BJJ / Grappling Supplements: GLC2000 Glucosamine + Chondroitin

Last night's advanced BJJ session at The Labs had something extra ordinary about it.

Without getting into too much detail, I can tell you that we worked really hard, but not to the point of breaking. We held and maintained a very high pace, but still managed to learn lots of jiu jitsu from the session.

In groups of three and against resistance, we drilled guard passing, sweeps, submissions, takedowns and takedown defence for two minute rounds, changing partner every time a point or a submission was scored. We did this for the full duration of the session and I am feeling it today! My muscles are sore and some of my joints are a little sore. I'm not broken, but I have been definitely been given a very thorough workout!

Coincidently, I received my first tub of GLC2000 yesterday. GLC2000 is a market leader in high-end Cartilage and joint formulae which I first saw in my first copy of Ultimate Grappling Magazine. We have all heard and read about joint supplements and whether they work or not but the proof, as they say, is in the pudding and I'm giving this one a try.

To give this Glucosamine / Chondroitin joint supplement the best review possible, I will be running a diary based on how I perceive the benefits of the product. My main joint issues from martial arts (karate and BJJ / Grappling) are:

Sore fingers / knuckles
Sore neck
"Tired" shoulder / rotator cuff muscles - tender tendons
Achy ribs, near the false ribs (lower rib cage)
Sore knees
Sore toes and ball of foot

Which pretty much covers everything haha but hey at least my elbows seem to be fine (touch wood!)

I will be updating the Part Time Grappler blog regularly with results of this experiment. (Sore) fingers crossed!


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ZHOO ZHITSU IS FOR EVERYONE!

Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

Proudly sponsored by Predator Fightwear: Built for the kill and Brutal TShirt: Made By Grapplers For Fighters

Auxiliary Training and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu / Grappling

It's important to treat it as that: auxiliary. If the intensity, duration or frequency of there sessions has a negative effect on your performance in BJJ / grappling / MMA then you have gone too far. All types of exercise exert stress on your body and dig a proportionate hole into your recovery reserves and you need to weigh off that against the potential benefit that auxiliary training will bring you.

Keeping the above in mind, there is also a hierarchy in building the attributes that you need for grappling and BJJ:

1. Mobility.
2. Endurance.
3. Strength.

You simply need enough mobility to be able to perform all the fundamentals of your art Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Find a simple and reliable programme to increase your range of motion in your wrists, shoulders, neck, lower back, hips and ankles and stick to it. A Yoga vinyasa (chain) like the Sun Salutation is excellent. Notice I didn’t say flexibility! Flexibility is awesome and I stretch loads every single day, but I do it because I enjoy it. For a dynamic art like Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (or any other martial art) you need to work on your joint mobility. Rotation work ala Pavel is the way forward.

Once happy with this basic level of flexibility it's time to work on your gas. Once again it's important to remember why you're doing this. This is nothing to do with your Lactic Acid Threshold. You're not aiming to become a long distance runner, or any kind of runner for that matter. Don't get overzealous and push past the lactic acid barrier. Keep the pace and intensity low and never allow these sessions to interfere with your ability to train your main sport and art. If anything, there sessions will help you move the blood around and flush any remaining lactic acid out of your grappling muscles, not generate some more!

Next on the agenda is strength. Once again, keep the goal in mind and don't train like a body builder or a power lifter. Focus instead on strengthening your back, core and legs and perhaps leave the holy bench press aside for a while. You want to be strong in the areas that end up carrying toe most tension and stress during grappling so you can stay healthy and grapple your whole life.



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More on Yoga and BJJ / Grappling

At the request of fellow blogger and honorary Part Time Grappler Georgette Oden, here are some more thoughts on the Yoga-BJJ / Grappling connection.

Let me start by saying that Yoga will not make your BJJ / Grappling techniques better per se.

What it will do, is improve your body awareness and sensitivity. Please take the time to watch the following 6-minute video

The Alexis Brothers from the world famous Cirque Du Soleil

I saw the Alexis Brothers on a CDS dvd two years ago and again live when the show came to town and I could immediately see that what they were doing was not merely an act of extreme strength.

Don't get me wrong, they are very very strong but they more importantly:

1. Know exactly how to handle their own body weight
2. Know exactly how to handle each others body weight

And what is guard passing, indeed what is BJJ / Grappling, if not exactly these two points!
By putting your body into positions and angles that teach your hands, feet, knees, elbows, spine...etc. how to handle your weight you are half way there. The reasons I choose Yoga are:

1. The added benefit of breath control, Pranayama
2. The flexibility you gain in the muscles
3. The agility you gain in the joints

and a few, more personal reasons that fit in with the Part Time Grappler mentality:

1. Yoga is, or at least can be, low impact. This means I can do lots and lots of Yoga without overtaxing my body.
2. Unlike Pilates, Yoga is very low-maintenance. All you need is a small space and off you go!
3. You don't have to sweat when doing Yoga. You can definitely push yourself and get a cardio workout out of it, but I aim for approximately 19 sessions per month, and that would result in an impractical amount of laundry. I'm sure this just put a smile on your face but it is indeed a factor that you have to take into account. I do my 45min yoga sessions up to three times per day and never push so hard to break a sweat! I could, but that's not why I do it.
4. Yoga is old and well studied. There is an ocean of information on it online, in books, DVDs, YouTube and other sources. You can get all the basics with a few clicks.
5. Yoga is quite popular and well spread-out in the world, and hence finding a teacher for the odd technical session here or there is not difficult. Good luck finding a Ginastica Natural qualified instructor within a 20km radius (that's 12.4 US miles :) )
6. It's easier to sell Yoga to other family members. My wife would rather join me in a few stretches than in a jog or...God forbid...a BJJ / Grappling roll.
7. Weight distribution: The Holy Grail of Efficiency. Like the great Bruce Lee once said: You wanna learn how to punch? Punch! You wanna learn how to kick? Kick! I'd like to add: You wanna learn how to transfer your body weight from the right hand to the left foot when guard passing? Play around in Downward dog!

I intend to do more, fuller posts on Yoga-postures v BJJ / Grappling Positions soon. I'm just weary of the fact that I'm not an expert in either and don't want people to think that I'm claiming that. These are just my own ideas that I have played with and developed over time and bits and bobs I have stolen from my years in Karate and Taiji. Weight distribution and anchoring are my favourite areas of BJJ / Grappling (even more so than submissions).

My favourite complement to receive after a roll is: Man have you picked up weight recently? :) ----Did You Like This Article?--- Drop me a line on parttimegrappler@ymail.com or explore some of the recommended past articles on the right...

How Often Do You Train? BJJ Tips on The Part Time Approach

The picture above is off the monthly attendance sheets our work-gym posts up. It shows that yours truly did 19 sessions in the month of October. My focus for October was Yoga so that’s 19 x 45 min sessions of yoga (over 14hrs). This is on top of the usual 10-12 x 1.5 hr BJJ / Grappling sessions I get down per month (15-18hrs). That's 19-22 hrs per month where my body gets to experience gravity and motion in alternative ways. Doing a Yoga downward-dog not only stretches your muscles but also subjects your hands and feet to your entire body's weight in a way that will add leaps and bounds to your guard passing. More on the links between Yoga and BJJ / Grappling that in future articles.

This is the amount of time I can fit around full-time work, university assignments and having a wife and family. How do I manage? I plan and I never waste time. I get up at 6 everyday Monday-Friday and I'll on the yoga mat by 7.55 for my 1st session. I get my second session at lunch time most days and use the time between 5 and 7 (end of work and start of BJJ) to do some studying or reading.

Why am I telling you this? Because I'm sick and tired of hearing people making excuses. Yes it's getting really dark very early. Yes it's cold, miserable and rainy outside. Yes it takes some effort and planning to get to the gym/mat. But it's worth it.

I don't believe in sacrifices. I love the things that I do and don't care for the things I don't. I don't care who's on the X-factor and who isn't. I don't feel a light Yoga session is too much to ask of my body at 8 in the morning and neither does my body for that matter.

Look around you and examine your life and work situation. What can you be without and what can you use more efficiently? The Part Time Opportunities are there and plenty too if you look for them.

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