Owner: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu - Steve's BJJ Log URL:http://www.stevebjj.com Join Date: Thu, 10 May 2007 13:45:59 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: This is a training log chronicling my ups and downs as I learn (or try to learn) BJJ under Lotus Club Black Belt, James Foster. Site statistics:Click here
Friday Class 12/7/2007 2007-12-08 01:17:00 Tonight we worked on the same technique as in Wednesday's class, a sweep from butterfly guard. This is one that we learned way back in January, 07. I really think that keeping a training journal is beginning to pay off. I remembered being shown this technique at some point, and have played around, on and off, with butterfly guard. It's interesting now to go back and read my descriptions. On this particular technique, I think I got the important stuff.In the interest of not going over the specifics of the technique again, I'll stick to the details that I picked up either in tonight's class or Wednesday's BJJ class. First, as I said almost a year ago, keeping the hooks active is important, and keeping them in constant contact with my opponent's legs. Second is to mind my hips (says the guy with the bum right hip). While Coach Foster recommends keeping one leg vertical to make it more difficult to be rolled backwards, he told us several times today to avoid turning our hi Read more:Friday
Tuesday/Wednesday BJJ Class 12/19 - 12/20/2007 2007-12-20 08:51:00 My daughter's been sick for the past few days, so no BJJ for her. I, on the other hand, am looking for any excuse to leave the sick house where both of my kids are coughing and hacking like 50 year old 2 pack a day smokers. I can say for sure that I definitely don't want what they have. But their fevers are gone and they're really just stuck with a cough now. Barring infection, they should be fine. First, I've been mulling over Adam's "tidal theory" post over on his Conceptual BJJ blog. The idea of push/pull isn't a new one, but I don't think I've ever given it any real consideration in my game. In the last few days, I've been making a concerted effort to do exactly that, looking for examples in the techniques I've been attempting. I think it's helped and led to some moderate success. In one case, I've been working on locking in a head/arm choke or arm triangle from side control and have been close, but never been able to finish. (Sidebar: I first learned this tec Read more:Tuesday
, Wednesday
Sunday BJJ Class - 12/16/2007 2007-12-16 20:56:00 No official class today. We had our school Christmas party this afternoon, so everyone drank punch, ate some cookies and then stuck around for open mat from 4 to 5 pm. Since my son is on the good side of a pretty bad cold, he stayed home with momma while my daughter and I went to the party. It was fun to see her run around. She's pretty shy, but everyone at my school is very nice and most of them are great with kids. So, before long she was out there wrestling around with Sharkey and the kids.Open mat was a blast. I'm very, very sore, particularly through the shoulders. I rolled with Lim (Limb? Limn? Who knows?). He's about the same level as me, and I really enjoy rolling with him. I have to work really hard, but he's not so much better than me that I'm always scrambling and defending. I can work on setting up submissions and actually making stuff work. After 1/2 hour or so, I was pretty tired. So I worked with one of the kids. I went really light, didn't mash him or Read more:Sunday
For the love of all that is good and holy.... 2008-03-11 08:41:00 WHAT IS THAT SMELL???!??!?!!Oh, it's the award I was given by Linda over at Brain Cheese. I will cherish it always.While my overriding goal on this blog is to keep track of my training and progress, post pictures and videos for my family and friends and just generally have fun, I have found that meeting interesting people is an unexpected but welcome side benefit.One of the most interesting people I've had the pleasure of getting to know through the intarweb is a woman who truly has a heart of gold. Linda, aka Brain-Cheese over on her blog, writes about her experiences living and working while dealing with Multiple Sclerosis. My MIL has been doing the same since the 1980's, so when I stumbled on her blog many months ago, I was interested in the topic and how she was dealing with it. She g
Sunday Class 03/09/08 2008-03-09 21:47:00 Coach is on vacation, so Bill was in charge of the class today.Warm-ups were pretty good:Light jog with the typical heels and knees up, inside/outside slides and some running backwards.Shrimping drillAlligator crawlsForward and backward rollsx50 Leg liftsx50 Frog Kicksx50 Oblique crunches (each side)x50 Crunches (legs up in closed guard position)x50 Yes Neck Exercisesx50 No Neck Exercisesx50 Maybe Neck Exercisesx10 circles each directionAssorted neck bridge exercises... and stuff. :)Stretching.It must have been 85F in the school today. Warm and humid and Jeremy hit the nail on the head. It smelled like a hamster cage! :)But class was good. Bill taught us a couple of choking techniques, both from the turtle. So, it turns out that Bill hates the turtle position. Not sure how high on his peev Read more:Sunday
Wednesday Class 3/5/2008 2008-03-06 10:35:00 In Wednesday
's class, we drilled a standing Guillotine, as well as the counter. Warm-ups involved the following:* a light jog,* 25 partner assisted leg-ups,* 25 partner assisted hip-ups,* 50 frog kicks,* 50 crunches (closed guard position)* 50 oblique crunches per side* 50 "Yes" neck exercises* 50 "No" neck Exercises* 50 "Maybe" neck exercises* 10 circles each direction* StretchingThe leg ups are where you lay on your back with your partners feet on either side of your head, then bring your feet straight up into his hands. He pushes your feet off at any angle, so it works the abs pretty well. The hip ups are from the same position, but the partner holds his hands out at about chest/shoulder height. The idea is to bring your feet straight in and then up into his hands, twisting at the top
The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Gi 101 2008-03-04 09:47:00 One of the things I really like about BJJ is the very loose idea of what is acceptable attire. I'm not a very fashionable guy, but for whatever reason, I like buying new gis. I like looking at the different styles that are out there, and checking out what everyone has going on.The following article is primarily for any of my friends out there who either don't train in martial arts or who train, perhaps, in some other style and are curious about what differences exist. What is a gi?When most people think of a gi, they think of karate, and probably something very much like the outfit pictured to the left. A gi is simply a uniform made for training, most often made from a strong cotton weave varying from 8 oz up to some as thick as 30 oz. Grappling arts tend to have sturdier gis made from thi Read more:Brazilian
New URL 2008-03-02 13:24:00 Some observant readers may have noticed that I finally registered the domain. It was hard, because "stevebjj" is very much in demand with the Domain Prospectors out there.While the old url () will still forward to the new one, this blog can now be found at you get a moment, please update your favorites and any links to this site.
Friday Class 02/29/2008 2008-03-01 10:38:00 Yesterday's class was really an indication of our ramping up for the Pan Ams. The guys who are training for the Pan Ams in a few weeks are getting put through the ringer. They were put out in the middle and rolled for about 40 minutes straight. Poor bastards! Good thing this is fun. Coach told us to roll hard with them and told them to work their game plans, so sparring was fun. I felt good and tried to push my partners as much as I could. We also drilled a pendulum sweep to armbar combination starting from closed guard, which goes a little something like this (sweeping my opponent to my right/his left):Control opponent's left wrist.Shift hips a little to my right to make enough room to...Reach through my opponent's right leg.Open guard and pull my head close to my opponent's leg/hip Read more:Friday
BJJ as Self Defense 2008-02-27 23:08:00 Clearly, there are better ways. I ran across this video and I think that anyone who is SERIOUS (see, I was so serious, I risked pinky trauma by reaching over to the caps lock) about self defense should watch this video... TWICE!!!1!!1!111!Dr Steve Brule Last Resort Fighting on FunnyOrDie.com Read more:Defense
Sunday Class 02/24/08 2008-02-24 21:18:00 Sundays are always great classes. We had lots of new guys in class today, which is always fun to see, and we reviewed the techniques from the week. As usual, lots of time to spar, both in class and after in open mat.I was really glad to see Keoni back in class today. What a sight for sore eyes. He's a crazy dude and I'm glad to see that he's recovering very well from his knee surgery! Instead of rehashing the techniques I outlined previously, I thought I'd go over the two techniques that the new guys were drilling in open mat: guard pass #1 and the basic scissor sweep.Coach calls the following Guard Pass #1. It's a very basic knee slide guard pass, outlined below passing to my right side. Open Guard. Bring right knee up and establish position, good base.Control opponent's left leg.D Read more:Sunday
Friday BJJ Class 02/22/08 Plus Open Mat 2008-02-22 23:31:00 Something was in the water tonight because everyone was hyper and ready to roll. We were waiting for class to start and Big Rick was trolling the waters, looking for someone (anyone) to get going. Coach came out and 10 minutes before class starts, the two of them are sparring takedowns. In the meantime, three other pairs of guys spontaneously start rolling around. I took the opportunity to drill a couple of moves I need to work on with Jeremy. It was hilarious. Coach lines up the class at 5pm and half the class is panting and sweaty. So, we did the logical thing: started warm-ups. Of course. The techniques we covered were the same three move combination we worked on Wednesday: Americana to Straight Armlock to Kimura.Instead of rehashing those techniques, I'll jot down one o Read more:Friday
Wednesday BJJ Class 2/20/08 2008-02-21 09:49:00 The class was HUGE. There were easily over 25 people at class... so many that our usual jog around the mats was cut short. Too many people to work up any kind of sweat. So we did jumping jacks, pushups and crunches starting with 10 of each, working down to 1 and then back up to 5. Got the blood pumping, although the close proximity of my training partners made getting smacked or kicked a real possibility. Extreme Calisthenics. You heard it here first. We're going to make it even more fun next time by incorporating boxing gloves, so that when we do our jumping jacks, we're also sparring.For the last several days we have drilled regaining bottom side control. Today, we switched positions and drilled a three move combination from side control: Americana to Straight Arm Lock to Kimura Read more:Wednesday
Redbelt Trailer is out 2008-02-15 09:42:00 The movie Redbelt is set to open on April 25, 2008. I've mentioned this movie a few times before, and I'm very optimistic. I've also been keeping up with the production through their blog. In my opinion, it's looks like a more thoughtful alternative to the other MMA movies being produced: Never Back Down, and Never Submit. Check out the trailer. Read more:Trailer
BJJ on Fight Quest this Friday 2008-02-13 21:53:00 Fight Quest
, a show on the Discovery Channel, follows two fighters who travel around getting their butts kicked in a variety of traditional martial arts styles. Doug Anderson is an amatuer, and Jimmy Smith has a professional record of 6-1. This Friday
, they're in Brazil getting a lesson in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training with Rickson Gracie's club. I can't wait.If you want to see how truly badass Rickson Gracie is, check out the documentary "Choke." It's an amazing story.I'm even more interested after seeing this video.This episode might be a little different than others in the Fight Quest series so far, because neither of our fighters are wholly unfamiliar with the style. Doug Anderson holds a blue belt, and Jimmy Smith is a purple belt. Anyone who's trained in BJJ for any length of time kn
Sunday BJJ 2/10/08 2008-02-10 20:41:00 Sunday's class was good. I didn't go to the competition class. Instead, I took it easy and made it in for the regular BJJ class at 3:30.Often after a competition Coach will go over something that he noticed a lot of people having problems with at the tournament. Usually, it's a fundamental. After the tournament last July, we reviewed clearing your leg from someone's half-guard. Today, we went over how to reestablish guard from under side mount. So, I'll do my best to outline this technique.We broke it up into two drills, but for the sake of simplicity, I'm going to start from the worst case scenario, where I'm flat on my back. My opponent has me in side mount with both arms isolated. It looks exactly like this picture borrowed from 3peaksfitness.com (which hopefully they won't get mad abou Read more:Sunday
BJJ Matches 2 and 3 2008-02-10 00:48:00 This was the toughest match for me, because this guy had such a strong closed guard. I outlined what I did well and what I didn't in a previous post.Match 2My third match was another grueling affair, but I feel like I did a better job of playing my game.Match 3After struggling with an older computer, YouTube and the Blogger video function, I finally ended up in Google Video, but can't find the code to embed the video. The links above should work, but if they don't, let me know.Once again, my 12 year old son is the videographer, so there are times when I'm completely out of frame. Do not watch if you're prone to motion sickness. :)
Match 1 2008-02-10 00:26:00 This was a good match. My opponent was a strong dude. I've never had anyone from under mount lift my leg up like he does, so at the end, I was sure to grapevine his legs to keep that from happening again.Fair warning, though. My 12 year old son was my videographer, so it's difficult to watch! Think Paul Greengrass on a bad day.Funny white belt story (I say "white belt" because I'm sure that a conversation like this wouldn't have happened between more experienced competitors).Me: "You're Bruce? I think we're up next."Him: "How long have you been training."Me: "About a year. You?"Him: "Since April. You cut much weight?"Me: "Yeah. I walk around at about 200 lbs."Him: "Really??? How heavy are you today?"Me: "I don't know exactly. I was 195 this morning."The look on his face was Read more:Match
BJJ Tournament Results 2008-02-09 23:26:00 I went up to West Seattle today to compete in a BJJ tournament. The Revolution tournaments are a series put together by Jeff, one of the guys who trains at our gym (a purple belt and amateur MMA fighter). This tournament was much bigger than any I've previously been to.The brackets were divided by weight and belt. I competed in the Welterweight division (170 to 184.9 lbs) as a white belt along with two other guys from my school, Mike and Jeremy. My division had the most competitors in it by far, with 24 (if my inner city educated math skills aren't letting me down). I had three matches and won all three, as did both Jeremy and Mike, which created a bit of a dilemma. Our instructor's philosophy is that there's nothing to be gained by competing against your teammates. The idea being t Read more:Tournament
"The Revolution" 02.09.08 2008-02-04 20:12:00 I haven't posted the details of the last few classes. I've been very busy, but have been training hard and have a lot of little things to talk about.First, I'm very proud of my son... in general, but specifically because he decided to give class a shot and loves it. I knew he would, but wanted him to make the decision himself to either try it or not try it. He's been to three classes so far and has enjoyed himself tremendously. Today, Rick ran the kids class and put them through some side mount escapes. My daughter really worked hard today, and they're both doing great!So, yet another gi to wash multiple times per week.The second thing that I want to mention is the tournament I'm competing in on Saturday. Jeff, a purple belt at my school, runs a tournament several times per year, and
Sunday Competition Class and BJJ 1/27/2008 2008-01-27 19:49:00 Competition class was different today. We didn't spar, as such. Instead, we drilled several techniques and then worked stations.The one technique that really intrigues me is a stand-up technique to an armbar. I've never trained in Judo, but as far as I can tell, this starts from a typical Judo grip. I have a grip on his right collar with my left hand and behind his left elbow with my right. There's a lot of control from this grip. I'm going to armbar the arm I have control of, so I'll bring my left foot up and post it on his hip. Then I'm going to hop toward that foot a few times and then fall to that side, pushing on the hip. The momentum of the fall is going to allow me to swing my leg over for an armbar. It's actually not as difficult as I think it sounds.Instead of sparring, we Read more:Sunday
Non-BJJ: Congratulations! It's a baby prawn! 2008-01-24 17:47:00 Or at least, that's what it sort of looks like right now.Just had the first ultrasound, and we're still REALLY early on. But there is definitely a heartbeat and everything is just as it should be right now.We're right about 8 weeks now, so a long way to go. Read more:Congratulations
How do I roll? 2008-01-23 21:57:00 I'm still thinking a lot about how I roll, and what my game is. I still don't really know. I'm starting... just starting... to figure it out. It dawned on me today that I'm a plodding, methodical personality. While I can be prone to bouts of spontaneity, I prefer a more considered approach to just about everything in my life. It dawned on me that it's taking me so long to figure this out precisely because I'm a plodding, methodical person. This week, we've been working a very fundamental skill: passing from side control to mount. Doing this correctly involves a tight control, good shoulder pressure, and if done correctly there should be very little my partner can do to stop me. I think of the movie, The Matrix and Agent Smith as he says, "Do you hear that, Mr. Anderson? That is th
Grappling with Disabilities 2008-01-22 18:43:00 A story came up at class on Sunday in passing about a guy who was competing without arms and legs. Turns out that he's competing at a high level. His name is Kyle Maynard and while he has difficulty submitting, positionally, he's pretty darned good.I admire his tenacity. Recently, Kyle Maynard applied to fight in a sanctioned MMA event and his application was denied. My question is, what do you guys think? Should Kyle be allowed to compete in MMA? Below is a YouTube clip of Kyle at NAGA, another story from Bryant Gumble's show on HBO, and you can easily find lots of information on his story from Google. Read more:Disabilities
Sunday Competition/BJJ Classes 1/20/2008 2008-01-21 10:49:00 Yesterday was a long day, but Coach did some things that I haven't seen before with regards to the training. I liked the changes.Competition class involves a tougher warm-up/conditioning routine that usually lasts about 45 minutes. Then we spar from standing, unless our partner's nursing an injury or something. I sparred with Sharkey first. I outweigh him by... oh, at least 30 lbs. But he's scrappy and always seems to get me at least once with a guillotine. I did work on being more aggressive on my takedowns, and managed to surprise him once, I think. In my second match, I was rolling with Jeff and a gi burn I had on my temple opened up. I was covered in blood from this tiny little scrape on my temple. After I got that cleaned up, I got pounded by Matt for 7 minutes.In the regula Read more:Sunday
, Classes
I Don't Know What to Say 2008-01-20 20:51:00 Wanderlei Silva and Mark Coleman in what has to be the silliest commercial I've ever seen.
On the Set of Redbelt (the BJJ) Movie 2008-01-20 11:12:00 A few months back, I mentioned a couple of movies I'm really looking forward to. I'm happy to see that both are moving forward. Matthew is polishing up Walking to the Cage, and I noticed that there's an interview with David Mamett, the director of Redbelt on YouTube.Decorated writer/director, some big names in the sport, and one of my favorite movies is Serenity, where the star of Redbelt, Chiwetel Ejiofor, played a great villain. He's also been involved in many other quality projects. This is in stark contrast to a movie that... let's just say I'm on the fence, called Never Back Down. It looks a little cheesy. One guy very aptly described it as Karate Kid meets the OC. There's another one on the horizon called Never Submit, written and directed by Don Dunn, best known for... well,
Rough Weekend 2008-03-18 08:48:00 Class on Sunday was tough. I felt rundown even before class started. Not sick, but off somehow (really, for all you guys going to the Pan Ams... I'm not going to give you the flu!) I debated whether to go to class or not, but I decided that this was exactly the kind of day that I should force myself to do it.I've mentioned before that exercise in general is new for me. I was a very active kid, but in my adult life I settled quite well into a sedentary, couch potato existence. For 14 years, between ages 14 and 28, I did very little beyond smoke cigarettes, drink some beer and do the minimum amount of exercise necessary to get by. As a result, a lot of this stuff is new for me. I guess what I'm struggling with is learning at the ripe old age of 37 things that most people take for gra Read more:Rough
, Weekend
I'm back! 2008-03-31 16:27:00 Well, I've been out for a while. Between illness and assorted weirdness, I've been absent from my blog and from training for almost 2 weeks. But I'm back. Did you miss me? Wait... don't answer that. I have a new DVD of drills that I intend to review for Hazmat over at WhitecollarBJJ (thank you, thank you, thank you!), and I'm back at class on Wednesday, so I'm sure I'll be nice and sore after a 2 week hiatus. So, stay tuned for that.I also guest blogged over at Nathan's TDA Training blog, so check it out.
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