What in the world can be said about Master Renzo Gracie that hasn't been said?The seminar with Renzo was incredible. In some ways, it reminded me of Saulo's seminar, Cobrinha's seminar and Christiano's seminar all rolled up into one. Like Saulo's there was a depth of knowledge and a history that could not be denied. Like Cobrinha, the techniques were all easy to remember and flowed from basic situations like pulling guard (or faking a guard pull) and passing the spider guard. And like Christiano's seminar, it was a total outpouring of support from the Gracie Barra Washington family. I've never seen so many Gracie Barra gis in one place!
Another note on this: it was great to see so many folks I haven't seen since I changed my schedule to train during the day - as well as many folks from Ballard I haven't seen since the last tournament. Very much a homecoming feel.
The techniques. Renzo showed us an armlock from standing that he called "the Tasmanian Devil". Like all the moves Renzo showed, "the Taz" had a great story behind it. What I especially liked about the Tasmanian Devil is that it can be used to go for an armlock as well as to take the back from a standing jiu jitsu clinch situation. I bet there will be a lot of GB'ers trying this at the next couple of tournaments!
From here Renzo showed us three different chokes. He went through some key details in the basic collar choke, including many things I had begun to think about/consider as I explore the submission. The work Renzo did in showing us how to be effective with the Ezekiel ("put a bag over his head, scratch your nose, then close the choke") was worth the price of the seminar alone.
Renzo also showed us that sneaky gi choke from side control where you bring up the tip of the lapel hidden in your hand, feed it to your other hand and then turn away and down for a reverse Frankenstein choke. This one was very similar to a choke that Christiano showed us in his seminar some time ago.
One of the things that was especially fun was a Q&A that Renzo did at the end, asking people what situations they were having difficulties with. Renzo provided some tips on being heavy in side control, dealing with spider guard grips without having to break them, how to triangle big guys by bracing your knee and moving backwards and, my personal favorite, a variation on the slingshot sweep that allows you to get to the top without having to risk bringing the guy's entire weight on top of you.
A lot to say. But the bottom line was that it was a great, great event and just what I needed to get started for the next two and a half months of preparation for the July Revolution.
