JiuJitsuNation

Is there also a style difference between the Carlos school and the Helio school? I was under the impression that Helio focused more on pure grappling strategy, whereas Carlos cross trained more and incoporated more strikes, which ironically is what Jiu Jitsu was before the popularity of Judo killed it off in Japan. The whole family incorporated strikes. Hence Vale Tudo

Eye poking, biting, groin grabbing and brick bashing don't really require practice. Also I have had people (some supposedly skilled some not) try to eye gouge in a fight and grab at my groin. I've also been kicked in the groin. I wouldn't rule them out but not exactly high percentage moves. Is it possible that you drew an incorrect conclusion? Eyes and goin are extremely vunerable targets, hence all combat sports ban them. But they're low percentage because they're small targets centered on the body, so they're easily defended. More difficult targets generally require more practice to attack them. Not less. They're more vunerable. Not easier to hit. About your skilled opponents, you know your opponents better than I do. But it is a possiblity that they claim to be skilled in eye and groin attacks because they were shown the technique at some time in their lifetime? I think you need to actually ask them a little about their actual training rather than take their word for it. I think that most people incorrectly assumes that eye and groin attacks require no practice. Then without practice, they try doing it doing a fight and fail. Then they assume that it's false target. But the reality is that their lack of training failed. I semi agree with you. My question is how do you train to bite, eye gouge and hitting people with random objects? I don't need someone to teach me how or where to bite I wouldn't bite in the first place> I have a thing about hygiene and body fluids. lol I've seen an art that revolves around biting which will just infuriate me not back me off. I tend to look at all situations as if the person is game and not easily detoured. Now me personally I am fully aware that if you stick you finger in a mans eye to the knuckle you'll find his off button. But honestly easier said thatn done.

I agree with ps1. It's a fantastic idea to have you !. training with guys and 2. competing against them. I know some very tough girls that tap guys in their weight class consistently. The only thing the guys will be thinking is "crap if I win I just beat a girl, and if I lose, I just got beat by a girl. That will be the extent to their thought processes. Plus there will be hundreds of eyes on you. No safer place to practice what you've been learning in my opinion.

With all the combined suggestions we have just created a well trained individual. lol I was under the impression we were looking for bare minimum.

I also have to wonder, after reading on thread after thread on forum after forum, how many people are just in denial. I hear terms like "us real martial artists" and things like this and think to myself is this person possibly training at a "real" dojo? This is coming from a person(myself) who has to be very patient (with myself) because I am extremely judgmental and idealistic. Once I came to realize my own behavior and tendencies I actually became a better instructor, competitor, husband, business man, etc. My point is most people are totally unaware of themselves, and can't step outside themselves to see where they really stand amongst their peers and society. They don't see how they are being seen. This is s truth I am aware of every day. I know many things about myself, but some people around me may see more than even I do about me here and there. It's easy to see others and yet very difficult and sometimes painful to look at ourselves. I have a womens class that is 90% stand up self defense techniques and some escape work on the ground. I make it perfectly clear to them what they are learning and why, so that they are not misinformed about their abilities. There are very few women that immerse themselves into any form of martial art, especially BJJ. However, the ones that do are amazing. So when I'm teaching those ladies I know in the back of my mind I want more for them in terms of their training, than they do for themselves... and so, I must accept that. So my goal is to make them as effective and efficient with those things, as I am with what I do for myself. I make them work very hard at those very basic things to create a flow and an ease about them when they do it, So that there is no thinking involved. I stood around for years learning to do the prettiest kicks punches and stances and forms. I really wanted to compete in forms because it was easy to me and I was good at it. Then a day came that I needed those tools for defending myself and they didn't work. Someone had taken my money for a little over two years, giving me tools and not showing me how to use them. I was devastated. I could kick straight up and down and do some wicked spinning jump back kicks and blahzay blahzay. But for what? So they could fill class time and keep collecting my money? Now I see, and have been into many schools and seen. Half of the instructors I have ever met have the mentality of, "I don't show my students everything, I keep some just for me." I am taken back by this. I'm like what??? Why would you do that? I want them to be better than me. I pray for the day one of my students starts handing me my butt on a daily basis. And doing it out of skill and not the fact that I just got old. Again there are so many things to be aware of. If we look at knowledge in terms of percentages then think about this. Lets say 2% represents what you know you know and 3% represents what you know you don't know. That leaves us with 95% knowledge that we don't know we don't know. With that being said wouldn't it be difficult to truly make a call about anything not knowing so much?? ok i'm done thanks for listening

http://www.facebook.com/cliff.fonseca

Here is his website. Just hoping to help everyone get to know him a little. In the initial pic he is sitting in the middle and his sons are sitting to his left and right. https://www.jacksonvillegraciejiujitsu.com

The difference between self defense and the "fighter" to me is a 120 pound woman fighting back enough to flee as she is to weak to engage much more. When teaching self defense this is the way I see it and teach it. It's the very basic moves that can be used by people who have less commitment and or less ability. Many of the techniques of course i would use however with my experience I would never be in those very common situations. And when I find myself in those situations where I have to act the consequences for everyone involved is greater. I intend to do more harm past a particular point than the person just wanting to get out of the situation. to me it's not about self defense vs. fighting. To me it's able to fight or not. Many people have not the ability nor the fortitude to engage. Many people do not have the physical abilities that many others have. Take Rhadi Ferguson, the guy can pick up 300 plus guys and literally toss them in the air just snatching them up with a high crotch. I'd say you'll get more than you want with that. Then look at any one of the ladies I teach in my womens only class and I just pray that day they choose to go home. There are many different breeds of people and this is what makes the differences. As tallgeese said why get into semantics?

I work the fundamental positions and the details involved in maintaining them. I also work the 101 escapes. But my philosophy is an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of escape. I break down for them how the movements used to get you out of bad position and into a neutral one can be used much earlier to prevent the situations all together. I address the side arm in the sense of keeping it away or covered but I am not involved in using the sidearm as tallgeese is. Not my area of expertise. The sprawl is actually part of our warm up and something they practice during two on one drills.

This seems like a contradiction.

1. A good sprawl. Important to defend the legs. 2. Basic clinching, some fundamentals from Muay Thai and some basic Greco or Judo. The Thai will help you keep some space and set up strikes while being jammed up. The Greco/Judo will help your balance. And even if your take downs don't develop you should learn to defend and avoid. 3. You should learn to escape every dominant position, which I believe is self explanatory! In a nutshell.

I think an ability to flow and respond helps both you and your partner. Especially in situations where ones experience is greater than anothers. The senior can get a good workout in while playing and the junior can spar at a learning pace. It's rare to see two beginners able to relax and flow. But as you move up you will find that you can and can be of great help to your newbies by allowing a chance to slow the ball down so to speak.

This is a great thread that everyone should give a read. Everything by MMA Jim is well put and factual.

Luiz Palhares was just promoted to the rank of master and given his red and black belt in Brazil. We are very proud and excited for him! He has over 30 years of jiu jitsu experience.

McDojos.... They are a dumbing down of martial arts so that more people can feel involved in them. Young, old, disabled and on and on. When i first started I thought what is wrong with these people? They are just going through the motions. They aren't real and they can't even fight. Some people are interested in martial arts and want to get a workout that makes them feel involved. I think it's ok as long as the instructor are students are realistic with what they are teaching or getting out of the program. At the same time sea biscuit didn't know he wasn't supposed to win, so who am I to say they won't actually be effective. The older I get the more I realize I don't know and what i think i know rarely matters to anyone else but me.

I've taken a little time to read through some of the responses so I will keep mine simple. I believe if you make an example out of the first guy, the rest will give more thought to trying you. My dad told me "son only fight if you have to and when you do make it count." I will give my child the same advice. Rules and laws don't stop the people who ignore them and I'm not going to take them into consideration when I feel pushed to that point. I got picked on a lot as I moved around a lot growing up. Sending a couple of kids to th er got my point across and I didn't miss a wink of sleep. The way I see it is I go through life minding and tending to my business and I don't bother anyone. When the point comes that I feel cornered and there is no way out but through you, I will make the paper if need be.

My advice is to choose partners wisely. Some people don't have it in them to take any sort of pain or discomfort and yet others thrive off of it. Control and technique are crucial and when I roll I look to catch submissions so clean there is little to no resistance. This is something I emphasize to my students. it's not so important to win on the mats as it is to learn and get better. On the other side of the coin you are in a safe environment and should expand on your comfort zones. Much easier to do in grappling of course. I have Law Enforcement Officers who quit when someone gets on top of them or they get tired. I try to express to them that they are in a safe place where they can push through their wanting to give up. I tell them to imagine they are laying in a ditch with someone on top of them who intends on taking their life. No one is coming to back them up, the radio is broken and the only person who can insure they go home that night is them. Now this is an extreme scenario but my point is their training at some point should reflect as close to real scenario and discomfort as possible. sometimes. This way you know you can take it, that you can see it through. I think if you have never been knocked on your butt, you should try it. Now I realize this isn't for everyone. But I encourage even my ladies to test their perceived limitations on what they can withstand. Most of us may never encounter that do or die situation, but wouldn't it be uplifting to know you can reach down deep?

ayyyyyyyyyyy!

True story. My answer to that is the same as when someone says (to me about jiu jitsu) what about in an alley where there is broken glass and syringes? I say where the heck am I? Why am I there? Just not a scenario I'll find myself in. Because the first line of defense is common sense. Seems to me a lot of people have some scene from a Charles Bronson movie in their mind when it comes to self defense. If you live in one of these areas and choose to stay there (I didn't, I moved) you should probably carry a gun, a knife, have a couple BIG dogs and lots of friends and a curfew.

I grew up in what was considered at the time murder capital of the world. When you live in a city where as you enter it it says have a nice day in Detroit with a yellow smiley face with a bullet hole in the head with blood trickling down the smiling face you know your in a wonderful place. And there are worse or equally bad out there. My point is I fought or saw fights on a daily basis and the majority did go to the ground and most people would just watch. I have had there friends come in and kick me in the face and on and on. But the truth from my life experience even in a place such as this there were usually no weapons and no one els involved. At the same time my uncle was stabbed 7 times on five different occasions in his yard. I would say the majority of fights will happen in your youth and if you had some ground game you would walk through school anywhere you lived with the utmost confidence. When I first started jiu jitsu and people would say yeah I heard you do karate or whatever and I would say NO! I don't do karate it's much different and I would try to explain and sometimes it would turn into a wrestling match for whatever reasons. The thing I heard most from the people who just needed to experience what I was saying first hand was 1. You cheated you tripped me and 2. You cheated you choked me. This makes me aware that before the Gracies came along people went to the ground with headlocks and wwf wrestling moves. And they didn't believe it was a fair man to man fight unless you stood there and punched people in the face. If I had to just be brutally honest and look at the literally hundreds of fights I got into from elementary school until my early twenties i would have to agree this is fairly accurate information. Of course I do have lots of experience rather than here say.

He employs and houses them. He really offers them the ability to just do jiu jitsu and surrounds them with the environment that is all jiu jitsu all the time. On top of that he seems to have a real eye for talent and work ethic. He has the means. Hes a great coach on the mats and in business.

Generally until one acquires a reasonable skill level they don't feel they CAN be effective with being aggressive. Most don't even realize that they have no ability to relax because they are just.. well.. fighting. Once you have a considerable amount of live time you will start to relax. i tell my students to relax everyday and everyday I have the same people turning blue in the face. I also hear things like if I relax I get tapped more. Well this is because of the lack of technique because compensated by the extra force. Better to learn how to relax and rely and trust in the technique earlier than later.

Eye poking, biting, groin grabbing and brick bashing don't really require practice. Also I have had people (some supposedly skilled some not) try to eye gouge in a fight and grab at my groin. I've also been kicked in the groin. I wouldn't rule them out but not exactly high percentage moves.

Not to be argumentative but to be good at striking you need a partner. Other wise you may just teach yourself to look pretty punching a bag or the air. To be good at any martial art you need partners and a good coach.