10 Oct/Nov 2012

FRESH TECHNIQUE IMPORTED STRAIGHT FROM BRAZIL! NUTRITION, CONDITION, TECHNIQUE, SUBMIT

FLYING ATTACKS!

R’S MC GLOVE BOOTH IN THE

Are You HYDRATED?

Choosing the Right Treatment

Jiu-Jitsu In Prime Time

Dominate

REVOLUTIONIZED Half-Guard Fabio Leopoldo JIU-JITSU? With

ALL THIS AND SO MUCH MORE… Cover 10.indd 1

$6.99 US/CAN

Which Fighters Have

OCT/NOV 2012 / ISSUE 10 • JIUJITSUMAG.COM

N O N I P DRO MARCELO GARCIA 9/14/12 3:06 PM

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CONTENTS Oct-Nov 2012 // Issue 10 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: REGULARS EDITORIAL

8 10 20 24 46 98 88 114

Be Virtuous

CHECK-IN A whole lot of something

TECHNIQUES FLYING ATTACKS

32 64

GRUB Drink Up

SUPPLEMENTS Questions Answered

SPOTLIGHT Sean Roberts

MEDIC Choosing the Right Doc

GEAR LAB Watch Then Roll

SUCCESS Jiu-jitsu made him do it

76 94

Jeff Glover Gets Air

HITTING THE OMOPLATA Yuri Simoes Imported from Brazil

ON TOP OF HALF-GUARD Fabio Leopoldo Opens Up

MIND GAMES Visualize

STRENGTH & CONDITION DRILL IT

28 102

Hit The Wall For Faster Hips

CORE AND ENDURANCE Cage Fitness Routines

64 FEATURES REVOLUTIONARIES

48 52 72

92 108

Fighters That Have Changed Jiu-Jitsu

MARCELO GARCIA He Never Stops

JIU-JITSU IN PRIME TIME Ryan Danz And His Amazing Race

REPORT 8th Annual NABJJF

JUDO KNOW Ryan Beauregard Will Take Judo For the Win

Squirrels aren’t the only mammals that can fly.

98

32

52

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ON THE COVER What’s it like to be a student of a legend? We drop in on Marcelo Garcia to find out what it’s like and find some adventure along the way. Cover Photo: John Ricard

DROP IN ON marcelo garcia

52

What’s it like to go to school with a legend?

AMAZING RACER

RYAN DANZ

te Domina

RD HALF-GUA

KEEPING HYDRATED

48

76

32

Thirsty?

20

JIU-JITSU REVOLUTIONARIES

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editorial

THE 7 VIRTUES IN JIU-JITSU here are many life lessons in jiu-jitsu, you just need to be open to them. In this issue Associate Editor Deb Blyth sat down with Ryan Danz, a local blue belt who is in this season’s Amazing Race on CBS. Ryan shares with us how he used many lessons learned in jiujitsu during his time on the show. This got me to think about all the life lessons that are disguised in the gentle art. I went through the seven virtues (four Cardinal, three Theological) and discovered that each of these can be found in jiu-jitsu. Now, these are my interpretations - how I see these virtues in jiu-jitsu - you may see them differently, but here’s what I’ve come up with:

EDITIORIAL STAFF Editor & Publisher Mike Velez Associate Editor Deb Blyth Contributing Authors Seymour Yang, Jeremy Reid, Mark de Grasse, Dr. John Park, Dan Faggella, Kenny Johnson, Andre Borges, Hywel Teague ART & PHOTOGRAPHY

PRUDENCE: it’s the ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of reason. In jiu-jitsu, we use prudence to weigh our options, to make the decision on how to play an opponent or which way to take a fight. Being able to exercise prudence in both life and jiu-jitsu is key to success in each. That is why the ancient Greeks considered it the father of all virtues.

JUSTICE: it’s been said that justice is the constant and perpetual will to render everyone his due.

In life, a just man seeks justice for not only events that affect him, but for fair treatment for all. On the mats being “just” means that purple belts aren’t beating up on white belts. Instead, when a much more experienced grappler rolls with a much less experienced one, the higher rank isn’t selfish by using the opportunity to beat up on someone to build their own ego. Instead, he is selfless, and guides the white belt through the roll, challenging him yet exposing weaknesses that the white belt can learn from and progress in.

Everybody should roll.

TEMPERANCE: it doesn’t sound like a virtue that will help you kick ass. Temperance is considered the ability to control the desire for pleasure. In life that translates into avoiding vices, or to not live beyond your means. The ability to not succumb to things that will bring you down. Choosing the apple over the Twinkie when you get a craving for something sweet. That example will help your jiu-jitsu, but a more poignant example would be fighting that desire to use strength to muscle

a position or finish and instead look to use technique to find a finish.

COURAGE: the ability to confront fear, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. All of these limiting beliefs would paralyze you in your daily life if not for courage. So essential is this virtue that it’s one that’s absolutely necessary on the mats. Going into any match there’s the fear of losing, there’s the thought of pain that would result from an injury, there’s danger that you won’t be able to use your arm for a few months after, there’s overwhelming uncertainty on how things will go, and depending on your opponent, there could definitely be some intimidation.

Exercising courage, both in life and on the mats, will confront your fears and bring you through the other side to victory.

FAITH: in the traditional sense the virtue of faith is the belief in God. This definition of faith is definitely applicable in jiu-jitsu. Many of the top athletes in jiu-jitsu profess a strong faith in God. But the virtue of faith that I want to focus on is the faith in your jiu-jitsu. There comes times in competition when you’ve exercised prudence, justice, temperance, and courage, yet, there’s still something holding you back. At that point, you must employ faith and just go for it. Without faith in your ability, in your jiu-jitsu, you will find yourself paralyzed and unable to reach your goals. As in life, faith can get you through difficult times and onto better days.

HOPE: the combination of the desire for something and the expectation of receiving it, as well as the capability of not giving up. You cannot live on hope alone. However, with the other virtues, hope can be a very powerful tool in life and on the mats. Hope maintains the spirit, and even in the toughest times, can keep you from giving in to giving up.

Think of the toughest times in your life. Hope for something better and its desire and expectation of good things to come probably got you through, or continue to help get you through. In jiu-jitsu, hope is a powerful tool in the ability to visualize yourself as a winner.

That desire and expectation can get your mindset in place necessary for success. Having the ability to not give up can get you though some seemingly impossible situations. You’re caught in a choke, yet you hope to escape. That hope keeps you from tapping just before his arms gas out, or his flawed technique is discovered.

CHARITY: the concern for, and active helping of others. As a virtue, the roots of “charity” lie in love of God above all things. In jiu-jitsu, I see charity in our sense of team.

Each individual roll in competition is a one-on-one match, yet when you back out a bit you see it as the ultimate team undertaking. You can’t learn, progress, and evolve in jiu-jitsu without others, your teammates.

Learning from each other, sharing advice, not taking that elbow with you on the arm bar, and concern for each others’ progression are acts of charity that we share with out teammates every day.

These are the seven virtues expressed in jiu-jitsu as I see them. You may see them differently, and I’m sure that there are many more exhibited. When I sat down to write this editorial I had an overwhelming sense of reward, so happy that I discovered jiu-jitsu. It’s changed my life for the better and continues to do so every day. Words can’t express my desire to help others discover for themselves jiu-jitsu and its virtues. Help me spread the word. Take the opportunity to let your friends and family know how you feel about jiu-jitsu and how it’s affected you and your life. The world will be a more virtuous one if you do.

Mike Velez

| Editor & Publisher | mikev@jiujitsumag.com

Art Director Dave Palacios Contributing Photographers Jason Boulanger, John Cooper Kenny Jewel, Mike Lee, Mike Calimbas, Kristen Mendes PRODUCTION /ADVERTISING Production Director Paula Fountain Advertising Sales Mike Velez, Greg Rivera Circulation Manager Tom Ferruggia CHANGE OF ADDRESS & SUBSCRIPTIONS Phone: 1.877.834.3552 ext. 227 Web: jiujitsumag.com ADVERTISING /SALES INFO Available upon request, Contact: Jiu-Jitsu Magazine PO Box 2405 Chino Hills, CA 91709 ph: 1.877.834.3552 ext. 221 fax: 909.591.1251 NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWSSTAND DISTRIBUTION The Curtis Circulation Company Jiu-Jitsu Magazine (ISSN 2157-6173) is a publication of Recon Media Inc., PO Box 2405 Chino Hills, CA 91709; Phone: 877.834.3552; Fax: 909.517.1601email: info@jiujitsumag.com. Subscription rates are $27.99 for 6 issues (1 year), $42.99 per year Canada, and $67.99 per year for foreign airmail. All rights reserved, The entire contents are copyright 2012 Recon Media Inc, and may not be reproduced in any manner in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher.

The views and the opinions of the writers and advertisers are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Recon Media Inc., the Publisher, or the editorial staff. The Publisher assumes no responsibilities for advertising claims, errors, and omissions.

Some of the techniques described in this magazine can be dangerous. Always practice safe procedures and use common sense. Recon Media Inc., and the Publisher can not be held responsible from any injuries or damage caused by these techniques. Perform at your own risk.

Jiu-Jitsu magazine is published bi-monthly.

Application to mail at Periodicals Postage rate is pending at Chino, CA and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to Jiu-Jitsu Magazine PO Box 2405, Chino HIlls, CA 91709.

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Pass The Guard

ON THE LEFT

HAND SIDE

Love them or hate them you have to respect their gi! This is the new Diaz Brothers Limited Edition gi from Lucky Gi’s.

This gi mixes old school style with new school construction.

Both Nick and Nate worked on the design, so when they retire from the UFC, they’ll have a career waiting for them because this looks pretty good. The jacket is a 550 gram softened pearl weave with a heavy weight UVA foam collar. On the inside is the unique LG print pattern in red. The pants are made of 12 oz. bull denim that’s oddly rugged yet with a soft side.

Sorta like Nick and Nate. Extra fabric on the knees and red reinforced cuffs. Surprisingly, this gi is not made from hemp, both the jacket and pants are pre-shrunk and made of 100% cotton. As for the looks, it’s very clean. A nicely embroidered large “Lucky Gi” across the back, a small “mechanic’s” style patch that says you’re there to do work, and a nice little “ace” up the sleeve. The limited edition gi comes complete with a fabric bag, extra drawstring, and a price tag of $249, available in either white or black. This is a very high-quality gi, the stitching is nearly flawless and the cut feels pretty comfortable. www.myluckygi.com

S7 SPEAKS T

here’s a new promotion in town, well in lots of towns, and probably in one near you. It’s called S7 Submission Grappling. We had the chance recently to pose five questions to their CEO and Co-Founder Dayan Henson.

Don’t let that smile fool you, Dayan’s a really nice guy.

So, how did S7 come together?

The concept of S7 was put together in late 2011 after much discussion and research into the marketplace for submission grappling tournaments. Josh Rosenthal and WEC CoFounder Scott Adams had been contemplating some small regional shows and once I

decided to get involved with this business I asked Herb Dean and a business colleague Paul Paterson to join the team because I felt we could form a great group with endemic experience and business acumen to attempt the build-out of a nationwide grappling league.

What’s the biggest difference grappler’s can expect at an S7 tournament versus other promotions?

From the start, the idea was to look objectively at major and even smaller promotions to see what we liked and what we thought could be improved upon. First and foremost, we pride ourselves on customer service, we put heavy focus on not only the competition experience, but also the spectator experience.

We have invested very heavily in improving the information available to athletes and spectators, along with delivering world class, extremely experienced and professional referees for all of our competitors. From 5-year-old white belts to 65-yearold black belts we want everyone competing and everyone watching these athletes to feel special and enjoy the experience of being at an S7 Submission Grappling event.

No one should ever be confused about where they are competing, who they are watching on the mats or where team scoring stands at any time during the day.

What does it mean to have Herb Dean and Josh Rosenthal involved?

Herb and Josh are both lifelong

martial artists who love the art as well as the competition side of Gi and No-Gi grappling tournaments. Herb, Josh, and Scott all bring a unique perspective in that they have worked within the largest and most professional competitive martial arts promotion. More than that, they have worked hard to develop and foster great relationships throughout the industry and they help us to have a great platform to engage with our consumer base.

What’s been the biggest challenge so far in your first two tournaments?

We place such a high demand on even the smallest details that really everything has been

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X-Guard LIDS

You’ll easily avoid any confrontation when wearing either of these lids from X-Guard. It’s pretty clear that you’re into jiu-jitsu when you’re sporting one of these, evidenced by the large “Jiu Jitsu” across the front. There are two types available, fitted or snap back in a variety of colors and combinations. The fitted hats are available in size from 7” to 7 7/8”. Both hats are made in the USA and along with the clean embroidery work in the front, feature a stitched X-Guard label on the back. Whichever color or size you pick, there are 12 colors to choose from in total, they’ll set you back $24. www.xguardbrand.com

that people are putting in us by coming to our tournaments and we want to be sure that competitors and spectators leave our shows thinking it was well worth it.

What are the plans for the future of S7?

We have seven shows slated for 2012 that will be all over the United States. As we continue to grow and expand, we expect to be in all major regions during 2013.

As we get more feedback from our competitors and gym owners, our goal is to improve the overall experience we provide at every show. We have challenged our team to build the best grappling competitions so that competitors and spectators get to experience submission grappling in a 1st

class platform. We believe that if we do our job properly it should encourage students to continue training as well as motivate our spectators to want to become part of our amazing and great sport. The grappling community is dedicated and passionate and we believe that we can be a small

part of helping our sport grow.

Sounds like a plan. Look for S7 tournament information in JJM and on our facebook page regularly. We’re excited to have a great outlet for readers to compete and put their knowledge into practice.

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Pop that top and nobody will mess with you.

time consuming to achieve an acceptable product. Making sure that all competitors are able to have a great experience and that the tournament is on time has been an obsessive pursuit at our shows. It would be easy to continue with many accepted practices, but we are trying to listen to our consumers and bring new ideas and approaches to how we do almost everything.

Of course, attempting to do everything better and trying to implement all of our technology has caused us a few surprises and unforeseen challenges. We have really taken September and October to test and make sure that everything will run smoothly and as promised to our consumers. We are hyper sensitive to the time and trust

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SPEAKS Has JIU-JITSU taught you any life lessons?

TATAMI What comes after Estilo 3.0? Give up? You’re right, Estilo 4.0, nice guess. Although it’s not out yet (expected early 2013) we’ve managed to sneak some spy photos of the forthcoming gi from our friends in the UK at Tatami. Let’s say a little mouse, or a “kat” shared these pics with us. We’ve yet to nail down any specifics on the weight, cut, or features, but from what we can tell from these photos it looks like it will be a pretty nice gi. See for yourself. Our spy on the inside also tells us that the new gi’s will be available later this year in the blue shown here, navy blue, black, and white. All with the highcontrast orange stitching and trim. www.tatamifightwear.com

Brannon Remaklus I’ve been in martial arts for 22 years and taking on jiu-jitsu has been fantastic for my ego. Facing failure daily is a wonderful thing for any man.

Craig J Schiedlo It has taught me the virtues of temperance, benevolence, wisdom, courage, and justice. Killing the ego and truly looking for the good in everything.

Paul Marsh No matter how good you think you are, there is always somebody better.

Tisha Dahl Adams Not all bald, tattooed men are scary... :-) (Don’t judge a book by its cover) Sam McKnight Be humble, know there is always a way out/a solution, knowing no matter how good you are, there is always someone better (like Paul Marsh stated) and to control yourself and be flexible with any situation Alex C Smith Hard work pays off.

Winner Winner!

A

Chicken Dinner?

few months back we ran our VersaClimber Sweepstakes. Thousands of you entered and out of the thousands emerged, well actually we picked, one winner. That winner was Don Lucas of Canton Michigan. Don trains under Ryan Fiorenzi ath East West Martial Arts in Canton. Don didn’t waste any time and has already begun working the VersaClimber into his conditioning regimen.

Eric Jackson Make every move count.

Thomas King Know when to bail on one thing and move to something new...

Paul Fernandez It taught me humility, and that bigger/stronger isn’t always better.

www.versaclimber.com

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UGF RECAP WASHINGTON STATE GRAPPLING CHAMPIONSHIP Seattle, WA – Saturday, August 11, 2012

H

undreds of competitors made it to Seattle, Washington for the Washington State Grappling Championship. There was a total of 86 different jiu-jitsu and submission grappling divisions. This was the first event for the UGF in Washington and by all accounts it was a success.

Team Grappling Submission ess Ch at M s Team Champion

Barra Josh Ratliff of Gracie Washington/Edmonds

Kids/Youth Submission Grap pling, Jiu-Jitsu, and Overall Team Champions Grac ie Barra Seattle

Mens Brown Belt Master Absolute - Griff Sombke

e team Here’s a list of th -Jitsu h Jiu out s/Y Kid : rs ne win Kids/

of Gracie Barra Washington/

l Arts), (Fiedler’s Mixed Martia appling (Gracie Gr n ssio mi Sub th You (Gracie Barra Barra Seattle), Jiu-Jitsu appling (Mat Gr n ssio mi Sub ), ttle Sea ie Barra Seattle). rac (G ll era Chess) and Ov

Edmonds and James Weed of Newborn Cascao

ss MMA

JJ Bradley of Mat Che

Jiu-Jitsu

WOMEN’S INTERNATIONAL GRAPPLING CHAMPIONSHIP San Diego, CA – Saturday, August 25, 2012

F

emale competitors from across the country traveled in from Tennessee, New Mexico, Washington, Chicago, and as far as Hawaii to compete in the one day event.

A total of 53 Jiu-Jitsu and Submission Grappling divisions were set. The competition was fierce with some women competing in as many as 12 matches throughout the day. onald Jessie McD ETC la al lh Va of

RA Williams of

Terri Swift of Costa

Gracie Barra

Mesa Training

New Mexico

Center and Jessica

and Stephany

Lancaster of

Pulido of

Brasa Warrior

Dartanian Bagby

International

Silvia Valles of Palm

Submission Gr appling Begin ner Adult Women›s Ab solute winner s Stephany Pulido of Darta nian Bagby, So nia Sillan, and Nora Mor a of 10th Plan et Vista

Springs Jiu-Jitsu

Looks like the ladies had lots of fun.

Terri Sw ift of Co sta Me Center, sa Train Tara W ing hite of Stoller Atos an of Shaw d Nicho n Hamm lle onds

Here’s a list of the tea

m winners: Kids/Youth Jiu-Jitsu (Guerrilla Jiu-Jitsu ), Kids/Youth Submission Gra ppling (Guerrilla Jiu-Jitsu), Jiu-Jitsu (Cleber/Elite BJJ), Submission Grappling (Cleber/Elite BJJ) , Overall (Guerrilla Jiu-Jitsu ).

sion Grappling Team Jiu-Jitsu and Submis eau and Judyann Ren ion Mar ions Champ BJJ lite Burgess of Cleber/E

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RENZO

TWEETS

Renzo Knows.

N CASE YOU’VE BEEN AWAY ON A DESERT ISLAND AND WITHOUT ACCESS TO THE INTERNET, YOU’LL BE SURPRISED TO HEAR THAT JIU-JITSU LEGEND RENZO GRACIE RECENTLY “TWEETED” HIS OWN MUGGING, OR AT LEAST AN ATTEMPTED MUGGING IN THE EYES OF RENZO. If you want the play-by-play you can do a simple search and find the account fairly easily. In fact, the story was picked up by many mainstream media outlets, including USA Today, Sports Illustrated, The New York Post, and others. Long story short, Renzo was out late, walking home or somewhere else in Manhattan and realized he was being followed by two guys. He’d stop, they’d stop, and with each passing minute they appeared to be getting closer. All the while, Renzo was tweeting the account to his followers. Eventually, he tweets that they asked him for a cigarette, as Renzo pretends to be drunk. Fifteen minutes pass and Renzo comes back on talking about how his hand hurts. He gave it pretty good to the first guy while the other one ran off. Renzo got into his car and looked to track down the other guy. Thirty minutes pass and Renzo reports that he found the second guy and gave him “…the old style raccoon…” insinuating that when the guy wakes up in the morning he’ll be looking like a raccoon. Oh yeah, and he choked him out three times. With bloodied hands and quick fingers, he tweeted the entire incident. The next day Renzo did a phone interview with Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com and shared with us that one of the guys actually reached into his pocket looking for a “cigarette.” That’s when it all went down.

The play-by-play account of things is pretty unique, not sure that’s happened before in the history of social media. To get a legal perspective we talked to Dmitry Gurovich of Gurovich, Berk & Associates in Sherman Oaks, California.

Dmitry is a blue belt under Fabio Leopoldo and has been practicing criminal law for 16 years, and is a graduate of Loyola Law. CrimLawLA.com

HERE’S HIS TAKE:

M

any issues arise out of Renzo’s recent run in with two would be muggers.

In order to analyze what happened, however, we must differentiate between moral and legal justification. Was Renzo morally justified in doing what he did? Of course he was. He taught these guys a lesson they will never forget. Not only was he decisive in his actions, but he was aware of his surroundings enough to recognize that he was being followed. Then, when the two came close, Renzo struck first presumably because he interpreted their body language as threatening. All of us should strive to be so alert. It takes a highly trained person to recognize a threat, decide on a plan of action, and then to successfully execute it. Yes, he kicked one when the attack was over. Yes, he hit the other repeatedly in the face when the guy was out cold. He was teaching them a lesson. Don’t forget. They are predators. Violent people usually only understand violence. His actions may have prevented other violent attacks that these two otherwise would have done in the future.

The law, on the other hand, looks at this incident very differently. A preemptive strike is justified only if one feels imminent threat of physical violence to himself or to others. Did Renzo experience this? It looks like he may have. But in order to be sure, we need more information from Renzo himself. Was Renzo legally justified in kicking the first guy when the attack was over? Probably not. Once your assailant stops his attack, you may not continue the fight. At that point, it’s not defense any more, it is retaliation. In addition, many jurisdictions may interpret Renzo’s kick

not only as excessive force, but as an assault with intent to cause great bodily injury. Was Renzo legally justified in pursuing the second guy? In New York, one is allowed to use necessary force in order to make a citizen’s arrest. So Renzo pursuing the second guy and choking him out, presumably because the guy was resisting, should be legal. Was Renzo legally justified in punching this guy in the face after the guy was out? I don’t believe that this would be allowed by the law. There is no attack anymore. This guy is no longer a threat to Renzo. Punching him in the face may be a great idea to teach him a lesson, but legally there is no justification for this action.

Should Renzo be arrested, as many online have been pointing out? That is a question for the New York authorities to answer. Whatever happens, my hat is off to Renzo for being aware and for having the ability and the decisiveness to defend himself. On the other hand, I would strongly encourage everyone to familiarize themself with the law.

Otherwise, you may find yourself in the future trying to justify your actions to a judge and jury.

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HYDRATED DON’T OVERLOOK THE OBVIOUS

words: JEREMY REID

ATER IS PROBABLY THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT THING HUMAN BEINGS NEED TO CONSUME. Our bodies are comprised of anywhere from 50-70% water. It is important for almost every physiological function inside the body. It is so critical that we can only survive a few days without water, while we can go weeks without food. So, it should come as no surprise that proper hydration is critical to overall health as well as athletic performance. However, there is a lot more to proper hydration than simply drinking water.

FLUID INTAKE

W

Drink up!

hile it is common to think of fluid intake as water intake, there is a distinct difference. Fluid intake refers to all fluids ingested by the body. This can come in many forms, with water being an obvious source. However, any other drinks or beverages ingested will contribute to our fluid intake, as well as food ingested. Yes, that’s right! There is fluid in food, and depending on what and how much you eat, that can contribute to your overall fluid intake as well. Commonly, food intake accounts for roughly 20% of fluid intake depending on amounts of fruits and vegetables in the diet. The higher the intake of fruits and vegetables in the diet, the higher the fluid contribution (yet another reason why intake of fruits and vegetables are important). As with food, the amount of fluids from other beverages depends a lot on what those other beverages are. Caffeine and alcohol are diuretics and therefore, do not contribute as much as other fluids, and when consumed in excess, will actually fuel dehydration.

It is very important to understand that all these factors contribute to total fluid intake, and ultimately play a role in your hydration status.

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DEHYDRATION

D

ehydration can develop when the body fluid losses exceed fluid intake, and it often occurs during exercise, heat stress, restricted fluid intake, or any combination of these things. Even moderate dehydration, which is a loss of 2% body weight, can compromise exercise performance and cognitive function, particularly in hot weather conditions. This will also disturb fluid and electrolyte balance, a big key to proper hydration.

Therefore, maintaining a hydrated state prior to physical activity is critical, not only for optimizing performance, but for ensuring health and safety as well. When you become dehydrated during exercise, an adequate fluid supply is necessary to maintain fluid balance and physiological homeostasis. So, what does this mean for you? It means that you must rehydrate throughout the day and throughout your training session. This is more than simply drinking when you are thirsty.

Thirst is not a good predictor of dehydration or measure for rehydration.

Thirst is a response to dehydration; if you are thirsty you are already dehydrated.

Drinking plenty of fluids throughout the day before thirst hits is the best way to prevent daily dehydration. Thirst is not a good measure for rehydrating either, especially after bouts of heavy exercise. Scientific studies have demonstrated that during physical activity subjects rarely voluntarily drink as much water as they sweat, even though this is advantageous for maintaining heat balance.

Subjects usually drink at a rate approximating about two-thirds of the water loss in sweat. For those of you doing the math, that’s less than 70%. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to step onto the mat for my next match at less than 70% hydration. Prevent dehydration by drinking throughout the day and overdrinking after physical activity.

PERFORMANCE

FACTORS

like a beast He might sweat importance the s ow kn f but Jef ted. dra hy of keeping well

You can really build up a sweat laying pipe.

As mentioned above, dehydration impacts exercise performance and cognitive function. The problem is that dehydration happens frequently and quite rapidly during athletic events. In fact, during challenging athletic events, it is not uncommon for athletes to lose 6–10% of their body weight in sweat loss, thus leading to severe dehydration if these fluids are not replenished.

This severe dehydration lowers blood plasma volume and severely inhibits cardiovascular function. Without proper cardiac function, performance is nearly impossible and will be drastically hindered. An athlete may even lose consciousness and can develop serious medical conditions such as heat stroke. While performance losses may appear to be common sense during severe dehydration, decrements in physical performance have been observed under much lower levels of dehydration, as little as 2% body weight loss. Even under this relatively mild level of dehydration, individuals engaging in rigorous physical activity will experience decreases in performance, including reduced endurance, increased fatigue, altered thermoregulatory capability, reduced motivation, and increased perceived effort. Cognitive function has also been shown to be impaired with losses of decision making ability, reaction time, and short-term memory.

These are all critical elements during a jiu-jitsu match, and I wouldn’t want to lose one of these things, let alone all of them.

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grub

Water isn’t the only thing we lose when we sweat.

We also lose a significant amount of electrolytes in sweat, specifically sodium. Electrolytes are critical for cells to function properly and play an important role in muscle contraction. Without the proper electrolyte balance, muscle contractions become very weak and/or lose the ability to relax (ie. muscle cramps). Maintaining electrolyte balance is critical. Now, here is where the tricky part comes in, the amount lost varies person to person. Some people are referred to as “salty sweaters” due to a large concentration of sodium in their sweat, while others may lose very little sodium with sweat. Sweat rate also plays a role in electrolyte loss. Certain individuals have a high sweat rate and others have a low sweat rate. The problem comes in when you are a “salty sweater” with a high sweat rate. This can lead to substantial and rapid electrolyte loss during intense physical activity. This is often a reason for certain individuals to have issues with cramps while others may not despite participating in the same activity. If you notice that your sweat looks shiny and cloudy on the mat, odds are you are a “salty sweater.”

Pay attention to this, and your sweat rate, and you will get a better idea of your electrolyte needs.

S I M PLE ON TEST HYDRATI

T

here are a couple of ways to quickly gauge whether or not you’re properly hydrated. The first is to determine whether or not you’re thirsty. If you ever feel thirsty, you’re not drinking enough water. Step it up. The other way to quickly determine hydration levels is the color of your urine; if it’s yellow you’re not getting enough water. When you’re properly hydrated your urine should be the same color as lemon juice. If you’re taking vitamins or other supplements, it will have an effect on the color of your urine, so gauge the color before you take your supplements.

Urine Color Chart

TARGET

DEHYDRATED SEVERELY DEHYDRATED

RECOMMENDATIONS

My recommendations for fluid intake are going to fall into two categories: daily recommendations and rehydration recommendations. Both of these are critical in maintaining proper hydration and preventing dehydration. The average jiu-jitsu athlete training 2-4 times a week at moderate intensity should aim to consume between 50 and 75% of his body weight in ounces. If you are training 5-7 days a week, doing two sessions a day, and/or are training at a very high intensity level you should aim for 75-100% of your body weight in ounces per day. The ranges are there to allow you to find your right level based on your training. Remember, fluid intake encompasses a lot of things, if you have a diet that is very high in fruits and vegetables your consumption may be at the lower end due to the high fluid concentration from your diet. Keep in mind, that like a lot of nutrients, your body can only absorb so much at a given time.

Therefore, you should aim to spread out your water consumption throughout the day to ensure adequate absorption.

This is a topic worth addressing every few years.

When I talk about rehydration, I am referring to during and/or immediately after a bout of physical activity. Rehydration is critical and should occur after every bout of intense physical activity. This rehydration is a function of the volume of fluids consumed, relative to the volume of fluids lost following the activity. The goal of your rehydration should always be full replacement of any fluid and electrolyte deficits resulting from the training session. Ultimately, you should weigh yourself before and after the session. Fluids should then be ingested until weight is at or above starting weight. This will ensure proper and complete rehydration. Generally, after a few times of weighing yourself before and after, you will start to figure out the range and how much fluid you need to ingest. Total fluid volume is not the only factor in rehydration. Electrolyte replacement is another critical factor for complete rehydration. In fact, studies have shown that electrolyte solutions are far more effective than plain water for optimal and complete rehydration. When including an electrolyte solution, body fluids and body weight return to normal levels faster. Recovery rate increases further with the addition of a carbohydrate solution to the water/electrolyte mix. For complete rehydration following your training session, be sure to rehydrate with an electrolyte, water, and carbohydrate mix until body weight returns to starting measurements.

CONCLUSION

ELECTROLYTES

P

roper hydration and preventing dehydration are two critical factors for optimal health and performance.

To accomplish this, drink plenty of fluids throughout the day depending on your current training regimen and always be sure to COMPLETELY rehydrate following training sessions. If you follow those two guidelines you are on your way to proper hydration and optimal health.

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supplements

SUPPLEMENT

QA &

words: JEREMY REID

HIS ISSUE I WILL BE FOCUSING ON WHAT YOU GUYS WANT TO KNOW. That’s right, I will be answering some questions you sent in regarding supplements. As always, you tested me a little bit and asked some tough and interesting questions. But I enjoy the challenge, so keep reading, keep the questions coming, and I will keep the answers flowing.

Should anyone really begin taking supplements without first having their own nutrition and body chemistry analyzed? –Glenn Hansen

“Yeah doc, you’d better check for everything.”

Hmmm, well this depends on exactly what supplements you are referring to, and what exactly you mean by “body chemistry.”

First the disclaimer, it is always better and a good idea to consult with your doctor before taking anything. Now, let’s start by tackling the easy part of the question.

Like I have always stated, we must go back to exactly what the word “supplement” means. A supplement is something that adds to or aides something else. It acts as a complement to your diet. However, it DOES NOT and CANNOT replace a sound, healthy diet. So yes, the first step and also an extremely important step in starting a supplement regimen is evaluating and developing a sound diet.

Think of it like this; a supplement is like a scope for a hunting rifle. It can make it more accurate and increase performance, but without the gun the scope is useless.

The same is true for supplements, without a sound diet the supplement is useless. So don’t go standing in the woods holding a scope with no gun, you will go home hungry, both figuratively and literally.

we talking about body composition, blood type, or are we referring to a specific test for vitamin, mineral, and other deficiencies? I am going to assume we are talking about the latter as it is the only one that will really make a difference. Yes, getting a test like this can be extremely beneficial and enlightening. A test like this will let you know exactly what specific vitamins, minerals, or other compounds you are low in and allow you to develop a completely personal and comprehensive supplement protocol. I always recommend this for professional and/or elite level athletes.

However, do I feel these are completely

necessary for everyone? No. First of all, they are usually very expensive. Secondly, the majority of the time these deficiencies are caused by a poor diet and can be fixed by improving it. Lastly, these tests are usually for elite level athletes who are on insane training regimens and are taking numerous and highly specific supplements, most of them not needed by the average athlete. So, if you can afford the test and/or have some specific issues you want looked into, by all means get it. It can be very helpful. But, if you are an average athlete taking a few simple supplements properly, it is not a necessity.

Now, for the harder part of the question; again, this is going to depend a lot on what we are referring to as “body chemistry.” Are

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IS THERE A SUPPLEMENT THAT AFFECTS YOUR LUNGS OR HELPS WITH CARDIO?

–TYLER WHALEN

There are definitely some supplements that can affect your lungs and possibly help your cardiovascular system.

Ephedrine, for example, is a vasodilator and aids in opening the airways. Iron, beets, and magnesium have been shown to be beneficial for your cardiovascular system. However, all of these supplements are meant more for aiding in deficiencies and bringing levels and performance back to normal, not so much for improving performance above normal levels. One supplement that has been shown to be mildly effective for increasing aerobic performance is caffeine. Caffeine, when taken in a fairly large dose prior to an endurance event, appears to aid performance. This is one of the reasons why its levels are regulated and banned above certain points by the IOC and other sports commissions.

Another supplement that can be very beneficial if you are referring to “cardio” for jiu-jitsu is beta-alanine. I have discussed the benefits of beta-alanine before and while it may not work exactly on your aerobic system, it can greatly increase jiu-jitsu “cardio.” Beta-alanine basically works by increasing carnosine levels inside the muscles. Carnosine is considered the “fatigue fighter” inside the muscles and is responsible for clearing away waste products and H+ ions that cause fatigue. What does this mean for you? It means you will have a greater ability to perform at a higher intensity for longer before hitting the “wall,” and improved recovery between matches. So, if you are looking to improve your jiu-jitsu “cardio,” beta-alanine is one of your best bets.

Is there such a thing as TOO MUCH PROTEIN? – Randy Garcia

Anthlaengr?

Dee– r Glenn C

T

his is a good one… interesting, but good. What is up with deer antler? Well let’s start by pointing out it’s not actually deer antler, its deer antler velvet. It is actually

the little fuzziness on the antlers of deer before they fully grow and harden. Although it has only gained some popularity over the past few years, it has actually been used for a long time in eastern medicine. Deer antler velvet contains a lot of important minerals, amino acids as well as glucosamine chondroitin and collagen. It has a lot of alleged benefits, including improved memory, increased joint health, it can boost your immune system, improve libido, and slow aging. But the recent attention it has received has been due to it containing IGF-1 (an insulin-like growth factor 1). IGF-1 is an anabolic hormone inside the human body that reacts with growth hormone. IGR-1 has numerous health benefits, including muscle growth and anti-aging properties.

Everything appears great, right? So let’s go buy some deer antler velvet! Well, not so fast. There are quite a few problems with it.

The main problem is that IGF-1 from deer is different than IGF-1 in humans. Also, there is no scientific research demonstrating any real benefits of deer antler velvet or any homeopathic IGF-1 supplement. So, while the theory is extremely interesting, there is no real scientific evidence that would suggest any performance benefits of deer antler velvet. There may be some joint health benefits due to the glucosamine, chondroitin, and collagen found in deer antler velvet, but that appears to be it.

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So the next time you see a good looking four-point buck just give him a lick. He won’t mind.

There is such a thing as too much anything, especially when we are talking about nutrition. One of the main goals of nutrition and a well-balanced diet is exactly what is in the name, BALANCE. The key to performance isn’t ensuring your protein or carbohydrate intake is just right, or any one thing for that matter. It is about making sure we are getting adequate amounts of everything we need and not too much of any one thing. So, on to your protein question. Yes, too much protein can be a bad thing, especially if we are not getting enough of other things. Generally speaking, the upper limit of recommended protein consumption is 2g/kg of bodyweight, which is roughly 1g per pound for those of you who just went, “what is a kg?!” I know some people have heard of double or even triple this, but there are a few reasons why we don’t want to go above this amount. An easy one is that your body can’t really use anything above that limit, so it just becomes extra calories that can be converted to fat. These limits were developed based on scientific studies and physiological principles demonstrating no increased benefit above this level. Simply put, the recommended protein consumption amount sufficiently fuels the maximum rate your body can build muscle (unless maybe you are, how shall we say, “chemically enhanced”). Another very important reason not to exceed these limits is that if we intake a large amount of excess protein we can overwork the kidneys. Now, understand this is only in cases of very high over intake without other adequate nutrients. If you go above the limit every now and then it is not a big deal; however, we do not want to make a habit out of it. It’s not worth chancing, especially since there is no real benefit above the upper limit.

What’s up with

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supplements

Training at the same level, are the supplement needs for women any different from men? – Helen Sarcich

T

his depends on if we are talking about performance supplements or health supplements. Generally speaking, there is not much of a difference between men and women in terms of performance supplementation. The amounts for some supplements will be slightly different, but this is due to smaller body size, not gender. This is the reason why I tend to give my dosage information per kg of body weight, instead of just absolute numbers. However, when we start talking about general health supplementation, there are a couple specific concerns to females, especially female athletes. These two concerns are: calcium and iron deficiencies. Females, especially female athletes, have a higher risk for calcium deficiencies. Insufficient calcium intake, combined with high levels of intense physical activity can lead to decreases in bone mineral density. This can lead to the development of osteoporosis and bone loss. This is a serious concern for female athletes. Also, females physiologically have higher iron needs then males. Females also tend to consume less dietary iron when compared to males, due to amount of food consumed and type of foods consumed. These two together are the perfect recipe for an iron deficiency. Mix that with the fact that iron contains compounds necessary for the transport and utilization of oxygen, and female athletes can have a serious health condition on their hands if they’re not careful. Therefore, I recommend female athletes (and most females in general) to supplement their diets with calcium and iron.

CAN YOU MIX PROTEIN POWDER WITH HOT BEVERAGES, ILK & JUICE? M T S JU R O , E E F F LIKE CO A PINCH? MAYBE ICED COFFEE IN – Barbara Sarcic

I

n a word, yes. You can mix your protein powder in just about anything you like; pancake mix, oatmeal, muffins, etc. The only thing

really limiting you is taste and consistency. It might not taste or mix very well with certain things, but there is nothing really wrong with mixing it in. Now, I know the common argument is, “high heat can denature the protein, so you shouldn’t mix it with hot beverages because your body won’t absorb the protein.” Well, let me first address that by stating that has never been scientifically proven. It is at best a theory, and while there may be a possibility this happens at some degree, the amount it could affect absorption seems to be miniscule at best. So, go ahead enjoy your venti protein Frappe mocha soy latte thing!

(Sorry I’m not a coffee guy)

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drill it

The

WALL WITH

RIGAN MACHADO Words & Photos: MIKE VELEZ

IP MOVEMENT TO A JIU-JITSU FIGHTER ON THE BOTTOM IS LIKE A BOXER’S FOOTWORK. It dictates everything and can easily be the difference between winning and losing. If you want to work from the bottom, you have to have fluidity in your hips. So, Rigan Machado took the time to show us “The Wall,” which is his set of three drills to help you work on your hip movement and agility.

Swivel Hips

T

his drill is simple and very effective in helping to increase overall hip mobility.

Step 2

“We don’t need no education.”

Xxxxxx

Now, roll your shoulders and neck up so they’re off the mat, and through this entire drill, your arms and hands should never touch the mat below.

Step 1 Imagine sitting on a chair with its back on the floor and your feet on the wall. Lay on your back, in front of the wall with your feet up as described. Your hips and knees should be bent at a 90º angle.

Step 3 Now start by dropping your right leg below and behind your left leg and stretching that left leg out.

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Powered by:

ATHLETIC BODY CARE Step 4

KEY POINTS

As you move your leg behind and back, your left hip will come off the mat. Bring your upper body over to your right and reach to touch the wall, as if to pick up a quarter that’s stuck to it.

After touching the wall with your hand, bring your right leg back to the original position. Push off on the wall with your left foot and bring your hips back in as if to go to the starting position, but rather than stopping at the starting point, continue on with your left leg now going behind and under your right leg.

Use your right leg to push off the wall a bit if needed to continue the momentum.

Step 5

Don’t allow your arms or hands to touch the mat below you, only to touch the wall.

Keep your upper back and shoulders curled in to help the movement.

Be fluid. When done correctly you should move fluidly from left to right in one gentle motion.

Step 6

Extend your left leg far back and reach down and to your left to touch the wall on your left side.

Once you’ve touched the wall, rotate your hips again, bringing your left leg back to the starting position and continue straight on through with the right leg behind as you did in the beginning.

Hip Out, Side-To-Side

T

his drill will help develop your ability to escape your hips, to regain guard, as well as to finish moves like triangles or arm bars from the bottom that require you to hip out.

Step 1 Starting from the same position: both feet on the wall and your legs and hips bent. Tuck your shoulders and neck in and bring your arms over your chest.

Step 3

Step 2 Now, keep both feet on the wall during the entire drill, bridge up slightly to bring your butt off the mat, and shift your weight so your hips extend outward to one side.

KEY POINTS When you get the hang of this one you’ll be able to easily rock yourself from side to side with more and more speed.

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Double negative, so I guess we do.

When your hips are fully extended, bridge again and swing your hips to your other side. Your feet will pivot on the wall, so, attempt to maintain the distance between the wall and you, and try not to push yourself away with each transition from side to side.

When you’re making the actual movement, you want the foot that’s on the wall to push off a bit to lift your hip off the mat during the movement.

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drill it

THE 360

T

his drill will help you regain guard when you need to, as well as be able to follow an opponent who might be standing, trying to pass your guard.

Step 1 Like the first drill, lay on your back, in front of the wall with your feet up. Your hips and knees should be bent at a 90º angle.

Step 2

Now, roll your sho ulders and neck up so they’re off the mat, and through this entire drill your arms and hands sho uld never touch the mat below.

Step 3

Step 4

Now, start by dropping your right leg below and behind your left leg and stretching that right leg out.

As you move your leg behind and back, your left hip will come off the mat. Bring your upper body over to your right and reach to touch the wall.

Step 7

Step 6 Place both hands on the wall and use the wall for leverage to “push” your body around. Keep your butt off the mat and swing your legs to help continue the momentum until your feet contact the wall to help bring yourself back to the beginning position.

KEY POINTS In order to complete the 360, you may stall out half way around. If this happens, use your hips to “scoot” your lower half back around until you get a foot on the wall to continue the motion.

He might not look it, but Rigan is lightning fast.

Step 5 Unlike the first drill, when you get to this point, go deeper with your hands so they’re almost where your feet were in the beginning. Allow your left leg to come off the wall.

Avoid using your arms to aid you around.

When doing this drill it’s important to not continue to spin in one direction.

Change direction each time you get to your starting point. Going in the same direction will allow you to cheat using momentum to continue your rotations.

Each of these drills should be done regularly as part of your training regimen. Gradually increase

Once you’re back to the beginning position, perform the drill in the opposite direction.

This Column is Powered

by Athletic Body Care:

N

o workout is ever complete without proper hygiene. Be prepared before and after hitting the mats with the Athletic Body Care line of performance skincare products designed to provide the athlete with a level of hygiene and protection better than any other today. www.athleticbodycare.com

the time of each from 1 to 3 minutes, up 5 minutes each for an intense cardio session.

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technique

JEFF GLOVER’S

FLYING

CIRCUS!

Take to the air with any one of these eight acrobatic attacks. words: MIKE VELEZ with JEFF GLOVER | photos: DAVE PALACIOS

ACK IN ISSUE 6 WE WERE INTRODUCED TO JEFF “THE PIPE LAYER” GLOVER. In that issue, Jeff went over a technique he helped to popularize as of late, deep half guard. Well, this month Jeff’s back and ready to show us some of the eye catching attacks he’s used in some pretty big competitions. Jeff very well could be a lost Flying Wallenda for all we know.

The techniques Jeff shows are not easy, and probably not for most heavy weights and up, but if you’re so inclined, these flying attacks will add a new dimension to your game.

These techniques aren’t for the faint of heart. They should all be practiced with caution for both you and your partner and drilled relentlessly until you’re comfortable with whichever you choose to perform.

Like most of the things Jeff does we don’t recommend the roof jump.

LAYING PIPE IN

SO CAL

R

ecently, Jeff moved from Santa Barbara to North Hollywood. He and a couple roommates have mats set up on the back patio.

The house is a hotbed for jiujitsu, and who knows what else, with people coming from all around to take private lessons with Jeff. On the day we arrived for the shoot we were greeted by four grown men, all in their underwear. It was quite a sight, but we knew we were at the right place.

’t sit there...

ably shouldn

Yeah, you prob

The Dud Ranch

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Damn, mom

looks young!

When he’s not rolling.

Fully stocked

.

Or here.

Somebody should tell him...

Don’t drink that.

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technique

FLYING GUILLOTINE STEP 1 Square up with your opponent with your hands low, fake to his legs to get him to squat downward or lower his level just a bit.

STEP 2 As soon as he bows down just a bit, bring your left hand, out-stretched across your body, in front of you. This will go against the bottom of his neck. Bring your right hand and up, use it to stuff his head down against your left forearm. Do both of these things while leaping off the ground with both feet off the mat.

Master of the Flying Guillotine was a great 70’s Kung-Fu movie.

STEP 3

should When your feet land back down, you neck with his d aroun ped wrap have your left arm and body. his head stuffed between your left arm .

Grab your own left hand with your right

STEP 5 Once on the mat hip out to the right just a bit and left your right elbow up high to pull your left arm into his neck to finish the choke.

STEP 4 Now, jump and wrap both your legs around his hips as if to pull guard. More than likely your opponent will come down to the mat with you.

KEY POINTS The fake to the legs is very important in step 1. This gets your opponent to lean forward, even slightly, as he shifts his legs back to avoid you making any contact.

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FLYING ARMBAR STEP 1 Get into a tie up with your opponent.

Place your right hand on his collar, not too high, but not too low, just off to the side of his neck. With your right hand, rather than grip his sleeve near the elbow, wrap your left hand over his bicep, just above the crook of his elbow, and grab the fabric there.

STEP 2 When you’re tied up, get a little bit of side-to-side motion going with your upper body. This will help set up some momentum when you go for the jump. When you’re ready, jump your right leg up high on his left side, all the way up to his armpit.

STEP 3 Once your right leg is up near his hip, it’s time to jump off with your left leg, jumping up off the mat, twisting your upper body as it corkscrews down to your right side.

STEP 4 As you jump up with your right side, first imagine tucking your head in between his legs.

He’s not going to support your weight as you bring your right leg off the mat so you’ll be forced to tuck your head in between his legs.

STEP 5

STEP 6

KEY POINTS

As he rolls to the mat, let go of his collar with your right arm and quickly bring your hand up near his wrist to control his arm. At this point you’ll be in a very traditional armbar position.

Where you grip his collar is important

because you’ll be using that grip to help pull your hips and weight up on him. Too low and you won’t have enough space.

When you go for the jump, imagine tucking

STEP 7 Lastly, with his arm secured and high up on you so that his elbow is above your groin, go ahead and hip up while pulling back on the arm to execute the armbar. Remember, his thumb should be pointed upward to finish the armbar.

your head in between his legs, this will help you make the leap and help protect your skull.

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That movie was the inspiration for the Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat games.

Remember that tight grip you had of his right arm? As you follow through with your body onto the mat he’ll be coming down with you. Thanks to that firm control you have of his right arm, he’ll land to the mat beneath your legs. At least your right one for sure, if you need to spread your left leg to the side to make sure he clears it then do it.

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technique

FLYING TRIANGLE

I

f you’ve watched any videos of Jeff in competition, then you know he has an unorthodox way of baiting his opponents into giving him what he’s looking for.

This technique is no exception.

STEP 2

STEP 1 For this one, Jeff ’s really looking for his opponent to get his arm around the back of his neck. For this reason, Jeff will put both of his arms on his lead knee and put his neck out there to bait his opponent into grabbing a hold.

STEP 3

Bravo Dave, those last two sidebars were all Palacios.

Next, Jeff takes his right hand and grabs onto his opponent’s left wrist.

He’s only going to be grabbing the wrist for a brief time, but as he grabs the wrist, he’s also stepping forward, and not bent over as far as he was before.

STEP 4

STEP 5

When Jeff grabs the wrist, it’s only for a short time. He uses that control to keep his opponent’s arm down for what’s coming next.

STEP 6 Once the two of you are down, climb your legs up your opponent’s back and shoulder. At the top, your left leg should be up to his neck, with his outstretched right arm on your chest. Your right leg should be up over his left shoulder with the inside of your thigh against his neck.

nent grabbing The moment that Jeff feels his oppo arm and over his neck he’ll take that same side opponent’s neck. hook it, grabbing the back of his with his right In this case, his opponent reaches arm. left his with s hook arm, so Jeff over

As soon as Jeff has his opponent’s left arm down, he jumps up bringing his right leg up to, and over, his opponent’s left shoulder, and his left leg up as high as he can on his opponent’s right side. Jeff uses his control of his opponent’s neck to hold on and bring the two of them to the mat. Very important here, as soon as you do the jump, let go of the wrist control and use your right arm to help break your fall as the two of you come down to the mat.

STEP 7 Once you reach the top, swing your right leg behind his neck, and grab your right leg with your left hand at your shin. Grabbing your leg at the shin, rather than at the foot, allows you to keep control of him so that you can put your left foot down on the mat to make your adjustment if necessary, and will help you lock up a tighter triangle.

STEP 8 With your hand on your shin, put your left foot down on the mat to help twist your body so you’re more perpendicular to him, and rotate your body so you’re looking into his left ear.

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technique

KEY POINTS His trapped arm must always

STEP 9

STEP 10

Once you have a good angle, bring your left leg up and over your right so that the back of your left knee is over your ankle. Bend your left knee to lock it over your right ankle and squeeze.

To help finish the move, pull down on the back of his head while squeezing your legs together.

be across your body to properly finish the triangle.

If your right arm is trapped, it should be across to the right side of your body. If his left arm is trapped it should always be across to your left side.

FLYING TRIANGLE WITH OVER HOOK

T

his one isn’t quite as aerobatic as the previous version and might be a little easier to get for many of us.

STEP 1

Do you think you can fly?

This one starts off in a more traditional squared off stance with your opponent where he has a hold of your collar and sleeve at the elbow. On the side that he’s gripping your lapel, let go of his sleeve, and bring your left arm in and under his right arm. Circle your arm over his arm into an over hook, above his elbow. Be forceful with this and clinch his arm tight into you.

STEP 2 Move your right hand to control his left arm, hold the arm low.

STEP 3 Quickly jump into a triangle. Start with your left leg first, or whichever side you have the over hook on, then follow with the other leg. As soon as you get your legs up, cross them to help bring him down. Let go of his left arm as you jump so you can use your right arm to break your fall.

STEP 4 As soon as you hit the mat, recross your legs so your left leg is over your right.

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technique STEP 6

STEP 5 Hip up and release the over hook, bringing his right arm across your body.

STEP 8

Once the arm is across, bend your torso to bring him back down into you.

Squeeze your legs, pull his head down, and finish the triangle.

STEP 7 Use your left hand to grab your shin and adjust your position relative to him. Use your left foot on his right hip if you need to, to get the angle. Once your angle is correct, drop your left leg over your right ankle and lock in the triangle.

STEP 2

FLYING LEG SWEEP

T

his is an impressive technique, but keep in mind that it’s illegal in IBJJF rules jiu-jitsu and many no-gi jiu-jitsu competitions. Some submission grappling tournaments do allow “reaping” the knee. If that’s the case, then knock yourself out with this one.

STEP 1 When your opponent’s squared up with you, reach over with your left arm and wrap your hand around the back of his neck.

STEP 3

Yeah, that one’s illegal.

As soon as you make those contact points, push down and to your left with your left leg that’s stretched across his lap. As you do this, he’ll fall backwards to the mat.

You’ll definitely want to drill this one a ton before attempting it in a match. In one quick action, you want to jump to your left so that your left leg is across the front of your opponent’s hips, and your right leg is behind both of his legs. This is only made possible by posting to your right hand to support your weight while you position your legs.

STEP 4

HEEL

KEY POINTS

As soon as he’s down, quickly HOOK choose a finishing option. From here there are plenty: a heel hook, toehold, or knee bar are just a few. However, because of the gnarly reap that you’ll have of his leg, keep in mind that this technique is not legal in jiu-jitsu competition.

This is for submission grappling tournaments that allow the reaping of the knee only.

KNEE BAR

Don’t attempt this

TOE HOLD

until your opponent’s legs are squared up to you. If he has one leg back, try dragging him by the collar or neck so that both legs are squared.

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JUMPING REVERSE GUARD

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his is a unique jump that will leave your opponent with no clue about what’s coming next unless he saw one of Jeff ’s matches at the 2011 ADCC in which he successfully pulled it off against Tom Barlow of the UK.

STEP 1 Start off with your left arm on his shoulder or on his right collar.

This is to keep him from getting away when you make your move.

STEP 2 In one fluid motion, roll your body to your right, letting go of his neck as if to bring your back to him, and bring both hands to the mat. As you’re doing this, jump your right leg to his right side and bring your left leg around to his left side, as soon as you feel they’re around, it’s time to move to the next step.

STEP 3 You’re in a position that looks sort of like you’re doing a wheelbarrow race at the company picnic. Once you have this position you need to corkscrew your body down around his right leg.

Hook your right arm around the outside of his right leg and bring your right knee down between his legs. Curling his leg will help you with that “corkscrew” motion as if to rotate to your right, around his leg.

STEP 4 Once your upper back is to the mat, your left foot will be on the front of his right hip. With control of his right leg, push your left foot down on the hip to force him to the mat.

STEP 5 Use the momentum of him falling to follow through and up, keep your arm around his right leg. Drive forward to your opponent and you’ll end up in his side control.

KEY POINTS When drilling this technique you may want to close your guard when you get to step 3. Then release and continue on.

Flying Glover.indd 8

Looks doable.

This is a guard pull, not a takedown. So, if you don’t manage to get to side control or to the top, you won’t get points for a takedown. If you do get to side control or a top position, you’ll get 3 points for the pass (check rules).

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technique STEP 1

FLYING OMOPLATA

Clearly your opponent on this one doesn’t read JJM and doesn’t know quite how to shoot in for a proper doubleleg. Instead, he’s got your legs, and his butt’s up high. At this point, you’re leaning over, and your left arm is draped over his back.

T

his move will present itself after your opponent has shot in for a double leg and you’ve managed to get heavy on his back, bringing your upper body over his.

STEP 2 It’s not necessary, but it helps if your opponent actually does try to pull back on your legs, so give him a little bit of hope, as if he can get them. As soon as you feel your opponent give you a little push and lift, it’s time to strike.

STEP 4 In one motion, you have to do quite a few things at once. First, swing your right leg up, far up into his left armpit as you do this: grip the sleeve with your left hand and with your right hand, drop to the mat to your right side. As you do this you’ll be dropping to your right, yet twisting to your left.

STEP 3

You could attack either side, but Jeff prefers going for the arm on the same your side as his opponent’s head. With above just e sleev left his grab , hand right be ll you’ arm the elbow; this is the you. attacking. Pull that arm in toward

STEP 5 Once you feel your opponent dropping forward, keep his left elbow in deep between your legs, with his arm across your right hip.

STEP 7 Quickly sit up, reaching over his body with your right arm to grab onto his right side, pants, or just hugging his body. At the same time, cross your right ankle under your left knee.

There’s more in the archive.

STEP 6

Your right foot should be deep over his shoulder, near his head. Now, pull your left leg out from under him and to your right side and to the mat.

Use that foot to help scoot your body over so the two of you are almost parallel with each other.

STEP 8 If he’s up on his knees, scoot to your left, dragging his hips with you to flatten him out.

STEP 9 Bring both of your feet off to your left side, while at the same time leaning towards him as if to whisper something in his ear, like, “You’re finished!” or “Feel good?”

(Or throw in the choke for a little something extra.)

KEY POINTS Like all of these flying attacks you’ll want to drill

Remember to always tuck your head as you go

the heck out of this one before attempting in competition.

from a standing to an inverted position.

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spotlight

JIU-JITSU asTHERAPY words: DEB BLYTH

photos: MIKE VELEZ

HOW JIU-JITSU SAVED RALPH GRACIE BROWN BELT SEAN ROBERTS FROM SELF-DESTRUCTION The life-saving art of Jiu-Jitsu

Sean is completely misunderstood

Anyone who’s ever trained in jiu-jitsu can attest to the fact that the art is life changing, transformational, and good for the soul. There are so many ways that jiu-jitsu accomplishes these things and for each person it’s different, depending on their circumstances in life, along with their personal and professional goals and desires. In the case of Ralph Gracie brown belt Sean Roberts, not only did jiu-jitsu change his life, but it saved his life…or more appropriately, it gave him life. You see, what few know, is that Sean suffers from Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), and the only thing that saved him from himself growing up, and gave him a second chance at life, was jiu-jitsu.

Originally, Sean’s mom Laura and the rest of the family thought Sean was simply poorly behaved.

“At 32 I had breast cancer,” Laura says, “Sean was 2. We let a lot slide…we gave in all the time.

When we got the ADHD diagnosis, we all felt horrible! We all thought he was just a brat!” Laura says she cried a lot because he knew how to push every one of her buttons, but she adored her son and the hardest thing for her to endure was seeing him sitting on the curb outside their house every day because the other kids wouldn’t let him play with them.

Many cases of adult ADHD go undiagnosed.

What is ADHD?

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common childhood disorders and can continue through adolescence and adulthood. Symptoms include difficulty staying focused and paying attention, difficulty controlling behavior, and hyperactivity (overactivity). Sean’s case of ADHD was severe and throughout his time in elementary, middle and high school, he struggled with its symptoms and the subsequent consequences of his out-of-control behavior…behavior that he had no power over.

Sean’s trials and tribulations “I didn’t have a lot of friends,” Sean says, “I was too hyper. I was verbally bullied at school. I was even bullied by the principal and teachers, too. As a kid, they didn’t understand me. They thought I was a bad kid. But I was just hyper. I didn’t do bad things.” Laura concurs, “In kindergarten and 1st grade he did ok. But in 2nd grade, I knew there was a problem, but I didn’t say anything, and I should have. The teacher didn’t like him. Sean was sent to the office every day and everyone was mean to him. He learned what to do to get sent home. He would make noises just to bug people or crawl under the nurse’s table and not come back out. Then he would call me

to come get him. Every day he sat home with me. It got really bad. He was kicked out of three different elementary schools.” Laura ultimately took Sean to the UCI Child Development Center and from day one his self-esteem shot up. “It was all based on positive reinforcement,” Laura says, “When he acted up, he was told that he was not a bad person, only that he made a bad choice.”

Jiu-Jitsu saves the day It was Sean’s dad, Jeff who “accidentally” introduced Sean to the gentle art. When Sean was about 15, Jeff talked to him about Royce Gracie in the UFC demolishing everyone on the ground.

“But since I had ADHD, and I wasn’t disciplined, he was afraid I would go around choking kids out, so he didn’t want me to do it,” Sean says, “I always acted first, and thought later.” But as an ADHD kid is accustomed to doing, Sean didn’t listen to his dad and went online and watched jiu-jitsu videos anyway. “I studied online for a month or two,” Sean says, “That’s how I really got interested in it. I didn’t even know what it was at first. I downloaded some stuff, watched it, and tried to show my dad the moves. The first move I ever learned was the Americana. I thought it was awesome.”

Jiu-Jitsu becomes Sean’s obsession Sean started training at Ralph Gracie Yorba Linda. “I was obsessed with jiu-jitsu from the

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“I was too hyper. I was verbally bullied at school. I was even bullied by the principal and teachers, too. As a kid, they didn’t understand me. They thought I was a bad kid. But I was just hyper. I didn’t do bad things.”

Jiu-Jitsu is the reward “We gave jiu-jitsu as a reward to Sean twice a week,” Laura says, “He was a natural. He wanted to go every day. I told him if he stayed out of trouble and did his homework he could go. One day, he didn’t do his homework and so I wasn’t going to let him go to jiu-jitsu the next day. I told his professor Eduardo (Fraga), who then stood in front of the class and said he was going to teach a really cool, new technique, but only on the day Sean was going to be gone. Sean

said, ‘You’re going to show me when I get back, right?’ and Eduardo said, ‘No, I’m only teaching it tomorrow.’ Sean got A’s and B’s ever since after that.”

Sean is a natural In Sean’s first tournament, he made it all the way to the finals, but his nose kept bleeding during the fight. “Gazzy Parman was reffing and came over to me and said, ‘I’m sorry, but I have to DQ Sean because his nose won’t stop bleeding, but I want you to know that your kid is going to be something big in jiu-jitsu one day,’” Laura says, “She said he was really good.” Now 22, Sean has earned many accolades over the last 7 years. As a blue belt from 2006 to 2008, Sean was an American Nationals champion, a No-Gi Worlds champion and Gi Worlds runner up. He was so good as a blue belt, Scotty and Ryan from OTM approached him and have been sponsoring him ever since.

As a purple belt from 2008 to 2010, Sean was the No-Gi Worlds silver medalist, the Grapplers Quest double gold weight and absolute winner, the Pan Ams silver medalist, and the 2010 Gi Worlds bronze medal winner. As a brown belt, Sean says he’s really taken his time to enjoy the journey, and in the process became the 2011 Grapplers Quest No-Gi Advanced Absolute Champion, the 2011 American Nationals brown belt double gold medalist in his weight and absolute, the 2011 US Open brown belt champion, the 2012 San Francisco Open brown

belt absolute champion, and the 2012 Grapplers Quest brown belt double gold winner in his weight and the absolute.

Sean is now disciplined, focused and has a happy direction in life “I love how jiu-jitsu changed my life and put my ego in check,” he says, “You can walk around thinking you’re great, but when you get tapped out, you realize you’re not the best. There are other people better than you. That’s what I like about it. People live in a fantasy world and jiujitsu tears the walls down and shows us that we’re just like everyone else. I’ve become so much more disciplined through jiu-jitsu. It’s changed my life in every way. I’m a better speaker. I don’t look at the ground when I talk to people anymore. I can interact with people better and don’t get nervous around them now. It changed my life. ADHD tore my self-esteem down. I was very low. But through jiu-jitsu I met a lot of people who really care about me. My jiu-jitsu friends are my friends for life. Jiu-Jitsu built my self-esteem back up.

Laura definitely agrees, “Jiu-Jitsu changed his life. I am so very proud of him and his life. Look at what he’s become! And once he gets his black belt, he will run our family’s academy, Ralph Gracie Chino Hills.”

Spotlight 10.indd 2

That’s Greg Rivera on the left and Gabriel Costa on Sean’s right.

beginning,” he says, “I was there training if I was sick, tired, sore…I didn’t care. It was an obsession. It helped my depression, too. I didn’t care anymore that I didn’t have friends in high school because I made instant friends through jiu-jitsu. I skipped all the dances and everything.

I didn’t care. I just wanted to do jiu-jitsu. When the school trip came along, I was training.

When prom came, I was training. It gave me something to do every single day of my life.

Before, I sat at home playing video games. JiuJitsu changed my life forever. It gave me a life. It made me somebody. Through jiu-jitsu, I proved everybody wrong. They told me I was going to end up in jail or on drugs. I said, ‘I’m gonna make something of my life.’ I got a lot of my energy out. It was a major self esteem booster for me.” Laura agrees, “Jiu-Jitsu really changed his life. Everyone liked him. They were nice to him. He was good at something. It made his behavior better. It made everything better.”

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feature

FIGHTERS WHO

REVOLUTIONIZED BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU words: ANDRE BORGES of BJJHeroes.com

F YOU ARE READING THIS ARTICLE, BEING A NEWBIE OR A VETERAN OF THE SPORT, THERE IS A VERY HIGH PROBABILITY THAT YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH POSITIONS SUCH AS, THE HALF GUARD, SPIDER GUARD, 5050, TOUREANDO/TOUREADA GUARD PASS, THE SAO PAULO (TOZI) PASS AND MANY OTHER COMMON JIU-JITSU TERMINOLOGIES. All these have been around for quite a while, but there was a time when something as common as the spider guard was a complete innovation, either because these movements didn’t exist, or because they just hadn’t been performed at the highest stages of competitive BJJ.

Rocking that mustache equal muy macho!

There were very few differences between judo and the jiu-jitsu taught to Carlos Gracie, but soon the Gracie’s style started distancing itself from the basics of the Japanese, adding more emphasis to the guard, this would be demonstrated in the Helio Gracie versus Yukio Kato fight back in 1951, when Master Helio Gracie choked the Japanese master with a cross choke from the closed guard. Though fighters

such as Rolls Gracie had a lot to do with the development of the sport, adding not only techniques from wrestling and sombo to his/our arsenal, but also a huge contribution to the development of the open guard, the fact is that the rules set in the 1960’s for sport jiu-jitsu, to an extent, held back the technical development of BJJ. Until the change in 1994, the rules stated that no points would be awarded for a sweep unless it was performed following a strict set of known techniques.

With the creation of CBJJ (Confederação Brasileira de Jiu-Jitsu), those rules would change to something very similar to the format we see today. This allowed even more space for the growth of the guard as jiu-jitsu’s weapon of choice in combat.

This flowering of the guard also propelled the same evolution to happen in the guard passing game as the “guardeiros” got better; the guard passers had to improve their game (the old iron sharps iron chestnut). In this article I am going through a few competitors that in my opinion, have helped shape jiu-jitsu into what it is today, as a sport, as a spectacle, and as a martial art.

CARLOS G

RACIE

MASTER HELIO GRACIE

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PHOTOS: We’d like to thank all these fighters for use of the various photos found in the public domain. If specific photo credit is due for any of the photos used in this article please let us know at feedback@jiujitsumag.com. We will be glad to give proper photo credit.

Father of THE OPEN GUARD C

hronologically speaking, Master Osvaldo Alves was one of the first men, outside the Gracie family, to truly make a mark in jiu-jitsu’s style, not in competition, but through his takedown knowledge and his guard passing techniques which made him one of the most chased coaches out there. Osvaldo Alves worked with top talent through several generations, from Rolls Gracie to Amauri Bitetti and Paulo Filho, to Fredson Paixão, and others, many of which were the top players of their time.

ROLLS GRACIE

By fate, or maybe not, one of Mr Alves’ most notorious pupils became the top instigator of the open guard in the late 1970’s. The aforementioned Rolls Gracie who spent extended periods of his time learning from Alves, is often called the father of the open guard, and was an incredible contributor to the technical development of the sport with his creative techniques. Even as a coach, and within a short time frame, Rolls produced excellent guard players such as Marcio Stambowski and KI Carlinhos Gracie (Carlos would go on to lead AMBOWS ARCIO ST M one of the top open guard schools the world has seen in the 1990’s & 2000’s).

CARLINHOS GRAC

IE

MASTER OSVALDO ALVES

New Guards ARE BORN In the 1980’s, forged within the dominant, heavy set top game of the mighty Carlson Gracie’s team, a few extremely talented guard players emerged. These were men that had to deal with the power and efficiency of a top class guard passing team on a daily basis, where the only way to survive was by excelling. Amongst talented guard players such as Cassio Cardoso and Sergio “Bolão”, one man stood out more than most. This man was Ricardo De La Riva, a small guy with great flexibility who understood that when his opponents stood up to pass, he was successful at jeopardizing their base with the use of a cunning leg hook. At first the guard was used merely as a defence, but as he developed the position, more techniques emerged. The guard was so successful at the gym that it started being called “Guarda Pudim” (named after the famous condensed milk, flaccid looking pudding desert, which resembled people’s bases when trying to pass this guard). Through De La Riva’s many victories on the mats against legends such as Royce, Rolker and Royler Gracie, the guard started being called De La Riva guard. This ingenious hook would be the one of the foundations for many variants such as the reverse “De La Riva”, Half Spider Guard and the now famous “Berimbolo.”

SERGIO BOLAO

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How’d you like a guard named after you?

RICARDO DE LA RIVA

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feature

A Style

FOR EVERYONE

Hi hate when it continues somewhere else in the magazine.

T

he early 1990’s were the time for the half guard, and the man responsible for delivering this mind-blowing position to the world was Roberto Correa, also known as “Gordo” from the Gracie Barra academy. The position, which Roberto thought of when he was a purple belt, came through due to necessity rather then a carefully engendered plan. As Gordo endured the painful process of returning to the mats after a serious knee injury he came up with a way to control his opponent and protect his knee at the same time, the position evolved into one of the most complete and varied positions in jiu-jitsu. Roberto Correa’s gift was not the sole contribution to the development of the sport presented to the world by Gracie Barra, in fact, Gracie Barra was one of the most creative teams of the 1990’s through aces such as Carlos Gracie Junior, Renzo Gracie, Alexandre “Soca” and many others. Again, within this beehive of creativity, some stood out more then others and not many (if any) made a bigger impact to jiu-jitsu then Roberto “Roleta” Magalhães. With a God given gift for BJJ for having long flexible legs, Roleta developed a weapon that is still used today to exhaustion, the inverted guard, which would later spawn the tornado guard, “berimbolo,” etc.

Roleta’s guard was such an asset that Carlinhos Gracie (Roleta’s coach) promoted him to black belt in 1996 as his secret weapon, with the definite intention of defeating one of Carlson Gracie’s star pupils at that year’s World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, Walid Ismail. Ismail hadn’t been defeated for years, and was the heavy favorite to win the competition. When the two left the mat after their battle, the fight was immediately considered a historical BJJ clash, not because it was an eventful endeavour, but mainly because of the result, someone had finally managed to crack the puzzle that was Walid Ismail’s passing game and doing it in style, with a helicopter sweep! Roleta progressed in the tournament, winning it for the first time; he would follow that win with three more Mundial wins. Only two years later, another star would arise from the Gracie Barra camp by closing the final of the Mundial with Roberto Correa, that young star was called Antonio “Nino” Schembri, also known as “Elvis.” Schembri had the most offensive guard the world had seen to that point; he created several positions using his flexible limbs and his creative mind and was considered the king of the omoplata. He had a great impact on the sport, and much like “Roleta,” Schembri had a legion of followers and competitors studying and trying to mimic his game though the years that followed.

With a new and more complete set of rules and a strong federation, the sport started to blossom and new stars arose at almost every Mundial tournament. Just as the three big stars from Gracie Barra showed their innovative guards, other players from other teams began carving

ROLETA

BRI

their names in jiu-jitsu’s history. ANTONIO SCHEM One of the biggest names of them World Jiu-Jitsu Championships for the first time. all was Fernando Augusto “Tererê” Leonardo Santos was his name, and he quickly from Alliance. Fernando started making his name became associated with the butterfly guard. A in the lower ranks, his talent was discovered guard he developed in a way never seen before. when he was just a boy, running loose in the Unfortunately for us jiu-jitsu fans, Leonardo’s “Cantagalo” slums of Rio de Janeiro. He started four year reign in the light weight division (2002very young, but his instructor had to give up 2005) came in a time of conflict between the two jiu-jitsu, so Fernando went back to his usual life main federations at the time (CBJJ and CBJJO in the streets until he was called back to training – Confederação Brasileira de Jiu Jitsu Olimpico), by a friend who asked him to come by Alexandre and as a result, Leonardo Santos didn’t compete Paiva’s gym. There, his talent shined through and in CBJJ (IBJJF) tournaments for an extended he became one of the top fighters in the lower period of time, staying alongside CBJJO, making divisions, winning the world championships in him a lesser known fighter to those outside Brazil all belts. He arrived at the black belt category who were unfamiliar with this new federation, in 2000 and quickly dethroned Nino Schembri nonetheless, Leonardo Santos was from the middleweight and is one of the all time greats number one spot. Tererê’s of the guard game. specialty wasn’t the guard, CONTINUED ON PAGE 60 Tererê had a flashy and quick passed top game, but it was his wild behavior that made him the first true showman of the sport. His actions drove the crowd wild, and he made history with his pre and post fight antics, an example of that was his ROBERTO CORR Elvis-style celebration EA dance as he beat Nino Schembri (who was a big fan of the King of Rock’n Roll). Tererê was one of the true greats of LEONARDO the sport, his showmanship went to great extents, SANTOS such as enrolling in the ultra-heavyweight division of the 2004 World Championships, four categories above his actual weight, just because he thought he could, and indeed he almost did, losing in a close final match against Fabrício Werdum. Tererê could have easily been the most talented fighter that ever graced the mats, but his career came to a premature halt at the age of 23 due to his much talked about drug addiction and health issues.

That same year when Fernando “Tererê” was making a name for himself (2000), another “soon to be” legend of the sport dipped his toes in black FERNANDO AUGUSTO “TERERE” belt waters at the

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feature

MARCELO

NEVER STOPS W

words: MIKE VELEZ | photos: JOHN RICARD & MIKE VELEZ

HEN I FIRST STARTED JIU-JITSU THE ONLY FAMOUS JIU-JITSU GUYS I KNEW OF WERE HELIO GRACIE, ROYCE GRACIE, AND BJ PENN. And the only reason those names were top of mind were from my exposure to the UFC. So after I got hooked, immediately after my first class, I started to pay more and more attention to the fighters of the day and of the pass. One name that kept coming up was Marcelo Garcia. And when his name came up it wasn’t like “have you ever heard of…” it was more like “Marcelo Garcia is a legend,” or “Yeah but he’s not nearly as good as Marcelo Garcia.” Not sure even if this mythical man existed or was just a legend spoken of like Paul Bunion, I expected Marcelo to be a man in his later years. Surely someone who was spoken of in such glowing terms couldn’t be younger than myself. Well whether or not he’s mortal is still up for debate, but I can attest to the fact Marcelo Garcia does in fact exist. Aside from his long, I mean long, list of accomplishments in jiu-jitsu Marcelo is just a regular guy just like the rest of us.

And he likes to skateboard.

Marcelo's Accomplishments

4x ADCC champion (2003, 2005, 2007, 2011) 5x World Champion – black belt (2004, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011) Pan-Am Champion (2007) 3x Brazilian National Champion (2004 & 2006 middleweight, 2006 absolute)

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Tony Hawk should be scared.

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feature

Off To the Big Apple After setting up an interview and photo shoot with Marcelo I was all set to head to New York. I was thinking cover with a very long technique article.

Something that you’ve become accustom to in the magazine. Well bags were packed, tickets bought, and just days before I was set to leave I got the phone call. The school was closed, flooded. Should I cancel the trip? Having my heart set on getting to roll with a legend I decided I’d make the trip anyway, despite the conditions that might await (and non-refundable hotel and airfare could have also been a motivator).

Dealing With Adversity

When I heard that the school was flooded I thought how bad could it be. It turned out to be pretty bad. On a Friday afternoon some construction workers in the unit above Marcelo’s put a hole through a water line and failed to discover the damage. They locked up for the weekend. It wasn’t until Monday morning that the crew discovered the damage. Who knew mats would act like giant sponges? Well yes, they do. The ceiling was completely ruined, locker rooms, the place was a wreck. Immediately after discovering the damage Marcelo and his partner Josh assembled the team and secured temporary space so that their students wouldn’t be out in the cold. The found space at the Chelsea Pier, a recreational center in lower Manhattan not far from the academy. Next they got on the horn and managed to get their hands on dozens of Zebra Mats. With ever body’s hands full the original idea for a technique shoot had to be put on hold.

Instead I decided to just pay attention to what was going on and see what shook out in terms of writing this article.

Get to work.

Going to School With Marcelo

It was my luck that my time there was on the same day as Marcelo’s first class at the Chelsea Pier.

Not wanting to be late I arrived at the Pier about an hour or so before class was to begin. Looking around I saw more and more unique faces arriving by foot, bike, and skateboard. Swollen knuckles, backpacks, and the occasional jiu-jitsu related t-shirt let me know that I was clearly at the right place. Then not long after Marcelo shows up, smiles and handshakes get passed around. But soon after it’s time to get to work.

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Jiu-Jitsu Any Where

The room reserved at the Chelsea Pier looked as if it had just hosted an 8 year old’s birthday party.

Chairs and decorations scattered around but of in the corner was a beautiful 6-foot high stack of gray Zebra Mats. After some quick discussion of how to set things up Marcelo and the crew of students and instructors began to lay down the jigsaw puzzle of mats. No complaints, nobody sitting back to watch, everybody pitched in to get the job done. Throughout this entire time more and more students continued to arrive, with every new arrival hugs, handshakes, and curious look at their new “academy.” By the time warm ups began there was no less than 50 students pilled into the small room that was probably never intended to be a jiu-jitsu studio.

Rolling with Marcelo

The second class was the more advanced of the two being taught that night. Marcelo was behind the wheel on this one. The warmup was not your traditional jumping jacks, pushups, squats type routine. Instead it was a combination of backward rolls, childhood leapfrog, and other unorthodox technique’s designed to stimulate everyone’s muscles. From the outside looking in you’d think that it was some kind of well choreographed routine with

everyone falling right in line, and with all smiles.

When warm ups were done it didn’t take long for Marcelo to have everyone with their eyes on him, paying attention, and waiting for his next word. Marcelo’s not a boisterous man, quite the opposite. I don’t think a photo exists of him without a smile, and he’s definitely soft spoken. Students gathered around and hushed up quickly as Marcelo went over some technique from the back with one of his instructors and black belts Paul Schreiner. Marcelo is intricate in his attention to detail when demonstrating the positions. He’s also quick to answer questions from students.

From there student’s paired up and began practicing the techniques as Marcelo roamed around the class to point out details and offer suggestions. Looking around the room there were quite a few black belts, brown, and purple. It’s a very small list of schools around the country that can draw out this caliber of student. But all the while the tone is relaxed yet intent. Let me explain, Marcelo’s demeanor is such that it’s was difficult to detect any stress in the class. Everyone was very relaxed and confident that they’d get it right. But don’t let the easy going feeling fool you. Everyone there was there to train hard, and to improve their skills. When it came time to spar there were no free lunches. Speaking of sparing Marcelo did something that I thought was pretty cool. He divided the room up into two groups, under 175 and over 175. I fell on the over category and was probably somewhere in the middle. At that point it was king of the mountain

with students falling in line to spar with the five that were on the top of the mountain. The rules were simple, pass or submit to take the mountain.

On a few occasions I got to pair up with Marcelo.

He toyed with me a bit but when the time was right he had me tapping like a drum major.

The First Rule of Fight Club

When the night was done once again everybody pitched in to clean up the mats, put them back the pile and carry on with their evenings. But before that took place there was lots of BS’ing and camaraderie going around with everyone.

It was clear that no matter what adversity came before Marcelo and his academy that his students would be there for him. It was like Tyler Durden and his loyal following. Shoot, I think I just broke a rule.

Like a Phoenix

Josh, Marcelo’s partner, shared some good news with the class and told them that the plans were in motion to find a new location, bigger and better.

So the hard work and inconvenience (I don’t think anyone was complaining) of the temper facility will not be lost. We’ve promised Marcelo and Josh to head back out to New York so that we can do the technique article we originally planned on. So be sure to look for that in a future issue. Marcelo’s technique is what legends are made of, so that will promise to be one of our best articles ever be sure to check it out.

That’s a lot of students.

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MG IN ACTION

Y

es the mats were packed on the night I made it to Marcelo’s class, but around the world it’s much, much bigger. Marcelo teaches every night, and every class is posted at mginaction.com, a virtual academy and grappling database. For $25 a month (other options available) students with an internet connection anywhere in the world can have a close up view of what’s being taught that day in class. The membership also includes access to literally THOUSANDS of instructional videos, all shot at the academy. Even at the temporary space the camera’s still rolling. On the day I was there Marcelo went over three variations of the bow and arrow choke from the back. Students can comment on the videos or in the forums they have access to on the site. The fact that each technique being taught in the school by Marcelo makes it up on the site that night or the following morning. It’s amazing how much information is up there. www.mginaction.com

Interview with Marcelo Garcia The photos shown on the next few pages are of the old academy prior to the flood.

JJM: What got you interested in jiu-jitsu?

MG: Well I started when I was twelve, and it was

that whole desire to get into the martial arts. I watched Karate Kid in the movies, then I did karate for four years and then I got kinda bored and lost interest. But I still had an interest in martial arts so I found jiu-jitsu.

blue, purple, and brown. When you’re that competitive from such a young age, what’s your mindset like going into competitions at that point? When you were at blue belt going into the worlds are you looking for just the experience at that point or is the mindset solely on winning?

MG: When you’re a kid, like at blue belt, I was

JJM: Your first instructor, was that someone you stuck with for a while or when you saw that you had talent did you go somewhere more competitive?

MG: The school I started with was in my

16 then, I was more interested in just enjoying the whole situation. Enjoying the training, your friends, the whole situation. At that time I enjoyed ever aspect of jiu-jitsu. I realized I was able to do jiu-jitsu 24 hours a day if I wanted.

hometown, but there was not a lot of people to train with, when I moved it wasn’t about my instructor. I went to another city to train and even then there was only white belts. So finally I found a school that had lot of training partners.

JJM: How old were you when you got your black belt?

MG: I was 20, August of 2002.

JJM: When did you begin training with Fabio Gurgel?

MG: When I was a brown belt, at the end of

2001.

JJM: So you were a brown belt in 2001 and 20 years old. You won the Worlds at

JJM: Being only 30, many people out there, myself included, consider you pretty young.

What’s it like to have amassed such an impressive and legendary record? Having such success early on, ADCC in ’03, World’s in ’04, was it overwhelming? What’s it like?

MG: Since I was 15 I already realized that I

how tough it would be. I didn’t realize how serious I was going to get in it. But I realized I wanted to do this for my life. I’m not talking about making money, I mean I just wanted to make a living to pay my bills and spend my life doing jiu-jitsu. That’s what I thought. When I was 21 and I won my first ADCC, that just became a reality. I felt like I had made it. I believed I could now make this my profession as long as I wanted.

JJM: When you got that win and realized you could do what you wanted in life was it a feeling of accomplishment like you could hang it up, or did it make you want to push harder?

MG: It was more like being able to relax. I was

never sure if I could raise a family doing jiujitsu. Then after getting that win I knew I could.

Reaching that level gave me the idea that I could live from this. That was the feeling I had at that time. Where I came from jiu-jitsu seemed far away for me, I was never sure what I could do with it.

wanted to do jiu-jitsu for a living. I didn’t realize

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Luciana Machado Simon PRESENTS

MKIMONOS A Brand Above the Rest.

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JJM: In 2006 when you moved to the United States what did you have in mind, what brought you out here?

MG: I had won the ADCC a couple times, and

the Mundial’s two times and was traveling a lot.

I lived in Brazil, but I was traveling all the time.

Not only the United States, but also Europe, Japan… When you win the ADCC you start to get a lot of proposals for seminars, and teaching.

I realized that it much easier to move to the United States, try to open a gym here and travel from here. People here have always made me feel welcome and appreciated. That helped me to make the decision and know that moving here was the right thing to do. I definitely felt a little torn, my gym in Sao Paolo was strong, but there weren’t a lot of people thinking about competition. So when I came to the United States I thought at least I would have what I had in Sao Paulo, students that want to train with me.

Dave’s been reading 50 Shades of Grey.

JJM: Did you settle in New York at first or did you move here from some other city in the United States?

MG: This is the first place I came. I came to New

York to shoot a video, some DVDs, and I really liked this place. So I figured if I were going to move to the US I’d move somewhere I’d been before and I liked.

JJM: When did you open your school here?

MG: In 2006 I had a proposal to open a school

in New York, but that never happen. That fell through so I moved to Florida. Then in 2009 I got back to New York and opened my own school.

JJM: You had the name recognition in the sport at that point. When you opened up did the students just show up or did you really have to push hard to get the students?

MG: It just happen. That’s what made me feel like

this was the right place for me. Like before I had never done seminars in Brazil, at least not at black belt. When I was purple belt and brown belt I’d go back to my hometown and have people wanting to train with me, but as a black belt I never did. Well, actually I did my first seminar in Brazil as a black belt three months ago. I went back to Sao Palo and did a seminar that gives back to kids that do jiu-jitsu in their schools. We managed to buy them 300 gi’s.

JJM: How many classes a week do you teach?

MG: I always do at least two classes a day. One

in the day, one at night. Then on Monday nights we have one class that’s purple belt and above.

I always do that one as well. I don’t get tired of teaching. I made the choice as a kid that this is what I want to do for my life and I’m happy I can do it. It’s not work for me.

JJM: Some of the big name guys that have schools around the country and out of towners come through, sometimes its hit or miss if they’re going to get to train with them. So what you’re saying is that if you’re coming through New York and you want to train with Marcelo Garcia the odds are pretty good?

MG: (smiles) Yeah, unless I’m out of town or

something. Some days I feel like I’m tired today, maybe I don’t want to train, but then when I

get to the school and I see all these new people I’ve never met it’s awesome. It’s like it feels new every day.

JJM: If you could summarize your teaching philosophy what would it be?

MG: I think it’s very easy; I try to pass everything

I know. When I go over a technique I go over everything I know, everything I can think of.

Sometimes if I show a move and I’m not 100% sure of it, or lets say afterwards I remember a detail, or somebody shows me something new I’ll teach it again. When I’m teaching I’m also training, I roll with my students all the time.

When I feel like my students are struggling with something the next day or next class I’ll go over something with them again and show them how they can correct their technique and do better.

JJM: What weights did you compete at?

MG: In no-gi I fought at 170lbs, and with the gi

181lbs. I’ve been fighting at those weights since I was 16 years old.

JJM: When you take students to a competition what’s your pep talk like?

What do you tell them?

MG: Each one is different. Each of them might

need something different. But the first think I do is try to imagine I was them. And I think about what would I want to hear. I try to remember when I was a blue belt, or white belt and think about what went wrong for me and I try to warn them. But everybody is different, some need that extra push and others need to be told to calm down. Everybody’s a little different.

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feature JJM: When you start a match what’s your game plan like?

MG: Since I started jiu-jitsu, and since I started

to compete I always like to compete in absolute.

And I always knew there would be people bigger and stronger than me. I was a juvenile and I was training with adults. So every time I compete I try to waste as little energy as possible. When I talk about energy I mean everything I do in a match should be to get me somewhere. Don’t waist energy and strength if it’s not going to get you what you want. That’s the first thing I want to do. Always think about where you can be stronger than your opponent, with speed, endurance. He might have more strength but I’m going to beat him somewhere else.

JJM: In the absolutes when you go up against someone bigger are you thinking to avoid the bottom, or do you have a specific plan on technique against those guys?

MG: You can find leverage anywhere. If the guys

bigger than you and you’re on the bottom, you can find the leverage. I know I can’t force a big guy to be on the bottom. If he’s a lot bigger I know I can’t take him down. So I figure I’ll pull guard right away so that I don’t waste energy trying to take him down, or force him to be on the bottom. At that point I figure I’ll use technique and maybe show them something they haven’t seen before. For instance some guys are really good in closed guard, they’re used to being there. So when I’m on the bottom I don’t close my guard. They’re not used to that.

JJM: Do you have a favorite position to finish from?

MG: I just feel like you have to choose the move

that takes the least amount of energy for you and make the guy feel like you’re stronger. What I mean by that is I just concentrate on a technique that gives me that advantage. So lets say a choke, I have all the strength of my arms against their neck. Rear naked choke, guillotine, north south choke, those are all my favorites. All the muscles I have I’m just going to concentrate on his neck. I realized that’s the easiest way.

JJM: Where’s your favorite spot to finish from, the back, side, mount…?

MG: I like the back. It’s the easiest. Imagine if

JJM: When’s your next competition?

MG: I’m not thinking about any competitions

right now. Maybe the next Abu Dhabi, it’s next year so I still have a lot of time to think.

JJM: Now your students are pretty active in competition?

MG: Yeah, I’m pretty glad I have a lot of students

that are very competitive.

JJM: How do you like the role as a coach versus being a competitor?

MG: I think it’s just like a phase. When I was

at blue, purple, brown I was so excited about competing I would never think to coach. But now, after winning what I’ve won I’m happier to coach. If I see a student and they win I’m probably going to be more happy for them than if I won. Because I’ve done that, I’m used to that. Now as a coach I get more excited for my students. I’m learning things to help make my students better.

JJM: What’s your best advice to someone that’s just starting jiu-jitsu?

MG: Because I was always not sure of what would

become of my life if all I did was jiu-jitsu I’ve learned to enjoy all of it. I would tell them to enjoy every aspect of jiu-jitsu. The training, the learning, the teaching, the lifestyle, every aspect, enjoy it. Compete, do it all. You can be very happy with all if it.

JJM: How about advice for someone getting into competition?

MG: My advice is the same, enjoy every aspect.

I’ve seen too many competitors at a match and they lose. It’s the end of the world for them.

They’re upset and mad. Come on, you lost, it’s your fault. Go back and do better, you shouldn’t be upset. You always know you could have done better, you could have done more. It never makes sense to blame anyone but yourself. You should have been upset before because you could have trained more. Those people that get so upset and blame others they’re not enjoying every part of the competition as they should have. When you lose learn from it, don’t be all upset, do better next time. I’m sure there was something you could have done differently. So when it’s leading

up to a competition take every moment seriously, the decisions you make before. If you know you’re not doing enough be upset then, before and make the change before the match. Just enjoy the whole process.

JJM: When did you start MG In Action?

MG: We started MG In Action in 2009. That was

all Josh’s idea, my partner.

JJM: Do you get a lot of MG In Action students that come to New York to train?

MG: Yeah, that’s what I was talking about earlier

with all the new students that come through.

It’s awesome. They’ve been following the lessons on-line and they’re right with us in class. It’s like they’re one of my regular students, they know our technique, and are right along with us. Then when I train with them and they know my techniques, I love that feeling. It’s like a big accomplishment. It’s great to teach my students and to be able to offer the same type of training and technique to people all over the world. It’s a big thing for me.

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Google “Josh Waitzkin,” he’s got an amazing story.

someone’s going to throw a ball at you your head.

If they throw it from in front of you you can always dodge it. But if they throw it from the back you don’t know where it’s coming from. So if I have a choice in the matter I’m always going to chose to attack from the back (smiles).

Marcelo and his business partner Josh Waitzkin talk technique.

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 50

Kyra Exposes

HER GAME In the mid 2000’s another Gracie would emerge in jiu-jitsu that would change the game once again. Her name was Kyra Gracie, the first fighter to really put women’s jiu-jitsu on the map. Before she earned her black belt, she had already medalled two times in the brown & black belt combined division of the Mundial, and had also won an ADCC gold medal (arguably the toughest No Gi tournament in the world). With her magnificent technique, great personality, looks, and the Gracie family name, Kyra Gracie had/has it all. All these attributes didn’t go by unnoticed and the media quickly made Kyra an icon of the sport. She has had regular appearances on prime time TV shows in Brazil, and has even been requested to do acting work. All this exposure helped jiu-jitsu close the gap between main stream sports and obscurity.

The NEW BREED A

few years passed and BJJ’s style seemed to settle down for a while into certain pre-established parameters. There were new champions making new things happen on a regular basis, such as Marcelo Garcia with his arm-drag to back control and his x-guard, and several variations from the open guard being displayed all the time, but nothing truly unique occurred until once again, the federation decided to change the rules of the game by disallowing knee reaping in MARCELO GARCIA official tournaments. After some scratching of the head, it would be down to a couple of brothers from the small town of Rio Claro in Brazil to once again make a revolutionary change to the landscape of the game. The year was 2009, and the new position would be the fifty-fifty guard. Brothers Rafael and Guilherme Mendes took the world by storm with their new and creative games, making the world of jiu-jitsu develop once again. The Mendes brothers did not stick to their creation and started developing several different positions, such as the leg drag guard pass and the berimbolo guard, which can be attributed to different people but was presented at the highest level by the Atos team members.

KYRA GRACIE

Yeah, we do like Kyra.

RAFAEL & GUILHERME MENDES

WHAT’S NEXT… I

t is incredible if you think how much the sport has evolved since being set up as its own legitimate art, and how far certain athletes have come in dedication to the constant improvement of jiu-jitsu. There would be literally hundreds of fighters that could potentially be part of a list of this sort, and I am pretty sure that in a few years time, when I revisit this list, I will have quite a few more individuals and techniques to add. This is jiu-jitsu, always evolving, always improving.

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HITTING THE

OMOPLATA WITH

YURI SIMOES words & photos: HYWEL TEAGUE

T ONLY 22 YEARS OLD, UP-AND-COMING CHECKMAT TEAM MEMBER YURI SIMOES IS ONE OF THE BRIGHTEST STARS IN COMPETITION RIGHT NOW. A world champion in both the gi and no-gi in 2011, Simoes joined the black belt ranks this year and impressed with his hunger and intensity on the mats.

He started his competition career as a ‘faixa preta’ by closing out the Pan Ams with his teammate Lucas Leite (beating Rafael Lovato Jr along the way), and he narrowly lost to veteran Xande Ribeiro in the semi-finals of the World Championships.

Yup, shot and written in Brazil.

Here Yuri teams up with his adopted brother and fellow black belt competitor Ary Farias to show us a few entries and set-ups for one of his favorite moves: the omoplata. Combining traditional techniques with some of the dynamic flair the checkmat team are known for, these moves will work equally well in a tournament or the gym

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ED ZIL RT RA PO B IM OM FR

OMOPLATA FROM CLOSED GUARD

Step 1 With Ary in the closed guard, Yuri denies him a grip on his upper body and controls his left arm with a double grip.

Step 2 Yuri pulls the arm across and down to the mat, isolating it for an attack. He opens his guard and swings his upper body to his right, bringing his leg up.

He reaches behind his own leg with his right arm and grips inside the back of Ary’s collar, controlling his posture and making it difficult for him to rip his arm out.

Step 5 To finish Yuri slides his hips out away from Ary, making him go flat. He grips the back of Ary’s jacket, swings his out to the left and lifts his hips up and forward to get the tap.

Yuri Omoplata2.indd 2

Move quick.

Step 4 Yuri brings his hips out from underneath Ary’s body and is in the omoplata position. He rests his arm over Ary’s hips to prevent him from rolling forward out of the position.

Step 3

Maintaining the grip ins ide the back of the collar, Yuri uses his free hand to push Ary’s head away, creating space for the omoplata.

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technique

ROLLING OMOPLATA FROM SINGLE LEG DEFENSE Step 1 Ary is attacking for a single leg takedown. Yuri defends by stamping his right foot to the mat and stripping Ary’s grip with his left hand. Note that Yuri reaches between his legs to hold Ary’s left hand.

Step 2

of Yuri lifts his foot and hooks the outside shin his with ure press ng putti , thigh Ary’s onto the leg.

Step 3

Step 4

He lets go of Ary’s belt with his right hand and reaches down to grab Ary’s pants.

Step 5

Step 6 As in technique 1, Yuri finishes the omoplata.

White on white, no bueno.

As Yuri’s hips hit the mat he triangles his legs. His right hand grips Ary’s hips to stop him from re-rolling out of the position.

In one smooth motion, Yuri continues the movement to effect a forward roll over his right shoulder.

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OMOPLATA FROM HALFSPIDER GUARD

Step 2 Yuri switches his grips. His right hand goes to the sleeve, and he reaches his left hand to control Ary’s elbow.

Step 1 Yuri is working from the ‘half spider-guard’ position.

His bottom leg is between Ary’s legs. He grips Ary’s right sleeve with his left hand and his left hook is in the bicep.

Step 3 Yuri removes his right leg and puts his hook on the outside of Ary’s hip.

Step 4Yuri keeps his grips and kicks off with his right leg to initiate a spin-through, inverting underneath Ary.

Step 5 Yuri completes the spin underneath Ary and comes out with his head near Ary’s feet and Ary’s right arm away from the body and ready for the omoplata.

Step 6 He sits up, triangles his legs and finishes just as before.

position of Yuri’s right foot.

Spiderman couldn’t get out of that one.

Reverse angle. Note the

Reverse angle. Yuri’s right foot comes

away from the body as he spins and his left foot goes to the hip.

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technique

GUARD PASS TO OMOPLATA

Step 1 Yuri is passing the guard from at distance. Though he is controlling the legs Ary has opportunity to sit up.

Step 3

Incase you didn’t know what that last letter was it’s an A.

He pulls up on the outside of Ary’s arm to make space.

Step 2

Ary comes up for a sin gle leg. Yuri by squattin responds g and drop ping his wei ght.

Step 4

Step 5

With Ary’s arm away from his body, Yuri starts to kick the leg over. He has the option to go in one movement or to step on the hip for momentary control if Ary is still driving up.

Step 6 With Ary’s arm completely trapped, Yuri starts to drop off to his right side.

Yuri plants his foot on the other side of Ary’s body and sits down onto his ribs. Ary’s arm is bent and trapped at Yuri’s hip.

Step 7 He lands on his butt and directly into the omoplata.

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technique

OMOPLATA FROM SPIDER GUARD

Step 1 Yuri is using spider guard and has a double sleeve grip.

Step 2 He changes his grips, switching his right hand so that it controls Ary’s right hand. His left hand goes between Ary’s legs to grip the pants.

ri grabs Ary’s s left hand. hi pant leg with

e: Yu Reverse angl

right

Step 3

Funny name, serious finish.

Yuri brings his right foot across the body to push on Ary’s right bicep.

Step 6 Yuri is at an angle to Ary and not in a position to finish the omoplata.

Step 4 Using Ary’s resistance against him Yuri quickly removes the right foot, kicking his left leg up and behind the arm.

Step 7 Ary reacts to Yuri being out of position by posturing up to begin his escape.

Step 5 He completes the movement by bringing both legs down to the mat and swinging his upper body to his left, landing in the beginning of the omoplata position.

Step 8 Yuri counters Ary’s escape by forcing his legs back down to the mat and using his right leg to hook under Ary’s far leg, preventing his from posturing back up again. From here he can finish the submission.

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AMAZING RACER RYAN DANZ

TAKES JIU-JITSU WITH HIM No, not big fans of North-South.

words: DEB BLYTH | photos: MEGHAN WONDER

HIRTY-FIVE YEAR OLD RYAN DANZ IS A BORN COMPETITOR. HE’S THE GUY WHO’S ALWAYS LOOKING FOR THE COMPETITIVE EDGE, IN BOTH JIU-JITSU AND IN LIFE. He’s no stranger to signing up for the latest and greatest reality TV show either, which was evident in 2005 when he was selected to be a contestant on the Martha Stewart version of The Apprentice (she was still on house arrest at the time) after he’d just gotten out of law school and didn’t have a place to hang his hat. He lived in Manhattan for six weeks, learned about business, and rubbed elbows with seasoned business executives and other contestants, like Bethenny Frankel (who went on to earn millions from her “Skinnygirl Cocktails” idea). Ryan went all the way to the final four. “It was a big ego boost for me,” he laughs, “But then I ended up getting horrible reviews on my final task and Martha fired me.” The outcome was ultimately positive, though. The experience led to Ryan starting his own financial services company and he became very successful in his work. But as we all know, work isn’t everything.

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It all starts and ends with Jiu-Jitsu Ryan was 31 when he found jiu-jitsu. His wife, Nicole, was an attorney and had a job at a prestigious law firm. Although Ryan was extremely supportive of her climb up the corporate ladder, because of the demands of her job, she worked later, attended events, and was away from home more. Ryan was working east coast hours, so he had more free time on his hands at the end of every day. He started getting lonely. “There was a jiu-jitsu school up the street from me and I was fascinated by it,” he smiles, “It was love at first sight. So, while my wife was out networking and growing her career, I began training.”

What a difference a year makes Unfortunately for Ryan and Nicole, a year later their marriage began falling apart and Ryan became completely absorbed with its downward spiral. “I’d have anxiety and get nervous and moody…and that was WITH jiu-jitsu,” he states, “Can you imagine if I didn’t have it? It was the only thing keeping me going. I was training twice a day, then doing privates with Brian Franklin (GBE black belt), and I started competing. I turned my mind off and felt like I was removed from myself. I started reading Eckhart Tolle. Combine that with jiu-jitsu and the truth was, I was really turning IN and rediscovering myself. When I was training jiujitsu there were no arguments, no picking fights.

I had my jiu-jitsu family there for me. I became emotionally connected to them. It was really

“...I love relying on myself my mind and my body to achieve a goal...” bonding for me. I was losing one thing, but gaining another. It completed me and allowed me to be myself. Jiu-Jitsu got me through the toughest time of my life.”

Competing wakes him up Ryan and Nicole were divorced in 2011. As part of the healing process, Ryan found himself turning to jiu-jitsu even more. He started competing and loved it. “I get nervous and freak out before my matches,” he says, “But I love that adrenaline rush. You can’t buy it. I grew up competing. I played three different sports in

high school and competitive baseball in college and they didn’t come close to the feelings I get from competing in jiu-jitsu. It’s not like a team sport – it’s man versus man. I love standing there, looking someone else in the eyes and thinking, ‘it’s me or it’s you…and it’s not gonna be me!’ I love relying on myself - my mind and my body to achieve a goal. Where else can you find that?”

Ryan took bronze at both the Worlds and the American Nationals as a white belt. He did a couple GB tournaments and then, as a blue belt, competed at a Grappling X tournament and came in 3rd. “That tournament meant the most to me,” he says, “I was subbed in my first match and that had never happened to me before. I faced the guy again in the third match and beat him on points. It taught me a lot about myself. Before that last match, I was intimidated about getting tapped again. It woke me up and taught me I can overcome any adversity if I believe in myself and trust my game.”

THE AMAZING RACE!

A

Somebody’s got some Nelson on their iPod.

s is the case with most things, time heals all wounds and with it comes new hopes and dreams for the future. Happy again in his life and still completely immersed in the world of jiujitsu, Ryan was ready to take on another challenge in life and found himself drawn back into the world of reality TV. So, Ryan, and his new girlfriend Abbie Ginsberg, applied and were selected to be on the upcoming season of The Amazing Race, which premiers September 30, 2012. “For me, it was more of a calling of sorts,” Ryan says, “I get so wrapped up in competition and the intricacies of it. The Amazing Race has so many tasks that involve mental, emotional, and intellectual challenges, I needed to do it. Abbie and I have both gone through the divorce process and we just wanted to do something competitive, special, and amazing together and test the strength of our relationship.”

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What makes a good racer?

“I just wanted to be a jiu-jitsu guy on the show,” Ryan says, “I wanted to approach the Race the same way I train in jiu-jitsu.

I didn’t want to be doubled over with sweat rolling off my face. I didn’t want to use too much energy or force, and not enough technique. I watch my professors, Nelson (Monteiro) and Rafael (Ramos) and they are like the ocean when they roll…flowing back and forth.

They show the beauty of jiujitsu and it’s rhythm. I knew the Race had to be similar and just flow. If you’ve ever watched the Amazing Race, you see people getting detoured, blocked, confused, and lost and they lose it. They start fighting with their partners. I knew Abbie and I had to go into this like training partners, calm and collected, and honoring and respecting each other.” Ryan says he treated his time on The Amazing Race like one long jiu-jitsu tournament and often fell back on the most important elements he learned during competition. “When you have a clock on you, you have to scramble.

The competition element changes things, but you have to stay calm, and open-minded, and see the broader picture. I was constantly reminding myself of that.”

Did he crack under pressure?

Good luck Ryan, make us proud!

Ryan and Abbie were faced with many strenuous and stressful situations on the show, but one challenge stands out first and foremost in Ryan’s memory. “I’m deathly afraid of heights,” he says, “We had a challenge that required us to sprint up a quarter mile, then jump off a very high place, and repel down. I’ve never done anything like that before. My heart was pounding as I looked over the edge. It was a free fall. I felt the adrenaline flood my body. I got tunnel vision, I couldn’t see or hear anything. All of a sudden

Ryan was prepared – Jiu-Jitsu style

“...The competition element changes things, but you have to stay calm, and open-minded, and see the broader picture.

I was constantly reminding myself of that.”

I was snapped back to a time during a jiu-jitsu match when I was on the mat, preparing to go to battle. I stood there tying my belt and I was flooded with emotions, adrenaline, excitement, and nerves. I got cottonmouth. I had to take a step back to compose myself, then take a step forward again to shake my opponent’s hand. So, that’s what I did during the Race. I took a step back, composed myself, then faced my fears and jumped. If it hadn’t been for my experience in jiu-jitsu, I don’t know if I would have been able to do it. Because I’d had all those fears before and I conquered them, I thought, ‘I can do this.’

And I did.”

Ryan says there was no better preparation for the Amazing Race than his competition training in jiu-jitsu. “When I’m next up at a jiu-jitsu tournament, my adrenaline starts to run and at that time, I have to check myself. So, I take that step back. I always step back. Coach Franklin told me to always take the first move to help with my nerves. As a white belt, I relied on my strength and power. As a blue belt I learned to use more technique. In The Amazing Race, I had to figure out how to use both. I identified with the tensing up part. I had to calm down and trust my instincts like I do in jiu-jitsu. So, I would physically step back and then step forward before challenges, like I do before jiu-jitsu matches.

At my very first match at the Nationals, my plan was to shoot a double leg, but my opponent pulled guard and closed it. He threw me off my game plan. But I learned to calm down. Just because you have a game plan doesn’t mean it’s going to work. You can’t get locked in to doing things one way. You have to keep an open mind.

During the Race, I had the pressure of $2 million at stake, people watching me on TV, and letting down teammates and others relying on me. It added a lot of pressure. Just like in jiu-jitsu, there are people watching you, people reporting on you, and you don’t want to let your teammates or school down. It was just a good comparison for me. I often thought of Professor Nelson and how everyone admires him. I just wanted to make sure that I treated everyone during the Race the way he does: he is a sweetheart of a man, but he is also a strong, respected man who leads and communicates with integrity and honor. I think I was able to do that.”

PARTING THOUGHTS

A

LTHOUGH IT REMAINS TO BE SEEN WHO ACTUALLY WON THE $2 MILLION PRIZE MONEY ON THE AMAZING RACE, Ryan says his participation in it was more than just about the money. With 12 to 13 million viewers watching the show each week, he is happy that the beautiful art of jiu-jitsu will get some major publicity along the way. “Jiu-Jitsu saved my soul because I started it at a time when I was losing my best friend and wife and I needed it to fulfill me,” he says, “It changed my life. Then Abbie came into my life, along with the Amazing Race, and my life changed again. The Amazing Race was more than just a pursuit for money. It was a major life changing moment. The same with jiu-jitsu. I want people to know that jiu-jitsu is more than just a sport to me. It’s a part of my soul. It’s almost my religion.”

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technique

RUNNING HALF GUARD

THE TOP WITH

FABIO LEOPOLDO words & photos: JJM STAFF

EING ON THE BOTTOM WITH SOMEONE IN YOUR HALF GUARD IS OFTEN TIMES CONSIDERED A SAFE POSITION. Let’s say you were in a guy’s guard, you went for a pass, but he “caught” you in half-guard. He thinks he’s safe, he thinks he caught you. But little does he know his workday has just begun. Like Rorschach’s quote in Watchmen, “I’m not locked in here with you, you’re locked in here with me!” It’s time to bring the pain with this effective collection of finishes and passes from being on the top in half-guard, from multi-time world champion Fabio Leopoldo.

ABOUT

FABIO

That’s a lot of space.

F

ABIO LEOPOLDO IS A 35-YEAR-OLD 3RD DEGREE BLACK BELT UNDER THE LATE MASTER RYAN GRACIE AND HAS ALSO TRAINED UNDER RENZO GRACIE AND CARLOS GRACIE JR. FABIO BEGAN TRAINING IN 1995 AND WAS AWARDED HIS BLACK BELT AFTER ONLY FIVE YEARS OF TRAINING. In 1999, Fabio opened his own school in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Gracie Morumbi. He’s won the Worlds at both brown and black belts, along with four Pan-Am championships, including weight and absolute in 2002, a Brazilian National championship and a man of many other impressive titles. During and after his stellar jiu-jitsu career, Fabio accompanied Ryan and Renzo Gracie during their many victories in Japan fighting for PRIDE and was a regular sparring partner to both. In 2007, Fabio was invited by Renzo Gracie to be part of his New York Pit Bull fight team in the IFL. During his MMA career in the IFL and other promotions, he racked up a 5-3 record with three wins by way of submission. Fabio’s a passionate man, and along with jiu-jitsu he has a passion for surfing. When it was time to set up shop he chose California to do so, and now has three schools and has promoted 15 black belts to date. Fabio still competes in jiujitsu with a recent Masters win at the International Championship, and was on the podium at the Pan-Ams. With his huge wealth of knowledge and extensive years of experience, it’s no question that Fabio has seen just about everything.

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EZEKIEL FROM TOP

T

his is a technique that Fabio used twice in competition while winning a world championship. It’s a very safe attack, in that it doesn’t expose much should you not get the submission.

STEP 1 While in your opponent’s half guard, your legs are wrapped around his right leg, his legs are wrapped around your right leg. Scoop your left arm under his head behind his neck. Now, with your right hand push down on his left knee as if to fake that you’re going for a pass.

STEP 3

STEP 2 to pull it hand down to yours As he brings his left the elbow, at , arm ng your right away from his leg, bri his side. o int it k loc and arm down against his left ight to locked, shift your we Once you have his arm mat. the to flat s hip his get your right slightly to

With your left hand reach for the inside of your right cuff securing your grip with four fingers inside your cuff.

Make a fist with your right hand.

STEP 4 Use the left side of your head/face to press against his head and push it to your left. Push with your head enough to expose the left side of his neck to your waiting fist.

Simple yet effective.

STEP 5 Once the side of his neck is exposed, bring your fist to his neck and pull your elbow upward. Your control of your sleeve with your left hand will pivot your arm and fist into his neck, bringing pressure and the choke.

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technique

COLLAR TRIANGLE STEP 1 Starting from your opponent’s half guard again, your opponent’s going to be looking for an under hook under your left arm. This is textbook for him, and what you actually want him to do.

So, when he pushes up on you, or looks to snake that left arm in, give him some space and let him have it.

STEP 2 Open up your base and get more perpendicular to your opponent, sort of like you would be if you were in side control, but he still has you in half guard. Opening your base will allow you to keep pressure on him and control him from working a sweep. Begin to grab at his left side lapel and pull it out towards his back.

STEP 4 As soon as you pass the lapel to your left hand, bring your right hand deep under his left arm that’s hooking you, and to take the lapel back from your left hand. This is really the “meat” of this technique.

Once you successfully make this hand off, the hard part is done.

STEP 3 Once you have his lapel free, pull it out as far as you can and feed it behind his neck to your left hand.

KEY POINTS A very common mistake on this finish is pushing your weight into your opponent, or pulling on the lapel with your arm strength to finish. Neither of these options will do the job.

Use your core to finish.

STEP 5

You’ve made the pass and you have his left side lapel in your right hand under his neck. Now, open your left knee wide to your left, base your left arm off to that same side and drive your upper body off to your left to finish.

The finish is much like a traditional triangle, but with his lapel playing the role of your inside thigh.

DON’T

DO!

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WRIST LOCK FROM BAITED UNDER HOOK STEP 1 Starting from half guard, give your opponent enough space to work his arm under yours for an under hook on your right side. Often times he’ll push off of you, so if he does, give him the space to make it through.

STEP 2 Once he has it through, “whizzer” your arm over his and between the two of you, and fish for his far side collar.

STEP 5 Once his arm and hand are in, grab the back of his left hand with your right and push down to bring his palm to his wrist to finish the wrist lock.

STEP 3 A natural reaction of his will more than likely be bringing that left arm, that you have a hold of, inside to pull your arm out.

STEP 4 When he does this make sure that your bicep is above his elbow (on the back of his arm at the triceps) and hold his arm in tight.

KEY POINTS If necessary, you can feed his hand to your right hand with your left hand, or even complete the lock with your left hand. Just make sure that you’re trapping his left arm from backing out with your right arm.

Wristlocks are legal Sneaky.

from blue belt and up.

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technique

HALF GUARD PASS

T

his is a nice pass from a position of control that Fabio really likes.

STEP 1 Control the far lapel. From half guard, pull your opponent’s lapel out and feed it to your left hand that’s hooked behind his neck. The tighter the better. The idea is to help control your opponent’s ability to move his shoulders.

STEP 2 Next, base your right hand on the mat, off to the right side of your opponent, then open your base by spreading your knees a bit. Your right knee should be on his right hip and your left knee should be to the side of his shoulder.

STEP 3 Now, sit back as if to sit on your heels, and at the same time, drag your opponent along with you.

This will contort his body to you with his spine being curved towards you. Not comfortable and reduces his mobility.

STEP 4 Lean forward across his body and bring your forehead to the mat to post. Now begin to inch your right leg out from between his legs. When you lean forward, be sure that you hold his lapel tightly to you to maintain the arch in his spine you just installed.

Half-guard doesn’t look so tough.

STEP 5

Turn your right knee in and continue inching your right leg out from between his legs.

As soon as it’s clear, pass your right leg over his and quickly establish side control on your opponent.

80 | Jiu-Jitsu Magazine

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technique

CURE FOR THE LOCK DOWN

S

ome half guard players like to use the “lock down” to either pull you lower on their bodies, help fight the pass, or just to make things uncomfortable for you.

Whatever their motives, it can be annoying being on the receiving end.

Fabio shows us his little gem that feels like a calf crank, but is a legal finish.

STEP 1 You’re in your opponent’s half guard and he puts in the lock down. A lock down is when the person on the bottom crosses his inside leg behind your trapped knee, then hooks his outside foot in front of your foot and ankle, but over his crossed right leg. When the bottom player stretches his legs it tightens up the hold.

STEP 3 Once you’re up, bend the knee on the side that’s trapped, and bring it up between his legs.

STEP 2 When you feel the lock down in place, the first thing to do is put both hands on his hips and push yourself up. Do this quickly to avoid getting wrapped up in some sort of clinch.

STEP 4 As soon as your knee has cleared your opponent’s crotch, slowly sit back onto your heel, and base your other leg out for balance.

STEP 5 The further you sit back the more pain you will exert on your opponent’s leg, and eventually they will tap. If he tries to clinch and pull you into him to relieve the pain, continue to sit back and down, pushing against him with both hands until he taps.

KEY POINTS The lock down

can be done with the bottom player’s legs reversed, the outside leg over the back of the knee and under the inside leg, while the foot is hooked in front of the top player’s foot.

ALTERNATIVE LOCK DOWN MEDICINE

Better to be locked down than locked up.

A

nother treatment for the lock down, although it’s not a cure, is to simply not resist. The lock down is like a Chinese Finger Cuff, the harder you resist, the tighter it gets.

So, rather than resist postureing to the side that’s being locked down so that you can post on that knee, once on your knee curl your leg upward. Doing this takes away the leverage and nullifies his attempt to lock down. From there you can figure out where to go with it.

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technique

OMAPLATA FROM REVERSE HALF-GUARD STEP 1 In your opponent’s half guard you want to get to the reverse.

This is done by turning your upper body towards the side of the leg you’re straddling. In this case, Fabio is twisting to his left and bringing his right elbow to the mat. At the same time, he steps back with his left leg, clearing over his own body.

Ventura Half Guard.indd 7

STEP 2 Then Fabio shifts his weight over so his butt sits to the mat, but he’s high up near his opponent’s shoulders. This is a reverse half guard.

STEP 3 At this point, Fabio allows his opponent to move around and think that he’s going to pull off a sweep. Fabio brings his right arm over his opponent’s right shoulder. His opponent has the natural reaction to reach his right hand and pull Fabio back. Fabio lets this happen, but he makes sure that his right foot his hooking the inside of his opponent’s left leg behind the knee.

9/25/12 4:12 PM

STEP 4 Immediately, Fabio brings his left leg up high, getting the top of his left foot in front of his opponent’s neck, while also capturing that right arm of his.

STEP 5 Hooking the back of the knee with your right foot is key and keeps your opponent from being able to roll over. To finish, Fabio scoops his left arm under the captured right arm and grabs the back of his opponent’s elbow with his left hand. Lastly, Fabio simply brings his own left elbow up and finishes the Omoplata.

STEP 6 If his opponent manages to roll out of the Omoplata, he’ll end up in an armbar with a quick adjustment of the arm, bringing it in front, and a correct adjustment of the legs.

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technique

HALF-GUARD PASS TO THE BACK STEP 1 Starting out in your opponent’s half guard, the idea is to move down a bit, and create some space between you and your opponent.

The good thing is that he’s probably thinking the same thing too, space is good for him.

STEP 2 Once you see that you have enough space for what’s coming next you need to go for it. And by “go for it” I mean roll to your left with your shoulder coming to the mat off to your opponent’s right side.

STEP 3 Once your shoulder is on the mat, bring your bottom half over by shifting your hips to your left side as well. At that point your lower back and butt will be on top of his mid-section.

STEP 5 As you’re doing this scoot, grab his right pant leg near the knee and pull him down as your pulling yourself up towards his back. Again, use that left foot on the mat to help you scoot. Keep your right leg hooked around his right leg, you’ll want this later.

STEP 6

Quick! Don’t get caught.

Once you’ve gotten past his legs, keep climbing your way up his back, grabbing his belt, shoulders, sleeves, or whatever it is you need to get up there.

STEP 4 Continue the momentum and shift your hips further to the left so you clear his body. Grab the back of his pants with your right hand and shove his body down towards your legs. Help this along by bringing your left foot to the mat and continue stepping over so your legs are “scooting” quickly to your left.

STEP 7 Once you’re up, get your left leg around to hook, buckle up the seat belt, and you’re in back control.

KEY POINTS This is a beautiful pass to see done with fluidity. Drill this pass with your partner to help get your timing and increase the speed. Once you get this down it’s a pass you’ll find yourself using often because it’s not going to be expected.

At one point during this pass the attacker is vulnerable to getting caught in a split lock. During step 3 you must move quickly to avoid getting caught in a split lock, it’s like a lower body crucifix.

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BAITED REVERSE KIMURA STEP 1 You’re in your opponent’s half-guard, and he gets the bright idea to go for the Kimura on your left arm and shoulder. Who knows, maybe you were dangling it out there for him to take a bite.

STEP 2 The moment you feel him getting a hold of that arm with a grip of your wrist and a grip of his own wrist, bring your left arm in so your hand is on your belly. He’s going to struggle to pull it out and get it behind your back, so work quickly and be strong to defend.

STEP 3 With your own left hand against your belly and his arms tangled up trying for the Kimura, put your right hand on his left hip, base your left knee to the mat, if it’s not already, and posture up and push away from him to your left.

KEY POINTS

STEP 4

That Fabio’s a sneaky guy! So glad he showed us his tricks.

Use the back of your left arm against the bottom of his elbow to exert more pressure on his left shoulder to finish the reverse Kimura.

When he’s got his hands where he thinks he wants them, and you have your hand in front of your belly, keep the squeeze on. Keep your arm in tight and don’t let him get the Kimura.

If his arm manages to get out you’ll still be in half guard, and you will have defended the Kimura.

S

o, whether you get on top in half guard by design or your opponent is looking for solace on the bottom, you’re armed with a full toolbox of submissions and passes that will crush false hope of being safe.

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gear lab

Submission Fight Co.

HEMP SENSATION GI $159.95

If that Eddie Bravo ever wore the gi again he’d probably wear this one.

www.submissionfc.com

A

ll of us know somebody who can’t wait to tell you about the “Hemp Conspiracy” and how big companies lobbied to squelch hemp as mainstream raw material because it would compete with just about everything: woodpulp, nylon, cotton, plastics, fuel…the list goes on. The promise of hemp being the wonder material is a little hard to believe.

It claims to be stronger, more breathable, and antimicrobial. With that being said, after rolling in Submission Fight Co’s Hemp Sensation gi I might have to jump on the bandwagon.

SIZE AND SHRINK My test model was an A3 top and bottom. I’m a medium-heavy weighing in at 195lbs and am 5’8” tall. The A3 jacket fit nicely in the chest and mid section. The arms were a tad bit long, but that could be due to the fact I don’t have a very

long reach. I stuck with washing the gi in cold water and allowed it to hang dry. Shrink in the jacket was about average. It shrank a total of two inches in the reach, and an inch and a quarter in the girth. The pants shrank minimally as you can see in the chart.

QUALITY When the mailman delivered the gi to me, his pupils were a bit dilated, and I wondered why.

I opened up the box and there was definitely a unique odor to the gi. Not offensive, and not what you’d think, but just a unique odor. After about three or four rolls and washes and the smell in the gi was gone. Again, it didn’t smell bad, just had a different odor, chalk it up to the hemp. The jacket material is a 70/30 hemp to cotton blend.

The weave is a judo-style single weave. With a single-piece cut. There are reinforcements in all the expected placements. The collar is foam filled with comfortable thickness. The pants are made

of a 10oz twill 70/30 hemp to cotton blend. The contrast stitching helps to show off the stitch work, overall the stitch quality looks good. The knees are padded with extra material.

STYLE AND DESIGN The style is very traditional. Clean, with an open canvas for you to patch up yourself. The forest green contrast stitching looks good against the white. Green embroidered “Submission” logos flank the shoulders. A small “Hemp Sensation” sits at the bottom of the front jacket flap along with the label. Green piping runs along the side vents. The pants are also clean looking with the green contrast stitching, green belt loops and a green rope drawstring. The Hemp Sensation is very nicely understated, let’s call it “classy.”

ROLL WITH IT I got to roll in this gi for quite a while, about two months, which in terms of testing is a lifetime.

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Gear Lab 10.indd 1

9/14/12 3:16 PM

A

Shrink Me?

TRY IT!

D

BRAND NEW

AFTER X3 WASHES AT 65-DEGREES F

A 69.25”

67”

B 34”

32.25”

C 24”

22.75”

D 23”

22.5”

E 40.5”

39.5”

E C

well. Mobility is good, not restrictive at all. The material is also very soft and comfortable. My sandpaper cross face was rendered ineffective thanks to the soft feel. My only complaint while rolling with the gi is the length of the rope drawstring. It reminds me of lacing up hockey skates. I cut the length after dealing with the rope untying on its own quite a few times.

CONCLUSION I really like this gi, I’ll be rolling in it for a while. It came in especially handy this summer, the hemp material really breathed well, it felt like a summer gi.

The claims made are pretty lofty, I can attest to the comfort and breathability.

It hasn’t ripped or torn so strength is good, and I haven’t gotten any diseases, so I guess I’d be hard pressed to argue the antimicrobial properties. I couldn’t argue in favor either. I can say that

the price is nice. Only $159.95, not the least expensive gi around, but nicely priced. I wore the Hemp Sensation in a competition and won, so I guess it brought me good luck. If you want a good priced gi that will perform without all the bells and whistles, then check this one out. If you’re a proponent of hemp and other hemp-like products, then this is your chance to represent, no brainer!

VERDICT Solid gi for the price, uniqueness of hemp is more than hype.

4

Performance: Value: Overall:

Gear Lab 10.indd 2

You haven’t heard of the headless grappler?

Early on I liked the way the gi “breathed.” It felt like a lightweight summer gi thanks to the fabric’s ability to breathe. Hold the jacket up to the light and it’s not any thinner than a comparable gi, the weave is tight. But it just felt cooler when I was rolling through these hot summer months. I’m going to chalk that up to the hemp. It felt good.

The A3 cut seemed perfect for my measurements.

The sleeves were a little long, but I blame that more on my genetics rather than the gi. One thing I did notice was that lots of teammates had questions about this gi. The uniqueness of the hemp material does draw attention and questions.

The weight of the gi is pretty light, my A3 weighed in at 3.95lbs, the jacket weighed 2.7lbs and the pants weighed 1.25lbs. Definitely on the lighter side of the spectrum. Wear and tear has been pretty good so far, no rips, tears, or worn areas. The material on the collar is beginning to develop those little fuzzy balls that appear when fabric wears. The stitching is holding up

B

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gear lab

Mobile Black Belt

CAIO TERRA

MODERN JIU-JITSU FOUR DISC SET $129.95

www.mobileblackbelt.net

C

aio Terra has made quite a name for himself in a fairly short amount of time. If you’re not familiar with Caio, he managed to get his black belt in just three years from Reylson Gracie and Paulo Straunch. Over the last few years he’s won multiple World Championships in both Gi and No-Gi at light feather weight, and routinely finishes on the podium in absolute matches at major competitions, including this year’s American Nationals where he won absolute. Being a feather weight you don’t do too well in absolute unless you have some damn good technique, and that’s what Caio is known for.

THE SET The DVD set is broken down into four discs. Disc one covers the Closed Guard. Within the closed guard he goes into proper posture, defenses, attacks, and sweeps. Disc two is devoted to the mount, turtle and the back. This disc consists of mount escapes, mount attacks, turtle, and back defenses as well as attacks. Disc three covers butterfly guard, butterfly passes, standing passes, and takedowns. Disc four rounds things out by covering defense and attacks from both side control and north-south as well as both top on bottom in half guard. It’s by far one of the most complete DVD catalogs of technique available. In fact, there are over 140 techniques covered within a five-hour running time.

THE VIDEO The production quality on this video is amazing. Mobil Black Belt has a few apps out there in the iTunes store and each has a unique quality in look rarely seen in the jiu-jitsu market. Modern Jiu-Jitsu holds true to that standard with beautiful cinematography set in a large warehouse space. Stop action and slow motion help to clearly showcase each technique. Caio himself does the voice over and is very clearly spoken and understandable. After the technique is gone over in detail it’s shown a few more times so you can get a good grasp of the move.

Look for lots of Caio in our next issue.

CONCLUSION

This disc set is very nice. It’s professional, well put together, and very thorough. You couldn’t ask for a better instructor showing you all the details. This is a must buy in my book for any white or blue belt.

Actually, anyone can gather new information from this set, because it’s so thorough. Caio pays close attention to detail. You might know the technique covered already, but seeing how Caio does it may put things in a different perspective for you. The VERDICT price of $129.95 is a hard pill to swallow, but it Pricey, but complete, best is a 4-disc set. You can buy discs individually, but instruction you’ll find anywhere. if you’re going to do it, you might as well do it right and buy the set. The App option is nice, but pricey. However, in a few years that will be the only way I want to consume video content like this for the sake of convenience.

Performance: Value: Overall:

5

THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT

A

s of press time, Disc One is available for both the iPhone and the iPad at the iTunes store. It’s broken down into two separate apps.

One is closed guard defense, and it sells for $14.99. The other is Closed Guard Attacks and that one sells for $24.99.

The iPad option is a great one.

Being able to have your iPad near the mats to rewind and replay the techniques makes the experience much better.

The app is solid, no hiccups.

The price is high, especially compared to other well-done Mobile Blackbelt apps that sell for $4.99 a piece. If you’re not sure about the disc set, try the $14.99 App. The rest of the disc set will be available in the App store soon.

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feature

NABJJF 8TH ANNUAL

photos: NABJJF

or the past eight years the North American Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation has continued to grow adding more and more tournaments to their roster. Recently they’ve grown to matches as far away flung as Florida and Texas. The recent meet in Los Angles was the 8th Annual NABJJF Tournament. Hundreds of competitors from all across the west made it to the venue at Cal State Dominguez Hills. The large twoday tournament went off without a hitch.

en he Childr It’s For t r as the eye could fa Mat rats as very up for the ed ow see sh t. en tournam kid friendly

They’ll learn.

r It! Going Foon’t he get that arm to

w Will he or hy case? for the trop e om h take

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NABJJF Nats.indd 1

9/14/12 3:11 PM

Just a Fo ot

Note Here That’s the to e-to-chin ho ld, deadly whe n done corr ectly.

Put my hand where?

Help Wanted: New caption writer.

All eyes on the hand.

Sweet yet viscious.

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mind games

STEPPING UP

YOUR GAME with

words: DANIEL FAGGELLA

N THE WORLD OF SPORT PSYCHOLOGY, FEW PERFORMANCEENHANCING TECHNIQUES HAVE BEEN AS THOROUGHLY STUDIED AS VISUALIZATION. The idea is that, by simply running mental images in our minds, we are able to sharpen our game in real life. “Imagery” is the term used for visualization that involves other senses besides sight, such as imagining the “feel” of a particular technique or performance, in addition to the sounds, smells, and anything else to more adequately make the mental image “real.”

We’ll use the terms interchangeably here.

THE BRAIN IS A FUNNY THING I t responds almost identically to reality as it does to an imagined reality. On both an emotional and physiological level, recollections or mental movies of events change how we feel.

Just as we can say that a coward dies a thousand deaths because he imagines them all so vividly, we can also say that a champion wins a thousand matches because he likely

has imagined a victory many times in his mind before winning that particular tournament or match.

Few people have ever made this distinction of the champion as prominently as that of the coward, but both as equally as true.

We are constantly “conjuring up” our own experiences, and feeling the feelings / seeing the sights associated with those experiences - all between our ears. If this is the case (which I assure you... it is) - shouldn’t we be using this force for good?

May the force be with you.

In this article we’ll look at some of the purposes of imagery / visualization, some of the most important principles to keep in mind when applying these techniques, and how you might go about applying them to increase your performance today.

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The Purpose of

VISUALIZATION

FORORMBAJNJCE

3

PERF

Visualization and imagery can be used for a number of reasons. Arguably, the most obvious reason is to smooth out particular techniques or sequences. You might be getting hung up on a particular part of a guard pass, or you might be a little bit slow when it comes to turning your favorite takedown into an armbar. By imagining yourself doing that particular move correctly and smoothly, you actually use a lot of the same “neural pathways” that you would by actually doing reps, and you can ingrain muscle memory patterns that you never developed in the “physical world” (remember, the brain cannot tell the difference).

I built my entire present sweep-game off of YouTube. Watching Caio Terra, Rafael Mendes, and Cobrinha use the inverted De la Riva guard got me obsessed with exploring the position, but as you can imagine - watching videos was not enough. I needed to specifically train those positions in practice, and also imagine myself applying them meaningfully in real matches.

Without this mental practice element (I had no instructor to walk me through this guard),

I would never have been able to apply the technique at my own weight class, never mind absolute divisions!

In addition, imagery can be used to get you familiar with a particular surrounding or circumstance. Maybe your next competition involves a different set of rules, or an atmosphere or venue that’s totally different from what you’re used to. By imagining yourself competing in that venue with the new rules, you can become accustomed to them without having to necessarily be in the venue itself.

My first few tournaments were my worst, not unlike many grapplers’ first experiences competing. Coaches yelling at me, opponents snarling and thrashing with 100% effort, and being in a giant room were all very new factors to deal with. I became more timid and less aggressive as I nearly froze up under the pressure I placed on myself in my mind. The

best method for getting over this - hands down - is competing... all the time. The second best is imagining those same factors present in your mental grappling training, until they, too fade into the background and you can accept the bustle of the tournament scene as “normal.”

Imagery can also be used to instill confidence.

A champion’s mindset going into a competition (whether we’re talking about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or water polo) is usually grounded in past experiences of success, past great performances.

Imagining yourself winning particular matches and tournaments, having your hand raised, winning the trophy, etc... can bolster a sense of confidence heading into a match. This kind of mentality-shift is as important (if not more) than the smoothing out of individual techniques – especially at high levels of competition where perceived pressure is high.

This is where you eventually want to imagine the win.

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PRINCIPLES FOR EFFECTIVE IMAGERY FOR COMBAT SPORT T

here are a number of key ideas that I like to keep in mind when getting into an imagery routine. The first is to ground myself in reality whenever I apply imagery. For instance, if I’m going to practice imaginary reps of a technique in my mind, I always make sure to experiment with and really feel / understand that technique before practicing it in my imagination. This way, I have a good idea about how it works and feels when it is done right, so I can replicate that in my mind. Similarly, it’s best to actually walk into a venue before imagining what that venue will be like from

looking at pictures. Getting a real sense of the room, seating, and atmosphere will allow for accurate imagery.

Secondly, imagery is like any other skill. Just like armbars and takedowns, the skill of imagery takes practice, practice, practice. When people first begin with imagery, they might only “feel” the moves and not necessarily be able to “see” everything that’s happening. That’s fine. As you practice imagery, your experience of it will become richer and richer. Just like developing a technique, imagery should become

a routine of some kind, and not just be attempted once (IE: “Yeah, I tried that already.”).

Lastly, specificity is king when it comes to imagery. If at all possible, focus your imagery on a particular situation, tournament, technique or sequence. Simply imagining sparring and competing is vague, and is less likely to yield noticeable improvements. Is there one position you’d love to get better at? A particular tournament you’re committed to winning? Hone your mind precisely to those objectives.

Improvement

RIGHT NOW I

n closing, here’s a few simple ideas for ways you could implement visualization now to boost your own performance and development

in combat sport: Think about a specific position you need to work on, and dedicate yourself to visualizing reps of the techniques and strategies you’ll need to see improvement in that position. Try this for about five

minutes each morning or before bed each night – for two weeks.

Bear in mind, you should ideally be working on a technique that (a) you understand and have a general “feel” for in “real life,” (b) a technique or sequence you have determined to be the most important for your overall development at this time. It is possible to work on curiosity moves or techniques you simply have an interest in, but getting the most bang for your “imagery buck” should involve focusing on high priorities.

Identify the competition or match of highest priority to you in the next year. Dedicate a 10-minute span per week (or more than once a

week if possible) to quietly sit and imagine yourself competing and winning in that particular event (think about the venue, the rules, the opponents you know you might face, etc.).

For example, if you are competing in a NAGA tournament at the end of the year, you’ll want to brush up on your NAGA rules and regulations, as well as time limits, weight classes, and likely opponents. Past experience and (even better) video recordings of past opponents will much better prepare you for accurate imagery with regards to fighting specific opponents.

Wait, is he imagining her getting the win?

Implement a habit of visualizing victory the night before any given tournament or match. Vividly see yourself winning, using

the strategies and moves you know to be best – exemplifying a great performance and coming out on top.

As mentioned before, visualization is a skill, and like any other skill, it requires diligence to learn well. Initially, you may just see a swirl of limbs in your mind’s eye, with no “feel” for the position, no detail in the opponent’s faces, no ability to continuously “see” a full minute of grappling action. With time, this will improve in both accuracy and validity, and there’s no better time to get used to practicing this habit than before a match.

A

RMED WITH THESE IDEAS, I HOPE YOU’LL BEGIN BY AT LEAST BLOCKING OFF ONE STRETCH OF TIME PER WEEK TO PRACTICE VISUALIZATION (AFTER TRAINING IS OFTEN WHEN YOUR BRAIN LETS YOU “REPLAY” YOUR ROLLS MOST EASILY) - and leverage the key tips that will make the practice effective. You can’t always be on a real mat practicing, but developing this skill will give you the ability to roll out the “mental mat” whenever you feel like it.

www.ScienceofSkill.com

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WHEN IT COMES TO INJURIES

WHO SHOULD YOU SEE? words: DR. JOHN PARK

SK 10 PEOPLE WHAT TO DO FOR A JIU-JITSU RELATED INJURY AND YOU OFTEN GET 10 DIFFERENT ANSWERS. Some will tell you to see an orthopedic doctor right away. Others will say you should see a massage therapist and get deep tissue work done. Your rolling buddy might tell you how he got better after six weeks of physical therapy.

Your brother-in-law will talk about how the adjustment from his chiropractor cured his back pain after just one visit. The

professor who teaches at your academy will swear by acupuncture. So, who is right? Is massage therapy better than physical therapy? Is a cortisone injection a better solution for pain management than a visit to the chiropractor? Who to see and what kind of treatment you should receive is often a source of confusion for many people. For the jiu-jitsu athlete, knowing which healthcare provider to see, as well as when to see them, is an important part of being able to stay on the mat for both the short and long term.

In the past, my articles have been about presenting jiu jitsu related injuries information as straight forward and unbiased as possible – just the facts. In this issue, I will include some of my own personal opinions and philosophies, which not everyone will agree with. Take it for what it is, and in the end, do your own research and form your own conclusions. Hopefully this will give you some things to think about to make your decision making easier.

MEDICAL DOCTOR, CHIROPRACTOR, OR PHYSICAL THERAPIST?

That MRI is actually Mike’s. Current score – Bulging Disks 2 – Herniated 1.

Let’s say you never had lower back pain before.

It’s 10 minutes into class and your warm up was fine. You weren’t too concerned when you started to feel a little aching in your back after doing shrimp drills. You were even able to roll pretty hard for 15 without that much discomfort, but there were a few sharp twinges you felt. Now, it’s 2:00 AM and you can’t sleep because your back is killing you, and you have pain shooting down your right leg with numbness in your foot. You’re in so much pain you’re considering having your girlfriend take you to the emergency room. Sound familiar?

Take this same condition to three different medical providers, and you may get three different solutions to the problem. Let’s say this pain you’re feeling is from a disc bulge in your lower back. You see a Medical Doctor (MD), and they will most likely recommend anti-inflammatories, a muscle relaxant, and pain medication. A chiropractor, a Doctor of Chiropractic (DC), on the other hand, will probably recommend some x-rays, a series of spinal adjustments, and some basic home exercises. See a Physical Therapist (PT), and they will advise electrical

stimulation and a back strengthening program, along with flexibility exercises twice a week for six weeks.

So, who is the best provider for the injured BJJ athlete when it comes to seeking care? The answer is all the above, but knowing when to see who is critical. What phase you’re with in your injury is just as important. I tell patients that time is a much better healer than any doctor will ever be. Seeking out a massage therapist when your pain is as acute as in the scenario described above is probably not a good idea. Likewise, going to an orthopedic surgeon too soon could lead to more invasive procedures that time could have otherwise resolved on its own.

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What to LOOK FOR

Here are a few things to consider when selecting a health care provider. If at all possible, find someone who understands the sport you do. If you see an MD, DC, or PT who trains in jiujitsu, you can rest assured you will be in good hands. Try explaining the biomechanics of what happened to your shoulder from rolling out of an omoplata to a doctor who’s never trained before. It’s like trying to explain color to a blind person. Seeking medical advice from a health care provider who doesn’t train in jiu-jitsu generally leads to perplexed looks and bad advice that usually sounds something like, “You shouldn’t be doing ninjitsu anymore.”

Chances are there are one or two doctors that everyone at your academy goes to see when they hurt themselves. Ask around and you’ll get a good sense for who is a worthwhile person to know. If you plan on training in jiu-jitsu for the long term, I would say there are three people you should absolutely have on your speed dials - a great chiropractor, a fantastic massage therapist, and a skilled orthopedic surgeon, in that order. I say chiropractor first, not because I am one, but because they are a good first start, since most have very good training in dealing with most musculoskeletal injuries, and not just neck and back injuries. The scope of practice for chiropractors in most states includes taking x-rays and performing physical therapy, so even with acute injuries they should be able to help. He or she should also be able to tell you if you need to see anyone else.

A great massage therapist will keep your body running smoothly and minimize the effects of wear and tear. Finding someone who specializes in doing sports massage can keep you in the BJJ game longer and return you to the mats quicker after injury. Even if you don’t have any injuries that require immediate attention, it’s still a good idea to get regular body work done. Think of taking your car in for regular service and tune ups. It keeps your car functioning the way it should. A high performance sports car requires even more maintenance and fine tuning.

Likewise, the jiu-jitsu athlete should be getting regular body work from both a massage therapist and chiropractor. Getting treated once or twice a month, or a few days per week when your training is in high gear, is reasonable.

Lastly, you should know a skilled orthopedic surgeon in your area. No matter how good your chiropractor, massage therapist, or physical therapist is, none of them can fix a blown knee with a torn ACL. Some injuries just need to be

fixed surgically, plain and simple. You should know which orthopedic surgeons do good handiwork and have a good track record. Some specialize in certain areas of anatomy so knowing who does more shoulders, and who focuses on knees, is probably a good idea. I will leave necks and backs out of this paragraph since I believe most spine injuries, excluding certain fractures, will heal with conservative means and time, but that’s just my opinion. Some surgeons would probably say otherwise.

What to AVOID A

“Oh yeah, right there.” Photo: www.cracked.com

void a health care provider who believes his or her professional training is always the method of choice for treating an injury. The problem with believing that one treatment is the only way to fix all injuries is that it only works some of the time. It is comparable to what we saw in the early days of the UFC when it was simply about style versus style. The karate practitioners thought it would triumph over the Western boxers and any other style they faced. The Greco Roman wrestlers believed strong grappling skills were all you needed to find victory in the octagon. Even the BJJ purists had to evolve and add other elements to their arsenal to be successful. We all know that mixed martial arts has come to where it is now by bringing together the best of all the different fighting disciplines.

The same holds true when dealing with an injury, and this is no different from how healthcare should be delivered. There needs to be a mixed approach to treating injuries. In our office, we call this approach the “Mixed Healing Arts.” We take elements of both Western and Eastern medicine and apply it to our treatment for each individual patient.

We know that not every back patient responds to physical therapy or pain medication. If a patient presents in such acute pain, we know what our limitations are, and we have no problems referring them for an epidural steroid injection. When the traditional physical therapy and chiropractic treatments don’t work, we may try adding more manual therapy techniques. If patients were initially getting better, but have plateaued for some reason, we may consider acupuncture as part of the treatment regimen.

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THINGS TO CONSIDER Some surgeons are quicker to put you under the knife, while others are more willing to recommend conservative measures first. In most, but not all cases, the surgical approach should be your last option. The reason being is that once you get on the surgeon’s table, there is no going back, and you cannot undo what’s been done. In cases of lower back pain, there is something known as failed back syndrome where pain persists even after the procedure has been done. There is no guarantee that a surgical procedure will be successful, and sometimes there are long term effects that can make the condition worse and keep you off the mat for longer in the grand scheme of things.

Likewise, a chiropractor who advises long periods of treatment without periodic re-examinations or recommends a pre-paid treatment “package” should generally be avoided. Someone who gives you pressure to sign up for many visits up front is probably more interested in his bank account than getting you better. I have seen patients with acute lower back pain with sciatica who have done just fine with as little as two visits. Some chiropractors also subject patients to unnecessary x-rays.

I believe x-rays are warranted in cases where trauma is involved, or if there are other red flags, such as a history of cancer or other bone pathologies. Pre and post treatment x-rays after a few weeks of treatment are essentially meaningless. If part of the recommended treatment involves taking repeat x-rays after a certain number of visits, I suggest you find another chiropractor.

In the end, it is in your best interest to have multiple health care providers at your disposal. Just because ‘Dr. X’ got your buddy’s shoulder better doesn’t necessarily mean he can help you the same way. Don’t rule out some of the more alternative treatments either.

Some people swear by the healing properties of magnets. ‘Dr. Y,’ the acupuncturist, might be a better bet for you. You may be pleasantly surprised by how your body responds to something as non-mainstream as Reiki, or energy work. Second opinions never hurt anyone either.

Just find someone who is reputable and keeps an open mind.

DO YOUR RESEARCH Sometimes when you roll with the big guys you get an adjustment whether you want it or not.

Referrals from family and friends are a good start when looking for health care providers, but there are a plenty of free sites on the internet where you can find good information about a potential doctor. You can also check with your state’s medical board to see if your

doctor has had any negative reports, suits, or complaints filed against him or her.

Some good places to get some general information are: www.HealthGrades.com www.Wellness.com www.Vitals.com www.AngiesList.com www.Yelp.com

BIO: Dr. Park Dr. Park is a Maryland licensed chiropractor with physical therapy privileges who specializes in treating sports injuries. Like you he is also a BJJ enthusiast and continues to train and compete. For more information you can find him on the web at www.ProSpineRehab. com, www.MixedHealingArts.com or email him at DrJPark@gmail.com.

TIPS ON

HOW TO E S O O H C A CHIROPRACTOR

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any patients come to our office after seeing different health care providers, and the most confusion seems to come from the Chiropractic profession.

Some Doctors of Chiropractic (DC) believe that a chiropractic adjustment is the “cureall” for any condition or ailment, and that is all he or she will do. Others incorporate physical therapy, massage therapy, and rehabilitation into their regimen of care.

Different practitioners have different philosophies, and one is not necessarily right or wrong, but there are a few things you should consider before going to see one. Here’s an excerpt by Dr. Mitchell Miglis from www.SpineUniverse.com that I agree whole-heartedly with. Be cautious

about seeing a chiropractor who does the following: Unnecessary or repeat x-ray studies Months of endless care without re-examination No improvement or even worsening does not result in reexamination or referral elsewhere Pre-sold treatment “packages” Pressure to sign up for or attend maintenance or preventive care programs

Most importantly, your chiropractor should be willing to refer you to another health care provider if chiropractic treatment is not producing positive results in a timely fashion.

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STRENGTH & CONDITIONING

BUILDING YOUR

CORE AND ENDURANCE words & photos: JJM STAFF

ORE IS KEY WHEN IT COMES TO JIU-JITSU. YOU NEVER WANT TO RELY ON STRENGTH; INSTEAD, TECHNIQUE SHOULD ALWAYS BE THE FIRST PRIORITY. However, when you’re faced with someone whose technique matches yours, if you’re on the short side of physical strength or endurance, the one with the better physical presence is often the victor. With that in mind, we partnered up with Kelly Babb and Jon Lee Brody of Cage Fitness as they showed us a few core and conditioning exercises from their Cage Fitness routine. The Cage Fitness routines center around their Cage Fitness Dummy, which is a 25lb dummy that’s used during all the workouts, and as you’ll see, doubles as a grappling dummy for some techniques. The Cage Fitness routine is endorsed by Matt Hughes, Chael Sonnen, Brian Ebersole, and other MMA fighters. We’ve picked out the best exercises for us grapplers. The routines chosen all use the 25lb Cage Fitness Dummy. If you don’t have one, you can try substituting with a light punching bag, sandbag, and a large duffle bag filled with 25lbs of sweaty gis.

KIMURA CRUNCH

STEP 1 Lie down on your back with the dummy between your legs, cross your legs to close your guard, and squeeze the dummy between your legs.

T

his exercise mimics the motion you’d use to execute a Kimura from the guard. It’s a good one to drill the motion needed for a Kimura or a sweep from guard and works the abs, obliques, and hip flexors.

Let’s get physical.

STEP 2

Perform a crunch while reaching over and across to the back of the dummy.

So, crunch up and twist so you’re reaching your right arm around the left side of the dummy.

STEP 3 The further you reach the better so that only your butt is on the mat, come back down, and reach across with your other arm.

This one is a great way to warm up into the program. Perform 3 rounds of a minute each round, with a 30 second rest between or as part of a larger circuit.

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Perform 3 sets of 10 rounds. Each

CRUNCH AND CLINCH

round will consist of 50 crunches and 10 5-second clinches.

T

his one is as hard as you want to make it. When done to the extreme it’s a total body exercise with an emphasis on strengthening yourself in the clinch.

STEP 2 Bring your hands across your chest and crunch into the dummy five times quickly.

STEP 1 Starting again from your back with the dummy between your legs, close your legs together so you’re mimicking your closed guard.

STEP 3 On the sixth count, reach your arms around the dummy and squeeze everything: upper body, legs, everything as tightly as you can to mimic having someone in your clinch. Hold this tightly for 5 seconds then release and go back and perform step 1 again. Be sure that the entire dummy is off the mat while holding your clinch.

TIC-TOC

T

We can see Bob trying to take a peek in the mirror.

his is another exercise that works almost every muscle.

The secret again here is staying tight with the dummy. Squeeze your legs and arms together to get an isometric contraction throughout the range of the motion.

STEP 2 From this starting position, your knees should be bent, but your arms are out straight. Slowly, and with control, raise the dummy up over your midsection with your arms and legs then overhead.

STEP 1 On your back so that the dummy is in front of you, place your feet near the base of the dummy and your hands on the handles, or up near the top. Imagine that your feet would be on your opponent’s hips while your hands would be near his armpits. Continued on the next page.

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STRENGTH & CONDITIONING STEP 3 Allow the dummy to just barely tap the mat, then bring it back over your head to your midsection, then back to your starting point. At the bottom, just allow the dummy to “tap� the mat, and then bring back for another go around.

Perform the tic-toc for between 2-3

STEP 4 Throughout the entire range of motion, maintain lots of pressure on the dummy with your feet and hands.

minutes. As it becomes easier, add more time, up to 5 minutes, or increase the speed while still maintaining control and without bouncing the dummy off the mat at the top and bottom of the movement.

PASSING THE GUARD

T

his exercise simulates passing an open guard, dropping into knee on belly, and dropping into side control. This helps build your endurance while simulating actual technique and building muscle memory.

STEP 1 Start with the dummy on the ground and you on top in a knee on belly position. So, your right knee is on the bag, your right leg turned in slightly, and your left leg is stretched out to your left. Place both hands up near the throat of the dummy.

STEP 2 While maintaining your hands on the dummy, jump up with your legs and go to the opposite position. Bring your hips up and bring your left leg up to the dummy with your left knee on the dummy and pivot your left leg over to the right side of the dummy.

STEP 3

This will get your heart pounding.

As you bring your left leg in, pivot your right leg around to the right side of the dummy and off to your left side, stretched out, so that you land in a knee on belly position that looks the opposite of how you started.

STEP 4 Switch side a total of 5 times each then go to a side control position, again pivoting on the bag with your arms. Instead of landing to a knee on belly position, allow your hip to pressure down on the dummy with both your legs out to each side.

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STEP 5 Perform this explosive jump to each side of the dummy a total of 5 times to each side.

STEP 6 Lastly, do a “hop� from the left side to the right side then back again with both feet landing on each side of the dummy. Drop your hips down and really push off on each hop. Perform this a total of 5 times to each side to complete the round.

This is a mini circuit comprised of 3 unique moves. Start with 5 times to each side for each of the 3 actions. You can increase the count and the speed as you get more adept to the movements. If you really want to punish yourself, perform for 5-minute rounds non-stop.

ISO PLANK CRUNCHES

A

gain, this is an excellent core exercise that helps to work your entire midsection, along with your hips.

STEP 1 Start off in a plank position with your elbow and arm on the dummy and your legs stretched out to the side. Your lower foot is the only thing contacting the ground.

STEP 3 In a fluid motion, raise your outstretched leg and arm together to contact your elbow with your knee.

STEP 2 Starting with your feet together, stretch your feet apart keeping both legs stretched. At the same time stretch your free arm up and over your head as far as it can go to really elongate your core.

STEP 4 After bringing your knee and elbow together for a second or two, stretch them both back out to the starting position. Breathe in when crunching your limbs together, and breathe out on the stretch away.

Starting to look like Doctor Octopus.

Perform 2 to 3 sets of 10 reps to each side. If you want to make it a little more difficult, rather than resting on your elbow and arm, rest with your palm to the bag. This will put more pressure on your shoulder and work your balance a little more.

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STRENGTH & CONDITIONING

DUMMY SLAM

T

his one helps to work your explosiveness, which is very beneficial at the start of a match when you’re tied up and you need to shoot in, or use force to get what you’re looking for.

It also helps to strengthen the core, legs, and arms.

STEP 1 Standing over the dummy, bend down and lift the dummy over your shoulder. The Cage Fitness dummy weights 25 lbs so there isn’t much risk of throwing your back out on this one. But if you were using a much heavier dummy or bag, be aware of your back and legs when lifting.

STEP 2 Once the dummy is up on your shoulder, use your entire body to “hurl” the dummy back onto the ground.

Use an explosive movement and don’t just drop the dummy, hurl it!

STEP 3 Use not only your arms, but also your core and everything to slam the dummy down. At the top of the movement your heels should be coming off the ground for maximum explosiveness. Exhale on each slam downward.

STEP 4 Once the dummy’s on the ground, get over it again, and lift to the opposite shoulder and perform the slam.

At a rapid pace perform 10 slams from each side of your shoulder for a total of 20 slams per round. Perform up to 3 rounds or incorporate into your circuit.

A

s mentioned in the introduction, this workout employs the Cage Fitness Dummy. You can use a substitute bag for any of these movements, however, the Cage Fitness workout routine is more than just the bag. It contains 4 separate full body workouts, gloves for the exercises that call for strikes, a training manual, and bonus workouts. You can get more information on their website, Get mad at that dummy!

www.cagefitness.com

Thanks to McKenzie Satterthwaite and Mike Chat for the use of their awesome North Hollywood XMA World Headquarters for this photo shoot. www.xmahq.com

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feature

JUDO

MADE HIM

DO IT

words: DEB BLYTH | photos: JOHN COOPER

JJ REVOLUTION/TEAM BEAUREGARD BJJ 2ND DEGREE BLACK BELT RYAN BEAUREGARD HAS A SECRET THAT MIGHT “THROW” YOU A LITTLE BIT. He’s got something up his sleeve, so to speak, that many other jiu-jitsu athletes don’t have, but wish they did. These coveted skills and abilities helped him secure his current record, which includes winning the Worlds as a brown belt in 2008, being a twotime American Nationals Champion, a five-time Pan American medalist, an IBJJF European Championship finalist, and an ADCC World Pro European Championship medalist. What’s Ryan got that’s so special? He holds a black belt in Judo.

M That’s Ryan on the right, incase you weren’t sure.

ORE AND MORE JIU-JITSU PRACTITIONERS ARE BEGINNING TO UNDERSTAND, ACCEPT, AND EMBRACE THE NEED FOR JUDO AS A COMPLEMENT TO THEIR JIUJITSU TRAINING. This is evident by the number of jiu-jitsu academies that now offer Judo classes as part of their core curriculum. At a time when the competition in jiu-jitsu is so tight and evenly matched, getting two points for a takedown can make all the difference between getting your hand raised or being knocked out of the competition entirely. JiuJitsu Magazine caught up with Ryan to talk to him a little bit about Judo and the benefits it provides jiu-jitsu athletes.

How long have you been training in Judo?

Tell us about Judo competitions.

I’ve been training in Judo for five years, I currently train under Rich Moss who is a sixth degree black belt in Judo.

You start standing. If you get a takedown, called an Ippon, where your opponent ends up flat on his back on the mat, the match is over. If you don’t get a solid throw, but you end up down on the mat, you start your ground work. You’re given a certain amount of time to work a sub or pin. It’s a little different style from jiu-jitsu, but similar. If nothing happens in that set amount of time, the refs stand you up again. They really emphasize the standing part during competition.

Do you compete in Judo?

Yes. I’m a three-time Arizona State Champion Black Belt, a Grand Canyon Judo Games Champion at Weight and Open Division, and I won the Grand Canyon Power Player Award.

Why did you get into Judo?

I was a State Champion wrestler in high school.

When I started jiu-jitsu at 23, I would shoot wrestling-style takedowns. I started watching Judo takedowns at the jiu-jitsu tournaments and wanted to learn them. You can’t slam in wrestling; you have to control, and I wanted to slam someone! Judo takedowns are so much more extravagant than basic double or single leg takedowns. So, I started Judo, when I was a jiu-jitsu purple belt, under Steve Owen, who was PRIDE star Don Frye’s manager and coach.

Why do you compete in Judo?

I compete to work on my stand up, which enhances my jiu-jitsu game. So, I go to tournaments to work on my takedowns. If I don’t get an Ippon – that perfect throw – I won’t work for a sub or pin. I let the ref stand us back up. I end up getting to try like 50 takedowns in a Judo tournament.

How has Judo helped your Jiu-Jitsu competition game?

It allows me to decide where the match is going to go and to have more control over it. I can

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“I fought Big Mac in 2010 and I didn’t want to be on the bottom for obvious reasons.” fight for the top or the bottom. I can pull guard any time, but if I want to get a takedown, I’m comfortable standing. I can’t imagine what it must feel like to not be comfortable in that position when you start the match off that way.

I like to fight in the absolute. I fought Big Mac in 2010 and I didn’t want to be on the bottom for obvious reasons. I got the takedown on him.

This was after everyone told me he was too big to take down, but I got it. I got the points…I wish I could have kept them…but at least in the beginning, I got to decide where I wanted to be. Xande (Ribeiro) is so good on top. He puts a lot of pressure of you. When I fought him, I stood with him for a long time. I was able to stuff his takedowns. I wanted to play on top, and he ended up pulling guard. The match ultimately went to a referee’s decision, and I lost, but hopefully my losses will turn to wins eventually.

When I think about jiu-jitsu, I don’t just think about competition, but also about self-defense. If you run into a situation outside of the academy, you can’t use your jiu-jitsu until you take someone down to the ground. If you can’t take someone down, you can’t ever use your jiu-jitsu.

You need to be comfortable taking someone down into our world of jiu-jitsu. That’s where Judo comes in.

What do you love most about Judo?

Takedowns can be devastating. I love to get the crowd going and the momentum on my side. I like to get the match started with a big takedown.

I like to put people down hard. If people will stand with you, it’s great. I always want the takedown, 100% of the time. I will never change my game plan. I’m confident with my game, and

I want to get the takedown. If you start the match ahead on points, the pressure’s on the other person. He needs to start moving.

What are the most important things you’ve learned through Judo?

Judo is really similar to jiu-jitsu. Its culture and history go way back, so there’s a lot of respect and loyalty towards your instructors. Like jiu-jitsu, Judo gets you in shape, keeps you motivated, and gives you confidence. You feel like you can take care of yourself in situations. It gives you peace of mind. I’m sure as a parent, knowing that your son or daughter can take of themselves when you’re not with them would be a really great and comforting feeling.

Do you offer Judo at your academy?

Yes, we offer separate traditional Judo classes at Team Beauregard BJJ. Southwest Judo is inside my academy. We have a couple of 6th degree Judo black belts, and a 3rd degree black belt teaching. I help with the kids and adults, but they run the Judo program. Southwest Judo recently competed at the Jr. Olympics and placed in the top five in the nation. They are amazing. They wipe out everyone in Arizona.

BJJ Revolution are seven-time National champs, so we got it all covered!

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We’ll hook up with Ryan soon for an article on some Judo for jiu-jitsu.

What do you think is the most important benefit of Judo?

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defined

JIU-JITSU

DEFINED Terms C-D words: STAFF

Choke: A term used to describe a submission that intends to prevent air (choking) or blood (strangling) from passing through the neck of your opponent. If your opponent does not tap from a choke they may lose consciousness from the lack of blood or air.

Clinch: the act of holding tight to your opponent, usually with arms wrapped around him to close the distance between you and limit his ability to attack or maneuver.

Closed Guard: A common guard where one person is on his back with his legs wrapped around his opponent. What makes the guard closed is when this person on the bottom position-hooks his feet together.

Collar Choke: A choke achieved by reaching across your opponent’s collar with opposite hands. Your right hand grips his right collar, your left hand grips his left collar. Typically, this is done with the thumbs in the collar. The choke is executed with a crossing of your arms and curling of your wrists to put pressure against your opponent’s neck.

Compression Lock: A hold which presses a muscle into bone causing severe pain. If the lock is continued, the nearby joint can lock up causing muscle, tendon, and ligament damage. Common compression locks include calf slicers, bicep slicers, and ankle locks. Most compression locks are illegal in jiu-jitsu competition, but many are legal in submission grappling.

Close the guard on your way out.

COLLAR

The padded portion of a gi jacket that wraps over the top of the neck. Collars are made from either foam or fabric.

The collar is an integral part of jiujitsu and provides a leverage point for a large number of possible chokes and submissions.

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Counter: A technique that is meant to be an opposing move to negate or seek advantage over your opponent’s original move.

CRASH PAD

CROSS GRIP When you’re squared up to your opponent, a cross grip is any grip that brings your arm across both your bodies so that you’re grabbing his same side as your reaching side, i.e. if your opponent is in your closed guard and you reach across your body to grip his left hand with yours.

A thick foam pad or mat used to help break a fall when drilling explosive takedowns. The one shown is from Zebra Mat.

Creatine: A popular performance enhancing supplement associated with increased muscle mass.

Creatine is a naturally occurring compound produced by our bodies. Research suggests that creatine supplementation may provide benefits in improving performance in high-intensity, shortduration activities like jiu-jitsu.

Cross Body: Any position where you’re near perpendicular with your opponent. Most commonly, another name for what’s known as “Side Control.”

head is a valuable tool to limit your opponent’s options for movement.

Cross Guard: A guard often used and made popular

by Robson Moura. In this guard, the bottom player grabs his opponent’s opposite side sleeve, places his foot on the hip or under the armpit of the side of his opponent that’s captured, then under hooks or controls that same side knee. The bottom player has three points of contact on his opponent. This guard is fairly uncommon and offers lots of sweeping and submission options.

Crucifix: A position where one person has his back to his opponent and the person behind is able to secure each arm. One arm is secured by the legs, the other by the arm. Once someone is in a crucifix they’re exposed to a choke, armbar, shoulder lock, and other submissions.

Cutting Weight: The process of shedding water weight 24 to 48 hours prior to a competition. This is done either by deprivation of fluids and food. Can be dangerous and produce a negative affect on performance if done incorrectly. Not the same as reducing weight through proper diet and exercise.

D’ARCE CHOKE Named after Joe D’Arce, a black belt under Renzo Gracie. Sometimes referred to as a Brabo choke, it is based off of an arm triangle choke where the arm that’s doing the choking is threaded under the near arm and under the opponent’s neck.

The near arm reaches for the far arm to lock and finish.

Heidi’s got it.

Cross Face: Any time your arm or forearm is across your opponent’s face, as to control the direction his head is pointed. The old adage is, “wherever the head is pointed, the body follows.” Using the cross face to control his

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defined Defense: The act of defending from an attack, or danger. In sport jiu-jitsu it can also mean not allowing your opponent to score points against you.

Dehydration: The act of not keeping well hydrated either on purpose, to reduce water weight, or not keeping up with your fluid needs.

Either way, dehydration can lead to lack of performance and or serious negative health effects.

Deadlift: A weight lifting exercise where weight is lifted from the ground to level with the hips, then lowered back to the ground in a controlled motion. The deadlift is considered by many as being one of the most beneficial weighted exercises for building overall body strength. It employs muscles in the abdomen, back, legs, hips, and forearms.

Diet: The types of foods you consume and their consideration towards their effects on health and performance. Typically, in jiujitsu, you’re burning lots of calories. Most fighters won’t use some sort of starvation for weight loss, but rather a “clean” diet that will promote health and better body composition.

A takedown that involves the attacker grabbing both his opponent’s legs (double) while forcing his chest against him. The attacker continues forward or picks up the opponent and eventually forces him to the ground.

In jiu-jitsu, if the attacker initiates the movement and successfully gets his opponent to the ground, it results in two points for the takedown.

Distraction: In the metal game of jiujitsu a distraction is causing your opponent to veer away from your game plan by causing them to focus elsewhere. Could also refer to as a “fake” or “bait.”

Deep Half Guard: An extreme variation of halfguard where you’re deep underneath your opponent’s hips and securing one leg with your legs/and or far side arm. Your near side arm can also secure the leg, or reach behind your opponent to facilitate a sweep.

Dojo: A Japanese term that literally translates to “place of the way.”

Originally meant to refer to a formal training place for any Japanese art. But now used to describe a martial arts training facility.

Dominant: The person in control during a position or exchange of positions. Taking your opponent’s back, mount, and side control are all examples of dominant positions.

Double Under Hook: When you’re tied up with your opponent, either standing or on the ground in a clinch, and both of your arms are under his. This is a dominant position in the clinch and gives you much greater control over your opponent. Having double under hooks gives you advantage in taking him to the ground or limiting his ability to progress through a technique.

DE LA RIVA GUARD

Way too much Glover in this issue, we know. Our apologies.

DOUBLE LEG

A guard pioneered and named after Ricardo de la Riva. The person on the bottom wraps one leg around the outside of the opponent’s lead leg while standing. The bottom player’s foot is then inserted to hook the inside of the thigh, either at the knee or hip. The position of the other leg is dependent on the opponent’s position, but is most commonly used to maintain distance or set up a sweep. There are variations to this position.

Drilling: Repeating a specific technique or sequence repetitively to improve timing and execution of the technique.

Dynamic Stretch: A stretch with a dynamic movement at the end of it. This increases functional ability of the stretched muscles and better stimulates the muscles, tendons, joints, and ligaments.

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success

BEFORE

The T-Shirt

CHANGED EVERYTHING ometimes small decisions can change your life. One day Julian Barajas was going through his closet, or dress drawer, and figured he’d throw on his favorite TapouT shirt. Well that decision and the total happenstance that someone would ask him about it changed his life forever.

Julian began training, and in just a few short years he dropped 50lbs thanks to that fateful day and jiu-jitsu. That’s Julian on the right.

AFT

ER

STATS Age: 23 Height: 5’8 Starting Weight: 210 Current Weight: 160 Belt Rank: White Home Town: Saginaw, Michigan Home School: Delta College (Pioneer Jiu-Jitsu) Instructor: Mike Yelsik, Carl Rabideau, among others.

We’re guessing jiu-jitsu’s helped Julian with the ladies as well.

How did you discover Jiu-Jitsu?

I was hanging around Saginaw Valley State University with friends when Bryan Thomas and Aaron Crossen saw I was wearing a TapouT shirt on campus and just came up and asked me if I trained in anything and I said, “no.” They told me to come and roll with the club at the university and see if I liked it. I ended up going that week and just fell in love with it. It was my new addiction and I caught on quick and never looked back!

How often do you train?

Usually twice a week for two hour sessions with my current schedule. We hold practice five times a week.

What else do you do for physical fitness?

I just got back into weight lifting to put on some muscle. Cardio mainly, circuit training, and

MMA striking. I enjoy MMA style workouts, it just keeps things interesting and fun.

Have you changed your diet and how?

I rarely drink soda or eat fast food. I try to eat more natural veggies and fruits. I limit red meat to maybe twice a month sticking to leaner proteins like fish, turkey, and chicken.

I don’t drink alcohol as much maybe once a month, and keep my food intake as natural and unprocessed as possible.

What’s the best thing about your life change?

The best thing about my life change is my physical health. I’m at lower risk of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and everything else. That sort of stuff runs on both sides of my family. Mentally I have an escape from the world. When I get on the mats I’m

at peace and time stands still as I enter a state of euphoria, it’s unbelievable. Not only am I a better person because of BJJ but I’ve improved the lives of others around, that is most important to me.

What advise would you give to someone looking to make the same type of change that you made?

I would tell them if you have the dedication and patience to wait and see results, you can accomplish anything. Everything takes time and the amount of effort you put in well equals the results you see. Everyone can always be healthier mentally and physically and there’s no excuse not to improve every day in this short life.

Have a story on how jiu-jitsu has changed your life? Tell us about it at: feedback@ jiujitsumag.com.

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