The Daily* Oss: Kron Gracie Returns to MMA

Competing at the Rizin Fighting Federation event, Kron's triangle choke victory gives him a 2-0 record as a mixed martial artist.

Also on the card, Gabi Garcia made her MMA debut, finishing Lei'd Tapa by TKO in round one.

2016 PNW Grappling Season Begins Jan 30 with Ground Warrior Submission Challenge

The top notch talent of the Pacific Northwest is still the best kept secret in American grappling. If you're interested in doing your part to help put PNW grappling and jiu-jitsu on the map, there's no better way to support the art than by supporting PNW grappling events.

Starting off the PNW grappling calendar is the Ground Warrior Submission Challenge in Salem, Oregon on January 30. Sponsored by the Oregon National Guard, the Ground Warrior Submission Challenge is a submission-only, round-robin event. Entry fees are $55 for gi OR no gi, and $85 for both until January 1st.

Prices increase by $10 on Monday, and another $10 after January 18th, so if you're planning on competing, act soon to take advantage of early bird savings.

The Ground Warrior Submission Challenge is in its third year. Gracie Barra Washington/Federal Way's Phil Raby took home gold in the men's brown belt division last year. Superheavyweight gold medalist Shaun Kiatvongcharoen from Impact Jiu-Jitsu won the men's purple absolute division. Among top women competitors, Hannah Sharp of Renzo Gracie Portland won the purple lightweight division.

Check out the full results from seasons one (2013) and two (2014) - including no-gi and children's divisions.

Getting Better and Throwing Down: A Striking Coach Talks Training

Luke Thomas: If there were no concerns about brain injury or beating the body down, would you still taper back on some of the sparring?

Brandon Gibson: Yeah, a lot of these guys I see spar from almost a conditioning element or moral-psychological development. I don't know how many go in and spar with purpose or intent to work on X, Y and Z and implement A, B and C. I think they just get in with guys who are the sparring partners that want to impose their will and they try to impose their's right back and they leave too many miles in the gym.

I'm an advocate that if you're going to spar, you should spar with intention on getting better. You should go in there with a game plan that will be applicable to your upcoming fight, not just go in there for the sake of throwing down.

Check out the rest of the interview with striking coach Brandon Gibson here.

The Daily* Oss: Demian Maia is Sherdog's Comeback MMA Fighter of the Year

Maia reversed the narrative set in motion by Father Time. The 2007 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships gold medalist’s celebrated jiu-jitsu game was on full display over the past 12 months, as he continued to build on an often-overlooked resume. Outside of his June 2011 defeat to Mark Munoz, Maia has lost only to fighters who have either fought for or won UFC championships during their careers. His latest run of success represents his strongest stretch since he entered the UFC and became the only fighter in history to tap out five consecutive opponents.

Read the rest at Sherdog.com

On the Minute Monday

10 single-arm db snatch / 5 minutes

5 thrusters / 5 upright rows / 5 minutes

matwork  /  20 reps

The Daily* Oss: Post EBI 5 Interview with Gary Tonon

If you watch the EBI (the Eddie Bravo Invitational) series, then Garry Tonon needs no introduction. 

And if you don't watch EBI, I strongly encourage you to start.

The Daily Oss: "All the New Thinking is About Movement ..."

in this, it resembles all the old thinking* ..."

* With apologies to Robert Hass

Circuit Saturday

Berardi complexes / 3 rounds

"Totin' barges 'n' liftin' bales" / 2 hrs

The Daily* Oss: ATH on the Jiu-Jitsu of Demian Maia

The only thing better than this breakdown of the Maia v. Nelson matchup from UFC 194 last weekend is the fact that there is more to come. This first installment from ATH focuses on the initial confrontation between the two submission artists, Maia's trip strategy to get the fight to the mat, Nelson's backstep counter, and Maia's response to the counter.

Great stuff. Looking forward to more!

Acid Thursday

LSD (long slow distance) cardio / 30+ minutes

Acid Tuesday

LSD (long slow distance) cardio / 30+ minutes

The Daily* Oss: Luke Thomas on Luke Rockhold's Mount Game

Today's Oss is the breakdown and analysis of Luke Rockhold's mount game by MMA Fighting Senior Editor, Luke Thomas (@SBLukeThomas).

I think it is crucial for anyone who practices jiu-jitsu to pay attention to how jiu-jitsu is applied in mixed martial arts. If Mars came down from his heaven and forced me to choose between getting my jiu-jitsu fix from watching sport jiu-jitsu or from watching MMA, I'm not entirely sure which option I'd pick.

What's great about this analysis (and there's a lot to like) is that these details about Rockhold's mount game are applicable to anyone who trains on the mat: from sports jiu-jitsu inversion artists to MMA grapplers whose guard game is to just stand up.

There's also very detailed analysis of Ryan Hall (!) taking the back of Artem Lobov en route to winning The Ultimate Fighter Finale.

The whole piece is worth checking out (seriously). Otherwise the Ryan Hall analysis begins around 5 minutes in or so, and the Rockhold analysis starts around the 28th minute. 

I said this years ago and it's more true today: if an art can be judged at least in part by the quality of its critics, then martial arts are in very good shape, indeed.

* The Daily Oss will be as "daily" as there is Oss and energy enough to report it.

On the Minute Monday

10 thrusters / 10 db upright rows / 5 minutes

10 single-arm db snatch / 5 minutes

3 rounds matwork

Joe Rogan Interviews UFC Flyweight Champion, Demetrious Johnson

I cannot recommend highly enough this extended, three-hour conversation between Joe Rogan, color commentator for the UFC, and Demetrious Johnson, the promotion's flyweight champ and pound-for-pound top 10 fighter. If you ask Rogan, "DJ" is as good as it gets in mixed martial arts, and I'm inclined to agree.  And the fact that Demetrious trains in and represents the Pacific Northwest is just a big fat delicious cherry on top.

Rogan has his detractors. But if you are a fan of the art of combat, his conversation with Demetrious Johnson is not to be missed.

Marcelo Garcia on Training Intensity: "To Make It Harder for Me"

Patterns of Conflict: "To Pull Them Apart"

Blitz and guerillas, by operating in a directed, yet more indistinct, more irregular, and quicker manner, operate inside their adversaries' observation-orientation-decision-action loop or get inside their mind-time-space as basis to penetrate the moral-mental-physical being of their adversaries in order to pull them apart, and bring about their collapse.

--John R. Boyd, Patterns of Conflict

Metrics: Aug 30 - Sep 5

Training Days: .

Tue / Thu 

Four Week Training Average: 

2.0 / week

Techniques of the Week

GB Curriculum Week 3

Strength & Conditioning

Tue pm - (pre-train) 5x5 vertical jumps; 5x20 hipscapes

(post-train) 5x10 breakfall/techlifts

Thu pm - (pre-train) 5x5 vertical jumps; 5x20 hipscapes

(post-train) 5x10 breakfall/techlifts

Weight (w/gi)

159.6 lbs - Tue pm

157.4 lbs - Thu pm

Live Training

21 min - Tue pm

8 min - Thu pm

Metrics: August 23 - 29

Training Days: .

Tue / Thu 

Four Week Training Average: 

2.0 / week

Techniques of the Week

GB Curriculum Week 2

Strength & Conditioning

Sun noon - 3x60s ISO deadlift / ISO overhead press

Tue pm - (pre-train) 5x5 vertical jumps; 5x20 hipscapes

Thu pm - (pre-train) 5x5 vertical jumps; 5x20 hipscapes

Sat noon - 8 min BoxSteps; DB row circuit 3x10

Weight (w/gi)

158.0 lbs - Tue pm

157.4 lbs - Thu pm

Live Training

8 min - Tue pm

8 min - Thu pm

Metrics: August 16 - 22

Training Days: Tue / Thu

Four Week Training Average: 2.0/week

Techniques of the Week

GB Curriculum Week 1

Strength & Conditioning

Tue - 100 hipscapes 

Thu - 100 hipscapes

Sat - LSD (treadmill); DB circuit row

Weight (w/gi)

158.8 lbs - Tue pm

157.4 lbs - Thu pm

Live Training

12 min (specific) - Tue pm

COMBATE! Northwest Grapplers Get Ready

Summer's almost gone and there are only ...

3 Weeks Until the Oregon Open in Hillsboro, Oregon (September 12th)

6 Weeks Until the NAGA Seattle Championships in Everett, Washington (October 3rd)

8 Weeks Until the Proving Grounds VII Submission Only Tournament in Bellevue, Washington (October 17th)

9 Weeks Until the IBJJF Seattle Open in Everett, Washington (October 24th)

11 Weeks Until the Revolution XXIV Tournament in Tacoma, Washington (November 14th)

Why I Fight: Genesis 32:25-29

"Then some man wrestled with him until daybreak. When he saw that he did not defeat Ya‘akov, he struck Ya‘akov’s hip socket, so that his hip was dislocated while wrestling with him. 

The man said, 'Let me go, because it’s daybreak.' But Ya‘akov replied, 'I won’t let you go unless you bless me.' The man asked, 'What is your name?' and he answered, 'Ya‘akov.' 

Then the man said, 'From now on, you will no longer be called Ya‘akov, but Isra’el; because you have shown your strength to both God and men and have prevailed ..." 

Metrics: August 9 - 15

Training Days: Tue / Thu

Four Week training average: 1.50

Techniques of the Week

GB Curriculum Week 16

Strength & Conditioning

Tue - 100 hipscapes 

Thu - 100 hipscapes

Weight (w/gi)

158.0 lbs - Tue pm

157.0 lbs - Thu pn

Live Training
12 min

First and Second Gen Jiu-Jitsu in America

Enjoying this on a quiet Saturday afternoon ... appreciate your history!

EBI 4 is Coming

Looking to organize a superfight among jiu-jitsu grapplers in your area? Consider EBI the blueprint. Women, Masters, Adults, Blue-Belt Only .. There's no better way to showcase your local talent in the category of your choosing than the submission-only format - with special submission-based overtime rules - devised by EBI.

Check out the preview to the upcoming event above. Get access to every EBI event 1-3 here. And let's get the campaign started for an all-women's EBI in 2016!

Metrics: Aug 2 - 8

Training Days: Sun / Tue  

Four Week training average: 1.50

Techniques of the Week

GB Curriculum Week 15

Strength & Conditioning
Tue - 100 hipscapes
Sat - Matwork/Berardi

Weight

159.2 lbs - Sun noon

158.0 lbs - Tue pm

Live Training

60 min (specific training - Sun)
34 min (Live Training - Tue)

Maia!

You'll find few fans who are more passionate about Fabricio Werdum than yours truly. But when it comes to martial artists in MMA who are keeping the jiu-jitsu banner flying high, Demian Maia takes second place to nobody.

Congratulations to Demian on a great victory tonight, and much thanks for being a true inspiration and example for jiu-jitsu-focused martial artists competing in mixed martial arts.

EBI 4 is TWO WEEKS AWAY!

The Eddie Bravo Invitational (#EBIistheAnswer) is the most innovative phenomenon in competitive jiu-jitsu and sport grappling. The next event, EBI 4, is Saturday, August 15th. Watch it live here.

As great as ADCC and Metamoris are, EBI is better. Obviously better, in my opinion. The true genius is in the overtime rules, which reinforce what makes jiu-jitsu special as both an effective, real-world martial art as well as a spectator-friendly, combat sport.

See for yourself.

EBI 1: Featherweights / Welterweights

EBI 2: Bantamweights / Lightweights

EBI 3: Welterweights

Metrics: July 26 - Aug 1

Training Days: Tue / Thu 

Four Week training average: 2.25

Techniques of the Week

GB Curriculum Week 14

Strength & Conditioning

LSD - Sun

HICT (100 hipscapes - pre-train) - Tue

LSD - Thu

HICT (100 hipscapes - pre-train)

Weight

158.2 lbs - Tue

158.6 lbs - Thu

Live Training

10 min

TGIF: Electric Light Orchestra

What a ten-year old burientopteam was rocking in the second half of the Seventies.

Five Grappling PPV This Weekend - Discount Ends Thursday

If you are thinking about watching the Super League event sponsored by Five Grappling this weekend, then you've got about 24 hours to save 20% on the PPV fee of $25.

The event features two tournaments - women's and men's - as well as a pair of superfights that should be very entertaining. Keenan and Otavio have never competed against one another (check out this preview of their upcoming contest). But Joao Miyao and Gary Tonon participated in a closely contested match as brown belts a few years ago. Here's a preview of their upcomintg Five Grappling match. And here are links to the pair's first contest (Part 1 and Part 2).

Conditioning for Jiu-Jitsu: Generally Speaking

Question: Which off-mat, general conditioning technique is best for the jiu-jitsu artist?  

A. Running
B. Cycling
C. Rowing
D. Climbing
E. Other

Answer: A few years ago, a teammate and fellow black belt talked about how his BMX cycling was helping his guard work, and I've been intrigued ever since.

Now that I've joined a commercial gym and have access to a few resources, I'm going to start doing more of my general aerobic work on the bike instead of the treadmill or box step.

The "why" here is straightforward.  Pedaling doesn't exactly mimic the kind of extending and contracting with the legs that takes place in the guard (especially the open guard).  But it is impressively close - especially when we remember that we are talking about general rather than specific conditioning in this instance.

I'm also a big fan of rowing. In fact, I'm thinking that a combination of cycling and rowing might be optimal forms of general conditioning for jiu-jitsu artists. Both provide opportunities to improve aerobic capacity/output and power through LSD and intervals. And even though it's hard to advocate additional sitting in anyone's life, there's a strong argument that cycling might trump running for jiu-jitsu artists looking for conditioning techniques that are both effective and mimic as much as possible jiu-jitsu movements.

Rowing involves a great degree of upper body, horizontal pulling - which also has especially guard-friendly applications in terms of general conditioning. Like cycling, rowing has the "sitting down problem", but insofar as we're focused on which general conditioning activities are most supportive of jiu-jitsu, the benefits of 20-30 minutes cycling or rowing likely outweigh the downside of further improving the weight-bearing ability of your backside.

As for climbing, I think climbing as a conditioning strategy for jiu-jitsu is a perfect example of the "jiu-jitsu is isometric" fallacy that you still hear from some folks from time to time.

And with regard to the "Other" category, there are general conditioning strategies and resources, the most interesting to me being tools like the Versaclimber. And while the VersaClimber is a very attractive piece of equipment, most people have a much harder time accessing one compared to a bike or even a rowing machine - to say nothing of a treadmill, track, or trail.

---

Read previous installments of my Conditioning for Jiu-Jitsu series:

• Conditioning for Jiu-Jitsu
• Conditioning for Jiu-Jitsu: Programming

Metrics: July 13 - 18

Training Days: Tue / Thu 

Four Week training average: 2.25

Techniques of the Week

GB Curriculum Week 12

Strength & Conditioning

HICT (100 hipscapes) - Tue

HICT (100 hipscapes) - Thu

Weight

156.6 lbs - Tue

157.4 lbs - Thu

Live Training

none

McGregor v. Duffy: Katagatame

All I Want for Christmas is Roger Gracie's Guard

Why I Fight: Conor McGregor

“I didn’t get into this game because of the sport, or because of sport. I was never interested in sport fighting. When I started training for combat sports, for self- defense, it was never to win a national title or never to win anything like that. I don’t give a shit about that. 

I done it to be able to defend myself in any situation that I found myself in. Because I felt if I was finding myself in any situation, I wanted to be able to be comfortable in them. 

That’s why I began doing this: to be comfortable in uncomfortable situations.”

Metrics: June 28 - July 4

Training Days: Tue / Thu 

Four Week training average: 2.25

Techniques of the Week

GB Curriculum Week 10

Strength & Conditioning

HICT (100 hipscapes) - Tue

HICT (100 hipscapes) - Thu

Weight

157.8 lbs - Tue

155.8 lbs - Thu

Live Training
none

Metrics: June 21 - 27

Training Days: Tue / Thu 

Four Week training average: 2.25

Techniques of the Week

GB Curriculum Week 9

Strength & Conditioning

HRI (quick lifts) - Tue

HICT (100 hipscapes)

HICT (100 hipscapes) - Thu

Anaerobic Threshold (box steps) - Fri

Weight

160.4 lbs - Tue

158.0 lbs - Thu

Live Training

none

Conditioning for Jiu-Jitsu: Programming

When it comes to general conditioning for combat athletes, 8 Weeks Out is my go-to source for insights and solutions. Personally, I consider Jamieson's work to be top shelf and I've been a fan of his since doing my first HRV protocol five years ago.

But what I'm especially interested in is the kind of real combat sport/martial art-specific conditioning that is designed to train the body to perform better at Brazilian jiu-jitsu. And that requires a focus on the very specific fundamental/critical movements of Brazilian jiu-jitsu: hipscapes, tech lifts, sitouts, reverse pivots, box drills, "back2bellies" (hipscape to turtle), and so on.

In other words, if you are doing "conditioning for jiu-jitsu" and your conditioning routine involves more running than reverse pivots and level changes, more time swinging kettlebells than combining explosive bridges with hip-evacuating elbow escapes, then, as the kids say, you're doing it wrong.

At least to the extent that you are doing conditioning for jiu-jitsu.

Conditioning for jiu-jitsu means programming your body to respond immediately and accurately in a specific fashion when given the command to perform a jiu-jitsu act. And that command shouldn't necessarily be especially conscious, either. Starting this month, I've starting spending a few minutes after every class doing 100 hipscapes and I'm surprised at how readily my body responds when I'm training and I only have to ask for one or two. There's no way you are not doing better, more efficient, hipscapes if you are practicing them in excess of 1,000 times a month.

Think about doing that for your technical lifts, your single-legs, your sit-outs, your triangle chokes, your take-the-back move from guard ...

One of the beautiful things about jiu-jitsu is the way that everything - or, at least, much of what you need in order to be successful - is reducible to basic movements. Find those basic movements and you have the building blocks of a specific conditioning program for jiu-jitsu, rather than something borrowed from wrestling or sambo or judo or mixed martial arts.

Above: Runners running to get better at running.

Specific conditioning is one of the reasons why your middle-aged professor - who hobbles across the mat before class like someone in his 80s - can still handle the 20-something kid with energy to spare. The professor's body has been conditioned for jiu-jitsu by doing thousands of hipscapes, technical lifts, sitting-up-in-guard ... You've heard of "Old Man Strength" in weightlifting? I'd argue that skill-specific programming in a highly technical art like jiu-jitsu runs just as deep and just as long.

What I want to emphasize is that basic aspects of conditioning - growing aerobic capacity and power, increasing muscular endurance, and maintaining a general level of above-average strength - will make you a better athlete, and should be pursued by jiu-jitsu artists. No question about that. Again, 8 Weeks Out will get you done.

But specific conditioning can make a massive difference when it comes to truly being able to leverage your technical, jiu-jitsu skills into outperformance on the mat. And the smaller, older, and/or more fatigued you are, the more this technical leverage induced by deeply-conditioning your body for jiu-jitsu really matters.

Try This
Pick a very general jiu-jitsu movement (i.e., hipscapes, technical lifts) and do 50-100 at the end of every training session as a cool-down for a few months. I'm doing 5 sets of 20 hipscapes right now (hipscape down the mat 20 times then walk back) and it only takes me about three minutes at a moderate pace. Training at least 10 times a month, that's 1,000 reps every 30 days.

When doing technical lifts, I usually set them up with breakfalls and do 5 sets of 10. Another option I like to do are "quick lifts" where I don't come all the way up to standing. Instead I come up with just enough balance to clap my hands (like you might for an explosive pushup*) before going back to the starting position.

Reps of the full technical lift are an especially nice "cool down" after training. I like the "quick lift" as part of pre-training warmup. 5 sets of 5 reps each side.

*By the way, explosive pushups are awesome! I highly recommend doing them instead of regular pushusp during the GB warmup.

FightingLifestyle UAE Interviews Leo Viera

Metrics: June 14 - 20

Training Days: Tue / Thu 

Four Week training average: 2.25

Techniques of the Week

GB Curriculum Week 8

Strength & Conditioning

LSD - Sun
HRI (quick lifts) - Tue
HICT (100 hipscapes)
HICT (100 hipscapes) - Thu
Anaerobic Threshold (box steps) - Fri

Weight

163.2 lbs - Tue

160.3 lbs - Thu

Live Training
none

Conditioning for Jiu-Jitsu

Joel Jamieson's book, 8 Weeks Out, does an awesome job of explaining what conditioning is and how to improve your conditioning to perform better as a mixed martial artist.

But it can still be a bit of a challenge for non-MMA grapplers in general and jiu-jitsu players in specific to put many of Jamieson's insights to their most efficient uses for a few reasons.

1. The Ground
Conditioning on the ground is significantly different from conditioning while standing. Changing levels from standing to squat to sprawl to knees is also more frequent for grapplers than MMA fighters.

2. The Skills
Every conditioning expert I've talked to about grappling - including Joel - has emphasized the way that superior technique can mitigate inferior conditioning. Any 20-something brown belt who has struggled against his 40-something black belt professor can attest to this.

3. The Solitude
There are a wide variety of skill-general (running) and skill-specific (bagwork) conditioning exercises that MMA athletes can do on their own without a partner. There are far fewer exercises for grapplers.

So what does this mean in terms of conditioning for jiu-jitsu?

1. The Ground: Slow Your Roll
Conditioning on the ground is more taxing than conditioning standing (compare half an hour of hipscapes or reverse pivots or sitouts with half an hour of shadow boxing). Learning how to move in and out of what Jamieson calls your "anaerobic power reserve" is critical.

2. The Skills: The Technique is Everything
Your goal is to be able to deliver "your" techniques perfectly 100 times in a row if necessary. By that I mean "your" guard pass, "your" sweep, "your" escape from side mount, etc. This is a matter of both neurology ("muscle memory") and muscle endurance.

3. The Solitude: Resistance is Futile
Jiu-jitsu is ultimately about moving your body, not moving someone else's. Mastering your own movement is more than enough, and many of the most basic solo movements, from hipscapes to bridges to technical lifts, are the most important.

I'll talk more about these ideas over the summer, as well as provide some grappling/jiu-jitsu workouts that can be used to complete 8 Weeks Out style conditioning protocols.

Gracie Breakdown: The Guillotines of UFC 188

More jiu-jitsu analysis awesomeness from Los Bros Gracie

#VaiCavalo

Earning the first degree on my jui-jitsu black belt this afternoon, I thought to myself: how awesome would it be to commemorate a great day of training and this terrific honor from Gracie Barra Seattle with a championship-unifying victory from one of jiu-jitsu's greatest mixed martial artists in his most difficult challenge to date?

As it turns out, quite awesome, indeed.

Read how it happened. 

Metrics: June 7 - 13

Training Days: Tue / Thu / Sat

Four Week training average: 2.25

Techniques of the Week

GB Curriculum Week 7

Strength & Conditioning

Tabata - Tue
Tempo Intervals (lifts)
100 Hipscapes
Tempo Intervals (lifts) - Thu
100 Hipscapes
Tempo Intervals (sit-outs) - Sat
100 Hipscapes

Weight

161.6 lbs - Tue

156.6 lbs - Sat

Live Training

20 min specific training - Sat

"And New Undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion of the World ..."

I've had a jiu-jitsu crush on Fabricio Werdum ever since seeing a video of his uber-classy submission of Matt Lindland at ADCC 2003.

So call me biased about Vai Cavalo's upcoming UFC heavyweight title unification bout with Cain Velasquez, But I do think the world would be a better place if the Man Who Submitted Fedor was also known as the Man Who Finished Cain.

Disagree? Read this profile of Werdum and then explain to me how having a guy with this much talent, personality, and charisma as the official "Baddest Man on the Planet" wouldn't be the best thing to happen to mixed martial arts since rings became cages. 

Werdum, who tried to get a job at a petrochemical complex in Sapucaia do Sul but failing the test, celebrates sucking at other jobs and getting beat up by his ex-girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend. 

"If I never had accepted my girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend’s challenge, I would never start training jiu-jitsu," he said. "And thank God I failed that test, or I wouldn’t be where I am today. 

"And you see how things are. Ten years later, I submitted the best in the world, and now I’m fighting for the UFC heavyweight title."

I love me some Daniel Craig (having once been compared to him by a friend whose generosity on this point will never be forgotten). But if Fabricio wins the title this Saturday, they ought to cast him as the next Bond.

Prediction: Werdum defeats Velasquez (Triangle/Armbar) - Round Four

What is Fatigue and How to Stop It from Stopping You

Some great insights from one of my favorite conditioning specialists, Joel Jamieson of 8 Weeks Out. Jamieson is the conditioning coach for undisputed UFC flyweight champion and top 10 pound-for-pound mixed martial artist, Demetrious Johnson.

In other words, pacing is about choosing when to tap into the anaerobic power reserve and how long to stay there for. 

The best fighters know the pace they can maintain if they want to last all fight.  They know when to explode and go for the finish and when to save their energy. 

Less experienced and less savvy fighters, on the other hand, use their energy inefficiently and constantly draw from their anaerobic power reserve when it’s unnecessary, often leaving them gassed out as a result.

Read the rest.

Ryan Hall Guard Flexibility Techniques

as helpfully compiled by Journey BJJ

IBJJF: What Is It Good For?

Everyone who is not a "professional" jiu-jitsu athlete according to Bloody Elbow Grappling Scribe T.P. Grant.

The grappling world has grown and the current structure of jiu jitsu competition is going to change. The professional aspect of the sport is growing. If it can stabilize, the IBJJF could remain the place for newer grapplers to make their name. But, once established the best athletes will likely be competing in cash prize tournaments and professional events rather than returning to amateur ranks. 

Metrics: May 31 - June 6

Training Days: Tue / Thu

Four Week training average: 2.00

Techniques of the Week

GB Curriculum Week 6

Strength & Conditioning

Matwork: Thu

Tabata: Fri

Weight

164.2 lbs - Tue

< 162.0 lbs - Thu

Live Training

8 min / 1 session - Thu

So You Wanna Be an Ultimate Fighter?

Happy Birthday to Me! Very much looking forward to reading this.

Heavy is Slow: Nick Curson and the Case Against Resistance

Interesting and controversial ideas from Nick Curson, S&C coach for UFC Lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos and student of the Marinovich Training Systems.
 

Metrics: May 24 - 30

Training Days: Tue / Thu

Four Week training average: 2.00

Techniques of the Week

GB Curriculum Week 5

Strength &Conditioning

Matwork: Fri

Weight

166.6 lbs - Tue

162.2 lbs - Thu

Live Training

16 min / 2 sessions - Tue

14 min / 2 sessions - Thu

Meet Matt Hume

If I were a better man, I'd get a grant to write a book on the foundational American jiu-jitsu black belts. Not just the Dirty Dozen (though absolutely the Dirty Dozen), but maybe another dozen guys who helped pave the way for the gentle art in North America.

As it is, I'll just sit back and enjoy this video of Matt Hume talking Demetrious Johnson Awesomeness.

Hello Japan Reviews the Top BJJ Matches of 2015, Part 1

Always awesome to find a new favorite thing! Here's a look at the top Brazilian jiu-jitsu matches of the year from Hello Japan.

Bloody Elbow's 2015 Mundial Preview

Check out Bloody Elbow's preview of the 2015 IBJJF World Jiu Jitsu Championships or "Mundial" featuring Bloody Elbow grappling editor, Roy Billington and no-gi world champion and ADCC veteran, Tom DeBlass.

Eddie Bravo Invitational: EBI3

The future of "sport" jiu-jitsu (if we're lucky!)

King Conor: Freeing the Body

I've been loving The Notorious series spotlighting the rise of Irish featherweight mixed martial artist, Conor McGregor. I can't wait for his upcoming match against champion, Jose Aldo from Brazil. 

I especially appreciated his remarks on the body and movement in episode five. As much as cynicism bores me, I'll admit that I was surprised at how Rickson-esque and Ginastica Natural-like some of his movements and comments were - so much so that I couldn't help but share my rough transcription of them here. 

"You're almost going to trick the mind to do stuff that it's not used to. 

What's happening there is that the brain is working more than the body - your brain is outworking the body, there's no stopping you. 

People work the body over than the brain. And that's where the skill level stagnates or it declines. 

In the fight there is no pattern. It's just a blank canvas. You go out and just let the instinct take over. Let it just click. 

Prizefighting is short. Get in, get rich, get out. But martial arts is a way of life. It's for life. 

It's about movement. It's not about resistance. You should be going in there fluid. I feel like I'm understanding this game a lot more. It's not about coming in and getting the rounds in like it was.  

It's a 24/7 process to free the body. That's what I'm ultimately trying to do. I'm trying to become free. I'm trying to open up my body in all ways. 

I have a routine. I wake up. I drink water. I stretch. I shake it out. 

That's me beginning to free my body again after whatever amount of time I've been asleep. 

People just usually jump up get out of bed straightway, go and brush their teeth, eat their fill, rush to whatever they have to go, do what they have to do and their body is just locking up, getting tighter and tighter and tighter until it just locks or cracks. 

I don't see it as showing up and doing jiu-jitsu, showing up and doing boxing, showing up and doing Tae Kwon Do. I just see it as moving. Waking up. Freeing the body. Becoming more loose. And moving."