Steve's BJJ Log

Biohazard on the mat

2009-07-03T20:49:00.000-07:00

I walk into class tonight and the first person I see is Bingo, which is awesome. I got to congratulate him on his promotion to purple belt. He's a terrific guy, a great training partner and is a big part of the school family. Congrats, Bing!

That was great. Then guys start filing in and it's all my favorite guys to train with. The guys who just routinely kick my butt. Bill, Thad, Todd, Josh (training for his August 22nd professional MMA debut), Bing and big Mike... along with a great crew of white belts who are all tough guys. So, Friday night is shaping up.

Then James gives me back my ShoYoRoll, all freshly pimped out with club patches sewed on by his mom (who is one of the nicest people around). Thanks, Mrs. Foster! I really appreciate it. It looks awesome and I immediately changed into it to wear it at class. So, all around, I'm feeling great. Cool guys, pimpin' Super-Lite gi... then it happens.

Rolling with Sam, I get a deep cross collar choke from guard and his nose erupts... all over my awesome, WHITE gi. Bing rolled with Sam before me and caught him repeatedly with what is now called the Roger Gracie choke (because he won all of his matches at the Mundials with it). I got some water on it right away and changed into my other top. Reminded Sam about it multiple times and mentioned that if he wouldn't stick his finger in his nose all the time, it wouldn't bleed like that. In all seriousness, I don't think it's any big deal... except that it's my brand new, white gi. :)

The rest of class was great. Got good rolls with Todd, Thad, Bing, and twice with Josh. I did a lot of tapping, but felt good about my rolls. Josh said he's worried about my guard pass, doesn't give me any space anymore and pushes the pace when we roll (not that I ever actually pass his guard). Thad mentioned that my top game is getting tight and that it was noticeably improved over the last 6 months.

So, overall, I feel really good. Oh, and when I got home I used some detergent to pretreat the blood, ran it through the wash and it came out no problem. Catastrophe averted.

Washing the BJJ Gi

2009-07-01T09:23:00.000-07:00

Or, in other words, “Dude, your gi reeks.” This is a public service announcement.

My wife does the lion’s share of laundry in our house, but I wash my BJJ gear. A very basic question that I hear a lot has to do with how to care for the gi. Most gis will come with manufacturer recommendations, and of course, you will seldom go wrong to follow them. That said, they are typically along the lines of washing cold and line drying, along with never using bleach. While I agree 100% about not using bleach, the rest is at least debatable.

In BJJ, we sweat as much or more than any other style of martial art, and there are a lot of reasons why. We work really hard. Although that’s not unique to BJJ, it’s one reason. Another is that, because grappling is rigorous, the BJJ kimono tends to be well constructed of a thick, durable weave. A heavy weight Karate Gi is often around 12 oz, which is about where the student grade BJJ gi starts.

In recent years, strong but lightweight BJJ kimonos are coming onto the market. The Gameness Pearl, Koral’s Competition Light gi, and most recently, the ShoYoRoll Super-Lite are just a few notable examples. This new type of gi is much lighter at about 3.5 to 4 lbs, easier to wash and definitely more comfortable on the mats.

So, what follows are 10 tips I’d like to share. I promise that you’ll be the best dressed kid at the county fair jamboree if you follow them:

1: While it hopefully goes without saying, you need to wash your gi every single time you roll. It’s just the right thing to do for everyone involved. If you are doubling up on a day, going to the morning class and the afternoon class, don’t wear the same gi. Take a shower, too, while you’re at it.

2: Don’t overload your washer. In your washer, three things contribute to cleaning your clothes: water temperature, soap and agitation. If you cram the washer full, there will be very little agitation and your clothes won’t get clean. There is a temptation to wash as many things as possible in a washer. Most top loaders are good for one heavyweight gi or maybe two lightweight gis. I have a high-capacity front loader and find that more than two gis plus the rash guard and such is about the cap. So, if your gis don’t smell good after your wash, it’s possible that you’re trying to be too efficient and your washer’s just not up to it.

3: Try White Vinegar instead of bleach: This is particularly great if you’re line drying, but is good for killing odors without weakening the fabric. Bleach will make your gi stiff and will dramatically shorten its life by weakening the fabric. Vinegar, on the other hand, will help eliminate odors without destroying the fabric in the process. A 5% solution of vinegar and water is also a natural, non-toxic antiseptic that will kill 99% of germs. So, try adding about ¼ cup of white vinegar to the bleach bin of your washing machine instead of bleach.

White vinegar is also safe for colors, if anything, helping to set them instead of making them fade, with the added benefit of helping prevent pit stains and yellowing in a white gi.

When you line dry, you'll often have a soapy residue left in the kimono from the wash? That stiffness is from the residual soap. Vinegar helps rinse out the soap, so you don't end up with cardboard when you're done.

4: Baking Soda or Borax for acidic odors: Vinegar is an acid, and tip 3 will only work if we’re talking about bacteria. If your gi smells like ammonia, vinegar won’t help. You’ll need something to counteract the acidic nature of the ammonia your sweat produces. Try baking soda or borax (or combining the two) added to your wash instead of the vinegar.

5: The Sun kills bacteria naturally. If you’re line drying in Brazil (or some other place that’s sunny and warm) you’re probably okay. Here in Seattle, line drying indoors and not taking any other steps to eliminate bacteria is a recipe for disaster… or at least funk.

6: Dry your gis completely before wearing them. Another common cause of funk is to wash the gi then wear it before it’s completely dry. Moisture is an environment that bacteria enjoy, and if you never allow your kimonos to dry completely, you’re probably harboring plenty of funky bacteria. This means if you’re line drying, you should plan ahead and give them plenty of time to dry. Also, see tip 9.

7: Heat kills bacteria. While it’s true that washing in cold water and line drying will extend the life of your gi, it’s not THAT bad. It’s not like washing and drying your kimono will cause it to fall apart in months (although bleaching it definitely will destroy it fast).

Cotton often shrinks, but there is a limit to how much. It’s not like your gi will continue to shrink forever until it looks like a kid sized gi. I wash and dry all of my gis, occasionally on the super-hot, Sunny side of Mercury setting (which basically heats the water up to 180F and dries it for like 90 minutes). Almost all of them have shrunk to one degree or another, but getting to know what sizes to wear, and buying the gis accordingly accounts for this. Also, washing your gi a few times super hot will help it reach that terminal size faster. Or said another way, washing it in warm water over several washings is just prolonging the shrinking process. It will still shrink... just not as quickly.

The first thing I do when I get a new gi is to try it on. If it’s pre-shrunk, great. I still expect a little shrinkage, but not that much. If it’s not pre-shrunk, I expect the sleeves and pants to shrink up a few inches, at least. Either way, if the fit is what I expect, I wash it at least twice on hot, drying it completely both times before wearing it. That way, I’m reasonably sure that it’s not going to shrink much more over the life of the gi.

8: Wash your belt. There is no such thing as a fuzzy belt in BJJ. If your belt is attempting to submit your opponents, I’m talking to you.

I’ve heard two main reasons for not washing one’s belt. The first is superstition. The second is that, in BJJ our stripes tend to be athletic tape. Washing the belt might literally wash off the stripes. This isn’t a huge deal, but one way or the other, your belt will get funky if you don’t clean it.

If you don’t want to wash it in the machine, use a disinfectant spray. Odoban works pretty well, and is available in bulk at Costco. Febreze also works pretty well. You can also make a 5% solution of white vinegar and just allow it to dry completely. The vinegar smell will fade away as the fabric dries.

9: Own multiple Kimonos: BJJ is a relatively inexpensive hobby. Sure, you can go nuts buying books and DVDs, but outside of competition fees and school tuition, what do we really have to buy? So, indulge yourself. If you’ve been training consistently for 6 months or more and still own only one gi, go nuts. Buy another one. Live a little. The Gameness Pearl is a great gi that can be purchased for under $100. Padilla & Sons and HCK also have high quality gis available at a great price. You don’t have to spend $150 or more to get a nice gi… although they are great if you can afford them. Ebay is also a pretty good place to find nice gis that are either brand new or close to it at a great discount.

Bottom line, owning multiple gis isn’t something I consider to be a luxury. If you train multiple times each week and are serious at all about it, do yourself a favor and own at least two gis.

10: If all else fails, try washing your washer. This is particularly true for the front loaders, where a small amount of water tends to remain in the basin between washes. Some things you can do to disinfect your washer include running an empty cycle with hot water, soap and bleach. Or I would recommend hot water and about 3 cups of white vinegar. If you have a front loader, leave the door open between washes to allow it to dry out. The front loaders are air tight, and leaving the door closed will promote the growth of bacteria, mold and mildew.

If you have any other laundry tips for martial artists, email me or post them in the comments section.

Walking to the Cage

2009-06-30T08:18:00.000-07:00

I mentioned last week that I finally got a chance to watch the finished documentary film on MMA directed, filmed and edited by my friend, Matthew Hickney. I love all sorts of movies… even the occasional chick flick with my wife. Now, to be clear, I have some very talented friends, and I’m proud to be associated with them. Matt works very hard and takes the craft of filmmaking very seriously. But I will admit that asking to watch Matt’s first finished film is kind of like asking your friend in high school to read her book of poetry. Chances are, no matter how talented you believe her to be, the poems are going to be really bad… or at best, amateurish.

I've been following the creation of this film for a few years now. You can find trailers, information and extra footage on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/chokeproductions

And so it was that I anxiously popped the DVD into the player and settled back with my wife to watch Walking to the Cage. I was hoping to see a polished documentary film, but in the back of my mind, my expectations were on a more YouTubish level. Ultimately, I was blown away. Technically, Matt did a fantastic job. The filming was well done and the editing of the film was seamless. It didn’t take long at all before I completely forgot that I was watching a movie created by a friend and became engrossed in the story he was telling.

Walking to the Cage tells the story of three amateur fighters: Coby Parmenter, Jeff Bourgious and Josh Calvo. Jeff is the narrator for the film, for the most part, and Matt uses Jeff’s footage to move the story along. I particularly like the post-fight picture of Jeff with a black eye and bruises all over his face, and the biggest, goofiest grin you can imagine. Classic Jeff.

Ultimately, the film is about MMA and Matt is trying to present a different side to the sport. MMA is often thought of as two largely untrained thugs pounding on each other until one is unconscious. The bloodthirstiness of this perception is encouraged by the way that MMA is marketed by the UFC and other popular promotions. What really struck me about Walking to the Cage is that Matt doesn’t apologize for the violence in the sport of MMA. Rather, he attempts to bring the viewer into the world, to show them a side of MMA that they might not be aware of, and to help them appreciate it even if they don’t like or understand it. Early in the film, Matt is interviewing three teenagers going to see some fights. They go on and on about the blood and the violence and how cool it is to see people pounding each other’s faces in. Matt asks them, “So, do you train?” Their response was classic: “No way.” So, this is how the story begins and Jeff wraps up the message of the film nicely. Toward the end of the film, Jeff says (paraphrasing), “This is what we do and we work very hard at it. I don’t like ballet, but I can appreciate what they’re doing. I can appreciate the art.” Ultimately, that’s the message: MMA isn’t for everyone, but regardless of whether you like it or hate it, we can all appreciate that the guys who do it, do so because the love it. They train with passion and they strive to excel.

Of course, I know just about everyone in the film and like them all. I am also a fan of MMA and particularly of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. So, I’m sharing my DVD with my friends who don’t particularly like MMA to get their unbiased opinion. So far, the message I’m getting is that the film is accessible to non-MMA fans. My friend, Miranda, watched it with her husband. She said that it her husband thought it was a professionally distributed film and even asked when it aired on TV. Their feedback was very positive.

Another friend, a guy who loves movies more than anyone I know, wrote the following email after watching it:

Steve, I am very impressed. I just finished watching the movie (haven't seen the extras yet). It more than held my interest throughout, and moved deftly between the three main stories. Most importantly it said to the viewer "this is what you probably think MMA is (I think of Kimbo Slice), and here's the real story (Jeff, Coby, Josh).

I wasn't a fan of MMA before the film and I'm not now, but you don't have to be to like the movie. I think it helps if you like sports though, and love movies like I do. The director did an awesome job of editing, especially with the concluding fight scenes, like with the fade to black and white, and the music for Jeff's fight.

This movie certainly deserves distribution, and is as good as any of the ESPN or FOX Sports documentaries I've seen. Well done!

Matt has been going up and down the West Coast from Seattle to LA over the last few years, and he's moving to LA permanently this week to be closer to the film industry. He'll also be training with Eddie Bravo over at 10th Planet. You have a gift for story telling, and I am sure you'll do well. Good luck, Matt.

Don't Forget to Breathe

2009-06-24T12:29:00.000-07:00

I've been training for a few years now and have seen a lot of new guys come and go. One of the most common questions I'm asked is how to avoid gassing out when sparring. Of course, I laugh because my conditioning is suspect and I routinely gas out. But it's a good question: how do you avoid gassing out while rolling? I have five simple tips that might help. I hope they do.

Tip 1: Breathe

With new guys, conditioning is certainly a big part of it. However, even guys who are in good shape gas out fast when they first step onto the mats. The reason is often because they forget to breathe. What I mean is, they literally hold their breath or breath irregularly while exerting themselves. So, when sparring, focus on breathing. Just being aware of your breathing is sometimes enough to keeping you from holding your breath.

Tip 2: Relax

I don't mean be passive. By relaxed, I mean learning when to move and when to rest and this largely comes from experience. Over time, you'll learn how to push, pull or whatever without flexing every single muscle in your body. I swear, some new guys look like they're passing a kidney stone when they roll.

Tip 3: Focus on good technique

If you're on the bottom, flat on your back and your arms aren't in the right spots, you're probably very uncomfortable and unable to breathe. Look at the upper belts. You'll see that if the the guy on top is in close, the guy on bottom is likely up on one side or the other... rarely squared up and flat on his back. If you're on the bottom, being on your side gives you space to breathe and also options to improve your position. Also, keeping your arms in to create space will help relieve pressure on your diaphragm making it possible to breathe.

As Rick told me on my first day of class as he drove his considerable mass into my ribs, "This is just pressure. Pressure isn't a submission." Of course, he was right, but I'm pretty sure I still tapped.

Tip 4: Don't just use your arms..

It's amazing how many new guys forget they have legs. Again, look at the upper belts. They use their arms, legs and head to good effect. Once you begin to really incorporate your legs into your game, you'll see how you can start working your advantage. The entire idea of BJJ is to stack the deck in your favor. Using your legs against your opponent's arms is a good example of this.

I've found that strong arms and legs help, but a strong core is crucial. Being able to stay up on your side in half guard is all core strength and technique. Being able to breathe with pressure on your diaphragm is a function of your core strength. Without a strong core, your arsenal of tools in BJJ is very limited.

Tip 5: Keep Training

Ultimately, it's just mat time. Train, train, train and focus on the basics, and don't forget to breathe. As you gain experience, you'll find that all of those things to remember become second nature.

Walking to the Cage

2009-06-22T20:21:00.000-07:00

I just watched my friend's documentary on MMA called Walking to the Cage. It's really terrific. While I'm definitely biased, I'll post a review soon. I watched an early version back in late 2007, and Matt's really addressed every aspect of the movie to make it better. Better pacing, better framing of the story and a better voice. I'm still working through the extras... right now an interview with Eddie Bravo.

Ouch!

2009-06-16T18:28:00.001-07:00

Had a bit of a scare last night at class. We were working takedowns and I landed a little funny on my left knee. It felt like I hit the funny bone on the inside of the knee, and then settled into a really deep knot/bruisy kind of feeling. After it cooled off, it felt even worse and even though I iced it last night and have taken anti-inflammatories last night and today, it was very sore when I woke up.

Ultimately, though, I think it's okay. Throughout the day, it's been feeling better, and while it's still a little sore feels strong.

One of the things that I've commented on before is how lucky I am to have escaped serious injury. While I've battled some back issues, and have popped my elbow a couple of times, these injuries were relatively minor and nothing that required surgery. Many of my buddies, both online and in real life, have blown out their knees to one degree or another.

I have things I want to accomplish this year. I'm committed to competing at the Revolution in November and working toward competing at the Pan Ams next April. Knee surgery would definitely jeopardize these plans!!!

So, I feel like I've dodged a bullet! Whew!

Some Roger Gracie vids from the Mundials

2009-06-10T21:29:00.000-07:00

A few videos of Roger Gracie's matches this year. Check them out while you can. :)

Another video from the Mundials

2009-06-09T21:24:00.000-07:00

A blue belt match for a buddy.

Bing's 2 matches at the Mundials 2009

2009-06-09T08:15:00.000-07:00

Match 1

Match 2

Friday at the Mundials 2009

2009-06-06T08:26:00.001-07:00

Had a great day yesterday. Watched some sick jiu-jitsu, saw some controversy and went out to some of the local stores. I am amazed that there are actually stores where you can go and buy Jiu-Jitsu gear right off the rack. It is just surreal to see a rack full of Keiko gis. So far, I've resisted the urge to buy anything too expensive, but I've got several new t-shirts to take back with me… that my daughter will probably steal from me.

I'm going to be heading out in about an hour to the Pyramid. Looking forward to watching the brown and black belt competitors today. The most black belts I've ever seen in one place competing before is five.

I've got a lot of pictures to post, when I get a chance. The connection speed here at the hotel is pretty meager, so I'm reluctant to push it too much.

IBJJF Referee Training Seminar

2009-06-03T22:31:00.001-07:00

Or, what I thought I knew about Jiu Jitsu competition, but really didn't.

We go to Jiu-Jitsu ProGear, the location of the IBJJF Referee Training, at about 10:50 am. Jeff wasn't too concerned about getting there early, because, as he reminded me, we were dealing with Brazilian Time. As I'm sure you're all aware, there are different kinds of time. My time is usually early. If someone says to be there at 7 am, I'm usually there at 6:30am. Now, my parents are on Retired Time. If my parents say they're going to come by at 9am for breakfast, you'd better get something to eat and plan on seeing them sometime around lunchtime.

Well, then there's Brazilian Time, which isn't as bad as retired time. It's just… a little loose. So, true to form, things really got going at about 11:15am. The training was conducted by Alvaro Mansor, the CBJJ & IBJJF Referee Director. He's a funny, funny man and, of course it goes without saying that he's extremely knowledgeable regarding BJJ and the sport of BJJ competition.

What I thought I'd do is go through a few of my notes, outlining rules that I had pretty much gotten completely wrong. First of all, just to get some of the basics out for anyone who might not be familiar with the basics of BJJ competition, it goes something like this. Competitors start standing and are awarded points for achieving what are considered advantageous positions based upon a simple positional hierarchy.

Takedowns are potentially worth 2 points. Passing guard is worth 3 points. Knee on belly is worth 2 points, as is a sweep. Mount is 4 points, along with what is called Back Grab (where you have your hooks in). And, of course, you can win by submission, if your opponent is unconscious due to a legal technique, or if he is DQ'd whether by a technical or disciplinary foul. And that's the basics.

So, one of the first things I didn't understand before today is awarding points for position. I had always misunderstood the rules for passing guard. I thought that it was 3 points for basically achieving side control. Not the case. There are no points for side control. Rather, there are points for passing the guard. What this also means is that if you aren't in a person's guard… some form of guard… you can't get the points for passing it. By the same token, a sweep must start from guard, so if you are in my half guard and I reverse you, I get 2 points. If you are in side control and I reverse you, I get no points.

Next thing, and this was a real surprise, was mount. If I establish mount position for 3 seconds, I'm awarded 4 points. If you then turn to your stomach and I get what is called "back mount" (not to be confused with back grab), and I stabilize for 3 seconds, I get 4 more points. Then, if you turn back over to standard mount position, I can get 4 more points. At this point, Professor Mansor said (in his Brazilian accent), "And you should be ready to geeve to heem your business card, so you can teach heem zhoo-zhitsu."

There was a lot more, but it's getting late. After class, we met up with the rest of the guys for dinner: Coach Foster, Bing, Jaime and Josh. Tomorrow, I'm going to spend some time watching Jaime's matches. I'll have to check the schedule… Bing and Josh might be rolling tomorrow, too. I think that the blue belts start pretty late in the afternoon… around 5pm or 6.

I learned something today...

2009-06-03T09:46:00.000-07:00

I’m just chilling out, waiting for Jeff to pick me up. I got a text from him about 45 minutes ago saying he was at baggage claim… then 10 minutes ago saying he was pulling off the freeway… but that’s when I started to wonder if we’d gotten our signals crossed. See, I got a room at the Holiday Inn in Long Beach, about 5 minutes from the airport. I couldn’t figure out what freeway he could be talking about. Turns out, he was waiting out front of the Holiday Inn in Torrance.

Not the best way to start out the trip, but it’s early.

In other news, this little netbook ROCKS. Typing this up on the iPhone would be impossible.

What's Shakin?

2009-06-02T22:46:00.000-07:00

Heading down to Long Beach today for the Mundials. I’m not competing, although I am now regretting now having just gone for it. Ah well, next year I will definitely be competing in the Pan Ams. Ultimately, with my erratic training schedule, due to the baby (not blaming you, Lily… just saying), I didn’t feel that I was ready to go.

In training news, I’m still going in as often as I can. Since it’s been so long since my last training post, consider this a “state of the union” post… which means I intend to ramble for a bit about a lot of different things that I’ve been mulling over. So, unless you’re my mom, you can skip over the rest. It’s liable to be pretty boring.

I’m averaging twice per week now, although I do still have weeks where my wife is in town and I can train more often than that. I have been enjoying training very much when I have been able to go in. We have a lot of newer white belts in the school who are all pretty cool. One guy is a guard at the King County Jail. He has some experience training no-gi, about a year he said, but I’m not sure where he trained before. He a big dude, though… good guy.

I’m looking forward to this week. Tomorrow… Wednesday, I’m heading out with Jeff B, to the IBJJF referee training being held at the Jiu Jitsu ProGear shop. While I won’t ever be able to compete in every tournament that comes up, I do enjoy helping Jeff out with any of the local tournaments he’s involved with. I REALLY enjoy refereeing the matches. It’s something that not everyone has an interest in, but for whatever reason, I just really enjoy it. I think that the training will also help me really understand the rules in greater depth, which will in turn allow me to understand what’s happening in some of the tournament matches I watch.

Conditioning wise, I’m a little out of shape, although not as bad as it could be. Getting into the gym at lunch helps, even if it’s only for 20 to 30 minutes on the elliptical. I’m still dropping weight, and should break 180 within a month or so. My goal is to walk around at 175 lbs by August, and then make an easy cut to 170 for the Jeff’s November tournament. Then, compete in March, and then April at the Pan Ams for my first big tournament. So, that’s the plan, and I think it’s realistic.
Lily’s a very content, if precocious baby, and my older kids are awesome. I’ve taken the three of them to the school a few times, with no real issues. The biggest impediment to it right now is me. I’m just not quite comfortable with leaving the kids in the lobby while I train… although we’re close. Ken and Maddie don’t mind at all (or at least, they SAY they don’t mind), and Lily sure has a good time. All the same, it’s not when things go well that I’m worried… it’s if (when) something goes wrong.

As for training itself, I’m working on several things right now, and feel like I’m actually breaking out of the plateau upon which I’ve been floundering for the past few months. I am doing better from the scramble, which feels really good. I’ve never been the most dynamic grappler, but being more aggressive in a scramble and coming out in a favorable position feels good. At the same time, my more passive nature has helped my defense… because I spend a lot of time defending. Ultimately, things are starting to gel. My strong defense has helped me find myself in dominant positions, which has helped me work on some submissions.

Finally, I’m typing this on my new Acer Netbook. My wife bought this for me, and it’s really, really cool. While I’ve always wanted a laptop so that I can blog while I travel around, I’ve never really felt like a laptop is truly portable. But when I saw the deals over on TigerDirect.com, I just couldn’t pass it up. I got this little dude for $229.99 and $1.99 shipping. Not too shabby. It weighs just about 2 ½ lbs, and with the 8.9” screen, is something I can actually slip into a small bag and cart around. While it doesn’t have a DVD drive, it does have an onboard 160 gb HD, built in WiFi and a MS Office. So, there ya go. The only downside is a slightly smaller than full size keyboard. I type about 70 or so WPM on a regular keyboard, and I’d say this is bringing me down to about 45 or 50. I think that will work itself out as I get used to it.

What I really need to know is whether there’s a quick and easy way to watch movies on it? Any techies out there have a way to watch movies… say, from my iPhone?

Aaron Fotheringham - ESPN

2009-05-10T19:32:00.000-07:00

A couple years ago now, early in this blog's life, I posted an article mostly about kids and martial arts, and why I believe that kids (and anyone else) are better served by not protecting them from failure. Failure is an important lesson. I said that that time, "I tell my kids that the difference between someone who's good at something and someone who's great at something is the desire to succeed once coupled with the willingness to fail countless times, over and over."

I got an email with a link to this YouTube video and at first I was cynical. It didn't take long, however, until I was completely overwhelmed. This kid embodies what I was trying to articulate a couple of years ago, and the life lessons are universal. It could be golf, the violin, snowboarding, martial arts or in this case, an entirely new sport, the lesson is the same. We have to allow our kids to fail. We have to encourage them to try again, and we have to teach them that things are worth doing for their own sake.

This is also why I think junior black belts and anything else in which everyone wins is a bad idea.

Anyway, take a look. It's not very long:

Submission Grappling League

2009-05-02T19:49:00.001-07:00

Had a great day today. I went out and helped referee at the Sub League today. It was great.

The Sub League is a series of tournaments organized by a couple of guys from Impact Jiu-Jitsu in Beaverton, OR. The idea is simple: no points. If you're looking for mat time, it's great. If there are 5 guys in your division other than you, you get 5 matches. Everyone fights everyone else... and there are no points for position. Each match ends via submission or it's a draw at the end of the four minute time frame. You get three points for a win by submission, 1 point each for a draw, or 0 points for a loss. At the end of all of the matches, the winner of the division is determined by his or her per match average. Pretty good idea, and it made for quick, aggressive grappling where everyone worked to finish.

I've been interested in reffing for a while, and this was a great way to get started. I started by refereeing a division of the kids, and then moved on to men's beginners and men's intermediates. It was fun, and pretty straightforward. Because I didn't have to worry about points, I could focus on ring safety and illegal techniques.

All in all, I goofed once by not being decisive enough in repositioning the guys to the middle. One guy was in a tight triangle and I was reluctant to stop the action. I should have, but it worked out. I also had one DQ, a guy in the beginners bracket wasn't clear on the rules and went for a toe hold. For the beginners, straight ankle locks were legal, but knee bars and anything else were illegal. On the other hand, two guys thought wrist locks were illegal, but they weren't. The lesson learned there was to go over the rules with the competitors before getting started with a new bracket, not presuming that they read the rules. Seemed to help with the intermediate group.

Foster guys did well, overall. Not sure where everyone placed, but I was impressed. Jay (aka Coffee Black... although I'm not sure Bing's gonna make that nickname stick), did really well. Some guys get on the mats and everything else disappears. Some guys, though, focus and hear their coach really well. Jay is one of those guys. I'd just seen one of the women get put to sleep by passing to the wrong side in a guillotine. In fact, I was talking to a guy while that happened saying she was in trouble. Jay got caught in the same situation in the Novice bracket. He was in a deep guillotine and while he wasn't in his opponent's guard, he was on the wrong side. He stayed there for a while, trying to figure out what to do and then he heard coach say, "Jump to the other side." He did and ended up catching the guy with a head/arm choke from side mount.

In other news, my wife deserves an award for today. She was here for 4 hours while the Comcast guy troubleshot our internet. Our internet hasn't worked for about a week now. I'm still not sure what was wrong, but something was haywire. It's not completely up and running yet. I've got the router working now, and the wireless works too... for now. I'm going to finish this post, update the TiVo schedules and then try and set the security settings for the wireless network. I'm afraid if I change anything, I'll lose everything... but can't leave the network unsecured.

Tuesday Class

2009-04-29T14:59:00.000-07:00

Went to the regular class last night. Ultimately, I'm glad I went, although I really didn't feel like it. I left work feeling mentally drained, got home and all I wanted to do was take a nap. I could think of a dozen reasons to stay home, but none of them were really very good ones. I ended up deciding that this was one of those times where you just have to make yourself get on the mats. It's easy to train when you feel great....

So, I went. Didn't roll all that well. I was lethargic and sluggish, but got through it.

I am planning on going back tonight. I'm still tired, but am in better spirits today, so I hope that once I get there I'll perk up a little.

Monday Class: BJJ Drills

2009-04-28T13:12:00.001-07:00

Monday's class was fun. I don't typically go to class on Monday's, but Bing said I should. It was good. I don't know what the typical format is, but we did a warmup that included an emphasis on fundamentals. We drilled the armbar and triangle from guard, as well as the basic setup for an omoplata.

In the armbar from guard drill, the emphasis was on getting a good angle, elevating the hips and really concentrating on bringing the heels back to control the opponent's posture.

The triangle drill was about elevating the hips in closed guard and then stuffing an arm as you drop your hips, then elevating and locking in the triangle.

Omoplata was from a basic cross sleeve control and then reaching back to control my opponent at the ankle. More control at the ankle than if I grab at or around the knee.

We then drilled four different guard passes, two from knees and two for spider guard.

Finally, we did some sparring. There were 12 of us in the class, I think, so in 30 minutes, we all got maybe one 4 minute break. I got to roll with big Mike again, as well as several other guys including a visiting blue belt. I'm pretty sore today, but I think I'm going to be able to get to class tonight.

Weekend Class

2009-04-27T15:06:00.001-07:00

Friday’s class was all about sparring. No technique. We warmed up and then went at it. The format was typical: five matches at a time due to space, and five guys took a “ring”. Everyone else rotated in… so the guys who were in the rings didn’t get a break.

That went on for about 20 minutes, and then five new guys took a ring, and then the last 20 minutes were five other guys. So, it was a good mix. Lots of time to spar. I took a ring for the middle rounds and did okay.

My first match was with Josh, who I’m glad is back. He’s fun to roll with… one of those guys who always knows where he is on the mat. I get turned around sometimes, when I start rolling too much. Not Josh. He’s always rolling and flipping playing kind of loose until you’re tapping to an armbar or a triangle. It was a fun match.

I spent the first 2 ½ minutes being crushed by Big Mike… 270 lbs of blue belt. At one point, he managed to get into knee-on-belly, which really sucked. But he tried to take an armbar, giving me an opportunity to defend and roll up into side mount. He rolled over to his knees, so I took his back. Overall, I felt like it was a good match.

After that match, Rick came out. He’s a svelte 250 or so now… and stronger than ever after his surgery. So, the first five minutes of my 20 in a ring were being crushed… but it was all fun.

Going in tonight to try out the BJJ Drills class. Bingo is teaching it, so it should be fun.

Oh, trying out the post by email thing, so I have no idea what this will look like when it gets to the blog.

Class on Tuesday

2009-04-22T13:35:00.000-07:00

I'm slowly coming to terms with the reality of my situation. That little 20 lbs bundle of slobber pictured above is making it very difficult to get any time at the computer to write. I think that for at least the next while I'm going to take some of the pressure off of myself. Part of my problem posting has been in trying to get enough uninterrupted computer time to draft a post. I think that, if I want to continue posting to the blog, I will need to be satisfied with shorter articles, and stick in some cases, to simply posting the techniques I'm working on.

So, with that said, I'm continuing to work on that modified Bullfighter pass I mentioned in my last post. It's going okay, and I've found that even on guys with really strong legs, I can get around at least one and secure a solid half guard.

So, finding myself more often in people's half-guard, I'm working on a few different posts. I've learned a few ways to pass half guard that I'm pretty comfortable with. The usual half-guard passes that involve walking my foot up to clear my knee, and then driving it to the mat on one side or the other. What I've been playing with lately are a few I've picked up from videos where I focus more on stretching my opponent out than bringing my leg up. I've seen a couple different approaches to this, once on an Andre Galvao tape and on another one by Damian Maia.

Technique yesterday involved working from under side mount. We started in good position, so one hand (say my right) blocking his hip, and then my left arm cupping his shoulder with the blade of my forearm in his throat. In this way, I can create space for myself using very little strength by widening my left elbow out. The harder he drives into me, the more pressure he puts on his own throat.

From here, James emphasized bridging constructively. Often, we bridge straight back, which keeps all of my opponent's weight right on top of me. What I need to do is bridge over one shoulder. In this case, I would bridge over my right shoulder.

The goal in this particular case was to create space to swim my left arm around into a deep underhook.

At this point, we worked two different techniques. The first was to simply bridge once again to create space in which to bring in my right knee and then regain guard. One detail here that I appreciated was to bring my knee in kind of high. The point was that, often, people will try to get their knee in by sliding it along the mat. It's much easier if I bring my knee up and aim for his hip. That's where the space is... not on the floor.

The other technique was a reversal. With that deep underhook in place, I'm going to bridge once again to my right should. This time, I'm going to take my right foot and swing it under my left so that my hips basically turn over. Then drive in towards my opponent's far knee toward his dead angle, using my right arm to block that knee from sliding out... sort of like an ankle pick takedown, but this time from the knees. I'm not pulling on his knee; rather, just blocking it from moving.

Keys to this one are to set up the right angle. If I am too close to him, I'm in danger of getting whizzered. Too far to the other angle and I'll end up losing the position or at best, find myself in his guard.

Ideally, I'm at the right angle and can sit through into a scarf hold position.

Sparring was actually really good. I'm still fighting a particularly virulent cold, but I had decent wind and felt really good after class.

Ahh... great class today

2009-04-05T18:44:00.000-07:00

Small class on a beautiful sunny day in the PNW. Man, I have missed the sunshine. Bigtime. We worked on an armbar setup from turtle, starting from a basic wrist ride position. There was also a papercutter choke setup that Bing showed us. Did a lot of sparring. I've also been working on a standing guard pass, and have a new sweep from guard that Todd gets everyone one, even when you know it's coming.

The full guard sweep is kind of like a flower/pendulum sweep, but a lot less looping... if that makes sense. The sweep is done by controlling the same side arm, so if I'm working from my guard, I'll control my opponent's right sleeve/wrist with my left hand. I'll also control his left leg with my right arm, the closer to the ankle, the better. When I'm ready, what I'll do is plant my left foot to block him from basing out with that leg. At the same time I'm going to shoot my right leg straight up under his his armpit and then chopping down and over his back, getting my hips high. I'm also going to be lifting with my right arm at his ankle and pulling with my left arm on his right sleeve. It's a cool sweep that is very high percentage for Todd. I'd like to make it work for me... and learn how to counter it, too.

The guard pass I'm working on right now is a variation on the bullfighter pass that works pretty well against spider guard. It's one that Bing showed us a few weeks back and has been working very well for me against some of the bigger guys. It's basically just a matter of controlling both the leg and the arm on the same side, so if I'm caught in spider guard, I'll break the grip on, say, my left arm and reach over to control his left ankle. Usually, he'll have sleeve control on my right arm, making it very easy to return the favor. Then, pull with my left arm, control his wrist with my right, step out with my right leg and then bring my left leg around into side mount or knee-on-belly with my left, just as I would with any bullfighter pass.

I haven't felt a lot like writing lately. I've always considered myself at home in the Seattle area. I genuinely like rain, but I have to tell you when I got off work on Friday and it was sunny and warm, I felt like I was waking up. It was great. I was inspired. We opened up all of the windows in the house and fired up the grill. The kids went out and played hard all day and I just wondered what the hell I'm doing living here. Maybe when I retire, I'll move back down to Texas.

Blog Highlight: Grappling with Life

2009-03-19T17:25:00.000-07:00

I don't know whether anyone's noticed, but off to the side of my blog is an area called, "Articles that caught my eye." I'm not the most interesting blog around... by a long shot. I read tons of blogs and try to flag some of the ones that I would like to share by highlighting them in the sidebar here.

One blog that I consistently try to share over there are the posts by Jay on his blog, Grappling with Life. Jay describes himself as "I'm 30 some'odd years old. I train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai and MMA at KnuckleUp West Coast in Lancaster California. I am married to an incredible and supportive wife who not only understands, but supports my love affair with BJJ."

There are several reasons why I think everyone should check Jay's blog out. First, if you read my blog, chances are you're interested in grappling, BJJ, martial arts or something along those lines. Jay writes about all of those things. He's a guy that clearly loves to roll and is one of us.

Lately, he's been writing about medical issues that he's been struggling with. While I've read a lot of blogs about injuries and recovery. It seems as though ACL surgery is an epidemic among martial artists. Jay's medical obstacles are much less common. He tells a compelling story and has a great way of writing about it that manages to make the very technical, complicated medical issues easy to understand without insulting your intelligence. I also appreciate the optimism that is clear in every post. I don't get the sense that he's looking for sympathy or pity. Rather, it's like talking to a friend who says, "Jesus Christ. You won't believe what happened to me today. I had a friggin' stroke! Can't a guy get a break?"

I hope Jay doesn't stop writing anytime soon, and while I'm confident that he'll figure out these medical problems, I will definitely read his blog as long as he continues to write it.

3 Movies Every MMA/BJJ Fan Should See

2009-03-17T13:52:00.001-07:00

As MMA and BJJ become more popular, we're beginning to see movies incorporating some of the moves.

The earliest example of a recognizable ground fighting technique I remember was in Game of Death. This unfinished Bruce Lee movie that has the dubious honor of being about the worst case of cashing in on a Movie Star's untimely death I can think of. Bruce Lee was famous for his curiosity and desire to crosstrain, so it's not surprising that he incorporates an armbar at one point.

The other very early entry is Lethal Weapon. How many of us recognized the triangle choke that Mel Gibson slapped onto Gary Busey in 1987? Not me.

In the modern era, there have been several movies that I think are truly excellent... and a few that just suck. So, with that, here are the top 3 movies I think everyone involved with or interested in MMA or BJJ should see.

1: Choke, 1999: This is a documentary film about Rickson Gracie as he prepares for and competes in a no hold's barred competition in Asia. There's a lot of tension and the story is great. Also, the access granted to the filmmaker really gives you the feeling that you're behind the scenes.

In addition to following Rickson Gracie, the documentary also follows a Japanese competitor: Koichiro Kimura, as well as an American boxer, Todd Hays.

You will also see some of the best and worst of the spirit of the competitors during the tournament. Yuki Nakai is one tough dude and a true warrior. In this competition, Nakai, a shootfighter out of Japan, was little... noticably smaller than any of the other competitors. At one point, he ends up losing sight (ultimately a permanant loss of vision) in an eye as a result of an illegal gouge by Dutchman, Gerard Gordeau (who you might or might not remember from UFC 1). Nakai persists, kicks Gordeau's ass with a heel hook and just keeps going. A real testament that technique and heart can overcome strength and size.

2: The Smashing Machine, 2003: Another documentary film, this one done for HBO. This is a compelling story that is honest and tragic, about NHB fighter, Mark Kerr... at one point, the scariest dude around. The Smashing Machine is a cautionary tale, a story about the climb to the absolute top of the heap and then the long fall completely off the mountain.

There are points in MMA history where you can see a shift in strategy. Things ebb and flow in this young sport. Ground and Pound was really Kerr's area of expertise. In one fight, he literally beat this guy up so bad on the ground that the guy climbed out of the ring to escape.

The thrust of the Smashing Machine is, as with Choke, a behind the scenes look at MMA. This time, however, the focus is on Mark Kerr and his addiction to prescription painkillers.

3: Renzo Gracie's Legacy, 2008: Yet another documentary style film, this one about Renzo Gracie, one of the first Gracies to move to the USA permanently. Slideyfoot posted a great review of this film on his blog. Check it out.

Honorable Mention:

Red Belt, 2008: It's a pretty good movie. David Mamet wrote and directed this film that contains all of the Mamet characteristics. Convoluted plots, tight dialogue and flawed characters.

The movie follows Mike Terry, a small time Jiu-Jitsu instructor struggling to make ends meet, and his wife, the hot, Brazilian dress maker. When a strung out lawyer hits Terry's car a series of unlikely events begin to unfold that take Terry deeper and deeper into the corrupt world of organized, sport fighting.

Unlike the three movies in my top ten, this is the first that is an actual work of fiction. Not on purpose. I actually prefer my movies made up, but so far, there have been no really good MMA/BJJ movies. This is close, though. It's an interesting movie and, in my opinion, well worth watching. I've seen it twice. I also enjoyed the Jiu-Jitsu incorporated into the story. The feel of the movie is really kind of a throw back to the grittiness of a Raging Bull or the first Rocky.

Be warned, though. The ending will make you cringe or groan or smack your forehead and go, "D'oh." Or perhaps all three. It's that bad.

And a few to avoid unless you really want to see something related to MMA:

Have I missed any? Are there others out there I don't know about?

Sunday Class

2009-03-16T10:24:00.000-07:00

We continue to work on some fundamentals that were lacking in the last tournament. Specifically defending the near-side knee slide pass from half-guard. A lot of guys were attempting to push the knee back, giving our opponent an advantageous matchup: his leg and core vs my arm(s). Not gonna win that one very often.

Instead, we reviewed some basic counters to this pass. I ended up working with Chris, a 2 stripe white belt who joined us from another school. He lives in our area and may end up signing up. I hope so. He seemed like a decent guy. We worked the counter, and I was able to help out with some very basic tips. Chris had a tendency to flatten out in half-guard and also to forget about his bottom arm... just kind of laying it on the mat. So we worked on staying up on his side and using all of his limbs.

The counter is, very simply, to fight for the underhook and use the momentum of my opponent to shuck him by, scissor my hips, get to my knees and take his back. If I can't get the underhook, the second chance is to grab the leg and work for a single leg. The final, last ditch effort, and more suited for self defense or perhaps MMA than a grappling tournament, is to create some space, get the top knee inside and use your legs and hands to push the top guy off. Just remember to push him as far away as you can and don't leave your legs hanging out for an easy heel-hook.

Instruction was done by Bill, a brown belt. Bill brings a different look to classes. He's less formal, but his experience as a Seattle police officer who doesn't work in the nice parts of town, always brings a self defense element to the class. If Jiu-Jitsu means Gentle Art, Bill's classes might be called the "Not Very Gentle Art".

Got a lot of sparring in. We had several matches going, so I got to roll with just about everyone over the course of the class.

One of the last matches I got was with Bill. Rolling with Bill is always an adventure. As I'm shaking Bill's hand, he says, "I think I see a kneebar in your future." We lock up and I pull guard, he passes to half-guard and starts setting up his kneebar. And... I defend it. Of course, to save the leg, I ended up giving up any kind of position. In the scramble, he settles into side mount. "Dude. This is a weird look. I've never had anyone actually hold me down in side control," he said. And it was true. I didn't realize it, but rather than attempting to create space, I was locking him down with my knee and arms. Overall, I would say this isn't good technique, but when you have a 230 lbs brown belt looking to take a leg... I say it's pretty smart. So, he works around, goes for another kneebar and I immediately figure four and start working the defense. "Oh, you little bastard. I'm very angry now!"

"Bill, you taught me the defense! Doesn't that count for something?" I whimper from the bottom.

"NO! Alright. That's it." And as he slides back to side control, "You're getting Howdy'd." Fortunately, the defense he showed us for that worked to. Time was called and felt like I'd been through a meat grinder, but I'd be lieing if I said I didn't feel pretty good about my defense.

non-BJJ: SCUBA and Sandwich Isle Divers

2009-03-12T12:58:00.000-07:00

aka: What can I do to get my bro to share some diving stories with me?

When I found BJJ, it was great. I’d found something that was healthy and positive, a hobby that was good for me both physically and mentally, and became addicted instantly. Most of us have had a similar experience, where we were immediately hooked and can't wait to get back on the mats.

My brother and his wife had a similar experience with SCUBA diving: they're hooked and can't wait to get out of Alaska and back out to the ocean. I definitely want to give it a shot at some point, if only to get my brother off my back.

Mainly, though, I want to encourage my brother to write, and maybe even get him to start his own blog, tracking his adventures and experiences while diving. [hint]I'd read it[/hint]. So, with that, below is a completely unsolicited endorsement for the dive shop my brother, Randy, and his wife use, written by him. Sounds nice…

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A few years ago, my wife and I obtained our open water certifications in Hawaii, on the island of Oahu. Sounds awesome. Right? The whole experience was miserable. The weather sucked. The dive shop treated us as if we were a nuisance. I felt awful because I had promised my wife this great adventure, but I had failed miserably. Still, I had the bug and I wanted to dive again. Diving is something I’d wanted to do for a long time and I wasn’t ready to give up.

Eventually, Jo agreed to give it one more shot. This time, we decided to give the Big Island a try and I started searching for a dive shop that would offer a more positive experience. If you look online you will find references to a couple of big shops with good reputations, but I also found a few references to one smaller shop: Sandwich Isle Divers. After our experience with the bigger dive shop, the idea of working with a smaller outfit was appealing. Everything that I read about these guys sounded great so I gave them a call.

A guy named Colton answered the phone, and we talked for a while. I told them about our previous experiences and explained that my wife was on the verge of giving up diving. Even over the phone, I knew we’d found the right place. Colton acknowledged that our experience sounded terrible and promised us a totally different one.

Steve Myklebust and his wife Lara run a shop like no other. Their dive masters are all knowledgeable and very friendly. Steve knows so much about the local marine life that every trip is like a short marine biology class. While they’re a full service dive shop, each trip never has more than 6 divers. Because they only do morning charters, you never feel rushed since they don’t have to hurry back in for afternoon divers. The pace of the dives is relaxed and they encourage us to enjoy our bottom time. When you return to the surface you can pass your gear off to Steve so you don’t have to climb the boat ladder with all that weight. Surface intervals will include light snacks and drinks and might include a bit of whale watching!

Since that first trip, we’ve logged over 60 dives with Sandwich Isle Divers and plan to do many more.

Randy and Jo Zacher
Anchorage, AK

Tapout's Mask dies in a Car Crash

2009-03-11T13:31:00.000-07:00

Wow!!! You can read about it here. I'm shocked. From the article, it looks like he was racing another guy in a Porsche.

I hope that the female who was in the car is okay. Again, according the article, she is in bad shape.

RIP