Monthly Archives: April 2011

Rear Half-Naked Choke

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Below is a video of Dustin Denes showing what is essentially a rear naked choke that is assisted by grabbing your own gi. Ignoring the obviously quirky personality of the instructor, to me this is another reminder that the possibility of creative chokes from the back are endless.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEnO0Rw4Lsc

Still, for me, I’m convinced that some chokes work better than others. I believe in the jiu-jitsu fundamentals we learn from day one. To me, in this position, the two basic chokes are: the standard gi choke from the back and the bow-and-arrow choke. These are the one I focus on.

“There are black belts, and then there are BLACK BELTS”

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This line that I heard come out from the mouths of several MMA commentators (UFC, Strikeforce, Bellator) frustrates me to no end.

It is true that, in general, rank is not necessarily an absolute indicator of skill level. Moreover, for example, a sport jiu jitsu gi competitor may not necessarily be able to effectively apply his game to the no-gi or mma scenario.

To me, however, when said by people that are not practioners of jiu jitsu themselves, this quote comes off a little disrespectful. To me it’s like talking about how good of a soldier someone who was awarded a purple heart is. It doesn’t matter how “good” of a soldier someone is, the purple heart in itself deserves respect and honor. A man that was awarded a purple heart is a hero, no matter how accurate he might be at a shooting range or mentally sharp in a combat situation.

A jiu jitsu black belt is a mark of years of dedication to a sport, art form, and way of life.

Perhaps I’m being overly sensitive, but when an MMA commentator says ”there are black belts, and then there are BLACK BELTS”, I cringe. I think there a better ways of saying the same thing, without disrespecting this tremendous accomplishment.

Never Quit

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I got the chance to witness the promotion of two guys to black belt that truly are inspirations on the mat (even though I’ve known them only a short time): Chris Tufts and Mike Ammon (aka “Pop Pop”). The picture above is of Jared and Wilson breaking in the two new black belts at BJJ United last night.

Ray also came up, and even gave me a ride back! We had a good conversation about life, judo, and jiu jitsu.

Anyway, Pop Pop (if I’m allowed to call him that) gave a great speech after receiving his black belt. He was incredibly humble, speaking volumes with just a few genuine words. One advice he gave was to “never quit”. He emphasized that there are a lot of ways to experience and enjoy jiu jitsu, but you always have to keep coming back to the mat through tough times and good times alike. The reason, he said, you shouldn’t allow yourself to quit in any aspect of jiu jitsu is because once you let a little bit of that quitter inside your mind, you will quit in other aspects of your life when things get tough. Basically, jiu jitsu is your chance to practice overcoming obstacles one day at a time, grinding through it, coming out a better human being at the other end of it.

The “never quit” really spoke to me. I often get on the mat after (or before) a LONG day of work, with little sleep, getting beat down by an aggressive opponent. I’ll have trouble breathing, some body part feeling especially weak, sore, or hurt, etc. The question then is: why not quit? Well, I think Pop Pop reminded me that quiting in these seemingly unimportant cases opens the door for the quitter mindset to enter your outlook on life, and then quiting will start to appear as an option in every challenging task you take on. And then quiting will become easy and natural. So perhaps winning the little battles over yourself on the mat has a much greater long-term importance than might at first seem. Maybe that is the greatest challenge and opportunity that jiu jitsu has presented me with: a chance to hone and master the “never quit” mindset.

My Experience at the IBJJF New York Open

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Today, I competed at the 2011 IBJJF New York Open. It’s a big tournament that I think is envisioned to be the East Coast brother to the Pan Ams.

My division (blue belt, middle) had 37 guys. I won my first two matches, and lost my third. I spent some time on my back, which is a new thing for me, and played a relaxed butterfly guard, getting an x-guard sweep on each of my three opponents. I enjoyed the fact that my opponent’s aggression in every case was not a chaotic beginner aggression, but just spurts of power behind excellent technique. In particular, I really enjoyed the x-guard fight with the last guy who fought it hard, looking to pass as opposed to not get swept.

My loss came to a left-sided triangle that my opponent was looking for the whole match. He kept trying for armbars and triangles with excellent hip movement which made passing his guard a lot trickier since I had to constantly be on the defensive.

I watched his next match against a much more aggressive opponent, and realized that perhaps one (of many) of my problems revealed by this tourney is I was too chill. This kind of aggression (grip breaking, constant movement) seemed to nullify the submission attempts well. Anyway, the guy that beat me went on to win the division.

Overall it was a good experience, not the least of which was the transportation. I took a $15 bus up to NYC from Philly and took the same bus back. I slept almost all of the way there and back. And when I wasn’t sleeping, I was working, so it was productive too! I think being well-rested made the tournament experience more enjoyable. Also I weighed in 6 lbs under (with my gi) after a big breakfast. 181 lbs division is a good one for me for these tourneys. I have too much stressful work that fills my week to be able to make the cut for same-day weigh-ins. Ultimately, I lost because my technique wasn’t good enough, and coming down a weight class won’t fix that. Training harder and smarter will.

Taking Time Off Before a Competition

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Last year I competed, on average, every other weekend. Mostly judo, but some jiu jitsu too. What made competition an enjoyable experience for me was competing often and treating it as just another hard training session (where my opponent tries harder than usual). As in most aspects of my life, turning something into a habit makes it much more natural to fit into my schedule which is overcrowded by work-related activity.

Due to a recurring shoulder injury, shift of focus from judo to jiu jitsu, and a change in training regimens and teams, I struggled to get back into the same regular mode of competing in late 2010 and early 2011.

I missed 3 major competitions in 2011 due to the same shoulder injury. I hated how it felt as just another lame excuse. The essential problem is that my favorite technique from the feet is exactly what causes this injury, and even minor tweaks take weeks to heal back to anywhere near 100%.

All that being said, I’ve been really looking forward to the IBJJF New York Open (this upcoming weekend). I was very nervous about the shoulder injury, but training hard twice a day for several weeks leading up to it. Of course, as the gods would have it, I rehurt the shoulder Tuesday night, but not bad, just bad enough where it hurt and felt weak. I tried training Wednesday morning and it still hurt (worse). So I stopped right away and decided to take the next 3 days before the competition off. This is something that many people have said is a good thing to do anyway (even without injury) to let your body and mind recover. And also to get your mind to the restless state where you are itching to get on the mat by the day of the tournament. I never liked this idea, but the injury is forcing me to try it.

I’m not sure where my shoulder will be Saturday, but I’m competing without excuses no matter what. However, I have to be smart about it… With a division of 37 people and more in absolute, if I keep winning, there will be a lot of fights! So while the main goal of any one fight is to win, I have to be very strategic about the set of techniques I go for as to minimize the probability of making the shoulder much worse.

Much like white belts, blue belts are often very aggressive and erratic on the feet, so I just have to relax, be patient, and attack when the opening is there, without forcing anything even if the other guy is going crazy. I believe in the techniques I know, and that very little power is needed to execute them when the timing is right.

The time off from training is giving me a chance to relax and enjoy several productive days (and nights) working.


Brief History of Gracie Jiu Jitsu

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A few quick notes on the origins of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu…

It started with Maeda, a japanese judoka and fighter that supposedly had over a thousand fights, never losing. He is pictured to the left.

In 1914, Maeda settled in Brazil, opened a “Jiu Jitsu” academy. Carlos Gracie was his first student. After some training Carlos spread the knowledge to his brothers, most notably to Helio Gracie who innovated the heck out of it (together with his brothers).

After that, Carlos had 21 children and Helio had a few too. Notable children are Rorion who brought BJJ to the United States and started UFC, Rolls Gracie who was one of the key figures in developing “modern” jiu jitsu, and Rickson Gracie who is a legendary fighter and just an overall badass.

The rest is even more commonly known such as Royce Gracie in the UFC and Roger Gracie sitting comfortably on top of the jiu jitsu food chain for several years now.

Omoplata Guard at the 2011 Pan Ams

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I’m slowly making my way through footage of 2011 Pan Ams (20 hours of it). It’s definitely very useful to study what high level competitors are doing, and nothing stands out as much as the fact that they are ALL doing omoplata. Everyone from little to big, thin to thick, at the black belt level was finding their way to the position of sinking in the omoplata.

I titled this post “Omoplata Guard” (emphasis on “guard”) because while everyone was doing omoplata, noone seemed to be able to finish the submission. Moreover, the sweep from it came eventually but in many matches it took several minutes! When does a submission technique that rarely succeeds as a submission start being treated as a kind of guard? It almost has the same qualities as the 50/50 guard except of course one person is at a clear advantage in this case.

Anyway, I wanted to throw this observation out there. I’ve been working the omoplata in gi lately, and have been unable to consistently finish the submission. Most of the time for me it leads to a sweep. Part of the reason is because I hate rough techniques, and I feel like it’s hurting the person’s shoulder, so I don’t pursue it aggressively, but mostly it’s because it’s just so damn hard to prevent them from rolling or posturing up.

Arm Drag Details

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One of the big holes in my game is the armdrag. I love playing butterfly guard. And in trying to close the distance, if my opponent runs, the arm drag is there. Instead, I’ll just aggressively pursue the double under butterfly or x-guard positions.

Today, I stumbled on a few good armdrag videos on the almighty YouTube and was reminded to focus on this potentially very dangerous set of techniques.

First, Draculino’s take on the armdrag. A few little details here that I think are essential:

  • You’re not pulling back, but always aggressively putting pressure forward.
  • Left hand goes on the floor after you trap the arm across.
  • Head tied to shoulder
  • Noticeable but quick side movement when switching the hips

Then there is a nice detail about where the leverage comes for getting the arm across when the opponent is posting on your ankles:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jl1cvalHRVk

Marcelo Garcia (the master of arm drags) gives a lot of great details:

  • Initial control comes from controlling the opponent’s right wrist with your left arm (no need for the gi)
  • Dramatic side movement, with lots more space than in Draculino’s example. The control therefore comes from pinning the opponent right arm down and not the tight pressure that Draculino shows.

The following video from the Yamasaki Academy higlights the importance of moving both forward and out of the way. He also demonstrate a solo-drill to practice the proper movement which really emphasizes the forward motion. This is different than what I’ve seen in the past:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PX4VNVF7-w8

Here’s a recent video from Robson Moura of how to use the arm drag position for tight control (to a sweep or x-guard) in no-gi:

Finally, from the tight no-gi arm-drag position, Robert Drysdale shows a Brabo choke that I’ve seen shown a few times on the web. The key here seems to be to break his elbow discipline to have room for the Brabo arm to enter: