Grappling and BJJ tips. The Part-Time Grappler.

Royler Gracie Receives Coral Belt from Rickson and Rolker Gracie

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:46:00 +0000

There is hardly anything worth achieving in jiu jitsu that Royler Gracie, son of the founder Helio Gracie, hasn't already achieved. Many times over! Royler has successfully competed in MMA, dominated the world BJJ scene and won the ADCC multiple times. Recently, he was promoted to the coveted Coral Belt. The promotion was carried out by his two older brothers Rickson Gracie and Rolker Gracie.

Many congrats to Royler and his students.

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Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

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

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BJJ / Grappling tips: stances, movement and great techniques from Eddie Kone, head of EKBJJ

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 08:07:00 +0000

Your basic BJJ / Grappling moves are defenses, escapes, transitions and attacks. Here are a few fundamental ways in how we use our bodies in the initial moments of a match / round / fight:

First the stances*.

Your stance (the way you stand and distribute your weight on the mat) is your base and grounding. They are snapshots of movement so don't imagine that you will be spending any more than a second (even less) in each fixed stance:

'Although there are a hundred kinds of stances, they all exist for the same purpose: to defeat the opponent' - Yagyu Munenori (1571 - 1646)

Get your stances strong and solid and learn to move from them in relaxed manner.

The most important stances are:

Free-movement stance: This is your most prevalent stance and the launch pad of everything else. From here you establish contact with your opponent using your hands, feet, hips and sometimes even head.

Two top level judoka making contact

Weight-bearing stance

In O goshi you need to be stable under weight

Path-blocking stance: The name really gives it all here. You are using a part of your body to block the balance recovery advances of your opponent, while the rest of your body forces them out of balance. The part of your body you use to block theirs and where you make contact may differ but the principle remains the same: Keep your own safety paramount and don't expect to spend much time in this position as your opponent will simply walk around the obstacle.

Spring-loaded right leg blocking path in Tai otoshi

Single leg stance: This is another quick transitional stance, unless it's forced on you by the opponent simply going for a single leg takedown or holding your leg off your guard-pull attempt. The aim here is maintain balance and form a unified mass between yours and that off the opponent while you are working to transition to a better position

How long can you hop?

What the hell do I do with my arms in BJJ?

Let's be clear, I'm not talking about specific grips. I'm not really the best person to talk about that.

I'm simply drawing some generl lines of where I like my arms to be:

-Before engaging, I like to keep my lead hand and arm away from the opponent. There are some really good judo articles that explain the advantages of this so I won't go into it.
-I like to keep my elbow close to my ribs
-I like to use one hand (usually my cross arm - opposite to leading) to open the way and remove obstacles (if anything by baiting) before shooting the leading arm in for a grip

If I'm already in contact with the opponent in a clinch the important things is that both of my arms are busy. Holding something is just not enough. Under/over hooking is not enough. When grappling in the clinch, my arms should be busy breaking my opponent's balance or at least stiff-arming them to block their entry. Often one hand will push while the other pulls. I still like to keep my elbows close to my torso and rotate the torso rather than operate on a big wide arc.

What to do with all this? How can I put this BJJ / Grappling theory to some practical use?

Practice. As Bruce Lee said: "You want to learn how to punch? Punch!"

1. With my partner, I get in a good free-movement stance and practice moving around each other. When I get comfortable doing that, start playing a tagging game going for each other's shoulders and knees (which symbolise lapel grip and double leg takedown entries). Remember to protect your leading hand and to work hard with your cross hand. Be very careful as accidental head butting could happen.

2. Getting in an over-under clinch, I practice breaking my opponent's posture by pushing, pulling, lifting and lowering. When I've done that a few times, I start adding some walking into the drill. Remember to keep the resistance low at the beginning. This helps learn what it means to control someone's weight along with your own. I focus on keeping the key points mentioned above for the stances and arms in mind and work on breaking my opponent's posture before entering their space with the hips. I often find myself going from a free movement stance into one of the other three above. The more energy I spend on breaking their balance the easier that entry becomes.

3. From a solid weight bearing stance I ask my partner to climb on my back. Getting comforable with their weight. Feel what it does to my posture and resist the temptation to straighten the legs

4. Give my leg to my partner and spend a few seconds hopping around with them. Feel what it's like to be a united mass and resist gentle pushes and pulls from them. Like any balance exercise, if given time, this will result in great benefits to your game and life in general**.

5. Starting from lapel and sleeve grips and moving at quarter speed, I transition into positions where a leg, hip or even arm blocks the opponent's path while the rest of my body forces them out of posture. Be very careful how you move and how you move your partner.

But what do I know? Here is someone who knows a hell of a lot more than I do about Jiu Jitsu. In this clip, Royler Gracie black belt Mr Eddie Kone shares advice on Gracie Jiu Jitsu stand-up techniques:

*I'm not sure if there is any literature out there that covers fighting stances within the context of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I know the Gracie Barra Fundamentals programme covers the fighting stance, but that's about it.

**Accident due to bad balance kill! Prisons are full of guilty banana peels.

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Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

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

----Did You Like This Article?--- Click here to add The Part Time Grappler to your Favourites / Bookmarks: This is the biomenchanically best structure to put your body in to handle a large weight, such as an opponent. Safety to your bones, muscles and joints is paramount and this structure allows you lift and lower (or even throw) someone of equal or larger size.

BJJ / Grappling Tips: Delivery system first, techniques second - Pablo Popovitch shows the way

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 09:23:00 +0000

I was talking to a student last Friday (during Open Mat at Fighting Fit Manchester) about a certain technique from stand-up. He was moving well and had a tight delivery system but wasn't getting much luck with this particular sweep. I watched him spar with at least a couple of different opponents to make sure the issue wasn't to do with a specific opponent's game plan, strategies or attributes.

I pulled him aside and showed a couple of very small technical details regarding where his foot and hips should be facing which I knew would help and lo and behold he sent me a message later that evening saying the tips I gave him fixed the problem and his success rate with the sweep skyrocketed.

Why did my advice work? Would that same advice benefit another athlete who might be having the same problem?

While a good technique is a good technique is a good technique, the extent to which fixing details helps really relies on one very important factor: is the learner ready for the information?

The reason my advice helped wasn't because it was anything special. Anyone watching from the outside who's had some experience with that technique could have told him the same (which is why many avid YouTube watching white belts have a lot of advice to dish out). The reason my advice worked and worked so well is because I could recognise that he had the delivery system* that could:

1. Get him to that position safely
2. Get him to that position repeatedly
3. Get him out of that position safely

Basically, I could see that he could get there and get out without getting smashed or injured and he could do that often and from multiple angles.

Why is that relevant? Because nothing means anything without drilling and repetition against progressive resistance. If you don't have the skills that would facilitate repetition and drilling, all you have is something you "saw" on YouTube but could never get to work against anyone except your grandma...when she's asleep. If your mount sucks, a million tips on improving your armbars from mount won't help.

With that in mind, watch these two videos (courtesy of BJJ Weekly) of the amazing Pablo Popovitch. See how he emphasises the finer points of control from the half guard first before going into what you could do from there and if my point wasn't clear before watch the two videos in the wrong order and you should immediately get it.

Video One: Pablo looks into the elements of control from the half guard

Video Two: Pablo talks about how to create space with the top leg and free up your bottom leg to retrieve guard from the half guard / pass

*Matt Thorton talks about the concept of Delivery System in this video.
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Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

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BJJ black belts: Different versions - an explanation

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 09:16:00 +0000

I've recently been befuddled by the variations of black belts available. I am not talking about brands of black belts (of which there are many) nor about black belts vs red-and-black (also called coral) belts vs red belts. I'm talking about straight up black belts (the one after brown and before coral).

Looking around, I could identify 4 different versions (if you know of another, please let me know) of the black belt:

Solid black belt, with no tab on it. It kinda looks just like the ones given in judo and many other oriental martial arts

Photo courtesy of Meerkatsu, featured here with Cobrinha

Black belt with a white tab on one end. This version of the BJJ black belt is rare, but definitely exists

Black belt with a red tab

Black belt with a framed red tab on one end (with two white wide stripes on either side of the stripe). This is the second most common version you see (I'm not refering to grade stripes. Those are usually thinner and are INSIDE the red tab and not framing it like the two I'm talking about)

red tab (left) and framed red tab (right)

I asked my BJJ instructor David 'Malandro' Onuma and he gave me his breakdown, but he suggested I do more research.

I did some of my own research and here is what I've found:

There appear to be no formal rules used by everyone. There are some general guidelines and some places may enforce them, but it is not a one-rule-for-all.

Here is what Relson Gracie, the second eldest son of the founder Helio Gracie had to say:

and here is a link to the system used by USAJJ (their executives are some very highly regarded people in BJJ!)

Finally, here is what the International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation replied to my enquiring email:

We don't have a rule for the belts.

Informally this is what I know from the belts ok ?

The solid black is usually used by athletes that don't have degrees and don't teach.

The one with red tab usually is used by professors.

The red tab with white edges is usually by professors that have been the black belt more the 1 year.

The white tab, nobody usually uses.

Hope I took care of some of your curiosity. Again, this is informal, we don't have a rule for that.

Best Regards,
IBJJF Staff

It's all good fun. In my research I saw this most inspiring photo of a 78-year young gentleman receiving his black belt after 15 years of training!

Inspirational!

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Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

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BJJ / Grappling Mentality: Be Wewy wewy afwaid!

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:23:00 +0000

“Our way of action is in...the belief that inherited personal qualities are things to be proud of and defects to be ashamed of and hidden. Habits of thought and action formed in this way are of little avail when we are confronted with tasks in which our social standing cannot influence the outcome of the act...This demands flexibility of attitude of mind and body quite beyond that which we form in the present social environment"

If you fancy delving into the philosophy behind judo (and by extension, jiu jitsu) this is a great book. It's available to download for free and is full of both philosophical and technical gems.

The reason the quote above really caught my mind is because it reminded me of something John Will (5th degree black belt under the Machados) talked so passionately about during his seminar at Factory last year: the willingliness to go out there, take a risk and accept that it's ok to make mistakes.

John's angle was that we are wired to avoid mistakes. Evolution dictates this. At least to a degree, we are the progeny of the ones who survived, not those who experimented and failed. Trial and error could be fatal, literally, back in caveman days.

He also highlighted, however, that that is no longer true on the BJJ mat and to some extent in life in general. If you are training at a healthy BJJ gym / academy with a healthy environment*, you should be constantly encouraged to experiment and try things out. Don't take the grappling instructor's words for a technique or concept, try it out for yourself. Experience it. Fail with it until you succeed.

I've heard many instructors say that those who only ever play their A-game at the gym are being douchebags. Smashing everyone they can, never learning by putting themselves in positions they’re not good from: wrestlers who spend the whole round hugging you down, guard players who never want to get up and pass...etc. But never before meeting John had anyone explained the psychological mechanism that drives that behaviour: Fear.

Being afraid is natural. The legendary Rickson Gracie himself once called a man without fear a fool**. The general idea is to get on the mat and experiment in spite of your fear. Learn by doing and experiencing what your training partner can and can't do to counter and prevent you. It's important to remember why Helio Gracie decided to fight the much younger and much bigger Masahiko Kimura:

"The Brazilian press was strongly opposed to me fighting the bigger man, and everyone wanted to know why I wanted to fight him. I told them I wanted to find out how the big guy planned to beat me. I told them I wanted to be a guinea pig. It was the ultimate test."***

Fear is a bitch. Make it your bitch.

If you liked this, check out Arcanum's excellent post.
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*How do YOU to describe a healthy training environment?
**to be exact, he said: ”I believe intelligence and fear are very close together. Guys who say they are not afraid of anything, they are stupid. They are silly to me…I am afraid of everything”

*** from Grappling Magazine’s Doug Jeffery’s July 2010 interview with Helio Gracie.

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Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

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

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BJJ / Grappling takedowns: O Uchi Gari from the pummel

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 09:38:00 +0000

What happens when you take an old school jiu jitsu takedown, which was then honed by judo*, with the pummeling of wrestling (especially Greco Roman wrestling)?

Have a look at the major inside reap throw O uchi gari, demonstrated by a judo legend: Yasuhiro Yamashita

Whisk into that some pummeling work demonstrated by WEC champion Urijah Faber:

What do you get? A kick-ass takedown that is beautifully fnctional for BJJ and NoGi Submission Grappling:

ps. If you want to delve deeper into O Uchi Gari, check out this fantastic study on the throw from JudoInfo.com

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Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

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

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Maciej Polok & Marcin Held: Awareness and the BJJ Body

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:44:00 +0000

I just saw a video posted on Facebook by the awesome BJJHacks, in association with Manto, called Polish BJJers invade Brazil, Maciej Polok & Marcin Held training and competing in Rio

It's a great little video (well, over 18 minutes!) that follows the two chaps Maciej and Marcin on their recent training trip to Brazil. Maciej and Marcin are Black and Brown belts in BJJ under none less than Vinicius Bittencourt Almeida Magalhaes, better known in the Jiu-Jitsu scene as “Draculino”, himself.

Maciej Polok and Marcin Held visit a number of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu academies around Rio and the video not only shows them training at these and competing, but some interesting conversations with the pair.

Right, here's the weird thing that caught my eyes.

I've always felt that the biggest difference between a grappler and a better grappler is better awareness. When watching higher level BJJ players and grapplers roll, I'm not so interested in who wins or loses, but rather how does this awareness express itself.

I'm always looking out to learn what these grapplers and BJJ players use to:

1. Sense their opponent's moves and intentions
2. Sense and measure their relation to the mat and their opponent
3. Execute their techniques and counters

Look at this still-shot from the video. Look at it carefully. Can you see how Maciej shapes his feet to morph around his opponent's leg and hip. This is not a fluke. This is not irrelevant. Watch the video and you will see things like this everywhere but during this particular roll, down at Brazilian Top Team HQ, the camera angle happens to show it very clearly. This is an expression of higher awareness of both your body's capabilities and how you can use it to sense and follow your opponent.

This is the true magic of BJJ and Grappling.

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Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

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

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BJJ / Grappling and other activities: Yoga, swimming, tuina-massage and personal training

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 09:51:00 +0000

I haven't trained any BJJ or grappling since my private session with my brother Sam last Friday (23rd December) and while I do admit that I miss it, the break has been great. I've had a chance to let my skin recover, my tummy to fill and my joints to rejuvinate. This whole rejuvination theme made me think of the array of things we can do to stay healthy. Grappling and BJJ take their toll on the body and mind so it's imortant to utilise the many activities that help us keep together. My favourite are BJJ / Grappling specific personal training, massage, Yoga and swimming.

The Labs BJJ is part of the amazing CFS BJJ team, an IBJJF accredited school, under black belt Mr David Onuma. The Labs BJJ is also part of Fighting Fit Manchester. Fighting Fit Manchester has many other facets related to martial arts, fitness and wellness that don't all fall under The Labs banner, all led by very passionate and highly qualified people. I took advantage of Fighting Fit having two such subject matter experts recently.

Our resident strength and conditioning coach Mr Dominic Kinsey is not just an avid grappler who understands the needs of the sport, he's also a qualified Personal Trainer and a Wado ryu karate black belt. Dom's strength and conditioning qualifications come from none less than Juan Carlos Santana of the IHP fame and he uses his knowledge wisely to both conduct our strength and conditioning sessions at the gym but also kettlebell sessions and 1-2-1 training which is what I had the privilege of doing.

I told Dom from the beginning that I wasn't necessarily looking to get stronger, faster or fitter but rather wanted to have a more balanced body to facilitate recovery and longevity. I want to do everything I can to avoid being off the mat with an injury. Dom, the cheese master that he is, said "Ok, let's make you indestructible!"

After an initial consultation - where Dom had me walk, jog, squat, twist, lunge, jump and a whole heap of moves - he concluded that I had more tightness in some parts of my body on the right body half than I did in the same parts on the left and that that was creating a small imbalance. Imbalances lead to overcompensation by muscles and that leads to a higher risk of injury. Dom's plan was to, over a series of sessions, fix these imbalances - starting from the ground up - and help the body fall back into place, so to speak.

Dom is very passionate about what he does and highly knowledgeable and qualified to both fix you and also help you fix yourself (within the context of strength and conditioning of course).

I also went to see Mr Chris Davies. Chris is our massage expert, but he is so much more than that. With a black belt in Shukokai karate and old school japanese jujutsu, Chris has a thorough understanding of how the body works in comabitve arts and adding his qualifications in tuina (or is it spelled tui na?) massage, I was happy to be in his care (or under his mercy, rather) to help re-align my back and relax any stiff muscles. The man is a genius, as you can tell from my goofy relaxed face!

Finally, how can I forget Justine? Justine is the gym manager at our small gym at work. She is 12 shades of cool. She is every thing you wish for in an instructor: clear, motivating, enthusiastic and very technical. That last bit is something I always look for in gym instructors. I want to see how they adapt activities to suit different needs and levels and how much attention they pay to where everything goes and why. Justine is the real deal and I am very happy to see plenty of yoga in her 2012 schedule.

Finally, I love swimming. I don't get enough of it, but then again I think I would still say that even if I went swimming everyday! I'm not a great swimmer by any means and I never venture outside the slow-lanes down at the Manchester Aquatics Centre. But who cares? I have no dreams of swimming competitively and as long I spend an hour of continuous swimming doing laps, I'm a happy puppy.

I hope you all have a wonderful final couple of days of 2011 and that you face 2012 with plenty of energy, happiness and rejuvination. Much love.

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Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

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

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BJJ Magazine: The Part Time Grappler's Articles Published in Jiu Jitsu Style Magazine

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 10:47:00 +0000

I had two pieces published in the latest issue of Jiu Jitsu Style Magazine!

I know this might not be a big deal to people like Seymour down at Meerkatsu and Matt at The Grappling Dummy (who've been published-a-plenty) but for me it's a huge thing!

The lovely folks at Jiu Jitsu Style Magazine approached me a while back and said they really liked my Five Lies of Jiu Jitsu Series on the Part Time Grappler blog (click on the number to find the articles 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5) and asked if I would be interested in supplying a condensed version for the magazine.

My name too small to read? Buy Jiu Jitsu Style Magazine here.

Would I? Do the dogs lips move when he reads? Of course I would!

Long story short, I was given 2 weeks to submit the article and, fuelled by excitement and caffeine, I finished it by the end of the day they sent me the email.

I was also working on a product review for the blog which I thought would be suitable for the magazine (the instructional DVDs by Emily Kwok and Stephan Kesting "How to Defeat The Bigger, Stronger Opponent" which Stephan had sent me a week or two earlier). I contacted them with the idea and as it turned out, that was the product review they had in mind so I submitted that too.

I was told the editorial staff at JJS liked my submitted articles but I wanted until I see the final published product before I shout it out to the world. Things change last minute and I completely understand that.

Thanks to everyone at Jiu Jitsu Style for the great opportunity and I hope it's the first of many. It's a great magazine (here is my review of issue two) and you should go and buy an annual subscription now!

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Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

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

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BJJ / Grappling Product Review: Scramble Athletics Bushido Rash guard

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 10:34:00 +0000

This is a beautiful piece of grappling gear. To top that, it has fantastic product specifications and is produced by passionate people. ScambleStuff is the shizzle.

Shiney!

I got this rash guard from the guys at MMAHQ and my oh my was I happy to receive it. As I opened the packaging I was immediately struck by how yellow the yellow bits were and blue the blue bits were and red...well, you get the point.

Matt Benyon and co at ScrambleStuff really think about the small details and judging from the movies I've seen, I think if Bruce Lee was alive, he'd be wearing a Bushido rashie under his iconic cat suit.

The uniqueness of the product design was the 3/4 sleeves which, according to ScrambleStuff, gives the best of both worlds: maximum protection yet slippery wrists. While I get that, it didn't really factor too much for me. I mainly train in the gi and on the odd occasion I trained nogi in the rashie I couldn't notice a massive difference. Of course if you train nogi more than gi then these differences might become more of a big deal but I personally didn't notice them. Remember, I have short arms and legs for my height so someone with a more lanky build might disagree

If I was a Jiu Jitsu animal, I'd be a T-rex!

I know what you're thinking and yes, I do all my own stunts.

Here's another deal breaker. The rashie is quite thick which I love. I hate flimsy shit. This rashie feels like it's been crafted rather than slap-dash put together like some other cool-looking products out there which was a huge plus until I started worrying about how quickly it'll dry. I live in a flat and I was my rash guards by hand as soon as I get home from the gym. I then let them hang until dry and only then do I put them in the laundry basket so I need my stuff to dripdry rather quickly or they become a problem and I'd be less inclined to use them often...etc. Not so much with my Bushi friend here (see what I did there!). Despite the luxurious thickness, the Bushido Rash guard drip dried overnight! I'm no expert but I'm guessing it has to do with the mysterious world of elastic textiles but I have a thin rashie from the awesome brand Oakley which takes up to twice as long to hang-dry. Major plus!

I'm not going to give more details for two reasons: seasoned product reviewers like Meerkatsu do a much much better job at that and to be honest with you details don't influence my own choice of products* much. I like shiny things, and this Bushido Rashguard by Scramble Athletics is one shiny mofo! go straight to MMAHQ and order yours now. Treat yourself, it's Christmas!

*once I have a product, the details matter and influence whether I will go back and buy a second one or not. If a product disappoint, I learn from it but at first when ordering a product for the first time I'm more of an emotional (rather than rational) buyer.

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Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

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

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BJJ / Grappling Community: The Social Capital of BJJ

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 08:27:00 +0000

Social Capital* is a very VERY important thing. Well, it's not a thing, but rather...well you'll see what I mean.

I just read an article about how books are incredibly (or some other OTT adverb) important for children and don't get me wrong, some of my happiest memories as a child involved me reading or being read to, but the genius of the article was in talking about the Social Capital involved in buying your children (or adults, including yourself) books.

The article defined Social Capital of books as the time and energy it takes to seek out books and then read them, a calm environment to read them in, an awareness of where to get books and how to choose a good one or two rather than get overwhelmed by variety on offer. I would like to add to that the value of becoming a book-reader and knowing other book-readers. Basically, the value of a car is a lot more than just the practicality of getting from A to B. It enables safe and convenient travel, storage space, romantic (or otherwise) getaways, status symbol, social object...etc.

By buying your children books, the article suggested, you are also signing up to a healthier lifestyle where you are involved in a process that enriches your child's mind and yours too, if you embrace and let it. Sounds familiar?

While it is possible to simply join a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu club, gym or academy, squeeze in your two sessions a week and let that be that, you will miss out on all the fantastic benefits you'd get from investing more in the social capital of the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu lifestyle:

-learn more about diet and nutrition and what kind of food has what effect on your performance, mood and general health

-learn more about auxiliary training such as yoga, swimming, running and even zen meditation and how those aspects of training Jiu Jitsu can change your physical and social life to the better

-buy a BJJ-T shirt. Let people know you as Jeff-who-does-karate-guy-who's-also-lost-weight-and-seems-more-confident rather what's-his-name-the-accountant

-attend an event, be it a BJJ seminar, a grappling competition or even an MMA fight, with some of your gym friends. One of my best experiences are from travelling to such events with like minded people

-try to apply the principles of jiu jitsu in every aspect of your life: leverage, timing and above all move-yourself-not-your-opponent. Maybe then you will realise that there are no opponents and that we are all one.

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*The definition I borrowed from the article looks at one of the many aspects of Social Capital. If this interests you, you can check it out here on Wikipedia.

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Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

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

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Scramble Stuff Bushido Athletics: A thing of beauty!

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 12:01:00 +0000

I will be teaching my usual private session today and in it I will wear the Bushido Athletics rashguard by the always awesome Scramble Stuff.

"Scranble Atheticcs? Must be a cheap knock-off!"

This beautiful rashguard was sent to me courtesy of MMAHQ.

I will also wear my white embroidered Predator gi by Black Eagle and embroidered purple belt by the same.

Expect many reviews and pictures on this blog.

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Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

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

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BJJ Tips: How to lose 3 years of training!

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 08:30:00 +0000

It took me approximately 3 years of training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu as a blue belt to get my purple belt. All I needed to do to go back to being a blue belt was move from one part of the room to another :)

Embroidered BJJ purple belt from Black Eagle photographed on a chair at work - near the lockers

The same embroidered BJJ purple belt from Black Eagle photographed at work - on my desk

I think my desk is trying to tell me something!
Ok fine. A more serious post later on today :)

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Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

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

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BJJ / Grappling Tips: Importance of Recovery - Wise Words from Kyokushin Karate Instructor Shihan Cameron Quinn

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:50:00 +0000

"Don't get injured. Don't get a cold."

As soon as I heard the above words of advice uttered by Shihan Cameron Quinn, who in turn attributed them to Sosai Mas Oyama founder of Kyokushin Karate, my ears perked up!

One of my favourite podcasts to listen to is Martial Arts Weekly by Sensei Duval Hamilton. The show brings in a wide range of instructors and practitioners of Martial Arts (including BJJ) and, once you get over the hosts obvious dislike for MMA, is very entertaining and educating. As some of you know, Karate was my first love and I still see combat thru the eyes of a karateka. Recently, however, the defining lines between karate and jiu jitsu are slowly fading away but more on that in future blog posts.

The show I was listening to was from the 7th November 2010 and the guest was Shihan Cameron Quinn. Shihan Quinn has an esteemed background in Kyokushin Karate and was for many years the personal translator for the founder of the art, Sosai Mas Oyama. He spent several periods in Japan under Sosai's guidance and the above quote was something he remembered him giving as advice to trainees at the home academy (often referred to as the "Hombu")

While the advice is great, Shihan Quinn went on to explain why it was great!

1. Don't get injured:

Injury is the number one enemy of all martial artists. We all love the art that we practice, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Thai Boxing, Karate..e.tc. One thing that unites all practitioners is that they love practicing and enjoying getting better and learning more. We might differ in our approach, but our passion is the same.

While training smart will help save you time and energy, you STILL have to put in the hours on the mat to get better at BJJ (or Karate). Lots of hours. Some say 10,000 hours if you want to reach world class level! from this it is logical that our number one enemy as martial artists or athletes is injury. Sosai Oyama simply wanted his students to train safely so they could train more!

2. Don't get a cold:

At first glance, this struck me as odd. What a strange this to say to a Karate (or BJJ) practitioner! Shihan explained. Getting a cold is a sure sign of having over-trained, or at least getting run down by a combination of factors:

• -training
• -nutrition (food and supplements)
• -work
• -life responsibilities
• -being under unhealthy amounts of stress
• -bad / insuffecient sleep
• -substance abuse

and other causes. Initially, I thought this wouldn't be as relevant to us Part Time Grapplers as we - per definition - don't train as many hours but the more I look around me the more I realise that everything chips away at our recovery. Your body doesn't know, nor care, why it's tired or why it has been losing sleep or why the nutrition it's getting is very "on-the-run". Exercise, whether BJJ or running or swimming, places demands on our recovery ability (or recoverability) and so does staying up late with a baby or stressing over a work report (or nowadays - redundancy!). If you are not looking after your health (eating a balanced diet, drinking enough water, getting enough hours of quality sleep...etc.) then it will most definitely take longer to recover from the demands of an hour or two of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Karate, MMA or anything else. Getting a cold can be an indication that you are not looking after number one: You.

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Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

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

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BJJ / Grappling Interview: Rosi Sexton

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 09:37:00 +0000

Rosi Sexton is a mixed martial artist, ADCC grappler and BJJ brown belt under Chris Brennan. She's also a proud holder of a PhD in Theoretical Computer Science, an osteopath, a writer for Fighter's Only Magazine and a mother. Jeesh, I get tired just typing that! Oh and she's a cornerstone down at Combat Sports Clinic (a network of professionals – osteopaths, physiotherapists, massage therapists – with a special interest in combat sports and combat sports injuries).

Rosi is awesome. She's so many different shades of awesome, but she will never claim that herself. Over the years I've know Rosi she's always been as modest as she has been hard working. She was one of the first people to show me what BJJ and grappling really can do. It is the Part Time Grappler blog's pleasure and honour to bring you this interview:

Part Time Interviews Rosi Sexton:

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

I'm Rosi Sexton, 34, from Manchester

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

I currently work part time as an osteopath.

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

I'm a professional Mixed Martial Arts fighter. I mostly train at Next Generation MMA in Liverpool.

How long have you done that?

I've been training and competing in MMA since 2002.

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

I try to eat healthily most of the time. Coming up to a competition, I focus more on my diet in order to get to the right weight while training hard. I use some protein supplements to help me do this, I'm sponsored by PhD Nutrition so they always help me out with that side of things.

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

I still don't have a good answer to that question! Mostly, it's about prioritisation and trying to make sure that the important things are taken care of. And also, being prepared to work hard.

Do you compete in your sport(s)? Have you won any competitions?

I have a 12-2 record in MMA, and I've won a handful of grappling competitions over the years.

Here's an old highlight of Rosi's MMA fights

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

Winning a fight is always fun, but that doesn't last. Looking back, I think the biggest satisfaction is in seeing how I've improved over the years, and in having achieved some things that I would never have imagined possible.

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

1. Schedule and plan your training sessions in advance. If you wait until you have some spare time, then wonder what to do, it won't happen.
2. Do a form of exercise you enjoy. It's always easier to find time for something you want to do.
3. Get enough sleep. I'm roughly 80% less efficient if I'm tired.
4. Get into a routine. It's easier to get things done once they become a habit.
5. Make time for things you enjoy. Write it in your diary - don't wait until you have "free" time or you've finished everything on your to-do list.

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

1. The internet,
2. the internet,
3. the internet,
4. the internet,
5. the internet.

Do you have any regrets?

There are certainly things that I'd do differently if I were in the same situation again. But who knows how things would have turned out? The path I've taken has left me where I am, and really that's not such a bad place to be!

Finally, why do you train? What drives you?

Because it's fun, because it makes me feel good, because it's a challenge and because I want to keep improving. MMA and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu are sports where you can spend your whole life learning, and still not know everything. That keeps it interesting.

I would like to thank the uber-busy Rosi Sexton for taking the time to answer my questions and I hope you learned a thing or two. Now get off the internet!

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Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

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

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BJJ Belt Embroidery: Black Eagle Martial Arts

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 13:04:00 +0000

Sponsors of the Part Time Grappler, and all-round top-grade suppliers of martial arts goods, Black Eagle Martial Arts, makers of Predator Fightwear, were kind enough to send me an embroidered BJJ A2 purple belt. I asked for the blog title to be emboidered on it in such a location that it ends up on my back when I'm wearing it

and also for the kanji for our martial art: Jiu Jitsu near one end (the none tabbed end of the BJJ belt).

I think it turned out beautifully!

Many thanks guys. You are absolutely awesome! For information on belt embroidery services from Black Eagle Martial Arts click here.

PS. If you have a minute and want to read about my friend Meerkatsu's experience with Kataaro, please check out The Tale of the World's Most Expensive BJJ Belt. Having met the awesome meercat, I can attest that it looks pretty cool. We're just going to have to battle the two next time we meet.

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Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

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

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BJJ vs Cancer: The Part Time Grappler blog to report on efforts to raise donations for Macmillan

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu isn't just an art. It's a lifestyle. After you've been training BJJ (or grappling or even MMA) you start forming bonds with the people you train with. There's no bullshit, just love. An honest kind of love that comes from sharing the journey on the mats.

I recently found out that two of my mat-brothers at Fighting Fit Manchester whom I have much love and respect for are having one of the hardest fights of their lives. Brothers Andy and Stuart Lorne are both scheduled for MMA fights with the BCFC in March 2012, but what's unique here is that they are both dedicating their fights and all the blood, sweat and tears that goes into preparing for them, to their beloved father who is battling cancer. Stuart has taken the initiative to use these fights to generate publicity, goodwill and donations for Macmillan Cancer Support, as a thank you for all the hard work they dedicate day and night to help not just cancer patients but also their families in those difficult times.

Stuart also approached me to see if I, but more importantly the Part Time Grapplers around the world can help him in his efforts to support and reward Macmillan Cancer Support. The Lorne brothers have set up a JustGiving donation site with the modest target of £1,000 and are both working very hard to involve as many parties as possible in this noble cause.

Over here at the Part Time Grappler blog, you can follow the development of the project, the Lorne brothers training for the fights, interviews with coaches and opponents and any parties willing to support this project. Together, we can use the vehicle of the martial arts to generate a lot of good and give back.

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Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

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

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Coming Soon: Rashguard Review - Scramble Stuff - Bushido

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 07:59:00 +0000

I am very excited about this product: Scramble 'Bushido Athletics' Rashguard. To my knowledge, this is the only 3/4 sleeve rash guard out there and it's so beautiful!

I got it thru MMA HeadQuarters.

I will be road testing this on Saturday so stay tuned for the review.

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Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

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

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BJJ / Grappling Tips: Tight Game Comes to Those Who Use Their Head

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 13:16:00 +0000

and knees...and hips...and shoulders...you get my drift.

When we are shown a technique in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, grappling, sculpture, movie directing or any art, we are shown a demonstration of principles. The same principles of that art can, naturally, be demonstrated differently but just as validly. In the words of one of my favourite authors and lifestyle designers Mr Tim Ferris, what you do is far more important that how you do it.

In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, we need to maintain position, block out our opponent's attempts to escape or counter, gradually gain more control all while we slowly work towards a submission. How we do all this is not fixed in stone and will vary and depend on relative size, positioning, orientation of bodies and personal preference and style amongst other factors. Part of the beauty of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is that the same objective can be achieved in different methods by different people.

For example, you can block guard recovery from side control by keeping your (right) knee tight to your opponent's (right) hip, or using your (right) forearm, or even your (right) hip. These all do the same job, but they lead to different outcomes. For instance, if you are using your right arm, you have more mobility as both knees are free but you can't really use that arm to attack (at least not unless you relieve it from its duty) and so on.

The more body parts we involve and get good at using in BJJ, the more tools we have in our grappling tool box. Using the head is, in my opinion, something people don't start off doing before they've been training BJJ for a couple of years and singling out parts of the head (like the forehead, the chin...etc.) comes on later still. In this video of American BJJ and grappling coach extraordinaire Mr Lloyd Irvine shows a beautiful demonstration of using the head and the elbow to stay tight in transitions, gain leverage and maintain high pressure from the side control with continuous submission attacks in his "Kimura Mouse Trap":

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Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

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CFS BJJ Team get together at Mill Hill BJJ Nov 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 07:18:00 +0000

The Combined Fighting Systems - BJJ Team, headed by Mr David Onuma had their bi-annual get together this gone Sunday and The Labs BJJ - No Gi - MMA and Fighting Fit Manchester were represented by a barmy army of 9 (Martyn, Anna, Carol, James (who trekked all the way from York!), Damien, Paul, Don, Andy and yours truly). We all travelled down from Manchester to sunny and beautiful (can you tell I love it?) London for the 3 1/2 hr seminar and BJJ grading, kindly hosted at Mill Hill BJJ Club.

A great time was had by all both on the train (who can forget Martyn's imprompto adverts for "Naked" juice or the looks Don's banditos handle-bar moustache got from other passengers) and at the seminar. Hmm, well kinda.

Don't get me wrong, I've never been taught by three championship winning BJJ black belts and one ADCC competitor and BJJ prodigy brown belts before so that was excellent.

The session did, however, start with a crazy ass warm-up by Mr Andy Marshall - chief Strength & Conditioning coach at Mill Hill Jiu Jitsu club - and those who know me know I hate S & C (how's 100 push-ups for you? Let's add to that some squats, sit ups, static back work and a ton of lunges and god-knows-what!). It's Tuesday and I'm still aching so much I can't lift my arms properly! So what did Martyn and I do? We decided to start adding more S&C to the sessions down at the Labs. Share the fun.

After the workout from hell, we jumped into grappling proper. First up was double European BJJ champion and BJJ black belt Mr Keith McKenzie who showed some very detailed work from the deep half guard. Martyn and I were very pleased that Keith spend a lot of time during the drilling section fixing many of our mistakes and adjusting our hand and foot positions to ensure we got the most out of the drills. We look forward to hosting Keith up at the Labs in the near future for a full seminar.

Following up from there was a session with Mill Hill Jiu Jitsu Club head instructor and multiple European BJJ, Copa Do Mundo and Mundial Masters & Seniors medalist Nick "The Sloth" Brooks looking into the finer details of passing the Open Guard. Nick opened by asking all which grips they are struggling with when passing so I jumped with my personal challenge so it kind of became a personal session for me. The devil is in the detail and Nick simply moved my hands by 2-3 inches and changed the way I step but man what a huge impact that had. Many thanks Mr Sloth man.

Finally, we were placed in the (all too capable) hands of BJJ prodigy, ADCC competitor and Roger Gracie brown belt Mr Dan Strauss (check out his interview by Meerkatsu: Part 1 and Part 2) who proceeded to show us the his take on the back position. He started with the what, where and why of the hooks (feet) and then proceeded to look at the grips. What I loved about this was his focus on extreme details of basic fundamental jiu jitsu. In a nutshell, he showed us the back position, the rear naked choke and the armbar from the back but in all fairness, he showed:

1. the best way ever tto control someone from the back position
2. how, when and why your should attack from the back position
3. how to set up your attacks from the back position
4. how to shut down the opponent's defences in the most efficient way
5. how to make the RNC much tighter by moving your hands 1-2 inches
6. how to use your grips and arms to make your armbars from the back practically impossible to stop

and so much more. It was easy to see why he was doing so well on the international BJJ scene. Plenty detail in this devil!

This final instructional session was followed by the CFS BJJ team grading and then a few rounds of rolling. There were so many of us that it would have been dangerous for all to roll at the same time, so David picked out a few people to roll with each other for his observation.

I had an opportunity to meet many characters from within the CFS BJJ team and family such as Mr Gary Baker, Mr Andy Nugent and double European BJJ champion, and super-nice guy, Mr Steve Payne and one thing that strikes as wonderful about the CFS BJJ team is how nice and generous everyone is. Initially I thought it was just David being David (the man always answers the phone and he always has time for my endless chatter!) but it seemed to be an association-wide thing. I suppose like attracts like.

We are having David over at the Labs early February next year and hopefully, just hopefully, my arms and shoulders will be ok by then. Until then, many thanks to all for a great seminar.

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Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

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Sore muscles and recovery from BJJ / Grappling

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 08:45:00 +0000

I am in so much pain from all the Strength and Conditioning work we did at the CFS - BJJ team get together last Sunday (a full review to come) so I thought I would share some of the tips I have learnt over the years to help my muscles recover from hard work out that fill them with soreness and aches.
Of course while I did study anatomy, physiology and biochemistry at university, I am not a doctor nor a dietitian so these are simply my own tips and tricks. Speak to a qualified person to research your own.

This is by no means an extensive list either and there are many other ways to aid your recovery (massage, compression, sleep and medication to name a few). I look at these tips as my starter-kit.

Remember, when you are weakened, you are an easy target for bullies!

Drink water
Well, kind of. Water is great and drinking lots of water throughout the day (in addition to before, during and after the session) ensures that you walk into the session hydrated. I drink a watery protein shake throughout any BJJ or grappling session that lasts more than 60 minutes. I remember reading that if you hydrated throughout the day, sessions shorter than 60 minutes don't require any water breaks (still drink plenty AFTER these, but you shouldn't need to drink DURING).

Prepare and exit the session properly
Some might think that a good warm-up and investing some time and energy into a proper cool-down routine is something for professional athletes only. That couldn't be further from the truth. Us Part Time Grapplers have a life to return to. When I woke up at 5.50am on Monday morning (following the Sunday seminar in London) my whole body begged me to get back to bed and recover some more, but I can't. I simply have a job and other commitments to go to. It is vital that we take some time before grappling and BJJ to slowly and gently wake the body up (desk workers, anyone?) and gradually ease into the physiological demands of the work-out (build up a gently sweat, lubricate all the joints, wake-up the eye-hand and eye-foot coordination...etc.). Here's a quick one:

1. I perform circular motions with all my joints starting with the fingers and wrists and work my way through all the way to the ankles and toes
2. I jog for 2-3 minutes
3. I perform Jumping Jacks for 2-3 minutes
4. I perform the famous Box Drill or any combination of shadow grappling drills (see this video of Christian "The BJJ Globetrotter" Graugart for inspiration)

Bodymechanics drills for BJJ from Christian Graugart on Vimeo.

and for the cool down:

1. I jog, while performing circles with the arms
2. I slow it into a gentle walk, continue moving the arms in different directions and stretching the chest and shoulders
3. I perform a few static stretches for the legs, the torso, the neck and the core.

Food: Grappling nutrition
Immediately after your grappling / BJJ session is the best time to have a 3:1 ratio or thereabouts of carbs to protein plus plenty liquid. A simple fat-free chocolate milk will do just super!

When muscles work during grappling, oxidants form and they are harmful. Oxidants can be neutralised with anti-oxidants. Vitamins C and E are great for this and while most will tell you that natural sources are the best, I haven't noticed much of a difference. I use effervescent Vitamin C pills (well, half a pill will give 500 mg which is plenty plenty!)

I try to make sure I walk onto the mat fully hydrated and with some nutrients flowing around in my blood and inside my muscle and brain cells (yes, plural!). Since food takes time to digest, if my session starts at 6pm, I make sure I eat a light meat at around 3.30ish.

Nutrition doesn't stop being important the day after a session. Have a good balanced breakfast of protein and slow carbs (I usually have a protein shake at 6am then couple of eggs and some beans at 10 am). This will help your recovery from the previous grappling session but also prepare you for the next time you step on the BJJ mat.

Heat and Cold
A hot shower is a wonderful luxury so I make sure I indulge after training in grappling / BJJ in a hot shower with short periods of cold water. It rejuvenates like no other! Don't just take my word for it.

Rest
Don't skimp on the 8 hours of sleep. No one wins and you will definitely lose. Go to bed on time and get your rest. If you can't sleep, lying in bed with closed eyes will do you much more good than lying on the sofa watching mindless TV.

I hope this helps. As I mentioned, I have other tricks up my sleeve (creatine, anti-inflammatory meds, yoga, superfoods...etc.), but you should research for what works best for you.

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Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

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BJJ / Grappling Tips: busting plateaus!

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 14:54:00 +0000

How to overcome learning plateaus? What do I know, I'm a baby elephant!

Listening to an interview with Yamaksaki black belt Mr Luis Pantoja on the Fightworks Podcast where he offers some great advice on how to overcome your training plateaus in BJJ / Grappling, I started thinking about the subject with my own background in mind -learning karate, languages BJJ and teaching the same- and here are a couple of suggestions. For the best advice, talk to your instructor and of course listen to the interview with Luis Pantoja.

The opposite of stagnation, whether in BJJ or anything, is movement and change. That is the basis to my way of addressing any plateau. If you train BJJ in the gi every Monday and Wednesday (for example), why not try a Thursday no gi session? Or even book half a day’s holiday and attend a day time session (if your academy, like Fighting Fit and the Labs, offers those). You might even benefit from something as simple as changing your usual training partners. Here’s a trick I used with half guard: I changed sides! I stopped playing half guard on my right side in BJJ and grappling and totally focused on playing it lying on my left side. Result? My half guard still sucks, but a lot less than it used to and I broke thru a learning plateau!

One of the best ways to break through a learning plateau is to spend a brief period (2-6 months) specialising in something. How do you fancy totally immersing yourself in half guard sweeps or standing guard passes? Closed guard attacks with the gi? Self defence? To do that, I recommend you book a couple of private sessions where you tell your instructor exactly which position you want to immerse yourself in (it doesn’t have to be one that you are particularly struggling with) and take detailed notes from those private BJJ sessions. Next, get your BJJ books and grappling dvds (and don't forget YouTube!) and zone in on as much technical details appertaining to that particular position, but don't wander off aimlessly. Stay focused on your subject. Become a walking encyclopedia on that particular grappling topic, but a functional one! There is no use in just being able to gabble off technical details of the pendulum sweep if you can’t sweep anyone with it. Remember: burping the alphabet doesn’t count as talking.

A final word of advice: When trying out new BJJ shizzle, people like Kid Peligro recommend that you start with white belts smaller than you and then progress to slightly larger white belts and so on. Good luck.

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Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

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BJJ Tips: Details are key and a guard opening technique by Pedro Sauer black belt Mr Keith Owen.

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 08:03:00 +0000

One of the best things about BJJ is that I can train with my brother. He's a wonderful 16 year old and thanks to sharing this interest, I get to spend a couple of hours with him grappling on the mat every Friday.

He came down to our Wednesday BJJ Fundamentals session last week and was paired with one Mike, one of our top notch players. I noticed that Mike was drilling and resisting at the appropriate level for both of them to get a great session and practice their jiu jitsu skills against progressive resistance so I left them to it.

When I caught with Sam on the Friday following, he gave me one of the best compliments a BJJ instructor could get:

-The guy I rolled with, has he taken any private sessions from you or has he at least been training for a good while with you?
-Yeah, both. Why?
-He was showing me a couple of things and the level of detail really reminded me of how you usually teach me

I was over the moon! It's one thing when you get a nice compliment on your jiu jitsu skills but for me getting a compliment on how technical my jiu jitsu instruction is and how that shows in one of our students and athletes down at the Labs really trumps it!

As a nice bonus, here is a sweet (and very technical) guard opening strategy by Pedro Sauer black belt Mr Keith Owen on a completely different level! I hope you enjoy it.

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Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

Proudly sponsored by Predator Fightwear: Built for the kill

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BJJ Tips: Smooth BJJ. Take the back and choke a brother out!

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 13:52:00 +0000

One of the best compliments someone can give you in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is that you move smoothly on the mat. I'm nowhere near that, but I have noticed that the more details I learn about moves in BJJ the more I can polish these grappling moves and make them smoother. No where is this more apparent in grappling than in transitions between positions.

In the video clip below, Mr Italo Fereira (black belt from American Top Team ATT) shows me, Ian, Jay and Martyn (it was a Fighitng Fit Day-Trip) how to break the turtle position and move into a killer banana-split choke.

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Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

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BJJ bloggers training together: Carl Fisher visits The BJJ Labs in Manchester

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 12:47:00 +0000

Carl Fisher, aka the Fighting Photographer, visited Fighting Fit Manchester and The Labs BJJ – NoGi – MMA. Carl has been in the game for a long time and has reported for many martial arts magazines such as Ultimate Grappling and, more recently, Europe's first BJJ publication Jiu Jitsu Style. Carl brough along his mahoosive camera and took a few snaps (check out my blinged up gi from my sponsors Predator Fightwear!). If I said once, I said it a thousand times: Many thanks to Carl Fisher for taking the time out of his uber-busy schedule to come down and spend a couple of hours with us and having a grapple.

First, we had Seymour "Meerkatsu" Yang. We soon after that had David "Malandro" Onuma who is now our BJJ head instructor and of course Can "Slideyfoot" Sönmez. BJJ Bloggers: UNITE!

1 brown belt, 4 purple belts, 4 blue belts and about a hundred really sharp white belts!

On the way home, I was chatting to my purple belt friend Dr Carroll and we both talked about how much we love the place where we train BJJ. BJJ is a very humbling sport and you face challenges every time you step on the tatami so you can’t really get good thru discipline alone. You have to love the place and love the people you roll with. Look at us! We are such a happy bunch.

That's my brother! I am teaching with my little brother Sam Wandi. How lucky am I?

If you ask a question about triangles, I'm gonna triangle you. It's only fair.

Will you feast your eyes on that! Emboidered logos rule!

Do you see the Part Time Grappler logo on the gi? Do you see my beard? Connection?

"You Shall Not Pass!"

Man I love Fighting Fit Manchester!

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Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

Proudly sponsored by Predator Fightwear: Built for the kill

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