Hero Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Instructor Pedro Arrigoni saves the day
When the mainstream public hears the words: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, BJJ, or Grappling they usually have an image of two mixed martial arts fighters squaring off in the UFC Octagon (Ultimate Fighting Championships). But not this time!
BJJ Hero Arrigoni saves the day!
It’s refreshing when Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is associated with is associated with self-defense or helping out a fellow citizen in distress! This happened as an officer was assaulted by a “crazed” bus fare evader. The incident occurred outside the AB Mixed Martial Arts Academy at 2975 San Bruno Ave. the fare evader ban punching the cop repeatedly in the face and then proceed to tackle the officer and mount him continuing to assault him. This is when Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor Pedro Arrigoni came to the aid of the officer and applied a choke hold until the attacker was about to pass out and said “I give up, I give up!” In the end Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu enabled Mr. Arrigoni to safely subdue the assailant allowing him to verbally submit or “give up” assuring minimal injury to all parties involved.
Fast forward to 3:00 to see a clear slowed down shot!
Mr. Arrigoni also tries to encourage troubled neighborhood kids to get involved in BJJ because it teaches respect and noninvasive fighting tactics. he also believes all law enforcement should train Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Whether your a fan of No-Limit Hold Em’ poker or not I’m sure you’ve seen some of the widely televised poker tournaments on TV. Long ago, only the final table of the World Series of Poker would be condensed into an hour show played on ESPN. These days it’s almost impossible to flip through the channels and not see some re-runs of the massive $10,000 World Series of Poker tournament, World Poker Tour, Big Money Cash Games, or Heads-Up Hold Em’ Championship.
Would you pay $10K to play 1 on 1 against Kobe?
The great thing about the WSOP (World Series of Poker) is that it is one of the few tournaments that allow ANYONE to compete in. Anyone who can put 10 grand at risk at least. The point is that amateurs can go head to head with seasoned poker pros like Doyle Brunson, Jonny Chan, Phil Helmuth, and Gus Hansen. Sort of like if anyone of us could play one on one with Kobe Bryant or fight for the Heavy Weight Championship with Mike Tyson. Sound crazy doesn’t it. Well the poker pros pretty much treat these green amateurs as pawns and own or “pwn” them lol!
Or get in the Ring with Mike Tyson?
Can you illicit the reaction you want to execute your game plan?
If you ever see a poker pro ask their opponent how many chips they have or start talking to them about particular poker hands they may have they’re actually creating an ACTION to gain a REACTION from the opponent. It could be a glance one way or the other, holding breath, even an increase in the pulse rate visible in their neck (it’s true). That reaction gives them the information they need to defeat their opponent.
So how does all this this apply to Jiu-Jitsu?
Well, once you’ve been in Jits for a while and mastered the basic movements you will begin to develop your own game plan (or attack pattern). Once you learn some submissions and sweeps you may try to force them to work right? I mean we’ve ALL done it and maybe still do! But occasionally, you’ll execute a sweep that feels almost EFFORTLESS! Just like when Michael Jordan hit so many consecutive 3-pointers against Portland that he shrugs his shoulders to the scorers table. He himself doesn’t understand how they go in with ease, just that they do. When you execute a technique in BJJ, especially a sweep, you’ve probably in inadvertently performed an action that caused your opponent to react in a way that essentially made him fall into the sweep. It feels as easy as when you’re drilling the technique. This is the beginning of recognizing and understanding Action/ Reaction and utilizing it to your advantage in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Eventually, with practice you’ll be able to chain attacks together (action) and cause your opponent to react in a way that will allow you to execute a technique (sweep, submission, throw, or defense). If you do it right it will seem effortless as the masters intended it.
In this ADCC match between Rodrigo Gracie and Genki Sudo you’ll see what I mean. Fast forward to about 0:46 to see the set up and 0:55 to see the actual sweep. You’ll see Rodrigo pushing into Genki and grabbing his legs (pulling him in) which in turn causes Genki to push back into Rodrigo and falls into the sweep.
Please Feel free to post questions and comments at the bottom! Happy training!!!
All you have to say is “Saku” and most people will know you’re talking about the great Japanese MMA fighter Kazushi Sakuraba! Many remember Saku for his pro wrestling style entrances in unique costumes, signature entrance music and bandaged cauliflower ear. But I think Saku will be most remembered because of the fact that he put crowd entertainment as his top priority. His innovative and highly unorthodox style included: the double Mongolian chop, jumping guard pass/ foot stomps, cartwheeling guard passes, and amazing fluidity in his ground game.
Of course Saku’s famous entrance music
Saku
Here are some tributes to “The Gracie Hunter” Enjoy!
Check out this awesome documentary of “The Gracie Hunter”!
This highlight is the one I watched many times during Saku’s reign in the early years of the Pride Fighting Championships.
Just wanted to take a moment to share a world champion BJJ player and grappler Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu. I’ve been studying this guys techniques during his Grapplers Quest matches and finally got his instructional DVD! Although Cyborg is clearly extremely strong his techniques seem to flow effortlessly as he sweeps and submits his opponents. I hope you enjoy watching this amazing grappler as much as I do!
This post is a tribute to one of the greatest influences in my Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and submission grappling game. I had the honor of being coached by Tyrone Glover at City Boxing for a couple years. I earned my blue belt from him as well as so many insights into the his grappling philosophy. Thanks for everything!
Here’s a famous video of a demo Tyrone did at Cassio Werneck’s place. Truly dynamic movement!
Question: Think this is a good way to start MMA off?
I have been a fan of mixed martial arts for a few years now and love everything about it. I joined a gracie gym up the street from my house a few months ago and am progressing fast. I just thought that I would share my steps on becoming a MMA fighter and see if the world agrees with my steps.
#1- Have a good ground game. I think to become a great fighter one must posses a great submissive ground game because it can be used as offense as well as defense. If you’re getting owned on the stand up you take it to the ground. I see a lot of really good strikers but their weakness is ground game and that’s how they lose.
After you have a fantastic ground game you work on striking.
#2- First work on technique- I think you should work on the technique of kicking and striking before you jump into strength and conditioning. If you have the right technique down it will only get better with strength and conditioning.
#3 Condition your bones- I think after the technique is perfected for all striking you should condition your bones as much as possible.
And lastly
#4 Strength- After you have perfected all of the other things you should work on your strength. But not just bulking up you must posses lean and dense muscles. Having big muscles is only for show and will slow you down. But building your muscles after you have completely all of the other things will just help. You will have muscle memory for all of the striking as well before you get them stronger.
So this is just my opinion on how I am going about becoming a fighter. If anyone thinks they have a better theory onto become a great fighter please tell me in the comments.
Respectfully,
FailingIdeals
Grapple Smart Answer:
Great well thought out question!
Overall, I think the simple fact that you’ve already have several months of Gracie JJ under belt shows that you’re off to a great start!
If you’re ultimate goal is to be an MMA fighter you’ll have to cross train in many of the disciplines you described above since the window of opportunity for most MMA fighers is relatively small (most are in their 20′s).
You may have heard of the 3 pillars of MMA: Muay Thai kickboxing(or similar striking art), BJJ, and grappling experience. You need all 3 to even put yourself in a position to be a competitive MMA fighter.
Since you’re already doing BJJ, train it hard and begin competing. That will be your your second hurdle on your MMA quest. You’ve already completed the first by surviving live sparring in BJJ for a relatively extended period of time (good job!). Competing in BJJ/ sub grappling will allow you to realistically assess your overall strength and conditioning as well as how well you execute technique under duress.
You’ll probably want to get your feet wet in Muay Thai and eventually begin live sparring there as well. In terms of your #3 (condition bones) you’re bones will harden as you hit and kick the bag. In the beginning you shins will get bruised and swell but that’s part of the process. Soon the nerves in your shins will begin to dead’n and it won’t hurt so bad.
Of course you want to train some MMA to integrate what you’re learning in stand up and ground. MMA sparring takes training to another level as you’re thinking about striking and takedowns simultaneously.
The final step is to fight pankration which is essentially MMA without the head strikes. You also sometimes wear shin pads but that depends on the tournament.
Since you probably have a full time job or school you may not have time for everything so keep up with BJJ and start competing. Don’t worry about wins and losses at first just focus on executing what you know, the wins will come.
Good Luck!
I’ve written an E-book and audio entitled “10 Things I wish I knew before I started Brazilian jiu-Jitsu – A practical introduction to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and submission grappling” I cover physical and mental preparation as well as executing technique when under duress.
Check it out at http://www.GrappleSmart.com
