Monthly Archives: October 2011

Judo Turtle Turnover to Armbar from Travis Steven

Posted on October 30, 2011 by Lex

Here’s a judo match from the 2011 Pan American games. Travis has exactly the game (even the same gripping strategies) as I’m trying to develop. There’s a beautiful sumi gaeshi, an omoplata, and finally an armbar turtle turnover: I look … Continue reading →

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Throwing a Dummy with Seoi Nage

Posted on October 28, 2011 by Lex

Uchikomi, drilling, with a partner, yourself, or with a dummy all suffer the risk of being unrealistic. But I think as long as you have an understanding of the technique, you can use all those methods to supplement your training. … Continue reading →

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One Hundred Guillotines with My New Best Friend

Posted on October 27, 2011 by Lex

To the left is a picture of a fellow grappler I recently met. He doesn’t read poetry. He doesn’t have a blog where he airs out his emotions. He doesn’t take s*** from anyone. He is a man of few … Continue reading →

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Hudson Judo Promotional Tournament Video Diary

Posted on October 23, 2011 by Lex

This Saturday, I competed at the Hudson Judo Promotional Tournament. It’s a line tournament, also known as Kohaku shiai or “winner stays up”. Competitors are lined up by weight. In theory, you fight until you loose, but in practice if you win … Continue reading →

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Russian Wrestling vs American Wrestling

Posted on October 21, 2011 by Lex

I “believe” in technical wrestling. Similar to the spirit of jiu jitsu, I believe that technique can beat power and aggression. That’s a tough thing to believe because it involves being crushed a lot as part of the learning process. … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Wrestling | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

BJJ Video Diary: Battle for the Bullies

Posted on October 16, 2011 by Lex

A few of the Osagame judo and bjj guys went to the “Battle for the Bullies” jiu jitsu tournament yesterday. All proceeds went to a pit bull rescue shelter, so thanks to Chris Hughes and Marco Perazzo from NJMA for putting … Continue reading →

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Cary Kolat on Mental Toughness

Posted on October 15, 2011 by Lex

I know that me and the guy in this video are worlds apart in our skill level, toughness, etc. But I like the story he told about the Mongolian wrestler taking the freezing cold shower without flinching.   Now, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Wrestling | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Judo Kata Blues

Posted on October 13, 2011 by Lex

In Judo, there are several requirements for promotion to black belt (and some of the brown belt ranks). There’s the usual time-in-grade and competition performance, but there’s also the little tiny requirement of kata. Specifically, a kata called “nage no … Continue reading →

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Princeton Judo Invitational Video Diary

Posted on October 10, 2011 by Lex

I competed at the Princeton Judo Invitational today in the 178 lbs and 198 lbs advanced divisions. I lost in the 178 and won 3 matches in the 198 before I had to leave in order to return the PhillyCarShare car … Continue reading →

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Passing the Impassable Guard

Posted on October 7, 2011 by Lex

Many of the BJJ competitors at the black belt level have an open guard that at times seems to be “impassable”. A good example of someone with an “impassable guard” is Michael Langhi. Here’s an example match of his against Gilbert … Continue reading →

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