tallgeese

Yeah. First I’ve heard of it.

I think it's preference and what you're looking to get out of training. It's certainly a viable entry point. That said, when you look at this, and JKD, there can be some quality control issues because you're really looking a framework in SOME cases rather than an in depth understanding. Again, not saying always. I kind of like the idea that you're dealing with each art individually. This lets you get a really deep look at not just the techniques of each but the overall strategy. This lets you start to have a better understanding of how to best work them together. For you. Roy Harris talks about this quite frequently when it comes to developing individual art skills, then you pit them against each other, then you start to meld them once you understand the strengths and weaknesses of each. It's a long process but, I think, ultimately more well rounded. Then questions is how much do you need to know of each. I'd argue that a strong grasp of the fundamentals and tactics of each. That's around high blue or purple in BJJ. Probably brown or black in many karate arts. A couple of years boxing or MT. It's dependent. I also think that this can occur concurrently, it's dependent on the time available to the fighter. Just some thoughts. As with all things, each individual will have to best judge what works best for their situation.

Totally proud of it. It represents, as so many have said, a degree of work and effort. That's it. There's no reason to denigrate it or exalt it. I'm proud of it for what it says I've committed to and done.

I'd agree. The low back will be something you have to work around. It does not mean you can't do it. I'd try to find a school that's less competition focused or go to classes that aren't geared to that. 40 plus classes are getting more common. There's a segment of the BJJ population that really focuses on flow roll and very little hard rolling. Try to find a place with that kind of vibe. Also, as you get into the point where you're rolling during open mat, don't be afraid to just tell people you're going light or flowing. If you respect it, they should as well. If they don't, don't roll with that person again. By the time you're cut loose to open mat you'll know who to avoid. Give it a shot and keep us posted!

Sorry for the delay! Thank you all!

Every night, with whatever I'm teaching, I try to give the students everything I know about the matter at hand.

MWF: Kids 5-6 Fundamentas 6-7 Advanced 7-8 Open Mat 8-9 Tues/Thurs No Gi 7-8 Open Mat 8-9 Sat Self Defense BJJ 10-11 Open mat 11-12 Sunday Open Mat 12-1

Visit the schools. Meet the people. Pick the one that fits you best. That said, here are a couple things to keep in mind: Wrestling is intense. Really intense. Which is why it's such a great base for MMA these days. Depending on the club (and you and your goals) this may or may not set well with you. Judo will do takedowns always. No really. Always. I hate bouncing off the mat over and over again. It's effective. No doubt. I also have do doubt that I'm not dealing with that multiple times per week. BJJ will give you a lot of roll time, a great work out, underlying SD application to a degree and not do as much of the two above. That said, highly competitive schools will push during open mat as well. At least you won't bounce off the mat every rep most weeks. None are better or worse. Visit and meet the people.

Distance control is the answer for each and every guard. Either opening or closing, which will lead to you a set of tactics for each. The application of which one will depend on you, him, the situation, and environment. My favorite is the one that the door is open to. I'm partial to butterfly and spider for the simple reason that those are the ones I like, so I drill them more, hence I am more reliable with them across a wider array of situations. Superior depends on situation and the training of each fighter. I do think everyone needs a solid closed guard game. It's the one you'll want when all else falls apart. Sweep or submit? What the situation, what's your partner doing, what are your goals in the encounter, and what have you trained the most. No right or wrong.

I think the premise is flawed. EBI and FTW are not "most". The IBJJF and it's clones are the dominate force in competitions to date. The pass is still awarded 3 points and I have yet to roll with anyone of rank who is not a monster when in comes to the guard pass or who has bad pressure. Of course there are better and worse but that's wildly different than a lack of.

I disagree with the bold line above. It's often misunderstood. The goal of submission is not permanent injury to a training partner. What happens in a SD situation if no tap (submission) is respected or given? An arm that can no long hold a weapon or be effectively used to attack until you've had your reconstructive surgery and therapy. How about a choke that isn't release? That's death. The tap is a way to practice devastating tactics without the ramifications without it.

Jiu jitsu is also a big art. most of us don't have time to explore all of it. Let me be honest. As a black belt and a school owner. There's lots of advanced tactics I don't know, don't do, and don't teach. No, I'm not working on the bermbolo, worm guard, or whatever the new super move is. It's just not my game. Now, I can show you some pretty cool set ups and "advanced" application of side control and spider guard. Because that is my thing. But what drives these? Weight distribution, connection manipulation, fundamental technique and tactics strung together in ways that allows me to chain action that is "advanced" in nature. I'm not saying those other things are bad, just that they aren't my thing and I don't have time to make them my thing. If we're honest, this is probably true of most of us. If you're winning high level comps like the worlds and pans you're already training more than probably 80 percent of the jiu jitsu population. You have should have some stuff the rest of us don't do regularly in you tool box. It's math. The solid grasp of the basics also ensures that you have something to go back to when all else fails. I like spider guard. I got punched in the face hard doing it once and I'm all loopy. Guess what, because of the basics I had the option to pull to closed guard and sweep. Even with my head ringing, because someone made me revisit the fundamental constantly. They will always be there with situation ally some of the specific things we do might not because of one reason or another. It's just a matter of determining how much training time you have and comparing that to your goals then making sure the two match.

This. Every advanced movement is just a string of fundamental techniques pieced together in a unique string. That's why they are important. Those parts can function individually or in concert.

Hey all, sorry for the absence the last few months. This is a subject near and dear to me on multiple levels. First up, I think any martial arts school that wants to experiment with grappling should do just that- experiment. I think that there are better and worse ways to this, the best being to bring in someone who actually is skilled in the art they are dabbling in. In the case of the guard, bring in a BJJ guy to discuss the how, and most importantly, the WHY. This is the largest overlook in most of these incidents. BJJ is one of the few arts that actually has a good answer to what to do once you end up on your back in a fight. The guard is our way to control distance in this situation. A critical component of any fighting. Maybe THE critical component. Once established, it lets up keep an opponent out of range as with an open guard, or close distance via breaking posture with the closed guard. Each has a set of tactics that allows a practitioner to fight at that range or regain his footing. Now, how does that apply to a non-grappling art that may be experimenting? That's up to those fighters. But they need a foundation from an experienced guy or gal. As to the "why pull guard" question. It's largely one of two things: 1) a competitive tactic that puts a good guard player in position to capitalize on the point reward for sweeps. It awards the same amount of points as a takedown. I don't understand why competitors wouldn't capitalize on a tactic that awards the same points as another BUT from a position that we train from far more often. This is perfectly valid. I think the "you should learn takedowns" hate crowd on guard pulling in competition is silly under the current rules. Want more takedowns? Change the point structure. Until that happens, accept people will pull guard and look to sweep. 2) It's a training modality in some instances that lets people work their guard. If your training SD or MMA you don't WANT to be on your back. This is an overlooked fact. Just because we have an answer doesn't me it's our first option. I'd rather be on top during a ground fight. But if we never practice negative position we'll never have adequate responses from there. Hence, pulling guard lets two partners who are doing stand up primarily move to a ground position to work off their back, and of course the counter. The kind of thing is no different than any other artificial contrivance we put on sparring or live training to specifically work on things. Now, you have to understand what you're adding grappling to your repertoire for. That's something that people experimenting need to answer right out of the gate. Obviously, 1 and 2 above are two different things with wildly different approach's. Delineating what you want to get out of it is a critical step to maximize growth and prevent frustration.

No, its not rubbish. There is a counter for everything, and the best way to avoid getting locked up is to not get there in the first place. Its a testament to training, in my opinion. This kind of training should push a student to learn new ways to set up their techniques, so as to hide the fact that they are coming, or cause the opponent to be concerned about some other threat, perceived or not, and use it to set up the initial threat. Agreed. There are no absolutes. Both competitive and road experience have shown this to be true. Sometimes is because of a skilled response by the opponent (usually in competition) and sometimes it's dumb luck (reality) and things need to flow. The ability to flow from linked movement to movement in a organized, systematized fashion is what counters this eventuality.

I think it's over used. Is mindset during conflict (sport or SD) important? Totally. However, all the mindset in the world will not save you when it's go time if you didn't take the time to build a physical skill set. It's the engrained physical capability, driven by a winning mindset, in conjunction with one another that wins fights. Now, some have argued that mindset is important in the development of the physical skill set. On this I agree 100 percent. That, to me, is the true disciple of the MAs. Going in day after day, week after week, year after year, to practice something you hope you never need. Getting up time after time. that's the discipline that is truly of value. Not formalized ritual. In this mindset is critical and likely at its most useful.

Having gone through something similar recently, I think you should tell him. 6 years is a long time especially if you have been having private lessons with him and I think you at least owe him to be upfront about your intentions. After 6 years it could hurt him more if you were to leave suddenly and turn up somewhere else. What's the worst that's going to happen? If he gets angry at least you can close that chapter of your life and move on. This. You may not "owe" him anything but it's just good form when making a change like this. Let him know, it will make things less awkward in the long run.

The only real break away that occurred in my MA career was from my first BJJ coach. This had nothing to do with politics and such but sheer proximity. I was driving 45 minutes one way to train from white to purple. I had an instructor open a school literally less than five minutes from my home. This was done very up front at the end of a contract cycle. This moved me from Nova Unaio to Renato Tavares as an association. Now, this was the best break up in jiu jitsu history, but anytime a purple belt moves schools kind of locally it makes ripples.

I found it totally useful. I got the chance to train with a great boxer while at college after about 3-4 years of training kempo. This exposure let me add more fluid footwork to my repertoire. It also let me focus on my hands specifically and how to apply them under fight conditions. The live nature of mitt work and sparring also directly applied to fight application. I think that it's time well spent for any practitioner of the fighting arts.

Happy Birthday!!!

Welcome to KF!

The logo we use is the avatar I use here. The triangle is one of those things that has been with me since I started jiu jitsu. It's common in some for in a lot of schools logos. Each of the points represent something. For us, the inverted triangle puts the most important aspect of these at the base, or the foundation of the others. So, the points of the triangle represent the three pillars of jiu jitsu: the art, the competition, and the self defense aspects. The point at the bottom of our logo represents the art, the foundation from which the other aspects grow. Here's an old video where I talk about it: It kind of breaks it down. It also highlights the lineage we come from, the basic design is derivative of my coaches school. Which means a lot to both of us.

Welcome to KF! Looking forward to your perspective.

Nice work!

Sure. That's an accurate statement. Here's a couple of things to think about. First, training methodology matters. Like REALLY matters. It's almost, note: almost, more important that what you're learning. MMA excels in it's methods. Fighters that walk in the door within 6 months will have had endless rounds on the pads, hit hard with their hands, have some decent kicks, be able to shoot a single and defend it, and will (most importantly) sparred heavily quite a bit. That's a tactical advantage on many (not all) trad artists who within 6 months will have very static movements and a couple of katas. Second, as a result of the sparring, they KNOW what it's like to get hit, stuffed, and fight from bad positions. In fact, they've done this not only against other strikers, but wrestlers and grapplers. They've faced multiple modes of aggression already is a huge equalizer. Last, any MMA gym you walk into places a high premium on conditioning. Making the body harder to kill cannot be understated. Sure, trad arts condition, but the average MMA gym will be light years ahead on this than your run of the mill trad school. It just has to do with the level of movement and stress they place the fighters under. Now, please note I'm not arguing that MMA is some ultimate self defense art, I'm just pointing out that MMA builds attributes that WORK in conflict. It's lack of "illegal" techniqes is so over sold it's not funny. Here's the thing about illegal tactics, they are illegal in completion for a reason. Now, how hard to you practice these in trad arts? Ever really gouge someone's eye out to train? Over and over again to make it perfect? Of course not. How many times has an MMA fighter thrown a jab? Literally hundreds of thousands? Likely. Which tool will be more prepared for combat? Repetition matters. Again, no one is better, but to sell a system short because of a lack of illegal tactics is selling it short.