Royce Gracie Makes SI's 50 Greatest Athletes of All Time

For all my love and respect for the many masters of jiu-jitsu, there is no doubt that I would not be involved in this martial art at all if it weren't for the performances of Royce Gracie in the first few Ultimate Fighting Championships.

Royce Gracie is my alpha and omega. He is the jiu-jitsu artist whose performances  in the vale tudo days of the UFC forged my most basic and fundamental notions of jiu-jitsu. It is no exaggeration to say that that is where my jiu-jitsu was born and, in many ways, where it still lives.

It is why I am both a strong supporter of the "jiu-jitsu for everyone" approach to promoting the art, as well as a knee-jerk defender of jiu-jitsu's more violent practitioners when it comes to mixed martial arts. It is why I respect the ability of consummate jiu-jitsu technicians from Os Bros Mendes to Os Bros Miyao, but remain most mesmerized by the work of jiu-jitsu artists like Roger, Marcelo, Kron ...

But I digress ... Congratulations to Royce Gracie - the competitive mixed martial artist, Royce Gracie - for earning a well-deserved spot on Sports Illustrated's list of the 50 greatest athletes of all time.

Conditioning Day: Fatigue Eater

"If you're tired, you're not even smart."

- Dan Inosanto

forty-five minutes / acceleration / 3% grade

Classic Matches: Romulo v. Saulo, Mundial 2007

The Spring Revolution: March 29th in Tacoma

Back in December I speculated that the first Revolution event of 2014 would be in the late February - early March time frame - i.e., before the Pan Ams.

Now we have word from the tournament planners that the Spring Revolution will be held on March 29th, at a new location in Tacoma, Washington.

This puts the Spring Revolution two weeks AFTER the Pan.

So for those of you training and competing in the northwest, there's still one Pan prep event on the calendar. Unless something else pops up over the next few weeks, make sure you're getting your competition training at your academy.

Training Day: Tuesday

Self-Defense/Standing: Free Takedown Drill

Ground: Pull half guard from knees / Watchdog hold counter to pummel underhook hipswitch Knee Cross pass / Knee on belly / Spinning armbar finish

Pull half guard from knees / Watchdog hold counter to pummel underhook hipswitch Knee Cross pass / Knee on belly / Drop knee to choke / Spinning armbar finish versus choke defense

Free Takedown Drill (2 min), Live Drill #2 (3 min)

Cooldown: (HICT) 100 hipscapes, 5 sets 20 reps technical lifts

Scale: 171.2

Jiu-Jitsu Athlete of the Year: 2013

OntheMat used to do something like this. Not sure if they still do. But I'm more than happy to open up the shop, turn the lights on, and let everybody get a few rolls in for the day.

Marcus Vinicius Oliveira de Almeida - CheckMat

When you win your division and the open class at both the Pan and the Mundial, you are the jiu-jitsu athlete of the year, period.

The open class is the often-unappreciated feature of sport Jiu-jitsu. In some ways, there is no greater testament to the martial integrity of jiu-jitsu than the presence, if not pre-eminence, of an open class competition and an open class champion.

So while there are other performances from 2013 that may hold much mystery and anticipation for the future, the ability of the young man from Sao Paulo to meet the ultimate grappling challenge - win your division, win the absolute, twice in one year - deserves the highest praise.

Honorable Mention

Kron Gracie - Kron Gracie Jiu-Jitsu

Any other year, Kron Gracie's exciting run to the gold medal at the Abu Dhabi Combat Club's biannual championships, submitting all four opponents in his path, would be the easy call for jiu-jitsu athlete of the year.

Was Kron Gracie's unheard of run through his division at the ADCC championships something we should have seen coming after his impressive performance against Marcelo Garcia at the previous Abu Dhabi? Maybe it was his exciting endurance contest against two-time Mundial champion Otavio Sousa in the Metamoris submission-only event that should have warned us what was coming?

There were moments of domination and danger for the son of Rickson Gracie at last year's ADCC in China. But the fact that Kron was consistently able to maintain his composure - and maintain his hunt for the submission - in contest after contest is the stuff of every competitors dreams.

Inspiration Du Jour

Training Day: Monday

Live Drilling: Pull half guard from standing / Knee Cross pass with crossface / Side control to north-side armbar via watchdog to mount

Pull half guard from standing / Knee Cross pass with crossface / Side control to north-side armbar via watchdog to mount / Hitchhiker escape / Pull half guard / Watchdog hold counter to pummel underhook hipswitch Knee Cross pass / Knee on belly / Drop knee to choke

Pull half guard from standing / Knee Cross pass with crossface / Side control to north-side armbar via watchdog to mount / Hitchhiker escape / Pull half guard / Watchdog counter to pummel underhook hipswitch Knee Cross pass / Knee on belly / Choke attack  / North-side armbar from knee on belly

Scale: 171.1

Conditioning Day: LSD

forty-five minutes / moderate pace / variable grade

Strength Day: Squats / Rows

DB Squats: 10 sets 5 reps

One-armed DB rows: 10 sets 5 reps

30 Crunches / 30 Alt Obliques

TGIF Training

Conditioning Day: Berardi / Beaster

Berardi

3 circuits / 6 reps / 60 seconds between sets

upright row

sumo deadlight highpull

push press

BUDRS

sumo deadlight highpull

forward lunges

lateral lunges

reverse lunges

calf-raises / shrugs

Beaster

400m at 3% / 400m at 6% / 400m at 7% / 

400m at 8% / 400m at 9% / 400m at 1.5%

The Road to Mastery Begins with Failure

One of the best things I ever heard about learning jiu-jitsu was a reminder of how much jiu-jitsu I'd never get to know. There's something of that spirit in this personal essay by black belt Stephan Kesting:

The Real Secret to Mastering a Skill

In the popular new age Ophrah conception of the world the only thing stopping you is your imagination or – alternately – your lack of belief in yourself.
We tell our kids, “Honey, you can be anything you want to be. You just have to believe in yourself…”
We give each other calendars with motivational sayings like, “Conceive, Believe, Achieve.”
Well belief might be important, but it’s not the only thing you need. It’s necessary but not sufficient; those syrupy sayings don’t tell you the whole truth…
The truth is that you CAN be anything you want to be, but only if you’re willing to make the sacrifices that are required.
Anything worth achieving is going to require some kind of sacrifice.

Ralph Gracie in Action

There are a few people whom I've never seen footage of in training. Ralph Gracie, a legendary Gracie especially here on the West Coast, is one of them.

 Not sure what it means that my first jiu-jitsu post of 2014 is of Ralph Gracie. But I'm going with it.

"Ain't No Circuit Like the IBJJF Circuit

'Cause the IBJJF Circuit don't stop ..."

If you're a West Coast, IBJJF circuit jiu-jitsu athlete, then the first event on your calendar is only a little over a month away.

The registration deadline for the San Francisco International Open is February 1st.

Results for the 2013 championships are here. Brazilian Top Team took top honors, with Yemaso Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Ralph Gracie finishing second and third respectively.

Among the black belts competing were Caio Terra, the Mendes brothers, Gracie Barra's Lucas Rocha and Magid Hage, and open division winner, Gustavo Dias Elias.

Results for the inaugural 2012 event are here.

Especially for Northwest jiu-jitsu athletes, note that while the first event of the Revolution series for 2014 has yet to be scheduled, it is likely to be after the San Francisco International Open. With the Pan scheduled for mid-March, the San Francisco Open and a probable mid-February to early March Revolution date, should provide excellent preparation opportunities for those competitors looking to make a splash at this year's event in Irvine.

Buy One, Get One

A little over three years ago, I posted a modest piece of snark about the lack of commercial incentives to support otherwise mandatory consumption of a particular product during a time when such incentives were, if not ubiquitous, then at least quite common.

Sad to say that little has changed in the time since.

Me and My Big Blue (Belt) Self

Very much looking forward to some time off over the winter holiday stretch (Xmas through New Years). It will be a working week and a half in some senses; I've got my first major report due for Contact in about a month and I don't see getting it done without a little labor over the holidays. But some days beneath the desert sun will no doubt do me some good as I gear up for what I hope will be a far more active 2014 than 2013.

I'm just now fully realizing how much adjusting to the new job has affected my ability and inclination to train. It's no surprise that after four and a half years of doing things one way, it was going to take some adjustment time before I could start comfortably doing things another way.

I've been sorting through goals over the past few days, things I want to accomplish in 2014. No point in spilling beans here when I've got some percolating to do in Sonora. But it is fair to say that "fewer, better" and training with my "Blue Belt Self" in mind will be themes for the coming year.

Training Day: Wednesday

Self-defense/Standing: None

Ground: Wedge guard open from the knees / Double unders pass / Pass choke / Asymmetrical choke / Specific training: Submit from Closed Guard Pass Guard

Live Training: None

Scale: 166.5

Training Day: Wednesday

Self-defense/Standing: Jump to closed guard from standing

Ground: Jump to closed guard from standing / Pendulum sweep with leg / Armbar from defense of Pendulum sweep with leg / Specific training: Guard Pass Guard (12 minutes)

Live Training: Robert (six minutes)

Scale: 165.6 lbs

BJJ Scout: The Nicolini Guard, Parts 1 and 2

Found myself talking a little bit about the Nicolini guard with Coach Tom the other morning. A singularly great breakdown of the multiple gold-medal winning game of Michelle Nicolini is below, courtesy of BJJ Scout.

Berardi

3 sets. 6 reps. Variable rest.

Deadlift high pull

Upright row

Thruster

BUDR

Deadlift high pull

Front lunge

Side lunge

Reverse lunge

Calf raise / Shrug

Fragilee

One of the trickier things about getting older in jiu-jitsu is how much more risk-averse you become. 

Even though I started training relatively late at 38, it wasn't until recently that I actually found myself consciously thinking about the potential for injury every time I train live. 

I've never really suffered from any major injury (i.e., anything that required medical intervention) -  a labrium tear here, a popped rib there - other than my eye, which is more of a freak thing than something that the average person training should ever worry about. But now, I find myself calculating risk with every move I make when sparring.

Admittedly, I never played a wild and crazy jiu-jitsu game. So the adjustment is more psychological than physical. But it is a real adjustment, and it feels like the kind of switch that, once flipped, won't flip back.

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

Matwork

"This is my mat.


There are many like it.


But this one is mine.


Without me, my mat is nothing.


Without my mat, I am nothing ..."

This Week in BJJ: Los Bros Mendes

More Must-See-TV from the good folks at Budo Videos.

Gracie Barra Seattle, December 2013

Takedowns by Faber

One of my favorite videos on lower body takedowns by mixed martial artist, Urijah Faber. Inspired by a FB post by GB teammate, Alex Kyllo.

Que es Mas Macho?

The number of black belts you defeat or the number of white belts you teach?

ADCC 2013: Buchecha v. Cyborg +99kg Final

ADCC 2013 Superfight: Braulio Estima v. Andre Galvao