep this blog clean!

Tournament Jitters

Lately I've had the opportunity to train with people from several different BJJ schools. During that training I've heard talk of different people getting ready for or considering competition. There was chatter about everything from Chicago IBJJF Pan Am, NAGA, Arnolds, BBJJO (Bluegrass Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Open), and even some facebook chatter about Grappler's Quest. That's a lot of different tournaments from within such a small BJJ community. Of these people, most of them are not seasoned veterans and they probably get competition jitters.

I assume that most people are effected by tournament jitters to some degree. I also assume these people would like some help with controlling their minds and getting into the right mindset when it's time for battle. When I competed in BBJJO, NAGA, & our local Chokefest I was a mess. Before my tournaments my heart starts racing, my mind starts acting superstitious (which is ridiculous), I start doubting myself, and just before my match begins I start breathing heavy. Of course all of this is involuntary, it's my body's natural reaction to getting ready for combat  as "fight or flight" starts to kick in. I've tried to work on this myself and although a little better now than in the beginning, I still have a long way to go.

Recently I came across a product called Black Belt Psychology that may help out. I haven't purchased it yet but plan to as soon as the funds will allow. At first I thought this was just another entrepreneur trying to sell another BJJ gimmick but it has reputable names associated with it. Click here and to see the video that has testimonials from well known MMA trainers and to see the review from Gracie Magazine.

If you have problems with competition jitters then this might be a good solution to working them out. If you do purchase it, please send me your review of the system and I'll post it on here for others to see.


Click here for previous post on "Burpees for Grappling."

Burpees for Grappling

In reference to my 3/2/13 post about burpees for Jiu-Jitsu conditioning - here is another burpee variation to consider - the "Squat Thrust with Single-Arm Dumbbell High Pull".

This is a great example of how the burpee can be modified to target specific areas of your body. If you get board with your current version just change it up a bit - have fun with it. Hmmm - have fun with a burpee? Is that possible? Probably not but you'll thank yourself the next time you hit the mats!

Jiu Jitsu Conditioning

What is the best way to improve your Jiu Jitsu conditioning?

The best way to improve your jiu jitsu conditioning is by performing high intensity drills and by rolling with other grapplers that will push you to your limit. People always talk about sport specific training, well guess what? BJJ drills and sparring are as sport specific as it gets. Don't get me wrong, there are GREAT workouts that will significantly enhance your performance on the grappling mat such as dead lifts and posterior chain exercises; but drills and rolling are still the ticket as far as I am concerned.

Serious Jiu Jitsu players know that conditioning is #1 next to technique if they want to perform well. Lets face it, if you become exhausted on the mat and quit moving because you are "tired" then you've basically tapped out. Sometimes, when visiting another school, I'll roll with a big heavy guy that is out of shape and when he gets tired he just lays on top of me and tries to smother my face with his gi. What is that? That isn't Jiu Jitsu, that's being too lazy to keep moving and work your technique!

Very few people have the luxury of training Jits every day and therefore must resort to other means of staying in shape. Not everyone can afford to go to a gym or hire a personal trainer to focus on jiu jitsu specific exercises. So what is the solution? Out of all the "at home" exercises out there, which one is the best for Jiu Jitsu? In my opinion - it's the BURPEE!

The burpee offers a total package workout in a relatively short period of time and it doesn't cost you a cent. I doubt there is any muscle in the body that doesn't get worked out by this exercise. You develop strength, cardio, and explosiveness all at once. The burpee can also be modified to target specific areas you want to work on. For example, change out the jump squat (develops explosiveness and power) for a heel digging butt back squat to develop your posterior chain (great for standing guard passes).

So there you have it, outside of drilling and rolling the burpee is probably one of the best exercises we can do to improve our jiu jitsu conditioning.


Click here for previous post on how "Children with Special Needs may benefit from training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu."

Children with Special Needs may benefit from training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

As a result of yesterday's post I was reading articles about teaching Jiu Jitus to kids and came across one that talks about how children with special needs may benefit from training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. The article is not conclusive but it gives us a good understanding of some of the many benefits they may receive by training in grappling arts. Click Here for the article.

Teaching Jiu Jitsu to Kids

I have had the unique pleasure of helping out with teaching Jiu-Jitsu to kids, some with short tension spans, and a teenager with asberger's syndrome. Working with these types of students has really helped me grow as an individual. I think they teach me more about myself than I teach them about grappling. When I first started working with them my tension span was short and I would become a frustrated. As time goes by my patience continues to grow and I continue to look for ways to address them without sounding like an army squad leader dictating instructions to his soldiers.

Kids need to have fun, no matter what their learning capabilities. If we treat them like undisciplined adults then they aren't going to have any fun and their learning capability is going to decrease. However, there is a fine line between letting the kids have fun while effectively learning Jiu-Jitsu and letting them get carried away like at a playground with their friends. So there within lies the challenge - how to let them have fun but still learn effectively so they can reap the benefits that come with learning BJJ.

So if you find yourself working with kids or someone who requires more attention than you're used to, don't get frustrated and be patient. Try to remember that they need to have fun and that they learn differently than you do.

Submission Master Grappling Dummy in My Future



My New Best Friend!



It's been a while since I've posted. Life took a unique spin the last couple of months and now it is time to get back on track with my blog.

Since my last blog I have made the decision to move about 2 hrs away from where I live now in order to be with family. The major drawback to this is that there are NO Jiu-Jitsu schools anywhere close to where I am moving to. So this means driving long distances to train. Instead of training 4-5 times a week I hope I'll be able to train at least once a week. Since I won't have people to practice on, I'll be using the Submission Master Grappling Dummy on a regular basis.

I haven't been using the grappling dummy lately (within the last several months) because I've been so busy training multiple times a week with real Jiu-Jitsu practitioners - which is great. Sadly, that will come to an end once my house sells and I make the big move. So hello Submission Master Grappling Dummy, you and I are going to get to know each other very well!

Armbar Injury

I have had a tournament coming up that I am was training for, the (Bluegrass BJJ Open), until I jacked my arm up in an armbar the other night.

I have a bad habit of thinking offensively rather than defensively when I am on the bottom stuck in side control. This usually results in me turning to my side and my opponent going for an armbar. So with this in mind and with the Bluegrass BJJ Open coming up I decided to work more on armbar defense. Well...that plan backfired.

I've learned a few different techniques for getting out of the armbar. The one I have the most success with (especially on bigger / stronger guys) is by getting the gable grip, hipping up and turning into him as I come back down, use his momentum of pulling on my arm and roll up on top of him and stack him, grab his collar and drive my forearm into his throat until he lets go of my arm.

The other night I tried the above mentioned technique when rolling with another blue belt (never rolled with this guy before). The blue belt was a lot smaller than I - but he was strong and very quick. Since he was small I figured I should be able to pull off this armbar defense with no problem. I let him get the armbar setup thinking this is a good opportunity to work on my defense. Bad idea!! His speed and execution were good and I missed the defense. He had me laid out in the armbar but I didn't tap right away thinking I could get out of it. Since I didn't tap immediately he cranked on it and it felt like bubble wrap being popped inside my elbow. The popping occurred in the funny bone area and down into my forearm. It was painful for about 15 - 20 seconds and then it went numb. I should have stopped rolling but since I couldn't feel it I just kept going - yes I know, spare me the speech - I just wanted to roll!!

Now I am out of training until it gets better and more than likely out of the tournament. So, to all you guys (like me) who have been told by your coach to tap early and often to prevent injury but you didn't listen because of your pride and underestimation of your opponent - learn from my mistake. Don't let yourself get in a bad position just to work the escape when rolling with a partner that you don't know and don't ever under estimate your opponent's abilities.

Triangle Entry - Follow Up

This is a follow up to my post on 12/3/12 about a particular triangle entry.

After it out a few times it seems that this particular triangle entry is not that easy to pull off from escaping side control. I'd stick to something more fundamental unless you are super agile. However, the spin move into the triangle does work good when coming out of particular scrambles.

Anytime you are up on your shoulders and you have to spin around in order to face your opponent is a good time to deploy the entry. When you are scrambling, and you have to spin around in order to face him, chances are he's going to come into you and he will probably take one arm and try to reach under your leg to pass your guard which sets you up for the triangle.

Triangle Basics - Triangle to Armbar

Yesterday's post about the triangle entry from one of the Roy Dean Academy students lead me to looking at more videos from their academy. This video covers the basic points you'll need to keep in mind in order to execute the triangle choke. Towards the end of the video the instructor touches base on the relationship between the triangle choke and the armbar from guard.

I've recently started exploring more on the relationship between the triangle choke and the ambar from guard and how to transition from one to the other fluidly. Now when I roll/spar I keep in my head that if I am going for a triangle there is also an armbar there and vise versa. So basically I think, "he's defending the triangle - go for the armbar, he's defending the armbar - go for the triangle".

Roy Dean Academy Triangle Entry

A training partner of mine shared a video on facebook from the Roy Dean Academy on one of the students testing for Brown Belt that I thought is worth sharing. The first half of the video shows a lot of good technique then they go into rolling. The part that caught my attention the most was at 1:00 minute into the video the student goes from a side control escape to a reverse spin into the triangle choke.

This is the first time I've seen this move. Although flashy, it looks like it could be a high percentage move, when timed right, since your opponent is expecting you to come in towards him with the knee across the belly to regain guard. However, this triangle entry will take some practice and appears will only work if he doesn't have any of his weight on you and is giving you some space (or you've created the space needed). Creating that much space will be difficult when rolling with an upper level Jiu Jitsu player. It looks like your best bet is to try this later on in the match when he is tired and not as focused.

I am looking forward to trying this triangle entry. The triangle choke was always my favorite BJJ move but I haven't given it as much attention as I should have during my training. Since the BJJ workshop by Chris Griffin on triangle entries I've been going for them more. And now, seeing this triangle entry makes me want to explore other entry options.

Butterfly Sweeps & Triangle Entries from Chris Griffin

Chris Griffin "Captain Asian America"

In the recent past I had the opportunity to learn some very effective moves from Chris Griffin aka "Captain Asian America" or "Kentucky Ninja" while he visited a couple of local Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training centers.

Chris is the founder of Griffin's Submission Academy (Louisville, Ky.) and a very good Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu player. In September Chris visited Lawrenceburg Martial Arts (Lawrenceburg, Ky.) and demonstrated a series of butterfly sweeps. In October he visited Valhalla Academy (Frankfort, Ky.) and showed a series of triangle choke entries.

I never really paid much attention to butterfly sweeps because I never really had much success with them. Chris really opened my eyes and made me realize that there are several other types of butterfly sweeps and there are many common entries from which to execute the sweeps. Now, nearly every time I roll I find myself trying to set up some form/version of the butterfly sweep - this is happening easily now that I know what to look for.

About 6-8 months after I first started training in BJJ I started going for triangle chokes from any which way possible. It didn't matter what position I was in, if there was one arm in and one arm out I went for it. But as I learned other moves the triangle choke fell to the way side and didn't get much attention. Chris reopened my eyes, he showed several different entry possibilities that I hadn't considered before.

Thank you Chris Griffin! Both the butterfly sweep series and triangle choke entries have opened my eyes and improved my game significantly. Also, a big Thanks to Tim Hurt (Lawrenceburg Martial Arts) and Brian Jones (Valhalla Academy) for hosting the "Kentucky Ninja" and inviting all Carlson Gracie Kentucky Affiliates to participate.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Basics - Closed Guard Defense

A few weeks ago was the Bluegrass Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Tournament again and was the first time I competed as a blue belt. I went into the tournament feeling very confident - like I was going to walk out of the with a gold medal around my neck and I was going to make my school proud. Wrong!! Didn't happen. I got my but kicked. I thought I had made all of the necessary preparations (cut weight naturally, improved my cardio, improved my explosiveness, had new sweeps in my arsenal, etc., etc.) but non of that mattered because I didn't have my BASICS down like I should have.

In two out of the four matches I was submitted by an armbar and a triangle after my opponents broke down my posture from within their guard. There is no way I should be a blue belt if they can break my posture down that easily. Not only were they able to break me down but they were very quick & decisive, they new exactly what the wanted to do and flowed from move to move without hesitation. Are these guys that good or do I have a lot of work to do? Pretty sure it is a combination of both.

Before my next Jui-Jitsu class after the tournament the instructor asked what I had the most difficulty with; so, I explained that they kept breaking me down from within their guard. As a result he decided to cover that in class that day - not only did I learn that I had been making subtle mistakes that compounded each other which added to the ease of my opponents ability to break me down, but also noticed that the higher ranking belts had the same problems. This reconfirms that no matter what level you are at everyone needs to continue working on the basics!

After re-evaluating my technique and making adjustments were needed I noticed a HUGE difference. Since then I've rolled with 2 different black belts and several other upper belts under black and they had a hard time breaking me down while I was in their guard. Most of the time they resorted to opening their guard and trying a sweep instead. This was a huge wake up call for me. It doesn't matter how many moves you know - if you don't have the basics down you'll never get to use them!

Living up to Blue Belt

Since my last post I went from being a 3 stripe white belt to a blue belt in a rather short period of time. The transition from day one to day blue was about 15 months - much quicker than I had anticipated (I was expecting closer to the two year mark). The feeling of having to hurry up and learn more in order to actually feel like a blue belt set in very quickly and still remains.

The Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt that promoted me must have seen something he liked - however, I don't feel like I have the mental aspect down nor do I have the physical muscle memory required to represent this level in Jiu-Jitsu. The more I think about this the more I realize that being promoted a little ahead of the curve can be a good thing. If you are serious about Jiu Jitsu and feel like you aren't at the level in which you represent then it makes you work that much harder to get there - playing catch up. This is exactly what I am going through and still feel like I have a long way to go!

Guillotine Choke - Defense/Prevent a Broken Neck

There has been some buzz in the Jiu-Jitsu and MMA circuits recently about Guillotine Choke Safety. Not too long ago an MMA fighter broke his neck from a guillotine choke while going for a takedown. In this particular case the fighter decided to continue with the takedown instead defending the guillotine. I don't know any other specifics about this particular case but it was enough for me to start thinking about my safety when I get caught in the guillotine from standing.

Bellow are a couple of videos that provide some good info on what to do when you get caught in the guillotine from standing. 

Safety/Technique on MMA style takedowns while in the guillotine choke.

 

This is the defense I learned when I first started Jiu-Jitsu. I had since forgotten about it until I revisited this subject and came across this video.

Ezekiel Choke

In follow up to my last post on 07/02/12 about loosing a match at NAGA to an Ezekiel Choke from within my opponent's guard I decided to research the choke. I found that there are several different versions of the Ezekiel Choke but I couldn't find the exact version that was used on me - the first video is the closest version.

1. Similar to the Ezekiel from guard that my opponent used on me except the hand gripping the collar was a deep under hand grip. After he had the underhand grip set he pulled me down towards his chest and then reached his arm around my head and grabbed his sleeve for the choke. 

2. Ezekiel Choke using your opponent's gi

3. Popular version of the Ezekiel Choke

4. Arm In Ezekiel Choke & Defense

NAGA Columbus - 1rst Place

On Father's day weekend I had the opportunity to compete in my first NAGA event in Columbus, OH. I took home the Gold in the Adult Gi 150-159.9lbs division. I also placed 2nd in the Masters division but can't claim any credit for it since there were only two people in the division and I lost due to an Ezekiel Choke from within my opponent's guard.

I hadn't learned the Ezekiel Choke yet and as such I didn't recognize what was going on when it was being applied. I just thought he had one hand deep in my collar and that I wasn't in any danger unless he went for the other collar to perform a traditional cross collar choke. It felt like it was just a controlling ploy until he reached around my head, grabbed his own gi at his arm, and then squeezed. No biggie, I'll just stack him and apply pressure at his neck until he lets go - nope, didn't happen that way! While stacking him I was reaching for his collar to pull myself in tight over his head - but before I could finish executing I passed out on top of the guy. So yes, you can bet your @$$ that I'll be learning what Mr. Ezekiel Choke can do for me in the future and how to defend against it!!!

Being my first NAGA event and didn't really know what to expect. I was impressed with the overall logistics of the event and had a great time. It was another great learning experience and plan to compete again in the near future!!