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."

Metrics: May 17-23

Training Days: Tue / Thu

Four Week training average: 2.00

Techniques of the Week

GB Curriculum Week 4

Strength &Conditioning

Tabata - Tue
Tabata - Thu
Tabata - Sat

Weight

163.6 lbs - Tue

162.4 lbs - Thu

Live Training

20 min / Specific Training

Metrics: May 10-16

Training Days: Thu  / Sat

Four Week training average: 1.75

Techniques of the Week

GB Curriculum Week 3

Strength

Pullups / Pulldowns / DB rows - Sun

Berardi 3 sets / 15 lbs - Tue

Conditioning

LSD - 2 mi - Sun

Weight

156.2 - Thu

Live Training

20 min / 2 sessions

Metrics: May 3 - 9

Training Days: Tue / Thu 

Four Week training average: 2.0

Techniques of the Week

GB Curriculum Week 2

Strength

shoulder shocker - Thu

Conditioning

LSD - 2 mi - Thu

Weight

165.2 lbs. (Tue pm)

162.2 lbs. (Thu pm)

Live Training

15 min / 2 sessions

The Six Things You Need to Compete in Your First (and Last) Jiu-Jitsu Tournament

I was talking with a white belt after class the other evening. He had only been training for a few weeks, was curious about competing, and wanted to know what I thought.

As someone who competed in his first jiu-jitsu tournament less than a month after his first jiu-jitsu class, I was more than happy to help.

Below is a summary of what I shared:

The Six Things You Need to Compete in Your First (and Last) Jiu-Jitsu Tournament

1. A way to get the fight to the ground
2. A way to reverse from the guard
3. A way to pass the guard
4. A way to get to your dominant position
5. A way to finish from your dominant position
6. A way to recover your guard if you lose it

That's it. It is very easy to overthink things. But if you boil down any sport into its essentials, you'll find a breakdown that's comparable.

What makes the sport beautiful are the near-infinite variations on these goals that individual competitors pursue. But make no mistake: these are the goals, and if you have a sound, practiced way to achieve them, you'll be surprised at how successful you are when the referee shouts, "Combate!"

Sherdog: Catching Up with Demian Maia in His New Gym in Sao Paolo

Metrics: March 30 - April 4

Training Days: Tue / Thu / Sat

Four Week training average: 1.50

Techniques of the Week

GB Curriculum Week 13

Strength

squat press deadlift - Mon
squat bench row - Wed

Conditioning
post-train HICT (50 tech lifts) - Tue
post-train HITC (50 timed tech lifts) - Thu

Weight

168.6 lbs. (Tue pm)

163.4 lbs. (Sat noon)

Live Training

36 minutes / 6 sessions

Eddie Bravo Invitational 3: Tonon Wins 2nd WW Belt

Great coverage of the Eddie Bravo Invitational 3 this afternoon and evening.

Eddie Bravo Invitational 3 Results: Garry Tonon Repeats as Welterweight Champion

Garry Tonon of Ocean County Jiu Jitsu repeated as Welterweight champ with an overtime submission win of Josh Hinger. Tonon is one of the young rising American stars who has made a name for himself at ADCCs, Metamoris, and the EBIs. Hinger is a veteran, high level  Atos black belt who employed more of an old school pressure game to breakdown his opponents. He was able to force Tonon to his back and stop much of Tonon's famed leg lock attack and force the overtime. In the first period of the overtime Tonon really took his time escaping from Hinger's back control and then in the bottom half of the period Tonon put the squeeze on a rear naked choke and forced the tap despite Hinger having his hand in and chin tucked.

BJJ: Joint Taping: Turf Toe

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

Metrics: February 15 - 21

Training Days: two

Four Week training average: 1 2/3

Techniques of the Week

GB Curriculum Week Seven

S&C

SPD (strength) - Wed

SBR (strength) - Fri

LSD (conditioning) - Sat

Weight

168.0 lbs. (Tue pm)

166.0 lbs. (Thu pm)

Live Training

0 minutes / 0 sessions

Shinya Aoki v. Jung Bu-Kyung

Metrics: January 25 - 31

Training Days: three
Four Week training average: 2.5

Techniques of the Week
GB Curriculum Week Four

S&C
SPD (Squat Press Deadlift 5x5) Wed
SBR (Squat Bench Row 5x5) Fri
post-train HICT (100 hipscapes ) Sat

Weight
169.0 lbs. (Tue pm)
165.8 lbs. (Sat noon)

Live Training
21 minutes / 3 sessions

"I Wanna Be Your Superhero"

Thinking about a theory that suggests football players see themselves as either "destroyers" (think Marshawn Lynch) or "thrillers" (think Richard Sherman). I had a conversation with a non-BJJ martial artist last year that went along similar lines. He suggested that most people who did martial arts either thought of themselves as "superheroes" (i.e., potential defenders of the weak) or "warriors" (i.e., potential challenge-seekers). Obviously the categories aren't mutually exclusive, but I still think it is interesting to think about. Do you love teaching white belts? Do you prefer training with and competing against the toughest guys and gals around? This may help explain why.

Metrics: January 4 - 10

Training Days: three
Four Week training average: 1.25

Techniques of the Week
GB Curriculum Week One

S&C
Box Step / Power Clean / Arnold Press circuit, 20 / 5 / 5 for 10 sets - Sun am, Sat am

Weight
168.2 lbs. (Mon pm)
164.2 lbs. (Thu pm)

Live Training
0 minutes / 0 sessions*

* 12 minutes specific training / one session

Jiu-Jitsu Circuit Training 1.6.14.18.30

Takedown Specific Training - 2 minutes

Reverse from Guard Specific Training - 2 minutes

Pass Guard Specific Training - 2 minutes

Rest - 2 minutes

Repeat twice

"To Give the Weak Ones a Chance"

"The Jiu-Jitsu that I created was designed to give the weak ones a chance to face the heavy and strong."

Helio Gracie

A l w a y s.  T r a i n.  M o n d a y s.

Rule #1: Cardio

"Zombies Lead A Very Active Lifestyle ...

So Should You."

Joe Rogan's Reasons for Extreme Fitness Over 40

There’s a big difference between how I respond to situations in life when I’ve been working out hard on a regular basis and not. If I get out of jiu-jitsu class after a really hard roll and a boulder landed on my car, I’d be bummed out, but my reaction would be so different than if I was on my way to class all tense and angry cause I haven’t had a chance to work out for a few weeks, and a boulder landed on my car. Then I would be like, ‘What the f—!?’ The perspective changes depending on the stress level.

Read the whole interview with Steph Daniels.