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.

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.



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.



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).



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

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…



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

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.

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.”