The Royler Gracie seminar at Gracie Humaita Sydney HQ last saturday was awesome! Always a pleasure to learn from the master himself and his ability to engage and entertain the group is second to none! We were lucky to have such a great turn out from the entire Gracie Humaita Sydney team too!
Royler Gracie Seminar (Sydney, Australia 2012)
Not only did Royler teach a great seminar but he held some special coaches only training sessions in which he reviewed a lot of the Gracie Jiu Jitsu self-defense curriculum, other positions and business planning. It is amazing just how technical Royler is even with the most basic of positions. Everyone in the room learnt a lot and got to brush up on some of the finer details across various positions and techniques.
Gracie Humaita Sydney Coaches
The Gracie Humaita Sydney connection has been strengthened further after Master Royler Gracie’s visit. Thank you for sharing your knowledge of Gracie Jiu Jitsu with us Royler and we look forward to your return next year. A huge thanks also to my coaches Bruno Panno and Marcos Nevel for bringing Royler out and working tirelessly to build and strengthen the team!
Marcos Nevel, Royler Gracie, Felipe Grez, Bruno Panno
One of the things about Jiu Jitsu that a lot of people don’t realise is that you will meet many people on the mat who will become lifelong friends and have a positive influence on your life for many years to come! Jiu Jitsu training is tough and when you go through the hardships of training with someone you form a strong bond based on trust and respect, both of which are great starting points for strong friendships!
Over the years I have met many great individuals through Jiu Jitsu. Some of them I am in contact with regularly others not so much but their influence on me and friendship will always be there. These days 95% of my circle of friends have something to do with Jiu Jitsu whether they train, used to train or I met them through Jiu Jitsu.
I am lucky enough to have one of my original coaches Luke Picklum as a training partner whom I still learn a great deal from and am always happy to bounce ideas off. Another original coach Adam Kayoom (based in Thailand) just beat Gregor Gracie last night at ONE Fighting Championship in Malaysia last night and his influence on me is still evident through my hunger for knowledge and a deeper understanding of Jiu Jitsu techniques and positions. Chris De Weaver was the Head coach of the three when I first started and has influenced me in my attitude and approach to the importance of developing Self Defense, Vale Tudo(MMA) and Sports techniques equally and not overlooking the arts humble fighting origins.
My coach Bruno Panno has influenced and helped support me in teaching and sharing the art of Gracie Jiu Jitsu as well as guiding me in my training and always making sure I attempt to master the basics of Jiu Jitsu. Coach Marcos Nevel has also influenced my Jiu Jitsu with his smooth and fluid style, and taught me the finer point about one of my favourite sweeps in Jiu Jitsu.
Mario Sperry and Marcelo Garcia are both huge inspirations to me as competitors, coaches and all round great individuals. Only in Jiu Jitsu is one able to have such easy access to learn from and be directly influenced by the legends of their sports! We are so lucky….
I have many friends who have come up the ranks together, travelled internationally on training trips, done seminars with, took private classes from and taught whom I share many priceless memories with. Jiu Jitsu has become a huge part of my life far beyond the ability to protect myself and my family. It has given me the greatest gifts of all which are true friendships and the ability to share this great art with others and hopefully make a positive impact on their lives too!
I guess what I am trying to say here is that if you are thinking about learning Jiu Jitsu for any reason at all, then there is no time like the start. You will push yourself, sweat and work hard in training but the rewards in life far exceed anything you can ever imagine possible! Jiu Jitsu will change your life and make you a better person so if you are ready to start your journey we would love to have you come by our gym Jiu Jitsu Kingdom to begin your journey!
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!
Sometime after a tough week of training you just feel like you’ve been thrown in a high-speed blender and then been hit by a truck. Your whole body is sore, your muscles ache, your motivation starts to wane and its a lot harder to get in the right frame of mind for training. Well last week was one such week for me. After teaching thirteen private classes, five regular classes and my own personal BJJ training, my body and mind were obliterated And it was only thursday afternoon! I still had a Thursday night class to teach, three private classes and a regular class on friday to teach(Not that I am complaining, I love my job! 🙂 !!!!).
Well I decided to take a little time out and get a Thai massage and that is the reason for today’s post! Not only did I survive teaching on thursday night and friday, I loved it! A good massage can do wonders for your well-being. It can:
-relax you and help you think clearer
-relieve built up tension from daily life and the week’s training
-increase flexibility and range of motion
-improve your mood and state of mind
-help reduce the risk of injury
-improve your circulation
-and help you recover and sleep better
So next time, you’re feeling a little worse for wear, try getting a good massage and see how much it will help you and how good you will feel afterwards! Given the opportunity I’d have one daily! 🙂
Well its been a while… Between teaching, training, working and looking after my family I have been super busy and haven’t found the time to write! A lot has been happening with the gym and there are so many huge plans in the pipeline but for now I’d like to start by congratulating Marcus Flanagan on achieving his blue belt! He is the first student that I have promoted to blue belt and is very deserving as he has been giving people a hard time on the mats for years! 🙂 I am very proud to have awarded him his blue belt and look forward to seeing big things in the future from him as I do from everyone! Marcus has been training for several years now, and has competed in both gi and no gi tournaments, fought mma and has been training like a mad man over the last year so congratulations mate, well deserved!
Jiu Jitsu Kingdom’s first Blue Belt
Let’s do the Gracie Sydney(Humaita) Association proud and set the standard over the next year in the competition and MMA scene! Train hard and unlock your potential!
Here is an old clip of Helio Gracie demonstrating his self-defense techniques. Some very rare footage! Rest in Peace Grandmaster Helio and thank you for the gift of Jiu jitsu!
I know I have talked about the importance of mastering the basics in previous posts but I just can’t stress how crucial this is to your development in the art. One of the best things that you can do to develop your game is to focus on learning the basic techniques, I mean, REALLY learning them. Strive to pick up every crucial detail, observe closely, feel the subtlety of its execution, the timing, the set up and how to beat your opponent’s counters even when they know what technique is coming!
In my own training, for several years I never really felt that confident with the guillotine choke. I mean I could readily submit people who were trying to shoot in on me and take me down and lower level opponents but never really had much success with really freakishly strong opponents or brown/black belts. Well a few years ago I got the opportunity to spend a week training with Marcelo Garcia and he completely changed my outlook on the position and since then I have been submitting people left, right and centre with it… As a matter of fact it is now one of my highest percentage submissions! And earlier this year I picked up a crucial detail which has sky rocketed my ability to finish Kimura’s against anyone regardless of how strong they are! I got the chance to train with Mario Sperry and he fine tuned another “old” open guard sweep which has become another go to position for me as well as fine tuning my “Relogio choke”!
In the last several weeks I have been having tremendous success with a variation of scissor sweep that my coach Bruno Panno taught me several years ago. Why I didn’t pay more attention to it and work harder to understand and master it earlier amazes me as it has filled a hole in my game quite nicely. Another position that Bruno taught me years ago has been working fantastically for me lately even though I still feel it needs a lot of work. It too has been a missing piece to my guard game!
Why is it that we as students sometimes think we know better or what “WE NEED” to best improve our games? Why is it that even though we know our instructor has tread the path before us, we still believe we know what we need to work on? The lesson here is trust your instructor’s judgement and guidance. If they are good at what they do and care about your progress they will generally be in a better position to assess your learning and development as a student! I sent Bruno a message the other day and his reply was: “Hey Felipe, it happens all the time, give more attention to the basics and I am sure you will have a lot of success in many more positions”. I personally can’t wait for my coach Bruno Panno to return from Brazil as I have a lot of questions about some “old” positions that feel need to be revisited!
Well I thought I’d take a few minutes to clarify what I have in mind question wise for Rickson when he comes out to Sydney in November. Please bear in mind that Rickson is considered to be “The Unquestioned Authority” on Jiu jitsu law and an example of the finest technique in the world!
So for me, I am not interested in the latest new sweep used in the Mundials, the 50 50 guard or the best strength and conditioning routine for BJJ students(although I believe they all have value!). I would like to learn more about the most basic of positions like:
– THE MOUNT – How does he like to control his opponent from there? Does he like to change frequently between the various mounted positions(hooks in, ankles crossed underneath/Sky diving position, S mount, regular knees pinched sitting up mount etc)? How does he connect with his opponent and lock down his opponents hips so they feel stuck under crushing weight unable to move? How does he maintain strong and stable base while setting up the basic cross choke? How does he isolate and control the opponent’s arms to set up the armbar? Tips on getting the opponent to turn over exposing his back. Setting up and mounting your opponent from various positions. Applying crushing weight and improving my base from there. And just general all round critiquing of my technique and movement from this position. How does he like to escape the mount? Tips on connecting with his opponent, disrupting his base, stifling his offense and setting up the escape. Rickson’s technical details on basics such as upa and hips escape from underneath the mount.
– THE BACK – What is Rickson’s preferred methods of taking the back? Details on setting up the mata leon while transitioning towards the back. Use of angles to block the opponent’s escapes. What is Rickson’s preferred method of controlling(over under, double unders etc) and finishing from the back? Does his controlling position from the back change much between gi and no gi? How does he like to create confusion in the opponents from here to set up the submission? What are his preferred methods of escaping the back from various positions? Does he teach going to his knees(turtle) to prevent the guard pass or does he feel it is too risky? Escaping and reversing from the turtle position. Replacing the guard(rolling, spinning, going to half guard, escaping and turning to seated etc).
– CORE SELF DEFENSE MOVEMENTS – What does he feel are the absolute must know basic self-defense positions(bear hug, headlock, collar grab, rear choke etc) for everyone? Tips on achieving greater leverage while escaping from all of these positions. Which movements does he feel are better suited towards security and law enforcement personnel? How he likes to close the distance against opponents in self-defense and mma situations(similarities and differences between the two)? When does he employ strikes to set up submissions or takedowns? Developing a strong base and disrupting the opponents base. What does he feel are the most important throws/takedowns to develop as a Jiu jitsu practitioner(hip throws, trips, seoinage, sacrifice throws etc)?
These are just a few of the questions that I would like to hear the master’s thoughts on. There are plenty more, as a matter of fact I could spend a lifetime asking him questions and learning from him. I would also love to learn more about developing the finest technique applying his ideas on Invisible Jiu jitsu and becoming a better teacher! Anyway that’s all from me for now as I have to get ready for work! Have a great week-end and please feel free to share your thoughts!
Hi people, well its official. Rickson Gracie will be here in Sydney Australia for a series of seminars and I was wondering what you would most like to learn from the master? I will be attending a few of his seminars and hope to get the chance to do a short interview with him and his son Kron(who I believe will be coming out with him).
Now I can’t guarantee anything but I am starting to think now about a few key questions that I would like to ask him when he comes out in November. I am not sure whether he will be taking questions or sticking to the material he thinks is best, either way I am stoked to get the opportunity to learn from him and am very excited about this once in a lifetime opportunity! So if you have any particular questions that you’d like asked, please leave a comment and I’ll pick a few of the best ones to ask either in an interview or at the seminars?
Hi people, how is everyone? Well my coach Bruno Panno has announced some fantastic news… The legendary Rickson Gracie is coming to Australia for a series of seminars! I’m so excited as training with Rickson has always been one of my life goals!!! It is rumoured that Kron Gracie, Rickson’s son will be coming out with him so I thought I’d share a great highlight of Kron’s! Enjoy the demonstration of flawless technique!
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