BJJ / Grappling Discussion: Is Your Jiu Jitsu Pure?

A discussion about “Pure Jiu Jitsu” was brought to my attention yesterday. I must admit that the discussion itself didn’t really teach me anything I didn’t already know but it made me think.

The central question raised was: What defines Pure Jiu Jitsu? This situation is not unique if you look at many traditional martial arts. A family member(s) (usually the eldest son or brother or even most senior student) ends up "inheriting" responsibility for the art and feels, in a lot of cases, rightly passionate about preserving what they learnt and inherited. You see this in Karate (Wadokai v wado ryu or even ITF Taekowndo vs the WTF version), Jujutsu (Iwama ryu v Aikikai) and even weapon arts (family-based ryu or schools vs curriculums by the Budokai. I'm not agreeing with it, I'm just saying that it's a natural thing.

If I was to create a system (of any kind) and spent a very long time teaching the ins and outs of it to someone (especially blood related), then they will see my passion for it and may develop a feeling that they need to preserve it after my death, rather than open it up and develop/expand it. That is human. This is not even to mention the perceived financial advantageous of a monopoly!

On the other hand, you will often have a group of people who are more passionate about the art itself and how it can enrich people's lives. They respect what those who created it/discovered it/formulated it did but are more excited by the prospects that the future holds and they realise that for the art/system to thrive and expand, it needs to evolve and stay up-to-date. They form committees and they created federations and they bring in democratic regulations. That too is human and of course welcome.

Which way to go then? Well the beauty of it is that it's up to the instructor, as long as he or she is honest, it all adds to the art and by being honest, I mean honest in all your communication with your students and the public. If you focus on preserving techniques that were meant to deal with a set of circumstances (be it sword attacks, BJJ competition or Vale Tudo) and you tell everyone that that’s your focus then great. If they like it, who’s to stop them/you.

The original question (What defines Pure Jiu Jitsu?) is really just a trap. A trap of attachment and measurement. “Pure” simply implies that something/everything else is “impure” which we have come to feel is something negative, turning the question into, in essence, marketing. The word is not the thing. If you want to know the thing, go roll. Don’t power your way thru, leave your ego outside and flow with the go and you will experience the thing and no one will be able to take it away from you or make it “impure”, whatever the hell that means.

 

----Did You Like This Article?--- Make sure you add The Part Time Grappler to your Favourites/Bookmarks ---------------------------------

BJJ / Grappling Tips: Training When Ill...

A week ago, I thought I was falling ill with something. I felt at worst in my throat on Friday and am on the re-bound now. But it all got me thinking.

Grapplers are obsessed with training that it is not uncommon to see individuals putting in long workouts the day before a competition or when they are ill.

I believe the reason is that athletes fear losing the benefits of long periods of training by taking time off, no matter how brief. Professional athletes from all sports go through periods where they train more or less intensely but the recreational, part-time grappler always feel that if he misses one session then the next time he hits the mat he will be light years behind. The fact of the matter is if you have been training regularly for a year or so then a brief break (*) from exercise because of illness will result in minimal, if any, performance set backs!

Do you want more good news, the (*) period mentioned here is further extended if you, instead of going cold turkey, reduce your sessions to a lower frequency. So if you used to train 2-3 times a week and went thru a period where you could only do 1 session per week, the universe will not stop revolving!

Should I or Shouldn't I?
The main questions you need to ask yourself are:

BJJ / Grappling tips: Stop Wasting Time in Jiujitsu!

Do you want to stop wasting time while training jiujitsu? Spring Clean your life!

An old saying goes: You don’t measure water with a sieve! In other words, in order to know how much time you will need to get something done, you have to manage where your time is disappearing.

We grow attached to clutter. It’s a simple as that. Garfield the cat says in one his cartoons: Food a funny thing, because the moment you are full it turns from temptation to garbage. The same goes for objects. The moment we attach a value to them, we practically hand them an unquestioned invite to clutter our lives (and steal our valuable time).

An excellent example is the £2.99 I paid for one of the best Judo books ever published: The Secrets of Judo: Text for Instructors and Students: Test for Instructors and Students. It's where I learnt all my top game pressure principles. I got it at the local used-book store. Whoever owned prior to me had not attached any further value to it and was happy to part with it (or perhaps they loved it but it was time for it to make its journey to me!)

Here is something that I recommend you do at least once and preferable 2ce a year. I call it the Spiritual Spring Clean:

• Take a hard look at everything you own (and I mean everything!)
• Within 2 seconds place it in one of the following three piles:

1. Keep for a specific (near-future: upcoming 6-months) purpose
2. Give to someone specific
3. Throw away in the bin

(PS. These piles are listed in increasing order of size!)

Uncluttering your life will have a trickle down effect on your mental state and help you re-focus your training.

Remember the Pareto rule? 20% of what you own will provide 80% you need (and 80% of your issues are born out of 20% of your activities!)

While you chew on that, watch professor Ryan Young's analysis of what's fundamental in jiujitsu and what's advanced. This may help you "spring clean" your arsenal of jiujitsu techniques.

--------------------------------------------------

ZHOO ZHITSU IS FOR EVERYONE!

Check for more resources on Amazon.com:

BJJ / Grappling Tips: Writing a training diary

I used to love my training journal. It was a helpful component of my training bag. Let me explain.

I said Helpful: I love BJJ grappling and, coming from a managerial background, I thrived on analysing old data and using that knowledge to plan future action plans ...etc. I actually still have my old journals from when I first started BJJ and look in them every now and again. You can't analyse what you haven't captured and that was my way of capturing.

I also said It was: I stopped using the journal as I felt that they served their purpose for me. I no longer go to training to get "better". I go because I love it. Of course, even those who are not chasing improvement can still use the training journal. I have just switched to other mediums like this blog and my social media accounts.

Is BJJ the same as MMA? What about if you train Thai boxing on the side?

Do you still practice karate? Which out of Jiujitsu, judo and karate is your favourite martial art? What’s the best martial art out there? What’s next for you?

These are the questions I get the most often when people hear that I’ve earned black belts in three different martial arts (karate, judo and Jiujitsu) and I’ve noticed, over the years, that my answers have evolved. 

Courtesy of Mr Iain Abernathy: leader within the field of Practical Karate

Every art I’ve trained to any length* has had an element of exchange, aka partner drills / kumite / randori / rolling / sparring. Granted, some arts focused on that more than others but even the year or so I trained in tai chi chuan, an art made famous by its solo practice, had something called “pushing hands” which necessitated having a partner / opponent.  

Outside the above mentioned (1) exchange of techniques with a partner, martial arts also have exercises that (2) strengthen the body and / or improve your control over it (callisthenics, lifting weights, stretching, coordination drills...etc), (3) solo forms of drilling the techniques (shadow boxing / wrestling, forms aka kata in Japanese arts) and (4) equipment practice (striking / wrestling bags, makiwara, elastic bands, dummies  ...etc) and, again, the extent to which these avenues of exercise are emphasised varied greatly from style to style but also from instructor to instructor. I know for instance that some styles of karate lay a huge emphasis on making the body strong using traditional implements (weighted jars, iron rings, isometric contractions...) while more modern styles emphasise explosive delivery of techniques fostered through the use of elastic rubber bands and plyometrics. Different courses for different horses. 

My two major challenges were always that: 

1. I like all forms of exercise 
2. There are only 24 hours a day and I’m only a part time martial artist. 

BJJ / Grappling / Judo Tips: Jimmy Pedro talks about the value of losing, loss and seeing others lose

Jimmy with the champion Kayla Harrison (Image courtesy of https://www.nbcolympics.com)

Listening to an episode of the podcast “Take It Uneasy” with judo athlete (medalling at the worlds and the Olympics), coach (Kayla Harrison, Travis Stevens...etc) and author (Grip Like A World Champion) Mr Jimmy Pedro, I loved how often he referenced loss as a teacher and not just in the traditional way. He started the podcast talking about his relationship with his first coach, his dad. He mentioned how demanding his father was, and kind of quickly mentioned under his breath that when his father sent him to train with champions and Uber-coaches of that time, one of the reasons was for Jimmy to see these champions fail and observe how they dealt with that. “They’re just human. They fall but they get back up!”

How to Afford A BJJ Holiday: Jiujitsu in LA - Travel report of my 2018 visit

“How can you afford your BJJ trips?!” Is one of the most common questions I get asked, right after “did you train with any big names out there?” and “when and where are you going next?”

The reason these questions stuck in my mind and why I am sharing this is because it used to be me asking the questions. Like many Jiujitsu practitioners I used to enviously listen to or read about Jiujitsu vagabonding stories and wonder how the person made it happen, often dismissing it as an anomaly or at least something that I thought was beyond my control: “they have more money / time / connections / luck than I do”.

And who knows. Maybe I was right. Maybe I needed the post Social Media era to finally realise my (fairly modest) travel plans and dreams. All I know is that when I ask my friends about their Jiujitsu travel dreams, they all sound so...achievable.

To start off, let me outline the major obstacles to just picking up your gi or rash guard & shorts and just hitting the proverbial road and then offer a few suggestions as to how you can work around them.
After that I’ll give you my modest advice for travelling for Jiujitsu and I’ll finish with a breakdown of my most recent trip to the Gracie Academy HQ in Torrance, LA (aka Gracie University or Jiujitsu Heaven.)

Budget:

You need an outline. You need to be good at planning and sticking to the plan. I can give you my numbers and figures, but ultimately you need to plan around your own time and budget and you (have I mentioned this before?) need to stick to your plan. Here are my figures for my experience for a week in a major jiujitsu mecca in California such as San Diego or LA:

BJJ / Grappling Tips: Avoiding injuries by training jiujitsu without an ego

Squad: Training triangle chokes against a striking opponent.
Myself, Professor Kone and my friend Mr Shukie Lok.
Shukie, myself and Shaun got our black belt together.

My jiujitsu teacher, Professor Eddie Kone, recently wrote a piece titled: "Separate your ego from your training. Train hard, but not like an a**hole."

Not only did I like the sentiment, I also liked the way he put his message across so I thought I'd share it here with you.


As most of you know a few weeks back I received an injury, The severity of the injury although not as bad as first thought was still a hindrance and rendered me unable to teach which the effect resulted in cancelling privates and having time away from the mat.

I just want to reiterate that injuries although are far and few between can happen, so how do we prevent or at least understand how they happen ?

I compiled some information for you to read at your own leisure, but one thing is for sure :-

BJJ Interview: NVM Jiujitsu Founder Nathan Spain

I recently had the chance to have a conversation with Mr Nathan Spain, founder of one of the youngest and most exciting brands on the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu gi market: NVM Jiujitsu. I met Nathan a few times at my friend Michel Verhoeven's seminars down in Kent and I could really sense his dedication to the art, the community and was so impressed by his uncompromising attitude towards quality, I thought it'd be cool to have a chat about his background and how the Non-Violent-Movement Brand came about (how cool is that name?!)

Nathan was kind enough to answer my interview questions and I'm currently in the process of reviewing two of his lines: "Death of the Ego" & "Order & Progress" so keep your eyes peeled for upcoming reviews. In the meantime, Mr Nathan Spain.

Hello. Why don’t we start by you telling us a little about yourself?

BJJ: Reaching the black belt

I recently, on Sunday the 26th of Novemebr 2017, received my black belt in Gracie Jiujitsu from my teacher, Mr Eddie Kone and his panel of black belts.

Myself, Mr Shaun Escoffery, Mr Eddie Kone, Mr Shukie Lok and Mr James Gregory

The 5 hour long test consisted of:

1. Teaching 4 mini-privates to a group of 3-5 students
2. Performing every technique from GM Helio Gracie's book "The Master Text".
3. Defending ourselves against random attacks in the centre of a "Self Defence Circle"
4. Defending ourselves against random attacks from an attacker surprising from behind

Why Learn Jiujitsu?

Why Learn Jiujitsu indeed? 

I started practicing martial arts back in the mid-90s. I started with, believe it or not, Kung Fu which was taught by a man who came to our high-school and taught us every Wednesday after school.d I felt invincible. I learnt very little of combative use, but even then I recognised that what I was learning was healthy and logical. Putting a lot of emphasis on body weight distribution and correct alignment gave me a great frame of learning which I then used to deconstruct and learn many martial arts over the years. Soon after leaving high-school and joining university I started WTF - Taekwondo and soon thereafter I fell in love with Karate and as the saying goes, the rest is history.

Fast forward to today, many lessons, belts, seminars and competitions later, I am just as in love with the martial arts as I was back then. In fact, I'd say that love affair has now blossomed into an incurable infatuation. I no longer see problems and differences between the styles of martial arts. I only see similarities and opportunities for growth.

With that in mind I thought I'd share a few reasons here why I feel my main art, Gracie Jiujitsu, would form the perfect compliment to any other martial art, be it my first loves of Kung Fu, Taekwondo or indeed Okinawan and Japanese Karate or my more recent focus on Kodokan Judo. I hope it encourages you to venture outside the confines of your own limitations and try jiujitsu or, indeed if you are already a jiujitsu practitioner, try another one of the above mentioned arts to compliment your jiujitsu practice,

12 reasons why Jiujitsu is the perfect compliment to any martial art

BJJ / Grappling Interview: Roger Gracie

Interviewing jiujitsu legends is a huge honor and privilege. Interviewing Mr Roger Gracie, is doubly so, simply because he's such a gentleman and a warrior. I cannot think of anyone in the jiujitsu world who can question his class. In this interview below (shot and edited by Mr Sam Wandi and Mr Lee Skillet, at RGA HQ in London months before Roger's victory against Buchecha), Roger talks about the pivotal forces that drive him. I hope you enjoy it.

Many thanks for the team at RGA HQ, Sam, Lee and www.fighermag.se for making this happen.
--------------------------------------------------

ZHOO ZHITSU IS FOR EVERYONE!

Check for more resources on Amazon.com:

Is BJJ a martial art?: Expressing the same principles in different ways

I've been listening to a lot of interviews with the two above Chrises: Haueter & Graugart, and thinking a lot about what it is about jiujitsu that we happily dedicate so much of our time and energy to. Why is it so engaging?

In a now famous grading speech by Chris Haueter, he talks about he misses the old days where the applicability of jiujitsu as a fighting art was still paramount and how, nevertheless, he loves the technical advancements of modern competitive jiujitsu. He seals the deal with the quote:

Watch Chris' full speech here: https://youtu.be/y-uF-9-EUho

We all get taught and shown the same fundamental techniques and principles of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Everybody gets shown the same fundamental guard passes and everyone is made aware that if you leave a hand in and one out you risk getting triangled...etc.. Not because there is some superior authority that runs around and checks that people adhere to abstract rules and regulations, but rather because BJJ and Grappling (and by extension MMA and all true combative sports) have an inbuilt reality-check: Does it work in sparring?

But while we are all taught the same principles for, say, chokes from side control, every athlete is free to interpret and indeed express these principles in her own way. Each athlete becomes, or at least is given the opportunity to become, an artist in their own right, with the jiujitsu mat being the canvas. Why else would we consider techniques, even when they bring us pain and discomfort, beautiful?

Just the other day I visited the Roger Gracie Academy HQ here in London where Mr Charles Negromonte was holding a fantastic class on specific sparring. We would spend round in the following geographies: Side, mount & back. Attacking and defending for full pelt. After the end of each double round (so both partners get a chance) Charles would stop the class and gather us all around to discuss any issues that may have arisen. I asked him about his favourite details regarding transitioning from side to the mount and the things he showed were nothing short of revolutionary to my game. Why? Because he provided me with amazing tools. Using the artist analogy, he upgraded my brushes and provided me with uber-rich palette of colours to paint with.

BJJ / NoGi grappling seminarium hos Berserk MMA- Stockholm, Sweden

Jiujitsu / grappling resan fortsätter. Nästa destination: Stockholm, Sverige hos Berserk MMA.

Min resa till Stockholm var mycket lättare och enklare än till Sicilien på många sätt:

• Jag flög vid 9
• Jag flög från London Gatwick som är båda enklare och billigare att komma till och ifrån
• Jag skulle bara stanna i ett dygn
• Målflygplatsen (i detta fall, Arlanda) är endast 45minuter ifrån Stockholm city med flygbuss
• Flygbussarna går var tionde minut, har AC och t.o.m. Wifi!
• Seminariet jag skulle hålla i var nogi, så jag behövde knappt packa med något
• Ingen vidare språkbarriär som i Italien

Sagt och gjort, dagen efter att jag landade från Sicilien befann jag mig i Stockholm och, tack vare världens snällaste och trevligaste polisgubbe, gick genom passkontroll på mindre än hälften av tiden jag hade avsett till det så jag gick lite runt i Stockholm och fyllde mina lungor med den friska nordiska luften. 

BJJ Globetrotting - Sicily

BJJ Globetrotting - Sicily 

A few years back, Danish jiujitsu practitioner Christian Graugart took us on a journey around the world through his blog and subsequent book the BJJ Globetrotter (Download here for free). Beyond doing the around-the-world journey himslef, Christian set about creating something much greater than himself when he came back: a community of jiujitsu enthusiasts who just want to meet, train and be groovy. Membership is easy and always free. These are the BJJ Globetrotters.

The BJJ Globetrotters evolved, and continues to evolve, into many things over the years. One such facet that has really picked up speed is an alternative to couch-surfing, with a BJJ twist: Matsurfing. Knowing I had the Easter Break coming up soon, I contacted a few Globetrotters who, on Matsuring, had said they'd be prepared to have someone crash their couch (or mat, I wasn't fussy) and I was lucky to hear back from a couple. Even luckier, that I ended up picking up the contact and flying to see Mr Ruben Stabile (From Matside BJJ - Palermo) in Palermo, Sicily. To fit other commitments, I needed to fly on Friday the 7th of April and, unfortunately, there were no flights to Palermo from London that day, but I could fly to Catania, also on Sicily, and take a connecting bus. I thought to myself, "It's a Mediterranean island. How big could it possibly be?! It'll be fine".

Hmmm. The only reasonably priced flight is from Luton. But, it's at a reasonable hour. "How hard could it be?! It'll be fine"

Have you ever been in love with Jiujitsu?

Anybody who has been in love with jiujitsu will testify to this:

If you haven't seriously contemplated quitting then you haven't really been in love with jiujitsu. 

If you have never put your gi in the bin at least once (before taking it out again, of course!) then you haven't really been in love with jiujitsu. 

If you haven't thought about all the time, money and energy that would be freed up from quitting jiujitsu and all the activities you could do with it then you haven't been in love with jujitsu. 

And unless the only thing stopping you from quitting jiujitsu was having a conversation with someone who doesn't train jiujitsu and picturing your life like them, then you, my friend, have never really been in love with Jiujitsu.

See you all in the new year.
--------------------------------------------------

ZHOO ZHITSU IS FOR EVERYONE!

Check for more resources on Amazon.com:

BJJ / Grappling tips: Master Rickson Gracie's advice on training part time vs full time

I once explained to master Rickson Gracie what this website / movement is and what being a part time grappler is all about and sought his view on the matter and what he said really calmed me:



Me: I'm talking about the professionals like the doctors, teachers etc who only train 2-3 times per week for 1-2 hours each session. They can't compete with the full timers. What advice do you have for them?

Rickson: Balance. These guys can join the navy, but they will never become navy seals! My son (Kron) lives jiujitsu and I constantly advise him to balance his energy. Energy for training, energy to live and energy to love. 



It's so important to remember why we started to train and to plan our lives and set our attitudes accordingly.

The speedboat of top level competitors skims across the ocean of Jiujitsu. Those who fool themselves into thinking they can hang with them while training 3 hours per week inevitably fall off it into the surges after an exhausting year or two of hard and injurious sparring. 

We, The Part Time Grapplers, are the smart ones. We are the ones riding wakeboards behind the boat, using their bobbing heads for 720 tricks. 

We'll never make it to the top, but we'll always be having a great time.

--------------------------------------------------

ZHOO ZHITSU IS FOR EVERYONE!

Check for more resources on Amazon.com:

BJJ Seminar & Summer Grading: New School BJJ with Helio "Soneca" Moreira

The day started with 7 black belts

I recently had the pleasure & honour to attend Professor Helio Soneca's Summer Grading and seminar at Ernest Bevin College in Tooting, South London. The seminar was open to all and was immediately followed by New School BJJ's Summer Grading.

The Instructor

Helio Pires Moreira, aka Soneca, is a big deal. The man is a bit of a legend to be fair. He's one of the first black belt produced by the powerhouse Gracie Barra back in the old days. The NAGA, Brazilian Nationals- & Mundial champion has a lot to teach so when I heard he was coming over to London for the third time to teach and grade at his affiliate New School BJJ, I jumped at the opportunity. I mean, how many black belt do you know who started jiujitsu at the age of 8? Exactly!

Master Rickson Gracie discusses the future of jiu-jitsu with master Pedro Sauer and the head instructors at the Gracie Academy HQ: Ryron and Rener Gracie.

In a new video shot at the Gracie Academy in Torrance, California, Master Rickson Gracie discusses the future of jiu-jitsu with master Pedro Sauer and the head instructors at the Gracie Academy HQ: Ryron and Rener Gracie. Here's the video and the subtext to the video as published on YouTube:

Published on 7 Jun 2016

Jiu-Jitsu has reached a critical point in it's evolution. On one hand, it is one of the fastest growing sports on the planet, on the other hand, it is at risk of losing its identity and suffering the same fate that has negatively affected nearly all other martial arts. What made made jiu-jitsu famous in the 80s and 90s was its unprecedented effectiveness in real fights, yet today, most jiu-jitsu academies do not teach the elements that make the art applicable in a real fight.

BJJ / NoGi grappling seminar at Berserk MMA- Stockholm, Sweden

It was my great pleasure to teach a  NoGi grappling seminar last Monday at Berserk MMA back home in Sweden.

The beautiful and super clean facilities at Berserk MMA

Berserk MMA was founded by my friend Johan Halldin, who is also the owner of Fighter Magazine, Scandinavia's leading martial arts publication. The attitude there is very relaxed and, in a word: healthy!