Hey, Let's Roll Light!!

Hi everyone, I came across this blog post that is really good and a pretty hot topic in the BJJ community so I thought I'd go ahead and share it with you.
What I find to be of value in this blog post is how it takes on and challenges the over-emphasis on turning jiu jitsu into a sport and leaving behind the very important martial art aspects. I really enjoy how this article calls out the jiu jitsu community for watering down training because it would be bad for business. I tend to side with those that are against this softening of our beloved martial art...

Hope you enjoy and let me know what you think...

http://www.bjjee.com/articles/hey-lets-roll-light-the-pussification-of-jiu-jitsu-and-how-to-counter-it/

It was written By Guillaume (Gile) Huni, BJJ black belt and head instructor of Kimura Academy in Belgrade, Serbia. 

The best BJJ supplemental activities

So, unless you have that unique passion that quells the possibility of burnout and/or a multiple class per day academy, you're going to have to consider activities other than BJJ that will supplement it. I think of them in the context of their ability to complement the physical attributes that are important in BJJ.

This topic is of consequence to me because well, I'm have to contend with the second issue. If I can't make it to the one class in the day then there are obviously no other options. But, if you can't make it to class the least you can do is try and make up for it by engaging in an activity that will help improve attributes important to BJJ practice. It also helps to keep things exciting and fresh.

One really great thing one can do to supplement their jiu jitsu is, yoga. Yoga increases muscle endurance, flexibility, and encourages proper breathing. Most yoga will do just fine, however, you can as a jiu jitsu practitioner, look into Yoga for BJJ by Sebastian Brosche. I gained flexibility just through jiu jitsu practice and a little bit of yoga but I will definitely be getting back into yoga asap.

Another really fun activity that I just began several months ago is rock climbing. At first glance it might not be real clear how rock climbing is useful to a jiu jitsu practitioner. So let me fill you in...
A very under-appreciated or over-looked part of jiu jitsu is grip strength. A person can implement their attack a defense only according to how well they are maintaining their grips.

For example, I cannot expect to finish a cross-collar choke without deep strong grips on my opponents collar, or I cannot expect to pass the guard without having solid grips that will allow for good top pressure and leverage. But unless you work with your hands frequently getting a strong grip can be challenging, and that is where rock climbing comes into play. Nothing else will work your grips like climbing and you'll be glad you've done it when you start being able to control your opponent's.

Then you have the long-time favorite alternative exercise's like bike riding, running, weight lifting, cross-fit, etc. My input on those are that they don't particularly implement any jiu jitsu specific attributes plus they get boring rather quickly. If anyone has any good ideas that I may have missed out on let me know, I love to try new things. Until next time and good day.

Hmmm what do you think?

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Being a Student, Instructor, and Being Both...

I have been a jiu jitsu practitioner for just a couple months shy of 4 years now. One thing I have noticed during this time is, that as time runs its course and the student gains his or her experience the line between being a student and teacher blurs.

You might be asking yourself, what does he mean by this?

Its clear for starters that once you begin your jiu jitsu journey that you are the student. However, once you've garnered enough experience, usually signified by getting your blue belt, you begin assisting in helping others gain an understanding of whats going on after the initial instruction given by the head instructor.

It personally helps improve my understanding of concepts and technical details, when I engage in practice with lower ranking students. When I think of how to do what my instructor has told us to do, but in my own words and critical rational it allows for a deeper and easier means of remembering what is being done. And then pass along that information to my training partners, giving them a couple different ways of verbalizing and eventually performing the required techniques.

Jiu Jitsu is complex and in a way never-ending. It is unlikely that anyone will ever truly learn every technique and combination of techniques. Another way of thinking about that concept is, there is so much to learn that one should always be a student.

So, if your always to be a student where does the instructor come into play?

Well that's just it, I'm of the mindset that once you are an instructor you are just balancing the giving and taking in of knowledge a different way than when you are just the student. This where the blurred line of differentiation is.

I will be starting a endeavor as the head jiu jitsu instructor at another martial arts school very soon. This made me realize that there is going to be a time when my main focus during training is solely on teaching versus learning. I will spend time outside that class specifically developing what I've learned and learning even more for an instructing purpose. This is the only separation between the two I see.

When training with others no matter the rank, you must continually be learning their styles and habits. Mixing up all the different training methods and working on making sure there is a well-rounded approach that involves being comfortable in all positions in the positional hierarchy. It is when you are doing this that I believe one has become both the instructor and the student.
Til next time and good day.

I just found this quote and I like
it.
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What Competitions are Like and Why you Should do a Few

One of my favorite jiu jitsu related activities are competitions. They are always a blast and eventful in a multitude of ways. Most instructor's from what I understand promote a healthy interest in competition experience, I know mine does. Not everyone enjoys competing, however, there are several legitimate ideas as to the importance of competing.

Here's what a big tournament looks like:

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Now back to what I was saying...

For one, unless you travel frequently and/or have a really big academy, its a way of diversifying your jiu jitsu experience on a person to opponent context. Take me for example, the academy I attend isn't the biggest around and while there are a variety of skill levels and body sizes not everyone makes it to every class. What this means is, that since I don't travel around and I train and roll with a certain group of people consistently, it gives a fresh rolling experience. 

Competing gives everyone the chance to implement their jiu jitsu skills against someone they've never gone up against before and amp up the intensity 100%. This is nice because when you train with a team, everyone learns each others' games and you should keep training intensity at a healthy level as to keep from injuries.

At another angle of thinking, competition serves as an accurate tool for discovering what it is in your skill set that can use some refinement. This goes back to the previous point where knowing your teammates' games and vice versa comes into play.

Competitions usually are an all day event and you get to see and meet a lot of other people who are a part of this community which is fun. Getting to meet people and network is a great bonus. Here is a couple of photos of me and my instructor meeting a couple of world renowned and highly talented jiu jitsu practitioners:

Us with Raphael Lovato Jr.
Photo by Troy Russell

Us with Justin Rader
Photo by Troy Russell

And last but not least competitions are a wonderful way to market your academy and possibly acquire interest from someone who is looking for somewhere to train. Either that or falling back on networking and finding out about places for potential cross training.

When competing make sure you either bring plenty of money for snacks or do as I do and bring something healthy like bananas and nuts. Nothing to heavy on the gut but enough to keep your energy up for the hurry up and wait part of the day. This is usually after the rules meeting at the beginning of the day and while divisions other than yours are in action.

There are usually some venders around selling jiu jitsu related merchandise. Anything from T-Shirts to mouth-guards or a new GI. Well there's my beginner's look at jiu jitsu competitions and why to do them, have any questions or comments you know what to do. Til next time good day.

Kid Jitsu, What Kind of Training Should Kids Do?

So, recently I talked about the different elements involved with a well-rounded training session. If you have not read that, a quick reminder:

• A good warm-up
• Drilling of movements and submission techniques
• Detailed repetition of isolated techniques
• Sparring aka "Rolling"

 Alright, back to what I was saying. I have been thinking about it a lot lately and I would like to voice my perception of the optimal training experience for kids age 5-10. Now in the academy that I attend we have this mantra and it's known in the jiu jitsu community, it's "position before submission."

The reason I mention this in a post about kids training is because kids are still experiencing a lack of coordination and really short attention spans. So it's my theory that kids should be taught the positions with an emphasis on developing their motor skills and coordination before being taught any submission techniques.

I mean that would inherently follow the logic of the mantra previously stated, but sometimes I don't feel like its taken serious enough. Or that people say it, but don't really think critically about what that really means. I believe there's an initial emphasis on submissions that can be problematic, especially if you understand that in order to get the submission your must stabilize and implement superior control of your opponent's position.

Let me reiterate that this is just a theory of mine developed through some critical thought. I in no way am sure if a program like this would be good for business as learning submissions is what gets people in the door, but anyone with any experience knows it's at least viable from a practicing stand point.

Hope you enjoyed this Brazilian jiu jitsu insight, til next time good day!

BJJ Concepts: Drilling vs. Not Drilling

Hello everyone, I finished training today and had a very good conversation with my instructor as we were cleaning the mats and getting ready to leave. As those of you who are taking the time out of your days to follow my blog I hope that one thing is fairly clear... jiu jitsu is quite complex while being equally mental and physical at least. I'd even argue that it's more mental than physical.

So, if that's the case, then its a given that concepts of some kind are bound to come up. And now is that time...

I've read and watched video on the debate to whether or not drilling positional situations and submission techniques were necessary. First I will give insight into the difference for those of you who may not know the difference, then I will weigh the advantages and disadvantages only to leave you the reader to decide for yourself how, if deciding to train, will train.

Let's start with drilling, in my mind the word drilling implies breaking a sweat and intense repetition. It's usually timed like how circuit training is. A person might do positional transition drills where the objective is not to employ any finishing chokes or joint locks. The other way of drilling would implement some finishing techniques into it.

There are two things involved with jiu jitsu training that is not considered drilling, one is detailed technical instruction on any one movement or submission and the other is live sparring widely known as "rolling."

The advantages of drilling are that you will develop what I like to call "jiu jitsu cardio," and what I mean by that is, you can have really good running/weight room cardio and get completely gassed out (exhausted). The reason for this is the jiu jitsu specific bio-mechanics along with learning how to breath while doing such, and trust me breathing while running, riding a bike, or rowing is a piece of cake in comparison to breathing while doing jiu jitsu drills.

Other advantages to drilling are getting execution timing, and if you train with different body types it's even easier to figure out the timing differences per body type and getting used to successful body mechanics. You also get to pick and choose what part of the positional hierarchy to work on.The only disadvantages I can think of to only drilling is that it is not as fun as rolling and if you only drill and don't roll then you may miss out on some breakthroughs that are had through a great session of rolling. And most drilling encompasses a more lackadaisical approach to the fine "minute" details of the techniques.

The advantages to not drilling simply work on the disadvantages of drilling as far as how detail oriented the instruction is and it's just a whole lot of fun rolling. And rolling is just like competing only not quite as intense.The disadvantages to only doing repetition of techniques are that timing in relation to a more well-rounded movement is not quite there and you won't get much cardio improvement.

The disadvantages to rolling is that while it does work on cardio, it can take more of a toll on your body. It may be known as "The Gentle Art" but it's not hard to get injured rolling and if you're not careful you can run through a string of injuries and before you know it you've spent a year only able to work certain techniques and that's it.Some people prefer to pick and choose which of these training elements to partake in and others will actually implement drilling, repetition of detailed technique, and rolling into every class.

I'll be the first one to admit that there are several variables involved structuring a lesson plan that can get in the way of being able to do it all in one class. However, most of us living the jiu jitsu lifestyle have plans to do it well into old age so keeping these concepts in mind is pertinent and again it's all up to the individual on what they find important. Til next time..


“Man masters nature not by force but by understanding.” - Jacob Bronowski

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Tips on How to put BJJ in your Price Range

I've been doing BJJ now for going on 4 years now and I've seen training partners come and go. There are several culprits typically responsible for the disappearance of a seemingly enthusiastic practitioner, but the one I want to talk about is money or the lack there of.I'll be the first one to admit that I struggle with financing my involvement in BJJ. However, I can offer ways in which you can consider you're lifestyle as well as finances in the goal of budgeting for BJJ.

How does BJJ starts adding up? Well unlike a gym membership being anywhere from $25 to $50 a month, membership dues at a BJJ school can vary from $75 or more. Distinguished schools such as Cobrinha’s, Kron Gracie, Romulo Barral, AOJ and Gracie Academy can easily run $200 or more each month.

Not only that, you must consider the cost of equipment.  Kimonos otherwise known as GI's will set you back $70 to $300.Rash guards and grappling shorts range $25 to $75 each. If you want to compete in any tournaments that's going to run you $45 to $150 and if your in the Midwest you have to add in travel costs. Needless to say jiu jitsu is not the most cost efficient activity out here, but, if you masterfully budget you can enjoy the many positive joys of this art.

Here are a few ways you can add to your BJJ training fund.

• Prepare your own meals. I know we live in a fast paced world and it proves challenging, but buying groceries is way cheaper than eating out. You have to spend a little extra prep time for your subsequent meals and you have to haul it around with you but in the end it will save you substantially.

• Drink water. Not only is it better for your health it is easier on the pocketbook. I know what you're thinking... bottled water costs, well I carry a 32 oz. water bottle around with me and I save by drinking water out water fountains or dispensed filtered water that I have access to. Which translates to spending nothing.

• Quit or vastly decrease alcohol consumption. Let's face it, the amount of money that can easily be spent in a night on the town drinking, would cover most of a month of school dues. Alcohol adds up fast, and can have adverse affects on your health and training quality anyway.

• Cancel cable subscription. Cable can cost upwards of a couple hundred dollars a month. And lets face it, you can quite often either not have the time to watch it or spend your time not being able to find anything of quality to watch. The online alternatives are more cost effective and you get a better viewing pleasure.

These are just a few out of a several ways to accomplish this, end the end it depends on ability to sacrifice and their dedication to a higher quality of life. Hope you enjoyed and if you have anything to add leave a comment.