Grappling and BJJ tips by Liam The Part-Time Grappler Wandi

BJJ tips: Improving your jiujitsu beyond basic understanding and performance

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Fri, 17 May 2013 23:20:00 +0000

"What's the best way to perform a triangle choke? How do I make my armbars from guard more effective? I want to get more success with my high percentage sweeps from (insert name) guard. What should I do?"

These are very natural questions and they're very common amongst grapplers and BJJ practitioners. Can you see a common thread in them?

They all express a desire for improvement, suggesting the asker already has some kind of understanding that they wish to improve on. Most white belts have a general idea of how to lock in the triangle choke, the straight armlock from guard or flower sweep...etc. They know at least one setup to the move(s), 3-4 details to how to make it work (angle, pressure, muscles...etc. and they add a nice dose of grrrr and they make it work. Sometimes.

They smile and think to themselves: "got that one in the bag"

"My curse, my whole life, has been that 'good enough' was never
'good enough' for me and I only accepted 'perfect'.
Not just in Jiujitsu. In everything" Rickson Gracie.

So when the technique suddenly reaches a threshold, the smart grappler asks herself "am I missing something here?" The technique that was working fine against people with little experience, attributes or fighting spirit suddenly doesn't work against the more advanced (or athletic or spirited) opponents. What to do?

In most cases that I have personally experienced, the cure has been a deeper dive into the technical finesses that make each Jiujitsu technique..magical!

"The best way to really understand a technique is to break it down into
further and further steps. I still do it now and when I hit a wall,
I ask my instructors Rigan and Jean Jacques Machado for more steps." John B Will

My jiujitsu sources over the years have been very rich in knowledge. From pioneering Gracies to world class competitors and coaches to highly decorated police officers. I've never forgotten that there's more to every simple fundamental Jiujitsu technique than meets the eye so the next time one of your techniques stops working, ask yourself: "how well do I know this technique and others like it?"

Grab a sheet of paper and right a move down, say, triangle choke and break it down into these components:

-setups and entries
-grips, frames and postures
-defences
-angles and distances
-pressures
-specific muscles
-movement patterns
-counters and follow-ups
-optimal timing and window of opportunity

Now date this sheet and make a commitment to re-visit it regularly with more steps and details until you can write a book on triangle chokes. That's when you know jiujitsu.

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ZHOO ZHITSU IS FOR EVERYONE!

Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

Proudly sponsored by Predator Fightwear: Built for the kill and Brutal TShirt: Made By Grapplers For Fighters

BJJ / Grappling tips: Injury and awareness

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Wed, 01 May 2013 07:30:00 +0000

I injured my finger today* in BJJ. We were drilling open guard vs passing with full resistance and in the heat of the moment, the ring finger on my left hand bent the wrong way. It hurt. It really flipping hurt!

I quickly got off the mat, screaming and shouting in agony, and got to my locker where I had some ice spray which actually helped a little. A friend saw me and kindly got me a bag of ice which further helped reduce the pain and the swelling. I'll tape it and keep icing it and it should get back to good very soon.

The injury itself isn't really interesting. What interests me is the before and after. This might surprise you but I could see it happen. I knew I was vulnerable today for a number of reasons:

1. I'm tired. Last week was a heavy week (training volume, low rest, uni work...etc.)
2. Today was a busy day. I'd been working hard all day at catching up with uni assignments so my mind was very tired.
3. I was lethargic. My total calorie intake for today had been very low. By 6pm I had consumed no more than 300-400 kcal and a ton of coffee. Far from ideal for such a high pace activity like grappling / BJJ.
4. I wasn't properly warmed up. The general structure of sessions at the Labs is 10-15 warm-up followed by 45-50 minutes of no resistance positional drills then 20 minutes of positional drills with full resistance and 40 minutes of rolling. This is often ok if the pace of the no resistance drills is high and keeps your body warm and loose from the warm-up and transitions you into the resistance drills but today it just wasn't happening for me. Usually, none of this matters because I arrive 20 minutes early and do a kettlebell workout before the warm-up so I'm loose like a goose and ready for action but today...
5. I arrived late. I had a lot of uni catching up to do and had to take the later train so I got on the mat a couple of minutes late and didn't take the time to properly warm my body and mind up
6. I have let my morning mediation slack in the past month or so. Ever since we moved flats I've been, at best, irregular with this most important practice. I know this has a huge effect on me because I could see the signs: I was watching others (he did this, he didn't do that...etc.) Instead of focusing internally, I was a bit everywhere, going back to my locker 2-3 times to get a belt or flip flops or what have you...and other signs of distraction.

Heading out of the gym, I swung by the shop and bought some stuff for better lunches for the week, and some coconut water for re-hydration. As soon as I got home, I prepared enough packed lunches to last me the rest of the week.

My body is my responsibility and I have already re-scheduled my daily wake-up alarm to factor in some meditation time.

I'll let you know how it goes. The finger swelling is already down a little and should be fine by Wednesday with enough ice and rest.

*This post was written on Monday at 8pm-ish as I was waiting for my train home.

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ZHOO ZHITSU IS FOR EVERYONE!

Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

Proudly sponsored by Predator Fightwear: Built for the kill and Brutal TShirt: Made By Grapplers For Fighters

BJJ Gi Review: 93 Brand "Grey Goose" from MartialArtsSupplies.Com

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 08:00:00 +0000

No Relation!

93 Brand is a new American fight apparel company. They real seem to have done their homework though as the gi is both beautiful, aesthetically designed and seems very sturdy. It's light enough to train in and do local comps in but as it's grey, it's not IBJJF legal.

Grey Goose gi by Brand 93

Disclosure and cost:

The fantastic guys at MartialArtsSupplies.com sent me this gi to review. MartialArtsSupplies.com sell the 93 Brand Goose gi for $139.99 which works out to around £92.

Gi Review:

The first thing that hits you with the Grey Goose gi is, you guessed it, the grey colour. It's so beautiful. The first time I ever saw a grey gi was when Seymour (Meerkatsu) invited me to help out with the Design Your Own BJJ Gi competition which was won by Mr Evan Mannweiler with the Pin Up Gi.

The second thing that struck me was how light it is. The gi arrived in a see-thru buttoned-up plastic bag which I carried from the Parcel Force depot to the gym and it felt lighter than carrying a big book. In fact, when I got home, I weighed myself holding the gi then weighed myself holding Saulo's Jiu Jitsu University and I weighed the same. The gi weighs approximately 1.7 kg :)

Thirdly, it's full of white details and contrast stitching. The crotch, for example, is white. Shiny!.

Never mind red belt, I have a red chair!

Drawstring and loopy loops

Beyond the grey / white flash and dash, there is a nice big fat patch on the bum:

and a couple of patches on the sleeves

and very tasteful seam tape inside the cuffs and along the inside of the skirt

Nice contrast stitching

The gi pants are light but very sturdy

The weave, if that interests you, is advertised as a pearl weave but to you and I, that basically means a tightly woven single weave. Translation: light yet sturdy.

This is not the heavy and warm gi you might get from a Gameness Premium Gi that will keep you warm rolling on a cold evening in Northern Europe nor the super feather of a Kauai best suited for training BJJ around the world, but rather something of an in between. Elegance and sturdiness for everyday training.

The gi I was sent is an A2, measurements below:

Wing Span : 171 cm (67 1/3 inch)
Wrist Cuff: 17 cm (7 inch)
Jacket Length: 79 cm (31 inch)
Jacket Width: 65 cm (25 1/2 inch)

Waist Width: 57 cm (22 1/2 inch)
Outside Leg Measurement: 98 cm (38 1/2 inch)
Inside LM: 70 cm (27 1/2 inch)
Ankle Cuff: 22 1/2 cm (9 inch)

Probably the simplest Gi Map you've ever seen :)

What's really nice is that what you see is what you get in terms of shrinkage. It doesn't shrink much from the original shape.

The general fit of the gi is a tad on the generous side, but I am on the huskey side (85kg of pure muscle or 187 1/2 lb, 1.76 m or 5ft 9Inch) so it fits me better than perhaps a skinnier person of my height.

Remember, it doesn't shrink much so if you're skinny, expect it to remain a bit baggy.

Here are some brief info tidbits from the MartialArtsSupplies.com:

Comfortable Pearl Weave jacket
Grey fabric with white stitching and minimal embroideries
12 oz cotton pants
Extended knee reinforcements (all the way to hem)
Cord style drawstring and additional loops
Sturdy collar and heavy reinforcements
93 Brand has what we've been looking for... A functional kimono that looks unique yet not over-the-top in terms of patches and color schemes. Well their Classic Grey BJJ Gi has looks to kill and meets the highest standard of construction and functionality.
Pearl weave jacket with an EVA foam collar and custom interior taping along the skirt and lapel. 12 oz. cotton pants with reinforcements that extend to the bottom hem, strengthening the shin area that's normally thin on most Gi pants.
This beautiful grey fabric is highlight with white stitching and trim, giving a unique but tasteful look. The jacket has only two embroideries: the simple "93" logo sewn into the arms. On the seat of the pants there's a patch that remains relatively unseen and hidden under the jacket skirt until you start rolling around on the mats. Overall a very solid release from 93 Brand, with a great price tag and awesome comfort, durability, and aesthetic.

In short? Fricking awesome...for me and my (husky) body type and since it's not going to be my first option for competitions, I'm making it my Omni-patch gi:

Pictures by Turnip Head Little Lamb.

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ZHOO ZHITSU IS FOR EVERYONE!

Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

Proudly sponsored by Predator Fightwear: Built for the kill and Brutal TShirt: Made By Grapplers For Fighters

BJJ / Grappling Tips: Self defence and Gracie Jiu Jitsu

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 12:02:00 +0000

With my friend Mr Eddie Kone, Royler Gracie
Black Belt and head of EKBJJ

The applicability of Gracie Jiu Jitsu as an art of self-defence is an area I have found myself increasingly interested in. I’ve never been a massive self-defence guy and I’ve always believed that you should work hard to gear your life in a way that you don’t necessarily find yourself in need of self-defence and I still stand behind that statement. Basically, if you’re becoming an expert and defending yourself against muggers or those who wish to harm you, you need to move house, stop showing off your iPhone and maybe work a little on your attitude!

That said, I have developed an interest in how self-defence and jiu jitsu actually link. It all started with me a few years back looking for a good online / DVD based source of jiu jitsu information and finding the Gracie University programme called the Gracie Combatives. I must iterate that, initially at least, my interest was in finding the best jiu jitsu instructionals I could get my hands on and not something particularly focused on self-defence per se. I was looking for someone who not only spoke excellent English, but could articulate their approach to jiu jitsu very clearly and for that reason, the Gracie Combatives was a great choice¹. Rener and Ryron Gracie are excellent instructors with a wealth of experience and a very clear objective behind every lesson, something an aspiring high school teacher like me really appreciates.

What the Gracie Combatives also did was get me to appreciate, amongst many other things, the following:

1. The value of indicators: For every technique, there is a clear indicator for when it’s best utilised. A simple and commonly known example is “when the opponent in your guard puts his hand on the mat, it’s time to attack him with the kimura” but there were many other ones I, as a BJJ purple belt, didn’t know such as when to switch from hips-down side control to hips-up kesa gatame…etc.²

2. The value of head control: In practically every position on the ground, the opponent can gain a mechanical advantage over you by controlling your head and NOTHING reminds you to keep your head away the opponent’s hands like punches!³

A question was brewing in my mind:

“Does a focus on self-defence (punch protection, conservation of energy, defence against attacks a skilled jiujitsoka wouldn’t do such as standing headlocks…etc., training against people of various sizes and experience levels…etc.) help better other aspects of your jiu jitsu (rolling, nogi, MMA, competition preparation…etc.)?”

I recently celebrated my 35^th birthday and as a present, my wonderful wife hooked me up with a private session with my friend Mr Eddie Kone. Eddie is a Gracie Jiu Jitsu black belt under Royler Gracie and recently received his first degree through Rafael Lovato Jr and he’s also the head instructor of a large and growing jiu jitsu organisation. Most importantly, Eddie is dear friend of mine so I was very happy with my gift and the opportunity to spend some mat time with him.

Drilling the finer points of posture within the closed guard

When he asked me what BJJ skills / areas I wanted to cover in the session, the answer was very simple: Gracie Self-Defence. I wanted him to review and update my current understanding of defence against front chokes, rear chokes, bear hugs over / under the arms (both front and back), collar grabs, shoulder grabs and the basic hip throw from the safe clinch.

What Eddie did far exceeded my expectations. Not only did we cover all these in detail, and more techniques, he spent a good amount of time explaining the mind-set⁴ and framework⁵ within which these techniques fit. It was really mind blowing. The level of detail⁶ was fantastic but more than that, the attention to both the value of indicators and head control / knockout protection really cemented to me how authentic his approach to Gracie Jiu Jitsu is and I look forward to learning more from him.

More to the point, the adjustments he made to my self-defence techniques immediately addressed a couple of issues I’ve been having with getting some techniques to work when rolling! Look at this famous example from Kid Peligro’s and Royce and Charles Gracie’s book “Brazilian Jiu Jitsu self defence techniques”:

The devil is in the detail!

When I demonstrated this defence against the shoulder grab to Eddie, he made a tiny adjustment that immediately:

1. Put ME in total control

2. Completely ruined my opponent’s balance

3. Linked with a submission from side control that Martyn taught us a while back that I kept struggling with (and mentally blamed it on having short legs!)

Martyn had learned this really sneaky near side Americana from Rodrigo Praxedes at Phuket Top Team and I immediately liked it by kept failing at it. I thought it was a height thing (Martyn is tall and lanky and I’m, well, not!). The adjustment Eddie showed me from this self-defence position he had learnt from Royce Gracie personally not only fixed my defence against shoulder grabs and the nearside Americana Martyn had shown me but also meant I could better perform this other fantastic nugget of an Americana attack from side control I saw once on a Keith Owen DVD but could never get (this time I blamed it on, you guessed it, my short arms!):

I am convinced that training the self-defence aspects of Gracie Jiu Jits will trickle in and improve every other aspect of your jiu jitsu but, as always, don’t take my word for it. Try it out for yourself. The next time your opponent smothers your armbar or a triangle attack from guard, ask yourself, would he have been able to do that if I had protected against say punches by controlling his other arm / wrist or broken his posture more…etc.?

With the team: Shuban, Piotr, Eddie and Nish

1. MGinaction is another great platform to learn but from what I’ve seen, it doesn’t lay out jiu jitsu in a linear format (i.e. this is the first technique you should learn and this is the next and this is the next…etc.). Still, MGinaction.com is nothing short of a brilliant BJJ resource.

2. Those who know me know my love for Saulo Ribeiro’s focus on the right timing (or as he calls it “momento”) for every move and this is a similar concept

3. Whether by stretching your body away from them when recovering full guard or by controlling the distance when playing open guard or burying your head under their jaw line in a butterfly sweep, head control = safety from punches = better leverage

4. How does what you’re doing look to a bypasser? Who looks like the aggressor / defender?

5. When to clinch, how to de-escalate a violent situation, how to close down your opponent’s options…etc.

6. Where should your feet be, your hips, your arms, your head…at one point, he even asked me to pay attention to what he was doing with his armpits!

BJJ and the Cycle of Action

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 07:58:00 +0000

You didn't think Helio rolled competitively every day did you?

BJJ works, but that of course goes both ways.

When I’m rolling competitively I'm always initiating attacks. Always. It might feel like I'm just laying on you in side mount or just holding your head in my guard but believe me I'm actively working to kill your arms in the former and rocking your balance (kuzushi) in the latter to initiate a flower sweep or a back take. At the very least, I'm working to create a posture deficit to my advantage. This is something I've worked hard to develop over the past few years. To me, this is one of the strongest links between BJJ and MMA*.

But as I said above, this goes both ways. The other person is doing the same thing. They are constantly defending and negating my actions, trying to set up their own. This places the following three sets of demands on you:

Mental: As Saulo says in this clip, the only thing that differentiates us on the mat is the heart, and for this style of BJJ you need a huge heart. It's not easy. You're constantly working. Constantly flowing. Constantly in the moment.

Technical: You need to know your techniques inside and out. If your takedowns are getting stuffed and your passes ending with you getting swept then you will eventually stop doing them or at least hesitate to initiate them. Your momentum will be turned against you and you will start freezing.

Physical: I put this last because even though I acknowledge that BJJ, MMA or any combat sport places physical demands on you (strength, cardio, balance...etc.) these can never overshadow technical knowledge and having a big heart.

Start today. Grab a piece of paper and write down three attacks from each position you know and work out how to link them. The next time you roll competitively**, start from one of those positions and just machine-gun those 3 attacks in succession at your partner and watch your progress rocket***! Speed is not essential. Technical knowledge, heart and flow are.

----------------------
*Martyn, our coach at the LABS - FIGHTING FIT MANCHESTER, has always kept the MMA mindset with us. He couldn't care less if we ever compete (whether in gi-jiu jitsu, submission wrestling or MMA) or if we are just training for fun or self-defence. To him, you always keep to the positional strategy and hierarchy of BJJ.
**I don’t roll competitively often at all. I do it every week or two just to stay sharp and more nearer *the rare) competitions.

***Roy Harris wrote a classic article on Progress in Jiu Jitsu and the different belts.

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UFC fighter Alan Belcher shows you how to beat grapplers who are better than you

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:20:00 +0000

A week ago or so, I shared a link I got sent from Mr Alan Belcher, BJJ black belt and UFC fighter which showed some excellent entries to the truck position from turtle. I put that on Facebook and within a couple of days people were already reporting success with the transition.

Click here to see that first video.

I also just a day or two ago received some more techniques flowing out of that position. Here is an email from Alan:

Want immediate access to a weird grappling position that will help you beat better ground fighters than you?

If so, you have got to check out this video:

Click here to see the second video.

This guy was able to beat a very high level grappler by using this exact move. This should be in everyones toolbox as far as I am concerned.

This is a perfect position for no gi grapplers or MMA fighters. It can level the playing field when having to go up against better grapplers than yourself.

Check it out now!

Click here to see the second video.

I hope you enjoy it :)

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ZHOO ZHITSU IS FOR EVERYONE!

Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

Proudly sponsored by Predator Fightwear: Built for the kill and Brutal TShirt: Made By Grapplers For Fighters

BJJ Globetrotter Christian Graugart Seminar: Wrestling from Guard and Upper Body Control in Passing

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 09:22:00 +0000

Christian Graugart in a shiny white belt :)

Christian Graugart, aka the BJJ Globetrotter, visited the North West of England recently. He was here with his brother to watch the Manchester United v Manchester City football game and while he was in the area, he gave a seminar at my friend Carl Fisher’s place Combat Base up in neighbouring Bolton. I was invited and had a great time.

This is a very serious photo.
Check out Christian's awesome PTGrappler Patch!

I found out that Christian was taking the train from Manchester to Bolton so I hooked up with him and we had a very nice journey. He even paid for my train ticket (what? The machine only took card and I only had cash on me?!). Christian is as sincere and genuine as he comes across in his awesome book and is, as you can imagine, a man of a million stories and very clear opinions on friendship, BJJ politics and what is and what isn't bullshit :).

After we got picked up by Mr Fisher and got to his gym, Christian asked me if I thought he should roll at the seminar and I gave him my frank opinion: You’d be crazy to do it. He had just a couple of days prior got a very very serious eye injury (which forced him to spend his birthday at the eye hospital) where a spider guard player almost took his eye out with his toenail. In fact, Christian was wearing an eye patch to protect his uber light-sensitive eye (due to the eye drops). He still wanted to test the waters so him and I rolled a little bit to warm up and while he did pull me apart like a cooked chicken, we had to keep a very controlled pace which thankfully drove the point across to him that he shouldn't roll just yet.

He distracts you with the eye patch and the promise of a
friendly High Five then BOOM... You're staring at the ceiling!

The stuff he covered was absolutely gold but I expected that. What really impressed me throughout was his genuine transparent attitude. He started the seminar by telling us that his goal is to teach as little as possible. He was sick and tired of attending seminars where so many different techniques are shown that you end up leaving with a warm fuzz and a smile but little to show for your time! What he wanted to do instead was show a few fundamental concepts that are very well connected to each other, then teach less than a handful of techniques that express these concepts well. More on that later. Finally, he left us with a ton of excellent drills to help us not just practice the techniques and the concepts they represent, but general body movement and finding your own movement pattern, balance and rhythm.

He taught sweeps from the guard and top control principles that worked from any top position but he showed them from half guard top / passing and finished with a nice breakdown of the Marcelotine choke.

Christian stressed how he’d been working these techniques for a long time, both for himself and thru his many students at CSA.dk so he knew that they worked very well, so I knew with enough searching I could easily find a good video of them on his great blog and I was not disappointed. Here is a very thorough video of him teaching the grips, entry and sweeps from integrating wrestling and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu but first let's start with a conceptual question:

In the butterfly guard what's the better instruction: "Head closer than hips" vs "Hips further than head"? What's the difference?

The difference is very subtle, but the consequences are huge!

It was an absolute pleasure to finally meet Christian and I look forward to seeing him again. Hopefully in Denmark! I would like to thank Mr Fisher for arranging the seminar and Mr Graeme Kidd for being my training partner on the day.

Christian Shivering His Timbers in Manchester

BJJ Review: Grip Trainers from Scramble Stuff

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 23:29:00 +0000

Scramble make a lot of really cool grappling and BJJ related shizzle. From gis to rash guards, from shorts to spats and now: Scramble Grip Trainers.

The grip breaking article (with the super tips from Olympic judoka and my judo instructor Sophie Cox) I posted not too long ago has already caught lots of attention so this equipment review sits in nicely.

Bruce Lee once said: "Buy stuff made by Scramble!".

No he didn't. He did however say "You want to learn how to punch? Punch. You want to learn how to kick? kick!" and I think he would have extended that to: "You want to have monster gi gripping ability? Grip a gi!"

The chaps at Scramble sent me these fantastic pieces of equipment and I put them immediately to the test but since I don't really compete much, I thought I'd let the proper review come from someone who was about to embark upon a big competition and I shared them with Mr Mike Woodhall.

Mike is not only a qualified personal trainer so he knows exactly what he's doing in the strength and conditioning room, but he was preparing for the Midland Open where he, yesterday, got himself a nice shiny piece of bling in the form of a Silver Medal.

Here's Mike's review of Scramble's Grip Trainers:

The first use that comes to mind is to simply
grab and pull

Grip is one of the most over looked ingredients to overall strength. From carrying shopping bags, hitting some deadlifts without straps OR holding on to that vital gi choke longer than your fingers ever imagined they could. I don’t do the shopping and I use straps to deadlift. I will leave you to guess why I have been including more grip training over the past few months in my strength and conditioning sessions.

It's all about the spider guard grips!

Most people have heard of gi pull ups, throw an old gi over a bar and grab the collar and get going. You get the concept, all one way, all too rigid. When I got my hands on to the Scramble grip trainers I was like a kid in a candy shop, wrapping them on kettle bells, barbells and the pull up bar. Shortly after I was stood there blowing my fingers, trying to relieve that extreme pain you may remember from the first time somebody ripped your grip off their collar. Needless to say they are definitely fit for purpose.

Put the kettle on!

The Scramble grip trainers are light, versatile and adaptable. The open ended sleeve wraps around and through the attached loop to secure on to a majority of gym equipment, you can get very creative with what you attach these to. The quality of the material feels better than some gis I have grabbed on to and one of the two sleeves on its own has no problem in supporting a persons weight. The inside lining of the sleeves and scramble patch show there has been more thought put into these than just chopping loose ends of old gi tops.

Deadlifts

Bent over rows

So, for that essential grip training you could go and get an old gi top (providing you have one) or do as some people like to and use a towel for pull ups. For the affordability I would say get some Scramble grip trainers! They can be stored effortlessly in your gym bag to utilise in your quest for that monster grip that is just sometimes needed in life."

I'd like to thank Scramble Stuff for sending me this cool piece of BJJ equipment and Mr Mike Woodhall for taking the time to use and review it.

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ZHOO ZHITSU IS FOR EVERYONE!

Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

Proudly sponsored by Predator Fightwear: Built for the kill and Brutal TShirt: Made By Grapplers For Fighters

MMA / Grappling Interview - Nathan Leverton - Leicester Shootfighters Team Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 22:22:00 +0000

I recently had the pleasure of chatting to Mr Nathan Leverton of the Leicester Shootfighters fame. Nathan is a warrior and a gentleman and in this multipart interview you will gain some insight into his philosophy, training ethos and tips for part time grapplers. For Part I of this interview please go here.

- Give us your top 5 tips for time-management (to fit exercise around life)

I'm one of the least time efficient people you'll ever meet, my wife calls me "Last Minute Leverton" lol. I have learnt a few things over the years that have helped me and those close to me though...

1. Have a short to do list, only the one to three most important things, don't list everything you can think of as you'll get overwhelmed or do the unimportant stuff first.

2. Deciding what you'll not do is as important as what you will do. Identify the one or two non-essential things you'll lose the most time doing and pick that as a thing not to do that day.

3. Good is good enough. Been the hardest one to learn for me. Tinkering away with something forever has you going around in circles and losing perspective, it will never be exactly the way you want it so let it go. Keeping things to yourself is not being a perfectionist, feedback is part of the process of growth, get it as good as you can by a deadline and put it out there. You'll learn more and quicker from feedback than keeping it to yourself anyway.

4. The opposite of a lot of self-help books, say "No" more. But do it for the right reasons. Don't say it because you find something scary or challenging, but do if saying yes will get you stuck in a role or position or give you responsibilities that aren't yours and is simply someone else using you to save them time or effort (no matter how they try to disguise it).

5. Get things done earlier in the day. The later in day you schedule to do something the more time there is for problems to stack up and get in the way of it.

- Now let’s balance that with what you consider the top 5 time-thieves.

Can I please have "The Internet" as numbers one to five?!

Social media in particular is a huge time thief so I recently got rid of my personal facebook and just use business profiles now.

Also started using the Freedom application which is great, switches off your internet for a preset amount of time. Simple but brilliant.

- Do you feel that there is a difference in style of jiu jitsu / grappling from academy to academy? What do you think is the reason behind that?

For sure there are with some, especially when the instruction at an academy mostly comes from one coach. Although the proliferation of instructional material and the internet is perhaps lessening the effect now.

If you think of all the technical elements, physical attributes, training methods, mindset considerations etc that come in to play expressing grappling then the combinations are endless and an instructor is likely to favour only a certain blend which will filter down to the students no matter how flexible his approach.

Also, the cross section of clientele may be a factor on how an academies style; something which can change from academy to academy depending on location, price, marketing, affiliations, personality of the instructor etc.

- Similarly, do you feel that there is a difference in style of instruction from academy to academy?

I can't say I've experienced a wide range of grappling instruction as I have only ever attended one or two classes. My main exposure to other coaches has been through videos and seminars which often take a similar format. I've been told by visitors to the academy that I have quite an academic approach and although I teach fundamentals most of the time I tend to cover more moves in one session than other instructors.

- Tell us how you started in MA?

Movies. Karate Kid to be precise. Simple as that really; I saw Karate Kid, loved it and wanted to start straight away.

I also saw Breakdance and Footloose so wanted to be a dancer but my cousin did Karate and I didn't know anyone who was dancer so went along to the same club he trained at.

- Why do you train?

I train because I enjoy it. Why else would I?

I'm a martial artist and always have been so it doesn't occur to me not to do it.

- Why do you teach?

Because I get to share the benefits of martial arts with others.

And it means I don't have to have a "proper job".

- When did you put together your current syllabus?

To me, the Leverage Submission Grappling Fundamentals Syllabus is something I've been working on since I first got in to grappling. I'm a compulsive lister and notetaker so have always been trying to organise what I know.

Obviously I've taught much of the material on classes for years but I officially launched the Fundamentals Syllabus in 2012 as a set of 6 seminars.

- What are these seminars about?

The Fundamentals Seminar Series is a set of 6 sessions, totaling around 30 hours, that details the primary techniques of the Leverage Submission Grappling system in a step-by-step and detailed style.

It is a hybrid style drawing from multiple grappling arts and my experiences in the martial arts.

The breakdown for the modules looks like this:

Seminar 01: Basic Skills, Mount.
Seminar 02: Basic Skills, Side Control.
Seminar 03: Turtle, Back Mount.
Seminar 04: Closed Guard.
Seminar 05: Open Guard, Guard Passing.
Seminar 06: Half Guard, Headlocks and Bodylocks.

- Why did you create them and for whom?

I was told by many people learning and teaching grappling that they were doing so in a haphazard fashion in their academies. There would be some who put the pieces together but many would be lost in the wilderness along the way and I believed there was room for a more systematic approach.

In addition, I've always stressed an importance on fundamentals so wanted to get those techniques down on paper in a structured fashion and share them in a format where I'd have more time to cover it in depth.

Also, I also wanted to start putting together a syllabus focused on high percentage fundamentals that could be the basis for a grading structure. Most other arts have reaped the benefits of awarding students for their increasing levels of technical knowledge and practical skill and I felt submission grappling had missed the boat. Giving students goals and motivation other than open competition seems like a no brainer if we wish to increase participation in grappling arts.

The seminar series seemed the quickest way to get the system out there so I simply announced the first dates online and waited to see what the response would be. The first session sold out well in advance and every one since has been well attended.

The seminars are very information heavy but suitable for all levels. The mix so far has been about 1/2 students from my academy, 1/4 students from other gyms and 1/4 coaches from other academies.

- How can we find out more?

The most up to date place to keep track of what's happening is the facebook page at facebook.com/LeverageSG or contact me at LeverageSG@hotmail.co.uk

- Do you have any regrets?

No. The past is just that, past.

I thank my good man Mr Nathan Leverton for taking the time to conduct this interview with me.

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ZHOO ZHITSU IS FOR EVERYONE!

Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

Proudly sponsored by Predator Fightwear: Built for the kill and Brutal TShirt: Made By Grapplers For Fighters

MMA / Grappling Interview - Nathan Leverton - Leicester Shootfighters Team

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 17:40:00 +0000

- Hello. Why don’t we start by you telling us a little about yourself?

Hi, thanks for having me.

My name is Nathan Leverton, I'm head coach of the Leicester Shootfighters team and founder of Leverage Submission Grappling which is the system we teach at our academy.

I started my martial arts journey in Karate around 1985 but now teach the elements of MMA, with a focus on the grappling aspect.

- Are you currently working? Is that Full time / Part time?

I'm very fortunate to say that martial arts is my job. I teach classes, privates and seminars for a living.

- You also set aside time to practice a sport. Which sport(s)?

Only sport I'm involved in is MMA and it's component arts and that is primarily coaching. When I'm able to I train the no-gi grappling arts for myself.

- How long have you done that?

I first got interested in grappling when I saw UFC 1 in 1995. Being from a striking background I didn't really understand what was going on when they rolled around on the floor but closely followed the rise of what was then called NHB (No Holds Barred) or "Vale Tudo" but is now widely known as MMA.

In the late 90s I met and became friends with Geoff Thompson, one of the UK's most influential martial artists whose students competed in this countries earliest MMA events, which is where I got my first hands on experience of grappling. At the same time I became involved with the start of Submission Fighting UK (SFUK), the UKs first Mixed Martial Arts website, so have been around grappling and MMA for about 15 years now.

- Have you competed much?

No. I did a couple of grappling tournaments about 10 years a go. I was never really interested in competition and have had chronic health problems since my teens so have never been athletic or able to train as much as I'd like. Last year I was in Paris with some of our competitors for the NAGA Europeans so did throw my hat in to the ring so to speak, seeing as I was there anyway.

- Do you feel that you have to compete to get a black belt in combat sports / martial arts?

Different arts, schools and instructors have sometimes contrasting reasons for giving a black belt in their respective arts. How much competition plays in to that entirely depends on who is giving the grade and why. Some may be simply for fighting prowess but others may value different achievements higher. Each can have their own opinion but who are they really to say what others should do. For example, is a blackbelt given for tapping people out in a strictly defined competition arena more worthy as one given to someone who could not do the same but has made the maximum technical growth possible within their physical capabilities against great obstacles and helped others to do the same?

As long as people aren't being deceived or deluded when it comes to their ability to defend themselves and those close to them, each to their own.

- Do you follow any special diet? Do you use any dietary supplements?

I try to stick to a paleo/primal style of eating as much as possible. Basically, I eat plants and animals but avoid dairy, grains, cereals, refined sugar and foods that are highly processed or laced with chemicals.

As for supplements, I've tried quite a lot but now only consistently take fish oils and vitamin D. Occasional ones I use as needed include multi-vitamins, protein powder, l-glutamine and ZMA.

In the past I've found N-Acetyl L-Carnitine and Alpha Lipoic Acid cleared the mental fog which has led me to become interested in nootropics (or "smart drugs"). Been researching it for a while and looking in to trying some different products this year.

I also try to fast, I do a 24 hour food fast once a month.

- How do you manage to fit your training around work, study and family time?

Well, with martial arts being my job I try to squeeze bits of training in here and there while at work and of course I'm always learning when teaching.

Family and social life is a little more difficult as I'm free when they are at work and vice versa, haven't quite got that one figured out yet.

- What is the greatest thrill you have gotten out of practicing your sport?

I've gotten so much out of martial arts I don't know where to start. It's brought me close friends, taught me about myself, given me the opportunity to help others and taken me to parts of the world I probably wouldn't have seen otherwise.

I spent several years working with a small group of pro fighters from my classes and the surrounding area, collectively known as Team Rough House. I coached them for around 50 fights which led to some pretty amazing experiences such as cornering at UFCs in front of 20,000 people and traveling to many countries including America, Germany, Abu Dhabi and Poland.

However, the greatest thrill is the journey martial arts has taken me on, excited to see where it takes me next.

Part two coming soon :)

ps. All pics except the Rough House one are courtesy of my wife Gen Leverton at http://photobygen.com

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ZHOO ZHITSU IS FOR EVERYONE!

Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

Proudly sponsored by Predator Fightwear: Built for the kill and Brutal TShirt: Made By Grapplers For Fighters

BJJ Tips: armbar switch from mount

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 15:50:00 +0000

"Mount is the Mecca of the jiu jitsu fighter" Saulo Ribeiro

Whether in MMA or jiu jitsu or of course self defence, being mounted on top of your opponent means you can exert all your pressure and negotiate on your own terms, which is one of the reasons we seek the position when grappling.

The flip side to the beauty and power of the mount is that we become very reluctant to lose it (good thing) and sometimes reluctant to even commit to choke or armbar attacks fearing we might lose the position (bad thing).

So what do we do? The answer I've picked up from the great minds I've trained with has been threefold:

1. Be very tight in your attacks to minimise the opponent's escape chances

2. Anticipate potential reactions to your set-up and be prepared for them (e.g. Anticipate the upa (bridge and roll) escape when you put your hand in the collar)

3. Anticipate potential counters to your finishing move and be prepared for them (e.g. Straightening the arm against the americana shoulder lock can be countered with a straight arm lock)

Here's a beautiful example of that last one. The spinning armbar from mount is a classic attack from mount. Against an untrained opponent trying to benchpress you off, the basic execution is perfectly sufficient to control, lock or even break the elbow. Difficulties arise when you go against a more knowledgeable opponent who counters by folding their arms and hiding the hand you want.

I was taught the counter below from Mr Kurdt George, head instructor at Renzo Gracie Cape Town and student of the famous teacher John Danaher. Unfortunately at the time I didn't have my camera with me so I was very happy to discover this video by the brilliant Jason Scully

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ZHOO ZHITSU IS FOR EVERYONE!

Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

Proudly sponsored by Predator Fightwear: Built for the kill and Brutal TShirt: Made By Grapplers For Fighters

BJJ / Grappling Back Take Tips: The Secret to Successful Armdrags

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 12:00:00 +0000

Commitment is very important in martial arts in general and especially so in BJJ and grappling. Coming to BJJ from the "one-punch-one-kill" mentality of Karate, every BJJ coach / instructor I've learned from has stressed upon me that in grappling, moves are never a one-off and combinations are the key to success. Nonetheless, you must commit to each individual technique, have full faith in it and never do it half-heartedly. This is never truer than in the example of armdrags.

The heart of armdrags (irrespective whether from closed guard, open/butterfly guard or even standing) is in the first two moves:

1. Clearing the arm to the side
2. Reaching your arm across his back to the opposite lat.

What you do from here depends really on where your partner’s weight is and your own preference really… Christian Graugart gives a very nice breakdown of a few options on his blog. Above all, however, nothing will work unless you completely own that arm, and that is achieved by hugging/clinching tightly.

Leave behind the false notion that pure technique involves no muscle exertion. That is a misunderstanding! The art is pitting your strengths against your partner’s weaknesses: Your two legs against their neck (triangle) your hips and back against their biceps (arm bar) and, in the case of the armdrag, your clinching musculature against an isolated lat and rear deltoid! Once you get the arm past your centre line, you own it. Maintain a tight hug while you advance to the back (or any other option).

In the words of Beatrix Kiddo: Those of you lucky enough to have your lives, take them with you. However, leave the limbs you've lost. They belong to me now.

BJJ / Judo Grip Fighting: A few tips from Olympians

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 12:58:00 +0000

Working thru our BJJ curriculum last night at the Labs in the advanced class (blue belt and above), we were looking into half guard postures, pressures and passes.

It became very clear that unless a lot of attention was given to dominating the grip fighting (negating, stripping grips, gaining own advantageous grips...etc.), success in passing the half guard* was far from guaranteed.

The main grips we looked at breaking were:

1. Sleeve / wrist grip
Everyone knows the route to breaking grips is targeting the gap between the thumb and the other fingers. When it comes to releasing wrist grips, I learnt a combination of maneuvers from karate and also from watching professor Roy Harris DVDs and iPhone apps:
a, wrist rotation
b, fix-and-rip (put an obstacle in the way)

2. Lapel grip
Here's something Judo Olympian Sophie Cox showed me: Once both your hands are free, you can line up the fleshy part of your cross side hand (right vs right) against the fleshy part of their gripping hand. Using a wrist wrenching/locking motion you weaken the grip until your other hand can either rip it away or at least fix it while you rip yourself away from it.

Here's a quick video that demonstrates what I mean:

The most important part of grip fighting is what you do with the hand once you've broken its grip. If you don't move it out of the way and away from you, there's nothing stopping your opponent from re-gripping you. One valuable lesson I learnt from Royler Gracie black belt Mr Eddie Kone was to stuff the arm towards the opponent's body and move towards their back. The nice bonus you get out of that is that it blocks them from getting a good grip with the other hand too.

This is obviously not an exhaustive list of grip breaks but it's, surprisingly, more than most BJJ schools teach.

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ZHOO ZHITSU IS FOR EVERYONE!

Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

Proudly sponsored by Predator Fightwear: Built for the kill and Brutal TShirt: Made By Grapplers For Fighters

BJJ Tips: Escaping the mounted position

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 10:03:00 +0000

Stuck?

In his fantastic book : Jiu-jitsu University: The Daddy of BJJ books!, Saulo Ribeiro tells a story about his meeting with Helio Gracie. The short of it is: Helio told Saulo that irrespective of the latter’s athletic ability and youth he (Saulo) wouldn’t be able to defeat Helio. Helio didn’t say that he could defeat Saulo: Only that he wouldn’t be defeated. Helio was confident that he would survive!

Before you start looking at escaping from side control (or any position for that matter) ask yourself if you are doing all you need to do to survive in the position:

Are you stopping him from anchoring his weight to you with his arms?
Are you stopping him from controlling your neck?
Are you stopping him from controlling your nearside arm?
Are you stopping him from controlling your farside arm?
Are you stopping him from controlling your hips?

Once you have answered yes to these questions, you should find yourself in a position where you can start bridging and creating space between you and your partner (the most important component of escapes). Follow that bridge with a good shrimping motion to connect your nearside elbow and knee and your more than half way to Freeville!

If you want a better (much!) description and more, I highly recommend Saulo’s book and, of course, all his DVDs. In the meantime, feast your eyes on this backdoor escape from the technical mount that I've been working on for a couple of months. It's demonstrated here by a hero of mine Mr Roy Harris with a much younger Mr Roy Dean/

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ZHOO ZHITSU IS FOR EVERYONE!

Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

Proudly sponsored by Predator Fightwear: Built for the kill and Brutal TShirt: Made By Grapplers For Fighters

Self defence in BJJ: A different perspective on accident management

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 13:26:00 +0000

Self defence is a very important aspect of training BJJ, grappling, Karate or any of the martial arts. This is something I believe very strongly in, but I feel a lot of readers misunderstand what I mean when I say "self defence".

Mostly, the term "self defence" conjures images of an exaggerated, usually pre-determined, attack from a friendly partner which is then met with a variety of vicious-looking counter-attacks until the bad guy is seemingly neutralised. "If someone attacks you with an overhead knife strike you do this then this then this then this...then you freeze!".

While indeed there are technical aspects to self defence such as clinching (from stand-up and on the ground), blocking (hand on the biceps) and distance management (using the knee shield in guard, reaching mount to neutralise attacker's punches), and these are very much valuable assets if and when drilled against progressive resistance, that's not the part I meant. I call that part "Defending yourself against the intentional acts of others"

I'm mainly referring to defending yourself against:

1. The unintentional acts of others

2. The grip of your ego

3. Your lapses of awareness

All these are very deeply and intricately linked and often if you address one, the other two get a nice dose of medicine but addressing all three (along with the aforementioned technical detail) will give you the best results.

The unintentional acts of others

We mostly know what our weak points are and where we are most vulnerable and when. I think if you've grappled for a couple of months (while paying attention to your instructor and how your body reacts to the pressures of grappling) you will conclude that your face, neck, shoulder, ribs, knees and knuckles are the most vulnerable to accidents caused by the unintentional acts of others (slips, overzealous grip fighting, surprising weight loading...etc.). I appreciate that some accidents will be inevitable, but I argue that the majority can be avoided if we:

1. Talk about them as instructors

2. Talk about them as grapplers

3. Take responsibility for our own safety in vulnerable positions (e.g. Choose our grip battles carefully, protect our face at all times even if strikes are not allowed, anticipate potential next-moves...etc.)

The grip of your ego

I know this is a stack pass, but I borrowed this pick from
Grapplearts because top dude might as well have been in
an armbar or a triangle :)

The ego is the enemy. Always. Sometimes people think that a little bit of ego is good because it pushes for survival, winning...etc but I'd argue that we're no longer talking about the same thing here.

By ego I'm* referring to an abstract set of thoughts, emotions and illusions that we think makes up who we are. "I'm strong" "I'm flexible" "I'm technical"...etc. These are qualities that describe snapshots of this dynamism we call ourselves, but they are not our true self. Your loved ones won't stop recognising who you are if you fall into a position where you find yourself neither strong, flexible nor technical. They'll still know who you are and, hopefully, love you for it.

But the ego doesn't want you to think like that because it's a self-feeding illusion so when you are get a big, strong, ugly monster in an armbar and they squish you and your guard, the true you is saying "let go and let's live another day with a healthy neck. Let's flow!" But your ego is screaming "but, but you're a blue belt and he's a white belt! Don't let go! Fight and finish it!". Result? You may get the armbar or maybe you won't. You may get out of there with a major neck injury or maybe you'll come out uninjured. One thing for sure, your ego got the best of you in either case. It's not jiu jitsu. It's not toughness. It's unawareness that your actions are dictated by a self-fulfilling voice that wants you to believe that you are equal to these transient quantities. If you are aware of the ego, you can start protecting your "self" against it.

Your lapses of awareness

I'm sure you can all see how this third one will benefit from a dedicating a conscious effort to addressing the first two. If you are more aware of your partners'** actions and you are aware of your ego's voice then you are simply more aware and more in the "now". Hopefully, you will grow into a more compassionate grappler who looks after his training partners and do everything in your power to avoid accidents in the gym / academy. This will quickly make you everyone's favourite training partner and someone beginners aim to emulate. Now imagine a whole academy or BJJ team who genuinely look after each other even when they are working super hard. A "Family" that practices jiu jitsu together and makes every member a grappling badass. Doesn't that remind you of someone?

*ego as defined in Buddhism (or at least that's how I undersand it)
**awareness of the actions of the training partner you are training with is a great start but ideally, you want to develop it to be aware of what's happening in the room around you. Ever been so into the roll that you bump heads with another pair or perhaps kick a third party in the head?

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ZHOO ZHITSU IS FOR EVERYONE!

Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

Proudly sponsored by Predator Fightwear: Built for the kill and Brutal TShirt: Made By Grapplers For Fighters

The Part Time Grappler losing weight: Week 2

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 13:41:00 +0000

Ok. Weight loss update.

As you may remember, I relaxed my diet and did no jiu jitsu (or much exercise really except for yoga and one day of kayaking) while on holiday and picked up some holiday weight.

Nature is always close in Africa

My pre-holiday weight was around the 83-84kg mark but coming back I was 89.7kg. Now I know some of that was water and what not, but it doesn't really matter for your back and knee joints. All they know is that you're heavy and it sucks. My challenge was to lose all the excess weight by Valentine's Day (14th Feb) and here's my latest update.

Thanks to the wonderful diet we've put together over the years and getting back into my usual training routine, this Saturday I weighed 86.0kg. That's a 1.4kg (3.1lb) drop from last week's 87.4kg and a total weight loss of 3.7kg (8.1lb) from two weeks ago. That's more than half a pound per day. If we presume that, say, that even 75% of that is fat (and the rest is water) then to lose that simply by increasing exercise alone would have meant doing approximately 3.4hrs of running per day, every day!

I did this by eating fantastically delicious meals all week long. I cut out (most) carbs from my diet and only left a select few in. My meals* consisted of delicious fish, chicken, meat or eggs cooked with a variety of vegetables, beans and salads. Oh and nuts. I love almonds, peanuts and hazelnuts.

A typical mid week dinner:
Oven-grilled salmon (with the lovely skin),
a mountain of salad, fried cauliflower and
a scrambled egg

On Saturdays I enjoyed anything and everything my heart desired. I regularly post Saturday Food Porn on facebook but these pictures from last night's dinner are a brilliant example: my wife's wonderful pasta bake followed by cherry pie and vanilla custard. And yes, I had seconds!

Fresh pasta, sausage, cheese, eggs and loveliness

I'm showing my age when I say this, but
cherry pie always reminds me of TWIN PEAKS :)

Losing weight is not that complicated and with the Saturday feast I know I can easily skip sugary treats in the week.

I've tried other methods in the past such as calorie counting and increasing my weekly exercise but that was just ball busting. Most of the time, it either was too slow or didn't even work!

In the words of Jacare, the founder of Team Alliance:

"You lose weight in the kitchen. You get fit in the gym"

Speak soon

*Breakfast is different. That's the time I have my choice carbohydrates. More about what they are and why I chose them in a future post.

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ZHOO ZHITSU IS FOR EVERYONE!

Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

Proudly sponsored by Predator Fightwear: Built for the kill and Brutal TShirt: Made By Grapplers For Fighters

Weight loss update: The Part Time Grappler Diet

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 19:36:00 +0000

Since I've been back from holiday I've done 6-7 sessions of jiu jitsu. If we were to say I burnt 500 kcal per session (which is very generous!) That's approximately 3000-3500 kcal in total. That's the equivalent of 389grams of fat tops.

"You get fit in the gym. You lose weight in the kitchen" Romero Jacare Cavalcanti

So how much weight have I lost since last Saturday?

2.3 kg!!! from 89.7 to 87.4!

At no point was I starving or tired / lethargic.

The secret? The correct diet. The correct combination of food stuffs at the right times.

6 days a week I completely avoid carbs of all kinds (sugars, starches...etc.) except beans, lentils and bran cereal.

On Saturdays, I indulge. I feast. I go mad.

More info on that in an upcoming post.

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ZHOO ZHITSU IS FOR EVERYONE!

Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

Proudly sponsored by Predator Fightwear: Built for the kill and Brutal TShirt: Made By Grapplers For Fighters

The Part Time Grappler Quits Work!

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 15:34:00 +0000

The Part Time Grappler is dead. Long live the Part Time Grappler.

In a nutshell, the years upon years of hard work have finally started paying off.

In 2008 I summoned the courage and, with my beautiful wife's encouragement, I enrolled back in university.

I was working full time as a team manager, working all kinds of crazy shifts so my only choice was to enrol in a distance learning course. I chose the Open University and haven't looked back since. The OU has been a fantastic part of journey and I loved every exhausting minute of it.

The system I followed worked for me and it might work for you too. I re-evaluated all the activities in my day-to-day life and if something did not enrich me, I felt it impoverished me.

I eliminated time wasters such as reading the newspaper, watching mindless TV. I love music but saw listening to music as a luxury and only listened to it when I was walking to work from the train.

I quickly discovered two things which I feel apply to time, money, food, energy or any fluid system:

1. If you look for more, you will find more
2. If you don't assign it to a focused goal, it will disappear like sand running between your fingers
3. Others do not necessarily share your priorities and it's unfair to expect them to

I started waking up half an hour earlier which meant I could be at work 45 minutes early and get some studying done. I ate my lunch at my desk and used the lunch time to study too and on the days I didn't do BJJ, I stopped off at Starbucks for an hour before going home to do some studying.

I had some very good results with this but I wanted more so looked for more time. I realised that I was spending approximately 20 minutes on the train twice a day that I wasn't using for anything meaningful so I started using that time to study and believe me, 40 minutes a day, 5 days per week, 48 weeks a year for 4.5 years adds up!

In June 2012 I realised a long time dream of graduating with an honours science degree from the Open University. I knew my journey was not over but I was still over the moon with my achievement. My wife, brother and parent where with me to share the day and I could see the pride and joy in their teary eyes!

The goal was never just to get the degree for the degree's sake but to use it to enter postgraduate studies and become a Mathematics teacher. The paths to do that were either to:

1. Find a school that will train me (paying me a small salary)
2. Study at university for a year full time (which also meant having no income for that time)

I decided to bite the bullet and save up for the second option and sent in my applications for entry in September 2013. I had an interview in December 2012 which I felt went rather well and then packed my bags and went on holiday with Sharon to Namibia for three weeks.

While on holiday, I saw that I had received an email from the university. I hesitate whether I should read it or not. I was, after all, on holiday. I realised that not knowing was much worse than knowing so I clicked on the email and, luckily, it was a positive response. The university made me a conditional offer to join the teaching programme and their condition was that I do a Maths enhancement course....for 6 month....starting:

Now!*

I handed in my resignation and, thankfully, my manager was very understanding and he totally got where I was coming from and how important all this was to me so I didn't need to work my 4 week notice. My wife, my rock, fully supported my decision so in approximately an hour I will hand in my laptop, work phone and pass, leave the building never to return again.

It's the beginning of a new life. A new era.

I will also have lots more time to teach private BJJ sessions :)

*Well, the course started 7th of Jan but I convinced then that I will be able to catch up with what I've missed so far.

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ZHOO ZHITSU IS FOR EVERYONE!

Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

Proudly sponsored by Predator Fightwear: Built for the kill and Brutal TShirt: Made By Grapplers For Fighters

Weight Gain Over the Holidays: Follow my plan to lose it all (and more) in 6 weeks - and some holiday photos

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 08:55:00 +0000

With my favourite partner in crime

Happy New Year to all you crazy Part Time Grapplers around the world.

The staff at Ocean Basket liked my Brutal TShirt
so they gave me a large portion of Calamari :)

I hope you all had a great time over the holiday period. I know I did and I sure did over indulge!

The famous bar fridge at my in-laws, fully equipped
with my mother-in-laws Xmas trifle!

I spent most of the holiday in Namibia in southern Africa in the company of people I love which usually translates into too much partying, food, alcohol and sunshine.

What do you do when the bar queues are long?
You buy bubbly by the box of course!

I came back with a many wonderful memories, a nice tan and happyful belly I didn't have when I left.

My Mother-in-Law is an amazing cook and I'm a fantastic eater.
The combination almost killed me!

I weighed 89.7 kg Saturday morning just gone which is way too much but it also gives me the motivation to start the year with a bang. Here's the challenge and you are all my witnesses:

Walking to NYE beach party.
To say the least, we got trolleyed!

I will drop down from 89.7 kg to 80 kg by Valentine's Day (14th February) 2013. I will do it using the same diet and exercise regime I used before the holiday so you can still expect outrageous food (savoury and dessert) pictures on Facebook every Saturday.

When in doubt, blame the Germans!

Why? Because I trust this diet. It's an amazing system that suits my Part Time Grappler lifestyle to the T.

I will keep you updated here with my weight loss progress on a (semi)weekly basis.

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ZHOO ZHITSU IS FOR EVERYONE!

Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

Proudly sponsored by Predator Fightwear: Built for the kill and Brutal TShirt: Made By Grapplers For Fighters

Fear No More: BJJ and spotting wild animals in Africa

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 08:54:00 +0000

BJJ in Namibia, south west Africa, where I'm spending the holidays is very sparse but that doesn't mean I'm not thinking about it. We drive around a lot and I'm always on the lookout for wild animals. If you see a shadow on the road in Africa, chances are it's a dark bush and no more. You want it to be a baboon, a warthog or another exciting, wild animal but let's face it: statistically speaking there are far more bushes in Africa than there are small, cute wild animals so these shadows are much, MUCH more likely to be nothing interesting.

Does that mean we should stop looking? Of course not. I couldn't if I tried. Even though I've been to Africa 5 or 6 times, I can't help but be glued to the car window to spot these awesome creatures. I've simply learnt:

1. To get less emotionally attached to the shadows. If they're an animal then awesome. If not, no problemo.

2. Which conditions increase the chances of spotting these animals (time of day, temperature, proximity of water...etc.)

3. How and where to look and what better to look for.

As I'm reading Christian Graugardt's brilliant book The Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Globetrotter: The true story about a frantic, 140 day long, around-the-world trip to train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu this all reminded me of spotting opportunities in BJJ and Grappling. When hunting for submissions (or sweeps or escapes!) I follow the same advice above:

1. I'm less attached to submission opportunities. I still go for them but I try not to hang on too tightly to what could have been.

2. I increase my chances of success in sweeping, submitting or escaping from my opponent by always starting my grappling attacks from the best, most mechanically advantageous positions I can be in (high guard instead of guard, S-Mount instead of standard mount, half guard with the underhook and on my side rather than pinned flat on my back...etc.)

3. This is more based on experience but now I work a lot off the opponent's reaction to the first attack / escape attempt. I know to look for the sweep / back take or the arm bar whenever my attempts to choke fail and I know to look for that from every dominant position. I not only know this but act off it. Just knowing is not enough, you must act.

It happened too often in the beginning that I'd go for a couple of moves, get discouraged when they're thwarted then become paralysed with worry.

"When you are on the mount or the back, you shouldn't be the one worrying. Your opponent should be the one worrying" Brandon "Wolverine" Mullins from the awesome series "How to defeat the Bigger, Stronger Grappler II"

Survival & Escape Side Control & Rickson Gracie: Citizen of Humanity - Just Like You

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 11:07:00 +0000

Here is a quote from Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking:

"A project in Dale County in Florida had at one point in time an unusually high number of violent incidents between police officers and civilians" A study into "how the officers' behaviours matched up with proper training techniques" revealed that they "were really good when they were face-to-face with a suspect... they did the "right" thing 92% of the time. But in their approach to the scene they were really terrible, scoring just 15%" pages 235-236.

For some reason, reading that made me think of escaping side control in jiu jitsu and, the mirror question, how to dominate from it.

It all lies, as with every other position, in the correct survival posture:

Blocking the cross face, blocking the Knee on Belly & Denying the far-side underhook.

The battle is not in the escape; it's in surviving the attacks of your opponent. Once they can't get zip on you, once you are comfortable on the bottom, they will change the dynamics of the position and give you an opening to create distance and either pull guard, get to your knees or (the least favoured option) bridge and roll them.

Put all your energy into the survival and the escape will present itself. Not to mention that you’ll feel invincible and make your opponent desperate. Now that's a sweet sweet feeling.

Check out this beautiful video of the master of invincibility and citizen of humanity - Just Like You, Rickson Gracie:

Rickson Gracie: Just Like You from Citizens of Humanity on Vimeo.

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ZHOO ZHITSU IS FOR EVERYONE!

Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

Proudly sponsored by Predator Fightwear: Built for the kill and Brutal TShirt: Made By Grapplers For Fighters

How to support your BJJ school / gym / academy?

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 12:55:00 +0000

That is one BEAUTIFUL hoodie!

BJJ is such an important part of the lives of those who practice it. We love practising talking about, watching and reading about BJJ, sometimes to the dismay of our non-BJJ friends and family members. Unfortunately, however, we sometimes take the art for granted.

We pack our gym bags with a BJJ gis, rash guards, belts, groin guards, mouth guards..etc. and perhaps some protein shake / bars for recovery. We read BJJ blogs (click here to vote for the Part Time Grappler Blog in the Jiu Jitsu Style Awards!), buy Jiu Jitsu magazines, watch DVDs, study BJJ / Grappling books and mobile apps and tons and tons of YouTube footage. We attend BJJ competitions and go to Grappling seminars and training camps and, perhaps most importantly, we go to our BJJ school, academy, gym or whatever you want to call it, week in and week out, and simply expect it to be there.

We do all these things and, let's face it, we take them for granted. We take it for granted that when we want to buy a gi tailored for our needs (long arms, short legs, extra large / small, patched up / plain, soft, sturdy, striped, rash guard lined, super light competition legal...etc.) then it will be there. Someone will make it and it will be available.

We take it for granted that when we are good enough to wear a darker coloured belt that there will be an instructor who is both qualified* and competent enough to grade us to a blue, purple, brown or even black belt in BJJ! He / she will show up out of nowhere and tie that new belt around our waist and (heaven forbid) that any costs will be involved because that's just blasphemy! It cheapens the belt, art of BJJ and whole process if any money is involved in the process of grading. No, I want the instructor to take time out of his daily duties, travel from wherever he / she lives to my local club, teach me this art they bled, toiled and spent time and money to learn and then acknowledge my limitless awesomeness and bestow upon me the new belt.

Most importantly, we take it for granted that when we leave the house and head to the BJJ dojo, it will be there. Someone will pay the rent, sort out the insurance, bring in high quality instructors, buy and maintain the mats, clean them regularly, pay the electricity, sort out a good schedule that has classes at hours that suit our needs (broken down into levels that suit our needs), be a top level coach who spends enough time and resources on learning both the arts and how to teach them in a way that suits us and we don't want to pay a premium amount for that either. No, because that would cheapen the belt, art of BJJ and whole process.

You are more than welcome to have this attitude. We are all free to think any way we wish. I'm simply suggesting here that this is not the healthiest attitude to have. Not for you, not for you BJJ team mates and not for your instructor.

I would like to suggest that you treat the BJJ community you belong to as just that: a community. A community dies very quickly if we just expect and demand it to be there for us and it flourishes if we nurture it and actively participate in it. Here are a few suggestions to how you can do your bit and help support your BJJ academy, you own local BJJ community:

Follow: Most BJJ academies / gyms have embraced social media (Facebook, twitter, instagram, YouTube, blogger, podcasts...etc.) so go ahead and Like, Follow and show your love. Sign up to your club's newsletter if they have one. What? They don't? Why not be the one to start it for them? Maybe what they needed all this time was someone who has a few minutes over and some IT know-how. If you happen to feature in a tweet, picture or status update then feel free to share it and spread the knowledge about your BJJ club. This is usually free of charge although it may cost you some time and effort.

Attend: Is your BJJ school organising a social event (summer barbecue, Christmas party, UFC night..etc.), a seminar with a high level BJJ black belt, a grading, a charity event, a competition or a small BJJ, MMA and No Gi Submission grappling inter-club or even a cake sale. Take a deep, hard look at your schedule and see if you can't shuffle a couple of things around to attend, help out or at least promote the events on the above mentioned social media. Costs for these vary between £5 for Barbecues / cake sales and £20-40 for seminars (plus additional travel costs)

Recommend: There's a reason you come back to your BJJ gym every week. Why not recommend your extracurricular activity to a friend, family member of even a work colleague? They might get as much out of it as you do. It would be great to be the guy / girl who helped so and so lose weight, get healthy and make some great, new friends. Not only is it free to recommend a friend to your BJJ club, some academies even have offers where when you introduce someone you get a free lesson etc.

Represent: Brazilian Jiu Jitsu academies and teams often bring out branded leisure wear (hats, t-shirts, hoodies, zip ups...etc.), training attire (gis, rash guards, belts, patches...etc.) or even miscellaneous items (stickers, iPhone covers, key chains, coffee mugs...etc.). Not only do these strengthen the brand that we all care about (our local BJJ club) but they also help support the business so it's here today, tomorrow and the day after. Not to mention that they're fun and, in many cases, very interactive. Designing these is in many cases a labour of love and many gym managers / head instructors try to get people's opinion and involvement in choosing the colours, textiles / material, arrangement..etc. Costs involved vary between (£5 patches - £60-80 for a nice embroidered gi)

Instead of just demanding and expecting, I suggest participating and elevating your BJJ community to new heights.

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ZHOO ZHITSU IS FOR EVERYONE!

Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

Proudly sponsored by Predator Fightwear: Built for the kill and Brutal TShirt: Made By Grapplers For Fighters

BJJ / Grappling Supplements: GLC2000 and BJJ update

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 08:54:00 +0000

A week ago, I mentioned that the hard jiu jitsu sessions we do at The Labs were leaving my muscles sore and some of my joints a little sore too. I also mentioned that I had, coincidently, just received my first tub of GLC2000 . GLC2000 is a market leader in high-end cartilage and joint formulae which I first saw in my first copy of Ultimate Grappling Magazine. I said I'd try to report on the results of the product as regularly as I can so here it goes.

First, to re-iterate, my main joint issues from martial arts (karate and BJJ / Grappling) are:

Sore fingers / knuckles
Sore neck
"Tired" shoulder / rotator cuff muscles - tender tendons
Achy ribs, near the false ribs (lower rib cage)
Sore knees
Sore toes and ball of foot

I put GLC2000 (which is 4 types of Glucosamine and Chondroitin Sulfates combined) to the ultimate test this past week:

1. I trained jiu jitsu (at the Labs, at Mill Hill Jiu Jitsu and at my instructor David Onuma's home dojo) everyday for 6 days in a row, most days for several hours in a row
2. I sparred for hours with everyone from white to black belts
3. I travelled to London, spending hours on a train (something which joints and tired muscles LOVE!)
4. I slept in a bed other than my own bed which my body is more used to
5. I squeezed in two hard weight training sessions

and the verdict? I feel fine. I feel absolutely fine! My joints are not overly achy and my back is doing great and, something I didn't really expect, my skin feels great. Usually when I train a lot (especially in the gi) my skin feels, for the lack of a better word, tired and abrasions and cuts take a while to heal. Not this time!

GLC2000 certainly passed the first test and hurdle. Let's see how the weeks progress.

I'll keep the Part Time Grappler Community updated.

In the meantime, check out this beautiful transformation of a man:

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ZHOO ZHITSU IS FOR EVERYONE!

Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

Proudly sponsored by Predator Fightwear: Built for the kill and Brutal TShirt: Made By Grapplers For Fighters

Rickson Gracie about Positions in BJJ and grappling

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 09:56:00 +0000

Gracie, Inosanto, Machado. Wow!

Master Rickson Gracie shared some fantastic insights on the positional strategy of Jiu Jitsu during his seminar in Amsterdam. Most jiu jitsu practitioners are familiar with the famous "Flow with the Go"*

As promised in my earlier post, I will share many of these thoughts from the Gracie Master. One that really stuck with me was his focus on positional control. Here are two Rickson Gracie quotes and his interpretation of them:

Positional strategy guidline number 1:

"When you are on the ground, only one of you two can be comfortable at any one time. Either you are comfortable or the opponent is. Your job is to transfer the comfortable from him to you in every position"

We often talk about being safe in BJJ, grappling and MMA. Saulo Ribeiro talks about it in his amazing Jiu Jitsu University book(1). In fact, he devotes his first chapter (the white belt) to sharing the principles of finding grappling positions where you are safe on the bottom before you can contemplate escaping. But Safe and Comfortable are two different things. I can be safe on top of my opponent (or even under them) in a fight or match but not necessarily comfortable. I can hug the living daylight out of you in side control (top or bottom) and prevent your attacks / escapes but I couldn't call it comfortable!

Safety means you're inhibiting your opponent's attacks / escapes while comfortable takes it to the next level where you are in fact facilitating your own attacks / escapes. Subtle difference that leads to a huge outcome. I guess that's why you go and attend a Rickson Gracie Seminar!

Positional strategy guideline number 2:

"If you do not do all the details that make the position comfortable, you might still have the (mounted) position but it will be a poor position. If you focus on these details then you will make it a "rich" position"

I love languages. I love how a concept or an idea can be expressed and encapsulated in a word. However, I also know that the same concept can be expressed slightly differently by a different individual to and jiu jitsu / grappling / Mixed Martial Arts are not exempt.

Throughout my whole martial arts career, the opposite of "poor" technique has always been "good" technique, but that, in my opinion, is a loose concept**. Good for what? How is this good measured? Good for whom?

"You will make it a "rich" position" made perfect sense because in jiu jitsu and grappling, a position's worth is often measurable:

1. I can conserve energy better
2. I can launch attacks with more ease
3. I can defend with more ease
4. I can transition to a wider spectrum of positions more easily
5. I can transition to a wider spectrum of attacks more easily
6. All my transitions from here are suddenly tighter and more precise
...etc.

Here's my advice: for every position (mount, side, half guard, guard, back, standing...etc.) and transition (sweep, escape, back take, reversal...etc.) in grappling, aim to make it more comfortable and richer. Don't look for more positions and transitions. Instead, devote time, money and effort to learning more details about each.

"how do I know if I'm learning / implementing the right details?"

Easy: the details make your jiu jitsu feel more comfortable and richer.

(1)

*it is widely accepted that this was a simple slip of the tongue from the young Rickson Gracie which happened to get captured on film in "Choke".

**of course you could say the same about "rich" but I felt he opened my eyes when he said that

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ZHOO ZHITSU IS FOR EVERYONE!

Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

Proudly sponsored by Predator Fightwear: Built for the kill and Brutal TShirt: Made By Grapplers For Fighters

Gradings, Belts and BJJ: CFS Biannual Grading 25th November 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 12:11:00 +0000

Grading in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is quite a big deal for many reasons:

1. There are very few belts*: You automatically start BJJ with white and between that and black belt you only have blue, purple and brown so in total most of us will have a grand sum of 4 major gradings**

2. Gradings in BJJ are performance based (in most places). If you are technically*** at the level equivalent to a blue belt, purple belt, brown belt or black belt then you will most likely get it really soon****

3. There are very few solitary activities in BJJ / grappling. Even most of the warm-up drills requires a partner. There are no kata as such so, while you have to do the work yourself, you are always part of a group. You can not become good at BJJ / Grappling without good training partners to work with you. Steel sharpens steel and all that and therefore, when it's time for you to achieve a grade, it's time for your team mates to cheer and clap for you, shake your hand and / or give you a manly hug and, if your team does this kind of thing, whack you really hard with their BJJ belt!

4. The belts are not uniform in their progression. What I mean by this is that if White belt represents 0% skill and black belt is 100% skill***** then this doesn't mean that blue is 25%, purple 50% and brown 75% skill so, in a way, each belt has a deep meaning of its own and should indeed be celebrated.

With that being said, this weekend saw the CFS Biannual Grading at Mill Hill Jiu Jitsu Club. The grading was preceded by a training seminar conducted by two black belts. Mr Andy Nugent taught a great seminar on entries and finished of the straight knee bar. Leg locks are dangerous which is why many academies never focus on them but if you are to follow Andy's fantastic advice and drills anyone can approach this topic and study it very well.

This was followed by head instructor Mr David Onuma's Game Changer Seminar. I call it this because rather than focusing on just one topic, Professor David shared entries and adjustments that helped completely change the way we approach i, the mount position and ii, passing the De La Riva guard.

My training partners for the day were Miad Najafi who heads up the Brighton branch (Elements Martial Arts) and Simon Chan (a brown belt in BJJ under Master Ricardo De La Riva who teaches BJJ in south London) and it was an honour and a pleasure to share the mat with them. It was the first time for me to meet them but hopefully far from being the last.

The seminar concluded with sparring for those who wanted to stay but not before David lined everyone up then, along with his branch instructors, conducted the belt and stripe grading and David handed out Student of the Year Awards to those who have been nominated by the branch instructors for working extra hard throughout 2012 to improve their jiu jitsu (happy to share that our gym had not one but two names: Mr Don Barr and Mr Graeme Kidd). The following names (in the order they feature in the picture) were called and received (to many surprised faces) their new belts from the boss:

Shareef Esoof - Blue
Tim Bowden - Blue
Damien Roberts - Blue
Yousuf Nabi - Brown
Gary Baker - Purple
Matt Macguire - Purple
Steve Payne - Purple
Tom Gent - Blue
Lewis Renney - Blue
Andrew Bell - Purple

Oh yeah. We were asked. We voted. There was a belt whipping!

That concluded what was for me a long weekend of training. I arrived in London on the Saturday already to train with my instructor for three hours (mount top and bottom seminar) and then we rolled for an hour in his private dojo where I learned a ton. So approximately 7hrs of jiu jitsu training in two days. Not bad for a Part Time Grappler :)

Until the next time

*for adults, that's mostly it. Some schools employ the green belt as an intermediary between the white and blue belt. Kids have a much bigger range of belts.
**obviously stripes, if your BJJ academy uses them, on the colour belts are a big deal too and if you stick with BJJ for the long run there is the red and black and the solid red belt to look forward to but we're talking after being a black belt for 31 years you can apply for your red and black (also known as coral) belt from the IBJJF.
***patching holes in your technique with athleticism and attributes will not get you the belt and trust me, good instructors can always tell!
****most instructors take pride in grading someone to any belt level so they often take a number of factors into consideration such as maturity, experience, consistency of training, competition participation and / or results, teaching experience...etc.
*****every black belt I've spoken to told me black belt is the start of the true jiu jitsu journey so this is just a hypothetical statement

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ZHOO ZHITSU IS FOR EVERYONE!

Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

Proudly sponsored by Predator Fightwear: Built for the kill and Brutal TShirt: Made By Grapplers For Fighters