OK, so another year has passed and my blog has kind of fallen by the wayside while I have focused on other tasks… That changes now! My goal for the next 12 months and onwards is to post 1-2 new posts a week and get back on track helping people and building our community! 🙂
Over the last couple of months I have been extremely blessed to meet and train with a lot of really great people and I am itching to share what I have learned with you and hope that it helps and inspires you as it has done so for me! Jiu Jitsu training really has the power to help change and improve your life if you let it so sit back, relax and enjoy the ride!
Ok so a lot has been going on behind the scenes at Jiu Jitsu Kingdom as of late and I thought it was about time that we share some of the great and exciting news and things that we have planned for the very near future! Firstly if I seem like I have been a little disorganised as of late I apologise. My wife is due with our second child any time now so between family time, Jiu Jitsu Kingdom, work and a whole bunch of other stuff I may have been spreading myself a little thin as of late!
Ok so first things first. With regards to seminars Andre Galvao will be teaching a two-day seminar (Gi and No Gi) on the 11th and 12th August at Liam Resenkov’s VT-1 Gym in Chatswood. Liam is a friend and supporter of Jiu Jitsu Kingdom so let’s do our best to support him and keep the latest Jiu Jitsu talent coming out to Australia to share their knowledge with us. If you can make either day or both I highly recommend them as Andre Galvao is one of the best Jiu Jitsu competitors on the planet at the moment!
The next upcoming seminar is the legendary Royler Gracie, son of the founder of Gracie Jiu Jitsu. Widely considered one of the most technical people in the Gracie family and arguably the most accomplished in Gi, No Gi and MMA competition. Royler Gracie will be teaching a seminar at Gracie Sydney/Humaita headquarters in Alexandria on the 18th August. Another seminar not to be missed!
Then we have 6 time World Champion Michelle Nicolini, arguably the best female Jiu Jitsu competitor in the world coming to Sydney, Australia to teach a series of seminars and classes at Jiu Jitsu Kingdom! Michelle will be teaching a special two-day women’s only seminar as well as an open seminar while she is here. In addition to this Michelle will also kindly be helping out and teaching some classes at Jiu Jitsu Kingdom for our members and seminar attendees only! Michelle will also be available for a limited number of private lessons. Please talk to me if you are interested in booking some! Pretty exciting!
The second half of 2012 is going to be HUGE for Jiu Jitsu Kingdom so get ready… Because you aint seen nothing yet!
A little while ago I wrote an article titled “Watch and Study Film on Jiu Jitsu”, that dealt with how to study matches between Elite Jiu Jitsu fighters and how to apply what you have learned in your own training. In today’s article “Watch and Study Film on Jiu Jitsu Part 2” I am going to address the idea of watching instructional dvds and videos online. Now before I start I must say that as great as studying and learning from good instructional dvds/videos is, it is absolutely no substitute for learning in person from a good coach! Your film study should be like the icing on the cake and complement your hard training in the gym and not the actual cake mix!
So now that we have that out-of-the-way I’d like to start by saying I just watched a really great webinar (Online seminar) today in which UFC fighter Alan “The Talent” Belcher taught how to defend against various leg locks and leg attacks. And I learnt a great deal from this webinar that I will be implementing directly into my game! In my experience some of the very best instructional dvds and videos are generally more concepts based than technique based. While there is obviously some techniques taught on the video it is the concepts and about the how, when and why that separate a great video from a mediocre on.
A great instructional video should provoke thought in the viewer and make you think about the way you do your techniques, why you do them that way, understand the timing (when) and also give you a mental framework of reference regarding the technique and situations that lead to the technique. As a matter of fact most of my favourite instructional videos on MGinAction are the Discussion videos from after class when students ask Marcelo questions and he takes a few minutes to help them with their problems. I have learnt so much from these. Speaking of good instructors if you are not yet a member of Marcelo Garcia’s MGinAction online instructional website you really should join as he is a great coach and pioneering online Jiu Jitsu Instruction! Use “Jiu Jitsu Kingdom” as a code to receive a free week on MGinAction and if you join please be sure to mention “Jiu Jitsu Kingdom” as the person who recommended you! 🙂 Marcelo has been delving more and more into the conceptual side of teaching explaining the timing understanding of why his movements tend to be so effective and how to be a better Jiu Jitsu fighter. I can’t recommend MGinAction highly enough!
So with regards to studying instructional film my recommendations are similar, choose one or two concepts/techniques that you want to work on and watch the corresponding videos several times taking a few key notes on the most important concepts. Take your notes to the gym with you next time you train and try to apply these concepts or new techniques in your game. Take notes of how you went and what needs work and go back and re watch the instructional videos a few more times paying particular attention to the areas that gave you problems and see if you can find out where you went wrong and how to improve next time you train. Spend at least a week (preferably a month)on these two concepts/techniques and watch your game improve!
One of the great things about Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is just how much it affects our lives. In my experience, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu students, teachers and competitors are very passionate about their training and love of the art. In my own classes at Jiu Jitsu Kingdom, I try to instil a love for the art and often emphasize that Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training is a lifelong pursuit and a vehicle for of self-improvement, stress release and fun.
Ok so here is another cool clip of Marcelo Garcia staying back after class answering questions and teaching at his New York Academy. Marcelo’s passion for training, teaching and competing is awesome. He is a true gentleman and a role model for us all. Special thanks to John Ricard for editing and uploading the video. Enjoy!
If you liked this video please feel free to sign up to MGinaction and use “Jiu Jitsu Kingdom” as a promo code for a free week. Also please check out Marcelo’s YouTube page which is also done by John Ricard. Stay tuned for some more great videos and posts this week and have a great weekend!
In this day and age of modern Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competition, Submission Wrestling and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) competition, it is easy for people to forget why Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was created. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was created as a means of survival and self-defense for a smaller, weaker individual to overcome an attack from a stronger and more aggressive attacker! Helio Gracie spent his life developing and refining the techniques of Jiu Jitsu that we now know today as Gracie Jiu Jitsu (or more commonly Brazilian Jiu Jitsu).
Helio Gracie was the pioneer who applied the theory of leverage to the techniques of Jiu Jitsu and in the process began a revolution that allows men, women and children of all ages, shapes, size and athletic ability learn techniques to defend themselves with maximum efficiency and minimal effort. Gracie Jiu Jitsu was the catalyst for modern MMA competition and the UFC. And although MMA is soaring in popularity, it is important that we do not forget Helio’s original teachings and intention for Gracie Jiu Jitsu and that is Self Defense.
One of Helio’s many famous quotes regarding Gracie Jiu Jitsu is: “Always assume that your opponent is going to be bigger, stronger and faster than you; so that you learn to rely on technique, timing and leverage rather than brute strength”. Through the techniques of Gracie Jiu Jitsu, an individual is able to develop confidence, awareness and a sound technical arsenal to protect themselves should the need ever arise. Another great Helio Gracie quote is: “Jiu Jitsu is personal efficiency to protect the weaker, which anyone can do. It is the force of leverage against brute force”.
Just last Friday I began training a new student, Kimberley who had no prior Martial Arts experience, yet was keen to develop more confidence and learn how to protect herself. Kimberley took to Gracie Jiu Jitsu training like a fish to water and within the first 10 minutes was starting to develop some serious base! I at around 95kg was not able to push her or drag her around once she understood the basic principle of dropping her weight and establishing base even though I outweighed her by around 35kg!
Once Kimberley saw the results of good technique and the correct application of leverage we moved onto Bear Hug defenses both Front and Rear. Within minutes Kimberley was able to escape and throw me with remarkable ease and confidence! Again no small feat considering this was her first exposure to Gracie Jiu Jitsu and Martial Arts in general. After being beaten up and thrown to the mat over 50 times we moved onto mount Escapes, specifically the “Upa”. Again we started slowly and gradually added progressive resistance as she her technique improved and she gained confidence with her “Upa”. To say I was impressed with how fast she learnt and understood the movements would be an understatement… Shocked actually! 🙂 Kimberley soaked up the techniques like a sponge and was showing some real promise, all while smiling and having fun… As a coach I felt both proud and inspired by her progress and her new-found confidence in Gracie Jiu Jitsu!
On a side note in case you missed it, there was a little secret to success mentioned in the previous chapter and that is the idea of having fun while you are training. If you don’t enjoy what you are doing you wont put in the necessary time required to learn the techniques and develop your reflexes. A teaching principle I try to apply to every class is that of “S.S.L.”. “S.S.L.” stands for Smiling, Sweating and Laughing. If you can have your students doing all three while working hard on developing your technique you have the recipe to develop lifelong Martial Artists and Jiu Jitsu practitioners. Remember Gracie Jiu Jitsu has so much more to offer than just physical self-defense techniques, it can literally change your life as it has mine but that is a topic of another post! For now always keep in mind that Self Defense is the foundation of Gracie Jiu Jitsu and should always remain so.
I thought I’d write a quick post after finishing another great week of training at Jiu Jitsu Kingdom here in Sydney, Australia! Everyone has been training really hard and some of the team are starting to look pretty sharp with their hook sweeps and seated/butterfly guard games!
We have been lucky to have a few visiting coloured belts from various countries like New Zealand and Ireland this week which has been really cool! And speaking about coloured belts I’d like to take a minute to congratulate Cameron Smith on achieving his Brazilian jiu Jitsu Blue Belt on friday. Great job mate, well deserved!
I cant wait to get back on the mat to teach and train next week! I have big plans in store for Jiu Jitsu Kingdom over the coming months so stay tuned and train hard and let’s start knocking off some goals for the year!
As the year flies by I am looking forward to a couple of seminars to brush up on my skills and add a few new details to my game and the Jiu Jitsu Kingdom Team! Firstly we have Gracie Humaita Head Coach, Master Royler Gracie coming out to teach a seminar at Gracie Sydney/Humaita Headquarters in July which should be awesome! Unfortunately I was disappointed to miss out on attending his seminar last year. Apparently Royler put a strong focus on competition and everyone was really impressed. A big thanks to Bruno Panno for bringing him out and continuing to build the Gracie Humaita team in Australia!
Then a little later in the year, November I think, we have Jiu Jitsu Phenoms Guilherme and Rafael Mendes coming out to do an Australian Seminar tour where they will be teaching at VT1 Gym (Gracie Sydney/Humaita) in Chatswood for the second time! Again, unfortunately I missed their seminars last year as well and heard they were ridiculously good. A big thanks to Liam Resnekov for continuing to support and host Jiu Jitsu’s top talent!
I am very excited about these seminars and hope that the Jiu Jitsu Kingdom Team are able to attend both seminars and benefit from these guys’ wealth of experience! I am a big fan of seminars as I feel they are a great way to mix up your training, keep things fresh and add a few details and depth to your game! They say “Your mind is like a parachute, it only works when it is open” and I believe this completely! As a student I think the best thing you can do when attending a seminar is go in with a good attitude and an open mind. If you do this, you will learn, your game will improve and you will be better from the experience!
I recently come across a relatively new Jiu Jitsu site called BJJHacks and think it is awesome! BJJHacks already has some fantastic content on there by some of the best coaches and competitors in the world! I particularly like the interview with Dave Camarillo, Murilo Buastamante and Lloyd Irvin! They have been quick to get some great interviews and I look forward to seeing what direction they take in the future!
I highly recommend that you check out their site and support another great BJJ website! The URL is www.BJJhacks.com . Back to work for now but I hope you have a great day!
Here is a half guard pass taught to you by BJJ legend Mario “Zen Machine” Sperry. Ze Mario is a master guard passer and this is one of his preferred methods of passing the half guard with the Gi. Enjoy!
Another great week at Jiu Jitsu Kingdom comes to an end and it’s awesome to see everyone practicing and applying their techniques! This week’s focus was on taking, controlling and attacking the back and I think I saw more back takes in rolling this week than I have all month! Great effort people! 🙂
It is amazing to see how tweaking a few small details here and there can completely improve someone’s ability to use a technique in a live situation. What we learn from this is that it is SSSOOO important to pay attention in class, listen to your instructor, focus on doing the techniques correctly and allow your body to develop a feel for how the technique works. In addition to this you must allow your mind to understand why the technique works and when to apply it! If you do this you will improve tremendously!
On friday, I even had the pleasure of training with a visiting BJJ purple belt Ash, from New Zealand. It is always great to meet like-minded and passionate students of the art with an open mind. I really enjoyed teaching the class, had fun, learnt a few new things and made another friend. What more could a person ask for in life? 🙂 It never cease to amaze me just how many great people there are all over the world! Jiu Jitsu training really does sort the men from the boys so to speak and attract positive and friendly people onto the mats! Anyway if you live around Sydney or are ever just passing through, please feel free to stop by and do a class. everyone is welcome as long as you are willing to leave your ego at the door and come in with a good attitude!
All in all, a great week! I look forward to getting back on the mats to teach and train next week! Oh and good luck competing in the Worlds Ash!
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