Jiujitsu365: In my last academy (I am looking forward to Jacksonville now.), the assistant instructor used to achieve this pendulum sweep as well as corresponding armbar on many people, including me. He used to do all of the motions simultaneously so it took me a while to figure out the complete move.
After a few times of being submitted, I instinctively began to avoid propping up on one foot while trying to pass his guard. While reviewing the Renzo and Royler Gracie’s book, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu - Theory and Technique, I finally saw the full technique, which helped me to fully defend it.
Kazushi Sakuraba always posed a significant threat in PRIDE and it pains me to see that he continues to fight way past his prime. But who I am I to tell someone to stop doing what they love to do and also pays the bills?
Anyway, what made him particularly scary as a fighter was his ability to slap on a Kimura from almost any angle. It made trying to take him down a nightmare. I always wondered how he slapped it on so quickly and I learned how he did it from this video. I believe that he actually wanted to give fighters his back from a sprawl so he could lock a Kimura on.
I have mixed feelings about “Redbelt.” First, I must state that my wife, who often tires of hearing me talk about Jiujitsu, said it was “really good.” My wife even waited for me to walk by her in the theater and then tried to grab me around the neck like the main character, Chiwetel Ejiofor, did to the attorney character.
It is a good movie and was written by someone (David Mamet) who was truly interested in the art. I also believe he stayed true to his vision and I am grateful for him creating the first “major” motion picture devoted to BJJ.
The film was geared more toward the self-defense aspect of BJJ and pragmatic ways to react toward violence. It also focused more on the honor and tradition more characteristic of Asian martial arts. From listening to Mamet’s interviews on the Fightworks Podcast and other interviews on Youtube and elsewhere this was intentional.
I guess this is where I felt the twinge of longing while viewing the film. The focus was on the training of people who would use the techniques for a living (policemen/bodyguards/movie extras). The regular Joes and Janes, who I believe constitute the majority of participants in the U.S., received minimal focus. My wife argued that the movie was “a call for returning to the basics” and that things (like promotions) can turn into a “zoo” otherwise. I guess that was highlighted by the idea of tying up body parts and blind folding fighters in a state sanctioned fight. It was legitimate as a tool to help train police officers in how to properly react to defiant handcuffed prisoners but a retarded theme for a professional fight.
In my experience, BJJ schools have never been as serious as the academy in the film and I don’t know if the academy was portrayed in this fashion for the purpose of the movie or what Mamet and other “elders” in the art would like to see as a new direction for BJJ training. I must also state that even though I do not view BJJ in the traditional Asian martial art sense, it still has many traditions and values that are expressed and must not be violated just as in the more traditional arts (e.g., Karate, Tae Kwon Do, etc.)
But I cast no apersions against David Mamet. I enjoyed seeing what I love to do being addressed in a serious way.
Post note: I thought it was hilarious that he was reviewing knife fighting techniques the night after he was “stabbed.”
I just finished submitting my grades (online) for the classes I taught this semester. I officially signed out of the college yesterday and don’t have to spend another day on the campus or commuting to that small town. I am ready to move on.
We just returned from J-ville this past Monday and were able to secure the house we wanted in the area we wanted. It is a well planned neighborhood and it has tennis courts, soccer fields, basketball courts, a golf course, gym, water pool park and sidewalks everywhere. I can now convert exercise into a lifestyle instead of a chore.
As a professor, I don’t have to teach over the summer so I will be enjoying myself to the fullest over the next 3 1/2 months before I return to work. This month I will be concentrating on working out at the gym and increasing my endurance, strength and flexibility. After the postponement of the tournament in April I continued the 100 reps a day for about a week before I converted to my 30 reps routine that I had been doing from the beginning.
I have to admit that I have lost some of my drive since the tournament was postponed. I also don’t feel too great about entering tournaments based on live grappling once or twice a week. I have been training on my own doing reps everyday, but I need to train “live” with more regularity.
I can’t wait for this move because I “need” to train and there’s an abundance available where I am going. May 15, 2008 will be the sixth month anniversary of this J365 project and I need some more objective measurements. I know that I have improved in many ways but without any stripes or belt improvement, tournaments or regular “live” training (more than 1 or 2 times a week) it is hard to know.
JiuJitsu 365: I know some of the guys and gals who read this blog have been wondering what’s up this month. I usually post with more regularity. Well the ’skinny’ is that I have been spending the last few weeks trying to find the right home to move into in Jacksonville and have been busy wrapping things up at the college where I work.
For instance, this is my last day teaching here (I was singing, dancing and rapping in my car coming to work). I even noticed pretty flowers (or weeds) on the highway… Now I just have to wrap up about a week and a half of administrative work before I will be through here.
When we move I have identified two likely places that I will train. The first place, Smiley’s Combat Athletix, is about 12 minutes away from the neighborhood where we will be moving to and they offer gi and no-gi BJJ and a host of other disciplines. They offer BJJ five days a week.
The other, Jax BJJ (An official Gracie Barra academy), is located about 7 minutes from the college where I will be working and get this, they have morning Jiu-jitsu (open mat) five days a week from 10:30 AM to 12 PM. As a professor, I at least have two or three mornings where I could comfortably work that into my schedule so I am stoked. I wouldn’t mind getting my BJJ fix early in the morning and spending time with the wife in the afternoons. (Oh yeah, Smiley’s has three morning BJJ classes too at 11AM).
I love no-gi so I will definitely train at Combat Athletix, but I also desperately want to train with the gi (at Jax BJJ ) not only for growth in the art but also to see where I line up in the spectrum of BJJ. Sometimes I think I am pretty good and other times, not so much…
Anyway, that’s what’s going on and I’ll keep you posted…
Jiujitsu365: I am not practicing BJJ for self defense purposes. Therefore, I sometimes forget that many people do learn it as a tool to defend themselves. Or to at least feel confident. I have recently been watching a number of videos on iTunes produced by the New York BJJ Academy operated by Marcos Santos.
While searching for more of their videos on YouTube I ran accross this video “Marcos Santos Women’s Self Defense Demonstration.” It’s pretty interesting and he goes from the lowest belt to highest belt. The last woman did something totally unexpected, which is why I am highlighting this vid.
Last night, I arrived a little late to class. When I entered, the guys were in the middle of a striking session with the pads. It turns out that Big “J” will be fighting in his first MMA match this Saturday. Big “J” is a rare specimen. He is 6′4 or 6′6 (he said he forgets) and weighs 205 lbs (all muscle). However, he looks like he weighs 225. He’s strong like a heavyweight, but limber like a 145 pounder. The instructor has two locations that he teaches in and Big “J” goes to both.
Well, last night they wanted me to simulate ground and pound and have Big “J” work from his back. So, I kid you not, we went 10-4 minute rounds with a minute in between and a 4 minute break between rounds 4 and 5 and 8 and 10. We started with Big “J” on his back and me on top in side control. I was told to go at 40% and to make sure I didn’t cut J’s face with elbows or the gloves. From the first ringing of the bell, 40% was out the window.
Without having to worry about getting hit back, I dropped elbows, knees, soft to mid-range hard punches and went for submissions. My mission was to stay on top. Which didn’t last long. However, each time I stayed on much longer and since we kept restarting so much I picked up a few of the tricks he uses to get out of side control and the mount. I’ll try them on someone else later.
I was thoroughly exhausted and pushed through the last four rounds because I knew he needed to have someone heavy work with him. But it also let me know that I could push past limits that I have set in my mind. Since I knew it was benefiting him for me to work hard it made me push past what I thought were my boundaries. I think last night’s session help give me perspective for my future sparring sessions.
Some people have complained about TUF having the guys fight before allowing their characters to develop. But I think it was a good idea to shuffle things up. I think they could have at least let the fighters know that they would have to fight their way into the house. It might have been 30 seconds of good TV to catch the look of surprise on their faces, but these guys give up a lot to be on this show.
Plus, did they get paid for these pre-fights?
As far as BJJ is concerned, Timothy Credeur and Matt Brown stood out. Timothy Credeur easily dispatched his opponent and Brown demonstrated fluency not only in BJJ but has an all around game. I love to watch MMA but I wonder how the sport will look when everyone has black belt level Jiu-jitsu skills (or the equivalent) and have striking skills to match.
One last point: Do some fighters know their opponents are out and ‘go for the kill’ anyway? It seemed as if Matthew Riddle, who made Dan Simmler moan uncontrollably after pounding him senseless after he knocked him down, could see that his opponent was out. In MMA they say go until the ref stops it, but if someone really gets hurt because of just one senseless punch, MMA may be relegated to the underground again….
The date of the tournament has been changed from April 12th to June 28, 2008. I went to the website again to get all of the particulars and was greeted with “Note: Date and Location have changed!” It would have been quite a surprise if I had waited to recheck the address where it was being held until I arrived in Jacksonville.
I just packed my ‘tournament bag’ this morning before coming to work. Guess I’ll unpack it tonight.
We were also going to do some house hunting since we will be moving there at the end of May. I guess if we still travel down there we can do that full time instead. The good thing about the change is that on the new date I will be actually living there and won’t have to travel 3 1/2 to 4 hours.
“You’ve improved a lot since the last time we rolled.”
Those are the words my head instructor said to me last Thursday. We had a good ten minute roll before he tapped me with a triangle. (Although I am convinced he could have tapped me earlier.) He said it with enthusiasm, so I was glowing inside, even if I looked calm outside. I would have to check my past posts, but I think it has been at least three months since we last rolled. More than anything I think he was complimenting my ability to defend because I was on the defense for the majority of the time. I also believe my Jiu-jitsu365 project contributed to my improvement.
Class went well as we continued to work on sweeps from the guard. I also had a chance to closely observe Big J roll (6′6 200+) with Big Man (6′6 280). Even though Big Man could gain the dominant position at will, Big J managed to tap him out every few minutes. I noticed that Big J continually attacked Big Man’s arms and neck.
So when I rolled with Big Man I tried the same strategy. I went for kimuras from the guard. I tried a reverse arm bar when I had his back, etc. He was able to pull out from them but he was on the defense as opposed to offense. He eventually got me to tap a couple times from a neck crank and kimura of his own. However, in a breakthrough for Big Man, he finally approached one of our sessions by sitting in guard as opposed to starting from his knees. That’s a good signal because it demonstrates that he is ready to fully develop his game and make rolls more enjoyable for his sparring partners…..
