1. Start today. Many people feel they need to get in shape, or lose weight before they come to class. Going to an academy sooner rather then later will help you with your goals earlier. Lots of people are in poor shape when they start. No one will even care or notice.
2. Cleanliness is Godliness. Make sure you cut your fingernails/toenails as these turn to deadly daggers when left unattended. Shower sometime before and soon as possible after class. Wash your gear (including gi and belt) after EVERY class. Some people think that washing your belt "washes off the learning" you have done. What it more accurately does is wash off the staph, ringworm, and other bacteria that festers on your belt.
3. Buy a decent gi. You will likely use your gi hundreds of times, so don't cheap out too much. You don't have to buy the latest camo signature lucky model either. If you get too cheap of a gi, it won't last. I would recommend Koral MKM gis. You can get a plain white one for around $140, but it is the best fit out there IMO and has great durability. If you would rather spend a little less, check out Padilla & Sons. I have heard they are a great bang for the buck. Atama, Keiko Raca, Vulkan, and many other brands make good gis. Ask the instructor at the school for their opinion on brands and sizing.
4. Consider watching a class first. This will give you an idea of how the class is run so you know what to expect. It can be intimidating walking into an unfamiliar environment, but trust me, once you start you will be kicking yourself you didn't begin sooner.
5. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Ask the instructors any questions you might have, or share any concerns you might have.
6. If you are allowed to roll during or after class, try and practice the moves you learned in class. I know you may have seen a cool flying armbar on youtube, but you will progress much faster if you focus your learning on the technique and strategies being taught.
7. Roll with as many better people as possible. Don't be afraid to ask questions. If they pass your guard, or hit you with a submission..ask them what they did and how they did it. Ask them if they might show you how they did it sometimes.
8. Don't expect to fit in right away. You will probably notice right away that everyone is very friendly with each other and having a great time. Feel free to join in the fun! Realize though, that these training partners have become close over months and years. They see many people come and go and quit all the time. Once you have proven you are going to come to class and not quit, people will warm up even more to you.
9. If you have concerns, don't internalize them; talk to an instructor. They are there to make your training as fun and productive as possible. They have heard it all before, so be open if you something is bothering you.
10. Come to class early. It takes a few minutes to put on your gear. This is also a good time to get some extra pre class stretching/rolling in. You can also get a little more personal time with some of the students to start feeling more comfortable.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
World Grappling Games
Built To Fight Industries
Present
The Midwest Regional
OTM Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championships
Sunday, November 1st, 2009
DeltaPlex Arena and Conference Center
2500 Turner Ave. NW
Grand Rapids, MI 49544
Click here for registration, rules, weight divisions, and competition schedule.
Click here to Register Now.
Fees Adults: $60
Kids 5-14: $50 for prior World Grappling Games competitors or $60 for 1st time WGG competitors
Spectator ticket: $10
Weigh-Ins Weigh-Ins will be at the tournament location.
Note: There will be no weight allowance. If an athlete is within 3 pounds of their weigh class they will have until an hour and a half before their scheduled division to make weight.
Day Before Weigh-ins will be Saturday, October 31st between 10am-6pm at the DeltaPlex Arena.
2500 Turner Ave. NW Grand Rapids, MI 49544
Day Of Weigh-ins You can also weigh-in the day you compete (November 1st, between 7:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.). Complete information is available at www.GrapplingTournaments.com.
Schedule Weigh-ins will close and you will be disqualified if you are not present 30 minutes before your division’s scheduled start time. Schedules will be posted on grapplingtournaments.com on Thursday, October 22nd.
Note: This is the earliest a division will be called. (Must be weighed in and ready to compete by listed weigh-in times which will be posted on Thursday, October 22nd.)
Accommodations and Local Attractions
Hotel accommodations are as follows:
Radisson Hotel Grand Rapids Riverfront
270 Ann Street Northwest
Grand Rapids, MI 49504
(616) 802-1202
Visit www.radisson.com/grandrapidsmi_riverfront for more detail. Call (616) 363-9001 for the competitor discount of $82.00 plus tax a night. Tell them you're with OTM!
Local attractions are as follows:
Celebration Cinema
(616) 530-7469
2121 Celebration Dr. NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49525
4.6 miles from hotel
Gerald R. Ford Museum
(616) 254-0400
101 Monroe Center
Grand Rapids, MI 49504
2.9 miles from hotel
Grappling Tournaments Association • 15833 Chemical Lane • Huntington Beach, CA 92649 • info@grapplingtournaments.com
www.GrapplingTournaments.com
Friday, October 23, 2009
OTM Grappling Games
My knee is taking it's sweet time to recover. I started practicing last week, and I get through OK, but I have to be real careful not to put it in the wrong positions. I have a week and a half to make it better as the OTM World Grappling Games comes to Grand Rapids, MI. This is a gi tournament and will be my first since I effed up my knee at the Michigan Open.
I hope a ton of my teammates come out to compete, and a ton of other competitors as well. It's the day after thanksgiving, and there is another tournament in Chicago that day, but a good tournout would be huge for BJJ in the Great Lakes area.
I have been rolling a little crappy the last week or so since I've returned from 2+ weeks off for my knee. I'm sure I just have to get my timing back and my knee better, but my brain wants my body to do things that it just refuses to do. I have kind of slipped away from my good focused training, where I was working on specific things each practice. I made big gains when I did this, and need to get back to that state.
Anyways, I haven't been updating the ole' blog lately. I thank you for reading and keeping up with the Dutch Assassin. I will never quit! BJJ 4 life.
I hope a ton of my teammates come out to compete, and a ton of other competitors as well. It's the day after thanksgiving, and there is another tournament in Chicago that day, but a good tournout would be huge for BJJ in the Great Lakes area.
I have been rolling a little crappy the last week or so since I've returned from 2+ weeks off for my knee. I'm sure I just have to get my timing back and my knee better, but my brain wants my body to do things that it just refuses to do. I have kind of slipped away from my good focused training, where I was working on specific things each practice. I made big gains when I did this, and need to get back to that state.
Anyways, I haven't been updating the ole' blog lately. I thank you for reading and keeping up with the Dutch Assassin. I will never quit! BJJ 4 life.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Stutz is now cleared for takeoff
My teammate Stutz went against a Ukranian guy with a national team jacket. He had some insane judo skills. Stutz used his superior BJJ skills to win the match against this beast!
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Saturday, September 26, 2009
Michigan Open Replay
Initial strategy:
We had like 10 guys in our group, and it was double elimination. Knowing this, and knowing I might have 3-5 matches, I wanted to come in calm and not waste unnecessary energy. I wanted to work for a submission if it's there, but not force anything. I wanted to play top when possible, and work a good solid pressure game so that I could get good results with moderate effort.
My first match:
I knew this guy did some Judo, as he faced my teammate at Naga Milwaukee and Judo threw him. Not wanting to get thrown, I came in real low, and was going to be a little conservative; shooting a single/double if it came or probably pull guard. I took a pretty weak shot but got a hold of his leg. I pulled it towards me and pulled him down. I don't think I got takedown points, but don't know how it could be anything but a takedown. I ended up in the guys half butterfly guard, and slowly worked my way to hook his butterflied foot, and move around his leg to pass the guard. Eventually I work the pass and clear my arm for the 3 points.
Starting at about 2:00, I had a pretty good side mount, and was going to work knee on belly to mount. I heard my corner tell me to go to north south though, so that's what I did. I tried to set up a a little gi choke from north south, but the opponent nicely scrambled out of it. I maintained my lapel grip on his neck and was able to break him back down to his half guard. We reset after going out of bounds, and knowing I was up 5-0 (or so I thought), I wanted to crush him down a little bit. He does well to get back to his feet at 4:30, and I see an opening to pull deep half guard. I'm not sure if they gave him sweep points for this or not. I almost instantly pulled a "Tozi sweep" from deep half guard for two points. The Tozi sweep is a deep half guard pendulum sweep the great Roberto Tozi taught us at a seminar a summer or two ago. I got 2 points for the sweep, so I think the score should be 7-0, but it might be 5-2 if they somehow didn't give me takedown points and depending if they gave him a sweep when I pulled deep half guard.
I work in his guard for a while and work to pass. I pass right before 6:30, but do not maintain it for 3 seconds, so I'm cool with no points for this. He then muscles me over from side control and gets a 2 point sweep. This is not a sweep as it didn't start from guard. Oh well. I scoop my hips back in half guard and the match ends. Two different people said I won by 1 point, which I don't know how that is possible. I score the match 7-0 for me with a takedown, guard pass, and sweep. The ref was Angelo Popofski who is a respected BJJ blackbelt and pro mma fighter, but I don't know that this was his best work on the scoring.
I think I did just fair in the match. My hips were too high at several points. The guy was strong, long, and wirey, and I kept good base most of the time. I think I could have worked some knee in the middle passes a few times, and definitely think I could have scored some more points or submitted him if I was more agressive.
My 2nd match I hurt myself doing a dumb oma-plata. I definitely have not mastered the rubber guard. As my teammate Ryan pointed out, the big mistake I make hear is pulling my leg with my foot. This is basically inside heel hooking myself. I hear my knee pop twice and then scream with pain. My opponent went to the finals taking 2nd place.
I have been icing my knee and taking ibuprofen. I will probably see a doctor in the next couple days. This suck, this sucks, this sucks.
We had like 10 guys in our group, and it was double elimination. Knowing this, and knowing I might have 3-5 matches, I wanted to come in calm and not waste unnecessary energy. I wanted to work for a submission if it's there, but not force anything. I wanted to play top when possible, and work a good solid pressure game so that I could get good results with moderate effort.
My first match:
I knew this guy did some Judo, as he faced my teammate at Naga Milwaukee and Judo threw him. Not wanting to get thrown, I came in real low, and was going to be a little conservative; shooting a single/double if it came or probably pull guard. I took a pretty weak shot but got a hold of his leg. I pulled it towards me and pulled him down. I don't think I got takedown points, but don't know how it could be anything but a takedown. I ended up in the guys half butterfly guard, and slowly worked my way to hook his butterflied foot, and move around his leg to pass the guard. Eventually I work the pass and clear my arm for the 3 points.
Starting at about 2:00, I had a pretty good side mount, and was going to work knee on belly to mount. I heard my corner tell me to go to north south though, so that's what I did. I tried to set up a a little gi choke from north south, but the opponent nicely scrambled out of it. I maintained my lapel grip on his neck and was able to break him back down to his half guard. We reset after going out of bounds, and knowing I was up 5-0 (or so I thought), I wanted to crush him down a little bit. He does well to get back to his feet at 4:30, and I see an opening to pull deep half guard. I'm not sure if they gave him sweep points for this or not. I almost instantly pulled a "Tozi sweep" from deep half guard for two points. The Tozi sweep is a deep half guard pendulum sweep the great Roberto Tozi taught us at a seminar a summer or two ago. I got 2 points for the sweep, so I think the score should be 7-0, but it might be 5-2 if they somehow didn't give me takedown points and depending if they gave him a sweep when I pulled deep half guard.
I work in his guard for a while and work to pass. I pass right before 6:30, but do not maintain it for 3 seconds, so I'm cool with no points for this. He then muscles me over from side control and gets a 2 point sweep. This is not a sweep as it didn't start from guard. Oh well. I scoop my hips back in half guard and the match ends. Two different people said I won by 1 point, which I don't know how that is possible. I score the match 7-0 for me with a takedown, guard pass, and sweep. The ref was Angelo Popofski who is a respected BJJ blackbelt and pro mma fighter, but I don't know that this was his best work on the scoring.
I think I did just fair in the match. My hips were too high at several points. The guy was strong, long, and wirey, and I kept good base most of the time. I think I could have worked some knee in the middle passes a few times, and definitely think I could have scored some more points or submitted him if I was more agressive.
My 2nd match I hurt myself doing a dumb oma-plata. I definitely have not mastered the rubber guard. As my teammate Ryan pointed out, the big mistake I make hear is pulling my leg with my foot. This is basically inside heel hooking myself. I hear my knee pop twice and then scream with pain. My opponent went to the finals taking 2nd place.
I have been icing my knee and taking ibuprofen. I will probably see a doctor in the next couple days. This suck, this sucks, this sucks.
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