Good News: Moving to the Big City

I was offered and accepted a position at a college in Jacksonville, FL.
Those who were readers of my previous blog know that I am an assistant professor at a small rural college in Georgia. The college where I teach is in a town that has a population of 5000 residents. The college has 3400 students. In order to keep [...]

Joined a Gym

Last week after contemplating my struggles with Big Man in class, I really thought about the use of strength and conditioning in BJJ. Since I am the smallest of the Big Men in class I suffer from what my instructor termed the “law of diminishing returns.” He stated that if I were smaller and wiry [...]

My Thoughts on “Iron Ring” (BET)

I watched the premiere of BET’s Iron Ring last week and have mixed feelings. I watched two episodes back to back and out of both shows they had one fight that lasted about one minute. It was like watching a teaser program.
I think the show’s initial episode concentrated too much on the celebrities and their thoughts [...]

Jiu-Jitsu Dream - Dana White and Purple Belts

I had a dream Saturday night that I was sleeping in a Japanese style dojo. I wake suddenly (in the dream) to hear voices in the next room about promoting someone to purple belt. All of a sudden Dana White bursts into my room holding a white gi and a blue belt. He barks out [...]

Spring Break & Minor Shoulder Woes

I spent last week enjoying my spring break from the college. I also nursed a shoulder injury that I suffered a week before from wrestling with Big Man. I think that it was just a case of my shoulder being slightly out of alignment caused from me accidently hitting the wall in one of our sparring sessions. I [...]

Chuck Liddell: IceMan’s book was a page turner.

 
When I first saw the Iceman book I didn’t know what to think. A lot of these books can be either really good or the complete opposite. This turned out to be a very good book.
Chuck Liddell does a good job of letting the reader get into his psyche and describing what made him the [...]

Class Again: Takedowns and Tournament Prep

Last night I found out that the team is going to a tournament next weekend. On the 22nd of March. I don’t know if I am going to go to this one since I am preparing to go to one on the 12th of April. However, it is very tempting.
Last night we worked on takedowns [...]

Tuesday’s Class: Big Man Returned

I drove to regular training this week and had a good time. Big Man (6′6 280) was back. I was glad to see him because I wanted to see if I had improved enough, technically, to counter his weight and strength advantage.
Not….
When we were going through drills I had to readjust to working with someone that size. [...]

Do Most Fights Go to the Ground? (Research I conducted)

By Bakari Akil II, Ph.D.  [Warning: Longer than usual post]

People who have been following MMA, submission grappling and martial arts since 1994 have been aware of the increasing emphasis placed on ground fighting. Yes, a lot of the push is because ground-fighting experts are trying to convince people to become involved in their martial art or [...]

No Luck with New BJJ Class

I had no luck in trying to attend class at the new place in my city. When I arrived Friday night, they had a sign on the door that stated they were at a BJJ seminar in another city. The sign also said that it would resume classes on Saturday.
Saturday morning I arrived at the [...]