Honestly BJJ isnt going to be for everyone, but given the personalities and interests of this forum I think a handful of people would actually get into it. Is it too expensive? Do you prefer not to wrestle with other men? Do you not want to do it because youre traditionally more of a boxing fan and feel you'd be selling out?

Basically no matter where you live - there's at least one school. If youre interested, post up where you live and we (especially inpulse) will help find you a gym to try out - with a decent pedigree. Most places have a free trial model - so it wouldnt hurt.

If you have any other questions, ask away.

Im about a month in myself but havent been able to go as much as I want in this first month due to work and family commitments. With that said, ive been loving it. I have some minor gripes about how jiujitsu is taught in general, but for me thats outweighed by the challenge of learning a new skill.

The reason I think OKPS will like it is because its a great mix of physical and mental coordination and skill. Closest thing to phnysical chess. It's amazing how minor adjustments make things so much easier.

Its also been really eye opening to see how leverage and placement of your body a certain way on somebody can make what you thought would be hard, so easy. The first time I swept someone from spider guard, I had no confidence he'd flip over and hesitated to pull, with just a slight tug and hardly any physical excertion by me, he "flipped over" and I ended on top.

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought

I have a library of saved youtube videos but they probably wont be interesting to the avg joe.

Any other bjj guys have ideas on videos that may help draw interest?

Say what you want about the Gracie combatives stuff, I think Rener and Ryron do a great job of making jiujitsu accessible to the public in a practical way that makes sense. Their street fight analyses are always fun

Fihas Zihabi (GSP and Jon Jones' sometimes coach) does them too. He recently did a pretty good one on Sport jiu jitsu and errors you can make in a real fight.

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought

>
>Any other bjj guys have ideas on videos that may help draw
>interest?



Even great, classic matches have lulls. I think highlight videos are the best way to show someone the potential of BJJ.

Here's a recent example. I bet you've already seen it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AItwWiNf-AI&spfreload=10

I agree on match videos. Even highlights are tough if you don't know exactly what to look for.

I like well made technique- finishing videos.

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought

i guess it depends on the type of person you're trying to draw in. if you think the person is interested moreso in the "chess" side of bjj, the technique videos from the mendes brothers, stephen kesting (grapplearts) and the gracie breakdowns are really thorough.

if you're already training and are looking for a good site for breakdowns, bjjscout is a really good one too.

on the non-technical tip, there's stuart cooper. excellently produced films profiling some of the top bjj players. this is a good intro of his stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3grZ3gL5gYk

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought

been battling this tendonitis (seeing a physical therapist) and also about to test for Level 2 in JKD in a month, so I think if anything I'll stick to once a week for now

We did a drill in jkd yesterday where the newer guys put on the helmets and boxing gloves and came at the more experienced guys that just had MMA gloves on. That was so fun bro I'm never giving up striking for BJJ only lol

But anyway it's going slowly but steady. Finally there's a vid up on MGinAction of a lesson that I was there for. Hope to build my cue up on the website so I can review stuff at home that we cover in class.

my former roommate just made purple at Triangle JJ, which means the entire Royce Gracie family expects him to make it to and through the infamous room in Miami and get his black belt.

I love his stories. I love his BJJ gossip. I love, love, love tales of dojo storms. I even love his designs.*

And yet I haven't done it yet. I need to change this.

* I said designs! Jeff Shaw, designer of the flyest rash guards in the game. http://www.cagesidemma.com/torobjj.html

----
bshelly

"You (Fisher) could get fired, Les Snead could get fired, Kevin Demoff could get fired, but I will always be Eric Dickerson.” (c) The God

>my former roommate just made purple at Triangle JJ, which
>means the entire Royce Gracie family expects him to make it to
>and through the infamous room in Miami and get his black belt.
>
>
>I love his stories. I love his BJJ gossip. I love, love, love
>tales of dojo storms. I even love his designs.*
>
>And yet I haven't done it yet. I need to change this.
>
>* I said designs! Jeff Shaw, designer of the flyest rash
>guards in the game. http://www.cagesidemma.com/torobjj.html


The hardest thing for us older guys is checking ego at the door when we have 20 yr olds so much better than us. The way I figure it im in it for the long haul and no rush to be the best in the world. Just learning a skill I can use and transfer onto my kids.

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought

I hope to teach my son or daughter that stuff too

is your dad a Russian Sambo expert?

Who was doing leglocks in the 80s?

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought

He used to wrestle in HS or maybe it was jiujitsu, never asked him actually. Don't know how he picked it up

Sambo is not the only art that does leglocks:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ao7F8rOSFj0

I think folks, particularly of the keyboard warrior variety, get too caught up in the difference between x martial art and y, which came first, which is better, which is better for a street fight, etc.

Who difference does it truly make?

Sorry, nothing to do with you - that thought popped into my head when I read you guys' exchange, and I had to vent on some of the bunk I read on reddit and Sheepdog.

Another victory for spellcheck. That was supposed to be Sherdog.


>Sambo is not the only art that does leglocks:
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ao7F8rOSFj0
>


Imanari is a BJJ black belt though.

There's always that conflict of what's bullshit martial arts. There was a JKD video from some school in France and the first comment was how it's not in line with Bruce Lee's principles yadda yadda yadda. GTFOH

But anyways I posted Imanari to show that Sambo is not the only art that does leg locks

Actually, watching Khabib fight, I wonder if they do ANY submissions or if they just practice takedowns lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=267i7rKeECA

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought

1) I'm way too broke to afford BJJ here in NYC, muchless any martial arts school.


2) I'm 30+ years of age and I don't want to risk getting injured trying to learn a new martial art. I am a ton of interest in stand-up and some interest in ground work, but I value my relative amount of health that I have to want to screw up my joints or my back trying to learn BJJ. The martial art I have genuine interest in is muay thai because I have fairly long legs and I like the elbow and knee aspects for stand-up, but I'm way too timid at this point in my life to try and take that up.

when you get that sweep or choke w/ little effort or strength. there are times when you think oh i'm not gonna get this sweep then boom, your technique gets you there. one of the brown belts in the gym always reminds me to "trust your jiu jitsu".

yep. When you get something that seemed hard to work so easily, thats great.

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought

Are they basically just a longer class with technique demo and then drilling?

Fabio Gurgel is coming to MGA. I mean if theres a shortlist of people id wnat to take a seminar with if there were one, he'd be on that list.

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought

Fabio is old school, a G. I'd expect that to be a fundamentally focused seminar, but with very minute particular details being taught.

I personally am not a seminar guy. They're expensive, and I kind of get this weird meet-and-greet type feel from them. I would rather do a private lesson (more $ though), so I can get one on one attention and work on what I want.

But I think you should check it out and decide for yourself.

I feel like I wasnt picking up the stuff in the middle 4-5 classes I took too well.
Part of it was going twice a week - which to me isnt enough.

One class was really bad. i felt like I had two left feet and arms. I got partnered with a brand new girl who had no context of bjj cause it was a 6 person class. Aside from not wanting to go too hard - i founf that when you have 2 people who dont know what theyre doing its like 2 partners dancing with 2 left feet -- doesnt work.

My best class was this past wednesday. i rolled with a 3 stripe white belt who really coached me into keeping my weight on him while working on techniques. That was helpful. Sometimes i get so caught up in trying to get a technique that I forget about the basics. I really enjoy collar chokes with the gi. i got a nice bony wrist and forearm that seems to put a lot of pressure on people pretty quick.

When I went to Spokane I took a no go class and rolled with a bunch of 20 yr olds who were pretty tough. It was my first time no gi. Its crazy cause sometimes you get in a position and you just dont know what to do to try and submit - so youre just like uhhhhh....

That was a fun experience though. I wish there were more live rolling at MGA.

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought

Yeah, I try to steer two newish people away from drilling together. It's hard enough to retain new info. You don't need to add to that by having conflicting info interrupting the process because neither person knows how to do the technique properly.

If you want to do more live rolling that's where it's at

Dude learned BJJ in Hawaii while in the military so I definitely want to work with him too after another few weeks of fundamentals

But you are right man, bad days happen. I had a terrible day yesterday. Tweaked my ankle in warmups, couldn't find an appropriate partner weight-wise for practicing throws at first so I had to work in with a pair of dudes and lost reps. Just felt out of sorts.

At the end of class seeing Paul basically promote this new cat I had never seen to Fundamental 2 I was like damn. I asked dude afterwards in the locker room how many classes he had done, he said only 13, although he has been coming every day since he works next door and actually knows Marcelo outside of BJJ. Still it's just serious motivation to get in there more often as soon as it's feasible.

at the price of learning. I feel like there are times I get into decent positions but then I just dont know or remember what to do. So then I just kind of let the more experienced guy make first move then I use the Ribiero survival techniques as long as I can. I feel like Im generally able to survive pretty well.

If nothing else open mat is a great fucking workout.



>If you want to do more live rolling that's where it's at
>
>Dude learned BJJ in Hawaii while in the military so I
>definitely want to work with him too after another few weeks
>of fundamentals


This is a dude from your job or someone youve worked with at MGA?



>
>But you are right man, bad days happen. I had a terrible day
>yesterday. Tweaked my ankle in warmups, couldn't find an
>appropriate partner weight-wise for practicing throws at first
>so I had to work in with a pair of dudes and lost reps. Just
>felt out of sorts.

Do you regularly see the same guys on Friday? Do you try to partner with the same guys or switch it up?



>
>At the end of class seeing Paul basically promote this new cat
>I had never seen to Fundamental 2 I was like damn. I asked
>dude afterwards in the locker room how many classes he had
>done, he said only 13, although he has been coming every day
>since he works next door and actually knows Marcelo outside of
>BJJ. Still it's just serious motivation to get in there more
>often as soon as it's feasible.

I was wondering about that. I havent seen anyone promoted to anything yet. How does that happen? Did he just call the guy up in front of everyone or is this done more off to the side? Did he get a stripe or anything? Yea theres a couple young kids I see come almost everyday and tehy do the doubles on Monday and Thursday (waiting 2 hours between classes lol)

One dude I think works part time and another is a girl who I think is a student at NYU. But yea I work close enough that I should be able to go everyday if I could take Fun 2.
>
>

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought

>
>>If you want to do more live rolling that's where it's at
>>
>>Dude learned BJJ in Hawaii while in the military so I
>>definitely want to work with him too after another few weeks
>>of fundamentals
>
>
>This is a dude from your job or someone youve worked with at
>MGA?
>

Nah its a guy I see on Fridays and have worked with before on technique.


>
>Do you regularly see the same guys on Friday? Do you try to
>partner with the same guys or switch it up?

There's always different people but maybe a core group you will always see. I knew one dude i worked with before but last time we were working on throws he was STRUGGLING cause I'm 230. Meamwhile I was damn near picking him up onto my shoulders and that's not great for practicing technique either cause you can muscle it.

>I was wondering about that. I havent seen anyone promoted to
>anything yet. How does that happen? Did he just call the guy
>up in front of everyone or is this done more off to the side?
>Did he get a stripe or anything?

No stripe no announcement. it was after class, you know when a lot of students go up to Paul to shake his hand. It was just a one to one thing, but I was eavesdropping like a mug lol. Told the dude too, didn't mean to eavesdrop but I overheard Paul say you could take Fun 2 now, how long you been here cause they told me they want people to wait 3 months. He was like 3 MONTHS?? I been coming 3 weeks lol. Anyway dude is athletic and it doesn't hurt he knows Marcelo and works next door.

Another white belt was new and I was partnered with him. Paul wanted to work with him one one one so had me work with Gianni. I took the opp to ask Gianni a bunch of questions I can't ask most white belts and it was helpful.

Say what you will on Gianni's style as a fighter (even I've said something). He's one of the nicest guys at Mga. There's been several occasions where I'm in the locker room changing and he always greets me- a random white belt.

Have more to post about this class but will stop here since I'm on my phone.

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought

*jealous*

>*jealous*

It was real cool. I can see what youre saying above about privates vs seminars and how much more you can get out of those.

So after class i also chatted with Paul for a bit and he basically broke down for me that there is a curriculum (remember when I was wondering about that?) Paul's a cool guy. We struck up some small talk a couple of weeks ago about my Moya Gi, and how the dude that started Moya is basically like Denzel from training day. Dude was part of a crew of LAPD officers who and beat up a bunch of people and stole from them. I think everyone else got signifigant time, but the internet says Moya snitched, and only did like 2 years. lol.

My boy who knows him didnt know this story when I told him about it. Im sure he doesnt go around bragging about it--but a search for review of Moya Gi's will take you right to it.

Anyhow Paul said at MGA for Fun 1 we follow a 25 class cycle and just repeat that so if you come for long enough youll touch everything multiple times and just become more familiar. He said everyone teaches stuff a little differently and that depends on who you get. He says he always throws in little nuances and tweaks because he just has way more experience teaching newbies than almost all the other instructors.

I think its the Alliance curriculum. He was telling the new guy I was rolling with not to worry about getting everything in a class early on. Just pick up small things here and there and eventually when you see things enough, youll get more familiar.


Yea the Gurgel Seminar is $100. Im guessing itll be jam packed so I may avoid til I get more experience.

The main reason hes coming I think is to do a instructor's seminar. Id love to take something like that in the long run. As a lifelong teacher, I could see myself getting more into the teaching side of BJJ as I get more experience.

heres a link
http://marcelogarciastore.com/collections/seminars

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought

You gotta trust the system Shawn!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seP9GEeZf6A

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought

so I'm a light weight. 5'9 160 currently. I've had the privilege the last two weeks of drilling/rolling with some upper level white belts who have been emphasizing to me a lot making myself heavy and closing off space.

Early in I was just going through motions sometimes happy to get the end goal of the technique but not realizing I was probably giving way to much breathing room.

The white belt I rolled with today is a former fighter who did Muay Thai and boxing for awhile-- so even though he's new he has a good grasp of body mechanics. He does a great job of smashing and making you uncomfortable. His shoulder pin on the torreando pass was brutal. He was telling me how he rolls with some higher level 160 guys who can do the same to him.

Anyhow what are some tips on making yourself heavier in top positions?
I feel like I'm light as hell on top positions it might just be cause I'm working with guys who are 190+ so they have 30 lbs on me. I imagine a 130 lb guy or girl would feel light on me too.

One other thing I wonder is if some of it is a mobility issue. I feel like if I'm on mount and I want to sink into my feet I can't get down as much as I'd like to really get myself heavy. Another example is sitting in a s mount like position and trying to swing my leg over the head I have a hard time being heavy on my hips and still finding space to swing my leg through. I always feel clumsy up there and have my weight posted wrong. It's always a struggle to get in that position to swing my leg around. Then that leads to me being in a bad position when I drop on my butt for the arm bar.


Thoughts? Question?

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought

I mean, if I were to try to fully answer your question I would probably be writing for a couple hours. I've read about guys doing entire 2-4 hour seminars on this very topic. It's going to be difficult to answer in a quick little OKP post, especially since I can't show you what I mean. Not to mention you won't be able to remember and apply this stuff for a long time. Pressure only gets better with trial, error, and experience. I had okay pressure as a white belt, and it got a lot better with blue. Now at purple I know it's really good, and by the time I'm black belt I hope I feel like a fucking sumo wrestler on top of my opponents.

How big you are isn't relevant. Don't get in the habit of comparing how you do against people of a different size or rank, it's futile. Worry about how you do against people your size and skill level. Besides, I know PLENTY of small guys who have excellent pressure. My instructor is probably 5'10", 170 lbs, and probably has the most pressure of any person I've encountered, and I've rolled with dudes over 300 lbs. I know another guy (black belt, too) who is almost 60 and maybe 5'7", 150, and has incredible pressure.

Since you mentioned mount, I will talk about it for a bit. My approach to mount, if I really want to hold someone down with pressure, is all about my hips, core, chest and shoulders.

I drive my hips down and forward into their abdomen. I don't want them to be able to breathe. As weird as it sounds, it's one deep humping motion driving into their gut.

My core and chest smothers the upper part of their torso to limit their mobility and to prevent them from shrimping or bridging to their side.

I use my shoulders and biceps to crossface. The idea of this also limits their mobility. If someone is crossfacing you, you can't go the opposite direction. So you only have one direction you can move, and the opponent will be ready for this.

Feet and legs stay tucked in close to their sides. I don't like grapevines. Doing them limits your own movement.

The idea, for my mount, is to be like a wet, heavy, sticky blanket. Not only am I heavy, but if you try to move, I'm still smothering you.

i posted on reddit and got some good answers too:
http://www.reddit.com/r/bjj/comments/36tqwy/making_by_yourself_heavy/

If i were to do a private with anyone now. I think thats whatd id focus on cause ive felt how different rolling with someone is when they know how to put that weight on you.


>I mean, if I were to try to fully answer your question I
>would probably be writing for a couple hours. I've read about
>guys doing entire 2-4 hour seminars on this very topic. It's
>going to be difficult to answer in a quick little OKP post,
>especially since I can't show you what I mean. Not to mention
>you won't be able to remember and apply this stuff for a long
>time. Pressure only gets better with trial, error, and
>experience. I had okay pressure as a white belt, and it got a
>lot better with blue. Now at purple I know it's really good,
>and by the time I'm black belt I hope I feel like a fucking
>sumo wrestler on top of my opponents.


Yea. Gonna have to ask the wife if i can practice on her lol


>
>How big you are isn't relevant. Don't get in the habit of
>comparing how you do against people of a different size or
>rank, it's futile. Worry about how you do against people your
>size and skill level. Besides, I know PLENTY of small guys
>who have excellent pressure. My instructor is probably 5'10",
>170 lbs, and probably has the most pressure of any person I've
>encountered, and I've rolled with dudes over 300 lbs. I know
>another guy (black belt, too) who is almost 60 and maybe 5'7",
>150, and has incredible pressure.
>

My ultimate goal is to be heavy for anyone, like you said. What I wonder if its all not knowing body positioning or if some of it is mobility. I feel really unstable in a mount to s guard to armbar transition, for example. I feel like a lot of times I have to raise my weight up too much to comfortably move my legs around into position.


>Since you mentioned mount, I will talk about it for a bit. My
>approach to mount, if I really want to hold someone down with
>pressure, is all about my hips, core, chest and shoulders.
>
>I drive my hips down and forward into their abdomen. I don't
>want them to be able to breathe. As weird as it sounds, it's
>one deep humping motion driving into their gut.


Are you on the laces of your feet? do you try to sink into your feet as you hold that deep humping motion?

>
>My core and chest smothers the upper part of their torso to
>limit their mobility and to prevent them from shrimping or
>bridging to their side.


I feel like that might be a tight position for me to get into. In a mount on my laces with my chest down on someone. Ill have to try.
>
>I use my shoulders and biceps to crossface. The idea of this
>also limits their mobility. If someone is crossfacing you,
>you can't go the opposite direction. So you only have one
>direction you can move, and the opponent will be ready for
>this.
>
>Feet and legs stay tucked in close to their sides. I don't
>like grapevines. Doing them limits your own movement.
>
>The idea, for my mount, is to be like a wet, heavy, sticky
>blanket. Not only am I heavy, but if you try to move, I'm
>still smothering you.

I like this cue/

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought

>
>>I mean, if I were to try to fully answer your question I
>>would probably be writing for a couple hours. I've read
>about
>>guys doing entire 2-4 hour seminars on this very topic.
>It's
>>going to be difficult to answer in a quick little OKP post,
>>especially since I can't show you what I mean. Not to
>mention
>>you won't be able to remember and apply this stuff for a
>long
>>time. Pressure only gets better with trial, error, and
>>experience. I had okay pressure as a white belt, and it got
>a
>>lot better with blue. Now at purple I know it's really
>good,
>>and by the time I'm black belt I hope I feel like a fucking
>>sumo wrestler on top of my opponents.
>
>
>Yea. Gonna have to ask the wife if i can practice on her lol

I got it IN with wifey after class last Friday

I'm sure you saw this
https://www.google.com/search?q=c&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

Just surprised how quickly the urge settles in

>>
>>Yea. Gonna have to ask the wife if i can practice on her lol
>
>I got it IN with wifey after class last Friday



Little talked about fact: BJJ makes you much better at sex.


>
>I'm sure you saw this
>https://www.google.com/search?q=c&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
>



?

>>
>
>My ultimate goal is to be heavy for anyone, like you said.
>What I wonder if its all not knowing body positioning or if
>some of it is mobility. I feel really unstable in a mount to s
>guard to armbar transition, for example. I feel like a lot of
>times I have to raise my weight up too much to comfortably
>move my legs around into position.
>



The thing that takes a long time in BJJ is effectively improving your body's dexterity (think more than just your hands/arms). Weight, strength, movement, all that.

Think about when you are a child and learning how to walk. It may seem easy as an adult, you don't even think about it and you can do multiple things while walking. But when you are a kid, that shit is hard, and takes all of your focus to do properly. And even when they try their hardest, kids still look goofy as hell when they walk.

Same concept applies to BJJ. Movement, strength, pressure, and weight will eventually become second nature over time, and you will be able to focus on other aspects while you are rolling.



>
>>Since you mentioned mount, I will talk about it for a bit.
>My
>>approach to mount, if I really want to hold someone down
>with
>>pressure, is all about my hips, core, chest and shoulders.
>>
>>I drive my hips down and forward into their abdomen. I
>don't
>>want them to be able to breathe. As weird as it sounds,
>it's
>>one deep humping motion driving into their gut.
>
>
>Are you on the laces of your feet? do you try to sink into
>your feet as you hold that deep humping motion?
>


Yes, you are on the laces, but that isn't where the weight is. When you achieve mount you start low, so your feet and legs will be tucked under their legs, tight to their hips. Then you drive your hips forward, and your weight is directed into their abdomen. Your knees will flare out as you put the weight on. When you begin to attack for a submission, you will move up their torso.

Heading to the weekend class tomorrow which precedes open mat, figure it's a good time to finally spar

Anything to look out for other than being a typical white belt overzealous spaz?

Should I focus on defense first?

Favor certain positions?

Take a towel and plenty of water. Sit out when you're tired. Don't be ashamed to tap.

Avoid rolling with other white belts.

edit: Try to work the techniques you've learned and practiced in class when you roll.

I should see you there so long as we don't get dragged into a last minute family outing.

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought

big n/h

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8zRiaLOkfc

..lol

like you said, its just not for everyone.

for those that take on the challenge, it can be a very rewarding discipline.



*skatin' the rings of saturn*


..and miles to go before i sleep...

went Monday 2 classes, Thursday, Saturday, Open Mat, Sunday.
Rolled a bit with Trey the mountain.

Will post more later.

Did any of you more experienced guys use a notebook or anything to log your training sessions?

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought

Yeah dog open mat was dope though.

I definitely feel like my challenge will be to not rely on my weight or like the dude we rolled with said, to use strength over technique

Your first roll with dude was pretty good, it progressed through a lot of phases

That's awesome you got in there so much last week. If you stay with that regimen you'll be nasty by the end of year

You rolled with any blue or purple belts?

Also, I'm for sure bumping my plan up to twice a week. probably will continue with Friday / Saturday.

>went Monday 2 classes, Thursday, Saturday, Open Mat, Sunday.
>Rolled a bit with Trey the mountain.


Haha. How big are you, Trey?


>
>Will post more later.
>
>Did any of you more experienced guys use a notebook or
>anything to log your training sessions?


I never did, but as someone studying psychology, I get why it would be beneficial. I've seen quite a few people do it.

I'm not the type of person who is going to take notes during a BJJ lesson, unless it's a looooong seminar. I'd prefer to give what the instructor is saying my fullest attention, rather than trying to write stuff down and risk missing other details. Plus with all the DVDs and YouTube vids now, you can always research further.

Shawn is basketball player / crossfit build though, so he can roll for significantly longer than I can probably but I have a big weight advantage on him

He's learning from the ultimate giant killer in Marcelo though lol

>>went Monday 2 classes, Thursday, Saturday, Open Mat,
>Sunday.
>>Rolled a bit with Trey the mountain.
>
>
>Haha. How big are you, Trey?
>
>
>>
>>Will post more later.
>>
>>Did any of you more experienced guys use a notebook or
>>anything to log your training sessions?
>
>
>I never did, but as someone studying psychology, I get why it
>would be beneficial. I've seen quite a few people do it.
>
>I'm not the type of person who is going to take notes during a
>BJJ lesson, unless it's a looooong seminar. I'd prefer to
>give what the instructor is saying my fullest attention,
>rather than trying to write stuff down and risk missing other
>details. Plus with all the DVDs and YouTube vids now, you can
>always research further.

I know I take notes at night when I get home after a particularly complex lesson. Sometimes Paul just piles scenarios on scenarios and it's tough to keep track

>
>I know I take notes at night when I get home after a
>particularly complex lesson. Sometimes Paul just piles
>scenarios on scenarios and it's tough to keep track
>

lol yea exactly.

Paul will start talking about sport application then self defense then 10 variants of each.

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought

BJJ tends to attract smaller dudes. I say that as someone who is 219 and built pretty similar to Daniel Cormier.

Since your school is so big, it may not be a big issue with you, but I don't often run into training partners my size at my skill level. I mean, there are some in my area, but they are far outnumbered by guys smaller than me.

This has been the norm at every gym I've been to. You just have to get used to not relying on strength, letting the other guy get what he earns rather than hulking out. Be methodical, rather than athletic.

Yea for me I wouldnt take notes during. I wish if anything I could film, but whatever.

For me id take notes after class to remind me of the day's technique.
If I took the train home (I usually ride my bike) it'd be a perfect time to decompress and write stuff i learned down. I did it on here for my first few classes. After a few hours I just dont wanna go back to revisit anymore and I got shit to do at home. Iwihs there was an app that could just read my thoughts and transcribe it.

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought

I am forced to describe in words and then draw arrows to signify the direction of the movement(s). A month from now it'll look like Anthony Hopkins' crazy-notes in the move Proof

This time next year Id like to compete.

Im gonna at least plan to go home for worlds if they are in long beach again.
Even the West Coast Regional that was in Irvine back in March would be cool.

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought

as a beginner I can actually recognize certain shit now lol

This movie looked really corny in the preview but I actually recommend it strictly for the action

Interview with John Eusebio, the fight choreographer (also a JKD guy)
http://fightland.vice.com/blog/we-talked-to-keanu-reeves-fight-coreographer-on-his-new-film-john-wick

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought

Bernardo is in the final of teh Open against Alex Trans who he recently beat at the Pans.
IBJJF events are harder for me to keep track of because I dont know all the rules, theres no commentary and I cant see judges and Refs.

Anyhow here is today's Black belt lineup

http://jitsweb.com/ibjjf-worlds-2015-lineup/

TRey i think the MGA team still in are
Bernardo - BB Open Weight, Super Heavy

Matheus - BB Medium Heavy (he's got a big matchup aganst 3 time defending Champ (thopugh across diff divisions Leandro Lo) who Bernardo caught in this armbar yesterday:
https://www.facebook.com/BJJPix/photos/a.383169651743751.84413.239086106152107/889945221066189/?type=1&theater

Gianni Grippo - BB -He's at feather so he doesnt have to go against P,Miyao but he'll end up fighting Cobrinha.Also looking fwd to Malfacine/Miyao rematch.

Dominika Obelenyte- Womens Open and Heavy. She beat Mckenzie dern (who is smaller than her yesterday but recently beat Gabi Garcia)

Don't know what happened to Marcos or John they were both at Medium


If you guys are around and want to watch let me know. I have a pass for today. I dont know if you cna share, but if you can, id be happy to.

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought

In the past, password sharing has worked.

Trey heres the series I was talking about.
His place in L.A. is on the Westside
His bio
http://www.bjjheroes.com/bjj-fighters/henry-akins

I started with these that he did for JiujitsuMag:
cause they were short and easy to understand

Side Control using your weight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92ovJ_DDuBk


Using weight from the bottom
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55FjKpLY3Is

Guard Passing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnYvRD7cBLs

This is the longer video on connection
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24Ly2Xtjj7A

I basically just clicked through all the videos even the ones that arent on this series. I like his teaching style.

He's kind of in the class of guys that have been around BJJ forever, were good but never great competitors but such technical students of the game and amazing teachers like Paul, and John Danaher at Renzo's


As a bonus here is the Rousey/Akins stuff
http://fabwags.com/ronda-rousey-boyfriend-and-trainer-is-henry-akins/
They actually started Dynamix gym together and Ronda had a weekly move of teh week for awhile.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwAnGZiF-Qo

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought

I watched the shorter videos you posted just now and they are very clear and concise. Definitely plan on watching the longer one on connection soon. Like you said it's definitely consistent with some JKD concepts. (sidenote: don't know if you noticed dude that was telling about the towel roll had the Progressive Fighting Systems tat I wanted to ask him about it)

Thanks for posting tho! Im kinda wondering if he's hapa.

interesting story as far as tracking down Rickson. Looked up the academy on Pico looks like it's no longer there, but I am definitely familiar with the area where Dynamix is at. Had no idea Rhonda had a base in WLA.

Also I was not even aware of domenika and Bernardo being in the championship runnings I'll check in later tonight for results.

How was Sunday class?

Munch taught it.
It started with single leg take down to side control.
Then it got more compicated.
From side control we had the head and blocked the near hip.
The guy from the bottom had to bridge pass his near arm through and basically get to his knees to grab a single leg on the guy who started in side control.

Then we worked on a variation of that which lead to a cross collar choke. Man i cant even remember the sequence that led to that now. I gotta start logging this stuff right after class.

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought

And I saw evidence in the background at Metamoris 6. Didn't know those guys were BJJ heads

http://grapplingweekly.com/hip-hop-master-rakaa-iriscience-dialated-peoples-interview/

He was a purple belt in 2012, may be a brown by now

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought

here's a song rakaa did w/ eddie bravo lol.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8Y_m0wZxsw

Didn't do a very good job, IIRC

I saw a lot of these but not all of them

So MGA brought home the Absolute World Championships.
Bothe Bernardo and Dominyka wonthe absolute and their weight class.

Bernardo didnt even have to fight the final because Alex Trans got Hurt.
He dominated his Super HW matchup I think 8-2.
I had never seen Bernardo fight before but man he has such a grinding style. He's like the Memphis Grizzlies of BJJ. I'd love to pick up some of that even as a smaller guy.

Domenika had a pretty dominant performancein both the open and weight class.

Joao Miayao lost in the Rooster Final to Bruno Malfacine. I didnt see this but I hear it was controversial. They both got a stalling penalty which tipped the pts for Bruno. Supposedly only Bruno was stalling ana Joao was agressive the whole fight.

Rafa Mendes dominated Cobrinha at FW. Cobrinha had a free pass to the final since Gianni closed out with him in the semifinal but Rafa is just a beast man. Cobrinha couldnt do anything with his guard. AFter this I think in future Worlds Gianni and Reis and other alliance guys will get a shot. First live fight I saw Rafa in, that kid is fucking good.

Paolo Miyao petty much dominated LFW. This dude is good too. Just always has you in guard and waits for you to crack. Would love to see more Miyao vs Rafa battles down the road.

Leandro Lo won his 4th title pretty easily. He had a match with Matheus from MGA in the qtrs and it was a good match. Matheus was breaking the shit out of his grips but Lo's guard is inpenetrable too.

The Xande Ribeiro vs Leite final was probably the best matchup of the Men's final.


The Cicero Costa team is pretty dope. For haveing a much smaller team than Alliance they put up a bunch of pts. If it were equally close I might even choose to train there because their kids program would be good for my son.


There was a controversy in the HW Keenan vs Spriggs rematch. Keenan had dominated Spriggs day before in Open Weight. Spriggs held on for a dubious takedown in the HW match though Keenan was more agressive.


reddit hates TLI and fuckin loves Keenan. I like Keenan too, but seeing all these dudes root against Spriggs made me root for hi a bit. Yea hes on TLI but if he isnt one of the accused rapists, why be so bothered? Of course theres always the underlying element of race.

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought

Still couldn't get your ticket to work, but thanks nonetheless. i've watched a few on YT and I'm sure they will keep going up.

>I saw a lot of these but not all of them
>
>So MGA brought home the Absolute World Championships.
>Bothe Bernardo and Dominyka wonthe absolute and their weight
>class.
>
>Bernardo didnt even have to fight the final because Alex Trans
>got Hurt.



I was pumped about this bc as much as I love Buchecha and Rodolfo, it's nice to see different folks win for a change. Trans is really good, and underrated. Has a great, basic, straightforward game. Too bad he got hurt as well. Bernardo deserves it - he did his thing this year btwn this and Pans.



>He dominated his Super HW matchup I think 8-2.
>I had never seen Bernardo fight before but man he has such a
>grinding style. He's like the Memphis Grizzlies of BJJ. I'd
>love to pick up some of that even as a smaller guy.



Check out Murilo Santana and Lucas Lepri.



>
>Domenika had a pretty dominant performancein both the open and
>weight class.



Really want to see her fights. She always ends up in some crazy, knotted up positions.



>
>Joao Miayao lost in the Rooster Final to Bruno Malfacine. I
>didnt see this but I hear it was controversial. They both got
>a stalling penalty which tipped the pts for Bruno. Supposedly
>only Bruno was stalling ana Joao was agressive the whole
>fight.



I watched this for about 3-4 minutes, and skipped to another fight. I can't watch these guys stall and go after each other's feet for a 15 minute video.



>
>Rafa Mendes dominated Cobrinha at FW. Cobrinha had a free pass
>to the final since Gianni closed out with him in the semifinal
>but Rafa is just a beast man. Cobrinha couldnt do anything
>with his guard. AFter this I think in future Worlds Gianni and
>Reis and other alliance guys will get a shot. First live fight
>I saw Rafa in, that kid is fucking good.



It's Monday, and we already have our Understatement Of The Week.



>
>The Xande Ribeiro vs Leite final was probably the best matchup
>of the Men's final.
>



I love Xande, but dang, that dude cut it close again! Similar thing last time he won Worlds v. Roger.




>
>There was a controversy in the HW Keenan vs Spriggs rematch.
>Keenan had dominated Spriggs day before in Open Weight.
>Spriggs held on for a dubious takedown in the HW match though
>Keenan was more agressive.
>



I saw it - that was not a takedown. His team started yelling "Two!" and I think the ref gave in.

I saw Langhi and Lepri closed out. Boo. I'd love to see those two fight. Couldn't ask for a better matchup stylistically.

Nicolini v. Dern is the best match I've seen so far. Both technically and most fun.

great match. dunno 'bout best female match ever but i don't really have much to compare to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TShyfpaa1RA

thoughts...
1. around 45 seconds in, mackenzie grabs the ankle while she has nicolini in an arm lasso. i love using the arm lasso and i just learned this trick last week. it's a good sweep if the other person gets his leg up to defend the normal lasso sweep.

2. around the same time, nicolini does a great job trying to get rid of that arm lasso. most guys try to muscle out of it but she tries to get her shoulder over mackenzie's foot to go around the lasso.

3. 2:27 sick transition to a footlock attempt

4. 7:30 this is the point where i realize, who the fugg am i to comment on these two...this is a sick match and these two girls are out of this world!

5. 9:22 HOLY SHIT!!!

6. 10:20 HOLY HOLY SHIT!!! i loved that roll to the bow & arrow. great fight

edit: oh wow, on second watch, it wasn't a bow & arrow, it was a straight up lapel choke.

The gym is still on Worlds hangover mode so a lot of guys are away.

Had 2 classes led by Jordan a purple belt who usually works the front desk.
Jordan came from a Judo background so we spent a lot of time practicing Ukemi and then a shoulder throw.

Man, high level judo is so technical and explosive. I cant imagine the reps you have to do to get good at these techniques.

ANyhow after the throw we worked a simple Americana from side control.

Class 2 had some blue belts and purples but he kept it very basic. We did more Ukemi with concept explanations in warmup and then we followed that up with working the basic armbar from guard--using your hand to hook the leg and turn your body at 90 degrees.

From there we worked slightly more advanced, using the foot on the hip of the trapped side arm and the opposite leg as the pendulum.

Then we worked one for when you couldnt get your body a full 90 degrees, you clamp down with your pendulum leg and bring the other lef over the shoulder and push down til you have body control and push the head through with your hand for the armbar.


Honestly after class 1 i was a bit disappointed everything was so simple, easy, and I wasnt tired at all. By the end of class 2 I think I felt pretty grateful. Yesterday's class was a true fundamentals 1 class.

I feel often the other fundamentals 1s are throw you into the fire and see what you pick up. I think every now and then its nice to take a step back, talk theory, and just work the basics.

Yesterday's class gave me the best understanding of a technique that Ive ever had. It had this weird effect --because now I know the move to some extent, my brain automatically started to come up with ideas for different ways I could set the move up at open mat with other shit I know.

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought

You will always come back to those when you want to get away from more complex or trendy techniques. They are simple and reliable - maybe my instructor's preferred approach.

You will have to get a feel for the armbar from guard. As you become more comfortable attacking from guard you'll get it down. It also helps to learn to avoid stacking through timing and proper technique.

I think since this guy was a purple belt he probably stayed simple with the lesson because that was what he felt comfortable teaching. That's how it is for me.

For me it's very applicable for jkd sparring. The drop throw to mount we did a couple of Saturdays ago at MG worked perfect against a big dude I spar with at jkd (bigger than me). He came in for the clinch or pommel, arms under mine and as the reflex I did the drop throw. That's why reps are so important. I really struggled with the throw until I could easily transition the momentum from the fall into a mount. And once I got it I could do it in a totally different context. Problem was I didn't anchor myself and he was able to roll me from top position (where making yourself heavy is so important)

Anyway I didn't know that guy taught. I have seen him in some videos on MGInAction though. That second class sounds awesome you gotta show me what you learned at open mat on saturday.

my nightmare is I sign up to compete and I go up against a white belt whose liek a Judo black belt and he puts one of those throws on me.


A big part of Judo is receiving the throws which we dont really practice except when we throw.

But man the throw we did the other day you really have to have technique right to pull it off. Judokas go over the tiniest detail of the technique for reps and reps.

The way a solid throw hurts on the mats, imagine catching someone on the concrete?
shiiit

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought

for slapping when hitting the floor to brace for falls? I dunno if you mentioned that in the prior thread, but I'd imagine Marcello black belts have to prepare for that in general, much less in tournaments.

For straight back or onto the side. The advanced classes I watched definitely cover that during calisthenics at the start of class

but its part of warmups. The concept of why you do them is covered briefly.

In Judo they actually spend time practicing and perfecting breakfalls.

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought

And it's funny cause he was so awkward at times with punching although he's gotten better. But I want noooooo parts of the clinch with dude lol.

I still haven't been to my boy's judo scool in the BX. But what you said is a big reason I need to soon

i cant tell if he's hapa. Dude looks like one of my dad's friends in the late 70s right now with that haircut. All he needs is some tinted Ray Bans.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3XZaqMq0Nk&feature=youtu.be


Anyhow its always easier to Monday morning qb this after the fact when you dont have MW World Champ Chris Weidman mounted on you dropping bombs, but I think Akins main point during his post fight facebook rant was that the BJJ black belts didnt even try anything.


One thing thats cool about Akins is he's Rickson's student so a lot of his stuff is looks first from a mma/self defense perspective

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought

I know he's not from LA but he has that sound kinda.

Looked up what henry akins said about what happened to vitor's black belt in jiu-jitsu. Is that what you mean? Didn't seem like a full out rant tho.

Anyway as far as the video it definitely seems like realistic technique. Keeping the hips down over yours with the elbows so the upa is more effective, breaking the balance of the posted hand etc.

>I know he's not from LA but he has that sound kinda.
>
>Looked up what henry akins said about what happened to vitor's
>black belt in jiu-jitsu. Is that what you mean? Didn't seem
>like a full out rant tho.
>
>Anyway as far as the video it definitely seems like realistic
>technique. Keeping the hips down over yours with the elbows so
>the upa is more effective, breaking the balance of the posted
>hand etc.

Maybe not a rant originally but as the comments came in he said more. This was one of his comments:


Henry Akins: I guess i was just a little dissappointed because what I was hoping to see was a technical attempt to escape mount like a shrimp, elbow escape or bridge. These techniques work even at the highest level, that's why we all practice them on a daily basis. I assumed these movement would be ingrained into his muscle memory. Instead he put his arms up, rolled belly down, then back, threw a few punches from bottom and went fetal. I think that's exactly what most of us are taught not to do. I guess I was just a little shocked, he didn't even attempt a normal bjj escape. I understand there were punches involved but he's a professional fighter and has been for almost 20 years. As a fighter he should be training on a daily basis performing those movements in that environment and with that pressure. And this is not in any way to take anything away from Weidman's performance. I just didn't look to me like Vitor reacted with any jiu-jitsu movement. Vitor is an amazing fighter I just wish he would of shown a better performance on the ground.
29 · May 24 at 2:38pm · Edited

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought

back to business as usual. Im starting to just see some techniques for the second time.

Yesterday was the Drop Seoi Nage, to side control, to north south. The bottom guy then practices 2 n/s escape variations. 1) if you have your elbows in, you use your elbows along with a bridge to create space and do a inversion spin thing to recover guard.
2) if your elbows arent in a good frame you create space and catch a single leg.

The 1st guard recovery position was a perfect setup for a Triangle which is probably my most proficient submission write now.

Then we also used the single leg to get side control, walk their hips down to the mat, and use our hips to open up space in the near arm, (so the guy in side control cant hip escape), then open up the far arm, climb to mount, and work the mounted armbar (which im also much better at this time around).

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought

I learned this mount submission sequence from Carlos Machado, maybe y'all already know this but it always worked incredibly well for me(like I sub pretty much everyone that isn't great with this series).

From the mount go for the frame choke(big black, el grande negro, etc) they are probably going to defend this bringing an arm up to block the front part of your choke, this puts you in perfect position for the americana, if they roll towards your americana they expose the other arm perfectly for the arm bar.

This might be like ABC level stuff to some of you, but I was always amazed how well it worked, of course some people have a hard time taking a full mount, which was always one of my strengths. I love staying in 100 kilos(side control) and just punishing people there too because since I weigh 105 kilos I feel like 200 on someone's chest.