Monthly Archives: January 2012

Escaping Back Control

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Lex

As a lower rank, it’s very useful to learn good basic escapes from every bad position, because to put it mildly you get plenty of chances to “practice” being in a bad position, a whole lot more than you probably … Continue reading →

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Eighty Seven Reasons to Train Harder

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Lex

The IBJJF European Open started yesterday with the blue belts. The results are slowly trickling in. There were 87 guys in the blue belt middleweight division. I was positive that at least one of the guys I knew would medal. … Continue reading →

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The Six Stages of Grief After a Jiu Jitsu Injury

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Lex

My knee popped in training (MCL sprain). It hurts, but it’s manageable. Feels unstable, but I feel that recovery is possible without taking any time off. It seems that once people start having knee problems of this kind, it has … Continue reading →

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Cross Choke from Mount

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Lex

The cross choke from mount is one of those submissions that you learn on day one of starting jiu jitsu but can take forever to get good at. It’s not a surprise attack. There are very few tricks to it. … Continue reading →

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Warriors and Magicians: Hard and Soft Martial Arts

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Lex

I did a few years of Isshin-ryu karate when I was younger, before realizing that the best way to challenge myself in a (safe) one-on-one combat situation in high school was wrestling (though I wish I found boxing at that age as … Continue reading →

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How, What, and Why to Drill

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Lex

I’ve been working out and dieting long enough to know that everyone and their grandmother have a theory of how to get good at a specific sport. I’ve recently read Moneyball (a book about analyzing data to maximize a baseball … Continue reading →

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Damn It Feels Good to be a Blue Belt

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Lex

On the left is an image of the current blue belt middleweight bracket for the IBJJF European Open Jiu-Jitsu Championship. It has 55 competitors and is likely to grow to 60-70. That’s why I love being a blue belt: huge divisions. … Continue reading →

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Rebuilding the Jiu Jitsu Colosseum

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Lex

The BJJ United academy got flooded yesterday when the fire sprinklers “malfunctioned” and went off. Jared Weiner (the head instructor) put out a video documenting this unbelievable event (that couldn’t come at a worse time): What I think a lot of … Continue reading →

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Copa Nova BJJ Championships Video Blog

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Lex

I competed at the Copa Nova Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Championships last weekend. The tournament had a lot of good things going for it. First, the refs were top notch. They were following the IBJJF rules and were doing a damn good … Continue reading →

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Top 5 Reasons to Compete in BJJ, Judo, and Grappling

Posted on January 6, 2012 by Lex

The following are some reasons I compete in jiu jitsu and judo. Not all of these may be true for everyone, but hopefully they give a little encouragement to those looking to compete in their first, second, or 100th tournament. … Continue reading →

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