"Grips Are Killing Jiu-Jitsu"

 

"I think what's stopping the sport is the grips. Guys will get a grip and then they'll stop when they want to. It's very easy to do that and it's really hard to break the grips." - Kron Gracie

Sunday Tape Study: Ice Cream Kron

Gracie Breakdown: Kron Chokes Kawajiri

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.

Joe Rogan Podcast: Two Hours with Kron

A truly outstanding interview of Kron Gracie by Joe Rogan. The length of the interview - more than two hours - gives the two plenty of time to relax and get comfortable with each other, leading to some very entertaining and insightful exchanges. Well worth a listen.

Grips

"I think what's stopping the sport is the grips. Guys will get a grip and then they'll stop when they want to. It's very easy to do that and it's really hard to break the grips. Guys are taking steroids, guys are really strong, it's hard to break those grips.

So, I think when the guy grabs a grip and he stops and his intention is to hold those grips and not intend to go to the next move, I think that's the problem. So if you just take away the-- you know in Judo, guys only have 20 seconds with a grip or 15 seconds with a special grip or they have to let go.

I think that should be the rule in jiu jitsu. The guy should have a special grip, you can do what you want to do, but if you don't do it then you gotta let go. You can't just hold the fight and stop the fight. I think jiu jitsu has great rules, great time. Ten minutes is enough time if the guys are not holding and stopping the position."

--Kron Gracie

On Kron

There is one thing more impressive to me than Kron Gracie's run of four submission victories in this year's ADCC.

The fact that there isn't a single leglock among them.

My sentiments toward leg locks are no secret. And your mileage may vary - especially when it comes to no gi competition. But peer beyond Kron's immaculate quartet and, to steal a line, it's heel hooks all the way down. 

As much as I respect the performances of Galvao, Cobrinha, Romulo and old warriors like Sperry and Gurgel whose age approximates my own, Cyborg's upset victory over Buchecha in the Absolute ... it is easy to find inspiration in Kron Gracie's performances in China this weekend. His jiu-jitsu is a kind of solution.

" ...of course the techniques are great – but the sensibility of the opponent, the sense of touch, the weight, the momentum, the transition from one move to another ..."

Screaming For Ice Cream

One of my big goals for the coming training year is to simplify my game.

When it comes to the top, to the art of passing, I'm studying Lo.

And now, after much reflection, I've finally figured out who I'll be studying when it comes to the guard.

I'll have a lot more to say about this in the weeks to come. A lot of very intelligent things have been said about Kron Gracie, especially by BishopBJJ - whose The Science of Jiu-Jitsu is must-reading on the BJJ blog circuit.

But one description of Kron's guard, the idea that his guard game is "basic", is a notion I want to challenge. Not because it is incorrect, but because I think that description may be a bit misleading, especially for those like myself who are trying to learn an approach to guardwork that, the more I study it, owes more to his father's philosophy of the guard than I ever realized.

The secret to Kron's approach to the guard, I think, can be found in this fascinating quote he provided after his exciting submission victory over Octavio Souza at Metamoris I.

"I don't think I would necessarily change the point system. The point system is great. I think what's stopping the sport is the grips. Guys will get a grip and then they'll stop when they want to. It's very easy to do that and it's really hard to break the grips. Guys are taking steroids, guys are really strong, it's hard to break those grips. So, I think when the guy grabs a grip and he stops and his intention is to hold those grips and not intend to go to the next move, I think that's the problem. So if you just take away the-- you know in Judo, guys only have 20 seconds with a grip or 15 seconds with a special grip or they have to let go-- I think that should be the rule in jiu jitsu. The guy should have a special grip, you can do what you want to do, but if you don't do it then you gotta let go. You can't just hold the fight and stop the fight. I think jiu jitsu has great rules, great time. Ten minutes is enough time if the guys are not holding and stopping the position."

Again, food for thought. And for study.

Friday Night Fights: Kron Gracie v. Bill Cooper

Marcelo Garcia on the Mundial, ADCC and Kron

A nice, very short, interview with Marcelo Garcia from Gracie magazine

Did you decide to stay out of the absolute for your lack of rhythm?

I always try to make it into the absolute, and this time was no different… But it’s not my option, Fabio and Romero are the ones who chose. In the end it was good for me to concentrate just on the weight group, it was the right choice. Sometimes folks don’t remember much, but every year I’ve won at weight, I also fought in the absolute. I never won a Worlds absolute, but I’ve always tried since I was a blue belt (laughs).

Click here for the rest.

Gameplanning, Or ...

W.W.L.I.S.?

"You are a top player. You've got good wrestling, explosiveness and strength advantages over most of your opponents at your level. At your worst, you get outwrestled by stronger opponents and out-finessed by more technical opponents, particularly taller, longer opponents.

You win fights in the old school, Gracie in Action style: you take them down, get dominant position and finish, usually with a wrestling-based submission like the Americana. Most of your losses come while you are in the guard, to submissions by triangle choke and armlock.


Of the three main fighting styles, you are a slugger, like Foreman, like Liston. You will not by technical manuever, nor by a blitzkrieg attack, but by breaking the will of your opponent, usually by establishing a dominant position. For you, the submission is almost a formality. For your opponent, the thinking is: "God, this is hopeless. Please just get it over with and finish me already!!!"

Jiu jitsu fighters with this style, of course, tend to be the bigger fighters like Margarida and Pe De Pano. I would also put Jacare in this category. At the same time, this is a very old school approach to jiu jitsu, so it is also true that fighters like Renzo Gracie and certainly Carlson Gracie Sr. would be in this category, also.

So what do you need to do to become great? You to become unstoppable, the "irresistable force." You need to take opponents down, pass their guards and achieve dominant positions from which they cannot escape.

Takedowns: Given your athleticism, wrestling takedowns - both freestyle and Greco - are going to be your first options rather than judo type throws. Right now, given your southpaw preference, let's work an armdrag / double leg combination. We are always looking to grab his left wrist with our right grip, and then reach across and grip his upper arm with our left grip. Relentless attacking this way will encourage him to cheat his right side forward, shifting him into a southpaw stance that will make him vulnerable to the double leg.

Pass their guards: Stand, stand, stand. Remember not to keep your feet parallel but, instead, stagger them for better stability. Also remember that we are perfectly comfortable passing half guard. So don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

Achieve dominant position: The main move is from watchdog to mount. Look for it immediately after passing half guard. From north-south, remember not to be too deep. You want enough room to be able to scoop under the armpits for armlocks, as well as having a good angle for kimuras.

How are we looking to finish fights given your skill set? For now, let's continue to work on the bent armlocks: the keylock and kimura. We won't get those from mount; you'll have to switch to the crossbody to finish the keylock and the crossobody or north-south to finish the kimura. But those are your attacks: again, strong, athletic jiu jitsu.


Most important: be aggressive. Like the jaguar, we stalk and ambush rather than chase. But always look to start the game. Force him into being defensive on the feet, to not want to engage. Fight off his grips. Look for the armdrag or double leg if he retreats from the armdrag.

Kron says that his father taught him to always look for the quickest route to the submission. For you, that route is through dominant position, through the takedown. Get those two and the third and final piece, the submission, is soon to follow.

Go. Go! GO!"

Complete Mundial 2008 Results

The results are in for the 2008 World Championships in Jiu Jitsu. The big winner is Xande Ribeiro, who won the absolute. And props to Ryan Hall, Lloyd Irvin phenom, for winning a world title at lightweight faixa roxa.

And huge congratulations to Valerie Worthington not just for winning her purple belt division and becoming a world champ, but also for getting awarded the brown belt right there on the podium after her win.

Kron had a tough day, losing his black belt debut by choke after falling behind on points. But he's a young guy who is only beginning to grow into the jiu jitsu he will have as an adult. It will be fun to watch him develop.

That said, it really shows the jump from brown belt to black belt at the world class level. Kron was submitting his fellow brown belts left and right. But in his first competitive match as a black belt, it was he who was submitted.

Fascinating stuff.

Here is some "special coverage" from the good folks at Gracie Magazine.

Here is a video that's making the rounds of a 16-year old purple belt, pena (featherweight), who really impressed with his movement and ability to finish.


And here are some highlights from the winning team, Brasa: purple, brown and black belt competitors.

Kron Earns the Black Belt

This thread title is a little tongue-in-cheek because plenty of people watching Kron Gracie compete over the past several months have expressed their conviction that Rickson Gracie's son and star pupil had long ago "earned" his black belt after making some of the most impressive tournament runs by a non-black belt ever.

Kron at Mundials
Here's a message board thread discussing Kron's incredible performance at the Mundials in 2007.

Kron at Gracie Nationals
And here's a message board thread discussing Kron's achievements at the Gracie Nationals.

Kron at Rickson Cup
Here's a thread about Kron's most recent performance at the Rickson Cup in Japan.

Kron as Purple belt
One of my favorite Kron threads. Purple belt here. Five fights. Five submissions. All in less than three minutes.

Kron Has Arrived
And here's the announcement from Rickson Gracie himself to the editors of Gracie Magazine:

"The time has come for the rookie to start representing my Jiu-Jitsu in the major league, let’s see what comes of it."

It has been great to see Kron's progress. I remember seeing him compete in the Pan Ams in 2005 as a purple belt. Kron put a choke on a guy that was so tight I thought he had decapitated him. Then there was the controversial match against Bill Cooper, a great American jiu jitsu guy. It is going to be a lot of fun watching him as he begins his black belt career.

Parabens Kron!

Moments Not Missed

I am unashamed in my apprecation of Rickson Gracie. Not appreciating Rickson Gracie, not wondering why he is so widely regarded as having the most superior jiu jitsu in the world, is like not appreciating Joe Louis or Michael Jordan or Lance Armstrong.

These four--Rickson, Joe, Michael and Lance--are (and were, in the case of the late Mr. Louis) not just great. They are great players who figured it out, who discovered the combination to the safe of excellence in their discipline and were able to successfully pick the lock again and again at will.

So I'm reading Gracie Magazine tonight, an article about Rickson's unbelievable son, Kron. And I come across this passage:

:GRACIEMAG.com: Was getting the submission in every one of your fights the result of this daily effort?

Kron: I think it's the result of the technique my father's been teaching me since I was a kid. There's a difference between the Jiu-Jitsu you see going around and the way it should be done. Jiu-Jitsu was always about the submission, the detail of seeking out the easiest route to the submission is what my dad taught me.

Helio talked about Rickson's timing. Kron talks about his father's efficiency. Of all the stories I've read about Rickson, the one that impresses me the most is his fight against Sergio Penha (click here and scroll down to question #21.) In that match, Rickson is down by nearly 16 points. But he manages to pull out the win by submission.

It reminds me of what impressed me immediately when I saw Royce Gracie for the first time some 14 years ago (!). The ability to survive, to avoid taking punishment. And not just for the sake of avoiding punishment (a worthy goal, but ...) Instead the point is to avoid punishment for long enough to be able to position yourself to take a dominant position and get the finish.

My favorite Rickson quote: "During fights there comes a moment without fail when an opponent makes a mistake. That moment cannot be missed." That's where timing and efficiency meet. Doing only what is necessary, but exactly what is necessary, as soon as it is necessary to do so.

2008 Pan Am Results

Alliance took the team title, with Gracie Barra and Brasa taking second and third, respectively. The black belt standout was Andre Galvao, who won both his weight class (medium heavyweight) and the absolute. Honorable mention would have to go to Kron Gracie, who submitted all eight of his opponents en route to winning first place in his weight class (middleweight) and in the absolute.

Complete results are here.

It sounds like an incredible event. The Pan Am dvds are getting better and better, and I can't wait to get a copy of this one and see, especially, Kron's fights.

That reminds me ... I need to buy another copy of the 2005 event since Tomas has disappeared into thin air. I do still have his Bibiano Fernandez DVD, which isn't exactly a bad trade when you think about it ...