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Sunday, November 28, 2010

Training with Marcelino Freitas

It's not everyday that you get to train with one of your favorite Jiu-Jitsu players, but this happened to be the case for me right before the 2010 World Championships, one of the perks of training at the head of Nova Uniao in the U.S. A few weeks before the tournament, Marcelino Freitas stopped by to finish up his preparations with our team and boy was it a great experience! Just to be on the mat with someone of such caliber is a pleasure, but actually rolling with him was insane (I mean I've rolled with Robson Moura plenty of times, but that dude sucks 0_o)! Seriously though, it was great to roll with him because his body type and game are so similar to mine. I learned so much just from the few weeks that he was there; his top game is tight, his bottom is fluid, and is an all around animal. I think one of the best thing you can do, training wise, is to get a chance to roll with the top guys in your division that play similar to you. If you ever have a chance to train with him or do a seminar, jump on it!! He is one of the most underated players today, I mean he has beat Bruno Frazzato 3 or 4 times. . . Just saying. Check out his highlight below.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Jiujitsulinks.com

Hey everyone, I just wanted to share with you guys this cool site that I found on the internet. It's a site that just shows you a bunch of links to different BJJ related websites, whether it be gear, blogs, etc. Everyone can submit their own site for free, so it's a great advertising tool, check it out: http://www.jiujitsulinks.com/.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

The Gift That Kept on Giving

Hey guys, I recently wrote an article for Yahoo about my experience with a great high school wrestling coach and what hard work really is. Check it out here: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/6040532/the_gift_that_kept_on_giving.html?cat=14

Monday, November 22, 2010

Journey of the Gi Part 2 (Review)

So, to pick up where I left off. . . In 2009 I decided it was time to get a gi that was just for competition and would never be trained in. I wanted a good looking, yet tough gi. With that in mind, I wound up with the Koral MKM Competition gi in navy blue. I definitely hit the nail on the head with those two criteria. The navy blue is very slick looking and I get many compliments on it. Also, it is very thick, leaving me to believe it will last awhile. On the downside, the thickness comes with a price, it is very heavy and far from ideal for making weight. Another thing to note is that the sleeves are very long, leaving it feeling baggy and a little uncomfortable while rolling. The bagginess is also emphasized in the armpits, they hang really low leaving me pushing up the material in that area constantly. Other than that though it is actually a pretty decent gi, but I would not recommend it if you have a hard time making weight.



My next gi was a hand-me-down given to me shortly after I bought my MKM. It was a Koral, but an older Koral Classic. All in all, I think this is my favorite gi that I have ever owned. It was tight against my body with no excess material what so ever. It was tough and durable, lasting through two different owners. It definitely fit my most basic demand, comfortability. It was not baggy like the MKM and it just flat out felt right. I don't know if the newer classic cut is like this, but if it is, I would highly recommend it to anyone.




For my next purchase, I went the cheap route, buying a pair of Fujis and boy did it pay off! I think all in all this is the best investment you can make as far as kimonos go. It fits well to your body, not quite as well as the Koral Classic, but is very comfortable. Not only that, but they seem to be somewhat durable and aren't too heavy either. The best part is that for the price of your average gi, you can get two Fujis! This is the only training gi I will ever buy again due to the quality and economically sound pricing. One thing though, either buy the gi a size bigger than you would normally or DO NOT dry it!! It shrinks more than any other gi that I have ever seen. Even with that being said this is my gi of choice for newcomers and veterans alike!

Again, I would highly recommend http://www.jiujitsuprogear.com/ for all your gi needs, unless you want an Atama, thay don't carry those.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Journey of the Gi Part 1 (Review)

It's funny to see how your style of gi changes from the time you first stepped onto the mat until the present. It is always the big question when you're first starting out, "What kind of gi should I purchase?" or "Where should I purchase a gi?" It seems to me that the beginners who do not ask these questions either go with one of two extremes: They get the cheapest gi they can find to save money and it ends up being a piece of crap that falls apart or they go the expensive route in hopes of getting that perfect gi that'll last forever, but in reality it's just another gi with a price tag far more majestic than it's quality. With this stated I will take you on my kimono journey.

My first gi actually happens to no longer be available (Atama recently put it back up for sale, but when clicked it says out of stock) as it was  coming to the end of it's run as I purchesed it. It was 2005 and Atama was discontinuing their Judo gis, leaving them all on clearance; I snagged this bad boy for about 70 bucks. Also, let me say one thing about the delivery, Atama is AWESOME!! The gi always winds up at your house within a couple of days, can't beat that! Due to the fact that it is no longer up for sale, I won't spend much time reviewing it, but it was a good gi and lasted me quite some time. It didn't have extra baggy sleeves or an overly long skirt like we think of in your stereotypical Judo uniform, but fit more like BJJ gi and was a great choice.

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After a few months of training in the now defunct Atam Judo model, summer was coming up and I had noticed Atama had a summer weave out and I figured,"Hey, it's gonna be hot out soon, I had a good experience with Atama before, why not?" Well, the 'why not' would be because it flat out sucks. Of all the gis I have ever owned, this is the only one I have shown a particular hatred for. I mean, I literally go to class everyday hoping that this gi rips and I no longer have to deal with it! But, I did spend the money on it, so it reamins with me. To describe this gi, just picture your pants and put that exact material on the jacket. You would expect this to deter your partner's grip by not having enough traction, but sadly, no. All it does is make it more comfotable for them when you try and rip grips. This, combined with the overly long sleeves, seem to give your partner a grip from hell. Your hands are constantly falling into your  sleeve, making it impossible for you to grip back. Honestly, I would rather wear a gi made of used toilet paper than ever be tricked into buying this again.

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The next gi that came my way was one of the better Christmas presents I have gotten over the years. It was the Keiko (not so) Limited Series. I don't know if something got lost in translation here, but this seems to be the only limited series I know of that has been on the market for multiple years, not only that, but they even revamped the look of it about a year or two ago. Anyways, this is a great gi that I still own today and would recommend it to anyone. It is very comfortable, not too baggy, and the weight isn't too bad either. The only that thing I can think of on the downside is that the price has gone up over the years: $125 when I got it Christmas of 2006 compared to a solid $140-$170 depending on where you go, http://www.jiujitsuprogear.com/ is probably your best bet. This gi has gotten me through many tough competitions and training sessions; this 100% has my approval (if that means anything).

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Come back in a day or two to check out part 2 where I'll tell you about two Korals and a Fuji!

Monday, November 15, 2010

The Importance of Top Game

Over the years I've noticed that a lot of the "young" lighter weights tend to neglect their top game, a fatal flaw. I myself didn't practice enough passing as a blue belt and have just recently been getting more comfortable with it. Today, you see so many of the lower ranked, lighter guys who look really impressive off of their back, but then get on top and look like they have no clue; this might fly in some competitions, but eventually it will catch up to them. That is why I really enjoy watching Leo Vieira videos, he is one of those few feather weights who actually seems to prefer playing on top, not only that, but he is very exciting. I feel I've learned a lot just by watching Vieira and I get excited to watch him compete. Here is a highlight of his that I really enjoy and hope you do as well.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Roger Gracie Mount

Lately in training we've been going over a lot of mount work that is based off of Roger Gracie, due to the fact that no one really seems to compare to him in this aspect of the game. If you watch the video below, you can see basically every detail of Roger's entry to mount, from shoulder pressure to leg placement. My favorite part about this move is the little trick for the shoulder pressure, it almost turns side control into a choke itself and really makes your opponent want to give up the mount as to be more comfortable. My coach, Gustavo Dantas, told me about the video I am posting, he has really been studying this guy's videos a lot. It is basically a series of this guy who breaks down Roger's game and puts it into an instructional. He does all aspect's of the world champions game, but this is my personal favorite. He has other videos too, but I would just stick to the ones that say they are Roger moves. You can check out the rest of the videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/TrumpetDanBJJ.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

No Gi World Championships (Review)

This past weekend I competed in the No Gi World Championships, held by the IBJJF in Long Beach, California at the Walter Pyramid. It was a great experience and I actually had more fun than I usuallly do while competing.

First off, this was the most behind schedule Federation tournament that I have ever been apart of, but with 800 people in one day it really wasn't too bad. My open weight division didn't start untill probably about an hour later than it was scheduled to begin,, if not more . The purple belt light weight division didn't end untill about 6:30 and the open was supposed to be at 6:00, so, needless to say, they were off by a little bit. In all my years, this was really the only noticeably behind schedule Federation tournament I have ever been a part of. That being said, this won't deter me from any future IBJJF tournaments and I still highly recommend them to everyone.

As far as results and great matches go, I didn't really get to catch many due to the fact that I was competing at the same time as the black belt finals and I was helping out my teammates during the preliminary rounds. One thing I did notice though was a pretty cool sight, training partners, Caio Terra and Samir Chantre, fought in the finals of the light feather weight division. In a time of gentlmen's agreements and closing out divisions, this was pretty cool to see. Terra ended up taking the title by points in a hard fought match. Much respect to them for going at it.

As mentioned above, I had a lot of fun competing this time around. I made my return to the feather weight division after a short stint at lightweight. It actually end up going pretty well, I had a by first round moving me on to face Vin Phung (Lotus Club) in the second round. Phung was tough and had a good base, but I eventually swept him and landed in half guard. From there I secured a darce and finished it for the victory. My next fight was the quarter finals, facing me against a tough fighter from Undisputed, I cannot remember his name, but he put up a great fight. I ended winning the bout 4-0 from two sweeps. This victory placed me in the semi-finals with the young Gianni Grippo ( Renzo Gracie). Grippo was very strong, possibly the strongest feather weight I have ever faced. We both pulled guard and sat for a little bit, eventually he came on top and I went upside down, as I transitioned he hopped all the way over to my back claiming the four points. From there he sunk in the rear naked and I was forced to tap. I was disappointed, but I will come back stronger from this and I am grateful that I took third at the No Gi World Championships. Afterwards, I signed up for the open weight, something I always enjoy doing when I have the chance even though it doesn't seem to be too popular with guys my weight. I don't know what it is, but I enjoy the rush of fighting someone bigger than me, plus, a guy my size has nothing to lose. I didn't quite get the best bracketing, drawing the eventual champion, DJ Jackson (Lloyd Irvin), first round. Jackson by far has the tightest game of anyone that I have ever competed against. He was all over me, taking me down, passing my guard, mounting me. He was just too strong, big, and technical for me. I hung tough for awhile, not giving up the submission. I eventually got back to guard and with about a minute or so left I tried to transition to outside half, he hopped onto a kimura, I slipped my arm out, but he went right into a straight armbar after that, popping my arm and forcing me to tap.

This tournament was definitely a great experience and I am very glad I returned to a better weight for me. I'm especially happy, not only because I placed, doing what is probably the biggest achievement of my purple belt career, but I also had fun. I mean that is what we all learn as kids, right? The most important thing is to have fun.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Keep Your Politics Out of My Jiu-Jitsu

I never understood it; biased reffing, buying black belts, why? Does it really have to be that way? Do you really have to stoop to that level?

I've noticed it ever since my first IBJJF tournament, the 2006 American Nationals; referees making wrong calls in favor of their own teammates, sometimes teammates that don't even train with them, but train at some distant affiliate of their own team. I mean this does largely fall on one team in particular (I won't name any names, but I'm sure most of us know who I'm talking about), but I have seen it amongst smaller circles as well. Are you really willing to go so far as to cheat some poor kid (I have seen this even in the juvenile division) that you don't even know out of a title? All for what, a couple extra team points? It's disgraceful and those who participate should be ashamed to even be apart of the sport we all love so much. This by and large is what I feel is one of the biggest problems in Jiu-Jitsu today. Not only is it disrespectful to the sport, but what about the athletes who didn't ask to win that way? Does the win really feel the same? I'm sure there's the select few who don't care and will resort to any means necessary to come out the victor, but for the most part I'm sure it's not how many people want it to be. I for one would not be happy with that ruling and would feel like my title did not mean as much. The referees need to learn not to be so selfish and think about what they are doing, not only to the competitor that they screwed, but the one who they "helped" as well.

Along with this goes the discussion of buying affiliation and even worse. . . BLACK BELTS!! Has the sport really come to this level of lack of pride and morals? Being that I train in Arizona, I have noticed a lot of this. I'm sure it's bad in other states, but it seems to be particularly bad here. With issues such as one of the state's foremost fake black belts being abble to just buy his way into one of the world's largest BJJ teams (still, no names, although some can figure it out). This "affiliation" program is the very thing that is watering down our sport. The way this works makes things very deceiving to the beginning practitioner, making them believe that this school is legitimate due to the name. Also, some legitimate black belts out there are willing to tarnish their own names in exchange for a belt-for-money deal. An instructor should be able to take pride in anyone representing them not just worry about the money they're making, and when these things come out, they usually do, your name will never be the same, it may only be in hushed circles, but people know. What's just as big a problem, if not worse, is scam artists giving themselves black belts, again, no names, well. . . Roland Sarria! What!? Did I just say that!? I mean, come on, the guy says God gave him his black belt and compares himself to Batman. . . Need I say more? This is another situation where I don't understand how a full grown adult can do this to another person. You are taking these kids' hard earned money and feeding them crap in the mean time, the kids, knowing no better, eat it up and believe that what they are learning is real and effective. It sickens me! Something should be done about it, I don't know what, but the Jiu-Jitsu community needs to get together and think of something for all of these subjects. Feel free to leave some suggestions on the blog and let me know what you think should be done.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Know the Rules!!



To this day it amazes me how many people go to tournaments and compete without knowing the rules. It seems at least a couple times a tournament there is someone arguing with the referee over rules that are clearly stated. This is such a hastle for the tournament promoters and staff, so do us all a favor if you are competing this weekend at the No Gi Worlds and watch the above video on the rules and part 2 found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jE4ouhqHAB0.  Knowing the rules will make for a much more enjoyable experience for you, the staff, and other competitors, so PLEASE take the time. Hopefully I’ll see you guys there this weekend; come say, “Hi” if you see me out at the pyramid.

The Power of Words

Over the years I have found various quotes from historic figures, bands, etc. to be helpful in motivation and getting you through the tough times in training or just life in general. So, with that being said, I figured I would share with you some of my favorite quotes, let me know yours as well:

“Broken dreams are built to make you strong.” - Authority Zero (Band)(This quote is actually printed on my competition shorts)

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” - Thomas Edison

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” - Confucious

“Look in the jaws of your own demise, watch your life pass before your eyes. Did you live like a dream come true, or did you just survive? Did you do all you could do? In a fall from a burning tower, what would you do with just one more hour? Live that hour out everyday like it was your last, you’ll live much better that way.” - Pennywise (Band)

“A strong man doesn’t need to read the future, he makes his own.” - Solid Snake (Video Game Character)
“If I could change the past, I never would. Some call them mistakes, I call them lessons learned.” - Authority Zero

“You may never know what results come of your action, but if you do nothing there will be no result.” - Mahatma Gandhi

“Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.”  - African Proverb

“Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.”  - Truman Capote

“All your friends and peers and family solemnly tell you, ‘You will have to grow up, be an adult, be bored and unfulfilled’, when no ones yet explained to me exactly what’s so great about slaving 50 years away on something that you hate.” - Frank Turner (Musician)

“Don’t be blinded by the glare you see. Keep on in search what makes you happy, make it happen, go, and dream. Dreams become a reality. Run with this life, believe in all you’ve dreamt, and keep on trusting in who it is you are.” - Authority Zero

“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.” - Theodore Roosevelt

2nd AZ Fusion Seminar w/7x World Champion Robson Moura

November 20th and 21st bring a great opportunity to all in Arizona. 7x World Champion Robson Moura will be teaching a seminar along side 2x World Champion Gustavo Dantas. If you have the chance, I highly recommend attending this event. I was lucky enough to participate in a Robson seminar a few years back as a blue belt and I cannot say enough good things about how Robinho teaches. I think all in attendance will find the $60 fee to be well worth it. Below is all the information you will need about the seminar, taken from http://www.gdjiujitsu.com/.




















“Gustavo Dantas and Robson Moura (7x World Champion) will be teaching a Gi Seminar on November 20th & 21st from 10 am to 1:00 pm in two different locations, Tempe (AZ Combat Sports) and East Mesa (Tigers Lair AZ). Everyone who pre-registers by November 16th will receive a free seminar T-Shirt and a free issue of Gracie Mag. The seminar is open to everyone.

This seminar will cover specific techniques, tips, and exercises focused on strengthening and fine tuning your competitive game. From working out of tough positions and situations to learning how to use the IBJJF rules in your favor, the 2nd Arizona FUSION Seminar will give you the tools you need to have an extra edge over your opponents.

For those who may not know, Fusion is the title of Robson Moura’s Instructional DVD series which is produced by World Martial Arts. GD assisted Robson in the making of all three volumes (Fusion 1 and 2, and Robson’s latest release Super No-Gi).

All competitors will receive an issue of Gracie Mag. Also, all attendees will receive a raffle ticket to win free entry to the 6th AZ International Open on February 26th & 27th, 2011, or other prizes provided by OTM Fight Shop.

Space is limited to 60 attendees each day, so pre register now to secure your spot at the 2nd Arizona FUSION Seminar. Here are the rates:

■Pre-Registration until Tuesday, November 16th (T-Shirt Included) $60
■Registration online ends on November 19th at 11:59 pm. (T-Shirt Not-Included) $70

Click here to Register

No Registrations at the door!

November 20th (10 am to 1 pm)

Arizona Combat Sports
1401 S. McClintock Dr.
Tempe, AZ 85281
480-310-5483

November 21th (10 am to 1pm)

Tiger’s Lair AZ
2055 S. Power Rd. Entrance 4
Mesa, AZ 85209
(Power Square Mall)
480-357-2299

More info with Gustavo Dantas @ 480-310-5483 or gustavo@novauniao.com”

To Drill or Not to Drill. . .

It had been sitting in front of my face for quite sometime. What makes these guys so good? I knew what it was all along, but I was too stupid to take advantage of it. “Oh, that won’t make a difference,” I told myself. Finally, I cracked. It was time to drill, but not just normal drill, I mean get out there and practice moves untill perfection. No more lazy, drill a couple of times and go on under the false pretense that I had the technique mastered. All the athletes bursting onto the seen as of late do it, why not me? Maybe I was too stubborn or I saw some guys get good results with little drilling, I don’t know, but it was dumb. This epiphany hit me last week. I had seen the interviews before, but for some reason, it really hit me this time. I rewatched the Shoyoroll interview with American phenom, JT Torres (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0j8w0ylEos) and realized something: Team Lloyd Irvin takes their drilling seriously! I mean not just ‘When you drill in class, drill well’, but WHOLE classes dedicated to drilling. And I mean, with the results they’re putting on the table, how can you argue?

Once this hit me, I called up my main training partner, John Cordera, and he was feeling the same way at the time. We made the plans and went in Saturday for our first “real” drilling session: One move for five minutes straight of non-stop drilling, then we would trade off. We did this for a little over an hour untill it was time to go. By the time the five minutes was up for the move, and I mean maybe this is just wishful thinking, but I honestly felt like the technique was tighter, faster, smoother, and all around better than it was at the beginning. John and I made plans to continue this every Saturday from now on in an experiment that I’m sure will yield great results. One thing is for sure though, from now on I’m going to take the drilling part of class more seriously and I will take every extra chance I get to get on the mat and drill more. Let me know what your drilling habits are like, I would love to hear all about them.

What Got You Started in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?

This past weekend, at the tournament, my friend, Gerson Atoigue, told me that with his students he always likes to ask them why they started Jiu-Jitsu. He thought this would be a good idea for the blog and I felt the same, so here it is. Why did you start BJJ? I’ll start off by letting you guys know why I started (if you haven’t read my bio section yet). Back when I was young I did Karate like a lot of kids, for about 8 years actually, then one day when I was about 14 or 15 I saw the original Ultimate Fighter. At the time, I just thought BJJ would be a good supplement for Karate, but eventually I fell in love with it and started to only practice BJJ. With that change of mind set came a change in reasons for training, now I just wanted to be the best Jiu-Jitsu player in the world. I’m not asking for too much, am I? Now go ahead and reply here and let me know why you started training and let me know if there has been a change to the reason why you kep training, like there was for me. I can’t wait to hear what you guys have to say.

J.T. Torres Vs. Caio Terra

Here is the the black belt light open finals match from the 2nd Southwest BJJ Classic between JT Torres and Caio Terra. I was actually surprised with the outcome, I expected JT to win, but not like this. Check it out. Also, if you want to watch more matches from this past weekend check out www.youtube.com/vinceo66. This channel belongs to a Nova Uniao student out in AZ who films as many matches as he can at the tournaments he goes to, so help support his channel.


2nd Southwest BJJ Classic (Review)

Over the weekend, the AZSBJJF and GD Jiu-Jitsu Events hit it out of the park with another stellar tournament at Mesa, Arizona’s Westwood Highschool. The event set an Arizona state record with over 600 competitiors!!

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First of all, let me say this tournament was extremely well organized. All of the divisions ran on time and there were no complaints that I am aware of. Gustavo Dantas really showed once again why he puts on one of the best run tournaments out there.
Saturday, the kids started off the excitement. It was quite the sight to see: 200 children leaving it all on the line. With every tournament I keep getting more and more impressed with how the kids grow and show off their talent. The team title was taken by MMA Lab who always bring a tough group of youngsters to represent. Despite all the young hopefuls the biggest winner of the children was Brett Trivitt from the Lion’s Den, who had luck on his side in winning the raffle for the Nintendo Wii. Not a bad weekend if you ask me: Jiu-Jitsu and a free Wii, you can’t beat that.
Also, on Saturday were all of the blue belt divisions. One of the matches that really sticks out to me is the feather weight final between two Nova Uniao athletes, Jonathan Van Buren (GD Jiu-Jitsu) and Josh Rodriguez (ISMA). This was a very exciting, back and forth match in which Van Buren ended up claiming the victory by reverse armbar that you can see here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qCpe2p56Vk. The big winner of the day though was Alex Centner of (ISMA), who won the ultra heavyweight division and the open weight division. In what was another Nova Uniao final Alex submitted his opponent from the opposite end of the spectrum, the light feather division, Arnold Monterroso. Monterosso fought hard, but Centner proved to be too large and eventually caught a kimura, putting an end to day one.
First thing Sunday morning were the co-main events, the black belt light and heavy open classes. The light open pitted two of the toughest black belts out there against each other in the finals. JT Torres (Lloyd Irvin), who had no easy way to the finals  beating the tough Samir Chantre(Gracie Fighter), faced off against an always game Caio Terra(Gracie Fighter). The two fought hard with JT coming out on top via armbar, taking home the ticket to Portugal. In the heavy open division finals we saw a rematch from the AZ State Championships, between Carlos Farias (Traven) and Bruno Bastos (Nova Uniao). Bruno took the victory once again by one advantage point.

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Sunday also brought about competition from the white, purple, and brown belts. Although everyone in these divisions put on a great show, I feel the standout of this day was “DJ” Jackson of team Lloyd Irvin. DJ put on a clinic submitting everyone in his weight and taking home the open weight purple belt division. Jackson definitely has a very bright future in Jiu-Jitsu. Also, the same day the third and final ticket to Portugal was raffled off amongst all the winners of each divison, leaving Matt Lowry of Gateway Martial Arts Academy the lucky winner of the weekend. As far as the team tournament goes, team GD Jiu-Jitsu took home the first place trophy with more than twice as many points as any other team at the competition.
I had a good personal experience at this tournament. Seeing as how this was my coach’s tournament, I not only competed, but helped at the tournament. Friday was the easy day helping set up, then Saturday I worked as matt coordinator all day, and finally Sunday I competed and worked again afterwards, then I helped break down the tournament as well. As for competing, I had one match with an always game Blayne Barlow (Relson Gracie) in the purple belt lightweight division. It was a fun match in which I won 10-2 and then I advanced to the finals where I closed out my division with my teammate. You can watch my match here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoYfa_DytUE. I also fought in the open weight where I had one match with a heavyweight from Megaton and lost 2-0. All in all it was a good experience and I hope to see you all at the next one!!

Update

Hey everyone, just wanted to let you know that I will be posting a review of the 2nd Southwest BJJ Classic after the weekend is over. It should be very exciting considering the names registered: JT Torres, Caio Terra, Samir Chantre, and Bruno Bastos. So, check back for that Monday! Sorry, it’s going to be a slow week because of the tournament, but I just put up a Biography page so take a look at that. http://4everbjj.blogspot.com/p/biography.html

Andre Galvao Jiu-Jitsu: Concepts, Details, Game Plan (Review)

Andre Galvao may be doing his MMA thing right now, but don’t fear BJJ fans, his DVD is still out there to help you grow as a Jiu-Jitsu player. This past weekend I had the pleasure to view his instructional and this is a good one…

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Since there is so little that is bad about this DVD, let’s go ahead and get that out of the way. The interpretation throughout the instructional seemed a little sub-par in my opinon. The interpretor’s constant stumbling over words and overuse of the word “okay” lead me to believe that the producers did not take this part of the project all that seriously. It almost sounds as if the interpretor is translating the speech directly after Galvao says it and word for word. Well, word for word isn’t bad is it, in fact it sounds great, right? Not really, when you consider the words that are included, such as ”uhh” or “umm”. This by no means seems to be the translator’s fault, more of the producer’s for the way they had him translate. A simple script would have made this video that much more enjoyable. Well, now that that’s out of the way, let’s get on to the good stuff.

The instructional is broken down into five discs: The Stand Up Game, The Open Guard, The Half Guard, Passing the Guard, and The back Positon. I will get to all of these individually later, but for now I am going to talk about the set as a whole. First off, the quality of production is very high, the video quality is good, they have a good, little intro, and you can tell that the producers took their time in the post-production process. As far as the actual teaching and showing of the techniques goes, it is great! Andre Galvao is very detailed showing each move specifically. One thing I like is that before every technique there is a brief pre-explanation that Galvao gives, which shows the move and basically explains his reasoning for when and why he would use this specific move. Also, he has a concepts section in each DVD, that goes over basically the bare necessities of each position such as: stance for take downs, how to maintain back control, etc. I found this section is great for beginners who do not know what certain position their body should be in during different times. Also, last, but not least, at the end of every disc there is a “Quick Summary” in which Galvao shows every move on the disc one, last time. I found this extremely helpful in refreshing my memory.

Disc 1: The Stand Up Game

To kick off the set Andre Galvao starts off with takedowns and guard pulling; a reasonable place to start, considering that’s where all matches begin. First of all, he talks about the basic concepts of the stand up game: staying low, bending at the legs, not crossing your feet, etc. These are all great for beginners and should be known by everyone. After a bit, he jumps right into what I would call the more fun techniques: flying armbars, cool throws, etc. Definitely the most exciting disc of the bunch. Next Galvao gets into the guard pulling section, starting, again, with the concepts. With this he goes over how situations change with your opponents foot positioning and then he jumps into the moves. All in all this is the DVD that held my attention the best with it’s flashy techniques.

Disc 2: The Open Guard

One detail that I think is great about this disc is that it has what a lot of instructionals do not have; a section on maintaining guard. I thought this was awesome and I feel more DVD’s should incorporate this section. Before I go any farther let’s get one thing straight; if you’re looking for more of a both sleeves, spider type open guard, I would probably skip this one and go score a copy of Cobrinha’s DVD. In this section you will find lots of butterfly guard and a little reverse de la Riva. So, if that’s your style this is the DVD for you.

Disc 3: The Half Guard

The thing I liked about this disc is that it is not just a bottom game half guard disc, but a top and bottom half guard disc. I found this to be good due to the fact that the postitions compliment each other in the sense that if you know what to do on top, the better off you are on bottom and vice versa. I also found it cool that Galvao actually explains reasoning for going to his opponents half guard, rather then just winding up there. The last thing that really made this disc stand out to me was the multiple passes from the outside/deep half guard. I liked this a lot because it seems everyone is on this kick lately and it is a tricky situation to deal with, so these passes are rather helpful.

Disc 4: Passing the Guard

One of the keypoints that really made this disc worthwhile for me was passing as your opponent pulls guard. You don’t see this taught in instructionals too often and it’s a shame. I feel this is a very important part of the top game to get the heads up on your opponent. Another selling point was forcing your opponents weak side. Galvao discusses the advantage of recognizing what side your opponent is favoring and forcing them to play the other. This was like a little breath of fresh air from other DVDs that strictly show passing techniques.

Disc 5: The Back Position

This is much in the same category as the half guard disc due to the fact that it is not all about attacks, but basically everything you need to know about the back postion. Andre Galvao begins this disc with a section on maintaining the back. Again, it was great to see those little, basic things that a lot of instructionals tend to overlook. I also enjoyed the fact that he showed taking the back from many different positions, not just one or two. It was good to see how it can be done from all over the place. Of course Galvao didn’t leave out attacks, the whole point of getting to the back. He shows some great little details of his own in the attacks section. Not to forget a very important part of this position, Galvao throws in some escapes at the end that are sure to get you out of some tight spots.

All in all this DVD is a great buy with few flaws. I would give it a 4.5/5 stars. I hope you guys found this review helpful. As always feel free to let me know what you think. If you are looking to purchase the set you can get it here: http://www.budovideos.com/shop/customer/product.php?productid=28215&cat=&page=1

Andre Galvao Preview

Within the next couple of days here I will be posting a review of Andre Galvao’s instructional dvd; so I figured to get you guys pumped for it I would post the now infamous video of him using his opponent as an exercise ball at the 2008 World Championsips. For those that say this is a disrespectful act, from what I understand, Galvao’s opponent was talking trash about either him, his instructor, or his academy before hand; so for that I say, “He got what he deserved.” This was one of the most exciting feats I have ever seen in BJJ, considering I was about six rows back from the action when this actually happened!! Well, enjoy the video and check back soon for the review.


Andre Galvao Jiu-Jitsu Pwnage - Watch more Funny Videos

Taking the Back

So, in practice this week and last my coach, Gustavo Dantas, has really been breaking down taking the back. While in practice he showed us this Marcelo Garcia highlight, wisely so because I mean who better to show the position than “The Human Backpack” himself. While breaking apart this position Gustavo pointed out a few of the details that Marcelo seems to do better than most. Among these was the fact that when his opponent is scooting his butt out to escape, Garcia pulls them to the opposite side and scoots his own butt out to compensate, as seen at 4:10. Also, if you watch at multiple points in the video, you will notice that Garcia does not always worry about getting his second hook. Lots of times as he is rolling to take the back he will attack the neck while his opponent is worried about the second hook coming in, catching them off guard. These details, combined with his over-under grip and years of practice, are what make him not only good, but the best at taking the back. I hope you enjoy the video and find these tips helpful!!

2nd Southwest BJJ Classic

October 16th and 17th marks the second installment of the Southwest BJJ Classic. This is sure to be an event you will not want to miss.

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The AZSBJJF, in association with GD Jiu-Jitsu Events, is going big this time, giving away not one, but three tickets to Portugal for the IBJJF 2011 European Championships. Two of the tickets will be given away to the winners of the black belt light and heavy open divisions. With big names such as Bruno Bastos, Caio Terra, and Samir Chantre confirmed, this is sure to be an exciting event. The other ticket will be raffled off among every divisional champion. Not to feel left out every competitor in the children’s division will receive a raffle ticket for a chance at winning a Nintendo Wii. Also, all competitors who register by October 8th will not only save ten dollars on the registration, but will receive a free tournament shirt and issue of Graciemag.

The prizes and promise of great black belt action aren’t the only thing that make this tournament a worthwhile experience. Gustavo Dantas holds a very high standard for organization at his tournaments. The only fair comparison is that of an IBJJF event. I feel that those who are used to tournaments such as Grapplers Quest, Naga, and many other competitions will be pleasantly surprised with how smoothly things are ran at an AZSBJJF event. There is always a schedule offered with times on it, not just an ordered list that involves guessing. Plus, all referees are IBJJF certified and are a minimum rank of brown belt to insure that your matches are called fairly. Another defining factor is that there is a barricade between the competition area and the rest of the venue, which means no kids or unqualified persons running around on the mats getting in the way of competition.

With that being said I hope to see you all at the 2nd Southwest BJJ Classic. You can sign up and learn more about the event here http://strongvon.com/southwestbjj2. I will be there competing and supporting the event so come say hi if you have the time.

Update

Hey guys, just wanted to let you all know that within the next few weeks I will be uploading an instructional video. So, be on the look out for that. I hope you guys enjoy it and find it helpful. This will be my first attempt at an instructional so any and all feedback is appreciated. Check back soon!!

Cross Guard Variation Part 2

Alright, here is the part 2 to the cross guard post. If you haven’t already check out the post below this so you know what’s going on. This video is of Robson Moura showing the newer way of playing cross guard. The thing I like about this video is that it actually fits in with my topic because Robinho actually explains why he prefers this over the older variation. Check it out and let me know what you guys think!

Cross Guard Variation Part 1

So, watching Rodrigo Simoes work the old school cross guard this past weekend on Zak Maxwell got me thinking about the differences between that and the newer Robinho/Cobrinha style cross guard. I find both to be very interesting and effective guards that take some getting used to. With that being said, I figured I would put up instructionals for each. Here is Pe de Pano demonstrating how he plays the guard. Next I will put up a Robson Moura intructional. Feel free to discuss and let me know what you guys think of these different variations.

American National Championships

This past weekend the American National Jiu-Jitsu Champiuonship took place in Carson, California in the gymnasium at Cal State Dominguez Hills. It was a weekend full of excitement and great matches.

Saturday, the adult blue belt division was dominated by a group of young stars leaving the podium looking more like a juvenile division. Isaac Doederlein (Gracie Humaita) and Jordan Landry (Gracie Fighter) marched their way to the finals of the light feather weight division leaving many submissions in their wake. The two squared off in the final match leaving the young fighter from Humaita the victor. It was a very tight match with Doederlein only pulling it off by one advantage. In the light weight division another youngster, Michael Liera (Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu), took home the gold. Liera looked very impressive, submitting everyone in his weight class. The Ribeiro brothers’ prodigy returned on Sunday for another impressive performance in the open weight category. Liera went all the way to the finals, closing out the division with his team mate.
Also on Saturday, was the main event, the black belt open weight division. Surprisingly this division was taken by a light feather weight, Caio Terra. Terra keeps looking more and more impressive, with this being his second open weight title at black belt. Terra got a bye first round and then went on to submit Rodrigo Simoes with a nice flying triangle. In his next match he faced the tough middle weight, Marcelo Mafra. Terra ended up taking this bout 6-2 and almost catching an armbar at the end before Mafra escaped. On the opposite side of the bracket was the always game super heavy weight from Nova Uniao, Bruno Bastos. Bastos’ first match was the resilient feather weight, Rodrigo Ranieri. Bastos took this match with a half guard sweep, winning 2-0. In his next match he took on Leandro Santos from Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu, winning with a foot sweep in another 2-0 victory. Eventually, Terra and Bastos met in the end bringing about a pretty lack luster, ‘David and Goliath’ final. Terra pulled guard and shot up a few oma platas, but Bastos proved to be too strong for those and easily stood up to defend. The very passive Bastos was penalized for his lack of movement giving the win to Terra on the negative point.
Bastos vs. Terra
There were also many other noteworthy matches throughout the weekend. One being Zak Maxwell, in his black belt debut, vs. Phillipe Della Monica. A match  which I thought would be a very tough test for the young, recently promoted Maxwell. Zak passed with flying colors defeating the Gracie Barra athlete by a score of 10-2 in pure dominance. As Maxwell advanced to the finals, Della Monica’s teammate, Rodrigo Simoes, would come looking for revenge that he would wind up getting. In a very exciting final, Simoes took the lead early with a beatiful, old school, Pe de Pano style cross guard sweep. As the match went on Simoes hit another cross guard sweep making the score 4-0. In the final moments Maxwell swept back and began trying desperately to pass, but could not pull it off, leaving the final score 4-2 Simoes.
My personal experience was not the best at this tournament. I entered the Purple/Adult/lLightweight division. I won my first match against a tough Jaxon Smith (Machado JJ). I pulled guard really bad, without good grips and had to recover from there. Smith is very srong and I ended up winning 2-2 with one more advantage than him. It was a very tough match and at times I didn’t think I could pull it out, but I just kept telling myself I could and that helped me through. It’s amazing what some self affirmations can do. My next match I pulled bad again and my opponent took advantage and passed. Eventually he caught a choke that I seriously thought about tapping to, but I fought out and we scrambled to our feet. I took the time tying my belt to regain what was going on and recognize what I had to do. I was down 5-0. I tried to get a good grip to get a better pull, but in taking my time he pulled first. I knew I had to do something so I stood up in his closed guard and made a mistake with my grips, he took advantage and caught me in an armbar. It was a very disappointing tournament for me considering I trained so hard, but I tried hard and learned what I need to work on from my mistakes. It’s like my favorite quote says, ” Broken dreams are built to make you strong.”

Introduction

Hey guys, my name’s Ryan Heilman and I’ll be posting all my experiences as an aspirng professional Jiu-Jitsu player. I’ll be putting everything on here from equipment/tournament reviews to all the things that everyone goes through in their life long journey that is Jiu-Jitsu. As someone who trains everyday and competes constantly I will try to offer some insight on everything that the BJJ community goes through, all the hardships, all the glory. Hope you guys enjoy the new blog. See ya around!!