tallgeese

Welcome aboard KF!

He's the black belt from our sister school in Carbondale, Andy Sabans. Charuto is in from Hawaii this weekend for a seminar so a lot of guys are coming in from the Nova Uniao banner. Looking forward to some great training. Andy worked up hard last night.

7/28 With the snorkel again, GS? Hardcore, especially in the summer. BJJ nite: Guest instructor with a heavy emphasis on sport specific warm up Drilled rounds of toreado variants. Worked side mount to crucifix series. 45 min free roll.

Thanks, bushido man. I hope it helps in your cause. I think grappling is actually one of the most important skills cops can cultivate. If it's done right. We put hands on people EVERY time we make an arrest. We create a grappling situation. Almost every time we encounter resistance, we put the suspect on the ground to control them. We therefore escalate the ground fight, yet some trainers want to ignore it altogether. Go figure. I'd like to teach a clinch heavy grappling course for LE, like an 8 hour block, to cover this sort of thing. The tug of war over cuffs is a MAJOR pet peeve of mine. I try to drill this out of my guys on shift when we get to conduct training during down time. So far, it seems to be working well. Let me know how things go with your admin. Of course, if I can send you any resources I have I'll happily share.

Even if we look at it that way, and I'm not sure that's what he's saying given his example is about life in general, but even if we narrow the focus of his words to the BJJ community, then that means that 97 percent of BJJ practitioners are "losers" because they haven't won a major world title. That means that they guys who self motivates himself 2-4 times a week to put himself thru training, takes time out of his day and work and family continually pressing his improvement forward is a loser? This seems counter intuitive to what most people will tell you the art is about. We could narrow the focus more and say competitive BJJ players. So no world title means a loser? Despite having the courage to step on a mat competitively and put it on the line against similar fighters in age and weight and skill? Again, counter intuitive to healthy and happy living as far as I'm concerned. Not to mention I'm not sure that's what the art side of all this would have you get out of it.

That's great, MP! I guess I do look like that quite a bit. Here's proof I have top game... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLpEufgWLVI

Let's bring up one more thing as well, just to play devil's advocate, most of us who routinely whip out the "it's not about the belt" line have usually already earned a black belt in something. It's usually much easier to say, and mean, this after getting there.

7/26 3, 15 min rounds of takedown work. Focus in round 2 of gateway position. Round 3 lifts. 15 min of pendulum sweep series work. That and an eight hour day of room to room work in armor makes for a long day. For sd purposes, the bulk of the day would be about weapon handling skills, movement.

Sure, but that's already in opposition to whay he's exposuing. The vibe I get from his quote is that this kind of "trying" mentality would put you in the "loser" braket. Becasue if you're trying, then you're not actually the best and thus in trying you're making an excuse. It's just a bit much for me. I just don't see 97% of the population as losers.

7/25 Drilled pummel to takedown rounds. Interval with guard v. pass. Worked on arm bar from guard, triangle. 60 min free roll.

I agree, it's an interesting take on BJJ and specifically the BJJ comp scene. I've read it before, but I gave it another go here. I think technically, when it comes to how to prepare for competition, he's defiantly a rising star and might just land a world champ pretty soon at the Worlds. Just for instance, I saw a lot of his guys at the IBJJF here in Chicago earlier this year. Real solid crew, a lot of wins they got were by wrist lock. No one does wrist locks, hence, few people are expecting them. I think it's a weakness in the field that he saw and exploited by getting his guys to attack it. Excellent strategy. Here's the part of the interview I have a problem with: You’re either winning or losing. And each and every day you’re either moving closer or further away from your goal. No matter what your goals are. For BJJ, no matter if you want to compete or not. In life, deciding on what you would consider success and putting yourself in a position to become successful. 97% of the population is losers and only 3% of the population is winners and you have to decide what percentage group you want to be in. Then surround yourself, or find a way, to get around the 3% group. For example, in BJJ, if an instructor makes excuses for their students losses like, “Don’t worry about it, he was stronger than you, he outweighed you, he’s a 3 stripe purple belt and you just got your purple belt” then that instructor is in the 97% group, the 3 % group doesn’t make excuses. I could go on and on about this but hopefully you get my point. I believe that in everything that you do you’re either winning or losing, either doing what it takes to win or lose and you just have to be honest with yourself and decide if you want to be a winner or a loser. If you want to get your masters degree, then winning will be actually getting your masters degree. So. if in your quest for your degree and you skip a class, then you’re losing that day. If you fail to complete your homework, you are a loser that day and so one. You’re either winning or losing. This applies to everything. Attitude like this is largely in opposition with what most psych people will tell you is health for a normal life. Now, if all you ever want to do is compete, then it might be the way to go. What happens when you're done with that, have you really developed an internal loci of control to sustain happiness beyond your next medal? I don't know, but after a couple of decades in various arts, and a love of BJJ myself, I can certainly say I'd hate training in this environment. Personally, the attitude he talks about, upset by tapping in training, ect. I've never witness in gyms OTHER than hyper competitive focused ones. It's not a common attitude in BJJ culture. What I can appreciate in what he's saying is, again, centered around his technical breakdown of the game. He's worried about the fundamentals of his high level comp guys. This is SO overlooked by so many people these days it's refreshing to see new school guys preaching it as well.

Another good one, same tournament. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmJyet7O6cA

Here's a win...finally. As you can see, I finally got around to setting up a youtube account. I'm in blue. The wincing and such is from a groin shot I take during his move to stand, not the end of match flurry. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g6e1lt5NUM

Ok, the tech newbie might have actually gotten this fixed now. Link should be up.

Jay, here is a brief vid we cut the other day while training in regard to the idea of positional dominance. It's a brief look at how I think in regard to the concept, from up top to the ground. I hope its helpful for the discussion. Since most of my real-world experience in interpersonal conflict is in law enforcement, I mention some of how it effects my perspective, again, I hope it's helpful for the discussion. bushido man, Kuma, Callvin, if you have input as to the LE aspect please feel free to input. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQyqt4DKhRo

7/23 Drilled pendulum sweep. X guard sweep. 60 min free roll

7/22 Drilled takedown work for 15 Drilled shot, counter shot drill thru open guard posture for 15 Another 15 of takedowns, focus on lifting Final 15 of pendulum sweep series

7/21 60 min free roll. Yup, that's it. No drilling, techniques, ect. the 97 degree reading in the acadamy prompted a move to open mat and thus a quicker end to the night. On the up side, everyone was so trying to conserve what little desire we all had to roll, most people actually relaxed and did jiu jitsu.

It's Brazilian. Actualy, the more I think about it, the more I kInda think it might not be for me. I didnt like getting slammed in wrestling, so I doubt I'll like it in jiujitsu. However part of me wants to get over that and toughen up. I just wanna try new things. It sounds like you've gotten some good advice in this thread already and have a path kind of in mind. That's good. Let me just take a second to point out a bit of a misconception here that might lead a lot of people away from BJJ. You reference getting slammed in wrestling and hence, you'll probably not like it in BJJ. If you find a traditional art-focused BJJ school, you'll not have a bunch of slamming. BJJ's close association with MMA here in the states has kind of made people assume that this is the case. It's really not. In BJJ, a premium is placed on relaxation and flow. Very little on strength based ballistic movements. Even when we work takedowns, the same sentiment is in place. If that's the only thing holding your checking it out back, I think you might be surprised. Still, find the art that suits you and what you want best. Again, Justice and the others have given some excellent advice. Make sure and check out a few clubs before you sign on the dotted line to get a vibe from each to see how you'll fit. Keep us posted.

Welcome aboard KF!

NLK, just for clarification, are you talking about traditional jiu jitsu from Japan or BJJ? It's been an issue before. Clarification would help guide responses at bit. First off, if you're looking at JJJ, then chances are you won't have an knee issues that you wouldn't have an many other stand up arts. Coming out of a background in a standing joint position system, I can say that I'm certain that my knees didn't get stomped more than a lot of other guys here. If you're referring to BJJ, then Justice is right, there will be more activity with the legs. The obvious example is playing guard, especially when you look at some of the more exotic varieties like De La Riva. On a more common note, just the transitions and positioning can put your knees in odd positions from time to time. Now, don't let this discourage you if you're really interested. A good school with an emphasis on the art of it will treat your knees just fine, but be up front about your medical issues.

There's one I forgot- Smash Lite for Kids. What little tyke doesn't want a smaller version of what dad's wheeling around. What could go wrong.

This is even BETTER! It's planned obsolesce for the whole Smash Lite line . Think about it, it holds up for a good smash or two to practice. Then you break the thing defending yourself over bad guy's head. Who wouldn't go buy another! It just saved your life. The next life it saves could be your kid's.

"However, we're dealing with a group of people who frequently travel with guns and build giant un-wieldy spears, flails, and other ridiculousness. It's a matter of building a flashlight with a ball hitch on top of it (for whatever reason). " BTW- this has to be in contention for sentence of the year.

7/20 2 mile run pull ups neck curls bench squat abs .5 mile cool down on the treadmill, in air conditioning. Wow is it still hot out.