BJJ Magazine: The Part Time Grappler's Articles Published in Jiu Jitsu Style Magazine

I had two pieces published in the latest issue of Jiu Jitsu Style Magazine!

I know this might not be a big deal to people like Seymour down at Meerkatsu and Matt at The Grappling Dummy (who've been published-a-plenty) but for me it's a huge thing!

The lovely folks at Jiu Jitsu Style Magazine approached me a while back and said they really liked my Five Lies of Jiu Jitsu Series on the Part Time Grappler blog (click on the number to find the articles 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5) and asked if I would be interested in supplying a condensed version for the magazine.

My name too small to read? Buy Jiu Jitsu Style Magazine here.

Would I? Do the dogs lips move when he reads? Of course I would!

Long story short, I was given 2 weeks to submit the article and, fuelled by excitement and caffeine, I finished it by the end of the day they sent me the email.

I was also working on a product review for the blog which I thought would be suitable for the magazine (the instructional DVDs by Emily Kwok and Stephan Kesting "How to Defeat The Bigger, Stronger Opponent" which Stephan had sent me a week or two earlier). I contacted them with the idea and as it turned out, that was the product review they had in mind so I submitted that too.

I was told the editorial staff at JJS liked my submitted articles but I wanted until I see the final published product before I shout it out to the world. Things change last minute and I completely understand that.

Thanks to everyone at Jiu Jitsu Style for the great opportunity and I hope it's the first of many. It's a great magazine (here is my review of issue two) and you should go and buy an annual subscription now!

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Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

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

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Interview with Ste “Xanthic” Li - Sponsored by Primal Fitness and Proteins4U- Part II

Wow! What a fantastic response to part I of the interview with my friend and fellow blogger Stephen Li. If you liked that, you'll love this! Controversial advise on "gym-buddies" and "eating speed".

Ste, give us your top 5 tips for time-management (to fit exercise around life)
1. Find a gym close to work
2. Go immediately after work
3. Go alone - if you have a 'gym friend' there's more chance of you not going when they decide not to
4. Realise that it's an ongoing process - whether it be losing weight, training for a fight, training for fun. Getting better is a slow process, dont expect results straightaway. The sooner you realise that, the more staying power you'll have and the more you'll work at it to make it fit into your daily routine.
5. Get in, do what you do, get out. Simple.

Now let's balance that with what you consider the top time-thieves.
TV.
The evil TV. I have a TV in my place but I don’t have a TV licence. I watch DVDs and the same old sitcoms over and over again. I watch MMA fights and Top Gear. That's it. Don’t get swallowed up into the soap opera world. Why get involved with fictional drama when there's drama on the other side of the door?

Women.
I love women almost as much as I love food but unless they train/fight/compete too, they'll never understand why you spend hours upon hours a week rolling on the floor with another man. They'll TRY to understand but they never do. That's when they try and steal your time.

Mums.
When you move out and spread your wings, there is no better feeling than going back to your mum's and just sitting there chatting away with her and eating her food. I'll finish training early just to spend time with my mum. And my dad of course.

Internet.
Internet should be a religion/drug because everybody worships it and can never get enough.

Having a bath.
Sitting there in dirty water for 20 minutes when you can shower in 5.

Eating.
I eat slow but some people eat slower than me. Why do you need to take 40 minutes eating a burger? Just inhale the food and let's go.

Do you have any regrets?
Yes definitely. I wish I started BJJ/MMA earlier. A lot earlier. It plays such a huge part of my life that at this moment in time, I couldn’t imagine giving it up. It's helped me on so many levels, you wouldn’t believe. I reckon that if I hadn’t found SBG, I'd be in a whole lot of trouble right now.

Everything in life is much easier when you have the gym; real life seems easier than drilling takedowns, working for submissions and doing arduous Strength and Conditioning.

I might not be earning £50'000 a year with a nice car and nice apartment but I bet you I can double leg my bank manager.

Do you have any sponsors you'd like to give a shout out to?
Primal Fitness-Manchester is my only sponsor*. Simon and Fernando's sessions are killing me at the moment but I can feel it working. Definitely the 'go to' guys for conditioning. I've got to give Fighters Only Magazine a shout out for giving me that inside look at behind the scenes MMA. My blog, the SBG guys and Part Time Grappler.

Finally, why do you train? What drives you?
It's the only thing I've ever been good at. And failing at something that I've only ever been good at terrifies me. I've only ever been mediocre at things whether it be music, basketball, DIY but I'm a little past mediocre with this fighting malarkey so I want to ride this baby out.

*Ste contacted me a couple of days ago with the great news that he is now sponsored by not one but two companies: Exercise pioneers Primal Fitness and British supplement company Proteins4u. Fantastic news for Ste ahead of his upcomiong fight.

I thank Ste for giving me the time to interview him. My best wishes to him and his awesome sponsors Primal Fitness and Proteins4U and hope he'll learn to forgive me for using such a cheesy picture to conclude.

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Interview with Ste “Xanthic” Li - Sponsored by Primal Fitness and Proteins4U

I mentioned in a previous post that I'd be publishing an interview with my friend and fellow blogger Stephen Li. Ste contacted me a couple of days ago with the great news that he is now sponsored by not one but two Manchester companier: Exercise pioneers Primal Fitness and British supplement company Proteins4u. Fantastic news for Ste ahead of his upcomiong fight.

Here is part one of my interview with Stephen Li. I hope you enjoy it.

Why don't we start by you telling us a little about yourself?
I'm Stephen 'Dairy' Li, 24 years young, 74kgs, 30-inch waist, 42 chest and biceps so big that you can’t find anything big enough to measure them.

Are you currently working / studying? Is that Full time / Part time?
I work full time as an undercover SECRET agent for a SECRET society called "Men In Grey". I tell people I work at the General Medical Council as an admin assistant to mess with them.

You also set aside time to practice a sport. Which sport(s)?
I train in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ), submission grappling and striking for MMA. I'd like to say MMA but the truth of it is I don’t. I train each component separately (like GSP, but I'm better looking). It's difficult for me to find anywhere to put them together at the moment.

How long have you done that?
Just under 3 years now consistently. I've been doing martial arts on and off but more off for the last 10 years. I started in 'traditional' Japanese Jiu Jitsu, did a little kickboxing and Muay Thai but never fully threw myself into it.

BJJ/MMA is where it's at. I went from doing nothing 3 years ago to doing 3 hour sessions every night. Just like that. Not only that but I was doing 3 hour sessions at a top gym. Not at a McDojo.

Do you follow any special diet? Do you use any Dietary Supplements?
I follow a strict diet of seafood. I see food and eat it. Oh man I love food. I'm not picky. I'd eat you if they cooked you right and served you with mayonnaise. On a real note, not anything too strict. I still eat what I want every now and again, I have a weakness for mash potato, roast potatoes, chocolate digestives and KFC. Oh and dim sum. But I try and steer clear of those as much as I can. I love potatoes. They're the most durable food ever. If I could only take one food thing on a desert island, it'd be the mighty potato.

Everybody knows what good food and bad food is, it's just staying away from it - that's what I do. Sometimes.

Supplements wise, I'll work whey protein into my diet (Many happy thanks to my sponsors Proteins4u.co.uk) when training for a competition to help with weight loss. I take fish oils and calcium tablets daily. I hate the taste of milk so the calcium helps. Coffee is a supplement. Black coffee, 4 times a day.

Ste modelling MMA techniques in lead global publication "Fighters Only"

How do you manage to fit your training around work, study and family time?
I make it fit. Although I'm quite lucky in that I can get along with most people so I don’t deem going to train as a laborious task. It's pure sweat, blood and tears but I go down there to see my friends also. In fact I don’t even see them as friends, I see them as fam. I have like 4 families, my blood family, my family of friends, my gym family and work family.

If you can't spare an hour of your time every day to do some form of exercise, there's something seriously wrong with you too.


Do you compete in your sport(s)? Have you won any competitions?
I compete every month or so in grappling competitions i.e Ground Control but no, not won anything! Not my weight category anyway.

I drew in 'fight' in my first 'fight' in Thailand and lost my second by way of bodyshot TKO. That wasn't nice.

What is the greatest thrill you have got out of practicing your sport?
Outworking my opponent/sparring partner is a massive ego boost! Not against a new person but someone at your level. When both people are evenly matched technique wise, work rate and conditioning will prevail.

My BIGGEST most unrivalled thrills are watching my team-mates (current and ex) fight and compete.

Stay tuned for part II of this interview.

In the meantime, watch the Gracie Brothers Rener and Ryron breakdown of the Lesnar vs. Carwin fight!

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Smoking sucks. BJJ / Grappling rules. Chances are you agree with me.

The three above statements are my summary of the poll that I suggested to Caleb at the Fightworks Podcast  a couple of weeks ago. They were kind enough to run it and here is a table of the results

Firstly, a huge thank you to Caleb and Dan for taking this poll idea and making it happen. I know they are very keen on understanding the BJJ / Grappling community better and these polls always help.

Secondly, it’s very important to understand how to handle statistics or we would be trying to “use a ruler to measure the circumference of an orange”. We can’t really prove anything with statistics, but we can state with strong probability that something is likely or unlikely which in a lot of cases is more than enough.

Looking at the above numbers, we can state with strong probability that:

1. The hypothesis “People are likely to start smoking after they start at BJJ / Grappling” is most likely untrue

2. The hypothesis “People are likely to stop smoking after they start at BJJ / Grappling” is most likely true

3. The hypothesis “Smokers are likely to smoke less after they start at BJJ / Grappling” is most likely true

This is huge, I’m sure you agree. Not only for those who DO smoke, but for a very vulnerable demographic – young people. If the third statement isn’t a reason for people to sign their teenage boys and girls up to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu classes, I don’t know what is.

 
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Some Statistics on BJJ Players

A short while ago, the Fightworks Podcast took a BJJ / Grappling related poll idea that I suggested and ran it to their audience, famously dubbed the Mighty 600,000. The idea was very simple, but also managed to generate some pretty interesting statistics on who participates in BJJ / Grappling.

The poll attracted 515 voters, which is, by all statistical measures, a huge sample. A quick glance at basic Analytical Statistics tells you that a sample like that is more than enough for over 95% confidence level even with a +/- 5% margin. that's excellent confidence levels!


The results told us that:

• Around 60% of BJJ /Grappling players are married (leaving 40%), which is much higher than I thought it would be. It actually supports my theory that there are a whole lot of Part Time Grapplers out there with families, jobs, kids...the lot.
• Out of the married BJJ / Grappling aficionados, just under 80% take their wedding ring/band off before stepping onto the mat. I'm one of the minority and one of my mat-buddies just recently got married (Many Happy Congratulations Dr Lam!!) so I'm curious to what he will choose to do. I hope I never find myself in a position where I regret my decision to leave it on.

Hell hath no fury like a women, who's husband lost his wedding band at the activity he chooses to devote himself to on a weekly basis rather than spend his time with her!

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Guest Article: Jiu-Jitsu Can Level the Playing Field for Women by Alexia Krause

About a week ago, I was contacted by Alexia of MMA Industries with an article for the Part Time Grappler. I hope you enjoy it.

Can a woman really beat a man? It is common knowledge in the combat arts that strength is a great advantage to have. While this is true whether you are a man or a woman, females face this challenge more often, especially when a situation with a male opponent presents itself. The good news is superior jiu jitsu skill can come to the rescue.

Sure, in Mixed Martial Arts (an activity more popular with men), women have created their own niche and follow many of the same footsteps as their male counterparts. They take on the same type of regimens that men do, use some of the same MMA equipment, and take on the same type of punishment. However, in a situation in which a woman must outlast a stronger opponent (male or otherwise), for the purpose of e.g. self-defence, and she cannot depend on referees, rules or evenly matched opponents, the age-old art of Jiu-Jitsu will help answer many of the unique questions that present themselves.

Jiu-Jitsu has existed since feudal times as a way for an unarmed fighter to incapacitate a stronger, armed and armored opponent. This martial art promotes the idea that weaker or smaller individuals can defend themselves against, and even defeat, a larger and much stronger opponent. By utilizing joint locks, throws, holds, and strikes, a Jiu-Jitsu fighter can use his or her attacker's energy against them. Jiu-Jitsu training is a great way to get into shape and a great martial art for women to learn for self-defense purposes.

Self-defense skills can help save lives.  Knowing them is especially important for women as statistics show that their size and attributes mean they can be victims of different types and genres of violence.  Learning skills that even the power-balance, such as jiu-jitsu, and participating in simulated fight training* can ultimately help a woman balance the playing field between her and a bigger attacker.

So for the majority of you who aren't fighters- do you think you could hold your own against a professionally trained female Jiu-Jitsu player? I bet you'll find they beat men more often than you think.

Alexia has a true enthusiasm for writing articles related to mixed martial arts and fitness. As a result, she joined up with MMA Industries- retailers of highly popular MMA training equipment and MMA gloves. Alexia currently resides in Long Island and continues to promote the virtues of MMA as a sport and a fitness vehicle.

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*Just take note that simulated fight training should be done with proper equipment, such as MMA gloves, so that no injuries are actually sustained throughout the practice.  You’ll want to save the real injuries for someone deserving of them.




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I'm On The Fightworks Podcast

I was so "chuffed"* when I read that Caleb, the host of the Fightworks Podcast, had chosen my idea for their weekly BJJ-related poll. It's about something I care about and it'll be great to hear what the Mighty 600,000 have to say about it.

What are you waiting for? Go to the Fightworks Podcast and, ehm, cast your vote.

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*Check Caleb's and Slideyfoot's  comments below the poll for some trans-Atlantic fun.

The Part Time Grappler makes Stephan Kesting's Grapplearts Blog List

I have been an avid follower of Stephan Kesting's articles, blog posts, products and podcasts for quite some time.

It all started with this article which was originally published in the August 2005 issue of Grappling Magazine and his stuff has been just getting better and better. I mean I still think that his RNC Tutorial on YouTube is the best one EVER!

I'm not just passionate about BJJ / Grappling learning, but also coaching methodologies and was very happy when Stephan emailed me saying that he's added The Part Time Grappler to his BJJ-MMA-Blogs list. He comes across as a top notch guy and his material speaks for itself and the reviews are raving.

If you want to check out Stephan's stuff, the first step is to check his Beginning BJJ site which is dedicated to beginners and includes an excellent FREE BOOK! His free newsletters are full of great tips. I couldn't recommend it enough. I actually think that free book should be manditory reading if you want to join a BJJ / Grappling school or gym.

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The Part Time Grappler Gets Published

Wow wow I gots published!

A few months back Greg Pasquale from Monkey Grip World sent me a very kindly worded email about this blog and asked if I had any material that I felt would help set his already excellent site apart.

I was naturally very chuffed by this offer and I can very VERY proudly say that my first article is now on the site.

Monkey Grip World is meant to be a everything-BJJ-under-one-roof kind of site: News, Interviews, Videos, Techniques of the week Videos, a mini community, etc... and Greg has definitely succeeded. Visit the site, make it a favourite and spread the word.

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