Smash Pass

Xande Ribeiro vs Chris Moriarity Breakdown

2010-08-05T11:43:00.003-05:00

Here's a video of Xande vs Chris Moriarity at the Grappler's Quest 32 Man World's Best Grappler Competition. Xande took 2nd place after suffering a knee injury in the semi-finals. Here's a video with some of my analysis:

Stand Up Game Part 1:

There is a lot of hand fighting going on. Back and forth collar ties, kouchi gari attempts and Russian two on one ties.

Moriarity takes the first double leg shot at 1:32, which puts him into a dangerous spot when Xande sprawls and has him in front head lock/turtle control.

Ground Game Part 1:

From the front head lock position Xande looks to be threatening with either a D'arce or Anaconda. As he moves to the side of Chris, the D'arce option looks more inevitable. Chris defends these threats well as Xande pushes into him and looks to take his back. But Chris is moving well and catches Xande in his half guard with an underhook.

Xande recognizes the dangers of this position and posts on Chris' hip to get to his feet quickly. There is some brief hand fighting in the sitting guard and Chris gets back to his feet.

Stand Up Game Part 2:

Returning to the feet we go back to the hand fighting. Chris catches Xande in a sticky two on one grip but can't keep it. Then, at 2:52 Xande attempts a dynamic armdrag to low single that sends Chris searching for his balance. Chris reaches for Xande's right arm which Xande raises to bait him. Then he quickly cross grips for the armdrag, and steps in deep between Chris' legs. Using the armdrag to shuck Chris past him Xande attempts to get Chris' left ankle for the single. Chris manages to pull his ankle free by using both of his hands on the mat and turning to face Xande to avoid the takedown. In the background you can hear Saulo shouting, "Boa! Boa!" ("Good! Good!").

The grapplers return to the center of the mat and exchange some grips. At 3:24 they have circled to the edge of the mat in the corner. It appears Chris may have relaxed for a split second, perhaps expecting to circle back in to the mat. But Xande, still in bounds, shoots for a double leg. Chris' attempt to sprawl is late. Xande turns to his right to finish the shot, and this turn helps keep Chris on the mats. Some may say that this TD shouldn't count, but I disagree as Xande was in bounds when he initiated it. Following the takedown there is an argument, but I don't think it's about the takedown.

Xande lands the double leg with a healthy little slam (2 pts). While Chris lands on the brown mat Xande manages to keep his right foot on the red warning track which is usually considered to be in bounds. At this point Chris' appears to raise his right hand as Xande is securing side control. Perhaps Chris is expecting the ref to move them to the center of the mat? But as he is doing this Xande keeps fighting and secures the mount (4 pts). I think this is why after the ref moves them to the center Chris is arguing with him. Notes to my students: 1) Never stop fighting until the ref stops you. 2) Never argue with the ref.

Ground Game Part 2:

The ref restarts the match in the center with Xande in the mount. Little observation - the whole time the ref is moving them and Chris is arguing with him, the match clock is still running. It should've been paused for all of this. At 3:37 when the ref stopped to move them, Xande had the mount with head control and an underhook with his left arm. When they restarted at 4:04, the ref doesn't let Xande have his underhook back. Oh well.

Chris tries to escape Xande's mount but is forced to roll over to his knees. Xande is able to lock up a body triangle with his long legs. As Chris posts one leg up to the side Xande trades the body triangle out for an over-under hook on the same leg. Eventually Xande gets his two hooks in and 4 more pts.

Chris rolls over to face upwards and Xande tries to work his hands in for the choke. Xande gets the seatbelt grip and notice how he keeps slightly to the side of Chris so that he can drop Chris on top of his choking arm - or as I like to call it "the chopping block".

Chris keeps his chin tucked to defend the choke, but Xande switches to a neck crank which is legal in this and many other no-gi tournaments. As Xande Gable Grips and tries to drop his right elbow behind Chris' shoulder for the crank you can see that Chris gets his hands caught in the lock. Chris' left hand shouldn't be enough to stop the crank, but once he manages to weave his right arm up through the lock the pressure is relieved (1 advantage?).

In defending the neck crank Chris' right arm comes up high and out of position. Xande notices this and quickly switches to try and catch the head and arm triangle by coming under Chris' arm and getting on top. Chris manages to smartly defend this and put Xande back into a half guard.

Chris is playing a half butterfly guard game against a heavy and stable Xande. Xande decides to play from his feet and this allows Chris to get back to his.

Stand Up Game Part 3:

Back on their feet both grapplers exchange pushes and shots. At 6:31 Chris shoots in and Xande locks up his head and arm. Twisting Chris down (2 pts?), Xande steps over to the top for an arm in guillotine forcing Chris to tap right at the buzzer! Final score on the board was 11 - 0. I had 10 - 0 assuming they didn't count the twist down as a 2 pts. I don't know where the 11th point came from.

Dark Horse BJJ - Longmont, Colorado

2009-12-19T00:12:00.010-06:00

A very good and close friend of mine, and a Saulo Ribeiro black belt - Matt Jubera (center of pic as a new brown belt), has opened up his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu academy in Longmont, Colorado. The academy is called Dark Horse Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and is co-owned with a fellow BJJ black belt, Andrew Dudderar.

Matt is a phenomenal BJJ competitor and instructor. He is a 2008 and 2009 Brown Belt Pan-Am gold medalist. After his victory at the 2009 Pan-Ams, Saulo promoted him to black belt.

I have personally known Matt for several years. I first met him through the University of Michigan BJJ Club. And, it was Matt who convinced me to join him at Saulo and Xande's academy. It was also Matt who helped me pursue Judo training. He was already a Judo brown belt from the infamous Metro Fight Club. When I expressed interest in training Judo to further my BJJ, Matt and I both joined the Eastern Michigan University Judo Club. He helped me obtain my Judo brown belt and together we had some good times chucking one another and others around the mats. He moved to Colorado and got his Judo black belt (and Olympic quality Judo training!) and I moved to Iowa and got mine.

Matt's love for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and all forms of grappling (Wrestling, Sambo, Judo, etc.) runs deep. He is very analytical and extremely intelligent. His eye for detail is superbly refined, and he possesses a very deep and innate understanding of jiu-jitsu that is far beyond my own and many of his peers. Through his teaching abilities he is somehow able to communicate seemingly complex aspects of jiu-jitsu to beginners and advanced students alike.

Please visit http://www.bjjdarkhorse.com/ and check out the academy's website. If you're ever in his neck of the woods you have to drop in to train with him. Trust me, you will not be disappointed and you will leave with a deeper understanding of the game. Matt didn't approve me to say this on here, but as a friend of his he must honor what I am about to say... If you go visit Matt at Dark Horse BJJ, tell them that you read about them on Smashpass and they will give you a 10% discount on your first month's tuition! You heard it here first!

FYI, I plan to go visit Matt and his new academy shortly after the new year. Seth (on the left in the above pic) will also be there.

Rio de Janeiro to Host 2016 Olympics!

2009-10-02T12:03:00.002-05:00

On October 2nd, 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark the International Olympic Committe voted for Brazil to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.

What makes this great for the sport of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is that typically the host country can have influence on whether or not a demonstration sport will be held as an event at the games. I'm no expert on the Olympics or how a sport goes about becoming an Olympic event. I've just been reading this Wikipedia page. Technically, since 1992 demonstration sports have not been allowed. But, China was allowed to hold a wushu tournament at the recent Beijing Olympics. Also, with the removal of baseball and softball from the Summer Olympic program I think that BJJ stands a great chance at being showcased at the 2016 Summer Games.

For more info go here.

(Thanks, Adam, for the heads up!)

A Short Film with Saulo Ribeiro

2009-09-18T03:01:00.004-05:00

Rick Ellis (a student of Roy Dean) made a short clip featuring a training session with Saulo Ribeiro and Roy Dean. (Ironically, Roy Dean made a little light fun of me a year ago when one of his former students moved to Iowa, took a free class at my academy, and wrote back to Roy about his experiences with me. Actually, Roy didn't make fun of me. He just made a light hearted comment about how hilarious the letter was and supplied the message board for the comment to be posted on the internet. The comment is still available here. It makes me laugh everytime I read it!)

The clip reminded me of how philosophical Saulo is about Jiu-Jitsu and how pursuing the art of Jiu-Jitsu is so much more to him/us than just learning a martial art or fighting style. Jiu-Jitsu is meant to change your life and make you a better person. Jiu-Jitsu brings out your true self.

I remember Saulo saying to us in class: "When I roll with person, then I will know the true them. Who they really are. You can not lie when you are rolling. You can not hide who you truly are."

What he meant by that is, just because the other person may be better than you means nothing. Saulo is a multi-time World Champion. The odds of somebody beating him are slim. So, it's not about whether his opponent can beat him or not during a roll session. It's how they handle themselves when faced with personal adversity. It is good to have a more skilled person push you and to test your resolve and skills. You must, under even the most extreme circumstances keep your cool. Stay calm and go about executing your game plan as best as you know how. If you lose, you lose. So what? Tap out and fight again. Never quit fighting and challenging yourself to improve. This is the core of this philosophy.

What he also meant by this philosophy was that there are a great many people who think they are tougher than they really are. If you talk or act tough, that means nothing. Let us roll and see how tough you really are. And by seeing how tough you are, it doesn't imply that if you lose you are not tough. That just means you lack some skills or made a mistake. What is more important is how you handle the process of losing. Do you realize the situation is lost and just give up? Or do fight to the bitter end in an attempt to survive? Once you lose is your resolve broken, or do your rebound back and give it your all for another match? Do you time and time again go into a match against an opponent that is much more skilled and still keep trying to win, or do you mentally quit before the match has begun?

I have personally seen Saulo and Xande roll against "tough guys" in the academy and make short work of them. The tough guys would realize in about 10 seconds of the match that they were outclassed. From then on their will was broken. Match after match, submission after submission. They would lose all hope and faith in themselves. Having been dominated in BJJ, they would scarcely ever return to the academy to participate in a class. They came in as tough guys, they left as little boys. They unfortunately took it too personal and forgot to leave their egos at the door.

Thanks to Rick Ellis for making this short film. I look to seeing more videos from him.

~J

The Death Throes of Boxing

2009-09-11T14:14:00.001-05:00

Boxing promoter legend Bob Arum takes aim at his competition - the UFC. Fanhouse's Ariel Helwani interviews Bob about Boxing, and then the subject of the UFC comes up at about the 3:55 mark. So just fast forward to that and sit back and laugh at the things that come out of Bob's mouth.

Video courtesy of Ariel Helwani

Steve Maxwell & Xande Training & Rolling

2009-07-06T11:56:00.003-05:00

Steve Maxwell is a Saulo Ribeiro Affiliate in Philadelphia, PA. He runs Maxercise and is the guru of grappling fitness, strength and conditioning. Check out his YouTube page to see more of his videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/MaxwellStrengthCond

Holy Hell, Batman. Gracie Jiu-Jitsu on Cable!

2009-05-16T01:22:00.004-05:00

Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Targets the Masses with a Nation Wide TV Commercial

I have just finished watching one of the few television commercials that has ever left me feeling stunned, shocked, and initially completely confused. Basically, I am confused. Let me explain:
It's late, and I'm up shooting out emails and the television is on for some background noise. Dane Cook is doing his stand up routine on Comedy Central, but I’m not really paying attention. On comes a commercial the likes of which I have never seen. It is fast paced with a hoarse voiced commentator rattling off selling points. I look at the TV and I see old footage from the "Gracie In Action" videos on my TV while graphics of magazine covers about the Gracie family virtually stack up on screen. The announcer gruffly says, "The Gracie family has spent over 80 years developing the most effective system of self defense the World has ever known!" To see the commercial for yourself, go to https://www.graciecombat.com/flare/next .)
During the commercial, Rorion appears and says a thing or two about how he created the UFC to test Gracie Jiu-Jitsu (GJJ) against the World. Later in the commercial, Rener Gracie (who is kind of like the Shamwow guy of the Gracie family; ie, the “Gracie Juice Bag” video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0liQY4k4W4 ) and his brother Ryron are also on my TV talking about GJJ. They list all of the military and U.S. Government agencies that use “Gracie Combatives.”
The announcer says that, "The “Gracie Combatives” Course is based on the 36 most effective techniques of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu." It is then stated that the viewer/purchaser of said DVDs will be able to quickly learn and master what's on the DVDs from within their own home. What it boils down to is they are trying to sell “Gracie Combatives” to the general public as a means of personal and family protection. At this point in the commercial, I almost turned the channel. I found it hard to continue watching, but I did nonetheless.
Throughout the commercial are choreographed scenes of simulated street fights utilizing GJJ in a parking structure, in a sandy deserted lot, on a grassy lawn (no footage of a pony tailed Rickson fighting on the beach, though). Of course, there is the "infomercial" staple of having bona-fide testimonials from once “out of shape” and “weak” people who have since become empowered and healthy due to “Gracie Combatives”. Did they get this way from the DVDs? I don’t think so. My cynical side tells me that these are most likely testimonials from people training at the Gracie Academy, not in their homes using the DVDs exclusively. I could be wrong, though.

The commercial directs you to their website www.graciecombat.com . They will let you preview all 13 of their DVDs for one month for only $9.95 (followed by 3 monthly payments of $39.95 (not stated in the commercial)), or you can buy all 13 DVDs up front for only $119.85.
Returning to my confusion and uneasy feelings about this commercial; part of the allure to BJJ, for me, is that it is not a sport that many people are familiar with or participating in. It’s not an over hyped sport or martial art. It is a very real style with very real effectiveness. There are not watered down BJJ academies in every strip mall full of kids running around in black belts. My point being that it’s not your typical martial art. And seeing the Gracie’s television commercial elicited a gut reaction out of me envisioning just those same fears, and perhaps more. But my fears were a bit premature and irrational.
I am former military, but my tour was over before the Army switched to using “Gracie Combatives.” However, while I was in the Army and stationed in Hawaii I was enrolled at Relson Gracie's academy. Now that I am running my own academy in Iowa (under Saulo Ribeiro) I get current and former military coming through my doors that have been taught “Gracie Combatives” while in Basic Training/Boot Camp or at their units. These students have a head start over the typical new student, but it is evident that they typically don’t get the same amount of time to train as does an academy student. Personally, I think I can only remember one technique taught to me when I was in the military. The “Gracie Combatives” are obviously an abbreviated form of GJJ/BJJ. From the military’s point of view, they have to have a hand to hand combat program that can be taught to the lowest common denominator in the shortest amount of time. Perhaps that is why these “Gracie Comabatives” DVDs are the perfect video set to mass market to the general public.
We knew that this was bound to happen sooner or later, and the more I thought about it the more I realized that this GJJ commercial was probably good for all of BJJ in both small towns and big cities. This commercial shows that GJJ/ BJJ have potential to reach far and wide. This commercial would not have been made without some marketing research that showed there is a demand for such a product. If so, then somebody near you (that has probably seen the commercial) may purchase it and realize they need to join a BJJ academy or club to actually train what's on the DVDs. That's good for you, the academy owner or academy student. You get more bodies in your school to roll with, and the owner gets more tuition to pay those bills.

As the CBJJ and the IBJJF move closer to the goal of making BJJ an Olympic sport, and as America gets more BJJ black belts starting their own academies, the competition for students will amp up in the coming years. Commercials such as this could determine all of our fates in this sport. Like it, love it or hate it, in the end this Gracie commercial is a good thing for BJJ in the long run.

Cool Training Song

2009-04-30T10:51:00.004-05:00

I was listening to Pandora Internet Radio while I was working today, and this cool song came on that I had never heard before. It was called "Way of Life" by Dead Prez. Paying attention to the lyrics I get the impression the song is about Jeet Kune Do or some other martial art. But, they mention grappling in there some where, so it works for me. It's a pretty cool song that you can find on the internet.

When I searched Youtube and Myspace I couldn't find an offical video. But, I did find a video that a high school wrestler made for his Media class, and... it's pretty cool! Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvCSdf_Phlc or below:

I'm always looking for cool songs to make new training CDs. If you have any suggestions for good songs to train to, feel free to leave them in the comments section of this post.

~J

Break Falling is B.S.

2009-04-25T22:53:00.005-05:00

About two years ago I started training in Judo. As I am in the medical research/genetics field, I tend to seek out and absorb any type of research reports that revolve around martial arts training. I simply log on to the medical research literature database and search for terms like "Judo", " Martial Arts", "MMA", "Jiu-Jitsu", etc. To make a long story short, there are TONS of manuscripts in the medical literature about Tai-Chi and Judo. Very little about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai and MMA. Most of the Tai-Chi manuscripts center around how it benefits old people. Most of the MMA manuscripts talk about concussions and the lethality of the sport (which is a moot point as no one has died as a result of the activities of the sport).

When it comes to the Judo focused manuscripts in the medical literature there is much emphasis on the diet and cutting weight, comparing Olympic level atheletes to average atheletes, the effects of outside stressors on competition, the color of the uniform on competition results, etc. But, there are a couple of manuscripts that study the actual benefits of proper breakfalling techniques. That is to say, how important is it to break your fall when thrown or falling by landing a certain way and slapping the mat with your hand or hands, in order to "distribute the shock/impact of the throw" and not seriously hurt yourself. I am sorry, that due to my haste to write this post, I am unable to furnish you all with the actual references to these papers. Perhaps in the very near future I will edit this post and provide you with the references and/or actually post links to the PDFs of the papers.

What it all boils down to is that there was a published medical manuscript that came to the conclusion that teaching old people at a nursing home to fall with Judo breakfalling techniques did not curtail the number of injuries incurred during falling incidents of the residents. There are some more recent manuscripts that say that the number of "hip injuries" are reduced by the elderly when they have been taught Judo breakfalling techniques. But, the study did not elaborate on what other injuries might have been incurred by the elderly in the study.

Furthermore, if you watch high level Judo competitions you will almost never see a competitor breakfall properly. Why? Because the thrown competitor is trying to make him/herself not land in a position that will give their opponent a scoring point or ippon. The thrown opponent with brace the mat with their arm, or voluntarily land on their head, etc; anything that keeps them from landing on their back. Sometimes by bracing with their arm to prevent a throw, their arm breaks or hyperextends. Bottom line: watch or compete in a local Judo competition and you will see that not even local Judo black belts break fall properly when thrown or falling. High level judokas know how to fall propery, they just choose not to inorder to win their match.

What does this all mean? Bottom line, breakfalling is bullshit. Sure it helps in some ways. It helps to learn how to flow with the throw. It helps to provide psycho-comfort to the thrown opponent that "it's okay to be thrown, if you land a certain way." Without convincing students that breakfalling will "save" them, I doubt Judo and BJJ would have as many followers as it does today. Some people might just "puss out", when it comes to the grappling arts.

What does all of this have to do with this post? Well, just tonight, I slipped and fell in my kitchen. How did this happen? Well, I put some ice cubes in a cheap tupperware dish and let my puppies chase it around my kitchen. The ice cubes made a rattling noise in the dish, they chased it around the kitchen and tried to get the ice cubes. Unbeknownst to me, the puppies had punctured the dish and the ice cubes had melted to leak water all over my kitchen floor. Walking in to the kitchen in my flip flops I slipped, my feet kicked out in front of me and I fell straight on my ass and lower back.

Did I breakfall properly? No, I did not. One second I am stepping on to the tiled floor in my kitchen, the next mili-second later I am on my ass. Breakfalling didn't even cross my mind in the 1/100th of a second it took me to go from happy-go-lucky with my pups to flat on my ass in my kitchen.

How did I land? I landed by reaching backwards with my hands and hitting the floor ass first as my palms hit the floor. My arms were straight and my elbows were nearly locked out. Can you think of a worse position to land in? After I landed I realized nothing was broken, and I was thankful that I kept my chin tucked to my chest and nothing but my pride was bruised; even though nobody but the dogs saw it happen - I confessed it to my girlfriend out of the sake of comedic value. I think it's funny to make fun of myself.

So here's the skinny on this post. If you are an average Judo Black Belt, or an above average BJJ player, when you fall in real life - out of the blue; the odds of you properly breakfalling are slim to none. Now, if you are on the mat or in competition, you may be more ready for it. Breakfalling may even help you get through a training session where you get tossed around a 100 times or more. But, when you slip and fall off the mat your training will most likely not kick in and save you. But don't worry, the science is in your favor, unless you are over 65. Proper Judo breakfalling techniques do not mitigate falling injuries during Judo competions (in the young/middle aged) or everyday life (middle aged/elderly).

After the fall, come up with a cool "manly" excuse to explain your concussion and broken wrist. I suggest that when asked, you tell people that a rabid Jackal charged you and you were forced to break it's neck by suplexing and pile driving it to death. Hence the bruises on your ass.

Watch the 2009 Judo Senior Nationals on the Web!

2009-04-15T11:04:00.002-05:00

Okay, let me knock some dust off of this damn blog and post something worth a crap...

USA Judo has really done some cool things recently (and I think a lot of that has to do with the new USA Judo President). One of the coolest things is the live and archived webcasts of some of the bigger tournaments. Like this coming weekend, (April 17th & 18th) you can watch the Senior Nationals gold medal matches being held in San Diego, CA. The matches will start Friday at 5 P.M. PDT. Both days of competition will have commentating by two-time Olympians Leo White and Pat Burris. This year's Nationals also serve as the trials for the 2009 World Championships to be held August 26 - 30 in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

USA Judo now offers an on demand option for watching past judo webcasts. New events include the 2009 New York Open filmed March 8th, as well as a replay of the 2009 Pan-American Championships filmed which were webcast Live March 26-28 from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Visit www.usjudo.org and click on the link that says "Click here for LIVE USA Judo Events" to download the new USA Judo TV.

R.I.P. Grandmaster Helio Gracie

2009-01-29T23:49:00.002-06:00

The Gracie family just released that Helio Gracie died Thursday morning on his ranch in Brazil. According to the family, his last words were, "I created a flag from the sport’s dignity. I oversee the name of my family with affection and nerves of blood." He was 95 years old.

I'm still here

2008-12-17T01:29:00.002-06:00

First of all, I'm still alive. I often think of the authors of these various blogs that don't post for several months (5, in my case) and think to myself, "Jeeze, did they die or something? Did they get in a car accident? Did they have cancer? Man, I hope they're okay."

Here's the deal on why I've become so silent on this blog. It's pretty bland, actually. First and foremost my adventure at starting a new Saulo Ribeiro BJJ association in Iowa has taken up so much of my time (and $$$). I started the association about the same time I dropped off the face of this blog. So far things are going slowly but surely with this endeavor.

The other major thing that might be most relevant to this blog is that I have incurred significant interest in my product reviews. I have been solicited by several companies and television shows to write reviews on their products or to promote their shows on my blog.

Apparently (judging by context of the emails that I get) there's a whole marketing push by certain combat sport oriented "reality television" programs to solicit bloggers to talk/write about their show. I'm not talking about "The Ultimate Fighter" contacting me, although that might be cool. I'm talking about their competitor (hint = boxing). While I might like to watch certain boxers (most of which are historical and irrelevant today) I am oblivious to modern boxing champs. How can I possibly comment on boxing when I don't have Showtime or HBO and could care less about the outcome of a boxing "reality" show? Especially when John McCain was once in the pocket of a bunch of boxing commission bigwigs and tried to outlaw MMA in Arizona.

As far as product reviews go, as soon as I get an email from a gi or other company about reviewing their product, my response is usually along these lines:

"I appreciate your interest in my thorough reviews of BJJ and MMA products. I am a scientist by profession, and my reviews are unbiased and reflect my honest opinion in light of your company's intentions of soliciting me for a review or compensation. However, time and circumstances may change my opinion of a once high rated product as better and more affordable products become available to the public.

I am not in the business of making money from writing product reviews for companies that make a substandard product appear to be something more than it is not. If you still choose to send me a product to review for your company, you can be assured that it will be unbiased and compared to other products that I either already own or have been sent to me in the past. As other companies willing send me products to review, I may revise my original review of your product in light of theirs to keep my reviews current in context."

Now, in my opinion, I am being straight up honest that if you have a substandard product I am not your boy to help you sell it. But, if a company thinks it has a good product, I am more than willing to give it a test drive. To be honest, I will give special priorty to "locally grown" products, as the U.S./global recession makes this an obvious point of economic consideration.

Okay, new BJJ school and fending off these people that want me to write them up good things for their companies that I know nothing about have been taking up most of time. What else has been happening with me and my non-contribution to this blog?

It's a long story, but I've started (along with my girlfriend - sorry ladies) to be a foster home for rescued German Shepherd Dogs (GSDs). Since August we've fostered 4 GSDs. Long story short, having one rescued GSD in your house can take up quite a bit of your time, let alone two or more. Now we've adopted our 3rd foster GSD who is named Denali. In about 5 weeks from now we will also be taking home our GSD puppy that we have bought from our breeder here in Iowa.

So, between starting a new BJJ school, rescuing German Shepherd's and having a full time job, I've been a little bit busy to follow the BJJ scene and post regularly on this blog. Not to mention all of the solicitors who back off once they realize that I won't kiss their ass just to get a free gi or something else and write a review that pimps their product. If it's good, I'll tell the public. If it's not, I will tell them likewise. Put up or shut up.

I will try to do better about posting on this blog and keeping up with the BJJ scene, or else I should probably just delete this blog and forget about it. I don't want to do that, but why have a blog if you're not going to post on it? I know like people like my product reviews, but I'm not exactly Kid Peligro as far as BJJ news goes.

~J

Obtaining the Judo Black Belt

2008-07-21T12:17:00.022-05:00

This past weekend I passed the test to be promoted to Black Belt (Shodan) in Judo. After having accumulated enough points in competition I, and one of my teammates, had to go through the motions in front of a state promotion committee. We first had to demonstrate the first 9 throws of the Nage no kata (a choreographed ritual that has a total of 15 throws). Then the committee asked us to perform various pins, chokes, armlocks and throws. Lots and lots of throws (obviously). Throws by themselves, throws with set ups, throws in combinations, counter throws, throws to your weak side (left, in my case). The whole test took about an hour and a half (I think). It was hot, I was sweating buckets, and bodies were flying through the air. Below are some pics from the session.

Me throwing with an Uki Otoshi, the first throw of my Nage no kata.

Me throwing with an Uki Goshi, the 4th throw of my Nage no kata.

The promotion committee is asking us to perform various pins, chokes and armlocks.

I can't remember what throw I was doing here. I think it is the miserable drop Sode Tsurikomi Goshi where I dropped my partner on his head. The Sode is one of my favorite throws, but I lost control mid-throw. Not all of my throws were picture perfect!

But this throw comes darn close! The Kata Guruma, one of my favorite throws. Right side or left side, the KG is coming for you!

In the end, I got this. Well... not really. I have to buy my own belt, so I guess I really only got permission to buy it and wear it! It's all good.

Well, I'm glad that this is done and over with. For the last couple of months we have been practicing and studying for this exam. Now that it is over I can go back to training hard and doing more randori!

Best of luck to you if you decide to start Judo, but don't do it for the belt. Do it for the throws!

Update from (flooded) Iowa

2008-06-18T15:44:00.007-05:00

Sorry for the lag in posts. I've been working on writing up a review of the Padilla and Sons Single Weave and Hybrid Weave gis, and then WHOOSH! A flood hits my area and throws everything in to disorder. I can't complain, though. The only thing that happened to me was that I lost my internet connection at home. Even though I live only 300 meters from the Iowa River, I'm on a big hill at least 50 feet above the water line. Others had it FAR worse, and I hope for the best for them. The first night of flooding my girlfriend and I were helping those down the hill from us sandbag, but I can tell you, what we did wasn't nearly enough. Such a shame. I posted some pics we took so you can check them out here: Jason's Flood Pics . I also took some video that I will upload to Youtube as soon as I can. The good news is that the water is beginning to recede.

Also, some of you may know (or not) that when I left Michigan for Iowa last October I had a goal of opening a Saulo Ribeiro training association. Well, the time has come and July 8th is the first class. I am the first SRJJA affiliate in the state of Iowa! You can check out the temporary website over at http://agogebjj.blogspot.com/ . The first post has the Grand Opening flyer. And that's my logo at there up above. Thanks to my girlfriend and Phil from Taproot for helping me design it.

That's all for now. I will try to get that gi review up as soon as I can. Bear with me!

Xande Ribeiro 2 Golds at the 2008 Mundials

2008-06-09T23:22:00.002-05:00

Xande Ribeiro wins 2 golds at the 2008 Mundials held in Long Beach, California.

Xande defeated Alexandre Souza by a score of 3 x 2 for his first gold of the tournament in the Heavyweight finals. Xande then went on to face his rival, Roger Gracie, in the Absolute finals. It seems that Xande focused on his takedowns/Judo as he scored 2 takedowns to Roger's one sweep. Final score: 4 x 2. (Photo at left: Xande is carried on the shoulders of Saulo Ribeiro and Jacare after defeating Roger Gracie. Photo courtesy of The Fightworks Podcast.)

Also, Rafael Lovato Jr. took 2nd place in the Super Heavyweight division!

Congratulations to Xande and Rafael Lovato Jr on kickin' butt at the Mundials!

As I become aware of the results of other SRJJA competitors I will post them here.

Padilla & Sons Kimonos Review: Single Weave & Hybrid Weave

2008-06-08T01:32:00.074-05:00

Padilla & Sons Kimonos, Single Weave gi, retail $70. Hybrid Weave gi, retail $75. Both available at http://www.matrat.us/ .

A while back I said that I would write a review on these two gis as a follow up to my first review on the Padilla & Sons (P & S) Kimonos Gold Weave gi written almost a year ago. In that review, I compared the Gold Weave gi to 2 other high end gis and even a Judo gi. If you're not familiar with P & S Kimonos, I suggest reading the first review where I give some background information on the company. In short, the company is owned by Joe Padilla in Long Beach, California. He is a BJJ brown belt (Rigan Machado) and a Judo black belt, and he is making some of the best damn gis in the sport.

In this review I will be breaking down the features of the P & S Single Weave and Hybrid Weave gis. I am only listing the features of each gi side by side and not directly comparing them to each other. As I am running out of non-Padilla & Sons gis to compare to, you can refer to my comparisons in the previous review here.

To restate my criteria for judging the quality of a gi, the areas I look for are (in no particular order): 1) Weight. I am not a fan of heavy gis. 2) Comfort. I don’t want a gi to be too abrasive or stiff. 3) Fit. The gi obviously needs to fit just right and be comfortable on my feet, in my guard, etc. And, lastly, 4) Construction. I want a gi that will last me years wearing it 3 times per week or so if need be. It should also be reinforced in critical areas with strong material.

I will also add a new 5th point of judgement that has come about due to my increased training in Judo over the last couple of years: 5) Cross over capability. I prefer BJJ gis to Judo gis (mainly because they are lighter and fit better), but many BJJ gis can't be worn in Judo class or Judo tournaments for several reasons (illegal dimensions, too many graphics/patches, poor construction, etc.). A BJJ gi that can also be worn to Judo class or competitions is a plus in my book.

Weight

The Single Weave gi (American Size 5) weighs about 6 lbs. and the same sized Hybrid gi weighs about 5 lbs. The Hybrid, afterall, is meant to be a strong lightweight gi for warm weather training.

Feel

Out of the package the Single Weave gi is soft and bright white, and has a traditional single weave pattern. The Hybrid gi, on the otherhand, only comes in black (as of this writing) and is a smooth weave of heavy canvas twill. This heavy canvas twill is smooth to the touch, but is a noticably stiffer fabric than that of the Single Weave gi. The first thing I did to both gis was to wash and dry them to fit. I have found that the Padilla & Sons Single Weave gi stands up to going through the dryer quite well with minimal secondary shrinkage (continued shrinkage after the first drying). This might not be recommended by Joe Padilla, though, and will definitely shorten the life of the gi. As for the Hybrid... Well, it says on the label not to put it in the dryer, but I thought doing so would help soften it up some, but the heat from the dryer caused the fabric to get shiny in spots. So, definitely don't put the Hybrid in the dryer!

Fit

The fit of the both gis is comfortable and non-binding through the chest, torso and armpit areas. There is great range of motion when moving the arms, and the slightly longer skirts of the gis (as compared to the Padilla & Sons Gold Weave gi) keeps the gi tucked into the belt nicely.

On the left, the Padilla & Sons Single Weave gi (also available in blue). On the right, the Padilla & Sons Hybrid Weave gi (only available in black. Both gis fit exceptionally well and are nicely tapered from the armpits to the waist. From here on out, click any of the pics to enlarge.

Both gis when properly sized will conform to regulation measurments. What is noticeable is that both gis have narrower sleeve cuff than the P & S Gold Weave gi.

Construction & Dimensions: Gi Jacket

What you can see here is that both gis have the girdle seam that separates the upper part of the gi top from the lower, a feature that the Padilla & Sons Gold Weave doesn't have. Does it matter? Comfort wise, no. There is no difference in feel in gis with or without a girdle seam. But, it does matter in terms of strength. The weakest part of a gi will always be where two pieces of fabric join. But, as I'll show below, this seam is strongly reenforced in these gis.

The lapels of both gis are approximately 1 - 7/8 inches and have 5 stitch rows to provide firmness. The collar is identical to the Gold Weave gi in fit and feel.

Opening up the jackets to expose the interiors, you can see that both jackets have a 'T' shaped reenforcement through the shoulders and down the spine. In the Hybrid Weave, this reenforcement is made of Single Weave gi material. This combination of Single Weave fabric and smooth fabric in the jacket, is where the Hybrid gi gets it's name.

Close ups of the spine seam 'T' reenforcement. It is slightly wider in the Hybrid than the Single Weave. This close up of the Hybrid shows more clearly the combination of the two fabrics.

The girdle seam is reenforced on both jackets and is approximately 1-1/4 inch wide. Notice how this reenforcement overlaps the bottom edge of the spine reenforcement, making a possibly uncomfortable seam edge smooth and wearable.

One of my favorite features on the Padilla & Sons Gold Weave gi was the attention to detail that was put into reenforcements, such as the inside collar edge. This reenforcement is more commonly seen on only Judo gis, and is not a typical feature on BJJ gis. Above you can see that both jackets are reenforced in this area with a a 1 inch band. This band starts at the junction of the girdle seam, and loops around the neck to finish at the other girdle seam in a continuous unbroken reenforcement. This feature allow could add a year or more life to a gi jacket.

Another high stress area - the armpit. A look inside shows that both jackets are reenforced in the armpit areas with a large oval of Single Weave material. What can also be seen in these photos is that the seams leading into and out of the reenforcement patch are themselves covered and reenforced with a 1 inch wide band of fabric. This makes the insided of the sleeves smooth and comfortable.

Hip split reenforcement. Here is the only spot on either gi that is less reenforced than the Gold Weave gi. Here the split is reenforced with a 3 inch triangle of Single Weave material on the Single Weave gi, and with smooth canvas twill on the Hybrid jacket. Is it adequate? It would seem so thus far with the Single Weave gi, as I have been training in it (BJJ & Judo) for 10 months now. The Hybrid gi has seen far less mat time. Only time will tell, but if I were to pick a weak point in the construction, this would be it.

This is the inside of the Hybrid Weave jacket to show the combination of the Single Weave material and the smooth canvas. Here, the Single Weave material is being used to reenforce the chest and shoulder of the jacket. The same construction is used to reenforce the Single Weave gi (photo not shown). I have never seen a smooth gi reenforced in this way. It is very cutting edge.

Sleeve cuff width. This was a point of contention on the P&S Gold Weave gi with sleeve cuffs that were about 7-1/4 inches wide. Some people wrote me saying that this feature alone was making them hesitant to buy the Gold Weave. But, with both of these gis above, about an inch of material has been shaved off. Both gis have sleeve cuffs that are about 6-1/4 inches wide, which is more on par with the rest of the industry. Does it make a difference? Appearance wise it looks a little nicer, a little more "tailored". But, functionally, does it matter? To me, I like to be able to use the Ezequiel choke from many different positions, so I don't like cuffs to be too narrow. But, 6-1/4 inches isn't too narrow. Many BJJ players will gladly give up the ease of getting an Ezequiel choke as long as they feel protected from being dominated by a low sleeve grip. These sleeve cuffs reach a middle ground between those who like them narrow and those who don't (or don't care).

Sleeve cuff reenforcement. Both cuffs are reenforced with a 1 inch band.

Construction & Dimensions: Gi Pants

The gi pants, are very different compared to each other. The Single Weave pants are more similar to the pants of the Gold Weave gi. The are soft, have a triple belt loop, and the knees are reenforced from crotch to ankle. The Hybrid pants, on the other hand are much more stiff because they are made of a heavier cotton twill. But, this doesn't make them uncomfortable because they are at the same time quite smooth to the touch. Like the Single Weave pants, they have a triple belt loop and the knee is reenforced from the crotch to the ankle.

There's something different about the triple belt loops on these pants compared to the P&S Gold Weave gi. The top portions of these loops hang free. It's hard to see on the black pants, but I am pulling the middle loop away with my index finger. I was rather unsure about this feature when I first encountered it, but I have yet to find that this unique feature is any less effective than a more traditionally sewn on loop.

The crotch on both pants is reenforced just like the pants of the Gold Weave gi.

The four pictures above show the front (top two pics) and back (bottom two pics) triangle reenforcements on the inside of the pants crotch. The white Single Weave pants are the 1st and 3rd pics, the black pants are pics 2 & 4.

Pants hip split reenforcement. Again, neither pant is more reenforced in this area than the pants of the gold Weave, but these little details are what comprise the differences between Gold Weave gis and Single Weaves.

Pant knee reenforcement goes from the crotch to the ankle cuff hem seam.

The ankle cuff of the Single Weave is slightly more narrow (9 inches) than that of the Hybrid Weave's pants (9-1/2 inches).

Ankle cuff reenforcement for both pants is approximately 3/4 of an inch.

Opinion

Admittedly, I am biased regarding these gis. I am a traditional gi wearer at heart, and have a hard time slipping on a smooth woven gi like the above Hybrid Weave. I also don't like to wear non-traditional colors (colors other than white and blue). Why am I like this? What is my aversion? Is it because I feel like I'm wearing a karate gi? Do non-traditional colors make me feel like I'm being too flamboyant, or pretending to be a ninja? I answer yes to all of the above. But, I qualify this answer with I only feel this way in regards to myself, and not when others are wearing these non-traditional gis. What they wear is up to them and it doesn't bother me in the least.

These questions have been in my mind since I was in the market for my first BJJ gi years and years ago. It's obvious that my biases are based on what I was brought up with in my first BJJ academy. But, I have always been a little curious about why BJJ (or Judo) chooses to use the uniforms that it does. While writing this review I was flipping through an old Gracie Magazine and hit upon this article: "The 25 Great Mysteries in Jiu-Jitsu", by Marcelo Dunlop, Gracie Magazine #126 September 2007; pages 28 - 37. In the article 2 questions were asked about BJJ gis:

The first was "Mystery #19": Why does no one use smooth gis in Jiu-Jitsu anymore, apparel that disappeared from academies during the 1990s? The answer: 'The smooth gi, with long sleeves like an invitation to the opponent, started to see its days counted in our Jiu-Jitsu with the arrival of the new woven and thick gis coming from Japan. "When we started training with the judo guys, I remember the guys had started wearing Mizuno so tight and thick it weighed about 3kg," recalls Sylvio Behring. The novelty quickly caught on with practitioners of the gentle art, as the tighter sleeves made gripping more difficult, but also - and mainly - the thick collar made choking harder. "The smooth one really did make manipulating and controlling your opponent a lot easier. But, to this day in my academies I encourage the kids to use the smooth gi," says Behring.'

First of all, I can only assume that in those days the BJJ boys and girls were wearing smooth gis more along the lines of traditional karate gis, and not like the P&S Hybrid Weave. The Hybrid Weave is a smooth gi with a BJJ cut and collar and is reenforced with Single Weave material. But, what the above answer eludes to is that the smooth gi was commonly used in BJJ in Brazil up until the 1990s. So, it's "rebirth" in the more evolved and better designed P&S Hybrid Weave is perhaps more "traditional" than we typically give credit. And, granted, it should be a little cooler while training in warmer weather than a traditional weave.

The next gi question comes in "Mystery #23": Why was the gi traditionally white? The answer: 'Older than fighting facing forward, the white gi is one of the oldest traditions in martial arts. In Japan, the attire was always worshipped, in and out of fights, for the notion in the country that white was a noble color, pure and chaste. The adoption of the with gi for all had the further function of dressing people of different economic classes the same, be them noblemen or peasants. One need only inagine how classic Japanese judokas were peeved when Olympic champion Anton Geesink suggested, in 1986, that the color blue be adopted for the keikogi ("training uniform" in Japanese, from where the word "gi," in English, came about). Not even the force of tradition, though, could keep color from becoming popular, and nowadays in Jiu-Jitsu we see a profusion of tones - making it easier for fans and referees. A study by the University of Halle, in Germany, concluded that with fighters wearing different color gis scoring errors fall by 20%, thanks to the drop in referees' eye fatigue."

So, a blue gi isn't that traditional, and wearing a different color gi could help you in a tournament. Well, assuming you have a color of gi that the particular tournament allows. Both Judo, and now some BJJ tournaments are only allowing blue as an alternate color. And in Judo, it has to be a very particular color of blue.

The answers to the above 2 "Mysteries" helped me reconcile my traditional mind towards non-traditional BJJ gis such as the P&S Hybrid Weave gi, and slowly, I will incorporate it more and more into my training rotation.

Summary:

Back to the review. In terms of judging criteria for a gi stated at the top of this article, I would break down the scoring of the two gis like this:

Weight: Both gis score high for being light weight, 5 stars each (out of 5). With gi jacket and pants, both gis weigh in at 6 lbs or less.

Comfort: The Single Weave gi is soft out of the box and stays soft even when hang dried, 5 stars. The Hybrid Weave, because it is made of a different material, is stiffer than the Single Weave and other traditional gis. That's not to say that it's uncomfortable, though. The fabric is very smooth to the touch and is non-abrasive. Give it some time to loosen up from wear and wash, and it will come around. 4 stars.

Fit: Both gis fit like gloves, and seem to be tailored to fit. They have nice tapers from the armpits to the waist. The sleeve cuffs are not too big or too tight and there is plenty of range of motion in the arms. 5 stars each.

Construction: When talking Padilla & Sons Kimonos, you're talking about light weight suits of armor. The construction of P&S gis is absolutely second to none. Hands down, they are toughest gis in the 5.5 - 6 lbs range. So, in that context, both of these gis get 5 stars. However, if I were to compare these two gis to the P&S Gold Weave, then they only get 4 stars. The Gold Weave is just better reenforced and lacks girdle and spine seams (weak points). But, that's why these gis are less expensive than the Gold Weave.

Cross over capability: This is not that big of a deal for most people reading this review, because these are BJJ gis, and were not intended to be used for Judo. But, if you can kill two birds with one stone, why not? The Single Weave has great cross over capability into the Judo dojo and competition ring. Not only is it built tough enough to handle the abuse, it has limited graphics, is the right color and has dimensions that should pass inspection at most state and regional tournaments. For that it gets 5 stars. Additionally, I'm not fond of my Judo gi due to it's weight, and prefer to wear the P&S Single Weave to Judo class. As for the Hybrid Weave... while it is constructed well enough for the rigors of Judo, it is the wrong color and the wrong weave. For this, I can only give 2 stars (for the construction alone) in this category.

Omitting the Cross over category and comparing the gis only to non-Padilla & Sons gis, the Single Weave scores 20/20 stars (100%), and the Hybrid Weave scores 19/20 stars (95%). The strong point of both gis is in their construction, reenforcements and light weight. Pound for pound and stitch for stitch, they are the best Single Weaves and Smooth Weave gis out there. Not to mention their price! Whether or not you prefer a traditional weave to a smooth weave is up to you, and you may score the Hybrid Weave either higher or lower than myself based on your preferences. If you are open to the smooth gi, I strongly recommend the Hybrid Weave gi as reviewed here. If you are in the market for a traditional gi for training or competition, you will love the the Single Weave gi. It is by far and away the best Single Weave on the market. Just compare the price of these gis to similar gis on the market and you will see what I mean. Padilla & Sons Kimonos are better constructed than their counterparts from Atama, Koral and others, and on average will cost $30 - $40+ less.

Again, the Padilla & Sons Kimonos are available from Joe Padilla at http://www.matrat.us/ . The customer service is the best around and if you have questions, Joe answers them personally either by phone or email.

~Jason

Red-Black Belt BJJ Promotion

2008-06-05T01:43:00.002-05:00

If you train long enough you will see people promoted to black belt in BJJ. If you are fortunate, you yourself, will be promoted to black belt. But, you will only see one, maybe two people, promoted to Red-Black belt in your life time if you are lucky. Watch now as Renzo Gracie does the honors of promoting Carlos Gracie Jr. (Gracie Barra founder) to Red-Black belt.

First, Rickson Gracie pays tribute to Carlos Gracie:

Renzo promotes Carlos:

Carlos then shares his thoughts about the promotion:

Rafael Lovato Jr. Highligh Video

2008-03-18T16:44:00.003-05:00

Rafael Lovato Jr. is a Team Saulo Ribeiro black belt based out of Oklahoma. He was one of the youngest Americans to ever receive a BJJ black belt, and he and his father are the first American Father & Son BJJ black belts. Together they run the Lovato School of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Vale Tudo.

This clip contains highlights from some of his BJJ and even a couple Judo matches. It was made by YouTube user DirectD... which is not me, so thank him/her for their work.

Enjoy

~J

Fabricio Martins in Iowa all of March

2008-03-10T14:02:00.003-05:00

Fifth degree black belt Fabricio Martins will be staying in Iowa until the end of March. This is great news for the local BJJ community.

Fabricio is currently teaching the Monday and Wednesday night BJJ classes at Miletich Training Center in Bettendorf, IA. He is also available to teach private and semi-private lessons to those that are interested. If you are interested in taking a private or semi-private lesson with Fabricio, you should contact Rodrigo Uzeda at Rodrigo.uzeda@gmail.com or 563-506-0216 to discuss scheduling and prices. I have been told that Fabricio is willing to travel to your academy's location as long as it is within a reasonable distance from Bettendorf, but this will require a 2 day advanced notice and a guarantee of at least 2 private or 2 semi-private lessons.

Additionally, Fabricio and Daniel Otero will also be holding another 2 day seminar at MFS in Bettendorf, IA on Saturday March 29th and Sunday March 30th, 2008. Each day will consist of 3 hours (11 A.M. - 2 P.M.) of BJJ training. In this seminar series the Gi will be an optional uniform. The seminar will be $80 for 2 days or $60 for 1 day (pre-registration rate), at the door the cost will be $120 for 2 days or $90 for 1 day.

For those making a long drive hotel arrangements have been made at the Heartland Inn in Bettendorf, IA (563-355-6336). Those that request the "Miletich Rate" can get a single bed room for $50 or a double for $55.

Seminar Summary:

What: BJJ seminar (gi is optional)
When: Saturday March 29th & Sunday March 30th, 11 A.M. - 2 P.M. both days
Where: Miletich Training Center, 325 16th St., Bettendorf, IA 52722
Cost: Pre-registration $80 for 2 days $60 for 1 day. At the door, $120 for 2 days, $90 for 1 day

Send Pre-registration to:

Gregg Humphreys
3513 Oakwood Drive
Bettendorf, IA 52722

Pre-Registration must be received by March 22, 2008. Questions about the registration or the seminar? Call 563-343-3508.

Champions From Brazil Come to Eastern Iowa

2008-02-28T13:40:00.008-06:00

I haven't posted anything in a long time. So long in fact, people have emailed me to ask if things are "Okay?" Things are fine, I've just been recovering from a few Judo and BJJ injuries as well as doing some traveling. Not much time for training, put plenty of time for me to pack on some pounds. I digress my fat ass to the point...

The point of this post is that I have found out, on short notice, that 2 champions from Brazil are coming to Eastern Iowa to hold a 2 day seminar at the Miletich Fighting Systems (MFS) Academy in Bettendorf, IA. They are Fabrício Martins and Daniel Otero, both from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Fabrício (photo at left, courtesy of bjj.philippines) is the coach of both Daniel Otero and Rodrigo Uzeda. Rodrigo is currently the resident BJJ instructor at MFS. Fabrício has a very accomplished academy in Brazil that has produced many champions. His only representation outside of Brazil, that I am aware of, is an affiliate in the Philippines which is also very accomplished. Fabrício is currently a 5th degree black belt with an extensive competition resume. For the sake of being brief I have only included his championships as a black belt below:

1987: Campeão do desafio Cantão de Jiu-Jitsu, Campeão do Torneio Rio – Minas de Jiu-Jitsu, Campeão Lighting Bolt de Jiu-Jitsu

1988: Campeão Carioca, Campeão Suburbano, Campeão da LINJJ

1989: Campeão Carioca
1990: Campeão Carioca, Campeão da LINJJ, Campeão do América Futebol Clube de Jiu-Jitsu, Campeão da Copa Armazém do Esporte de Jiu-Jitsu

1993: Campeão Brasileiro de Jiu-Jitsu

1996: Campeão brasileiro de Jiu-Jitsu (masters), Campeão Carioca de Jiu-Jitsu

1997: Campeão Brasileiro de Jiu-Jitsu (masters)

Daniel Otero (photo at left, courtesy of Sherdog) is a student of Fabrício Martins and is the 2006 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion (black belt) in the Rooster Weight category. He is also an accomplished MMA fighter (7-1-1) (includes amateur fights) with multiple wins in the Shooto fighting organization. Read an interview with Daniel by MMA Universe here. Daniel's resume is as follows:

BJJ (as a Black Belt):

2003: 2nd Place Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Championship, Brazilian Nationals Champion

2004: 1st Place Brazilian Nationals Champion

2006: 1st Place Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Championship

MMA (including amateur fights):

Shooto Japan Back To Our Roots 3: vs. Masatoshi Abe, Loss (DQ) (Pro)

Shooto Brasil The Return: vs. Tomohiro Hashi, Win (TKO) (Pro)

Real Fight 3: vs. Márcio Silva, Win (Submission, triangle) (Pro)

Clube da Luta 5: vs. Estevao Leo, Draw (Pro)

Shooto Brasil 7: vs. Tiago Matos, Win (TKO) (Pro)

Real Fight 1: vs. Raul Carneiro, Win (Unanimous Decision) (Pro)

Shooto Brasil 3: vs. Wellington Silva, Win (Unanimous Decision)

Shooto Brasil 1: vs. Willian Parrudinho, Win (Unanimous Decision)

Shooto Brasil 1: vs. Edson Paulista, Win (Unanimous Decision)

The seminar is a 2 day event starting on Friday, February 29th at 5:00 P.M. at lasting until 7:00 P.M. The focus on Friday night will be with the gi (kimono). On Saturday, March 1st the second session kicks off at 10:00 A.M. and goes to 1:00 P.M. The focus on this day will be No-gi. The cost is $40 to attend one of the days, or $60 to attend both sessions.

Summary:

What: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Seminar with Fabrício Martins, Daniel Otero and Rodrigo Uzeda

When: 2/29/2008, 5:00 - 7:00 P.M. (with the gi); 3/1/2008, 10:00 A.M. - 1:00 P.M. (No-gi)

Where: Miletich Fighting Systems (MFS) Academy, 325 16th St., Bettendorf, IA (link goes to Google Maps location)

Cost: $40 for 1 day, $60 for 2 days

Contact: Gregg Humphreys - dynamogregg@msn.com , 563-343-3508

Sorry for the short notice. I hope that those that want to attend are able to do so. If you can't make it, contact Gregg (above) and let him know that you want these guys to come back to the area in the near future.

The Best BJJ Blogs of 2007 - Vote Smash Pass

2007-12-11T10:37:00.002-06:00

The Fightworks Podcast is conducting it's 2nd annual (?) contest for the best BJJ Blogs of the year. Believe it or not, this pathetic blog of mine here was actually nominated! Of course, it only has 2 votes so far, and one of them is from me... but that means that somebody out there actually likes the blog... or me. Either way, to even be on the list of some of those other blogs is pretty cool.

There are some very cool and well designed blogs on the list that we all have visited. Some of them are even linked on my blog to the right. There are a few new ones/ones that I hadn't heard of yet that look to be very good, as well.

The voting for the Best BJJ Blog of 2007 ends on December 30th. On December 31st, the winner will be announced. The prize for the winner is be 2 Grapplers Quest DVDs. Second place gets 1 GQ DVD.

So go over to the Fightworks Podcast and vote for me or your other favorite blog of 2007.

Rafael Lovato Jr. Interview

2007-11-19T12:25:00.001-06:00

The Judo Podcast website has done an interview with Rafael Lovato Jr. following his win at the 2007 BJJ Mundials. Rafael, a Team SRJJA black belt, started Judo about a year ago and talks to the Judo Podcast in a 45 minute interview about his take on Judo and how it impacts his game. He also talks about some of the differences between BJJ and Judo. It's a great interview with insights for both BJJ players thinking about getting into Judo, or Judokas thinking about starting BJJ.

Visit their website to play the interview here.

Also, to see some Judo highlight clips from the 2007 U.S. Senior Nationals visit Judo Throw Down. Great stuff.

Things Are Settling Down

2007-11-01T00:40:00.002-05:00

I'm a lazy bum... in regards to this blog. But I know people who are worse (Matt & Seth). Anyway, I'm here in Iowa and am learning my way around the training circles in the vicinity. As I am sure you can imagine, the vast majority of the time I have spent here thus far has been dedicated to learning my way around my new city, finding hot spots and finding people to train with.

Before I go further, the big news is that my friend from back home in Michigan, Don Richards, has made the cut to fight for the IFL. Congrats to Big Don. He's also slated to fight Dan Severn on November 21, 2007 in a King of the Cage match. Big Don is a Team Caique brown belt from Warrior Way in Walled Lake, MI. Keep your eye on him to get his black belt within the next year or less.

In my first month that I have been in Iowa City, I have trained with the University of Iowa BJJ club, the University of Iowa Judo Club and Miletich's Academy BJJ (inactive website) class with Rodrigo Uzeda.

Everybody here that I have trained with so far has been nothing less than extremely nice to me. The UI BJJ club is phenomenal in terms of how they run a class. As far as a University Sports Club goes, this club runs their class like an true academy (30 min. warm up, 30 min. instruction, 30 min. roll). On top of that, they have several blue belts that are very good. Overall, I was very impressed with how this University Club ran it's program. The club also has Pedro Silveria down quite often to teach classes and conduct privates.

Rodrigo Uzeda is a BJJ Black Belt under Fabricio Martins. He is currently living in eastern Iowa and is a friend of my instructor, Saulo Ribeiro. Rodrigo recently began teaching BJJ (with the gi) two nights per week (Monday & Wednesday 7:30 - 9:00 P.M.) at Miletich's academy in Bettendorf, IA. I have been attending his biweekly classes as often as I can, but it is a 2 hour round trip for me to do so. The training area is huge and there are tons of exercise equipment and kicking bags.

The University of Iowa Judo club is currently being run by Richard Finley and is quite different from the Judo club from which I've come (Eastern Michigan University Judo Club). The UI Judo club is more formal, and is run as an instructional club, whereas the EMU Judo club was run primarily without instruction with focus on self instruction/workouts. I have a good feeling that this club will fill in the many gaps in my Judo game and make me not only a better competitor, but also give me better knowledge of the sport overall. I highly recommend training with this Judo club if you're in town.

Pat Miletich's academy also offers a Judo program, but as they are so far away from me right now, I can only make it down for just the BJJ program on Mondays & Wednesdays and must forgo the additional Judo training at the moment.

Unfortunately, within the month that I have been down here I have incurred 2 slight injuries. The first being my lower back with the UI BJJ club, which seems to have become an increasingly recurring problem, and a dislocated pinky toe with the UI Judo club (last night).

I plan to post pics soon of the different training facilities that I have been to, as well as pics taken before I left Michigan.

On another note: Due to the increased prevalence of MRSA in schools I have been getting a lot of hits on my MRSA article. And, the Padilla and Sons Kimonos review has still been getting a lot of attention. Read the comments on these articles for updated info.

Pics (probably) coming soon.

J

The Time Has Come - Moving On-

2007-09-08T01:57:00.001-05:00

I am sorry for the lack of inactivity on this blog throughout August and September. It was never my intent to alienate or abandon my friends that enjoy reading what I tend to post from time to time. Likewise, it was never my intent to make this blog a personal diary. However, there are some important events forthcoming in my life that have been looming on the horizon and have taken my time away from not only updating this blog, but which have also encumbered my BJJ and Judo training.

Throughout the months of late July and August, my time has been spent helping my fellow team mates train for the BJJ Mundials. Due to this, my Judo training suffered. But, as only one person from my Judo team actually reads this blog (and he's living in Japan now) I doubt I'll catch any flak about it from the Ju-"duh"-kas on my team. ;P

But, the most important event that has delayed my training and posting is that I am moving away from my much beloved Michigan BJJ and Judo scene for new pastures in Iowa. Yeah... I said Iowa. It has always been my opinion that nobody moves to Iowa but only out of it. Not the case for me. In my line of work the University of Iowa (in Iowa City) is on the cutting edge of Molecular Biology, Genetics and Birth Defects research. So the money and opportunity takes me to this new land of hopefulness... and corn. I will be out of the state of Michigan and into some apartment in Iowa by September 30th.

Which brings me to my next dilema: There are no Saulo Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu Associations in the entire state of Iowa where I can train. Where to train, where to train? While I am excited to train with the other BJJ schools in and near Iowa City, I am very intent on opening up my own place within a year of getting down there. I also intend to train with the Militech Camp (which has an outstanding Judo Coach) as well as the Univeristy of Iowa Judo Club in order to keep my judo and no-gi games at top notch. If I can find a nice wrestling club to complete the picture, I may in fact approach grappling nirvana. With NAGA's happening in Chicago as well as Madison and Milwaukee, WI, all of which are 2 - 4 hours away... I may be able to stay at the top of game.

So, that's the big news. I'm moving and will be leaving the Michigan BJJ scene. A scene that I was a part of since the beginning in 1996-97. I will be leaving all of my (bjj & non-bjj) friends, coaches and best training partners for unknown territory. I will miss them all and I only hope that I can make it work out Iowa.

On another note:

In my previous post I did a lengthy review on the Padilla & Sons (P&S) Gold Weave Kimono. I also linked this review to many of the BJJ and MMA forums/message boards... basically posting it publicly wherever I could find space. It has received a lot of attention and comments from many people around the world. So much so, that somebody at class tonight (commenting on the P&S Gold Weave I was wearing) stated that, "Yeah, I called and tried to order one, but they said that they were sold out."

YES! This means that my post about these kimonos and this company is shedding light on the fact that you don't need to pay more that $100 for one of the best BJJ gis on the planet.

A lot of readers/posters were also asking me about the other kimonos that Padilla & Sons offer (the Single Weave and the Hybrid Weave). Well, I will very soon be able to offer all of the inquisitors my opinion on these two kimonos. Earlier this week I received my new single weave and hybrid weave kimonos from Padilla & Sons. At first sight I am very impressed. VERY impressed. But, I am a skeptic by nature and profession, so I will wait to give my opinion after I have worn them on the mat for at least a week or two before I start giving my critiques. But let me just say, this hybrid weave kimono is like nothing you've ever seen. I am such a stickler for traditional gis, that I typically don't care for gis similar to this Padilla & Sons Hybrid Weave (which appears in photographs to be similar in nature, but not design, to the Atama Summer Weave). But this Hybrid Weave seems to have a little something extra. It is a very innovative design to say the least. As for the single weave, I am astounded at the attention to detail that has gone into this gi. By nature, a Single Weave is not intended to survive long - either on the training mat or in competition. But this one appears to be light weight and built like a tank. In fact, both gis out of the box already appear to rival the competition in design and construction.

So, hopefully by the beginning of October I should have a good review posted on the Padilla & Sons Single and Hybrid Weave kimonos.

Next up in my list of news is my fairwell tour, so to speak. I'll attempt in my final weeks to travel to the BJJ schools around Southeastern Michigan that made me who I am today. Hopefully I'll remember to bring my video camera and get some words from some of the people and instructors I came up with. I also hope to get around to a couple of the Judo dojos in the state that are considered top notch. But, don't hold me to anything.

Check back in a few weeks. Better yet, just subscribe to this blog and get an email update when I post next.

"Lost in the transitions"

~Jason

Gi Review - Padilla & Sons Gold Weave Kimono

2007-07-10T01:34:00.003-05:00

Padilla & Sons Gold Weave Kimono. Available at http://www.matrat.us/ . Retail, $80 (white) $90 (blue).

Most of us outside of California are probably not familiar with a little company on the West coast called Padilla & Sons Kimonos that churns out some of the best kimonos to ever hit the mats. If you've been training since 1999, maybe you've heard of this company run by Joe Padilla that use to make an indestructible double weave kimono which retailed for around $60 or so. But, just as the word was spreading about how good his gis were, he stopped making them. There were several factors that caused this to happen and which required Joe's full attention, which meant he was unable to attend to his fledgling kimono business. But, there is good news for us all - Joe is back in the business and now he is also making Gold Weave kimonos. And, with the recent rise in the prices of Atama (~$46 increase on the gold weave kimonos) and Koral, Joe couldn't have got back in the game at a better time for us practitioners.

Back in February and March of 2007, Atama had really increased their prices, which was difficult for me in that I had just become quite fond of some of the Atama gis. But, I am not willing to pay their prices for future purchases. So, I started looking around the net and found that Joe Padilla was making his gis again and I wanted one. I had missed out on getting one of his gis before he stopped making them back in 2001. When I saw the price he was asking for his white Gold Weave Kimono ($80), my jaw hit the floor. I had to have one of these gis, if not for their legendary status, then to hopefully find an answer to the Atama price jack ups. Nowadays, an Atama Gold Weave retails for $145, and the Koral MKM for $144.95. In my opinion, neither gi is worth that price.

I called up Joe on the phone and we talked about the gis and I told him my height and weight (5’ 9.5”, 190 lbs.). He recommended his A3 for me. I gave him my shipping and billing info and about 4 days later his kimono showed up at my door. I’ve been wearing it every day to training since I got it, and this gi is absolutely phenomenal.

My criteria for judging the quality of a kimono and whether or not I might like it depends on (in no particular order): 1) Weight. I am not a fan of heavy gis (double weaves, etc.) and I tend to prefer Gold Weave kimonos. 2) Comfort. I don’t want a gi to be too abrasive or stiff, which can be the case with some Gold Weave kimonos. 3) Fit. The gi obviously needs to fit just right and be comfortable on my feet, in my guard, etc. And, lastly, 4) Construction. I want a gi that will last me years wearing it 3 times per week or so if need be. It should also be reinforced in critical areas with strong material. Even though I have 4 gis in the training rotation, if I really like a particular gi I want to wear it as much as possible.

Let’s start with the weight, fit and comfort of this A3 Gold Weave Kimono. It is noticeably light weight, as a good Gold Weave should be and weighs in at just under 6 lbs. For a Gold Weave, it is very soft and comparable to the Atama Mundial # 5, which was one of the softest gis I had ever worn up until this kimono. The fit of the kimono after washing and hang drying is nearly tailored and felt as if it was made just for me. The gi didn’t shrink but maybe a half inch in the sleeve length from the wash. The gi top is made of all Gold Weave material and does not have a separate skirt made of a thinner material. One topic of discussion that has been mentioned in the BJJ forums is that the sleeve cuffs are wider than most other gis (as shown in the pictures below). But, believe me, the extra width is hardly noticeable and they are not ungainly in any way. The only people that might not like these sleeves are those that prefer Gameness type sleeves. The gi top is pleasantly “un-flashy”, which is perfect for me. Joe’s logos are unobtrusive and are actually embroidered, not sewn on patches. There is a small shark on the left sleeve and his unique logo on the abdomen of the gi near the knot of your belt.

(click pics for a larger view)

The kimono has a tailored fit and is very comfortable. Shown here with my belt pulled down a bit to show the unique placement of the Padilla logo.

The sleeve length and width are comfortable and are within the CBJJ rules and guidelines for competition kimonos. You can see in this picture that even though the sleeve cuffs of this gi are wider than other kimonos, they are not baggy or unpractical.

A close up view of the embroidered logos.

The construction of the kimono, both top and bottoms, are extremely well designed and reinforced like a suit of armor in all of the critical areas. In my comparisons to the Atama and Koral gis, I was actually shocked and how well the Padilla & Sons kimono was constructed. Obviously, Joe put a tremendous amount of thought into these gis. As Joe also trains BJJ himself, I’m sure he’s had plenty of time to recognize the short comings of some of the other gis on the mats.

I took the time to take some pictures comparing the Padilla & Sons Gold Weave kimono (retail $80) to the Atama Mundial # 5 (retail $162) and the Koral MKM (retail $144.95) so you can see how the three compare to each other. In every regard, the Padilla & Sons Gold Weave Kimono is more than comparable to these other two high end gis.

(click the images for a larger view)

Kimono top comparisons:

The collar widths of the three gis are nearly identical. The collar of the Padilla kimono is similar in thickness and stiffness to that of the Atama. The collar is firm, but not cardboard stiff, and is very comfortable.

The edge of the skirts of the Atama and Koral are folded back on themselves for reinforcement. I have found that in my older gis when this edge becomes worn, it is prone to splitting and frays easily. The Padilla gi is reinforced with a separate band of canvas that is 1 3/4" wide and heavily stitched to prevent the wearing of this edge.

The hip split area of a gi is very prone to tearing. The Padilla kimono hip split is reinforced with a big wedge of canvas, where the Atama and Koral are reinforced with small pieces of extra gi material. The other hip split on the Koral MKM gi in this photo is actually torn between the wedge and the edge of the seam.

It was this particular detail that blew me away. The inside edge of the collar where it is sewn to the gi is reinforced with an extra band of canvas identical to that inside judo gis. I have included a picture of my judo gi for comparison. This reinforcement extends around collar like a yoke, covering the most highly gripped areas of the gi. This detail will greatly extend the life of the gi.

Another area of high stress. The junction in the armpit where the seams meet is a weak point that is more than adequately covered on the Padilla kimono. In contrast, look at the small reinforcement on the Koral MKM.

The back edge of the collar and the shoulder area of the gi is decently reinforced.

The ends of the sleeves receive a lot wear from pulling and gripping. Here again, Joe uses the 1 3/4" wide canvas band to strengthen the cuff edges. Atama folds the end back on itself and uses an ~ 1/2" wide band to secure the cuff. The Koral MKM is similarly constructed and due to this you can see some fraying beginning. Granted, the Koral is the oldest of the 3 gis and was purchased about 10 months ago.

At ~ 7 1/4" inches wide, the sleeve cuffs of the Padilla kimono are wider than the 6 3/4" wide Atama and the 5 3/4" wide Koral MKM. As I said before, this extra width is in no way awkward or excessive. It even helps those Ezequiel chokes flow a bit smoother, which are always a pain to get with the Koral MKM.

The pants of a kimono are often over looked by some gi companies. It seems that they pump all of their money into the top, and then stitch together a pair of pants out spare material. Not the case with these pants. These pants are made of a material very similar to the Atama pants that I have worn and loved for years. They are soft, but very durable, and come with 3 belt loops instead of the standard 2. Just like the gi top, the pants are intelligently reinforced throughout.

Kimono pants comparisons:

The pants has 3 belt loops and a standard drawstring, and are very similar to the Atama pants.

Both the Padilla and the Atama have a knee reinforcement that extend all the way from the lower thigh to the cuff of the ankle. The Koral MKM on the other hand has a smaller reinforced knee area.

Also on the ankle cuff, the 1 3/4" wide canvas band is used for reinforcement. The Koral MKM is also reinforced with a band of canvas, but the Atama pants are secured with a folded back method.

Both the Padilla pants and the Koral MKM pants are reinforced at the hip split, which is an area of stress that has been over looked by Atama.

The Padilla pants and the Atama pants have a reinforced crotch area, unlike the Koral MKM pants.

Wash and care instructions are pretty standard. When your gi arrives, there will be an envelope with the printed out care instructions inside. Basically, wash and rinse the gi in cold water either by itself or with similar colors, and allow it to hang dry.

The customer service of this company is phenomenal. If you call and leave a message or send him an email (available on the contact page), they will be returned to you. Joe is great at helping you out and truly does want to put people in a quality gi that will make them happy. He has been a pleasure to deal with.

Taken together, the gi top and pants make a perfect package that feels great on the mat. I have made the comparisons against two of the more popular and higher end kimonos on the market today for you. The Padilla & Sons Gold Weave kimono is comparable to the other gis in some areas, but by and large, is vastly superior to both the Atama Mundial # 5 and the Koral MKM in practically all of the critical areas. The attention to detail that has gone into the production of this gi is amazing. I have made up my mind on which gi company I will be using in the future. I have thankfully found my answer to the recent price increases at Atama. At $80 each, I can buy 2 Padilla & Sons Gold Weave kimonos for the price of 1 Atama Mundial # 5, and I know that the quality of the gi will be better.

Padilla & Sons Kimonos and Mat Rat also sell a Blue Gold Weave ($90), a light weight Hybrid Weave ($80), Single Weaves ($70), as well as various other training gear and clothing. Make sure you check them out at http://www.matrat.us/ and give one of these gis a try. It is sure to be one of the best gi purchases you have ever made.

~j

Honey May Increase Athletic Performance

2007-07-03T11:04:00.003-05:00

My BJJ team mates and I, have for several years now, been using honey as a simple carbohydrate supplement prior to and during our matches at tournaments. We never really thought twice about the matter, as it seemed straight forward to us: honey is a simple carbo-hydrate that is natural and comes in an easy to use format. We were able to maintain (or so it seemed) a decent amount of energy throughout the duration of the tournament by taking a few table spoons prior to the first match, with smaller servings in between matches if we need it. Recently, we introduced the magic of the "Honey Bear" to our judo club and had some success with using it during judo competitions (picture above with trophy and the Honey Bear).

Just when we thought that plain ol' honey was all we needed, along came the advice of a "sage" in the BJJ world. The Sage recommended that we use all natural, unpasteurized, unfiltered raw honey instead of the honey bought at the super market which is heat sterilized. The reason being that the raw honey contains all of the amino acids and natural health benefitting properties that are otherwise removed from the heat sterilization process. Okay, Sage... I'm game. Let's give it a try. About a week later I found some raw honey at the local farmer's market that set me back about $9 for a mason jar full of the stuff. The vendor was... passionate about his product, to say the least. He went on and on for about 15 minutes telling me ALL of the health benefits of raw honey, "Cures cancer, stomach ulcers, pollen allergies, it's good for the prostrate, blah, blah, blah." These were some heavy claims, and in my line of work - Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence to be believed. So, I abused my work resources and scoured the medical literature databases trying to find support for his claims. I read paper after paper that knocked down the vendor's claims one by one. The only interesting articles that I found were regarding the use of honey as a topical treatment for wounds and possibly as a treatment for staph infections and MRSA. Apparently there is an enzyme in honey that reacts with the water in honey and creates hydrogen peroxide. I'll keep my eye on how that research develops. Bottom line though, there aren't any magic cures in raw honey and it is debateable as to how different it is nutritionally compared to normal heat sterilized honey (which is cheaper, by the way).

The other article I found that was interesting was one in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, where the authors actually compared the use of honey as an athletic supplement during an endurance exercise. The findings were quite promising and supportive of what my team mates and myself have been doing for competitions.

The study had 9 elite cyclists complete 3 randomized 64 km (39.68 miles) time trials and the effects of a low and a high glycemic index (GI) carbohydrate on their performance as compared to a placebo supplement were analyzed. The study was double blind (the cyclists didn't know which supplement they were getting, and the researchers didn't know which cyclist got what supplement until the end of the analysis), where the cyclists ingested either 15g of honey (GI = 35), 15g of dextrose (GI = 100) or a placebo (GI = 0) every 16 km of the time trial. The dextrose group and honey group completed the time trials slightly faster than the placebo group (~128 min 18 seconds compared to 131 min 18 seconds), but these results are not significant. However, the researchers also analyzed the Maximal Power Output of each cyclist in terms of Watts. During the majority of the time trial there were no differences between the 3 groups. However, in the last 16 km leg of the race the dextrose group and honey group produced more watts (power) than the placebo group. These results are indicative of the effects of the carbohydrate supplements and are supportive of the use of a low GI carbohydrate (honey) for an energy source during endurance exercises.

So, on your tournament checklist, add "Honey Bear" to your gear bag. Send me some pics of you, your medal(s) and your honey bear and I'll put them up here. Good luck!

Reference: Earnest CP, et al. Low vs. high glycemic index carbohydrate gel ingestion during simulated 64-km cycling time trial. J Strength Cond Res. 2004 Aug;18(3):466-72.

Check out the nutrition data on honey here. Learn more about the Glycemic Index here.

Rafael Lovato Jr. on the Cover of Gracie Mag #124

2007-06-28T21:47:00.001-05:00

As posted on the Lovato Jiu-Jitsu website, Team SRJJA member Rafael Lovato Jr. will be on the cover of Gracie Magazine #124 for July 2007.

From Lovato Jiu-Jitsu Academy website:

"Rafael is on a serious streak this year having won the American Nationals, European Championships, Pan-American Championships, and the Brazilian Nationals. After Rafael won the Brazilian Nationals, Gracie Magazine sat down with him to talk about the hardships of being a foreigner competing in Brazil. You can check out this article in the July 2007, Issue #124, of the prestigious Gracie Magazine."

Way to go Rafael! Keep up the good work and best of luck to you as you continue on to the Mundials this year!

Be sure to pick up a copy of this July's Gracie Mag and support our team mate and friend, Rafael Lovato Jr.

Read the On The Mat Wiki article about Rafael here.

In other news, expect a gi review article on the new Padilla & Sons gold weave kimono in the near future. Other articles are also in the works.

(Photo courtesy of The Fightworks Podcast)

Studio X Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu - Academy Report

2007-06-09T21:57:00.002-05:00

I've just returned from being in Manhattan for the past week taking a Statistical Genetics and Linkage Analysis course at Rockefeller University. While I was there taking the course I opted to bring my training gear and train at Studio X, which is run by Fabio Clemente and features the instructors Marcelo Garcia and Josh Griffiths.

Unfortunately, I happened to arrive in New York during the week that Marcelo Garcia was out of town training with Team Quest. And, while Marcelo was a motivating factor for me training at Studio X, his absence was not enough to deter me from the academy. There are 2 University of Michigan BJJ club alumni that train at Studio X so I was excited about meeting up with some old friends.

Other people from Team SRJJA have gone to train at Studio X in the past. I was forewarned of the expense of dropping in on the class. It was advised to me to call ahead and try to work out a deal for a week's worth of training. Unfortunately, my messages were never returned to me and I was unable to work out a deal. I even tried calling during a class time (class schedule here), but to no avail. Granted, I started calling only a few days before I were to arrive, so maybe if one were to begin calling a couple of weeks in advance, they might have better luck. But, in my own defense, I found out I was going to NYC for this course on very short notice. If you can't work out a deal with the academy, it will cost you $40 to drop in. Studio X has about 115 - 120 students and they run two classes in the evening (6:00 P.M. - 7:30 P.M. and 7:30 P.M. - 9:00 P.M.) they also run early classes and weekend classes.

I arrived in NYC on Sunday night (6/3/07) and I wasn't able to train until Tuesday night (6/5/07). The Tuesday 7:30 P.M. class was a gi class and I was the only purple belt in the class of 5 people. There were 2 blue belts and 2 white belts in the class with me. When I asked my training partner Mike (a blue belt) if this class size was normal, he said "No. It's usually much larger." Mike said that the class size is usually about 15 - 30 people. Fabio Clemente was teaching this particular gi class that I was taking, and he opted to, "Do some special exercises for our special guest who is visiting us."

Fabio ran a very good warm up session that was about 30 minutes long and covered exercises, conditioning and stretching. We also did alternating partner drills involving single legs takedowns, jumping to guard, sprawls, double legs and some grip fighting. Fabio was my partner for all of the partner exercises and he ran a very good warm up session. If you plan on going to Studio X, plan on it being HOT inside this 2nd story academy. So, drink plenty of water and pace yourself.

The Tuesday night gi class following the warm ups included 2 techniques that were sweeps/turnovers from the half guard. They were decent techniques and we rep'd them about 15 minutes each. The down side to this particular class was that Fabio was either dealing with a newbie or a administering a private lesson on the side, and he was unable to walk around and provide corrections for us students on the mat. The technical portion of the class lasted about 30 minutes and afterwards we started rolling for the last 30 minutes of class. Due to the small class size we started from our feet doing 6 minute matches. I was fortunate enough to get to have my last match with Fabio himself. I was relaxed and tried my best against him but he was good at exposing my weaknesses. I was trying to pay attention to his methods while keeping my wits and attempting to escape his dominate positions. He was definitely not trying to tap me out as quickly as possible, but he was exploring my reactions to his attempts and positions. He caught me with an armbar towards the end of our match, and when we restarted, he almost had me again before the time expired. Fabio is very good. He is a big man, and while being very strong is also incredibly flexible. His Jiu-Jitsu is solid in my opinion.

I almost didn't go to the Wednesday 7:30 P.M. No-gi class due to not being able to work out a training deal with Fabio, but, my friend Matt was going to be there (he's only training on Wednesdays due to a knee injury), so I felt obligated to attend. I'm glad that I did. The class was packed with white belts and blue belts... if there were purple belts and brown belts in the class I didn't notice due to the fact that it was a No-gi class. Again, Fabio was teaching the class and we went over some guillotine variations from the top cross when the bottom opponent bumps into you to try to get guard. Following this, we started some takedown drills and rolling drills.

Now, I can go on and on about the facility, but it's not going to make much of a difference because Studio X is going to be moving soon to a new location in Manhattan that is supposedly bigger and better than it's current location. I'll have to go back someday to see how it's improved. But I will provide my ratings of this CURRENT academy and it's location, below.

Overall, I will rate this academy using a 10 star system evaluating 10 different critical areas.

Customer Service: 4.5 stars. This is a hard one to rate. Granted, I was a vistor to the academy and there is virtually no chance of me becoming a full time student. Therefore, I can understand, in part, the lack of personal attention and the return of my phone calls. But, I made myself known to the academy on the answering machine messages that I was from a Saulo Ribeiro academy and wanted to spend a week training with them. But, I'm sure they were pretty busy, and that it was hard for them to return my calls. So like I said, this is a hard one to rate.

Academy size (mat space): 5 stars. You can typically fit 3 pairs of grapplers starting on their feet and about 4 pairs starting from their knees. In my opinion this is a typical size of many academies that I have visited. Fabio claims that at their new location that the mat size will be bigger.

Friendliness: 10 stars. Nobody in this place had an ego, and everybody was very nice to me. I hopefully made a lot of new friends in this place. Fabio himself was very nice to me.

Instructor: 8 stars. Fabio is a great instructor, but his personality is a bit aloof. Don't expect him to chat you up or take you out for dinner just because you show up to train. Other than that, he is a 3rd degree black belt, he is very nice and he runs a solid class. His warm ups and drills are old school and very good. His techniques are usable and very tight. Don't expect a lot of criticism from him or input on your technique as a visitor, but he does care about his students from what I saw. Do expect him to roll with you if you show up and time permits. This is very nice and makes your $40 drop in fee seem a little bit more well spent.

Changing Room Amenities: 6.5 stars. I've seen worse and I've seen better. What follows is my opinion of the current academy. As this academy is moving to a new location, these facilities will change. In the academy, there is a separate changing room with a shower, but there are no lockers to secure your gear. I used my combo lock to secure the two ends of the zippers on my gear bag. I noticed that most people didn't secure their stuff by any means. As this academy is totally isolated and not a part of a larger organization, like a gym, it's pretty safe for leaving your gear unsecure. But, I have found out the hard way that in rare occassions it is surprising to find that your teammates will steal from you. As I was the visiting "new guy", I wasn't taking any chances, so I used my combo lock to lock up my bag. I did have some valuables and my wallet in it, so it wasn't a case of over-paranoia on my part. But, to be honest, I don't think anybody in this academy would've taken anything from me. Some secureable lockers in the locker room would've improved things. The shower was a nice touch, but if you're a visitor, bring a towel from your hotel as the academy doesn't provide them for you. The changing room was a bit crowded and there are no benches to sit on. I found myself sitting on the floor to tape up my toes. Overall, the changing room could be improved with benches and lockers, but the shower was definitely a welcomed feature.

Changing Area Cleanliness: 8.5 stars. The changing room was pretty clean. The only discrepancy that I saw was the pile of used towels laying on the floor outside of the shower functioning as a type of bath mat/floor mat for stepping out of the shower. This pile of towels looked a few days old and they might not have been the most comforting thing to be stepping onto in bare feet following a shower. But, then again, you did just get done rolling around with a bunch of sweaty guys and hopefully you're wearing shower shoes. I think you'll live. So in this regard, with a nice hotel bathroom being a 10 and an average gym locker room being a 5, this one at Studio X gets a 8.5 star rating.

Warm ups: 9 stars. This academy does some nice warm ups. Totally old school and exactly what I'm use to. They are difficult, but doable. The warm ups on the first night that I was there versus the second night differed slightly, with the second night being easier than the first. There is some variability, perhaps it was my presence, perhaps it was the size of the class... I don't know. But, overall they were good.

Techniques: 8.5 stars. Fabio showed the class some good stuff. On the first night in the gi class, he showed some half guard techs that don't exactly fit into the Saulo Ribeiro style that I am use to, but, I can see how they might work. This is my just my personal bias, though. But, on the second night, which was a no-gi night, Fabio showed some solid techs about getting the guillotine from the top cross. I can totally see these techs fitting into the game from any fundamental style of BJJ.

Training Area Cleanliness: 10 stars. The training area was very clean. There were no dust bunnies or loose hairs littering the mat. The mat area was very clean. The mats were vacuumed and mopped both nights that I was there.

Academy Location: 10 stars. This is probably not going to change even after the academy moves from 13th Street and 3rd Ave up to somewhere on 27th Street in Manhattan. As long as the academy is below 50th Street it will be in an easy to get to location for any of us that visit Manhattan. When you walk out the door of the academy there will be food and restaurants within a block or two from you. At it's present location, you can walk out, turn right, and there will be a bar right next door to you. There is bound to be a lot to do around the new academy location. In Manhattan, you will almost always find what you're looking for within a few blocks from where you're at.

I rated this Academy on 10 sections of criteria using a 10 star scale. As an average, Studio X scored 8 stars on my rating scale. I highly recommend training at Studio X if you are in the Manhattan area. But, I suggest that you begin calling weeks in advance in an attempt to work out a tuition deal with them because $40/drop in is pretty expensive. It would've been nice to have trained there for the 5 - 6 days that I was there. But, there was no way I was willing to pay $200 - $240 to do so. I was more willing to negotiate about $100 - $120 to train there for 5 days.

If you go to Studio X, be prepared for some hospitality and good training. Be prepared to work hard, train hard and make some friends. You will have a great time and I highly recommend the experience.

20 Fundamental Moves of Jiu-Jitsu

2007-05-09T21:26:00.001-05:00

This is a compilation of what was a 4 part series article published in Gracie Magazine last year (July - October 2006, GM #'s 112 - 115). Gracie Magazine asked 20 of the best BJJ Black Belts what they thought were the best and most fundamental techniques that can enhance or play a major role in your competition game. To expand upon things, I've added most of the photos from a Google Image Search, and all of the videos from searching You Tube or editing existing clips and reposting them. Take a read, see what you think, and post what your comments and/or additions are to the list.

1. Armbar from the closed guard by Ricardo "Cachorrão" Almeida:

"The armbar from the closed guard is an essential submission hold in Jiu-Jitsu. Your opponent has two arms and one neck, so mathematically the probability of an armbar working versus a choke hold is 2:1. First let’s lay the foundation for a flawless armbar from the closed guard (attacking your partner’s right arm). First, use your left hand to pin your partner’s arm to your chest; your right hand controls your partner’s elbow, pinching it to your own hip. Second, use your left foot on your partner’s hip to pivot your body 45 degrees to the right. Use your right leg to put your partner off balance. Third , the left leg catches your partner’s head. Fourth, pop the hips in.

“Now let’s analyze some shortcomings you might encounter and some tips that will help. The armbar from the guard makes you vulnerable to a pass of the guard; make sure you always adjust your hips after any missed armbar attempt. You are exposed to the slam; develop the habit of hooking the inside of your opponent’s leg with your arm so you don’t get picked up and slammed. Especially in the armbar from the guard, because your opponent is on top, gravity is working against you. Whenever someone tries to stack me, I like to turn belly down to use gravity against my opponent’s arm.”

Here's 2 vid's showing slightly different variations of this technique:

2. Mount by Saulo Ribeiro:

“When an individual attains the mount, it’s because all the opponent's defensive resources have been exhausted. When facing a game of life and death, we quickly position ourselves in a position of submission, be it on the arm or the neck, as the decision comes in a split second according to the adversary’s endeavor for survival. Thus, if I place my hand on the collar I don’t necessarily want the neck – but I do want them to react to the emerging discomfort. The most important thing, however, is not how you hold your opponent, but how you snuff his leverage (that is, the bridge) with your hip movement, making your weight double on top of the enemy and creating extreme pessure that he’ll try to escape from, thus opening space for the submission.

“I train this fundamental daily and, as a hint, I suggest you try to keep the mount without using your hands, for that way you develop both your hip game and your balance, not necessarily having to hold your opponent with your hands. Your biggest challenge is searching for efficiency and not diminishing the number of people who can escape your mount, so don’t worry so much about holding them down when training.”

3. Tight guard pass by Fábio Gurgel:

“The first point that must be stressed in order to be a good guard passer is anticipation: you must understand that if your opponent needs to defend, they are not likely to be able to sweep or submit you. Once you have understood this, you have the chance of tightening the position which puts you in a situation of superiority and enables you to rest during the fight, while your opponent finds themselves in a bad position. (Secret: make sure you only rest when it’s good for you and bad for them.) Now you must choose the technique and keep calm while executing it. You don’t need many seconds to perform a tight, slow pass, so even if the fight is nearing its end don’t rush; pass slowly and closely. Another tip is always having variations at hand so that you can switch passes in case your foe can defend and stop your evolution. There is always a good variation in the mind of a good passer.”

Here's a short clip on a close pass that looks a lot like an x-pass variation:

4. Taking the back by Marcelo "Marcelinho" Garcia:

“Taking the back is something simple and fundamental at the time of the fight. The idea is to get control of a very big part of the opponent’s body – one that’s very hard to hide, by the way. Once you get to their back, you must worry about putting the hooks in, which in competitive Jiu-Jitsu means scoring. But there are also great chances of accomplishing a submission without the hooks. The grip can be performed during several moments of the fight, be it from a mount, a half-mount, a guard, etc. The most important thing is for you to have an arm over the opponent’s shoulder and the other under their armpit – this is mandatory for controlling the back. I remember my most exciting taking of the back was against Ricco Rodriguez in ADCC 2005, but the one I like most was that against Shaolin in ADCC 2003, because at that time there were many people who did not believe in me – or my moves.”

Let's just toss up Marcelo vs. Shaolin from the 2003 ADCC's for an example:

5. Loose guard pass by Vítor "Shaolin" Ribeiro:

“I use this kind of pass against nearly everyone I fight. When you stand up, moving around, you kill any chance the opponent might have of sweeping, since while he has his legs within your hands’ reach, nothing holds you and you can try either passing to the left or the right side. The person who wants to pass has to pay attention to the control of the hooks, and not use so much their own weight to control the enemy legs, because that way you open up a lot of space for them to armdrag you.”

Here's a short clip on a Spider Guard pass:

6. Kimura by Rodrigo "Comprido" Medeiros:

“It’s the kind of move you don’t expose yourself too much with. You can use it to attack your adversary starting from many set-ups, be it in the guard, standing, getting attacked from the back, and even from the mount, attacking sideways. It’s a very efficient move, with very strong leverage. I say it’s a safe move because, even when it doesn’t quite work, it doesn’t endanger your position. The care you must take is to observe the leverage, putting the foe’s arm at a right angle. And your hand holding the wrist should be as close to the other hand as possible, thus improving the leverage.”

*Trivia: The Kimura arm lock used in BJJ is one of only two techniques named in honor of a Judo player. This bent arm lock was a favorite of (Kosen) Judo and Jujitsu master Masahiko Kimura, who fought Helio Gracie in 1951.

The Kimura is a versatile submission, and in this clip, Stephan Kesting from Grapple Arts shows how to get it from the Half Guard:

7. Triangle choke by Marcio "Pe de Pano" Cruz:

“It has always been one of my favorite moves, but it’s important to remember that it must be applied as if the fighter was springing, since if the opponent gets to re-maneuver you’ve got a great chance of losing the position. Having long legs can also make the fighter’s life easier, despite the fact that, without training or repetitions in the academy, no one gets anywhere. You must pay attention to the hips’ function in the movement – the tighter the hips, the harder to escape.”

In this clip Dean "The Boogeyman" Lister shows some very nice details about the triangle:

Here's a nice little variation of the triangle set up:

8. Sweep from the guard with the opponent on their knees by Xande Ribeiro:

“The mechanics are very simple. It consists of breaking the adversary’s posture with a kick to the armpit. In order to perform this kick, one must make a slight change in the angle of the hips, so that they create a better lever. As you achieve this break of posture, the opponent’s lower body gets lighter, enabling the reversal with the grip on the pants, on the same side as the leg of the kick.

The other detail is the positioning of the base-foot; it must be fixed on the ground and close to the opponent’s shin. By raising the foot, the lever is lost. There is a variation, putting that very same foot on the foe’s hip. The secret to this sweep is the timing, for if you just execute it, the adversary will be rigid and strong; so it’s necessary to feel they are relaxed and surprise them right then. Another advantage of this sweep is that the opponent doesn’t feel comfortable moving, which makes them, in their anxiety, leave room for other attacks.”

I edited the Ribeiro Brothers HL vid from ZenMonkey to show just the sweep that Xande is talking about in this clip:

9. Rear-naked choke by André Galvão:

“The rear-naked choke is a very good move to use because it’s very difficult to defend; the problem is that many people apply the wrong way, entering first with the hand on the neck and right away holding the biceps, throwing the hand behind the head. Thus the hand doesn’t arrive behind as it should, that is, above the opponent’s head. The ideal way to apply it is by positioning the first hand and then taking the foe’s shoulder. The second hand goes straight to the back of the head to only then grab the biceps. It’s also nice that the fighter who is going to perform the choke stays alert about the adversary’s arm, as the latter will hold their hand to try and stop the progress. So it is necessary to throw one hand over the shoulder and the other under the armpit, being the latter’s job to push the challenging hand down. As sometimes the hand that is supposed to get in from the bottom holds the one coming over from the neck, a good hint is to open the hand to the side, throwing the leg over the opponent's arm.”

Stephan Kesting from Grapple Arts has put together this very nice tutorial on getting the Rear Naked Choke. He also has some great details on the harness hold as described by Marcelo Garcia (above):

10. Pulling guard by Roberto Roleta:

“The first measure to take is to get a grip of your opponent that makes you confident enough to hold him in such a way that you can pull him into guard. The second one is to be careful, when you’re pulling into guard, not to fall victim to that takedown that is not a takedown. This has happened to me: the referee sometimes likes judo more than BJJ, wants to encourage takedowns by awarding points when you’re not even taken down, making you go for points. The important thing is to fall in a position where you feel comfortable, be it with your foot on the crotch, falling straight to the bottom or any other choice at hand. It’s useless to get nervous in the beginning, in that case you end up pulling guard willy-nilly and the outcome is worse than if you hadn’t pulled at all. Here’s the tip: wanna pull guard? Go for it, but have a plan.”

I'm not a proponent of pulling guard. But Ryan Hall from Team Lloyd Irvin is, and in this clip he explains part of his plan in doing so:

11. Armbar from the mount by Royler Gracie:

“Here you have two options: the first option appears when the adversary offers you their arm. So you put both of your hands on their chest and stick to them and use them for leverage. Then you rise up from the ground a bit and pass your leg over the foe’s head. As you get to that position you can already start to trap the arm. The other option comes when the opponent does not give you the arm. So you grab the opponent’s collar and chase the arm by raising you knee and putting it under the adversary’s arm. You keep raising your knee in order to capture their arm. After that you grab your own collar, pass your hand in front of the opponent’s face, use that same hand as a point of support and pass your right leg over to sink the armbar. That’s very simple and is the basic that everyone does. The armbar from the mount is usually taught to white-belt fighters as early as their sixth class. The armbar, as any other lock or choke, does not have a 100% rate of effectiveness, so before you go for it you must be sure the opponent's arm is exposed. If not, you must be sure you have enough control over them that you return to the mount in the event that you don’t finish the fight.”

Paulo Guillobel demonstrates what Royler is talking about in this clip:

And here is clip of a basic variation to capitalize on the opponent pressing you up:

12. Clock choke by "Ze" Mario Sperry:

“I’ve always liked the clock because it’s such a strong position that it can be applied in different ways. Also because it’s a match-defining move, once it’s been sunk, it’s very hard for the opponent to escape. I’ve always known how to pass guard and whenever I would go for it I would do it with the intention of making the opponent commit a mistake like going to all fours or letting me take their collar. Of course, when you try to sink the classic clock – the one where you put one hand under the opponent’s chin and wrap the other around his back in order to grip the other collar – you need to be alert and prevent the opponent from holding your outer arm and rolling over as he tries to gain side-control. The clock can be considered a blue-belt move – at least that’s when I began to use it a lot.”

This is an interesting variation on the Clock Choke using an outside pant grip. Note how his head is still up while applying the choke, this is a common feature of the older variations:

Here is Ze Mario's team mate, Wallid Ismail, putting the Clock Choke on Royce Gracie in a head down variation that is more modern (see the whole match here to see how this position came to be):

13. Half-guard sweep by Roberto "Gordo" Correa:

“It was during the beginning of the ‘90s that I began developing the half-guard. I had an injured knee but kept training. Due to my injured leg, I would position myself sideways. Half-guard was a defense resource that I started using because back then fighters would always try the sweep or would opt to restore the guard. The development of the half-guard made it also a position of attack . The athletes now let the opponent get to the half-guard and then sweep. Whoever is attempting the half-guard sweep must be alert to avoid an attack to the neck or even a kimura, since there are some fighters who are very good on top. One needs to be careful not to expose oneself too much and end up submitted.”

In lieu of being able to find a better clip, here's my team mate Ben getting me with a deep half guard sweep at the 2007 Arnold's:

14. Take down by Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza:

“Each fighter has a different style. We still have fighters that do not like to train standup positions, takedown positions, but that is changing and more and more people are training judo, always seeking the evolution of their game. I for one am a Judo and Jiu-Jitsu black-belt and my routine of training is divided practically in half between standup and ground techniques. The kata guruma is a very efficient takedown and hardly ever is the opponent able to counter-attack. To apply the kata guruma, you can use several types of grips, which is another advantage of the move: you can choose among gripping the sleeve, the collar or even the back. The ideal thing is to throw the opponent down and fall right beside them immediately; with the guard already trespassed.”

Here's a drop knee version of the kata guruma from a judo match:

Here's a standing version featuring Judoka Josh Resnick:

And, here's a Judo Highlight vid to inspire you to train your throws:

15. Choke from the mount by Leonardo "Leozinho" Vieira:

“If you are going for this move, it means that you are in a supreme position in the fight, a position in which you have the advantage of only attacking. The opponent, on the other hand, has no other action than to play defense. The big danger here is to lose the position and go under. How can that happen? It can happen if the opponent successfully throws you down with a bridge. I really like the choke from the mount and the secret for performing it right is to have certain steps in mind: the first is safety. You have to ask yourself to what point it is worth maintaining the choke at the risk of being thrown down. Whenever I felt insecure to try the choke, I chose to abandon the position, to stabilize the mount and to start it all over again. Another fundamental point to any fight situation is to know when to attack. Each position has attack timing and that’s what defines whether the attack is going to be successful or if the defense is going to be able to neutralize the danger. All that has to be done with a lot of calm, since it’s no use to be hasty when trying to finish the fight if you consider that the more desperate the adversary is to escape the mount, the easier he is going to make it for you to finish the match.”

A little clip from the old "In Action" tapes of Rorion Gracie using this choke 3 times in a row to beat the same Hapkido guy in some challenge matches. He's mainly using the one palm up - one palm down variation. One thing I had never noticed before now is how much he arches his back when applying the choke.

16. Choke from the guard by Pedro Valente:

“The greatest virtue of the choke from the guard is that it works against any sort of adversary, regardless of their strength or size. When you face a stronger or heavier opponent, it’s often not possible to stay on top, so the guard is a fundamental resource of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. This position enables the fighter on the bottom to defend himself, and possibly submit the opponent. As they train this choke, the fighter develops the important habit of controlling the foe’s head and breaking their posture, which is mandatory in a position of brawling. The practice of the guard choke helps the student learn to use his opponent’s clothes in their favor. In order to perform it, the fighter must place the first hand well into the collar and wait for an opportunity to place the second hand, always deeply, with agility and precision.

“There are some variations to this move, but the traditional grip is made with both thumbs facing the outside. As they achieve the grip, the fighter must twist his wrists (palms up) and pull the foe’s head toward their own chest. It is important to bring the opponent’s head very close to the chest, stopping them from defending or counter-attacking with punches. The pressure must be exerted continuously until the adversary gives up or passes out, which won’t take long if the technique is properly applied. When they use this choke the fighter must pay attention to the guard pass. In order to avoid the pass, they must use their legs, for their hands will be busy attacking.”

This is a clip of the most basic variation of this choke:

Jean Jacques Machado shows a more advanced variation:

17. Sweep from the open guard by Vinicius "Draculino" Magalhaes:

“This is a technique I like very much, and that I used a lot as a brown-belt and a beginning black-belt. The first step is to control the adversary’s heel before performing the outside hook. The hook is performed knee-high, but without getting in too close, for if that happens there is the risk of a leg lock. The fighter has to progressively apply the hook at the same time you sit on the floor, placing their hips back, since if they stay with their back entirely on the ground it gets very difficult. So one must start working with that same hand that was on the heel in order to control the collar. With the other leg – the one that was performing the outside hook – you slowly push the opponent’s knee with your foot. This push breaks the opponent’s base. If all works out, the tendency is for the victim to fall a little forward, thus being forced to find support on the ground. That’s when you exchange the collar grip for the pull of the arm that is supported on the ground while the leg that was pushing starts working as a wedge, making the foe fall on their shoulder, thus offering the sweep.“One of the aspects the athlete must pay attention to is that at the beginning of the move, when they are about to use the outside hook, it’s mandatory to be alert in order not to overstretch the leg, at the height of the opponent’s hip, for thus they run the risk of getting leg-locked, which the foe would do by taking a step backward.”

Draculino is referring to a sweep from an open guard variation more commonly known as the de la Riva (DLR) Guard (named after Ricardo de la Riva Goded). Here's a clip of de la Riva showing a sweep from a variation of the guard he made famous: (Kinda funny - he also calls the outside leg hook the "de la Riva" hook.)

18. Ezequiel by Marcio Feitosa:

“I’ve always enjoyed playing tight on top, without letting positions slip, and undermining my adversary. That’s why I’ve always preferred chokes to armbars. When you get a choke wrong, you usually remain on top; when you miss an armbar, you generally fall on the bottom. The good thing about the ezequiel is that you can prepare it without moving one inch away from the foe, and for those who like to fight tight there is nothing better. Usually I only teach this move to someone who is already a blue-belt. This for two reasons: as it is very easy for a white-belt to apply it on another, the student ends up getting addicted to this technique and stop using important techniques to pass guard. Another reason is the fact that when you tighten the ezequiel both your arms are busy, and thus you have to maintain balance with only your hips and legs. That takes some experience. It’s important to say that there’s no tough guy when it comes to the neck. Tough guys can even resist other kinds of submissions. With the choke they either tap out or pass out. Up to them.”

Here, Judoka Hidehiko Yoshida uses the Ezequiel (Sode Guruma Jime) to tap out Kiyoshi Tamura in a Pride MMA match:

(*Trivia: The Ezequiel choke (sode guruma jime) is the other technique named after a Judoka in BJJ. It is named after a Brazilian Judoka, who had much success with it when he would enter BJJ tournaments. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find out what his last name was.)

19. Knee on the belly by Gabriel "Napão" Gonzaga:

“Despite the fact that nowadays there are not very strict rules about when to teach a move to one’s students, I usually detail the knee on belly for those who are at blue-belt level. When the fighter tries to place their knee on the opponent’s belly, they must pay attention to balance. A good base is fundamental for performing the move perfectly. Without it, the athlete will be subject to reversals and some armlocks. As they use the knee on belly, whoever is on top forces the foe to dispense a huge amount of energy, as they try, at all costs, to achieve a comfortable position. As they try to escape, the victim winds up exposing themselves, thus augmenting the chances of submission.”

A little knee on belly with a baseball bat choke to top things off. It's in French, but you don't need audio:

20. Leg lock by Eduardo Telles:

“A leg-locker must always aim at the opponent’s joints. A good moment is after getting a guard pass: one crosses their knees, turns back a little and then springs. Because of the position itself, one must always be alert to defend their back, something that can be achieved by holding the opponent’s leg tightly. The leg lock is a move I have always liked using, but lately haven’t had many chances to do it: my opponents have gotten wise and come to the fights with the strategy of defending their legs. A good leg lock defense is to turn one’s knee, in a similar way to how one defends their arm from an armbar. These two moves, by the way, hold many similarities, as they can both be used on top, on the bottom, the side – pretty much at any moment of the fight. It’s good to remember that the leg lock is only allowed from the brown belt on, and I see no reason to teach it to the undergraduate, Truth is they end up learning it anyway, but I always make it clear that this particular move is forbidden, except if an undergraduate student tries to use it on a black- or brown-belt during training sessions.”

This is a nice basic clip that describes what Telles is talking about:

So, there they are - the Top 20. I'm interested to know what your opinions are and if there are techniques that you feel should be added to this list of 20.

Michigan Morels - 5/6/07

2007-05-08T11:39:00.000-05:00

Okay, I'll admit it - I didn't watch the ADCC's on ProElite over the weekend. In my opinion, I was doing something better, instead. It's Morel Mushroom season in Michigan. If you're not familiar with these things, they are phenomenal! The are a gourmet mushroom that retails for about $100/lb depending on where you're at and the time of year. Basically, you have a small window of time in which to find these shrooms, and this year it fell on the same weekend as the ADCC's. With the ADCC's, I can always buy the DVD when it comes out later.

So, I spent my ADCC weekend outside in the woods with my girlfriend finding these elusive bastards and getting ripped apart by picker bushes. We found about 100 or so in 2 days for ourselves, and I helped some Judo friends of mine (Brenden & Danielle) find some for themselves, as well.

I'll be up north this coming weekend looking for more, so I won't be at any of the upcoming tournaments.

ADCC Results

2007-05-07T01:14:00.001-05:00

The results are in. Congrats to Xande, the under 99kg Champion, as well as all of the 2007 ADCC finalists.

Super Fight Winner: Roger Gracie (score 5-0)

Men's Absolute:
1st Place: Robert Drysdale
2nd Place: Marcelo Garcia
3rd Place: Andre Galvao
4th Place: Cacareco

Women's Absolute:
1st Place: Hannette Staack
2nd Place: Rosangela Conceicao
3rd Place: Kelly Paul
4th Place: Lana Stefanac

Men's Finals:

Over 99 Kg:
1st Place: Fabricio Werdum
2nd Place: Rolles Gracie
3rd Place: Pe De Pano
4th Place: Darren Andy

Under 99 Kg:
1st Place: Xande Ribeiro
2nd Place: Braulio Estima
3rd Place: Robert Drysdale
4th Place: Cacareco

Under 87 Kg:
1st Place: Demian Maia
2nd Place: Flavio Almeida
3rd Place: Romulo Barral
4th Place: Tarsis Humphreys

Under 76 Kg:
1st Place: Marcelo Garcia
2nd Place: Pablo Popovitch
3rd Place: Andre Galvao
4th Place: Mike Fowler

Under 65 Kg:
1st Place: Rani Yahya
2nd Place: Leozinho Vieira
3rd Place: Baret Yoshida
4th Place: Tetsu Suzuki

Women's Semi Finals:

Over 67 Kg:
1st Place: Penny Thomas
2nd Place: Lana Stefanac
3rd Place: Rosangela Conceicao
4th Place: Celita Schultz

Under 67 Kg:
1st Place: Hannette Staack
2nd Place: Kelly Paul
3rd Place: Marloes Coenen
4th Place: Stacy Cartwright

Under 60 Kg:
1st Place: Kyra Gracie
2nd Place: Tara LaRosa
3rd Place: Takayo Hashi
4th Place: Hitomi Akano

Under 55 Kg:
1st Place: Sayaka Shioda
2nd Place: Felicia Oh
3rd Place: Megumi Fujii
4th Place: Bianca Barreto

ADCC Webcast and Superfight news

2007-04-30T10:37:00.001-05:00

The Pay per view webcast of the ADCC Championships goes on sale today (April 30th) at noon. It is being sold by the guys over at ProElite.com, so go to their website and sign up to order this awesome event. For the complete line up, see previous post (below).

From ProElite.com:

"Visitors to ProElite.com before May 5 will be able to purchase the two-day event, unlimited viewing, for only $19.99, a $5 discount to purchasing May 5 or after. Besides the two days of live fights, fans will be treated to bonus coverage that ranges from behind-the-scenes interviews to the pre-fight weigh-ins on May 4. Through ProElite.com’s powerful blogging tools, fans can connect to discuss the fighters and event in real time."

Also, Roger Gracie's superfight opponent has finally been selected. Following Dean Lister's withdraw due to injury and Ricardo Arona's withdraw due to Dengue Fever relapse, the ADCC organizers formed a committee to vote for Roger's opponent. It was a toss up between Jeff Monson (USA) and John Olav Einemo (Norway). Einemo won the committee's vote with a 5-1 decision.

Einemo was the 2003 under 99kg Champion and the last person to beat Roger in ADCC (2003 semi-finals). He placed 4th in the 2005 ADCC while competing with a torn pectoral muscle.

This is going to be one hell of match!

Einemo taking Roger Gracie's back at the 2003 ADCC Championships.

(Photo courtesy of www2.adcombat.com)

Abu Dhabi Championships might be available via webcast!

2007-04-27T22:06:00.000-05:00

Word on the street is that the biannual Abu Dhabi Combat Club World Submission Grappling Championships will be available via PAY PER VIEW webcast. Going rate seems to be between $20 and $25 depending on whether you pre-order or pay the day of the event. No word yet on whether or not this fee will cover the whole 2 day event or if this will be a per day fee. The contract for the webcast is rumored to be inked and released this Monday.

The 2007 ADCC Championships will be held May 5th & 6th at the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, New Jersey. Interested in attending? Ticket information is available here.

Here's the line up:

Super Fight: Roger Gracie vs. ? (Ricardo Arona backed out due to a relapse from Dengue Fever.)

Under 65kg:

1 Leo Vieira - Brazil (BJJ Black Belt)
2 Marcio Feitosa - Brazil (BJJ Black Belt)
3 Jeff Glover - USA (BJJ Black Belt)
4 Rani Yahira - Brazil (BJJ Black Belt)
5 Javi Vazquez - USA (BJJ Black Belt)
6 Sim Go - USA (BJJ Black Belt)
7 Edward Sanchez - USA (BJJ Black Belt)
8 Bruno Frazzato - Brazil (BJJ Black Belt)
9 Jamie Ballard - Australia
10 Naoya Uematsu - Japan
11 Blair Tugman - USA (Wrestling)
12 Baret Yoshida - USA (BJJ Black Belt)
13 Renier Nicolas - France
14 Darell Moodley - Africa Trials Winner

Under 76kg:

1 Marcelo Garcia - Brazil (BJJ Black Belt)
2 Pablo Popovich - USA (BJJ Black Belt)
3 Renzo Gracie - Brazil (BJJ Black Belt)
4 Saulo Ribeiro - Brazil (BJJ Black Belt)
5 Drew Fickett - USA (?)
6 Nelson Monteiro - Brazil (BJJ Black Belt)
7 Mark Bocek - Canada (BJJ)
8 Eduardo Rios - Portugal
9 Milton Vieira - Brazil (BJJ Black Belt)
10 Kurt Pellegrino - USA (BJJ Black Belt)
11 George Sotiropoulos - Australia
12 Andre Galvao - Brazil (BJJ Black Belt)
13 Daisuke Sugie - Japan
14 Chris (Christopher) Bright - Africa Trials Winner
15 Joe Stevenson - USA

Under 87kg:

1 Rafael Lovato Jr. - USA (BJJ Black Belt)
2 Damien Maia - Brazil (BJJ Black Belt)
3 Chris Moriarty - USA (BJJ)
4 Rosimar Palhares - Brazil (BJJ Black Belt)
5 Flavio Almeida - Brazil (BJJ Black Belt)
6 Bruno Bastos - Brazil (BJJ Black Belt)
7 Haim Gozali - Israel (MMA)
8 Delson Heleno - Brazil (BJJ Black Belt)
9 Travers Grubb - Australia
10Tarsys Humphreis - Brazil (BJJ Black Belt)
11 David Avellan - USA
12 Sauli Heilimo - Finland
13 Rick Macauley - USA (BJJ)
14 Yushin Okami - Japan
15 Marko Helen - Finland
16 David Levey - Africa Trials Winner

Under 99kg:

1 Christiano Lazzarini - Brazil (BJJ Black Belt)
2 Alexander "Xande" Ribeiro - Brazil (BJJ Black Belt)
3 Anthony Perosh - Australia (BJJ)
4 Mikhail Cirkunov - Canada
5 Cacareco - Brazil (BJJ Black Belt)
6 Robert Drysdale - USA (BJJ Black Belt)
7 Igor Vovchanchyn - Ukraine (MMA)
8 Vicbart Geraldino - Dominican Republic (Judo Black Belt)
9 Nick Ackerman - USA (Wrestling)
10 Tim Boetsch - USA (Wrestling)
11 Steve Rusk - USA (Wrestling)
12 Radek Turek - Poland
13 Thomas Szczerek - Poland
14 Braulio Estima - Brazil (BJJ Black Belt)
15 Yukiyasu Ozawa - Japan
16 Lance Ceronio - Africa Trials Winner

OVER 99kg:

1 Jeff Monson - USA (BJJ)
2 Gabriel Napao - Brazil (BJJ Black Belt)
3 Marcio "Pe de Pano" Cruz - Brazil (BJJ Black Belt)
4 Mario Rinaldi - USA
5 Open spot due to Jon Olav Einemo taking the superfight with Gracie
6 Ricco Rodriguez - USA (MMA)
7 Roy Nelson - USA (MMA)
8 Luiz Theodoro - Brazil (BJJ Black Belt)
9 Elvis Sinosic - Australia (BJJ Black Belt)
10 Janne Pietilainen - Finland
11 Rolles Gracie - Brazil (BJJ Black Belt)
12 Marcos Oliveira - Brazil
13 Naomichi Nagata - Japan
14 Rico Hattingh - Africa Trials Winner
15 Brian Vital - USA

Ladies Line Up:

Under 121 pounds:

1 Felicia Oh - USA (NA Trials Winner)
2 Megumi Fuji Bianca Andrade - Brazil (Brazil Trials Winner)
3 Cindy Hales - USA
4 Sayaka Shioda - Japan (Japan Trials Winner)
5 Jean Alvisse - Australia (Australia Trials Winner)

121-132 pounds:

1 Kyra Gracie - Brazil
2 Cassandra Rivers-Blaso - USA (NA Trials Winner)
3 Tara Larosa - USA
4 Vanessa Porto - Brazil (Brazil Trials Winner)
5 Amanda Buckner - USA
6 Hitomi Akano
7 Takayo Hashi - Japan (Japan Trials Winner)
8 Caoimhe McGill - Northern Ireland (European Trials Winner)
9 Rebecca Attwood - Australia (Australia Trials Winner)

132-147:

1 Debbie Purcell - USA
2 Juliana Borges (Defending Champion)
3 Stacey Cartwright - Australia
4 Hannette Stack - Brazil (Brazil Trials Champion)
5 Kelly Paul - USA (NA Trials Champion)
6 Shayna Baszler - USA
7 Keiko Tamai - Japan (Japan Trials Winner)
8 Marloes Coenen - Holland (European Trials Winner)
9 Fiona Muxlow - Australia (Australia Trials Winner)

Over 147:

1 Celita Schultz - USA (NA Trials)
2 Olga Bakalapoulous - Canada
3 Rosangela Conceicao - Brazil (Brazil Trials)
4 Lana Stefanic - USA
5 Yoko Takahashi - Japan (Japan Trials Winner)
6 Reserved EUROPE TRIALS WINNER
7 Maryanne Mullahy - Australia (Australia Trials Winner)

Judo Nationals Results, Pan Am & World Teams

2007-04-27T21:49:00.000-05:00

The short skinny on the Judo Nationals. For full results and article go here.

Senior Nationals Finalists:

Females:

Women’s 63kg
1. Marti Malloy (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University)
2. Kayla Harrison (Middletown, Ohio / Renshuden Judo)
3. Janine Nakao (Marina, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University)
3. Emily Lilly (Camarillo, Calif. / Sawtelle)

Women’s 70 kg
1. Ronda Rousey (Wakefield, Mass. / NYAC / USA Judo National Team FORCE)
2. Katie Sell (Harlingen, Texas / USA Judo National Training Site at Harlingen)
3. Jennifer Tutass (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center)
3. Tomoyo Yoshinaga (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University)

Women 78 kg
1. Marina Lambert (Chesapeake, Va. / Washington Judo)
2. Nina Cutro-Kelly (Schertz, Texas / Universal Judo)
3. Nicole Kubes (Fort Worth, Texas / Fort Worth Judo)
3. Katie Mocco (Scotia, N.Y. / NYAC / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center)

Women’s +78 kg
1. Asma Sharif (Wakefield, Mass. / USA Judo National Team FORCE)
2. Heidi Moore (Englewood, Colo. / Denver Judo)
3. Brittni Bradford (Live Oak, Texas / Universal Judo)
3. Melinda Swanson (Honolulu, Hawaii / Hawaii Tenri)

Males:

Men’s 81 kg
1. Travis Stevens (Scotia, N.Y. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center)
2. Aaron Cohen (Buffalo Grove, Ill. / NYAC / Cohen’s Judo)
3. Harry St. Leger (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Starrett Judo)
3. Andrew Hung (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University)

Men’s 90 kg
1. Rick Hawn (Wakefield, Mass. / USA Judo National Team Force)
2. Garry St. Leger (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Starrett Judo)
3. Atsushi Yoshinaga (San Jose, Calif. / San Jose State University)
3. David Ellis (Westfield, N.J. / Cranford Judo)

Men’s 100 kg
1. Shintaro Higashi (Scarsdale, N.Y. / Kokushi)
2. Adler Volmar (Coral Springs, Fla. / USA Judo National Training Site)
3. Dariusz Mikolajczak (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Starrett Judo)
3. Kyle Vashkulat (Scotia, N.Y. / USA Judo National Training Site a the Jason Morris Judo Center)

Men +100 kg
1. Joel Brutus (Matawan, N.J. / NYAC)
2. Anthony Turner (Miami, Fla. / USA Judo National Training Site at North Miami)
3. J Daniel McCormick (Wakefield, Mass / USA Judo National Team FORCE)
3. Jonathan Leonhardt (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University)

The following is the roster of athletes named to the team that will compete at the Pan American Games, July 19-22, and the World Championships, Sept. 16-19, both in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Women's Team:

63kg: Marti Malloy (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University)
70kg: Ronda Rousey (Wakefield, Mass. / NYAC / USA Judo National Team FORCE)
78kg: Marina Lambert (Chesapeake, Va. / Washington Judo)
+78kg: Asma Sharif (Wakefield, Mass. / USA Judo National Team FORCE)

Men's Team:

81kg: Travis Stevens (Scotia, N.Y. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center)
90kg: Rick Hawn (Wakefield, Mass. / USA Judo National Team FORCE)
100kg: Adler Volmar (Coral Springs, Fla. / USA Judo National Training Site at North Miami)
+100k: Kirk Hoffmann (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center)

U.S. Judo Nationals - Free Live Webcast

2007-04-18T23:59:00.000-05:00

This year's gold medal matches for Senior National Judo Championships, hosted in Miami, Florida, will be shown via live webcast for free on the Live Sports Video website. Also to be shown will be the Pan Am and World Teams Trials. The two day event will be shown at 6:00 P.M. (EST) on Friday, April 20th and 5:00 P.M. (EST) on Saturday, April 21st. The gold medal final matches for the Senior Nationals will be webcast, as well as matches for the Pan Am and World Teams Trials divisions.

The Senior Nationals will be attended by nearly all of the top candidates for the 2008 Olympic Team. The event also will include the Trials for the team that will compete at the 2007 Pan American Games, July 19-22, and the 2007 World Championships, September 16-19 - both of which will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Viewers can e-mail commentators Pat Burris and Leo White, both two-time Olympians throughout the Webcast with questions or insights at Webcast@usajudo.us. USA Judo's top national coaches also will be interviewed throughout the Webcast as well providing color commentary.

Top Seeds:

Click here to see the top seeded American male athletes.

Click here to see the top seeded American female athletes.

Direct Link to the Webcast page, here.

Johnnie Morton, Former Detroit Lion, To Make MMA Debut

2007-04-12T22:53:00.002-05:00

Former Detroit Lion wide receiver, Johnnie Morton, is to make his MMA debut on June 2nd, 2007 on the Showtime pay-per-view event DYNAMITE!!! USA. The event is to be held at the Los Angeles Memorial Colesium and is the first MMA Pay-per-view hosted by Showtime.

The now retired 35 year old Morton has been a fan of MMA for many years and has trained jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai in the off seasons while he was still playing for the NFL. Only recently has he began training more seriously and this event will be his first professional MMA fight. Also on the card will be Royce Gracie and Brock Lesnar, an NCAA and WWE professional wrestler. The opponents for Morton and Royce are still to be determined. But, the MMA newcomer, Lesnar, is scheduled to fight Hong Man Choi (K-1 Asia Champ).

The pay-per-view fight card, which begins at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, will feature up to six fights, with co-main events. Prior to the pay-per-view, Showtime will televise three explosive bouts featuring EliteXC stars Jake Shields, Antonio Silva and Gina Carano, free to Showtime subscribers from 9-10 p.m. ET/6-7 p.m. PT.

News source: No Holds Barred, Royce Gracie
Video source: Sherdog

University of Michigan to Offer Martial Arts Sociology Course

2007-04-11T17:46:00.001-05:00

In an email sent out to various University of Michigan martial arts clubs, Professor Michael Kennedy informs us that he will be teaching a special Sociology course at U of M Ann Arbor for the Fall of 2007 called, "Martial Arts, Culture and Society." The course is SOC 495 and will be held Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1 - 2:30 P.M. in Angell Hall room G115.

Here's the course description:

In this upper-level undergraduate lecture for which there are no prerequisites, students will consider how sociology and other social sciences can help us understand martial arts and how martial arts might inform the social sciences.

By comparing the practice, organization, scholarly studies, and popular culture around boxing, wrestling, kung fu, karate, tae kwon do, judo, aikido, capoeira, and mixed martial arts, primarily within the U.S., students will consider the ways in which these different arts work to realize similar outcomes — increasing awareness and kinesthetic powers — and vary substantially along other dimensions including their association with various national and gender identifications, and in terms of their locations with regard to performance/sport/combat, militarism/pacifism, openness/secrecy, and individuation/group identity formation.

Guest lectures and films will supplement lectures and demonstrations by the professor and student participants. Outside experts will explore particular martial arts, as well as the martial arts’ relationship to psychology, anthropology, and healing arts.

Two examinations, a research paper based on archival research or participant observation in martial arts (with any degree of accomplishment), and class contributions based on prior background and preparation for class form the basis for the course grade.

Book Review - Judo Unleashed

2007-04-09T21:48:00.002-05:00

Update to the review (4/17/09): The author of this book, Neil Ohlenkamp, has left a comment about this review of his book. Please read it to gain further insight behind the production of his work. Thank you Neil for leaving a comment. Your contribution to Judo and Judo literature is greatly appreciated. I implore you to please write more and to perhaps make some DVDs. As a Judo Shodan and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor I refer to Judo Unleashed almost daily.

Judo Unleashed, by Neil Ohlenkamp, published 2006. Currently $13.57 @ Amazon.com. 160 pages.

Neil Ohlenkamp is a 6th degree black belt in Judo (Red & White belt) with over 37 years of experience. He has been the head instructor of the Encino Judo Club since 1985, and is the creator of the Judo Information Site and the Judo Forums. Neil has been certified by the United States Judo Association as an instructor, referee, master rank examiner, Master Coach (the highest level of certification), and he was named United States Judo Coach of the Year for 1999. He has also been designated as a Master Coach by the US Association of Blind Athletes.

In his book, Judo Unleashed, Neil attempts to cover the major throws and other techniques addressed in the Kodokan syllabus with pictures, foot notes and tips.

The book begins with an extensive Introduction (Chapter 1) and First Part (Chapters 2 - 5) which cover the history and origins of Judo, as well as Judo theory, philosophy and fundamentals. These first two sections may bore some, but I found them to have some interesting historical information, among other things. The toughest part of the book for me to get through was the first part "Judo Fundamentals." It is in an incredibly basic Part consisting of 4 chapters intended to help those first beginning Judo to learn how to... learn, basically. It also discusses some of the basic Judo terms and vocabulary, Judo theory and physics, how Judo improves ones character and the classification of Judo techniques.

When I first picked up the book I skipped right over the first 5 chapters and Chapter 6 - "Principles of Throwing." Instead I went right to the chapters containing the throwing techniques that I was most interested in, and then briefly skimmed over the grappling techniques at the end of the book. But, after going back through the book for the 5th or 6th time, I took the time to read all of the chapters that I had previously skipped. It was a bit of a chore for me to do so, but I really needed to learn some of the topics and vocabulary addressed in the first 6 and last 3 chapters.

The book is filled with very clear and at times, quite stunning, photographs. The book is nicely broken up into the various types of throws (Koshi waza (hip throws), Te waza (hand throws), Ashi waza (leg throws) and Sutemi waza (sacrifice throws)). Each of the addressed throws is accompanied with a description which sometimes includes a bit of history about the throw, approximately 3 key points about executing the throw, about 3 serial photographs of the throw being executed and a footprint pattern showing the foot position for both the Uke and the Tori. Some throws may also include a variation (with photographs), close up photos of the grips, and explanations of set up throws, follow up throws, combinations and possible counters. However, it is important to note that all of these topics are merely touched upon in this book and there is no in depth discussion on any particular throw or technique. Perhaps the biggest shortcoming of this book for me is that each throwing technique is only accompanied by a minimal amout of photographs and description. Some of these throws are just too complex to address in only 3 photographs for seasoned Judokas, but might serve beginners and those of us needing only a reference better.

As a BJJ guy, I am admittedly overly critical of Part 3, "Grappling Techniques." In this part each technique is only accompanied by about 1 photograph each, however, they tend to show more than one variation of each technique. Very little, if any info, is given about how to get into the particular pinning situations and absolutely zero information is given about how to re-counter an opponent defending your initial turnover attempt. I realize that my criticism of this aspect can spark arguement about the Judo ground game in competition - that there's only enough time to attempt one turnover technique, therefore, why learn re-counters or follow up turnover techs? I disagree with this arguement. A skilled grappler or ground technician can re-counter most turnover defenses quite quickly and seamlessly, and perhaps the shortcoming is not in the rules of competition Judo, but in the ground skill of the competitors.

As for the chapters covering submission techniques (Shime waza (choking techniques) and Kansetsu waza (joint locks)), again, I am perhaps being overly critical. In each of these chapters there is some nice background information and a bit of anatomy and physiology on how the particular submissions work. Side note for BJJ guys: only chokes and elbow locks are allowed in Judo competitions (Kimuras, Americanas and Omoplatas (Ude garami) are also allowed). Most variations of the straight armlock (Juji gatame, Udi gatame, Hiza gatame, Sankaku gatame) are addressed. However, BJJ players may recognize a favorite technique of theirs is absent from this chapter - the straight armlock from the guard. In fact, the guard position is not even addressed in this book whatsoever. To some of us more experienced Judo and BJJ players we can see that some of the submissions and turnovers are being executed from the guard position, but this fact is not clearly indicated for the uninformed beginner.

In regards to the choking and armlock techniques, I noticed several techniques that were either applied technically incorrect, or would not actually be applicable against a resisting opponent or skilled grappler.

As expected, this book is devoid of the ground game and most of the more common and popular submissions. However, if you are buying this book for these reasons you are misappropriating your funds. This is a Judo book focused more on throws and background of the sport than anything else.

Judo Unleashed is an excellent Judo book for beginners and for those of us requiring a reference material with photographs to help us stay familiar with our less than favorite techniques. It is extensive in background, history, theory and philosphy of the art/sport. The text covers the major throws of Judo and provides a "Cliff Notes" version behind many of the techniques with some supplemental information for each technique. While this book is not for those seeking information on competition strategy and techniques, or extensive information on any one particular technique or set of throws, it is still a welcome addition to any Judo library. I recommend this book particularly to beginners and those outside of the sport wishing to learn the fundamentals of Judo.

2007 Great Lakes BJJ Championship Re-cap (vids & pics)

2007-03-27T22:01:00.000-05:00

On March 24th Ryan Fiorenzi and his East Weat Martial Arts Academy held the 3rd annual Great Lakes BJJ Championships in Canton, MI. I was there as a referee and managed to catch some footage of some great matches. There was a Blue Belt Absolute Division with a $300 first place prize, won by Nate Steffen, as well as an Advanced No-gi Absolute Division with a $300 first place prize, won by "Big" Don Richard from Team Caique.

There were some great matches in the blue belt divisions, especially in the blue belt Absolute. The Advanced No-gi brackets were very exciting and were only out done by the Advanced No-gi Absolute bracket that had some very talented blue belts, 2 former NCAA wrestlers, Big Don Richard (Team Caique Brown Belt) and Sean "Abdula" Bansfield (Team Saulo Ribeiro Black Belt).

Here's the Highlight vid I made from the footage. To see all of the fight clips that I managed to catch, go to my user profile at You Tube, here.

Phil, from Taproot (and a tough BJJ blue belt) approves of my reffing... I think.

Big Don Richard, Team Caique Brown Belt. Big Don @ Sherdog.

Phil, from Taproot, getting his picture taken with Sean "Abdula" Bansfield.

Oh, yeah. I was reffin'.

Like all good refs - I laugh at Evan's bribe attempts.

With James Lee - KOTC Light Heavyweight Champ and recent victor at Pride 33 in Las Vegas. James @ Sherdog.

Some of the competitors from the U of M BJJ Team.

With Harvy Berman from Warrior Way & Team Caique.

Big Don trying not to look scary between matches.

Even Courtney was helping out as a Timer.

Janet & Adam LaClair: Battling for Their Lives

2007-03-22T19:46:00.000-05:00

Adam LaClair is a BJJ purple belt under Joe Moreira as well as being accomplished in other martial arts. He runs a martial arts and BJJ training facility out of his home in Lyndonville, VT. Adam and his wife Janet are currently in the Battle of their lives. Adam's wife Janet has been engaged in a long standing battle with pancreatic cancer for some time now. The hospital bills are mounting and the bank is ready to foreclose on their home in the near future. But, there are ways we can all help.

Jason Hammell of AGC will be holding a grappling tournament in Sudbury, Massachusetts on April 7th in order to donate the proceeds to help Adam and Jan pay their mountainous hospital bills and mortgage payments. If you can attend this event, please go, even if only as a spectator and make a donation to the fund.

Tomorrow, March 23rd is the Grand Opening of the new Focus Jiu-Jitsu Academy run by Saulo Ribeiro black belt Sean "Abdula" Bansfield in Ann Arbor, MI. We will be collecting monetary donations at the Grand Opening to send to Janet and Adam.

If you can't go to either the tournament or the Grand Opening, you can send donations to:

Janet LaClair
PO Box 4293
Pleasant Street
Lyndonville, VT 05851

or via Paypal to jan@adamlaclair.com

They are also interested in receiving martial arts supplies and equipment that they can auction off.

Adam has a website with discussion forums where he keeps people up to date on the condition of his wife, here. You can also stay up to date by reading some of the threads being posted on the Underground forums. This guy wrote about Janet and Adam's struggles on his website, as well.

If you want to send Janet some words of encouragement you can send them to jan@janetlaclair.com . Please do so. Please do what you can.

2007 Michigan Open Judo Championships Re-cap

2007-03-19T18:09:00.000-05:00

The 2007 Michigan Open Judo Championships brought out some of the best competition that I have seen in the state tournaments in my limited Judo experience. The tournament was held in the Intramural sports facility adjacent to the MSU football stadium in East Lansing, MI, and was run on 2 large mats. Many of the previous tournaments run by the Konan Judo Association have utilized this facility. If you do come to a tournament at this location, bring you're own water/drinks/snacks as the vending machines are unreliable, and bring some extra cash in case you need to pay for parking. In the past, parking has always been free, but on this occassion the NCAA Women's Basketball Championships were being held on campus so they started to charge for parking around 10:30 A.M. My only gripe about this particular tournament is that #1: it was held the day after St. Patrick's Day and I was unable to go out with my friends the night before. And, #2: it was running about an hour behind schedule. This was due to the unexpectedly large kids division and unorganized awards ceremony for the kids and junior divisions.

Due to my recent experience at the Arnold's and my curosity of possibly also competing in the Master's Division, I arrived early to the tourny (around 10:00 A.M.). I decided to not compete in the Master's Divison due to a lack of competition at my weight, but I am still glad that I showed up early. The kids and Juniors Division were awesome! There's something rather admirable about watching kids execute perfect throws and pins that makes me enjoy watching a good kids division. Also, I love the way the kids accept both victory and defeat in stride - unlike some of their adult counterparts. The kids, in their oversized little judogis, get thrown for an Ippon and bounce right up, often with a smile on their face. I admire them for their humbleness and joy for the sport. In the kids and Juniors Division, Team Tsunami from Toronto, Canada really stood out. They showed up in a decked out Team van and wore Team Tsunami jackets and warm up gear. The Tsunami kids were on fire and a big hand goes out to them, the Tsunami team and their parents and coaches. These kids were well skilled and very well mannered, same goes for their parents. Thanks for coming out and doing well. Other notables will be mentioned once I get a peek at the results, but it was Team Tsunami, who came all the way from Toronto, that really stood out in my mind in the kids Division. I wish I was that good when I was their age.

On to the adult divisions. The heavy weight Master's Black Belt Division looked fierce this year with some awefully big boys chucking each other around out on the mat. One second I would be watching a a team mate competing in a novice match on Mat #2 when all of a sudden I'd hear THUD! Followed by "Ohhh's!" from the crowd in response to 500 lbs. of meat hitting the ground on Mat #1. These gentlemen were giving it all they had and some were taking quite a pounding. I believe a powerhouse judoka from Orion Judo won the black belt Heavy weight Master's Division.

This was my first Judo Tournament fighting against black belts. Let me tell you, I have learned a valuable lesson. I have finally found the environment that will help me improve my stand up game to new levels. Since starting Judo back in September, I have walked away from every tournament with at least a silver medal. But not this time. I was stopped short in my tracks by Dusty Moran from Southside Dojo in Portage, MI, and had to settle with a 4th place finish in the under 90kg black belt division. Dusty and I have a similar style and prefer the same 3 throws in competition, but he is better at those 3 throws than I am. Dusty and his team mate Ron Blake both fought in 2 black belt divisons (Ron -73kg and -90kg (although he registered for -73kg and -81kg) and Dusty at -81kg and -90kg). Dusty had just won the -81kg black belt division and was fighting up in weight when he and I met. He was on his 6th match by that time. A huge credit goes out to him for what he accomplished at this tournament. Ron reported to me in an email that he was happy that his children Max (3 yrs old) and Jada (2 yrs old) were there to see him compete and see their daddy take 2nd place in the -73kg division. Ron and Dusty have extended an invite for me to come train with them at the Southside Dojo, and I fully intend to take them up on it. Dusty, Ron and Richard Boehme from Southside Dojo will be competing in the Nationals in April of this year.

The under 90kg Black Belt Division started off with 7 judokas. Three of which were from EMU (Christian Gerlitz, Clint Denison and myself), 2 from Southside Dojo (Ron Blake and Dusty Moran) and Ron Maly from an unknown dojo and one other whom I'm unfamiliar with but will add their name once the results are posted. The division wrapped up with my team mate Christian Gerlitz taking 1st place. Christian is awesome, and not just because he beat me in his 2nd match! Christian first beat Ron Blake by submission (collar choke), myself by Ippon, and Ron Maly by drop Ippon seoi nage - his signature throw. Christian has an unorthodox gripping game in that he is right handed but prefers to fight left handed or with modified right handed Russian and Japanese grips. He loves the Ippon seoi nage and the Sode tsurikomi goshi and is incredibly fast at executing both of them. Dusty finished in 2nd place and his opponent, Ron Maly, finished 3rd. I missed medalling and took 4th (beating the judoka that put Dusty into the losers pool) and I believe that my other team mate, Clint, finished in 5th after a possibly questionable call.

Below are some pics from the tourny and the videos of my 3 matches. I put sound tracks over my first two matches, but on the third - due to a referee controversy I didn't.

The tournament area. Two competition mats and a warm up are in the foreground.

Left to Right: Myself and my EMU team mates Luke and Dane.

My "Judo Mom" girlfriend Courtney and me waiting in the bleachers.

Taping up in the bleachers.

My BJJ and Judo team mate, Matt, taking a break from Judo competitions to prep for the BJJ Pan Ams. But, he stopped by the Judo tourny to slurp up my Capri Suns and eat my bananas.

Despite the McNinjas (from my McDojo story) I found a brown belt.

A little Uchikomi with my team mate Luke to warm up.

Kinda hard to see, but this is the aftermath of Luke trying out his drop Ippon seoi nage on the warm up mats and after he landed on the third toe of my left foot with his knee. I am standing on the warm up mats in the pic. Luke might have just broken my toe right before this competition. It's so hard to tell with toes. I don't think this instance has anything to do with me being in the same black belt division as his brother... does it? Luke could be a crafty Ninja...

I think Luke nearly broke my toe before the tournament. If it's not broke... well, it hurts and I'm a baby.

Yep. It's ugly. Might not be broken, despite being lumpy, swollen and purple. Luke, you suck! I had no idea how important a healthy left foot is to a right handed thrower in judo until now. Luke, you're the reason that I lost! Just kidding! I have to make fun of you over this, I hope you understand.

Here's the vids:

Here's my first match against my team mate Christian Gerlitz. I'm wearing the blue belt in this match. I am limping because the second toe on my left foot was dislocated and is sprained and my third toe on the same foot is banged up and possibly broken. Note to self: If you're a primarily right handed thrower, your left foot is very important. Anyway, Christian is giving my a frickin' clinic in the Ippon seoi nage - which is my favorite throw to do. He went on to win 1st place in the under 90kg black belt division and I am proud to have fought him and have him on my team. I was close to getting Ipponed many times and eventually was - my first defeat by Ippon.

Here's my second match against and unknown black belt competitor. I'm wearing the white belt in this match. I missed the drop Yoko sutemi waza and he took my back with hooks, but as I had his right arm trapped under me there was not much he could do. In judo, there are no points for him taking my back, unlike BJJ, so no worries there. Afterwards, he lunged for a kouchi gari makikomi and scored a koka but I hip escaped to put him in my guard and caught him in an arm lock. His elbow popped a little bit, but he was tough and went on to fight another match after me, despite his damaged arm.

*NOTE* The above video is taking a long time to load, but will play. I will try to upload a new version tonight (3/20/07).

My 3rd match against Dusty Moran from Southside Dojo in Portage, MI. I'm wearing the Blue belt. I tried a drop Ippon seoi nage at the 0:08 mark and really banged my left knee up bad. That's why I was bending over and holding my knee the rest of the match. This, combined with my left foot injury, really cut down on my mobility and made me hesitant. My girlfriend was yelling for me not to push into him as he loves the drop Ippon seoi as well, but I was trying to bait him into a ground game by pushing into him and hoping that I could counter his throws. At the 0:53 mark I was able to do so, and was working a clock choke and was about a 1/2 of a second away from executing the choke until it was stopped at the 1:02 mark (i was only given 9 seconds to work on the ground, which is about 6 seconds short of what is normally allowed for ground work). Some of my Team mates might argue that my Ippon seoi nage attempt at 2:45 was an Ippon, but watching it in slo-mo shows that only Dusty's right shoulder blade hits the mat - not his full back. This clip doesn't have a music soundtrack, because there is some referee controversy, and I wanted to show that. This poor ref (from Southside?) was having a some trouble with this match. Being a Judo Ref or a BJJ Ref is hard work. Overall, this was a good match and I definitely want a rematch against Dusty when he is fresh ( and 6 more seconds to work on the ground!). He was tired from many matches and I was a bit injured. It would be more fun when we are both at the top of our games.

McDojos... Keepers of the Belt

2007-03-16T17:55:00.001-05:00

This is not a news worthy post, this is merely anecdotal and a little bit funny. This regards my recent experience at trying to buy a brown belt for Judo practice.

After having done well at a Judo tournament (1st in Whit/Green/Blue, 2nd in Brown) and meeting other training requirements, I was promoted to brown belt. But, it was an on-the-spot promotion; no fan fair, no ceremony, just "You're a brown belt now," from my judo instructor. He did not hand me a brown belt, I was expected to go buy my own. I have no problem in buying my own belt, at least this way I can get one that I want. I figured that as fast as I advanced to brown belt, I'd probably be one for a while. But, I kept delaying getting the belt. I just never seemed to have the time to buy one and I'm not one to order things I wear from the internet without first having tried them on in real life. Plus, I'm a BJJ guy and I'm not yet familiar with the sizing system of Judo and other traditional martial arts (TMA) belts. The green belt that I had been wearing was given to me by a friend and I had no idea what size it was.

Anyway, a couple of months go by and I figure I need to get a brown belt in order to respect my instructor's decision to promote me and to avoid confusing the newcomers at the dojo. It was a Thursday evening and after work I decided that I'll get a brown belt before I went to practice that night.

My first stop was the local martial arts supply store, but they had closed at 6 P.M. Feeling a bit dejected, I remembered that many TMA schools also sell uniforms and belts. This was great because the Ann Arbor area is chocked full of these types of schools. But time was running out on me. Judo practice started in about an hour and I didn't have time to visit all of these schools and shop around. Thankfully, my girlfriend carries a phone book in her car and we were able to make some calls while still out driving around.

The first half dozen phone calls were not answered or went to an answering machine. Then, finally, we got a person on the other end to answer my question:

Jason: "Do you sell belts?"

McDojo Receptionist: "Umm... What?."

J: "I need to buy a belt and I was wondering if you sold belts."

MR: "I... I... I don't know."

J: "You don't know?"

MR: "I don't know."

J: "Do you sell uniforms and other martial arts supplies?"

MR: "Yes."

J: "Then, you probably sell belts as well."

MR: "Well we have belts for our students, but I don't know if... You see, our students have to earn their belts. So if you want a belt, you'll have to enroll and earn it like everyone else."

J: "I'm not interested in enrolling. I need a belt for another style before class tonight and I'm in a pinch. That's why I'm calling you."

MR: "Well, I'll have to clear this with the instructor."

J: "Okay. Where are you located? I'm in town and I can just swing by."

MR: "Okay, sure." She gives me the address. "Come on in. I'll tell the instructor that you're coming."

It worked out great because this place was about a 1/4 mile from my girlfriend's apartment, and we were heading that way as it was. We pulled into the strip mall parking lot and were greeted by a swarm of children running around in little white gis. They were screaming loudly and executing flying kicks whilst their mothers tried to shuffle them into the appropriate minivans (Soccer Mom Assault Vehicles - SMAVs) without getting hit by other cars.

I strolled in to be greeted by a thin little receptionist wearing glasses and standing behind a glass display counter stocked full of throwing stars and nunchaks. The class was in full swing and kids were "Ki-yapping" their little heads off, while their parents sat and watched mindlessly from the lobby. Admittedly, I was on defense about the whole conversation I was about to engage in. I've been in the martial arts since I was 8 years old and BJJ since I was 19. I have heard a lot of crap spewed from the mouths of TMA proponents that take themselves and their art too seriously. I wanted none of it today. By now, I was on a mission and solely focused on buying a brown belt, I didn't care if it was a piece of crap or not. I was hopeful that I could convince them to sell me one.

After our greetings and introductions, my conversation with the receptionist went basically like this:

MR: "So, you're not interested in enrolling, huh?"

J: "No. I just need this belt for another style."

MR: "What style?" She asked as if we were going to have some kind of connection or bond.

J: "Judo." When what I wanted to say was "A real martial art." But, I think the bluntness of just "Judo" sufficed. I wasn't even about to say that I also do BJJ, because nothing ticks me off more than when these TMAs glean a BJJ move off of YouTube, incorporate it into their program, and claim that they do Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, too. Same goes for Judo. ("See how much we have in common now?" *Slap*).

MR: "Oh, we do some of that here, too." 'No you don't,' I thought to myself. 'There's no way you do that here.'

J: "Oh. Do you sell judogis then?" As I'm always in the market for them.

MR: "No. Just the karate gis." 'Like I thought, you don't do Judo here.'

So she cuts to the skinny and fills me in on the whole selling me a brown belt situation.

MR: "So, yeah... I talked to the instructor about selling you a belt and she said that belts here are earned, not sold. But, if you really are in another style and you really are a brown belt, then you'll need to bring a note from your instructor to prove that. Then she'll sell you one."

I looked out on to the mat area and saw kids around 9 years old wearing black belts. "You don't sell belts, my ass!", I thought.

To be honest, I felt rather insulted. Her comment was taken by me to mean that I didn't earn my brown belt, or that Judo is inferior to whatever style she's got going on in this former nail salon... or whatever was here before. But, I can see the logic from which their argument is based. However, it is a flawed argument beyond the philisophical and ethical realms, in that there are many martial arts supply businesses doing quite well selling belts to individuals and schools like the one I was standing in at the moment. She wasn't comprehending the fact that the reason I was even there was because a store that does sell belts just happened to be closed when I decided to get hell bent on buying a brown belt.

I looked around the school again and saw kids, teens and adults wearing tabi boots and spinning ropes and sticks around. A few of them were doing Aikido-like wrist locks to counter a slow moving and lobotomized attacker. I began to put the pieces together, slowly at first. Throwing stars, nunchaks, tabi boots, swords on the wall, children wearing black belts, a general vibe of weirdness... Then the pieces fell into place. I turned to the receptionist and asked,

"Is this a Ninja school?", as I wondered what the look of disgust on my face looked like from her perspective. Does the look on my face imply that I really wanted to add profanities to that question if kids weren't around? I hope so.

MR: "Yes. We actually teach a style of Ninjitsu called, blah blah blah."

My ears were off. She lost me at Ninjitsu.

I looked around more closely at this world I was in. I was taking it all in. I played back our conversation quickly in my head. I felt rage and anger creep over me from the middle of my back until it reached my face, making it red and warm as I realized what had just happened. They shrill of "Ki-yapping" little kids wearing black belts wasn't making things any better. I thought to myself, "Did... Did I... Did I just get dissed by a McDojo?" I did. I got denied by a frickin' McDojo.

Then suddenly, I had a flash of morbid fantasy in my mind: I was going to walk out on to the mat and fight the McSensei for my brown belt. I figured it would only take a few seconds: Ippon seoi nage, armlock, tap or snap, presto - brown belt. I'd even still pay for it. As funny as that would've been, I obviously didn't act upon it. I am not a dojo stormer, but this would probably be a better story if I were.

I had my mind made up. I don't know who made up my mind, the McDojo or me, but I wasn't going to get a note from my Judo instructor so some Ninja could sell me a belt (crafty Ninjas). My Judo instructor is the type who might wonder why I didn't actually just fight the McSensei for it, and send me back to do so. Besides, since when do ninjas wear belts other than black, anyway? Imagine being in feudal Japan and seeing a Ninja slink across the roof top dressed in all black and wearing a yellow belt. "Oh, that's Hiroki, he's new. He can only scale one story buildings and throw smoke bombs. Don't worry about him." Stupid Ninjas.

To humor myself, I turned to the receptionist who was watching me this whole time with eyes full of anticipation at my decision and asked,

"Out of curiosity, what brand of belts do you guys carry?"

MR: "Century."

What! You want me to get a note from my Judo instructor so you can sell me a piece of crap like that? I figured that after all they were asking me to do that they might have some top level gear, ninja stuff that none of us BJJ and Judo players have ever heard of before. I would be cool and show up to class with a kick ass brand of belt that was more obscure and harder to find than frickin' Yeti droppings. But, they wanted to me jump through hoops for Century. I chuckled at the receptionist and shook my head.

MR: "What?" she asked.

J: "No, that's okay. I'm not going to do all of this for a Century belt." I don't give a crap what Chuck Norris thinks about them.

MR: "Why don't you like Century?" Was she unaware of the cornucopia of other companies out there that sell gear 100 times better than the likes of Century?

J: "They're crap", I said loudly. A couple of the zombie-like parents in the lobby heard me and turned to invesitgate. 'Screw them, too,' I thought. Still bitter from my defeat at the hands of a McNinja.

MR: "Oh."

J: "Have a nice night." Exit McDojo.

As soon as I got outside I had to laugh out loud and a part of me hoped that they heard me. I was in awe of what just went down, and that I wasted that much time in a McDojo. I would've bought the crappy Century belt if they just would've sold it to me on the spot and not wanted a note. I thought back to all of the discussions on the Underground forums about fake BJJ black belts, etc., and I had to laugh at the situation I was in. I had been defeated by the McNinjas in accomplishing my mission. Stonewalled. I was no match for them. Even though they are a different style, they attempted to protect the integrity of Judo and other martial arts by sending me on my way. I guess they could've used a little introspection themselves in that department, though. I was reminded of a quote that I read some years ago, from somebody who's name I can't remember: "Against all logic, there is no armor greater than ignorance." I think whoever said that, was frickin' Ninja.

Team SRJJA Photos from 2007 Arnold's

2007-03-11T20:19:00.003-05:00

Thanks to photo contributers Chris Blanke, Evan Sarnacki and NAGA.

Xande, Randy and Chris Blanke.

Xande, Chris Blanke and Rico Chipparelli.

Team Saulo Takes 1st in Gi & 2nd Overall at Arnold's!

2007-03-09T07:44:00.002-06:00

NAGA posted the results of the 2007 Arnold Classic this morning. The overall team winner was Team Jorge Gurgel with 3620 points, followed by Team Saulo Ribeiro in 2nd place with 3110 points and Team Rodrigo Vaghi with 2670 points. Congratulations to Team Gurgel on your victory.

By division, Team Saulo Ribeiro won the Gi competion with 1850 points, with 2nd place being Team Jorge Gurgel with 1670 points and Team Rodrigo Vaghi coming in at 3rd place with 1180 points. The No-gi competition was won by Team Jorge Gurgel (1340 pts.), 2nd place Team Rodrigo Vaghi (1120 pts.) and Team USA MA in 3rd place (700 pts.). Team Saulo Ribeiro finished the No-gi competition in 5th place with 520 points. There were also a Kids & Teens divisions that finished up with Team Saulo Ribeiro in 1st place (740 pts.), Team Jorge Gurgel in 2nd (610 pts.) and Team Kruse Academy in 3rd (480 pts.).

Congratulations to all of the winning Teams and Medalists, and all of the competitors who came out to help make this a great tournament.

Below is a medal break down for all of my Team Saulo Ribeiro team mates and others that may be interested. As soon as some more pics come in, I will post them.

Team Saulo Ribeiro Medal Break Down:

Gi Division

Gold Medalists (15):

Jeremy Harris (Brown Belt)

Matt Jubera (Brown Belt)

Ben Eaton (Purple Belt)

Scott Oates (Purple Belt)

John Walus (Purple Belt)

Dan Agemy (Purple Belt)

John Toth (Purple Belt)

Matt Lewis (White Belt)

Valentin Valdez (White Belt)

Bridget Toth (White Belt)

Rodney Partidge (? Belt)

George Payton (Teen Intermediate)

Cody Matern (Kids Intermediate)

Jeri Wethli (Kids Advanced)

Chris Stokes (Kids Intermediate)

Silver Medalists (9):

Sean Bansfield (Black Belt)

Jason Clarke (Purple Belt)

Jessica Goetz (Blue Belt)

Stephen Tondu (White Belt)

Kevin Wechter (? Belt)

A.R. Bansfield (Teen Intermediate)

Sean Thomas (Teen Beginner)

Kahleigh Neroni (Teen Beginner)

Kyle Matern (Kids Beginner)

Bronze Medalists (4):

Jeremy Harris (Brown Belt)

Kathleen Rozzi (Purple Belt)

Seth Smith (Purple Belt)

Jarrod Serre (White Belt)

No-gi Division

Gold Medalists (6):

Ben Eaton (Advanced)

Justin Wehr (Intermediate)

Tim Maleo (Beginner)

George Payton (Teen Intermediate)

Cody Matern (Kids Intermediate)

Jeri Wethli (Kids Intermediate)

Silver Medalists (5):

Jeremy Harris (Advanced)

Mike Melki (Intermediate)

Kahleigh Neroni (Teen Beginner)

Kyle Matern (Kids Beginner)

Chris Stokes (Kids Intermediate)

Bronze Medalists (3):

Micky Sage (Intermediate)

Jarrod Serre (Beginner)

A.R. Bansfield (Teen Advanced)

NAGA/Arnold's 2007 Re-cap (with video)

2007-03-06T00:57:00.002-06:00

This year's Arnold's in Columbus, OH were by far and away the fastest and most well run Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament that I have ever been to. The tourny as whole ran at a remarkable speed with the coordination of Kipp, the announcers, the refs, the table officials and photographers running like a well oiled machine.

Unfortunately for me (and many others), the tournament ran perhaps a bit too fast. Following the guidance of Kipp Collar's post on the MMA.tv BJJ forums about the timeline of events (posted on this blog here), I nearly missed my first match. I woke up Saturday morning fully expecting to step on the mat around noon or so. I actually didn't doubt Kipp, and I believed him and his timeline. I was not arriving on "Brazilian Time" for my matches (which is typically 1hr or more later than U.S. times). Nope, I figured that showing up around 10:00 A.M. would give me plenty of time to get changed, tape up my broken parts and warm up. But Kipp, and the tourny were moving much faster than many of us expected. They apparently had the rules meeting at 8:30 A.M. (according to the timeline) but, I didn't go to it because it was stated that the tourny rules for the gi event were in accordance with the rules set forth by the CBJJ. As I know these rules, I, and many of the competitors opted to skip the rules meeting. In retrospect, we should've attended this meeting.

Within 15 minutes of walking in to the venue, I heard my name called to Ring #8. This means that the tourny was running about 1 hr and 45 min ahead of schedule at this time. I wasn't even suited up yet as I had been running around talking to team mates and friends that I haven't seen in a while. The same stuff we all do when we walk into a packed tournament - get your bearings, find a place to dump your gear, etc. After hearing "Last call for Jason Clarke at ring number eight," I dumped my bag out, grabbed my shorts and gi pants, and ducked behind the bleachers to strip down and change as fast as I could. My friend Matt went to the table to tell them that I would be right over. I came out from behind the bleachers, tossed on the rest of my uniform and stepped on the mat. It actually wasn't that fast. I had exactly 1 minute before my match started, so I tried my best to stretch and move my body parts to warm up. I have to admit, not being able to warm up beforehand played with my mind, especially as I was fighting with a recovering back injury that leaves me stiff and sore. But, this is my fault for a couple of reasons: First of all, I made the decision to compete in my injured condition. Not that there's anything wrong in doing this, but I should've allowed more time than normal to warm up before my matches by showing up earlier. Secondly, I should've been a "good boy" and shown up when the event was scheduled to start in order to be ready for my matches.

Overall, I think that this year's Arnold's run by Kipp and NAGA were the best version of this event so far, and I'll most likely be making the drive down again next year.

Below is a portion of my match versus my team mate, Ben, from Genesis BJJ. There was a camera malfunction and the first few minutes of the match are missing. The clip picks up after a restart from us rolling out of bounds. Ben catches me with a nice deep half guard sweep and was close to a submission when time ran out. He beat me by 2 or 3 points (I think, maybe more?).

MRSA Report

2007-02-28T23:19:00.002-06:00

MRSA is in the news. What is it? MRSA is a type of infectious skin disease spreading into BJJ, Judo, MMA and grappling schools as well as infiltrating it's way into wrestling programs and other contact sports programs. It is contagious, it is ferocious, and yes, it can kill you if left untreated.

MRSA is an acronym for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. MRSA is also known as oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (ORSA) and multiple-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) (shown above) is a bacterium that is the leading cause of staph infections. The types of infections this bacterium can cause range from pimples, boils and abscesses to more serious and life threatening infections such as pneumonia, meningitis, endocarditis, toxic shock syndrome and septicemia. The S. aureus bacteria can live harmlessly on the human body on the scalp, groin and armpits, and can also colonize in the nostrils, throat, urinary tract and open wounds. Penicillin was originally used to treat S. aureus infections, however, today, approximately 80% of all S. aureus bacterium are penicillin resistant. In 1959, Methicillin was employed as an antibiotic to treat infections caused by penicillin resistant S. aureus. However, in 1961 the first case of Methicillin-resistant S. aureus was reported in a hospital in England. Yet, MRSA was a relatively uncommon finding in hospitals until the 1990's when it exploded in prevalence and is now considered endemic (endemic: meaning that in order for the infection to sustain itself, one infected person must pass the infection on to one other person). MRSA infections were typically confined to hospital settings (HA-MRSA, hospital associated-MRSA), however it has since broken free from the post-surgical wards and become prevalent in the community (CA-MRSA, community associated-MRSA). S. aureus strains that can still be treated with methicillin have since been termed as Methicillin Sensitive Staphylococcus aureus, or MSSA. It is evident, that the over use of antibiotics for less than severe infections has lead to the evolution of resistant strains of bacterium such as MRSA. MRSA (shown in photo below) can cause skin infections as mild as skin boils to as severe as necrotizing faciitis (flesh eating disease). If left untreated, the infections can lead to septicemia, pneumonia, meningitis, endocarditis, and toxic shock syndrome - all of which can be lethal to humans.

Aside from the wrestling and grappling mats, MRSA transmission has been reported to occur in the palors of UNLICENSED tattoo artists (no cases have been reported from reputable parlors and artists) (reference: Centers for Disease Control, MMWR 55: pg. 677-679, June 22, 2006.), as well as through HETEROSEXUAL sexual intercourse (Cook H et al., 2007. Clin Infect Dis 44: pg 410-413.)

Typically, vancomycin and teicoplanin have been the most commonly employed antibiotics used to combat MRSA infections, and are often administered intravenously. However, the S. aureus bacterium are a rapidly evolving microorganism and in 1996 in Japan it was found that some strains of MRSA have developed resistance to these countermeasures as well. These new MRSA strains were called Vancomycin Intermediate-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VISA). By 2002, the strains with with intermediate resistance to vancomycin became more robust and developed into bonafide VRSA strains (Vancomycin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus). As of 2005, 3 cases of VRSA have been reported in the United States.

Preventative Measures: anti-Microbial Agents

The use of anti-microbial agents can be employed as a preventative measure to stave off infection from bacteria and fungi. Their use is wide spread in a variety of household products such as dish soaps, toothpastes, mouthwashes, disinfectant wipes, skin care products, children's toys, clothes and textiles and plasticware. One of the most common anti-microbial agents (also called biocides) in use is Triclosan (also known as Irgasan).

Why Triclosan? In 1995 there was a MRSA endemic in a neo-natal intensive care unit and the staff at the hospital began washing their hands with soap containing Triclosan. This preventative measure as well as treating the infected infants with anitbiotics stemmed the spread of the infection. Since then Triclosan has been considered the #1 antimicrobial agent to prevent the infection of MRSA. Adult patients with dermal MRSA infections are often given baths containing 2% Triclosan to help kill the bacteria. The Triclosan molecules bind to and inhibit proteins that are critical for fatty acid synthesis within the bacteria cell, and hence are important for not only cellular metabolism, but also the construction and maintenance of the cellular membrane.

Triclosan (5-chloro-2-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)-phenol) is a powerful chemical antibaterial and antifungal agent. Triclosan has been used more frequently in recent years for the anti-microbial treatment of fabrics (both natural and synthetic) that make up both everyday clothes as well as sport specific and activity wear. The Ciba Specialty Chemical Corporation sells it's Ciba Tinosan AM 100 (TM), which contains Triclosan, to textile companies for impregnation into fabrics.

Grappling specific products have been made that contain Ciba Tinosan (TM). There are rash guards, grappling shorts and skin care products that are sold by OTM.com, and Kennedy Industries is a leader in skin and mat care/cleansing regarding antimicrobial agents (primarily "KenShield (TM) Skin Creme"). While these are great preventative measures against acquiring MRSA bacterium and becoming infected, proper personal hygiene following training sessions is always a must. Using an antibacterial soap that contains Triclosan (if a product contains Triclosan it must state so on the label as mandated by the FDA and EPA) is a measure that one can employ. However, in those individuals with healthy immune systems, regular soap or shower gel should suffice. Unfortunately, a popular soap/shower gel touted amongst the wrestling and grappling communities, Defense Soap (TM) has yet to show effectiveness against S. aureus (MSSA) or the more dangerous MRSA upon review of their clinical report.

The Downside to Triclosan?

It is hypothesized, and even highly likely, that both MRSA, MSSA could develop resistance to Triclosan. Reports have shown that strains of E. coli and Salmonella enterica have possibly developed Triclosan resistance, and some other bacterium have a natural resistance to the biocide. Resistance to Triclosan has been developed in the laboratory when MRSA bacterium have been subjected to less than lethal doses of the agent. When used at "full dose", Triclosan (and it's treated products) is lethal to many microorganisms (MRSA, MSSA, certain fungi, etc.). However, at lesser doses it has been shown that MRSA strains can acquire resistance in a laboratory setting. It is therefore possible that Triclosan treated products could lose adequate concentrations of the biocide (from wearing and washing) over time, and contain less than adequate doses of the Triclosan protectant, thereby allowing for an environment where these microorganisms can develop resistance. However, several major scientific studies have shown that MRSA strains in the wild (outside the lab) can not, or have not (yet), developed resistance to Triclosan.

Tree Huggers Don't Like Triclosan

In one scientific report it was suggested that Triclosan can bind to chlorine compounds in tap water to form chloroform, which is classified as a possible carcinogen by the EPA. Upon interaction with chlorine and other compounds in water, Triclosan can produce intermediate compounds that, when exposed to ultra violet radiation (sun light), convert to dioxins that can contaminate the water and soil. It is uncertain at this time how readily Triclosan converts to dioxins in the wild or how dangerous the dioxins might be, but studies are still on-going in this area.

To Wear, or not to Wear?

In my opinion, I would only wear Triclosan (Ciba Tinosan (TM)) clothing and use Triclosan skin products if I were a person with a compromised immune system, in a gym with a high class attendance, in a gym with previous outbreaks of Staph infection, or I regularly attended large scale tournaments. But this is only my personal opinion. I would, regardless of healthiness, take care of every cut, scrape or laceration with antibacterial agents (Neosporin, etc.) and always take my full course of perscribed antibiotics when fighting a serious bacterial infection. All too often we hear or read of otherwise healthy individuals contracting a MRSA infection and winding up in the hospital. It could happen to you. Proper personal hygiene such as showering within an hour of training sessions, using adequately hot water, lathering up and allowing the soap to sit on the skin for 30 seconds or more before rinsing, washing gis and other training apparel after every use (not every other use or longer!) and regularly washing bedding and clothes is critical to preventing infection from MRSA and other microorganisms including ringworm. Also, pay attention to your body and monitor odd looking red spots, pimple like bumps and bumps that look like spider bites on your skin. If the "pimple" begins to develop red streaks or rings emanating from it, you might have a staph infection - go see a doctor.

Michigan Fighter, James Lee, Wins Big at Pride 33

2007-02-26T20:11:00.002-06:00

James Lee, founder of the MASH Fight Team in Detroit, and current King of the Cage Light Heavyweight Champion, made his Pride debut Saturday night in Las Vegas with Pride 33. The southpaw Lee (9-3-0) was up against a formidable Travis Wiuff (42-10-0) from Elite Performance on the Pay per view event.

The ever calm and collected Lee came out and caught Wiuff early with a stiff short right that sent Wiuff to the canvas scrambling for a single leg. Lee was unable to keep Wiuff on the canvas and the fighters scrambled to their feet in the corner, where Lee laid a big jumping right knee to Wiuff's head. Wiuff was able to get Lee down on the canvas briefly, but the Detroit native quickly switched to a Kimura on Wiuff's right arm that brought the fighters back up to their feet. Wiuff lazily reached down for a single on Lee and found himself quickly wrapped up in an arm-in guillotine. Lee was able to close up his full guard and apply pressure to the choke in order to force Wiuff to submit at 0:39 in the first round.

Good job, James and congrats to you and all the guys over at MASH. Keep up the good work and representing Michigan in the big shows.

Gracie Music Video

2007-02-25T21:02:00.003-06:00

This is an old video from Sepultura featuring their song "Attitude" and the Gracie Family back in the day when Royce was making a name for himself in the Octagon. If you watch closely, you'll also see Relson and Royler in the video showing off their skills. I figured I'd post this because not too many people are aware that it even exists. I saw this years ago on a VHS tape that some guy brought in to the gym.

~J

Gi Review - Atama Mundial Kimono #5

2007-02-24T21:25:00.002-06:00

Atama Mundial Kimono #5, White, Size A3
Retail: $130.00 @ Atama

Bottom line - the Atama Mundial Kimono #5 is phenomenal. Out of the box/bag it is the softest gi you will ever buy. The gi is light and strong and brilliantly white.

The upside:

I sliced open the plastic bag containing the gi with a pocket knife, reached into the bag with my hand to remove the gi, and grabbed of one of the softest gis I've ever laid hands on. My first thought was, "This is awesome." My second thought was, because softness often equates to weakness, is, "This isn't going to last long." But upon closer inspection I could see that the superior Atama construction and material were going to make this gi last a long time. I've owned this gi for about 6 months now, wearing it and washing it 2 - 3 times per week, and it is not showing one sign of wear.

The gi top, from collar to tail is 100% Atama Gold Weave which is this gi's biggest attribute. It makes the gi both light and strong. The normal Atama Gold Weave gi has a skirt to it that is of a thinner material and makes for an unbalanced feel, which this gi does not. This gi is all Gold Weave, and lacks a skirt providing both balance and comfort. This gi also lacks a back seam typical to other Atamas, and is therefore more comfortable when moving off of your back. There is only one seam on the gi top which is in the lower chest area and connects with the sleeve seam under the armpit. The collar is typical of other Atama Gold Weaves - firm but comfortable.

When I open up the gi top and check out what's going on under the hood, I can see armor-like reinforcement material in the key areas. The upper collar area is reinforced in one continuous seam that wraps around the back of the neck and continues on to the other side of the lapel. The armpit crease is reinforced as is the hip-split area at the bottom of the gi top. A lot of time and planning went into making this gi top and it shows. It is soft and light, and is very durable with reinforcements in all the critical areas. Atama has always made high quality gis, but this one is at the top of the list.

The gi top is comfortable fitting and isn't too tight, nor too loose. It fits like a tailored suit. I am 5' 9" and weigh in between 186 and 191. I am big through my chest, shoulders and arms. By ordering the size A3, I am comfortable in this gi no matter what weight I am at - even if I go a little overboard. However, this gi required a minor degree of shrinkage in the wash when I first got it (see wash and care). Still, this is by far the best gi I have ever worn.

The gi pants are identical to the standard pants that Atama makes. They have a strong drawstring with two belt loops in the front and the Atama label on the upper right thigh. They are soft, yet strong and are reinforced from the lower thigh all the way down to the ankle seam. They are very durable and are perhaps the best all around pair of pants out there.

Wash and Care:

Atama always recommends washing their gis in cold and hang drying (click here to read instructions). I, on the other hand needed to wash it in hot water and dry it at a hot temperature in order to tweek the fit and shrink it down just a tad. Out of the package it wasn't far off, but it needed to be done. After I washed it on hot, I put it on (still wet) and checked the fit. This gave me a chance to stretch it if it was too small. It was still a touch loose for my taste so I dried it for 30 minutes on hot and checked again. This still gave me another chance to stretch it out if it was too tight. But, it didn't need to be stretched at either check point and fit perfectly after it was completely dried on hot. Once you wash it in hot and dry it on hot you can either keep following this regimine or revert back to the Atama recommendations. I now wash mine on warm and dry it on warm most of the time. But, even if I hang dry it, it's still soft. If any gi gets too small for you, get it wet and stretch it out. Then, wash it in cold and hang dry it from then on out.

The down side:

The only down side I have to this gi are the patches and the trim - which are mere aesthetics. The gi top has a small band of black trim that reads, "ATAMA" on it all the way around the bottom skirt seam. The gi pants have the same trim that follows the bottom seam of the ankle cuffs. The gi top also has a rectangular Atama patch on the left lapel. Personally I am not fond of the black trim on the gi top and bottoms. Some people I know like it and others are indifferent to it. However, it's too "flashy" for my taste. In my opinion, the gi would be perfect if it didn't have this trim.

Overview:

Because I care more about construction, feel and performance in my gi tops, and inspite of the flashy accouterments of the black trim and patches, this gi is still my favorite out of all the gis in my training rotation. As Atama sells gi pants separately, I still wear the plain Atama pants when I wear this gi top and forgo the Mundial pants with the black trim - but this is just my preference. Remember, the two pants are identical aside from the trim. This is also my favorite gi for competitions and I highly recommend it to everybody that is looking for a new training and/or competition gi. You will not be disappointed in the feel, fit, construction, performance or color of this gi.

~J

Blogging in my Atama Mundial.

Friday Night Open Mat at The Bat Cave

2007-02-23T21:27:00.000-06:00

A few pics from inside a secret training facility somewhere in the state of Michigan. Maybe one day I can divulge more, but for now this is all I can write. If you were invited to this event and didn't show... your loss.

This place is huge with over 2000 sq.ft. of brand new Zebra mats.
The mats are nicely framed in with no toe-torquing gaps. The
non-traditional colors are a cool change of pace from the norm.
There is music playing in the background.

Matt & Seth:

Only a few people have shown up. It's early yet.

Open guard passing. If you've seen Saulo Ribeiro's
Jiu-Jitsu Revolution 2, you might recognize the gi that
Seth is wearing.

Butterfly guard w/underhook & belt grip.

Tom & Dorian:

Tom really needs to work on his guard game.

Dorian with an ankle lock.

Update: Arnold's Start Times & Ring Assignments

2007-02-23T13:11:00.002-06:00

For those that don't visit the Atama BJJ Forums on MMA.tv (and you really should), Kipp Collar (NAGA President) posted a BUNCH of info regarding this year's Arnold's - too much for me to post here.

To read his post on the forums click here.

He states that events on Saturday will be done by 8:00 P.M. SHARP due to UFC 68 being shown later that night, which will also be in Columbus, OH. With this kind of motivation I am sure that things will run in a timely manner on Saturday. If you're planning on doing the No-gi events on Sunday, he plans to wrap things up in the early afternoon.

This was a well thought out move on his part to post this information for the competitors, and I wish other organizers would do the same thing. So, "Thanks, Kipp!"

~J

Tattered Memories

2007-02-21T12:23:00.000-06:00

Oh, yes. There is a story about this old blue belt of mine. It's a long, convoluted tale that is sometimes funny - sometimes sad. It was wrapped around my waste for about 4 years before it was replaced by one of a darker color. As this old friend of mine is officially retired, it seems only fitting to honor it somehow. So, for now I will just post this pic while I work on writing the story in my spare time.

~J

Monday Night at SRJJA (Melvindale, MI)

2007-02-20T00:42:00.001-06:00

A few pics from training at the SRJJA Melvindale Academy on Monday night. It was a big turnout (16 people) with class taught by Chris Blanke.

My lens was fogging up due to the humidity in the
room. Training in the winter time in Michigan you can
see the steam coming off of people's bodies. To toughen up
for the big tournaments, we go roll outside in the snow. Just
kidding, but it DID work for Rocky.

This is a bit better pic. The upper belt rotation is taking a break and
watching the white belts get their Jits on.

(L to R) John, Brent and Tom talking about the benefits of
wearing a blue gi while waiting for their turns to roll. Tom
is still a bit Old School, so he hedges his bets and sticks with
the white pants. Somewhere in his closet is a REALLY white gi
top that has never seen the mat.

What's My Throw?

2007-02-18T19:09:00.002-06:00

What's your favorite throw or takedown and why?

Judokas and BJJ players will have two different answers. A BJJ player will probably say either a double leg or a single leg and their reason will be either because that's all they know or that they come from a wreslting back ground. These two takedowns also allow for a nice safe transition from the feet to the ground with little danger to the BJJ player. Or, the BJJ player will not answer the question and instead jump and pull guard on you. Yet, at some point the BJJ player will need to take their stand up game to the next level to gain an edge. Ask a good Judoka this same question and they will rattle off a list of throws that are all chained together and stem from a gripping game that compliments their style. For every situation on the feet, they will have a throw as an answer. Let's focus not on the high level Judoka who has their whole stand up game figured out and is in the process of merely tweeking their game. Instead let's focus on the BJJ player who needs to get to the next level (stand up wise) in their game and the new Judoka that has no idea where to start.

To begin finding your throws you will need to answer some questions. What's you're physique? Are you tall, short, stocky, thin? Are you long legged or short legged? Are you strong for your size? Your build will determine which throws you will have the most success with, but ultimately, it comes down to which ones you like. The only way to do this is to experiment under the guidance of some one with some Judo experience. This may take a few sessions with them, and you won't really learn any one throw perfectly, but then again, you're not trying to at this point. You're basically taking each throw for a test drive.

Eventually in your time spent test driving throws, or when you begin to take Judo more seriously, you will realize exactly how important the battles for grip control are. Just try hitting some of your newly learned throws on your Judo throw salesman and watch how quickly they go to hell when he fully resists. You will then ask, "Do I fight for grips that lead into the takedowns I like? Or, do I do takedowns based on what grips I like?" Choose the former. Your takedowns are the meat and potatoes, your grips are the condiments. The gripping game in Judo has so many variations that it is best to just begin with the basics. Depending on your dojo and your influences you may find yourself with either a traditional Japanese grip game (sleeve and collar control) or a Russian grip game (arm across with high back or belt grip)... the list goes on and on and on. The higher the level, the more intricate and the more important the grip game becomes. But, to start things off just pick a gripping game, learn it and stick with it. I chose the traditional Japanese grips, and have since added modifications that make it a bit more unorthodox. Unorthodox grips, if they are technically sound, are very good for your Judo game as long as you can make throws happen from them. I also have the benefit of being in a club with players that have all sorts of different gripping games. So, I can experiment with each grip and I can either adopt it or at the very least make myself familiar with it.

But let's back up... What's your favorite throw? At first the myriad of throws in Judo blew my mind. There's 67 throws in the Kodokan Judo System. Some of these are considered counter throws and not primary throws, and even within the primary throws some are better than others depending on your build and the build of your opponent. After taking some throws for a test drive I found that the drop Ippon Seoi Nage is my favorite throw (executed with both knees on the mat instead of standing). Why? Because, it's easy and I can hit it on a wide range of opponents regardless of their body type. Because, it suits my body type. Because, it feels good when I throw it. So the Ippon Seoi Nage is my goal throw, my primary throw. It is the throw that I want and hunt for when I am on the mat. Everything I do on my feet is either an attempt to get it or a follow up if I miss it. From this starting point I asked a lot of questions to those who were better than me for advice on hitting the throw: what grips should I take, what set ups work best, how do people defend it, what are some follow ups to their counters, etc? I picked the throw apart and still am exploring it. From this exploration I found my gripping game and foot work game as well as many other throws other than the Ippon Seoi Nage. My set ups required me to learn several foot sweep variations and inside reaps, my counters and follow ups forced me to learn throws like Tomoe Nage, Tai Otoshi and Osoto Gari. After every class spent working on developing this game I would go home and write down my notes on the session. I take even the set ups and fakes leading into the throw seriously, and if I happen to nail my set up throw instead of my primary throw - so be it. It's all good. So it pays to train everything with total commitment.

So, I took some throws for a test drive, found that I liked the drop Ippon Seoi Nage, tried out some gripping styles that allowed for hitting the Ippon Seoi Nage and thought that the Japanese style slightly modified is best for me. Then, I worked with the upper belts in the club to flesh out the set ups and follow ups to the throw. From here on out, it becomes a matter of timing and seamless transitions. It helped that I also have a back up throw that can be used as either a stand alone primary throw or as a part of my Ippon Seoi Nage game: the Kata Guruma.

The Kata Guruma is a fireman's carry in wrestling and was one of my favorite takedowns when I wrestled. It fits perfectly into the Ippon Seoi Nage game or can be used as a secondary primary throw. So when I am in a match the whole time I am calculating whether or not my opponent is in position for either the Ippon Seoi Nage or the Kata Guruma.

I recommend following the above test drive experiment and to not over commit yourself to any one throw until you find one that you like. I also recommend that you don't jump head first into some of the most complicated throws as this will delay your ability to bring your game to the competition mat. If you are in a Judo dojo ask a black belt to help you find some takedowns and throws that work with your body type. Tall guys or guys with long legs will find that outside reaps like Osoto Gari or Kosoto Gari will benefit them as well leg blocking type throws like the Sasae and Tai Otoshi. Shorter guys will want to stay away from using outside reaps on a taller opponent and focus on the inside reaps like Kouchi Gari and Ouchi Gari as well throws like Uchi Mata and Ippon Seoi Nage. Of course, each person will probably fight people of all shapes and sizes sooner or later. But, if you are often either the taller guy in your weight class or the shorter one, you should focus on developing a game based on the type of opponent you most often fight. I am 5' 9" and 186 to 191 lbs. I am often of quite average height for my weight class in BJJ, but a little bit shorter than most of my opponents in my Judo competitions. Therefore, while I may not use Osoto Gari often in a Judo competition, it helps me to know it well for the times that I need to pull it off in BJJ. If my Uchi Mata were better, I would say that I would use it on all but those guys that are shorter than me unless he hung his leg out and begged for it. But, I have not yet implemented my Uchi Mata into competition game and am not in a position to critique the throw with any expertise. When I do begin to use it, I will let you know how it goes for me.

It's never too soon or too late to begin finding your throw. Once you have a stand up game that suits you, you will be able to explore the other throws while having a primary game to fall back on. For the BJJ player, having a good stand up game can mean the difference between victory and defeat against an opponent with equal ground skills. If you look at some of the best BJJ players in the World (Xande Ribeiro, Jacare, Roger Gracie, Braulio Estima, etc.) they all have stand up game and have found their throws. Get out there and find your throw.

~J

DVD Review - Jiu-Jitsu Revolution 2, Saulo Ribeiro

2007-02-18T16:41:00.002-06:00

Jiu-Jitsu Revolution 2, Saulo Ribeiro
Distibuted by World Martial Arts
Produced by Paul F. Viele
6 DVD set, currently $150.00 @ WMA

Anyone that knows me or has taken the time to look at my little profile on the right, knows that I am a student of Saulo's. So, how can I be expected to write a non-biased and objectionable review about my instructor's DVD set? Because I paid full price for the damn videos! If I drop a 150 bones on anything, it better live up to my expectations. Thankfully, it does. But in all honesty, and as a person that does science for a living and publishes my results in scientific journals, I know that my review will probably be tainted with modest degrees of favoritism no matter how hard I try not to.

Obviously, this is the second installment in the Jiu-Jitsu Revolution gi series. Revolution 1 was the series that lays down the foundation of Saulo's game. And, while you don't need to own Revolution 1 to appreciate this new series, it certainly would be helpful for some of the techniques. On a few occassions, Saulo makes reference to techniques in Revolution 1 with the assumption that the viewer is familiar the content of his previous series. On other occassions he adds variations to Revolution 1 techniques without going into too much detail about the basic move that he is expanding on. Again, under the assumption that the viewer is familiar with Revolution 1. Do you need Revolution 1 to learn from Revolution 2? No. But I would say that it would be in your best interest to own it as well. And why not? Revolution 1 was groundbreaking and packed full of solid techniques that are all tournament tested. And, Revolution 2 picks up where Revolution 1 leaves off and expands upon an already spectacularly laid foundation.

If Revolution 1 was the ground floor of Saulo's game, Revolution 2 is the stairway that shows us what the second and third floors look like. One of the aspects that I really liked was Disc 1, "Modified Takedowns for Jiu-Jitsu." Saulo is known for being a superior stand up technician, primarily for his Kouchi Gari - Ippon Seoi Nage combination that has netted him countless points in the highest level tournaments. In this disc he shows us how he does it. I know him to be a lover and student of Judo and in this disc he attempts to fill the gaps in the BJJ players game by addressing a stand up game plan. But, most of us that do both sports know that alot of Judo takedowns and throws are not suited for BJJ. Saulo addresses these issues and modifies them accordingly. He also focuses on the gripping game and proper footwork while standing. All of which will lead to superior positioning once things hit the mat.

Also in Revolution 2, Saulo shows us two never before seen positions: The X-pass and The Running Escape. The X-pass is a new open guard pass much like the Bull Fighter pass, but far more versatile. It can be hit from many types of open guard. The Running Escape is not exactly what it sounds like, but it is a new way of defending from the bottom cross position. I have personally been working this position in class and it seems to frustrate and confuse my opponents. This is a far more dynamic position than the bottom cross while it allows for more opportunities to escape than just the traditional bump to guard. I think it's biggest plus is that it alleviates the problem of having the guy on top of you in side mount smash you and tire you out.

The other DVDs in the set round out the series nicely and really focus on the key positions. As always, Saulo is great at conveying his lessons and teaches his techniques in a logical progression. I highly recommend this set to anybody that wants to go to the next level.

Book Review - Guerrilla Jiu-Jitsu

2007-02-17T19:13:00.003-06:00

Guerrilla Jiu-Jitsu, by Dave Camarillo with Erich Krauss, published June 2006. Currently $20.67 @ Amazon.com

Dave Camarillo is a black belt in both Judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. His years of experience in both styles has led to a new hybrid game that has evolved from his personal combination of the superior stand up and takedown techniques of Judo along with the unequaled ground techniques of BJJ. This combination has allowed both himself and his students to dominate both sports at the highest level. He calls this game Guerrilla Jiu-Jitsu and attempts to fill a major gap in the BJJ players' game - the stand up. Not to be unbalanced, this book is chocked full of submission combinations and follow-ups for the judoka that stem from superior grips while on the feet. However, while it is my impression that this book is an attempt to bring the attributes of Judo to the BJJ player, there is much to be learned from Camarillo by any judoka or sensei seeking to expand their game. Camarillo breaks down the walls that separate the styles and embraces them both for their attributes. In his prologue he adresses the differences between the two styles and the reader, regardless of their style of choice, is left with an appreciation for the "other" grappling art.

I am primarily a BJJ player at heart. However, within my BJJ game I hit a point where I needed to expand and evolve my game and gain an edge on my competition. So, I turned to Judo to fill in the gaps in my stand-up game. Despite my wrestling experience I found that at the level I was competing at, wrestling and BJJ weren't enough for me. I have been training at a Judo dojo and competing in Judo tournaments (shiais) for about 5 months now. I bought Guerrilla Jiu-Jitsu about 1 month after I started training Judo and it has helped me understand how to take what I learn in the Judo dojo and apply to BJJ competitions. There are many throwing techniques in Judo that do not translate to the BJJ game. But Camarillo shows both judokas and BJJ players how to translate many throws into a game that is not over once your opponents back hits the mat.

Camarillo's book is broken up in to 3 sections folowing the prologue:

1. Incorporating Judo and Jiu-Jitsu

2. From Throws to Submissions

3. Flying Attacks

And it is in the last section, Flying Attacks, that some of the "Fundamentalists" may feel is a waste of paper. At first when I read this section I was miffed. I am well aware that both BJJ and Judo have flying attacks incorporated into their respective competitive styles. But, as a person who's style is more based in accordance with the laws of gravity I found this section to be too flashy and Hollywood based for my taste. Not that I am opposed to flying attacks in my competitions should they present themselves. But, as a fundamentalist - in order to "believe" in a flashy move (which flying attacks are) you have to hit me with them to make me see the light. Why am I not a believer? Even though I've seen them on many a highlight reel, they have never happened to me - even in practice. These techniques are so uncommon that most people will disregard them as Bruce Lee type, $100 moves (moves you pay $100 for in a seminar or private lesson - like a secret recipe) or dream moves (moves that you can only hit in your dreams). But then, I looked at it again. Camarillo is KNOWN for his flying attacks. This guy practically brought flying attacks into the Judo game. Of course, he wasn't the first guy to do it, but his relentless pursuit of the flying attack forced it into the mainstream like a commercial for McDonald's. Even if you don't do flying attacks yourself - this chapter from Dave heeds you to pay attention, because now you better be able to defend them. In my retrospective review of the Flying Attack chapter, I gained great insight into Camarillo's game. He was showing me an aspect of his game that made him famous, and which he has proven time and time again is effective in competition regardless of what the fundamentalists may think.

This is a must read book for both BJJ and Judo players. For BJJ players at Blue Belt and above, you will need this someday, if not now. So get a leg up on your competition and start implementing Camarillo's teachings as soon as you can. Also, enroll at a Judo dojo or club (P.S. most local Judo tournies only cost $25 or so.) For the judokas, regardless of belt, Camarillo's book will take your standup game into a seamless transition to the mat. It will show you ways to find the sub instead of the pin and it will prepare you for the wave of BJJ guys that will be coming to your tournaments in the near future. Which will make both of the styles better in the long run.

Check out some video clips of Dave and his brother Dan Camarillo (also a double black belt, BJJ & Judo) at On The Mat (OTM.com) here. Also, check out Dave's academy website here. and his MySpace page here.

U of M BJJ Friday Night Open Mat

2007-02-16T23:47:00.000-06:00

A few pics from the Friday Night Open Mat that takes place at the U of M Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Club. Recently the turn out has picked up with some upper belts from the Saulo Ribeiro Melvindale Academy dropping by to find some mat space to get some extra training in before the Arnold's. The quality of the Friday open mat sessions is looking to get a lot better. Open mat is at 8pm at the IMSB. You need to either be a U of M BJJ member or Rec Sports member or a guest of either to drop in. Otherwise, I think it costs $10 to get into the IMSB. As of yet, the club doesn't charge a drop in fee.

Judo Training

2007-02-15T23:03:00.000-06:00

Here's a couple of pics from training up at the EMU judo club on Thursday night. The club trains on a spring loaded gymnastic floor which allows for tons of full throttle throws. The down side of the flooring system is that it's carpeted and if you're doing ground work it's hard to move around if you're the one with your back on the mat. But I don't go to the Judo club to work on my ground work, so no worries there. Of course, with my back still being a bit sore and stiff I didn't train too hard and worked mainly on my foot work, combos and set ups for my two favorite (and highest percentage) throws (Ippon seoi nage & Kata guruma). I've also been working on my Uchi mata with Clint (shodan) the last 4 or 5 sessions and I finally had a break through tonight. I hope to really work it this Saturday and Sunday and find the right flow for the throw. If possible, I'd like to feel confident enough with it to try it out at the Arnold's. That's a lot to ask for on such short notice, but the throw feels quite natural for me to do even though I've only worked on it for about 5 or 6 hours. Clint was also working with me on a new twist to the Osoto gari. One with a lot of hip action and quite different from the one I've been drilling for the last 5 months. Tells me that it's a bit safer to do in competition and it sure does feel more powerful. I think I like his version better.

End of class challenge: jump up and balance on some cushion thing. There must be a deeper meaning to all of this, but I just arrived to start training with the club guys and it's beyond me what the point of this is. Funny, though - these kids are getting college credit for this.

Clint in the blue gi with his back to me working on his Tomoe nage. His brother, Luke, watching on from the side.

Upcoming Local Tournaments

2007-02-15T09:51:00.001-06:00

Feb. 24th: Champions Challenge (Submission grappling, No-gi only), Auburn Hills, MI

Feb. 24th: Ameri-Kan Challenge Open (Judo, USJA sanction), Bluffton, OH

March 2nd-3rd: Midwestern Judo Championships, (Judo, USA Judo sanction), Waukegan, IL

March 3rd-4th: Arnold Grappling Challenge (BJJ, Gi & No-gi), Columbus, OH (Weigh-ins March 2nd)

March 3rd-4th: Arnold Martial Arts Festival Judo Competition (Judo, unknown sanction), Columbus, OH (Weigh-ins March 2nd)

March 18th: Michigan State Judo Championships (Judo, USJF sanction), East Lansing, MI

March 24th: Great Lakes BJJ Championships (3rd annual), (BJJ, Gi & No-gi), Canton, MI

March 24th: 2nd Annual Gem City Open (Judo), Dayton, OH (link coming soon)

April 7th: Indiana State Judo Championships (Judo, unknown sanction), Portland, IN

April 29th: Konan Invitational (Judo, sanction pending), East Lansing, MI

(more to follow)

Saulo Opens The University of Jiu-Jitsu (UNIJJ)

2007-02-15T09:00:00.001-06:00

On Feb. 10th Saulo held the grand Opening of The University of Jiu-Jitsu. The address of the new University is: 3350 Sports Arena Blvd Suite H2 in San Diego, Ca. 92110. Contact info should be directed to the SRJJA main site here.

According to Andreh Anderson on the MMA.tv Atama BJJ Forums, the black belts in attendance included Kid Peligro, Saulo & Xande Ribeiro, Alvaro Romano, Eduardo Rocha, Paulo Guillobel, Cleber Luciano, Steve Maxwell, Royler Gracie & Pezao (a Fabio Santos BB).

Pics from the grand opening can be seen here (courtesy of Aliciaphotos).

Saulo and Xande told me that the new University will be run just like an actual university. That is, there will be a particular cirriculum to include Judo and Portuguese lessons and there will be semesters. The vision of the University is to take a total beginner from the white belt to black belt level in 6 years time. The student will also be proficient in Judo techniques as they apply to BJJ, BJJ and Gracie Family history and will have a working knowledge of Brazilian Portuguese - particularly the terms most relevant to BJJ and competition. There is a Kodokan black belt that teaches the Judo classes and a Portuguese language instructor on site.

Fightworks Podcast did an interview with Saulo regarding the opening of the UNIJJ and what it's all about. Click here to go to the Fightworks site to download the interview (#52). Also, subscribe to their iTunes Podcast to catch these interviews as soon as they're available.

The Arnold's are coming

2007-02-14T17:30:00.002-06:00

Let's start off with my current status: injured reserve. I injured my lower back training last week at Focus Jiu-Jitsu with Saulo's new black belt Sean "Abdula" Bansfield and have been trying to take it easy. It was my fault, actually. I didn't warm up as much as I need to and jumped into the thick of things cold. So instead of training at Saulo's I've helped out at the U of M BJJ club on two nights. I thought the easy moving around would help out my back by keeping the muscles warm - but it's been slow going. It should be well enough to train again soon, but I'm taking the rest of the week off to let it heal.

The Arnold's are coming up on March 3rd in Columbus, OH and it's shaping up to be a great tourny. Kipp Collar and his Naga organization will be taking over the tournament this year, which is making me consider lifting my boycott on the event. The guy that use to run the Arnold's and the Relson Gracie Nationals (also in Columbus) wasn't the best organizer I've ever given my money to. After taking a swift kick in the teeth from both tournaments I decided that I had better things to do. But, if Kipp is running the show I may just make the drive. He runs a great event. So, if I'm going to do that I need to heal quickly and get on the mat.

Current therapy regimine: rest, heating pad, Aleve

Allow myself to introduce... myself.

2007-02-14T12:17:00.000-06:00

I've been wanting to do this for a while and never seem to have the time. I hope to use this as a tool to stay in touch with friends and pass along some info about BJJ, Judo and my experiences to others.
j