BJJ Tips: Wanna Get Better at BJJ / Grappling? What Are You Gonna Do About It?

On my way to work I listened to yet another excellent podcast by the Fightworks Podcast. The conversation in mind was with Pedro Sauer black belt Keith Owen. It was a great interview and, as great interviews do, it inspired a few questions in me:

1. Apart from training at your gym/academy/school…etc., do you do any training on your own (attributes/technique)?
2. Do you watch BJJ / Grappling material analytically?
3. Do you read BJJ / Grappling material analytically?
4. Do you research ways to improve your diet and supplementation?

All these questions revolve around one central theme:

In what way(s) are you taking ownership of getting better at the sport/art/endeavour you love so much?

Those of you who have been following this blog may now that I'm no believer in "discipline" or "sacrifice" and that my Buddhist inspiration automatically makes me more "NOW" and "experience" driven than "plans" and "future" so I'm not asking what do you hope/wish/plan on doing, adding, incorporating or stopping...etc. in order to understand and play BJJ / Grappling better, but rather what ARE you doing now?

Rather than try to live in the what-could/should/ought to-be, live in the what-is.

Above is a picture I took of my little daily lab. Every day that I go to the gym, I play with these tools to understand more about BJJ / Grappling. I don't do it because I should or ought to or even because someone recommended it. I do it because it makes me happy and because I see my favourite hobby in a different light.

How about you? Play much?

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Acceptance: My First Bikram Yoga Session

I did my first ever Bikram yoga session this Friday gone. What an amazing yet hellish idea. I choose my words carefully.

Bikram yoga is a series of 26 yoga postures and 2 breathing exercises done in a room heated up to 105 degrees F (40 C). Prepare to sweat buckets and to see people of all shapes and sizes in very little clothing.

Your yoga mat is covered with a large towel which is dripping wet by the end. The postures themselves are not out of the yoga-ordinary nor are the breathing exercises. The major thing that strikes you from the moment you check out the website until the moment you say good bye to the smiley-faced staff behind the reception is the ultra professionalism at hand. From the expert headset-lead tuition to water bottles to the rentals (mats and towels) to the beautiful shower facilities. This is definitely Yoga for the 21st century.

Now to the session itself. The first hurdle is the heat. It is overwhelming. But thankfully, that's also the biggest hurdle. Once you are past the first 10 minutes or so (there's no direct way of knowing as there were no clocks on the walls!) you adjust a little to it. The exercises are challenging but not too challenging and, thankfully, the toughest ones come with levels and versions (if you've been here less than 9-10 times do this, but we are aiming to, over time, do that). It really was a hell of a session (all pun intended) and I warmly (last one I promise) recommend it to everyone.

One a personal note, as some of you who kindly follow this blog will know, I went there to:

1. Experience it first hand*
2. Pick up some notes on posture and positions for my own lunch-time practice sessions**

As I sat there in one of the postions, I looked in the mirror. I was covered in sweat. My arms and legs pretzeled in a crap rendition of Rickson and my belly was hanging out and I was happy. I accpeted myself.

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*so many people were offering their own personal views on why I should or shouldn't go. Many of whom had actually never been themselves. Experience is king!

**I also wanted to check this as a potential weekly activity for Sharon and I to do together but unfortunately due to last minute shift changes she couldn't make it. Next time hopefully.

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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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3 Tips to Add Balance to Your Weekly Training

So you are a Part Time Grappler (PTG) and have limited time to train (averaging 2 grappling orientated sessions per week). You probably hold down a job and have a family (and other interests) to tend to. Or maybe 2 sessions a week is all you can afford at the moment.

The problem is, grappling (and martial arts in general) are not the be-all end all of fitness training. They come damn well close, but they still leave you short on a couple of fronts.

So keeping with the PTG spirit, here are 3 tips to make your weekly training regime more balanced still:

WalkingNotice that I didn’t say Jogging or Running. I did that deliberately. While I respect running as a healthy sporting activity, I find Walking the superior alternative and I summarise my argument in one word: Availability!

1. I get off the bus 2 stops early and walk extra every morning! I would need a shower if I ran that.
2. Anytime the weather is nice, I suggest a walk to my wife. We all know it is much easier to say Yes to a walk- compared to a Jog-suggestion.
3. I don’t need any special shoes for walking. Any comfortable pair will do as the impact is minimal.
4. The difference in calorie expenditure between jogging and brisk walking for a, say, 170lb person is no more than 4 kcal/minute.

Kettlebells
There is a wealth of information on these incredible cannon balls! You literally have a whole gym in the palm of your hand. You can use them to lose weight, gain strength, enhance endurance…etc. and they are very grappling specific. Very importantly, an average Kettlebell work out takes 10 minutes and let’s face it, it doesn’t get briefer than that! More articles on these later.

StretchingAn important and fundamental concept in grappling (and martial arts in general) is efficiency: Achieving a maximum output from a minimum input. Stretching is an excellent way to make your machine run smoother. Being more flexible gives you more options to achieve the same desired goal and gives you the ability to get there with less exertion. I recommend gentle stretching ultra-frequently (10-12 times/day!) for very short periods (10 – 15 seconds per stretch). That’s 3.3 minutes per muscle per day. Say 5 if you are pushing for the upper end of the bracket. The benefits outweigh the inconvenience both in terms of performance and longevity.

Make the best of your day. Enjoy a healthy life.

BJJ Nutrition Tips: Supplementing with Creatine Monohydrate

My current training schedule involves a short (but intense) Kettlebell session 4 times per week plus at least 2 technical gi sessions and two (shorter) sparring sessions.

It's not much compared to what some professional fighters do. But then again, I'm not a professional fighter!

Nevertheless, this schedule leaves my knackered! Once I'm warmed up and rolling, I feel fine but I feel that I'm always walking around tired. So I did some research into the subject:

1. I Googled "Recovery Grappling Nutrition" and "Wrestling Recovery Research" and followed a few of the (sciencey-type) links
2. I had a chat with my manager at work who is into Triathlons! I figured if anyone will know a lot about recovery it's going to be someone who does three sports!
3. I took a long hard look at my daily habits

The fruit of my labour was:

1. I wasn't drinking enough water
2. I wasn't eating good pre- nor post-workout snacks
3. I looked at supplements as something of a luxury (only for pro-athletes)
4. I wasn't getting enough sleep
5. I almost never stretched

So, not one to waste any time, I put the following into place:

1. I took a 1 litre bottle to work and left it on my desk for daily refill
2. I bought a tin of Creatine Monohydrate from Holland & Barrett for £10!
3. I started drinking a small glass of milk immediately after my kettlebell sessions
4. I started stretching for short periods thru-out the day!
5. I started getting to bed earlier

I will keep you posted on the outcome.

PS. If you want to see the update on this subject click here.