Until next time good day.
Sunday, April 26, 2015
A Short and Sweet podcast by yours truly
Hi everyone, I have come to you today via podcast... This is a short message I have brought to you regarding training strategies in regard to the amount of time can be committed to training. Hope you enjoy and if you have anything you'd like to add to the conversation just comment.
Until next time good day.
Until next time good day.
Monday, April 13, 2015
A couple of classes into my instructing position...
So I have officially taught two classes on my own now!
I have got to be honest, in my personal opinion the first class went well, but the nerves got to me a little and in hindsight I saw where I could make improvements right away.
With jiu jitsu it is important to be detail oriented as I am. However, I realized quickly after the first class that I need to be willing to move on at a quicker pace to get through the curriculum and accept that I don't have the time to critique each student thoroughly. I laugh about it now but, during the first class I would demonstrate the technique on someone then have the whole class work on it without having demonstrated it on someone else, so the first student I demo'd on got to see it. That was a no-no, but at least I recognized it right away.
I am hugely excited about this endeavor largely because it only took one class for me to get comfortable and correct the above stated flaws. Aside from the timing of warm-ups and drills. Other than that, by the next class I had fixed the demo issue completely and look forward to all the classes to come. Until next time, good day.
P.S. here are some pics from class-
Photos provided by: Troy Russell
I have got to be honest, in my personal opinion the first class went well, but the nerves got to me a little and in hindsight I saw where I could make improvements right away.
With jiu jitsu it is important to be detail oriented as I am. However, I realized quickly after the first class that I need to be willing to move on at a quicker pace to get through the curriculum and accept that I don't have the time to critique each student thoroughly. I laugh about it now but, during the first class I would demonstrate the technique on someone then have the whole class work on it without having demonstrated it on someone else, so the first student I demo'd on got to see it. That was a no-no, but at least I recognized it right away.
I am hugely excited about this endeavor largely because it only took one class for me to get comfortable and correct the above stated flaws. Aside from the timing of warm-ups and drills. Other than that, by the next class I had fixed the demo issue completely and look forward to all the classes to come. Until next time, good day.
P.S. here are some pics from class-
...
Photos provided by: Troy Russell
What you know about Cauliflower Ear??
Today I want to talk a bit about cauliflower ear and share with everyone a short video on what others have to say about it.
Cauliflower ear is basically a hematoma of the ear caused by blunt force and/or contact friction. If anyone one wrestles, fights, or does jiu jitsu, you either have cauliflower ears or know someone who does. You either mind it or you don't.
If you are one of the many who cannot stand the idea of having deformed ears, then you can simply wear head gear (which sucks I can't do it), or get it drained immediately. The draining method is taking a syringe, sticking the needle into your highly sensitive and inflamed ear and extracting the blood from the ear.
I for one am not interested in that at all!
About six months into training is when I got my first cauliflower ear. Say what you will, but I accepted my cauliflower ear like a badge of honor. There are only so many ways in which one gets cauliflower ear and all of them are by doing something tough and grueling. This my friends is why it is a badge of honor to me.
Now let me be honest, it is also a great conversation starter. I did not know when it happened that it would lead to spontaneous conversation where strangers would ask about my wrestling background. Which is cool, albeit a little misleading cause I never wrestled. However, I simply correct them by telling them it's from Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and not wrestling, then the conversation flows from there.
Others are worried about it not being attractive, heck with that, as far as I'm concerned I make it look good. There you have it my take on cauliflower ear now here are some others.
Until next time, good day.
Cauliflower ear is basically a hematoma of the ear caused by blunt force and/or contact friction. If anyone one wrestles, fights, or does jiu jitsu, you either have cauliflower ears or know someone who does. You either mind it or you don't.
If you are one of the many who cannot stand the idea of having deformed ears, then you can simply wear head gear (which sucks I can't do it), or get it drained immediately. The draining method is taking a syringe, sticking the needle into your highly sensitive and inflamed ear and extracting the blood from the ear.
I for one am not interested in that at all!
About six months into training is when I got my first cauliflower ear. Say what you will, but I accepted my cauliflower ear like a badge of honor. There are only so many ways in which one gets cauliflower ear and all of them are by doing something tough and grueling. This my friends is why it is a badge of honor to me.
Now let me be honest, it is also a great conversation starter. I did not know when it happened that it would lead to spontaneous conversation where strangers would ask about my wrestling background. Which is cool, albeit a little misleading cause I never wrestled. However, I simply correct them by telling them it's from Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and not wrestling, then the conversation flows from there.
Others are worried about it not being attractive, heck with that, as far as I'm concerned I make it look good. There you have it my take on cauliflower ear now here are some others.
Until next time, good day.
Sunday, April 5, 2015
BJJ Seminar's... The great supplementation to regular class attendance!
Hi everyone, I just had the opportunity yesterday to attend a BJJ seminar hosted by Gracie Humaita KC and taught by the legendary Wellington "Megaton" Dias! I had a great time learning from such a renown practitioner.
It was a unique experience because it was the first time I did anything BJJ related without having any of my teammates alongside me. Which at first was slightly nerve wrecking at first, but, if jiu jitsu has helped me with anything it has helped me with dealing with the feeling of being uncomfortable. So I went and had great time breaking down my introverted nature even more.
Okay, for those of you who aren't familiar with what a BJJ seminar is and what it's like I'd be glad to fill you in.
It is extended length version of a regular class usually where people from various academies come together to learn BJJ from a high ranking practitioner who is not readily available from day to day. When I began practicing jiu jitsu there weren't many seminars in the area being done often, they are starting to pick up now. I like this, however, it can be hectic on the pocketbook. As they can cost anywhere from $75 to a couple hundred per session.
The great thing about seminars is, that like with competition you converge with people outside of your gym most of the time. In addition, at every seminar I have attended I have learned something that was not being taught at my academy. This gives growth to your playbook so to speak. Its nice and I can't wait to show a couple of things I learned at this seminar to my teammates.
Being from Topeka, KS, you don't get much access to well known practitioners unless you can travel, so every chance I get I make the most of it.
Here is a picture of myself and "Megaton."
Until next time good day.
It was a unique experience because it was the first time I did anything BJJ related without having any of my teammates alongside me. Which at first was slightly nerve wrecking at first, but, if jiu jitsu has helped me with anything it has helped me with dealing with the feeling of being uncomfortable. So I went and had great time breaking down my introverted nature even more.
Okay, for those of you who aren't familiar with what a BJJ seminar is and what it's like I'd be glad to fill you in.
It is extended length version of a regular class usually where people from various academies come together to learn BJJ from a high ranking practitioner who is not readily available from day to day. When I began practicing jiu jitsu there weren't many seminars in the area being done often, they are starting to pick up now. I like this, however, it can be hectic on the pocketbook. As they can cost anywhere from $75 to a couple hundred per session.
The great thing about seminars is, that like with competition you converge with people outside of your gym most of the time. In addition, at every seminar I have attended I have learned something that was not being taught at my academy. This gives growth to your playbook so to speak. Its nice and I can't wait to show a couple of things I learned at this seminar to my teammates.
Being from Topeka, KS, you don't get much access to well known practitioners unless you can travel, so every chance I get I make the most of it.
Here is a picture of myself and "Megaton."
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| Photo provided by Troy Russell |
Thursday, April 2, 2015
Weight Cutting... Is it worth it? Is it legit?
Hello everyone, back at again and the topic of discussion today is weight cutting. Weight cutting for those of you who are not familiar with the term, is when a person manipulates their food and water intake in a fashion as to temporarily decrease body weight by a substantial amount. It is usually done wrestler's and other combat sports athletes. Here are some common methods of doing so:
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| http://www.advanceweb.com/SharedResources/Images/2013/052013 /Wrestle_table1_700x.jpg |
Now I will be the first to admit that I may be biased against weight cutting due to my inability to successfully cut any significant weight as of yet. Since I have basically decidedly chose to not participate in this practice it will remain undone.
So you might be asking yourself, "what have you against weight cutting?"
Well for starters it's not the healthiest practice. Manipulation of any kind puts undue stress on your biological systems. People have hurt themselves pretty seriously in the pursuit of getting to a specific weight. While others have gotten to their desired weight, gone on to fight and died as a result. So I reiterate that through critical thought and the mistakes of others, my health is more important than getting down to any weight by this method.
I do have another reason for disliking weight cutting. I am a fan of MMA and know that the main purpose if not the only purpose, to weight cutting is to see who can cut the most weight to the desired weight then gain the most back by fight time. This is all done for an advantage over the opponent.
To put it bluntly, I call it cheating! As a jiu jitsu practitioner and someone who has fought amateur MMA, I think if you have to use a method other than that of your techniques to get the win then you are a cheater. Other people may say , "Oh, it's just part of the game," I think the game could do without it. If you train hard then that should be good enough. Til next time, good day.
And if you have any input on this subject, you know where the comment section is...
I do have another reason for disliking weight cutting. I am a fan of MMA and know that the main purpose if not the only purpose, to weight cutting is to see who can cut the most weight to the desired weight then gain the most back by fight time. This is all done for an advantage over the opponent.
To put it bluntly, I call it cheating! As a jiu jitsu practitioner and someone who has fought amateur MMA, I think if you have to use a method other than that of your techniques to get the win then you are a cheater. Other people may say , "Oh, it's just part of the game," I think the game could do without it. If you train hard then that should be good enough. Til next time, good day.
And if you have any input on this subject, you know where the comment section is...
Sunday, March 29, 2015
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...
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...
It was written By Guillaume (Gile) Huni, BJJ black belt and head instructor of Kimura Academy in Belgrade, Serbia.
Monday, March 16, 2015
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.
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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| https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/ 236x/dc/62/f4/ dc62f401b9a6a069f0ceddf98ecd5784.jpg |
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