New Coaches

I am really excited to have two new coaches joining the ranks at Hobart Martial Arts Academy, Mat Stennings and David Leighton have joined us to teach Muay Thai classes. This is just another reason that 2015 is really exciting me. I did a private lesson in Muay Thai this morning with Mat Stennings and am so impressed with his coaching style and his ability to make genuine improvements in my technique and power in only one session.

Check out our new coaches page for a list of all HMAA staff.



Also check out the timetable for 2015 as well, we are likely to add in more Muay Thai classes before too long, so we are very excited about that!

Growth and a New name

On the 23rd of July 2013 I wrote a post about the new club that I was training in called Maromba South. I said how it was a great place to train and had a wonderful vibe. Since then we have put a lot of work and continued to grow and develop. So much so that we now run 4 times as many classes as we did when we started and have grown in size.

This growth has included expansion in classes on offer with the addition of Muay Thai, Women's BJJ and Mixed Martial Arts classes. As such we have decided to change the name of the club from Maromba South to the Hobart Martial Arts Academy, the website has been updated and is here.

The new timetable for the club is below.

Honour the Process

This morning I was standing in my kitchen using my new handheld coffee grinder (courtesy of my wonderful sponsors Primalabs) and as I ground the coffee beans a thought came to me. I could be using a coffee pod, or I could have an instant coffee, or I could even by pre-ground coffee, but instead I am grinding the beans for my morning cup by hand. Ultimately they all achieve the same end goal, a morning caffeine hit, but one just takes a lot more work. It reminds me a little of Japanese Tea Ceremony compared to dropping a tea bag in a cup. So as I stood there cranking that handle, I reminded myself that “the destination is worth the journey”, however the obvious question that came from that, was “is the journey more important than the destination?” We have all heard expressions to that effect before, particularly in regards to Jiu Jitsu. As I started thinking about that a bit of a possible contradiction came to me….

I am sure everyone would agree that Jiu Jitsu is about searching for efficiency, efficiency in technique, in training, in learning and in teaching. For example “can I learn this move effectively in one lesson instead of ten?” Striving to develop efficiency is arguable the human tendency that ‘brought us down from the trees’ so it is, I think a good thing. In fact without it, our martial arts training would probably be as simple as lifting more weights to become the strongest. The quandary arises when we realise that increasing efficiency can often reduce the time taken in a process. I could have taken five seconds to spoon some instant coffee into a cup and added water. Instead I ground the beans by hand and added them to the plunger and let it seep which took about five minutes.

As usual my mind started to apply this thought process to Jiu Jitsu, and I thought about the five to six years I took to become a blue belt verses the one to one and a half years that some can take. Arguably there is no skill difference if we are all blue belts, but there may well be an experience difference. When I think of my journey so far I think about how many different people and grappling styles I have been exposed too, how many different people I have had the chance to train with/learn from/teach and how many trends have come and gone in techniques and games. I think that perspective is something that can come from a longer journey and I feel that I have really benefited in this regard.

So as I sat down to drink my morning coffee, with my five minutes of reflection coming to an end, I decided that while striving for efficiency is very important, it is the experience that really shapes us. So in other words, while shortening the journey is a great goal, making sure you pay attention on the way is just as important.

A New Sponsor

I am really happy to announce that I now represent and am sponsored by Primalabs. These guys have great nutritional products as well as Caveman Coffee and the Onnit range.

I don't usually agree to be sponsored, but after discussing this with Alan and Nicolle who run the company I have decided that it is a good fit for me. Largely because the reason that they chose to approach me for sponsorship isn't due to my accomplishments or skills, but rather due to my ethos and the culture I promote. Since these are the things that are the most important to me in training I think this is a great fit. It also doesn't hurt that I believe that Primalabs is a fantastic company that strive to both provide genuinely good products, but also to operate in a way that benefits the community as well.

Please check them out remember to use the discount code "gerry" for a 10% discount on your purchase.

Don't forget to sign up for their newsletter for the whole story on me and their other representatives.

Check out this link for my bio on their site.

The “Three Cs” of Training.

After receiving so much positive feedback on my last post which discussed the idea of “leveraging more out of your training time” I decided that it would be prudent to follow up with something a related. The topic that I have chosen to address here comes from the idea of training, but also learning efficiently. While the last post was largely about seeking similarities in movement and technique to train, this post will be about finding common grounds in terms of application.

A common point of discussion on BJJ training is on the type or style of training you do. Some people like to train in the gi, some like no gi; some have a focus purely on competition while others still are solely focused on the “real life” or street applications of BJJ. Of course added to this mix there is MMA style training as well. I have heard it said that BJJ training can be divided into 4 parts; Gi, No Gi, MMA and Self Defence. I agree with this and like the analogy as I believe that to focus on only one aspect is to sell yourself short. My only reservation is that I don’t like to split up Gi and No Gi too much. I believe that the differences between the two are largely mental and that, beyond a few obvious exceptions, solid technique transcends clothing.

So when I break up BJJ into composite parts I like to describe it as being equal parts Self Defence, BJJ Competition (Gi or No Gi) and MMA. Where my view differs from some coaches and associations though, is that I try to find the similarities and teach between the three areas and teach things that cover all three. If that isn’t possible I still want the techniques to cover at least and if not, then they should at least have physical movements and skills that are translatable across multiple arenas.

The way I teach this is through the “Three Cs Rule”, which is that the technique should be applicable in a Comp, the Cage or a Club. This doesn’t mean to say that I don’t teach Spider Guard, knowing that it has no real function on the street or that I make all my students do their tournament prep in MMA gloves working with strikes. It is more a case of training (and learning) efficiency, so applying the technique in a way that shows awareness of all arenas.

By asking myself and students if a given technique will meet the “Three Cs Rule” I am testing the broader understanding of the group and also helping students to gain a broader perspective. A good example of a technique or movement that applies in all areas and also acts as a building block to modify certain techniques for different areas is the Technical Stand Up. This move is most commonly thought of in the self defence and MMA worlds, but can also be used in BJJ competition to escape the bottom or as an alternative to a sweep. It also works to add a more practical element to the great competition technique of the Butterfly Hooks Sweep, by allowing you to stand up in striking environments. An added bonus to the technique that Kenny just demonstrated so nicely for me is that not only can you go to a front headlock position from the Technical Stand Up, but you can also get your base to drive forward for a single or double leg, which definitely has a place in all these environments.

So that is just one example of a concept that has a place in a Comp, Cage or Club. I hope you have enjoyed this post, as promised last time, my post on efficent guard passing is coming soon!

In the mean time, stay safe and get the most out of your training!

"Leveraging" more from your training....

Most people reading this train in Jiu Jitsu and as such know that enough training is never enough, if you have caught the BJJ bug you want to be on the mat all the time. The family atmosphere of most academies and the constant challenges and growth we experience make our BJJ training some of the most rewarding times in our life. However, the reality is that everyone has one reason or another that keeps them off the mat more than they would like. This may be due to down time due to injury, recovery/rest days, work commitments or looking after our families (or any of many other distractions that are otherwise known as "real life"). It is probably no secret that as you get older these factors play a larger role in your life. It maybe that as you get older you start a family which comes with it's own responsibilities, or perhaps our careers become more demanding. Another reality is that once you get beyond 30 your body takes longer to recover from intense training and injuries are much slower in healing. In my own case I have a beautiful family with diverse interests and needs and have a full time career outside of BJJ. Not to mention being involved in the management of the academy also takes time that may otherwise be spent training.

The last year or so has forced me to think seriously about how I get the most of my limited training time, because unlike the 10 or so years that came before, my training time has become more limited. I have been searching for ways to maximise my training time through the use of more efficient training, to "leverage" better results from my training time. This, I believe, is what BJJ teaches us; to apply the principles we learn on the mat into our broader thinking. BJJ teaches us the concepts of leverage and of maximum effect from minimum effort, so it makes sense to apply these principles to the learning of technique and not just to the techniques themselves.

I have come up with a few ideas that help me to achieve my goal of improving the efficiency of my mat time, such as:

• Learn to see jiu jitsu in terms of concepts not individual techniques
• Train jiu jitsu movements not specific techniques
• Recognise useful parallels between different techniques

The great thing is that you can achieve all of these things simultaneously by training the right way. The interesting thing is that this article started it's life not being about maximising training efficiency, but about the parallels between several techniques that I have been teaching recently. However, as I started to thrash out a rough draft I started to realise that there were so many parallels that it was really better to step and speak about the broader concept. That said, I have chosen to highlight a few movement concepts that apply across a range of techniques, some are obvious parallels, others less so, but all are similar. I have listed the movement concept first with description and then I will list some different specific techniques that use them.

Rocking Chair – The first principle I call the "Rocking Chair" because the movement involves rocking the body forward and back or side to side on the butt without changing the position of the legs in relation to the body. So if the movement starts with he thighs at 90° from the torso then as you rock forward or back that posture is maintained. The most common example of this is seen in the Butterfly Hooks Sweep where the opponent is swept through the power of the entire body moving in unison as opposed to a 'kicking' motion with one leg as can be seen in this example. Various forms of spider guard also utilise it such as Kurt Osiander's "Butterfly Sweep" (one of my personal favourites) and Jeremy Arel's "Leg Weave Sweep". A favourite of mine is where these two sweeping styles meet through the utilisation of this principle in Michelle Nicolini's Shin Block Guard, which can be seen from about 0:50 in this one of BJJ Scout's brilliant videos.

Movement Angles – Perhaps a more obvious example of a movement concept is the creation of angles in guard. We teach all of our beginners that the secret to completing either a triangle, armbar or omoplata from the guard is in creating the right angle. Specifically we are referring to the angle we shift our bodies to in relation to our opponent. For a triangle this approximately 45°, an armbar it is 90° and for an omoplata it is 180°. The important thing is that hip movements we use to achieve this are the same, it is only the rotation that varies. So in principle training one technique entry assists with training them all.

These are two common concepts that apply in many techniques and highlight my point well. There are of course many more, but I feel that these are sufficient for now. I did consider discussing inverting from guard and how it could be applied to spin through triangles, berimbolo or helicopter sweeps, but this isn't my area of expertise and would only be repetitious. One other area that I considered discussing was on passing and the fact that all guard passes into three 'families' of passes, however I think that this is a broad enough topic (and one that I am interested enough in) to warrant it's own future article.

In the meantime, stay safe and train SMART!

Chokes: The two common principles

I have taught (and practiced) various choking techniques in the last few weeks and have found that I have been asked similar questions each time. In order to explain I have found myself talking about the principles that all chokes have in common.

Broadly I think that there are two main principles that all chokes have in common, this are not specific things such as “grip here” or “squeeze there”, but rather principles that make choking techniques effective in application. I am a big believer in learning through principles and concepts as out lined in a previous post titled “Technique:Principle vs Preference”. The two principles involved in choking are:

1. Removing the slack.

2. Applying pressure.

Just like Jiu Jitsu....

I have been using an analogy recently of the hangman, like the ones you see in movies about the

“Wild West”. When the guilty party (or innocent party for that matter, not judging…) is lead up the steps to the gallows they follow the same two stage process. Firstly the hangman fits the noose around his/her neck and then they pull it tight to remove any slack. This is the first principle, the second principle of applying pressure isn’t done by the hangman, but by gravity. The hangm
an (hanger) drops the trapdoor and the condemned party (hangee) falls down. Their own body weight under the force of gravity applying the deadly pressure.

So to apply this analogy to actual grappling technique I thought I would talk about two different choking techniques and how the principles are applied in each case. I will discuss the Guillotine from guard and the Rear Naked Choke from back control. While these two techniques are very similar in the process of removing slack, the pressure is applied in a different way for each.

1.       Removing the slack – in both cases the slack is taken from each choke by ensuring that the choking arm reaches as far around the neck as possible. So in the case of the rear naked choke the elbow should be in front of (or as close to as your arm length permits) the adams apple and your hand behind the shoulder or neck of your partner. As opposed to having your forearm across the neck as you would in a “neck crush” or “trachea choke” (I can be seen teaching an entry to this grip here). When it comes to the guillotine opinions vary, but I like to reach my arm as far around the neck as I can, so that elbow is essentially in front of the adams apple like the rear naked choke. As opposed to the variation where the bone of the forearm is applied to the front of the neck, which I tend to find is too loose and allows your partner the option to move a little. In both cases (and that of all chokes) the tighter the choke is in the setup the more effect the application of pressure will have.

Marcelo Garcia applying the famous "Marcelo-tine"

The arms have no slack and the body expands.

2.       Applying Pressure – The means used to apply pressure varies from choke to choke, but many techniques share similar methods. I chose to talk about rear naked choke and guillotine because they each represent one of the two most commons methods. In the case of the guillotine choke, once the slack is removed the pressure is applied with the body weight. By driving our hips deep underneath our partner (and passing a leg high over their back to prevent escape) we effectively “hang” our weight from out partner. This pulls them into the choke and makes it mechanically hard to posture back up. The same basic principle applies to almost all chokes from the guard as you are under then person, so in a prime position to hand your weight off them. Think of triangle from guard and cross lapel choke from guard as two other examples. The rear naked choke is done using a constriction of the body. It can also use gravity if your partner is facedown, but primarily it is done through constriction. By this I mean that once the arms are locked in with zero slack the choke is completed by expanding the body (by breathing in) which removes space and forces your partner into the choke. The same principle applies, to Annacondas, Darce/Brabo, Head/Arm, North/South and many others.

In summary when I observe a student having trouble with a choke in rolling 90% of the time it is because for one reason or another they haven’t been able to remove all of the slack before they attack. So even if they do apply pressure correctly the will still require a great deal of strength to complete the technique as the will need to compensate for the slackness of the initial choke.

Have fun on the Mat.

Art of BJJ Blog

A few months ago my academy was privileged to have two guests from France, Marie-Laure Kocher and Florian Grasso were on a training holiday and foudn us through the BJJ Globetrotters network. I was very please tohave them as guests on our mat for 2 weeks and enjoyed their company very much.

Marie has written a great blog of her travels and on training BJJ as a woman. I would recommend it, it can be read in either French or English. Marie wrote a lovely review of our academy which can be found here.

Marie also asked me to demonstrate a technique to be included in the post, I demonstrated my alternative version to the harness grip from Back Control.

I have embedded the youtube video below.




I love to have guests on my mat, particularly people who are travelling, I always enjoy the universal language of Jiu Jitsu and want to do my best to encourage it.

Have fun on the mat.

Are BJJ Belt Rankings subjective? Yes. They are...

This article is a good read regarding ranking in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, it could be interesting for those who are unfamiliar with BJJ and don't have a lot of understanding of the process or those who train in BJJ, but have questions.

I certainly remember having thoughts about my rank and its legitimacy when I was awarded my purple belt and shortly afterwards I rolled Clancy Roberts, one of my first coaches, who was still a purple at the time (although he was awarded his brown belt the next day).

I remember saying to Clancy that I didn't feel comfortable wearing the same rank as him as he had been a purple when I was a white and had also had a huge impact on my development in BJJ. Clancy just laughed and said "if your coach thought you deserved the rank then you deserve it, no one can take that away from you." That comment was typically accurate and succinct and I know agree with it wholly. My feeling is that a promotion is subjective, but that is appropriate as the measure of progress varies from individual to individual.

Anyway instead of me writing about it, I will just post this article as it was written better than anything I would be likely to write.

Check the article out here.

http://eliknight.wordpress.com/2013/11/06/who-deserves-a-belt/

Thinking & Jiu Jitsu

One of the things I love about Jiu Jitsu and specifically coaching Jiu Jitsu is the thought process. Jiu Jitsu lends itself to all kinds of ponderings and reflection when training, developing technique or analysing your game, but I particularly like the process of thinking about technique in order to best deliver training. I like to start by thinking of a concept that will be both rewarding and pertinent at the same time and then to join the dots between the movements themselves and the desired outcomes of the class. I believe a good class should cover at least a few of the following; improve the skills of practitioners, develop new skills in practitioners, improve understanding of practitioners and improve the thought process of the practitioners. I think that if you can cover at least two of those in a class then you are on the right track when coaching and planning a good lesson is key to that.

Recently I have enjoyed the challenge I set myself of planning 3 sessions based on the parrallels between Gi and No-Gi training (as opposed to the differences which some people tend to focus on). I have always been of the opinion that the differences between the 2 are slight, they are usually more about preference than principle, at least that is the ideal situation. In fact I watched a video on youtube recently that was of an interview with Jean Jacques Machado, in it when discussing his entry and success in the early ADCC events he said that competing without the gi wasn't particularly new to him because in Brazil the hotter summer months meant no gi training. At the time they didn't specify a difference between Gi and No-Gi, they just called it Jiu Jitsu and made the call based on the weather (I have inserted the video below, the comments on No Gi are from about 6:28, but it is all worth a watch).



So when planning my lessons on the similarities between Gi and No-Gi training and technique I wanted to be sure that what I taught would be techniques and concepts that would be applicable in both worlds. Over the course of 3 lessons I intended to show that:

1. In some cases the same strategic concept, but with slight technical variation could apply,
2. In other cases that different techniques, but based on the same physical movements could be used
3. And in other cases virtually identical techniques could be used.

For point 1, I for both gi and no gi I taught a version of a butterfly hooks sweep with an overhook, where instead of taking away the opponents post you threaten a choke. This gave the opponent the choice of defending the choke or posting to defend the sweep, but not both. With the Gi the choke was an overhook cross lapel choke and in No-Gi it was an arm in guilotine. So slightly different movements, but the same strategic concept.

In Point 2 I dealt with both countering an underhook escape from sidecontrol and attacking from a sprawl. For theescape counter with the gi I used the gi tail to set up a cross lapel with the overhook and with no gi setup a Brabo/Darce choke. From the sprawl I rolled under for a loop choke with the gi and in the no gi I rolled under for a Brabo/Darce.

Point 3 I taught both the arm bar from the guard and a pendulum sweep from the arm drag both of which had subtley different grips, but these were preference and the techniques were still the same.

The fun part of planning these classes was thinking about techniques to show these three points, but also that are practical for everyday grappling. The idea was that students would be exposed to ideas they didn't know but were fundamental (or for the more experienced have the chance to drill and refine these important movements) all while still being exposed to the ideas on Gi and No-Gi technique and strategy.

Jiu Jitsu is fun, whether you are training, competing, coaching or all three, and the fun doesn't stop when you are off the mat, if you let yourself get creative.

Have fun on the mat.

Blue Belt

There are probably dozens if not hundreds of posts on the internet about the meaning of the belt system in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, or the requirements for each belt level or similar. They all do a great job of providing a picture of what a belt means. So I don't think there is any necessity for me to go into great detail going over the same ground.

However, I have been thinking about the Blue Belt a bit recently and in some ways I think it is the most important one. It may be just due to my own experience, but I recall a time in Tasmania when blue belts in BJJ were as rare as hen's teeth and it was a monumental task to get to the Blue Belt level (it took me the best part of 6 years to get there). I believed that this was a common BJJ feeling and by and large that is the case, although I have seen some schools in more populated states where the Blue Belt isn't quite given the same regard.

Now that a lot of those original Blue Belts are Black Belts and Brown Belts and there are many Purples and even more Blues in some ways the Blue Belt may have lost some sense of importance in Tasmania. I can't really say for sure because it has been a long time since I was a white belt looking up to the lofty heights of blue belt. It is my hope though, that the Blue Belt is still considered as high an achievement as I viewed it, because frankly I still view it that way.

As a coach I have seen many prospective students walk through the academy door, but only a very small minority are able to put in the work to develop sufficient technique, develop their bodies and develop sufficient character to reach the level of Blue Belt. So when a student puts in the effort to get to the Blue Belt level I see it as a huge and special achievement.

The reason that I have had Blue Belts on my mind of late is that last night I had the pleasure of awarding my first Blue Belt, to my student Tim Nissink. Tim, has trained with me and my coach Adam Newton for the last few years and has shown exceptional character and perseverance in that time. I am very proud of him and was very proud to promote Tim to Blue Belt.

Technique: Principle vs Preference

Over the last few months of teaching both classes and one on one sessions i have found myself saying one thing a lot. I have been showing my students how to break down the techniques i have been teaching into principles and preferences.
This has become something of a habit due to the frequency that phrases like "but Joe Bloggs does it this way" or "Joe Bloggs told me to use this grip" are used by students when a technique is taught. I recall as a white belt that i got information from a lot of sources (youtube started towards the end of this time) and i often asked those same questions. Looking back i wish i had just practiced what i was taught because i would probably have learnt more and wouldn't have wasted my coaches time. However, i didn't and now it is my turn to answer the same questions.
What i have learned, though is that every technique has a core principle that is universal regardless of who is doing it (in fact i would go so far as to say if the principle differs between two versions of a technique then you are dealing with 2 distinct, albeit similar, techniques), but that personal preferences can allow for variations in how it is applied.
A great example of this can be seen in the side control escape to guard. It is one of the first techniques that most of us learn and is taught with a lot of variation from coach to coach. As an example just a few versions of the job of the outside arm in this escape are as follows:

1. It reaches across your body towards your hip so that it can form a frame on your opponents hip or establish an underhook.

Jeremy Arel of greatgrappling.com

2. The forearm braces under the jaw of your opponent to create a frame for your escape.

Kurt Osiander of Ralph Gracie Jiu Jitsu

3. You use your arm to reach across your opponents head in order to interfere with their posture.

Henry Akins of Dynamix Martial Arts

Like i said that was just three variants on just one limb, there are many more i can think of and they all have merit depending on the circumstances. However none of these are the core principles of the technique. The core principles that are constant in all the successful variants of this escape are:

1. Creating space through a bridging movement.
2. Maintaining that space by creating some sort of frame or posture.
3. Hip escaping away from your opponent and inserting a knee.
4. Straightening up and establishing a guard.

All successful versions of this technique contain these principles despite having almost infinite variations of the "preferences".
When i teach now i try to explain to my students what part is a fundamental principle and what is a variation, for 2 reasons. The first is to help them realise that even if it isn't identical to the one that they originally learnt it isn't "wrong" and the second is to let them know that they are still getting benefit from training the technique even if they don't consider it to suit "their game" at that stage.
My philosophy now is to try anything that is taught to me, not second guess it straight away. I just wish someone had of explained the difference between principle and preference to me sooner so that i wouldn't have taken so many years to get the philosophy right.
Have fun on the mat.

Happy in a new club.

So after a tumultuous few months I am really happy to be officially in a new club. I am training under my long time coach Adam Newton in his new club Maromba South . This club has one of the best atmosphere's that I have been involved in for a long time. Without deviating too much into a shameless plug, it is I think the best place to train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Hobart and the Eastern Shore and is composed of people who focus on helping each other grow. In addition Maromba South has a network of like minded clubs around Tassie through it's involvement with the Tasmanian Federation of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. We are also affiliated with a Launceston based club BJJ TAZ/Maromba with whom we share training and friendship and have an open door policy with each other.

It is no secret that the world of BJJ (and all martial arts) can sometimes be effected by "politics", which is I believe, often just a word for rudeness. I have certainly been the subject of this before and I am pleased though to say that the core group that make up Maromba South are friendly and welcoming, everything that a club should be.


My coach, Adam has decided to affiliate and train with Thiago Stefanutti of Maromba Academy Australia, I am very pleased about this as Thiago is a great coach who has shown generosity and genuine care for his students and also has a great sense of humour. I am pleased to call Thiago a coach and a friend.

So basically I am really happy to train in a family friendly environment where the focus is on your own development and where there is room for eveyone's goals to be met, not just an elite few. Between my training partners, my coach Adam and our head coach Thiago, I feel like I am in really good hands....

Adam (my coach), Thiago (head coach) and Me......

European BJJ

Just thought I would share a few links to some blogs and pages that I like...

These pages belong to Christian Graugart and Martin Aedma respectively who are in my opinoin two of the best minds in Jiu Jitsu in Europe, this is both to do with their games and skills as well as their personal philosophies.


First is Christian Graugart, who can be found on either of the 2 links below. Christian is a great grappler from Copenhagen, Denmark and is the now famous "BJJ Globetrotter". In addition to his dedication to Jiu Jitsu I really his philosophy on no politics, this is exemplified by the global team that he has set up, "The BJJ Globetrotters", their value system is basically everything I am behind (just written more articulately, not bad for a guy with english as a second language).

 












Well worth checking out...
http://www.bjjglobetrotter.com/
http://www.shogunhq.com/


Second is Martin Aedma, a BJJ Black Belt and true pioneer from Estonia. Martin is a strong competitor who seems to truly believe in the integration of Jiu Jitsu, Judo and Wrestling, he has even coined the phrase "Wrest-Jitsu" to describe his concepts, this is a concept that I try to instill in my classes as well. Martin has a blog that has some great breakdowns of everything from passes, to sweeps, to chokes, I really have gotten a lot from it.

Check it out here.
http://martinaedma.bjj.ee/


Lastly here is a great vid that Christian created of Martin demonstrating his pressure passing called "Estonian Guard Passes from Hell".



Both cool guys and have a lot to teach....

Training Trip

I have just gotten back from training trip to Melbourne, Australia. I was privileged to train with 4 of the best BJJ black belts in Australia, Lachy Giles, Alex Santos, Dave Hart and John Simon.

All of these men taught me some great new concepts and gave more of themselves than just time.

I spent time learning the latest in guard technique as well as solid passing. In particular I have learnt a lot about berimbolo, single leg x guard, de la Riva, and reverse de la Riva. I also learnt done great concepts for dealing with both open and closed guards.

I can't recommend these guys highly enough and I am sure you will agree if you goo and train with them. When you are next in Melbourne make sure you call into renegade MMA, Melbourne martial arts or dominance MMA.

What really matters?

What is important in BJJ Training?

The more time you spend training in a martial art, the more opinions and thoughts seem to emerge amongst your peers on what is really important. In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, there are as wide a variety of these opinions as any other. I find myself thinking again and again though, “how much of it really matters?”

One of the topics that seems to generate the strongest opinions in my gym is what side of the body the ranking tab of a BJJ belt should sit. Opinions are divided and often forcefully argued on this subject, at this point I should probably mention that not everybody in my school even has a ranking tab on their belt still manage to attach stripes to their belt without a problem.

The opinion that I lean more and more toward is that it really doesn’t matter what side of their body the stripes are on. In my case I have never had my arm bar work more effectively one way or the other, and I have never had better resilience to the bow and arrow choke one way or the other. The only factor involved that matters in my opinion is practice.

Mind you, I still hear a lot of views on this (often quite aggressively) from some of the more forceful members of the academy, usually to the tune of “the belt must be be worn with the tab on the left side because that is how (insert famous gracie name here) did it”. After hearing this for the millionth time I thought perhaps I should look into it. My initial thought was to google some grandmasters and see what they do, but I thought better of that and thought I would try to prove my point that it really doesn’t matter.

With that in mind I have assembled some pictures of notable BJJ practitioners below with the ranking bars on either side.

First of all here is Masters Alvero Barretto and Oswaldo Fadda with Grand Master Helio Gracie, as youcan see both Barretto and Fadda are wearing their bars on the left and Helio has his on the right.

These next too images show Master Fadda and Grand Master Helio wearing their belts the opposite way from the picture above.

 

Below is two images of Carlson Sr one with the bar tothe left nad one to the right.

 

My opinion after seeing that all of these Masters of our Art don't care one way or the other is that maybe we shouldn't either. Perhaps like them we should all focus on what is important and that is training and more importantly improving.

Just my thoughts...


I have thought that today (the 25th of July 2013) might be a good day for an update to this article. As this whole discussion was originally based on the way Rickson supposedly wore his belt, I have found a pic of Rickson wearing his belt with the rank tab on both the left and the right.

Rickson with the tab on the left

Rickson awarding the Red and Black Belt to Jean Jacques Machado, tab on the right.

And look at this collection of Gracies, tabs left, tabs right, it is chaos....

A big honour....

So as the picture shows, my long time coach Adam Newton at Hybrid Training Centre honoured me by awarding me with my brown belt tonight, for those of you who don't know what that means, it is a big thing.....



I first tried out BJJ in about February of 2001 and tapped to Pete Rogers' Side Control (pressure to the solar plexus), I stuck with BJJ ever since then and still tap a lot.

So after nearly 11 years, 3 clubs, 2 cities, one marriage, 2 kids, 1 gold, a few silver and several bronze medals (as well as lots of taps), 1 full shoulder reco, 1 full grade 3 LCL rupture, 2 broken fingers, several popped elbows, various black eyes, many coaches, many students, a few tantrums and 100s of new friendships, I have finally reached brown belt. BJJ is definitely a life's persuit....

Thanks everyone for being in my life and contributing to my experience.

Another year, another stripe...

So a bit of perspective... I was promoted to my 2nd brown stripe last, my first came in august 2010. It's a good perspective for those expecting a new rank or belt every few months, short answer the longer you train the longer the road becomes.

If i keep grading at the same rate I'll get my brown in May 2013, and i reckon that is great imagine what i will have learnt by then?!

twice the father...

Hi Everyone, Just thought I'd let you all know my 2nd son Evan was born today... he is huge Amanda and I are really proud!

Waiting...

Today my wife is 3 days overdue with our second child... waiting can be pretty hard, but I know we are going to have another little champion. Nearly 3 years ago we waited 13 days past our due date for our first born and now we are waiting again... the wait though, I know will be worth it!