My many faces

There's a line I get a lot that I actually hate. "You're an inspiration." People say it all the time without realizing that it's for that exact reason among others that it means absolutely nothing. It may seem like a compliment but you're really saying when you say that is one of two things. 1) You've given me an idea or 2) I felt sorry for you, but now I don't because you made feel guilty about complaining and being lazy. Now for the purposes of this post we're going to use and focus on the second use of the word that I listed above. Now to all the able-bodied community I ask you, if after having a conversation with someone they said to you, "Before talking to you I felt sorry for you, but now I don't because made me feel guilty about complaining and being lazy." Does that sound like a compliment? Now is this your fault? Not so much, it's the fault of the media moreso than anything else. After all, it's the media who toss...

Box-Get inside the box and you win. Sandwich-Our forearms are blades with them we slice bread Flying vs Praying-Simple elbows in vs elbows out Simple concepts I use when teaching. I find teaching moves is a waste of time if the student doesn't understand why work.

A video from a few years ago now.

Let's talk about loyalty. Switching teams... To clarify I'm speaking of moving to a different lineage not just changing schools. It happens in every other sport. Is it bad to do it in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu; if so why? Who's done it? What does it mean? Why did they do it? Does it make you question their loyalty if they come from somewhere else? I've done it and have my own opinions on the subject. I did it because of location among other things, but how do you guys feel about it? Discuss.

Lots of us couldn't imagine life without training and would train every day if we could. We'd compete every weekend there was a tournament and travel to all IBJJF regional opens, so we could be ready to compete in the Big 4 when they arrive. Are there guys that do that? Yes. However, most of us can't. And even those that do that, go about the process in a very calculated manner. This to make sure they reach their optimum performance level also known as peak at the perfect time for the event with as minimal burnout as possible, of course no burnout is the preferred result. This involves the athlete doing nothing related to their sport 24 hours prior. This is because we don't actually get stronger while training we get stronger by resting after an intense workout, muscle fibers thicken as they repair themselves. Therefore, they get bigger and us by default stronger. It is rest and recovery that makes us stronger not the act exercise itself. This is also true for the learn...

People always ask "What do you love more BJJ or writing?" My answer is "I love art." I've said in previous posts that BJJ is the only thing that feeds both the artistic and scientific parts of my brain, while quenching that thirst for competition that has driven me since I was young. Whereas writing is, for the lack of a better term, peaceful torment. Putting words to paper in a creative format forces you to run the gambit of emotions. They are really two sides of the same coin. They are both my therapeutic canvas, but for very different reasons. I can't live without both they are integral parts of the triangle that makes me whole. I've written poems about BJJ and many of novels include BJJ in some capacity. There have been many times where I've adjusted novels thanks to an idea that came to when I was trying to finish a submission. The mat is one of my favorite places to think; the mat and the bathroom work best for me. The shower is a thinking ma...

So I've kept this post draft format until everything was setup. Maguilla BJJ is starting a program for disabled military veterans in partnership with Walter Reed medical center. I will the head instructor of the program. We are currently working on transportation for the veterans who have expressed interest. If anyone is interested feel free to get in touch with me through any of the links on the "Contact Me" tab.

I'm writing this post to inform everyone that I will not be attending the GrapplersHeart tournament next week. Anyone who'd like to train with me can do so anytime, just drop by Maguilla's Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy.

One thing I've always been is a coach's athlete. Even back in my track and field days, whatever my coach said I did. When I first came to Maguilla's back in November 2008 as a white belt I rolled super aggressively. This is the way I was trained by my first coach Lloyd Irvin who I was with from August 2005 until February 2006. Who always teaches get off first or you will lose because speed kills. So after my year and 8 month long hiatus I immediately fell back into the speed kills mindset. In April 2009, Maguilla and I had a conversation he said to me something I'll never forget. He said "Every round with you is like the 1st round of ADCC, slow down it's a journey not a sprint." This was way of making sure I didn't hurt myself or someone else. A month after this I got my blue belt. During this time, I would give taps to anyone who obtained and held a dominate position. A year after I got my blue belt I received my purple belt(May 2010) I was ready to t...

"Find your animality." One of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite movies of all time, Mortal Kombat, Night Wolf said that to Liu Kang when he was helping prepare to fight Shao Kahn. Now what does this have to do with us as bjj guys and gals? Well, everything after all we are animals. When I say train like an animal I don't mean do an hour long conditioning circuit and then go to technique class and spar on full blast for 2 hours after class is over. What I mean is to literally train like an animal. When you spar pick a wild animal and spar like that animal would if it knew BJJ. Some greats have been compared to animals. Jacare literally means Alligator(although it speaks of a particular type of alligator) in Portuguese. Eduardo Telles says on his DVD that he's kind of lazy guy so that's part of the reason he fights from turtle guard. Next time you go roll pick an animal and mimic the way it moves you can be slow and tight like a Boa or fast like a cheetah....

So I promised a report here it is: I weigh-in Friday night around 6:20pm I weighed in 135 pounds don't ask how because I still don't know. That puts me in US Grappling's Roosterweight class. I had elected earlier in the month to just do my weight division in the only. I didn't want to do too much because this was my first tournament since my surgery. (I usually compete in Featherweight not Roosterweight, their scales were REALLY REALLY nice) There was only one other guy in rooster a guy I used to train with when I first started at Maguilla's.(Really long story) We start on the knees, he gets lapel and cross sleeve grips and pulls closed guard. I immediately drop levels to go for the Tozi pass I get to half guard, gaining an advantage. He gets back to full guard we do this for about 3 minutes, though it felt much longer. Then he attacks a triangle as I fail to re-pummel I stack pass effectively getting the 3 points. I'm up 3-0 at this point with lots of advantage...

2/1/11 is my return to training!!! I went the doctor on the 12th and was told once my stitches fall out everything's good. I'm very excited, I'm talking kid in a candy store for the first time excited. I was planning on hitting all of grand slam tournaments this year. (Grand Slam of BJJ=European Championship, Pan Championship, World Championship, Brazilian National Championship) However that has become impossible due to my recent trails. The Europeans are the 26th and 27th of this month and the Pan Championship is in late March and I just wont be in competition shape. Since I will miss those two events I'll probably hit the New York Open in April just so I can work off my rust before the Worlds in June. These plans are strictly tentative we shall see what 2011 holds for me I'm just happy to be able to get back on the mats again.

In the entry "Balance" I stated that I hate passing guard, especially guards that extend me or attack my balance outright. Butterfly guard is one of those guards that attacks your balance outright. When you face a guy with a good butterfly guard it's pretty horrible becuause you're flying across the room at his will. It's like being on a rollercoaster full of loops that keeps crashing. The crash being you ending up on the bottom usually in mount; so naturally, it gave me issues. Well, thursday I didn't train so I mentally review some DVDs I had seen recently, something I always do when I'm not training(I usually watch said DVD but I didn't really feel like looking so yea) and the match between Marcelo Garcia and Pablo Popavitch crossed mind as we trained butterfly sweeps in Wensday's class and Marcelo played butterfly most of the match then, I remembered something one of the Shawn's said(don't remember if it was Williams or Flannery) they w...

Since Werdum beat Fedor with BJJ just last night just like he said he would, I figured it was a good time to post the second installment of BJJ in MMA. However, before I get into that I must say, I'm glad Fedor finally lost because now people have to admit what has been true for years. Fedor was never really that good especially if we're speaking from a technical standpoint he just has crazy power and extremely explosive hips. Wild looping punches thrown from behind your ass and leaning backwards while cranking a kimura in half-guard with your legs together no less is NOT technical in the slightest. No good instructor in boxing or BJJ will allow either of those things to happen. On to the fight analysis: Fight starts after some circling Fedor hits Werdum with one of those crazy shots. Werdum falls and Fedor throws another looping into Werdum's guard, Werdum grabs the (now inside) arm and sucks Fedor into triangle slowly adjusting and transitioning to the armbar when needed....

This blog is the first in a series that will highlight BJJ as it applies to MMA. This series was prompted by my friend Alexia Krause from MMAindustries, who sent me an article on women in MMA and MMA as fitness for women. Though this is not a fitness blog or a MMA blog I felt it was important because it will help any uneducated readers I have to get a grasp of MMA from the perspective of the everyman before I dive into all of MMA's disciplines and if I can inspire women to train martial arts what reason is there not to post it? Alexia's article is pasted below and make sure to check out MMAindustries.com for all your BJJ/MMA equipment needs. Enjoy. MMA Workouts are not Just for Men By Alexia Krause Mixed martial arts appears to be a male dominated sport, yet the number of women who are becoming part of the MMA community is continually growing. There are many female MMA fighters (including Kaitlyn Young and Gina Carano), who follow the same rigorous regimens as their male count...

Not training on a Saturday morning has got be the strangest feeling in the world. As I laid in the bed this morning I realized without Jiu-Jitsu my life would be pretty damn boring, I also realized I won't go to Mundials this year simply because I can't afford to make the trip :(. Oh well, we'll push that goal back to 2011. That's one of the downsides of training with a smaller team, most of if not all, of your competition expenses come out of your own pocket. The only other downside is that brown and black belts are few and far between. Training with white belts and blue belts is good as it's basically a drilling session for anyone ranking higher, but training with brown and black is where the finer points come into play. Off-balance on top of half-guard say bye-bye to your top position; did you lock a triangle without the foot behind the knee thanks for the free pass. The list goes on but you get the point. The brown belt level is where the precision basics you le...

One of the biggest and most debated topics in the BJJ community is the turtle position. There are two big arguements about this position. 1) Is it an actual guard? 2) If it gets used as a guard how do we score it in tournaments? In my opinion for a position to be considered a guard, it must fit three requirements: 1) It must start from a defensive standpoint. 2) You must be able to defend yourself AND launch attack. 3) It must have at least one(1) self-defense application. 4) You must have a way to control your opponent/enemy. So let's see if turtle is a legitimate guard. On your knees not being able to see your enemy sounds pretty defensive to me. Your hands and elbows can keep you from taking punches and knees flush and you have access to kneebars, toeholds, kimuras, armbars, wristlocks and a boatload of sweeps. So that's points one and two covered. On to point 3 and 4 Self-defense application: When you turtle on the street you roll away immediately and sit to full guard or ...

A question I get a lot is: "Why do you compete against guys that can use their legs?" I answer simply "Because I can beat them." Asking organizations to create divisions just for guys like me(with limited lower body use) seems selfish and goes against the whole reason compete. Don't get me wrong I want the titles and fame that comes along with being among the best in the world. Black Belt World Champion is my ultimate goal in competitive BJJ. However, the real reason I compete is to show others like me that they can do the same. In truth, I started BJJ because was bored of being home everyday with nothing to do I felt stuck in place as I stopped going to physical therapy because it hurt so much and was boring as fuck. Needless to say i fell in love with the sport and I figured I could make a difference I know there are thousands of kids who are just like I was bored and in pain for their daily lives and physical therapy just makes it worse.

ok i've been away for a while I know. I've been working on my novel I should be able to release it within the next two to three years after the Emotions series is complete if all goes as planned. A lot has happened in the past two months the book sales are finally picking up and I'm working on a deal with a local store. I will let you all know when a deal is finalized please know the book will always be available on http://www.amazon.com/ and http://www.booksurge.com/ . There is no exact date for the release of Emotions Vol. 2, I'm shooting for Spring 2010. I'm also saving up to start my own publishing company I'm aiming for my novel to be the company's first release we will also re-release the Emotions series. In BJJ news as advertised I went to New Jersey June 27-28. I got there Saturday morning at around 8am we drove all night. Saturday I was not scheduled to compete so I stayed and watched the Pro submission fights even though I was going on literally n...

Sunday is usually my off day and don't train at all. And while I didn't train in a physical sense yesterday I couldn't stop thinking about a technique I learned Saturday, or should I say a technique I got a refresher course on Saturday. I learned the toe hold a few years back but always felt it would be a limited technique for me since I can't really control a person's leg with my legs. Boy am I happy to say I was wrong. The setup I learned Saturday came off my favorite sweep and didn't involve me using my legs for control in any way. Needless to say, I was like a kid in a candy store. I can obtain dominate position and secure what is becoming my best leglock all in one motion and on top of that I don't have to use my legs what more could I want? Then while daydreaming I came to a game-changing conclusion, the conclusion being, almost every sweep(reversal from bottom position to top position) that involves leg control will give you a toe hold once the sweep ...