Rainbow_Warrior

TAllgeese is right , I would say that you may look at a local judo club. Judo is almost always cheap , and if you look at some traditional places , you will get some good matwork too.

My conversion to BJJ : Why did I leave Luta Livre First Part I have been grappling for about 2 years ( 1 year if we remove the time I was Ill and with lower back problems ) in a Style called Luta Livre . It is basically submission wrestling , with any submission legal ( including heel hook , and any neck cranck). I joined this place because I wanted to learn MMA , and I thought that ground in MMA was ALWAYS BJJ . I learned that , those grapplers used another stile very very similar , and most of the guys were nice , plus the gym has weights ( included with the grappling fee ) and was 8 blocks from home. I decided to stay , and I loved it. I learned a lot. But some things got me mad . 1 ) The level of the school was very good , some of the guys of my gym won the Budokan cup ( in Brasil) , it’s the equivalent of a BJJ world cup. I am a fair athlete , but I am not a prodigy , and in that school , the main teacher ( the only BB ) just pay attention to the elite grapplers. I passed a belt test , payed the fee . The instructor NEVER gave me the diploma ( It was no gi , so the diploma is the belt ). I told him several times , and the said ´´ I have to bring it , we are out of paper , blah blah ´´ . He didn’t like me , I knew it .That was the reason . Why ? because once , I tapped one of his instructors with a heel hook , and broke his leg - no intention of course - 2) The main instructor teaches at night , and at the morning we had a brown belt . This brown belt was one of the champs of the world cup. A ground genius , and a nice guy. I enjoyed his classes a lot . But this guy had to work in another job to earn his bread , so he couldn’t teach the morning class . This class was over , and the school opened an afternoon class , with some purple belt . This guy was a lazy dude. One day , nobody assisted the class , but me . He said , hey nobody is hear , I have to go…. What the hell ??? I was there , and he could grapple with me and teach me . NO…he just left. 3) The main instructor was always talking about respect , and he held the class in a semi military way. You had to use some special words to address him , and we have to bow at the beginning of the training . This respect , disappeared when he talked about BJJ . He has several books where he says that BJJ is a great art , but he always attack the kimono use in the books . In the class , he trashed BJJ , saying that it was ´´girly ´´ to forbid neck cranks and slamming , saying that pulling guard was an action of bjj of the same nature , and so . And when he enters a forum of martial arts , he talks about the respect ,and his friendship with local BJJ masters….OMG….. This guy is legit , he is also a legit muay thai instructor ,and a wrestling coach , he is a hard working guy and believes in his art , but he is full of hate towards BJJ , a hate that he imported from brasil in the 80s ( with earlier origins ) and now , doesnt even exists . BJJ does not care about its poor cousin SECOND PART Why I think that Bjj is Better? Because , Bjj has much more people working inside . Because , you can do Gi ,and no Gi (sub wrestling) . So….there is not any problem with the GI ! You always can remove it , but if you practice no gi , you can´t use the clothe in a self defense situation . Of course a guy who always do No gi , will have some advantage over a pure gi guy, but the gi guy can always remove it , and adapt QUICKLY. Now , I enjoy being part of the BJJ world . It´s fun , and I get along with the instructors . A 2dn degree and a plain BB told me that I have potential , and the pay attention to my game and try to help me improve all the time. Now , I am a proud BJJ guy. http://www.brazilianlutalivre.com/ Look at this site , in the english section under IBLLU . They say rickson gracie refused to fight Joao ricardo , and that BJJ offered to join bjj with high ranks .It sounds like trash

Hey thanks for the answers . I didnt write before cuz my computer got destroyed by some weird virus. Ps1 , good point . I know that when someone reachs your lapel , it may be late . But, just in case , I ´d like to see what can I do to counter that.... Kuma said something about breaking the grip . Its something that I try to do , but sometimes , I do not have time for that. Thanks for the help , and I ´d love to see more of vids you talked about

Hey ! I noticed that , I am a very easy prey for gi chokes. I Know how to defend most chokes that dont involve the use of the gi , but when dealing with gi stuff , I am like a innocent granny . My instructor did not teach me any defense (But I have learned gi chokes ) . He make me roll with every one and , and seems to be happy with my ground positioning and control. But I have been chocked from any position with the clothe when dealing with blue belts and up I know that my teacher will show me gi chokes soon, but I wanna know some basics ! Thanks

I just know a very few gi chokes. Im new with the gi as you know . Anything you want to upload , will be useful for me . Thanks. PD : If you can , want to , and have time , show the defence too thanks again

Hey , could you show some chokes using the gi ? ( yours or his )

Yes , almost always . The `place I knew without one , was my Sub. wrestling school. But the instructor was authoritarian. The problem here is that , this dumb got promoted to blue belt. And he thinks he is helio gracie in his prime , but the reality is that he kinda sucks for a blue belt . I cant wait for rolling with him . I dont think I can submit him , but Im sure he will get a big surprise with a hard time. Im 220 lbs , workout every day , and have 2 years in submission . I cannot use the gi properly , but I may defend myself.

Well today was my first class . About the color of the gi , you both ( pitbull and ps ) were right . Nobody said a word , and I saw other white belts with black gis. The instructor is Freddy Sukata , 2nd degree B. Belt under carlson gracie . He is the brother of Mario Sukata , Also Bjj black belt MMA fighter and coach of mma teams in brasil and the states . Mario is also the head instructor , but he is always in trip and has some other schools schools around the world The class is about 2 hs long . 3/4 hour of cardio ( I wanted to die , it was very demanding ) , and 40 mins technique , 35 mins rolling. I had to work with a MORON blue belt . He was the only guy with and ´´ attitude´´´. We worked arm bars and triangles , and the guy corrected me in a not very friendly way... I came from submission wrestling , and the set up of the triangle is not the same ( either the grips ) . It is not my fault , and we didnt work triangles a lot either in my other style. When I told him that I lack of elongation ( specially for that move, not in general ) , he said something like ( no acurate translation , not so agressive term ) : screw you . I just laughed....and continued my work . I think , if I am the new guy , I go there for learning..... I liked the sparring . I wanted to sparr with the bad boy blue belt ( he is not so good for what I have seen) , but he was busy eating some dust with a brown belt. I rolled with two guys. 1) The first , a good white belt , with a very used gi. The match was cool , started on our knees , I took him down ( or he let me do that to go to the guard ) . He tried some subs , I passed guard , but he restablished the guard many times....we endend in his guard. 2)The second guy . A newer white belt . He pulled guard , I opened his guard , and finished him with a toe lock from side control . We fought againd , I mounted him , and he tapped when I hiper extended his both legs with my legs. The people is VERY friendly , with the only exception of the Moron blue belt ( named Francis ) . I liked the class.

Hi ! Im back. I used to train submission wrestling , now Im starting BJJ . I went to the martial arts store , and asked for a gi . The only gi they had for my size ( I have big shoulders ) at that moment was a BLACK GI . I didnt want to waste time or wait for the supply of white / blue gis , so I DID BUY THE BLACK GI ! I am starting tomorrow ! I have readen that Black Gi´s are legal in bjj , but some people say they are cocky for a bjj rook.... I do have xperience in no gi , but It will be my first time with gi. Any advice ?

Not even fedor ?

Hey.... I am happy cuz I gave 110 %.... I knew that the victory was impossible (specially in the first fight) , I just stood to lose with dignity,and to make the other guy sweat . It was an honor for me to fight with superior grapplers. In the tournament files , I have lost the fight .... In my path as a martial artist and as a man , It was a victory , I won against my previous skills...I fought better than I do at my gym.. This one is the first time in my life that I am happy after losing.

Nice answer .. It gotta be true

hey guys. When I got to the town of the tournament location , my instructor told me ´´ dude , you are gonna fight in advanced, there is not a rook division here ´´ I was...not scared , but I thought ´´ well , I have two arms...lets learn how to live with one ´´... I decided to play UBBER DEFENSIVE ,to attack only if I had an awesome opportunity. 1)The first fight was against a 200 lbs , who represented my country with other few guys in the luta livre world cup in Rio, Brasil... I knew the guy and he has sparred with me and destroyed me before ( he is from the town where the tourney was set , but he comes here sometimes to train ) The fist 3 min , he couldnt take me down , but when he did he had two hooks under my underarms and proceeded to take me down , and look for the neck crank from there .I escaped, went for half guard...he passed the half guard , mounted...he couldnt submit.... The referee told us to stand up after some time ( it happens when the dominant guy doest move in much time and nothing changes ) Standing again , I got him in a guillotine , and took him to my guard... the guy had trouble to breath ...but he could escape...he passed to guard, side controled and mounted..... He pulled an americana , I was defending with both arms... I was feeling a tolerable pain...and THAT CRAPPY REFEREE STOPED THE FIGHT AND GAVE HIM THE SUB !!!!!!!!!!!!! I DID NOT TAPP 2) Second fight against a big 220 lbs dude....we spent 5 mins...I could not take him down , but we went to the floor without any points...He tried a a leg lock .... Painful , but I did not tap , and defended with my arms.... The fight was a draw in points , so we went to sudden death ! And he won with a take down. Any way...I feel very well....the first guy was a athletic beast with 7 years of trainin and the second has about 5 or 6 and I have a draw in the first part....losing by 1 point against such experienced ( and heavier) guy , is ok with me. All my team was happy with my fights ,and even the instructors of my opponents told me I did very well.. The freak of my instructor didnt say a word....cold dude...

Hey ! This is the way I think... I dont care about a broken arm... I am worried about dissapointing my team or the people who go there to watch my fight... I am a guy that can bear more tons of physical pain than a lowered ego.... I know I am wrong.....But its difficult to me to change it.

I know just one from closed guard , and a something inside the open guard . 1)From the closed guard You have to be very close to the guy : Elbows together (close as possible, paralel arms ideal) on his chest , grab the back of the head , and do LEVERAGE ! Like a biceps curl. 2) From the open guard (without going outside de guard either ) you raise a knee , and grab the feet- same side raised knee- with one hand by the toes and other hand in the ankle , it will look similar to americana. With the mentioned grip , twist the feet and take it to the back/buttocks of the rival.Normally , the guy would flip and lean on his chest because the pain PD :From the open guard you also have normal ankle lock and external and internal feet locks...But , these subs ends outside the guard.

I think that is cool...but isnt it up to the instructor ??? Some traditionalist old BJJ guys maybe wont do that. Im sure that a guy like yoshida could be nearly a BJJ black belt....but NOBODY will give such high rank to a ´´ foreing ´´ of the art.. Blue belt in the other hand... is more ´´handy ´´ to give to guys from other MA. Yeah ! I get your point...if a 5th dan olympic medalist Judo guy enters a BJJ white belt competition, its like ¿cheating ? not technically....but it is not fair.

There is some web page with a quiz that tells you if you are prone or not to road rage http://www.roadragers.com/ It is based on tests done in the main anglophone coutries , UK , US and AUS.

that is inaff ! thanx.

What if a guy like Fedor , Randy or Ken shamrock join a local BJJ club....... Would those guys start at white belt and get a purple belt or more in a month ??? ??

Have you ever been in a road rage incident ? Where I live , road rage is a very common thing..... Here is my story (one story.) Part of my work is to carry packs of cash in a bag ( my family business sells flour , and canned items to restaurants, etc ), and I ussually dont pay attention to agressive drivers.... One day I was insulted by a biker ( but was his fault, he appeared from my left at 100 mph)... the guy followed me and reached my car at the stoplight, then started to insult me.... I just wanted to kill him but I had about 50.000 bucks in my bag... I couldnt go out there to fight and leave that money in the car....If I lose that money , im lost , and my dad kills me . I had to keep myself cool...... but I felt like crap after that...All I wanted was revenge....Revenge, I know its not good...but sometimes we have lust for it. I am wrong ?

oh dude... we all have days and days.... I have days that I feel like batman , and others I feel like a mutant midget. If you are in a day you dont feel right to fight , dont do it. That guy is loser, he wants to fight just to make his day....but, dont let other people insult you that hard....search for a balance........

Thank you. About the ´´ takedown game ´´ , you are very right , I rather take the fight to the ground controling the head , etc. One problem here is I cant pull guard , or drop me to the floor( In fact I can , but is +1 for the opponent). If I lose by fair points , Im OK...All I want is not to tap. uhhh I was thinking about a monkey brain dinner in a congo food restaurant.

Well next april 12 I will fight my fist submission wrestling tournament. I have no previus grappling tournament experience , just have competed in western boxing and kung fu several years ago ( some kind of watered down sanda ). Its a national luta livre internal tournament , but other grapplers are welcomed. The here rules will be - No small joint ( yes to wrist locks , no fingers ) - leg locks , YES -Neck cranks , YES -Face locks , YES - Slamming , YES... Piledriver included ( I fear this one ) Fight time is 5 min. I will be fighting in the newbie division ( under blue belt). My concerns are My weight and Height. I am lil ´ lil´ bit under 200 lbs , so I will grapple up to 200. Im kinda small for my weight... I have pals in my gym who weight the same and are 6 feet something...while I am 5 ´8. Some of them are more built than me , but Im not fat.... I dont know why I weight that much. Some guys with the same muscle weight around 185 /180 lbs... Technique : I m not agressive , either defensive when rolling .....I tend to change a lot depending the day , or mood. I have days when I can give a blue belt a battle, others I am destroyed with more ease with the same guy. I learnt that...a take down can be almost all . I have done good sprawls and started a fight taking someone´s back.... And others , did the same to me ( and I started very bad ).. Should I wait the other guy to try to get my legs ? Play defensive ? What if nobody wants to shoot ?

well ,maybe you thought that with a reason. GJJ is the first and main branch of BJJ... But many other guys call BJJ to their style... I dont know how many GJJ shcools sparr frecuently without the gi. Is that practice uncommon? What I'm saying is when I think of BJJ, I think of gi. When I think of no gi, Is think that no gi bjj sometimes can be identical to sub wrestling , but there are some differences. It can be identical to no GI BJJ cuz 90 % of the guys are bjj guys. Many tournaments are based on the BJJ rules ( no slam , no neck cranks ,no leg locks sometimes ) But in a generic submission wrestling match , the rules can be different ( but i think that always the ruleset will go close to bjj ). But we can say that judo , bjj , sambo , catch , and luta livre ARE submission wrestling , because two guys are wrestling and looking for a SUB....you said it Semantics.... In luta livre for example , its always no gi....the ruleset is minimal for grappling ( neck cranks ,all leg locks and wristlocks allowed ), and slaming your rival is not only permited , but sometimes encouraged in a tournament ( not in practice with your training mates where it can be seen a unpolite, of course , unless both agree that.). You can win a match if you KO the guy against , because it is like the guy taps.

good ! I used to use a sweep 99 % identical in my kung fu years...I see that many guys from different backgrounds know similar things