Injuries Before Major Competitions

Posted on May 21, 2012 by Lex

It seems that jiu jitsu and judo athletes get injured at a higher rate closer to major competitions. Partly, this is just a matter of misperception, since what probably happens is that athletes complain about their injuries more publicly leading up to tournaments. This is because they are more disappointed at the possibility of their injury preventing them from competing. And in the modern day and age, when you’re disappointed, you turn to Facebook ;-)

However, there’s probably some reality to this observation as well. For example, in a  attempt to improve my cardio, I have started doing more sprints, hills, and steps than I would ever do before. I turned up the intensity on this cardio-training as well. As a result, a few slips ups here and there have led to little issues with my knees, lower back, ankles, and toes. Any of those little tweaks could’ve been major injuries with some small likelihood.

It seems that the solution is to be very smart about how I turn up the training. I don’t push myself into new things when I’m exhausted, and I don’t try stuff that my muscles are not ready for. For example, I haven’t been doing Olympic lifts, and while they are a great heart-rate-raising exercise, this is not a good time to get back into doing them.

Also, I should mention “mental injuries”. It’s important not to burn out. I have to work a lot every day (as most of us do), and turning up training in any way can certainly be destructive to my motivation to compete. There is about 9 days left before Worlds, and I have certainly felt a few moments where I’m sick of jiu jitsu. It’s a fine line to walk. I have to remember that I have no chance of winning unless I step on the mat on May 31 truly excited to compete. If I’m too stressed, dreading it (in a negative way), and just want it to be over with, I might win a couple matches, but I will not be able to beat the tougher guys.

To beat the best of a big division, I have to really want it, and for that I have to remain injury-free, both physically and mentally.

Now, back to work… I have so much left to finish today… Sigh.

Posted in Competition, Fitness, Injury, Jiu Jitsu | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Jordon Shultz and Alec Baulding: 500 Reps Per Drilling Session

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Lex

I stumbled on the following video blog post from Jordon Shultz. He is training with Team Lloyd Irvin and one of his old teammates, Alec Baulding, visited to join in on the hard training.

I know very little about Jordon Shultz except that he is a huge proponent of drilling. In particular what caught my attention is his mention that he just got done with the morning session of drilling 500 reps of his favorite techniques.

That’s the general training pattern I see among many top level competitors, from the up-and-coming purple and brown belts such as Gianni Grippo to the well-accomplished black belts such as Rodolfo Vieira:

  • 3 sessions a day.
  • 1-2 of the sessions each day are focused on drilling.
  • 1 session is focused on hard training, probably because your body can only take so much hard training. Rodolfo Vieira for example doesn’t train hard every day. Some he goes lighter. Nonstop intensity works for many, but not for everyone.

Obviously, amateur jiu jitsu athletes such as myself can’t afford to train 3 times a day, but there is a lot to be learned from the emphasis these guys put on drilling. They are not screwing around either. A drilling session is 1-2 hours of hard drilling of your main techniques, especially as you get closer to competition. I drill a lot (just very basic moves), in fact, more than training, but I definitely don’t do 1-2 hour hard drilling sessions where I get 500 reps in. That’s definitely something I would love to work up to as I progress in the sport.

It takes the right kind of partner to make that happen. The more obsessed you are with drilling, the easier you are to drill with. I find that regular competitors make for the best drilling partners, because stuff they drill is what they have and will be using in competition. They have an urgency and obsession about the drilling process that makes it work smoothly. And it needs to work smoothly if you want to do many sessions of one hour or more a week.

If you want to get good faster, it’s your job to put the reps in somewhere, somehow, sometime.

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Notes on the World Jiu Jitsu Expo Superfights

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Lex

The World Jiu Jitsu Expo brought together some exciting match-ups. There was Glover sporting a gi and goatee. There was the impossible-to-pass guard of Lovato Jr. And there was the confident-bordering-on-cocky top game of Kron. Anyway, here are my three favorite fights from that event along with some notes.

Kron Gracie vs Vitor Estima

Some interesting things from this match are:

  • Kron’s standing pass of Vitor’s closed guard at the beginning (maybe the 1 minute mark). It showed to me that confidence and good balance goes a long way.
  • The reverse body lock at 7:30. I’m pretty sure Kron has not seen this position too often, but he remained calm, keep good posture, and used grips to resume a dominant position.
  • Kron’s smash pass at 9:30 that went on forever. It was interesting to see the fact that Vitor was stopping it by simply holding on to Kron’s left ankle.

Lucas Leite vs Rafael Lovato Jr

Some interesting things from this match are:

  • Beautiful long step pass attemps at 1:30 by Lucas Leite.
  • The whole match is just guard passing by Lucas Leite. He almost passed a lot of times with the bull pass, but Lovato did not seem worried any of those times. The bull pass has that quality that it looks like you passed, but you really haven’t.
  • The break they get at 8:00 is awesome. I love those breaks. It gives both guys a breather for the final push in the match. It makes cardio a little less of a factor, and more about technique.

Jeff Glover vs Caio Terra

Some interesting things from this match are:

  • Glover is famously a goof ball. Some things he does I think are entertaining, but some (in my eyes) are disrespectful to the sport. In the beginning of the match he turned his back as he often does, and I was glad to see Caio immediate look to capitalize on it.
  • When Glover was on top in the match it was interesting to see him in a stance with his weight on his back foot, kind of like you are when on top of deep half guard. That created a lot of complicated footlock-type situations, but he seemed to be comfortable with it.
  • It was interesting to see left-sided de la riva guard from Caio (e.g. 7:40). Glover seemed to be comfortable with it, and Caio’s half guard, which is of course very impressive.

Posted in Competition, Jiu Jitsu, Top Level Competition | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Starting to Think About Worlds

Posted on May 13, 2012 by Lex

IBJJF Worlds is going to be the biggest tournament of my life (so far). I will be competing in the blue belt middleweight division that should have 100+ people. I’ve been thinking about it over the past several months but as it gets closer (less than 3 weeks away now), I’m finding it pop into my mind more and more.

I truly believe that I can beat every person in that division. But I also know that a lot of those people are hungry to win. This is not a fun roll back in the academy. To a lot of those guys this has been their dream for 3 or more years. Many of them have been training twice a day, doing nothing else, thinking about not much else. When I pass the guard of someone like that, I better put everything I have behind it.

There are a couple “suboptimal” aspects to this trip. I have a clear game plan, but it is not the game plan I am most successful with, it’s just the one I’ve been doing most. I believe in it, I’m sticking with it, but I know there is another game plan with which I can win easier and with higher probability right now. However, I haven’t been using it in competition, and so I’ll have to try switching after Worlds.

The second “suboptimal” aspect is my cardio preparation. I have not been able to hit the kind of cardio training on and off the mat that I was planning on. A lot of it has to do with the amount of work I have, and the lack of sleep. I’ve thoroughly discovered that I simply can’t turn up the intensity on days were I don’t get enough sleep or have spent many hours working behind the computer before the training session. Hard training requires the kind of mental dedication that I couldn’t afford on most days due to other commitments and priorities in my life.

But I know what needs to be done. I know I can win. I am mentally preparing myself for the following situations:

  • I’m behind by 3 points with my opponent on top in side control, I’m exhausted, he is stalling, and I have 2 minutes to (1) reguard, sweep and pass, or (2) reverse and mount or take the back.
  • I’m exhausted, tied in points, down by an advantage and have 1 minute to pass the guard.
  • I’m winning by 5 points, on top in side control, with 3 minutes left against a very strong and aggressive opponent (who may be tough to finish without matching his aggression).

Anyway, I just wanted to lay down some thoughts about it. I’m definitely nervous, but in a good productive way. That’s just part of my personality. No matter what happens out there, I know it will be a day I’ll never forget. I don’t want to put pressure on myself to “win no matter what”. I have an easier time thinking of it as I will be first to impose my game, I will never quit, I will make the job of my refs easy, and I will have a lot of fun. The easiest way to have fun is to win every match ;-)

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Three New Blue Belts

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Lex

Peter, Lee, and Dave got promoted to blue belt at Osagame yesterday. All three of them are good competitors, and all three are good people. Congrats!

There’s something about a promotion of a friend that makes me look back with a kind of melancholy pride. Their old belt is a reminder that time flies and that all those months and years of training, competing, or just hanging out on the mat are behind us.

On my way back home, I started thinking of all the times I watched Dave and the others competing, on the edge of my seat, yelling stupid random advice. I know I’m just a blue belt and I’m talking about other blue belts. What the hell do I know? But the experience is still real, and it is certainly exciting knowing that this is just the beginning! I look forward to moving through the ranks and watching the others do the same as Ray and the other instructors grow the club and the competition team.

On a side note, I gave Dave some advice today on a couple of techniques, and then felt like one of those annoying white belts or blue belts that are always correcting people on their technique. Clearly, 2 years of training is enough to make anyone an expert ;-)

I thought that dealing with that whole ego problem would get easier as I progress, but it’s actually getting harder. It makes me appreciate (what I imagine to be) the immense mental barriers that brown and black belts must overcome in order to learn new techniques in the gym and to test new strategies on the competition mat.

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Get Sleep Not Rest

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Lex

Michael Arnstein is an ultrarunner (runs ultramarathons and longer distances) and like most ultrarunners is a facinating person to read, listen to, and learn from. Here is a good lecture from him on some details of why he runs, his diet, his motivation, his routine, etc:

There are a lot of things mentioned in this video that I’d like to comment on at a later time, but there is one thing he said that really struck me. Michael said that his main challenge in his running life and the most important part is getting enough sleep. He said that if he gets 10 hours of sleep the night before a run, he can run any distance without a problem.

He drew a distinction between rest and sleep. He said that a lot of runners tend to taper before a race. Tapering is reducing the training mileage as you approach the race, so your body is sufficiently recovered and well rested. He suggests that this is a crappy alternative for simply getting a full night’s sleep night after night, and most importantly the night before a race. You may agree or disagree with that idea, but one thing is for sure, most of us recreational athletes do not get enough sleep, and I would venture to guess that most professional athletes do not get enough sleep either, especially before a big competition.

That served as a reminder that I need to take sleep, not rest, more seriously. And also, if I know that I have to wake up at 6am for a tournament next weekend, I better be waking up at 6am for many consecutive days before then.

Anyway, I’m officially declaring to myself as a goal that I’m going to get at least 6 hours of sleep every night for the month of May, and shoot for 8 hours as often as possible. You should do the same.

Posted in Diet, Fitness, Philosophy, Running | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

My Experience at the 2012 US Grappling Diamond State Games

Posted on May 5, 2012 by Lex

I competed at the US Grappling Diamond State Games today. Won gold in both my weight division and the absolute division. Overall, the tournament was run very well, as usual. There was a good amount of white and blue belts, but what was cool is there was a ton of purple and brown belts as well.

Also, the free shirt you get when you pre-register was great this time. It was black with simple white and red text. Simple is best, when it comes to shirts, in my view.

Some Quick Self Analysis

I got tired in my very last match, and was mad at myself for stopping hunting for a submission with 2 minutes left. I was up by 3 points, and was on my opponents back, able to go for a bow and arrow, and literally thought: “Lex, you write many glorious blogs about always working to finish, and here you are, no matches left for the day, only 2 minutes left on the clock, clear opening for a submission, and you’re holding the position just because you want to wind down the clock a bit.” There was no excuse to not go all out for the submission.

When you are winning by 3 points and are on top, it’s actually a great place to be, because you can open up, take risks, and if you get swept, you are still winning. I knew all that, but I was literally too tired. I ended up going for the submission with 30 seconds left, and almost getting it, but I already failed myself at the goal of never quitting.

More and more, I’m starting to see losing and winning as meaningless, and the more important goal of never quitting as the real thing I want to work towards as a competitor.

This is a whole lot of whining, but I wanted to share my inner experience. I really do think that you grow most as a person in overcoming the moments when you want to quit, and don’t. Go to your limit, no matter what that is, and push beyond it.

I’m doing two more tournaments before Worlds, with the goal of pushing the pace, and never quitting the hunt for submission after establishing a dominant position.

Some U.S. Grappling Rules to Remember

As a side note, the refs and organizers did a great job of running the tournament efficiently, but it was clear that some coaches, spectators, and competitors (including myself) did not know the rules as well as they might.  So here are two rules where I saw some mistakes on the part of competitors:

1. For gi division, kneebars, toe holds, and bicep/calf slicers are legal for brown and black belts only. For no-gi division, however, kneebars are okay for everyone.

2. If you do a big judo throw, but end up on bottom, that’s 2 points for the other guy. I’m still not 100% clear on the details of this rule, but it seems that if you want to get 2 points, you better end up on top (and show control for 3 seconds).

As always, I have to thank Andrew Smith, Chrissy Linzy, and many others for running a good tournament. Also, thanks to Eric Silverman and Steve Bowers for coaching me, and Jimmy Cerra for solid ref’ing and a good sense of humor about it.

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Gyms with Saunas in Philadelphia

Posted on May 5, 2012 by Lex

There are a bunch of methods for cutting water weight for night-before weigh-ins. It seems the golden standard is sweating it out at a sauna. I hate this method, I prefer running (or any kind of exercise) in a sweatsuit instead, even if it kills my legs. I won’t get into why here, but suffice it to say that I like being in discomfort while doing something as opposed to not moving and not doing anything.

That said, the big weight cuts (which I try to avoid for dear life) seem to require at least some sauna. So, I decided to compile a list of gyms in the greater Philadelphia area that I know have saunas.  The list is small now, but I’m hoping to get some more suggestions from people. Please leave a comment if you know of another gym in or around Philadelphia that has a sauna.

I also created a custom Google map of gyms with saunas in Philadelphia. Check it out.

Fitness Works
714 Reed Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147
215-334-8190

City Fitness
200 Spring Garden Street, Philadelphia PA 19123
215-923-4114

LA Fitness
2425 South 24th Street, Philadelphia, PA
215-468-6741

Weston Fitness
1835 Market Street, 2nd Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19103
215-963-2700

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The Value of Boring Old School Roadwork

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Lex

Circuit training is popular these days in preparing for judo, bjj, mma, etc. You basically pick 3-5 exercises and repeat them in a circuit at high intensity, taking timed short breaks in between. The goal (in terms of time and intensity) is to simulate a competition match. I’m a big proponent of this kind of strength and conditioning, because it’s fun. A lot of programs are effective, but not all are effective and fun. The variety of circuit training makes it fun.

Same goes for simple interval training on the track. It’s quick. It gets the job done. And in a sick kind of way it’s “fun” as well.

Okay, now to the topic of this post…

The term “roadwork” is something I’ve heard boxers (and no one else) use to refer to the old school jogging of 3 to 5 miles done early in the morning by many great and not-so-great boxers of the past. It’s boring as hell, but that’s why it’s good. I feel like in all the craziness of kettlebells, ropes, hammers, tires, etc, people might forget to train patience as well, in the quiet of the road where you are left alone with your thoughts.

From my conversations with people, the reason roadwork has been and still is popular is because so many people did it in the past and in the movies. That might seem like a ridiculous reason to continue doing it, but not to me. To me, I just think of guys like Rocky Marciano that religiously did 7+ miles per day, and dominated many 15 round fights.  Not to mention the wrestling greats such as Dan Gable.

There is something to be said about building not just the kind of toughness that gets you through an intense workout, but the kind of toughness that gets you through a long boring workout day after day after day. This prepares you mentally not just for the years of brutal training, but for the long tournament days where you may wait hours between matches.

Posted in Jiu Jitsu, Running | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Those Who Can’t Do, Write Blogs About It

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Lex

The title of this post is a variation on a common adage “Those who can’t do, teach”. I always disliked this statement as it disrespected one of the most valuable (in my view) professions in our society.

I don’t agree with the “those who can’t do, write blogs about it” either, obviously, since I’m a “blogger”. But I have made an observation that athletes, especially at the top of their game, seem to not have much of a presence on the social networks, especially in terms of writing blogs about their training and competition experience. There are a lot of exceptions of course, but in general it seems that these guys and girls are focused on one goal and don’t let much get in the way of that. It’s certainly true that blogging, facebook, twitter, etc can be a time sink.

So… I write this blog post in defense of why I do write blogs. I’m trying to answer the question: “You say you’re so busy. Wouldn’t you get more out of your time if instead of finished up your work and went to bed earlier? Or better yet, go and train on the mat some more?”

After some introspection throughout the day today (limping around on an injured leg), I came to the conclusion that if the devil came to me and said: “I’ll give you double gold at Worlds (at blue belt) this year but you can’t write blogs (or anything else) about judo or jiu jitsu for a year”, I wouldn’t take that. It surprised me to think this, but it’s true. I want to win badly, but what I value even more is the experience of wanting to win and fighting to win. And for me, the experience is greatly heightened through writing about it, even if just in a notebook for myself.

Back to hard training tomorrow, but in the mean time I have many hours of work to do today, and so do you, so stop reading this crap and get to it.

Posted in Fun, Jiu Jitsu, Philosophy | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments