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!
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!
While working on putting together a comprehensive women’s self defense program I came across Ryron and Rener Gracie’s “Women Empowered” program. And after watching their brilliant videos I decided I just had to share them with you! Gracie Jiu Jitsu is designed to protect the smaller, weaker individual by empowering them with knowledge and techniques to defend themselves against any aggressor and quite possibly save their lives!
Ryron and Rener Gracie are extremely passionate instructors and their passion and enthusiasm for Gracie Jiu Jitsu is evident in all their material. They are great ambassadors of Gracie Jiu Jitsu and are on a mission to help as many people as they can through this great art! I urge all women to learn the techniques Ryron and Rener share in the “Women Empowered” program.
I hope you watch these videos and share them with all the women in your life. Who knows, the material they share may just save the life of a loved one. I believe it is our duty as a husband, parent, brother, sister, friend or colleague to help empower women and keep them safe! If you get the chance to do a “Women Empowered” course, do it and share what you learn with others. If you can’t attend one buy it and again practise and share the techniques with your loved ones!
I highly recommend Ryron and Rener Gracie’s products as they are two of the best instructors I have ever seen and are passionate in helping you stay safe through the art of Gracie Jiu Jitsu! For more information about Ryron and Rener Gracie or Gracie Jiu Jitsu in general please check out their websites:
Here’s a great video that I saw on one of my student’s Facebook pages and thought I wold share with everyone! I am a huge fan of Dave Camarillo’s and think he is a great role model as both a coach and a Martial Artist! Enjoy and thanks Paolo!
Here is a brilliant video on how to train and learn more effectively in the gym. Robson is a legend in the sport and obviously knows how to reach the highest levels of the art! Please listen carefully and apply this to your training and before you know it your game will soar!
Robson seems like a great instructor and ambassador for Jiu Jitsu! I regret missing the opportunity to train with him earlier this year… 😦 Please check out his youtube page, it is great and you will get a feel for his positive energy and passion for the art!
Terere is back training Jiu Jitsu with a vengeance and hoping to make a splash in the Mundials (World Championships) this year. I saw this video last week of him training for his return and thought it would be worth sharing with you, I hope you like it!
Let’s offer Terere our full support and welcome him back into the art that has saved his life! Volta Terere!!!!
Here are some video clips from a Joe Moreira seminar earlier this year that I found on YouTube. Although he covers a lot of basic concepts and techniques I still believe they are excellent and worth sharing! I hope you enjoy them.
Joe Moreira has been around for a long time in Jiu Jitsu circles and even fought in some of the early UFC’s! It is very rare that you get to see a 7th Dan(Coral Belt) demonstrating technique and sharing his knowledge in public so I hope you learn from these videos as I have!
Joe Moreira has produced some excellent black belts such as Roy Harris, Michael Jen, Ed Beneville, Gustavo Froes etc. who are phenomenal teachers with tremendous attention to detail and Joe Moreira has a reputation as a monster on the mat!
I hope you enjoyed these videos and they helped your game! Now go and put what you have learned into practise! 🙂
Today was a fantastic day at the office! Such a great day of teaching and training, I am truly living the dream! Teaching and training Jiu Jitsu is more than just a job or hobby for me, it is my life! And what a great life I lead… I was fortunate to teach a Jiu Jitsu class this morning followed by a No Gi Jiu Jitsu class and then do some private training with a training partner/coach and get my butt kicked! 🙂 But hey, I learnt heaps and my game improved and I’ll be better tomorrow for having trained today. And that is the most important thing, living, learning and always seeking to improve!
At the end of the day, the way to get better is to show up to training with a good attitude, train smart, learn, experiment and try to execute your techniques using the minimum amount of effort. Seek the best coaches and instruction you could find, keep an open mind, watch and study the best Jiu Jitsu athletes in competition. Train with the best people you can, again keep an open mind and most importantly wrestle/roll “to learn”. Fighting every match in the gym like it is the finals of the Mundials is not conducive to learning quickly and reaching your potential!
I guess I would be remiss if I didn’t say that competing will also help you improve faster as long as you compete to learn. Put yourself and your game under pressure, learn from your mistakes, learn to dictate the pace of the match and control your emotions and mind under duress. And yes I know competing isn’t for everyone but it can help you learn, develop your game and expand your comfort zone! As a matter of fact, I have recently decided to start competing again this year to put myself to the test!
Here is a great highlight reel of one of the greatest BJJ competitors and coaches to ever live, Fernando “Terere” Augusto. A lot of the newer people to Jiu Jitsu may not know who he is but has fought and beaten some of the best Brazilian Jiu Jitsu athletes ever to step on the mat who themselves were black belt world champions in Brazilian and often much heavier than Terere!
In addition to this he was instrumental in helping develop Andre Galvao and Rubens “Cobrinha” Charles’s Jiu Jitsu games as their instructor at his former school/team TT Jiu Jitsu! Terere was just as famous for teaching Jiu Jitsu to kids in the poorer areas of Brazil known as “Cantalogo Favelas(Slums)” and bringing them to competitions at his own expense to encourage and motivate them as well as have their vocal support in the crowd!
Fernando "Terere" Augusto
Terere has been an influential part of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competition history and you would be well versed to learn a little more about him. Sadly he suffered a massive addiction to drugs after a series of unfortunate events and has only recently appeared to be coming out of it and getting back to his former self. He appears to have beaten the drug dependency and is back training Jiu Jitsu! Let’s hope Terere returns too his former glory and thank Jiu Jitsu for saving his life! 🙂
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