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Although I’m primarily a sport Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu player (someone who trains BJJ for competition) and submission grappler (no-gi) there are many benefits to taking mixed martial arts classes. I didn’t recognize the benefits until I started taking MMA classes for a while. Although at first glance MMA may appear to be a compilation of street fighting moves, it’s actually extremely technical and can add value to your BJJ training.

The most obvious benefit of the mma training routine is that it reveals the primary reason Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was created, for self-defense. As you continue to improve your technique and conditioning you will become more comfortable on the ground and  become more and more efficient at executing techniques.  Instead of getting dominated and submitted by everyone during live sparring you will begin to draw even and eventually surpass those that were submitting you before. Of course this is a positive benefit to training and shows that you are improving your Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu technique. But if there can be one glaring downside to becoming efficient is that it can lead to complacency and laziness.

Let me explain. Since I’m on the older end of the BJJ age continuum (36) most of the younger guys are naturally in better shape than I am. If we’re doing suicide sprints, I typically fatigue quicker than the young guys (especially the supremely conditioned Marines). In order to counter this I really focus on my breathing and staying relaxed in general when I spar. Sometimes I try to stay so relaxed that I find that I’m not staying as active as I should and rest instead of continuously chaining attacks together. Bottom line is sometimes I get complacent.

MMA class forces you to stay active on the ground by providing a natural consequence for being lazy, you get hit. Now because they’re your training partners they’re not trying to take your head off but they do make it very clear that you must work to improve your position or attempt a submission. This will ultimately improve your Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu technique for self-defense situations.

I first wanted to apologize for not posting  for a month!  I got the flu bug and basically put out of training for a 3 weeks!  This flu bug came with all the bells and whistles complete with a cough that lingered for a week LOL!  I’m back training now but my cardio is lacking.

This is a good opportunity for me to talk about my philosophy on training after or through an illness.  Although I’m into Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu now I was a national level swimmer in my high school and college days.  During those swimming years I basically trained roughly twice a day (sometimes 3x/day) 6-7 days a week for eight years!  I think I started growing fins and gills by the end LOL.  During that time I was able to figure out, through trial and error, how my body reacted to training during and after illness and injury.

I learned a few absolutes when it comes to recovery from illness or injury:

If it’s a bad sickness like the flu that really weakens your body then take 3-4 days off from the day you feel like you can train again. The reason I give this buffer is that I don’t know how many times I’ve trained hard too early and got a relapse.  When it comes to BJJ training “I’ll just take it easy for the first few days” works great until the first sparring session and then I’m going hard again.  At least I recognize this pattern in myself and add the 3-4 day buffer as insurance.   Although it’s a bummer to miss those days of training when you “MIGHT” be OK it’s better than losing another couple of weeks cause you get sick again.

If it’s a minor cold I usually will go back to training as soon as the physical fatigue symptoms go away. I’ve found that I can train through the tail end of a minor cold without any major side effects.

I’ve learned that letting injuries heal ALL THE WAY is the only way to go. I’m not talking about sore joints or tweaked fingers or anything you can tape up.  If you took time off form BJJ every time you got a tweaked finger or toe you’d never train LOL!  I’m talking about major joint and muscle pulls/ tears or back/ neck pain.

Back in my swimming days I kept training on a pulled groin muscle and never really let it heal because “I didnt’ want to miss too much training”.   Well that groin pull kept coming back and plagued me for over a year.  If I just took a month off to heal it properly, I may have avoided that year of pain and frustration.

So take the long term view of your training and take the time to heal!

Jeff Glover in action

This past Wednesday I was fortunate to have the opportunity to attend a great seminar by Jeff Glover who is an amazing submission grappler. I’ve watched Jeff’s highlight videos on youtube and was really excited to meet him.

One first things Jeff said was that he hates the typical seminar format. Unlike most seminars, Jeff asked us to ask him questions that we were interested in. He said that he used to hate it when he’d go to a seminar and the guy would teach a bunch of fancy moves, none of which he could execute. So we got a chance to pick Jeff’s brain a little.

One of the first things I noticed was that Jeff was balancing himself on top of a Swiss Ball. A swiss ball is a large inflatable ball that you see at the gym. When asked about this Jeff said that the Swiss Ball is the secret to his success! I’m not kidding. He said that he’s been using the swiss ball to learn balance and improve core strength since he was a white belt back at Paragon BJJ back in Santa Barbara. He’s a black belt now but that’s like saying Kobe Bryant’s an NBA level player. Jeff is currently training with Marc Laimon’s Corbra Kai Jiu-Jitsu  in Las Vegas.  Jeff balanced atop the ball with his shin and other foot on the ball (like a half kneeling position). Jeff then proceeded to roll to his back and then around to a half kneeling position again and then rolled off the ball backwards landing on his feet on the mat. He did this several times basically keeping his weight centered on the ball at all times in complete control. He said this helps his grappling in several ways:

1. Increased Core Strength. Since balancing on the ball requires you to constantly make small adjustments, your abdominal muscles are always activated.
2. Increased Balance: Keeping your balance on the ball while moving around to your back and back to your knees helps you learn to keep your weight perfectly centered on your opponent (essential in BJJ).
3. Decreased Reaction Time: Since you must train your body to make constant, small adjustments to stay balanced on the ball, you’re in essence training your muscles to react instinctively to subtle movements. In BJJ this skill would manifest itself in reacting to your opponents attempts to attack, escape, or throw you.
4. You Ride your Opponents Better: Since being atop the swiss ball is approximately like being atop someone in turtle position (hands and knees) you learn to react to your opponents movements much better. Keeping you on top.

So get out that Swiss Ball!

A never ending chain of attacks

Almost a year ago, Elias Gallegos a former Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor at my gym, The Boxing Club, told me about his philosophy on grappling. Elias described a technique called “chain gunning” where you launch a never ending chain of attacks at your opponent. Like a machine gun firing a stream of bullets, eventually one will hit the mark. The same is true about attacking submissions in grappling, if you launch your attacks and chain one attack to the next, to the next, eventually you’re opponent will fall behind not be able to keep up with your continuous attacks. Elias said you need to accept the fact that you will probably end up losing positions and submissions a lot for about the first 3 months as you get used to the increased frequency of attacks. After internalizing this technique by practicing it for a few months he says I’ll notice that I’m catching people in submissions much faster and with higher frequency.

In the same vein as Elias’ “Chain Gunning” is a technique taught to me years ago by grappling phenomenon Tyrone Glover called a “flow drill”. In this drill you work with a willing partner and move through a sequence of ten connecting submissions. The goal of the “flow drill” is to help you learn how to instinctively move from one submission to another when you meet resistance. For example, you could move from a Kimura (shoulder lock using arms), to triangle, to Omoplata (shoulder lock using your leg), back to triangle, and to an arm bar. Eventually, as I have found you will begin to expect resistance to your attacks and be ready to immediately move to the next attack.

In addition to attempting to spar from open guard I’m also attempting to attack even if I’m not in exactly the optimal position. For example, I’ll be playing open guard and my opponent is trying to pass my guard, I’ll attack a guillotine choke just to see how he reacts. Interestingly, it causes him to fight my hands and defend the choke instead of continuing to try to pass my guard. Then I’ll attempt to lock up full or half guard to finish the choke. Well, I’ve been training open guard religiously for about a month and it really seems to be working well for me. The test will come when I start actually losing positions and have to fight out.

So Grapple Hard But Grapple Smart!

MMA fighter Mac Danzig playing open guard

Lately in practice I’ve been beginning my sparring sessions from the open guard (seated position legs out in front of you) instead of from my knee’s. Basically, there are three ways you can start a rolling or sparring sessions in BJJ or submission grappling; standing, on your knees, and open guard. Most of the time you will choose between starting from your knees or from open guard unless you’re working take downs or competition training then you may begin from standing position. In the past I mainly start from my knees because it was less risky and I’d end up getting top position most of the time. I’m most comfortable working my passes and attacks from top position. On the off occasion I tried to start open guard, I’d frequently get my guard passed and end up in an inferior position.

Since my top game is far better than my bottom game, I figure it’s time to balance my self out and work from open guard. This makes practice much more challenging. If I happen to end up getting my guard passed and land in an inferior position I look at the situation as an opportunity to work on my escapes and defense.

Here are the things that I’m working on from the open guard:

1. Utilizing hip movement to keep appropriate distance from my opponent makes it much harder for him to pin my hips and run around my guard. This used to happen to me every time I attempted open guard! With my hips stationary, he’d grab my legs or pin my hips and move his legs just outside the reach of my legs, easily passing my guard. So now if I feel like he’s going to try to pass my guard, I’ll just move my hips back and to the left or right. This increases the distance and changes the angle so that if he’s going to continue to try to pass he’ll have to square up to me and close the distance again. This has really helped to avoid getting my open guard passed.

2. Stay off my back!

Yes, I’m talking to myself! One of the worst things you can do when fighting from open guard is to lay flat on your back. It’s easy enough to do especially when you’re tired but it’s the first step to getting your guard passed. Staying off your back also keeps your hips mobile so you can adjust to your opponents’ attempts to pass.

3. Don’t let your opponent control your ankles/ legs.

Keeping your opponent off your ankles and legs will keep you mobile and keep them from gaining an advantageous position. If you allow your opponent to control your ankles or legs a couple things can happen:

A) Your opponent can flip your legs up and easily pass your legs  to side control.

B) Your opponent can flip you all the way over backwards to turtle position (on hands and knees) gaining an advantageous position on you.

C) If they can control your legs, wrapping their arms around both legs pinning them together, passing will be easy for them.

Keeping your ankles/ legs free will allow you to:

A) Attack submissions, arm drags, and sweeps.

B) Allow you to move away from their pass attempts.

4. Attack!

I’m trying to attack submissions more often, even without optimal position. This does one if not both of the following:

A) Keeps my opponents off balance. If I force them to defend then they are not attacking.

B) Forces them to make mistakes. If they are intent on defending a submission they will open themselves up to sweeps or other submissions. Please note: I’m not necessarily attempting to finish my opponent with these submission attempts (I’ll take them if I can get them and many times I do) but trying to cause them to make mistakes and open themselves up to other attacks.

I’ll continue to update my blog and let you know how my training is going.

Grapple Hard but Grapple Smart!

My coach Nick had me do a tough conditioning workout to further prepare me for competition. If you read about the tough workout I called “The Ringer” in a past training blog post then you’ll know that this work out is tough! The Ringer 2.0 is the original ringers evil cousin. Other than being a HIIT (high intensity interval training) workout, the Ringer 2.0 works grip strength as well as basic grappling moves. Here are the stations:

1. Kettle Bell Bridge Squat: First 30 seconds: Start in a sitting position holding the kettle bell at chest level with the handles. Lean back and bridge (raise your hips) lifting the kettle bell above your head and keeping your shoulders on the ground. Then sit up and stand up keeping the kettle bell at roughly chest level. That’s one rep. Last 30 seconds: Sitting up, holding the kettle bell at your stomach level move the kettle bell from side to side so that it almost touches the floor by your hip.

2. Kettle Bell Towel Swing: Warning! Be careful you don’t hit yourself or others around you! Wrap a towel through the handle of the kettle bell and hold both ends of the towel with both hands like you’d hold a bat. Swing the kettle bell over your head for 30 seconds each direction. Again, use caution when doing this exercise!

3. Sand Bag Pull: Pull a 50 pound sand bag up and down the mat. Alternate between dragging it while walking backwards and pulling it as you walk forward with the bag between your legs. Again for 1 minute.

4. Sledge Hammer Swing: Most of us have seen guys hitting a large truck tire with a real sledge hammer on the net or maybe even done it ourselves. Since we’re in the gym Nick had me use a heavy rubber wrapped bar (15# bar) to hit a punching bag on the floor. The bar is swung in the same arc as a sledge hammer.

5. Heavy Rope Swing: This time one rope in each hand. Vertical waves for 30 seconds and side to side for 30 seconds

1 minute rest after completing the five stations and begin again. Last week I did 3 rounds for a total of 17 minutes. This week I’ll do 4 rounds.

Most of the exercises improve grip strength as well as conditioning.

As in any sport you will have ups and downs in your training. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and submission grappling are no different. Every grappler will encounter sore joints and even need to take time off to let an injury heal. The treatment for an injury, although not fun, is typically fairly straight forward. Ice it, elevate it, take some Motrin, or even go to the doctor if you need to. But there’s no doctor that can heal you or pill you can take when you hit a plateau in your training.

What is a training plateau anyway?

The dictionary defines a plateau as: When an individual’s adaptation or performance levels off or gets worse, a plateau has been reached and retrogression has occurred. In my time I’ve hit several plateaus that you may be able to relate to.

1. You feel really mechanical when rolling and can’t execute moves that used to come naturally or seem simple. There have been times when I know what I need to do to execute a technique but for some reason my body refuses to do it. Maybe I eventually execute the desired movement but my intentions are telegraphed and my opponent easily defends it.

2. You’re getting your guard passed like it’s not there or getting submitted more frequently than usual and you just can’t put your finger on why.

3. You can execute a move well when drilling but blank out when live sparring.

4. You’ve learned new techniques but you just keep going back to your same old style of grappling even though you’d like to incorporate new techniques.

5. You just feel discouraged or burnt out.

Things I’ve done to push through plateaus that you may benefit from.

1. Understand that if you stick with the sport long enough everyone hits plateaus. Even the best grapplers in the world will tell you that they too hit plateaus. Try not to get discouraged and understand that you’ll eventually push through it.

2. Take a break from training to clear your head. I’ve gotten into a training rut where I was physically present and doing the movements but my mind was just not into it. It can very beneficial to take time off and do something else. You’ll know you’re ready when it’s fun to be in the gym again.

3. Focus on other things you can improve and quantify. The goal is to be successful at something else, anything else to neutralize the negative experience you have on the mat. You can focus on improving your conditioning, flexibility, or strength. I have found that flow drills can really help get past plateaus. A flow drill is where you move (with a partner) from one submission to another, linking one submission or sweep to another.

4. Mental Strength Training is yet another under trained Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu technique. We’ve all heard of Olympic athletes visualizing world record performances or executing perfect technique to win the gold. Developing a grappling game plan puts some structure to that mental training. Developed by the world class Judoka (Judo player) and BJJ champion Lloyd Irvin, a grappling game plan will make you a more tactical and effective grappler. Basically, a grappling game plan is a plan of attack that you will use in a match and drill during practice. You will develop combinations of sweeps, submissions and escapes that you will test in practice. After being in a slump in the gym I spent a week working on my grappling game plan, found that this exercise increased my mental strength and confidence and ultimately helped me push past my training plateau.

Hopefully, you can utilize one of these techniques to push past the next training plateau you encounter.

Grapple Hard but Grapple Smart!

We continue our examination of the similarities or differences between Brazilian Jiu Jitsu techniques and those of Aikido. Similarities can be found in the concept of Balance.

Balance is central to these martial arts because:
-Being in balance is being centered.
-Power is maximized with proper balance.
-Accuracy of technique is optimized.

Balance is essential to many sports Punching power is maximized when a boxer is in balance. From Parallel Bars, to Floor Exercise, the Artistic Gymnast is judged on the degree of balance from handstand to dismount.

All four of basic principles of Aikido, Keep One Point (center), Relax Completely, Weight Underside, and Extend Ki (energy), are required for proper technique. They exist simultaneously if the practitioner is fully in balance. If properly executed, the Aikido technique called Iriminage appears to an outside observer as a technique which “clotheslines” uke (the attacker) as he crashes into the arm of nage (the defender). Actually, nage is creating a mismatch causing the upper body to move slower than the lower body resulting in loss of balance. The “clothesline” is simply a follow through as the arm and body – as one unit – create the downward force leading the unbalanced opponent to the ground. If the mismatch is not achieved the opponent will be in balance and much more difficult to throw.

The Brazilian Jiu Jitsu artist knows all too well that balance can be unsettled even if in full mount by a skillful shift of weight of their opponent resulting in a sweep or even a full reversal. BJJ practitioners depend on the sprawl (a fundamental wrestling technique), which drops the body to the floor and creates a center of gravity low enough to thwart a single or double leg takedown.

In conclusion, we understand that Brazilian Jiu Jitsu techniques are different than those of Aikido yet, the idea of balance plays a critical role in both. A person in balance has his center, the source of both power, and accuracy. This is but one example of a thread that joins not only these arts, but also seemingly unrelated sports such as football, gymnastics, and boxing. For more information, please click on the link to an eZine article.

Here’s one of my favorite finishes to a fight.  This occured in Japan’s Pride Fighting Championships (R.I.P.) back when Anderson Silva was coming up through the ranks.  You currently know him as the invincible UFC Middle Weight Champion.   At the point this video starts Anderson Silva has utterly dominated Ryo Chonan (no slouch by any means)…  Commentated by Pride FC Veteran Josh Barnett.

As of last Thursday, I’m officially training for the 2008 No-gi Worlds on August 9th and 10th at Cal State Dominguez Hills.  This tournament is basically the submission grappling version of the Gi Worlds this past June.  Preparation for this tournament will require a significant amount of commitment in several areas:

1. Increased cardiovascular training: In order prepare my body for several matches I’ll be doing intensive 1hr conditioning workouts.  This will include kickboxing, boxing, rope jumping, plyometrics, medicine ball training, and running.  I’ll also include shorter (20 minute) High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) in addition to or in place of one of the other conditioning workouts.

I completed a power kickboxing class this past Sunday which consisted of keeping my heart rate at a high level for an hour.  It was a painful workout (I felt like throwing up several times during the hour!) but will pay off come tournament time.

2. Increased Live Sparring:  I will be doing more live sparring both starting from the feet as well as from the knees.  My goal is to successfully execute my submission grappling techniques when completely exhausted.  I’ll be training submission grappling (without the gi) almost exclusively until the tournament.  I’ll still attend Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (with Gi) class on Saturday because that’s the only class available.

3. Develop my Grappling Game Plan:  The Grappling Game Plan is a system developed by the great Judoka (Judo player) and BJJ champion, Lloyd Irvin.  Basically, it shows you how to develop a plan of attack for your match so that you are prepared for anything and everything that you will encounter.  By systematically defining the game plan that I will use at the worlds I can practice the submission grappling techniques I will attempt to execute in an actual match.  My game plan will include how I will attack as well as how I will defend takedowns, guard passes and submissions.  This is an exercise in mental preparation.  I will continue to post the things I’m specifically working on in training.

4. Diet: This may be the most difficult part of the training plan for me to consistently execute.  Because I enjoy Mexican food as well as fast food I’ll have to make an effort to stay consistent with my eating plan.  I basically try to follow the guidelines of the Nutrition and Body Fat guru Tom Venuto.  Essentially, I try to eat a meal with a lean protein and vegetables every 3-4 hours at 90% consistency (1 out of 10 meals is a cheat meal).  That’s the goal anyway.  My main trouble spots are typically, lunch and eating before bedtime.

I’ve gone to submission grappling or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practice Thursday  7/3, Saturday, 7/5, kickboxing Sun 7/6, sub grappling Mon 7/7, and sub grappling Tues 7/8.

I’ll continue to post on how my workouts are going.  Please comment if you’d like to hear anything specific about my training.