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."

Photo provided by Troy Russell

Until next time good day.

   

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?

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/
236x/dc/62/f4/
dc62f401b9a6a069f0ceddf98ecd5784.jpg