Rickson Gracie "on" dos Anjos v. Pettis

"The fundamentals of self-defense present in Jiu-Jitsu give you a clear notion of how to deal with your foe's specialty. I'm no great boxer, but I have a deep knowledge of how to clinch, how to avoid the right distance for punches. I'm no great kicker, either, but I know what a guy needs to kick me. Strikers must have a certain gentlemen's agreement to stay in that distance, for otherwise the referee stops the bout. That's evident, so my specialty is precisely not to give a striker whatever it is they need to strike me."

--Rickson Gracie, Rickson's Way, January 2006

Rickson and Budo Jake: Invisible Jiu-JItsu

A unique opportunity to take a peek at Invisible Jiu-Jitsu in action.

TGIF Training: Escapes

(instruction)

Self-Defense:

Headlock escape: Frame escape

Headlock escape: Hook escape

Ground: 

Mount bridge escape: Front choke

Live Training:

5 minutes

Training Day: Wednesday

Self-Defense/Standing: Stepover Headlock counter to shoulder lock

Ground: Mount escape

Live Drilling / Specific Training: Mount/Mount Escape specific alternating with Mount start to Sparring

Live Training: 5 minutes

Scale: 168.2

Training Day: Monday

Self-Defense/Standing: Punch block to safe clinch. Safe clinch to hip throw. Hip throw to knee on belly with wrist control.

Ground: Pull feet sweep (feet on hips). Pendulum sweep with and without leg.

Live Training: Prof Carlos, Prof Maeda (eight minutes each).

Scale: 170.0 lbs

Teaching Day: Friday

Great time teaching the 6 am, "Dawn Patrol" class this Friday. Roethke has that wonderful line "when a week of rain is a year". That's how I felt being on the teaching side of the tatame after two weeks away.

Five students is a lot for a Friday morning. And I couldn't be more grateful. I'm curious as to how attendance might change as the days get more than a little shorter and the nights more than a little longer.

We worked on the turtle headlock counter from the curriculum, and the mount reversal. I saw Coach Peter showing someone how to set up a triangle choke attack from the closed guard Thursday, and loved it so much that I decided to throw that one in to Friday's lesson, as well.

159.4 on the scale, post-train. A new injury, right elbow, has me preoccupied. But maybe not as much as usual. I've got a compression brace that seems to work well enough - though we'll see come next week. I'm probably not going to make the 12x this month - I'll be lucky to make it to nine. So being more efficient in training, and training what I need/want to train, are all the more vital.

Five Rules for Jiu-Jitsu Fighters in Mixed Martial Arts

A thread over at MMAFighting purports to provide commentary on Royce Gracie's take on the poor performance of his younger relatives in recent MMA contests.

I say "purports" because the comments seem to suggest that few of those opining have actually read the article.

Again, Royce's argument is an old one, one made by Rickson Gracie almost 10 years ago, and also amplified, in a way, by the man who is the best representative of BJJ-in-MMA done right, Demian Maia who said that his self-defense training was actually very applicable to his mixed martial arts training.

In any event, here are a few ways that jiu-jitsu fighters can improve their odds in the cage - using jiu-jitsu!

1. Train conditioning like a professional athlete
Top level competitive black belt matches in the IBJJF last for 10 minutes, plus overtimes. The minimum time for an MMA fight is 15 minutes, divided into three, five-minute rounds. Train accordingly

2. Stop striking
Rickson Gracie put it plainly almost ten years ago, and it is true today. If your edge lies in taking the fight to the ground, then your job is to take the fight to the ground. Everything that doesn't contribute to this ability is a distraction.  Fighting isn't a lifestyle. It's a game. And the best way to win the game is to have the greatest possible edge in one aspect of the game, and then force your opponents to compete with you there.

3. Takedowns Matter
I don't care if it's a judo throw, a Greco toss, or a folkstyle power double leg. Again, if your edge lies in taking the fight to the ground, then your job is to take the fight to the ground. Pick a takedown, a counter to the most common defense to that takedown, and don't stop until the round ends or the fight does.

4. "Nao Para!"
One of the things BJJ fighters can bring from the tournament mat to the cage is one of the most overheard commands from the sidelines: Don't Stop.

Strikers are told to move their heads and keep pumping the jab. Grapplers need to continue fighting for their grips and positions as priority one at all times. A jab won't end a fight, but some of the best knockouts lie right behind a well-placed fist in the face. The same can be said for grapplers when it comes to getting their best grips and most decisive positions.

5. The Patton Rule
Famous American general, George Patton, allegedly said, "Your job is not to die for your country. Your job is to make that other poor son of a bitch die for his country." I feel the same way about playing guard and fighting from your back in MMA.

In other words, your job as a jiu-jitsu fighter in MMA is not to show the world how great your guard is. It is to find out how good that other "poor son of a bitch" is off his (or her) back.  I don't have to run through the number of quality jiu-jitsu fighters who lost rounds in an MMA match because the judges preferred the top fighter's lay 'n' pray one-inch hammer fists to the bottom fighter's failed triangle, armbar and OMGaplata attacks from below.

I'm sure there are more. But these five would be a great place to start for most jiu-jitsu fighters - from Roger to Rolles - looking both to earn a winning record and showcase "the gentle art" at the same time.

The Masters - at GB Seattle

I'm really enjoying our "Masters" Over 40 class that Professor Rodrigo has been developing over the past few weeks.  We've got a class on Friday nights at both the Bellevue and Seattle locations (Professor Doug and, I think, Professor Carlos, have been running the Bellevue/Eastside session).

One of the things that we've really been focusing on is self-defense.  We managed to train three different self-defense techniques last night: countering a punch, a kick, and a "grab."  I'll defer to Professor's preferences, but I think there's real gold in building the Masters class around self-defense.

We also did some work on escapes, specifically side control escapes and reguarding.  The nice thing is that we continue to work with the curriculum (these escapes are part of Week 11).  But I've been using Prof's variations and adaptations to suit the specific needs of our folks.

All in all, a lot of learning about how to teach jiu-jitsu most effectively.  I'm having a great time and if you're in the area and over 40 (or even close to it), consider stopping by some Friday evening for some great, efficient  training with your fellow grown-ups.

Training Day: Monday

Good training today, working mostly self-defense (one-two with push-kick to body clinch takedown ... headlock escape) and some specific training from side control.  Got in a little bit of rolling, continuing to work "burienbyarmbar" only with more control and precision.  I think part of what went not-exactly-right with my last armlock was that I was attacking the left arm rather than the right.  And while I am very proud of myself for recognizing the opportunity on my "weaker" side and attacking rather than demurring, I am not impressed with having a "weaker" side where this particular technique is concerned.  A part of what I think is going to make burienbyarmbar work is the ability to attack either arm with equal speed and fluidity.  So, onward for that.

Also, too ... I need to work on my Flat Pass to the right.  To the extent that I'm starting to develop some go-to guard passes, I want to make sure that my best passes are right where I want them to be when I need them.  There have been too many times when I've been stymied in the guard because my preferred pass side was blocked (by a collar-choke attack, for example).  Simply by being able to go to the other side, I'll be able to make those attacks work for me rather than against.

160.3 on the scale post-train.  Typical Monday weight.  Ideally, I'm down around 157 or so come Wednesday.

Training Days: Saturday, Monday

Some very good training over the past couple of days following the Seattle Snowpocalypse. On Saturday, we had a packed class with some visiting high school wrestlers joining in the Fundamentals session and Prof. Rodrigo leading us through some sitting guard drills and following up with a more precise version of my new favorite transition: the spin move. Specifically, Rodrigo's technique takes care of one of the more problematic parts of the spin move, namely, getting around the head.

This version also included arm control that made getting to the back a little more difficult. But the trade off was more control, including having the arm.

On Monday, Prof. Carlos had us working on headlock escapes on the ground, the bump and roll, specifically. He added an a spinning armbar finish, and focused on controlling the near-side leg almost as much as the arm - either with a pants grip or an underhook grip of the whole leg. One detail here was the way that Carlos balanced with the knee on belly, almost lying on his side on top of the guy. This made it easier to both pass the leg over the head and to secure control of the near-leg as you slipped into position.

A nice moderate day/heavy day sequence in terms of Live Training. I worked with the smallest group on Saturday and on Monday sparred with Brock, Hakim and Prof. Carlos. Not a bad way to train, alternating more moderate and more intense training (albeit with a day off in between). My weight hasn't been fantastic: 161 on Saturday and 165+ on Monday in the gi. But hopefully I can get that back under control as I get my training regimen back on track.

Put in some HICT work earlier today, two ten-minute sets. My heart rate is starting to average lower, which means that it's time to kick those sets up to 12 or 15 minutes next time out.

Training Day: Tuesday

Big class. You've got to love it when you line up and 3/4 of the line are white and blue belts.

Fundamentals: Bear hug counter to hip throw.

Pulling guard. Pulling guard to tripod sweep (through a two-on-grip). Pulling guard to feet on hip overhead/tomo nage sweep.

Drills: Guard/Pass Guard specific with Ethan, the purple belt with the Ryan Hall-esque game. Good half guard, smart with leg controls and grips. Even better open guard and grips.

Live Training: Good flow with Ron/Robert(?). Long session with Prof Rodrigo.

156.3 on the scale post-train.

UFC Fight Night 24: Gracie Breakdown

Training Day: Wednesday

Double legs, sprawl to standing guillotine and guillotine counter/takedown made up the instructional part of training today. Probably the most important detail came to us from Prof Carlos by way of Tom the wrestling coach: keep your shoulder square when attacking with the double leg rather than turning one shoulder ahead of the other. Another detail was to keep your stance in as much as a runner's crouch as you can, with both feet pointed forward. This allows for better a quicker and more efficient level change as well as better drive when you make contact.

We also worked the back take counter to the on-the-ground headlock escape.

Live Training was a lesson in What Needs Fixin': Half Guard Special, specifically dealing with bear hug type passes when guys avoid engaging the half guard altogether. There are a couple of options I want to work the next time: including a more aggressive sitting guard underhook counter that Kesting shows on his DVD that's part of his "triple attack" combination.

162.7 on the scale post-train, a far more reasonable figure to be sure. With any luck, I'll be able to notch a sub-160 number after the Friday early class.

Training Day: Monday

A good session to start off the week. The Self Defense move was the counter to the front bear hug (under the arms), with the hip throw. The finish on the ground was a straight armlock with choke (a force choke, while you figure four the arm for the lock).

On the ground, we worked on side control, maintaining top position and switching back from regular side control with the front seatbelt control, as well as the "watchdog" version.

Not a lot of mat time on Monday. I got to roll with J.M. for about 6-7 minutes at a really nice clip to finish things off in an open mat. A lot of folks were leaving right at the end of the class - or shortly after the specific started - so it felt a little bit like an abbreviated session.

163.4 on the scale post-train. Yikes! You'd think that last weekend was the three-day weekend instead of this past one.

Training Day: Friday

A very good week of Fundamentals training, as I was reminded again during Friday's session. Again, I really can't seen not taking at least two Fundamentals classes a week for as long as I train jiu jitsu. The techniques are solid and the more you see them, the more you realize how readily many of them can be integrated into your own game.

Self defense #1 was the jab dodge to clinch. The key here is to step to the outside to avoid the power hand and then to move in right under the armpit. The second self-defense move was the front headlock to S-mount armbar.

On the ground we did the basic half guard pass with the topdown hook to free the leg and pass to mount. Rodrigo showed us a nice tip to get that topdown hook in by leaning over to that side to make it easier for your hook to reach. We also worked on the single underhook pass from standing, a pass that I have been slowly (very, very slowly) starting to make part of my standing guard pass game. The underhook pass ("scoop" in my guard pass code) is a critical part of advancing inside control when passing the guard from the top, part of the Scoop, Smash, Stepover suite. So working on it so much this week has been great.

Nothing especially notable in the tatame - save to say that I'm doing a better job of late pressing the standing guard attack. One thing I need to remember is that passing the guard - once you get to a certain level - is really a big deal. So if I'm only passing the guard at a 50% clip when it comes to other purple belts, that's not a bad percentage to start from. The trick is to remember that the solution is always technical, and to be patient.

Nice sub-160 weigh-in post-train. I'm looking forward to getting an opportunity to get back on the mat tomorrow for a semi-rare Saturday training session. I'll probably just do the hour of competition training, but it will be nice to get in a five session week for the first time in awhile.

Training Day: Thursday

Nice to get Thursday's back into the rotation. There was a time when training on Thursday night was as much a Prime Directive as ATM (Always Train Mondays). That was back in the "hippie" days of GB Seattle when every class was a kingdom in and of itself, from Cindy's rock 'n' roll gymnastic no gi to Lindsey's "Hounds of the Ground" inspired jiu jitsu.

In a number of ways, tonight's class - although gi'd, curriculum-centered and Nightwing-free - reminded me a bit of those old days. I've never been a big fan of authoriTIE, but I always appreciate when those who are in charge are in charge. At the risk of sounding like an American circa October 2002, something about it just makes me feel a little less vulnerable to chaos.

Good review on the B fundamentals' work. The escape from the front headlock (drop back to S-mount armlock), with a nice detail to break the headlock grip, was one highlight. In training, I'm still struggling to implement this week's game plan of the knee block transition in half guard. I'll work on it some more on Friday. But this may mean that Week Two will be devoted to the knee block transition, as well. Whatever it takes to get it right. The fact of the matter is that if I can get that knee block integrated into things, just about everything else I'm trying to do out of half guard will be that much easier. So it is more than worth it to give it other week or two if necessary. There really isn't a "next step" until I get this in place.

One other note: I may actually be getting the hang of the single underhook pass off Saulo's Crab Pass Posture/inside control. That, combined with the guard pass from the A fundamentals (the "A" frame, step-over to backstep), may really provide me with something I've really lacked: a Grand Unified Field Theory of passing the guard.

Actually, to both tell the truth and to steal a line, I've know what I've wanted in a Grand Unified Theory of passing the guard. I've just not known how to go about getting it.

This week's lesson was a great leap forward in that regard - and another reason why I can't imagine ever not taking Fundamentals classes along with the rest of the program. Even though there are times when I feel a little overwhelmed by all the information, that information is always valuable. And the fact that I'm starting to get a little buffed up in a major area of weakness - all thanks to all this Fundamental classes - speaks for itself.

159.2 on the scale post-train. Excellent number for Week One after a day off on Wednesday (during which much meat was consumed).

Training Day: Tuesday

One of the reasons I'm having such a hard time going into slingshot from half guard is that I almost never use the knee block to set it up.

The same is true with my struggle to enter the deep half. I'm not creating enough space, enough posture in the other guy, to give me the edge when I dive for the deep shoulder hook.

So I'm modifying my weekly goal to make the knee block a priority. Hopefully the knee block will be the gateway move that gets me into the other parts of the half guard that I've been having a hard time accessing.

Good, good training tonight with a good sized blue belt and Lance in the specific and Bennie in a regular sparring roll. Rodrigo provided an excellent tip on stepping over the leg rather than trying to "knee over" that makes a lot of sense and reflects the lesson from Monday's training (the sprawl and crawl pass with the armframe). Lance caught me in a couple of chokes, but it was the collar drag late that made the most impression. For some reason, I find collar drags more natural than armdrags, and getting caught by a good collar drag was a nice reminder to work it back into what I'm doing from sitting guard, etc.

A smallish class, which included some younger folks as well for a change of pace. There seem to be new students almost every other day, which is good on every level. I also think it will be another vindication of the self-defense component of the Fundamentals class (tonight it was the front headlock escape takedown to S-mount armbar, the one with the check on the knee and hip and step back ...). If those guys don't end up training for more than a few months, then at least they'll learn a few things that might stick with them for awhile.

158.6 on the scale-post train. That's the second consecutive day with post-train weigh-ins that are five pounds less than they were a month ago. I felt a bit of fatigue at the end of today's training. But even now, I'm starting to feel myself recovering a little quicker after each training. I'm still spending too much energy from the guard (see "knee block" above), but that too is very fixable.

Training Day: Monday

A great night of training. I got to roll and train with Rodrigo and Cindy, as well as doing some good flow work with a white belt, Justin as part of the Advanced/Competition Training.

Technique-wise we were ducking jabs and stepping in for the body lock in the Self-Defense Component, and passing the guard in the Fundamentals. The first guard pass was a ground pass with the knee-in-the-middle wedge opener and the armblock backstep (or walkaround). This was the A-frame pass where you have your grips high on the thighs and use downward pressure with your forearms to take the legs to one side. From here, back step around the legs while dropping your outside shoulder in to the guy's stomach/solar plexus area.

The other pass was the half guard pass the BJ Penn is so fond of, the one where you transition directly into mount after bringing up the free leg and hooking it on top of the guard player's leg triangle.

A nice, familiar session on Monday, with Brock, Nate and Rene also there training. There are times these days when I look around and wonder where some of the folks I used to train with only a few years ago have gone. But with some mat time with Jesse last week coupled with training Monday night, things were once again feeling a lot like home.

Training Day: Thursday

I'm on a Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday schedule this week, it seems - though there's a pretty good chance that I'll be swinging by the academy either early or late tomorrow on Friday.

A Cindy class for the first time in a while, which was nice. Now that it's warming up and competition prep time has arrived, I'll be making Thursday's a regular training session (adding Tuesday and swapping out Wednesday for a four training week).

Many of the same techniques from Tuesday night, of course. Cindy extended them somewhat, as Rodrigo does, adding a knee on belly and armlock to the hip throw counter to the front choke, for example. I've been trying to really take my time and get every little detail. Jesse, who stopped by tonight, made some interesting points about that, about attentiveness, after class that I found very interesting and worth remembering. They definitely reflect my thinking on the topic of late.

It also parallels something I've picked up in a book I got earlier today, The Inner Game of Tennis, which is a sort of classic of sports psychology, namely the vital role of not just mental stillness (very Zen), but also of focus (which has its Zen characteristics, as well). More about that later in a separate post.

A good training night tonight. I still feel like my guard passing is embarassingly paleolithic any time I'm doing anything other than the Flat Pass. But I've got some time to work on it before I'll need those skills in spades. So there's no reason to freak out about it now. But it remains a bit of an annoyance; the sooner addressed the better on that score.

One of the things I think I'm appreciating most from this week's lessons (other than the chokes) is the technique for getting out of guard. The lift method - the same as "technical standing" comes into play a million times in jiu jitsu, and this technique for taking the back after the arm cross - or of getting up from guard and attacking (as I was able to do successfully once tonight) - is really, really worth coding into your jiu jitsu circuitry.

161.2 on the scale, post-train. Not great, but acceptable this far out. I'll admit, by the time Cindy called "time" I was convinced I'd weigh-in closer to 155. Well, maybe not quite that much. But you get the point. Calories were burned.

Training Day: Wednesday

Self defense today was blocking the far hand of the attacker and moving in with the underhook to secure the safe clinch. From the safe clinch, we execute the hip throw.

I hate to say it. But when doing self-defense, there is a part of me that feels like I'm "really" doing jiu jitsu. Make no mistake - I couldn't stand to do self-defense for 90 minutes three times a week. But there is something very pure, very real about doing 15 minutes of self-defense each class that I'm grateful for.

Fundamental technique included a couple of different things. We worked on the arm-stuff triangle, with Rodrigo adding the detail of grabbing the shin with the off hand. I'm never going to be a big triangle guy, but it was good to work on the basics.

Rodrigo also had us work on a guard replacement against the underhook pass. Here you bridge away and heavy-leg the side that is being underhooked, while going two-on-one on the wrist-sleeve on the other side and stepping on the hip. The goal is to replace the closed guard, but if you work the technique over and over you can see how the triangle choke is there also.

Tatame was interesting, guard/pass guard specific. I worked with Bryan. One thing that was really evident with him is that standing to pass his closed guard is going to have to be a very technical endeavor. Critically, I need to make sure I create an angle by stepping back after standing up and establishing myself. I'm getting stuck in a defensive mode, able to ward off sweeps but unable to slowly and methodically process the actual open and pass.

160.8 on the scale post-train. We'll see where I am on Friday, but training three days a week and minimal off-mat conditioning, this might be what to expect.