Article on Mat Maturity from White Belt BJJ

The site White Belt BJJ has a little article on mat maturity: how one handles their emotions on the mat. You would think with all the training that people do this would be a moot point, particularly at higher ranks: unfortunately this is not always the case. Everyone has their own emotional baggage they have to deal with, and different levels of emotional and mental maturity, so it’s always interesting to see how people handle different situations, and even more interesting if they choose to grow from the experience, or choose to stick their heads in the sand.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

Master Worlds Brackets are Up

Er, sorry guys, that’s all the news I have for today. That, and the fact that I just started packing this morning. And by packing, I really mean I kind of just threw a couple of things into the one bag that I plan on taking with me. The real push to get ready will happen tonight, possibly in a anxiety fueled frenzy.

Master of Organization and Planning- right here, people.

Anyway, check out the schedule and the brackets on the IBJJF site, and keep your fingers crossed that I get through to my destination tomorrow.

Article on Whether Spider Guard Translates to No Gi

Well, I sure try to make it work.

There’s an article over at grapplearts.com about whether or not spider guard is a viable open guard option in no gi. In my personal experience, I find it’s trickier, but still a possibility. There’s a strong emphasis on wrist control, staying on point with your feet on the biceps, and keeping your fingers crossed that no one has gotten too sweaty yet.

Check it out, and let me know what you think.

Master Worlds, and Escape from the Pope

So it’s been the talk of this entire area, but the pope is coming, and it’s throwing everyone into a tizzy. Streets are shutting down, security is on high alert, droves of the undead…er, Catholics, will be roaming the streets of Philadelphia this weekend.

Fortunately, this is also the weekend of Master Worlds. So while all the residents of the City of Brotherly Love are freaking out about the Pope-ageddon, I’ll be on a plane headed Las Vegas and Master Worlds. So thanks, IBJJF! I fully anticipate coming home and hearing about the Papal Riots.

How’s everyone else’s week going? Are you in the area, and preparing to the Papal lockdown, or are you in some other part of the country/world, wondering what all the hullabaloo is about? Let me know- otherwise, have a great day everyone!

Happy Friday! Weird Week Edition

Happy Friday everyone!

I have to admit, this week has been a bit of a wonky one, for various reasons on and off the mat.

*Shrug* We have those ups and downs now and again: it happens, and we just have to keep on pushing forward. But, I’m going to end this week on a positive note:

With puppies!

Have a great weekend everyone!

BJJ: A “Good” Cult

I was talking with a friend recently who mentioned how Crossfit was a cult, and then asked if jiu jitsu would be considered a cult.

Well, in short, yes. But depending on what sort of academy you go to, it can be a good kind of cult, so to speak. Weird terms are used, unusual hand gestures, a sort of initiation period, you become a member of a team that you may even consider a part of your family. However, in addition to all of that, there’s also actually a pretty good support system that exists: your fellow students ask how you are doing, why you missed class, they encourage (most of the time) a healthy lifestyle, and may also hang out and have a beer with you once in a while. They are there in emotional support when you lose a match in competition, and cheering when you win. You learn and grow with one another- you encounter these people from all walks of life and consider them friends, family even.

I’m not saying all academies operate in this way, but I would like to think most do, and for many it’s a support system that is invaluable to our sanity. So yes, jiu jitsu can be viewed as a cult, but a good one? I know a “good cult” is a strange concept to wrap your head around, but there you have it.

Have a great day everyone!

Science! Vitamin D May Protect Against Cognitive Decline

Stock up on your vitamin D everyone.

According to an article on IFLScience, studies have shown there may be a possible correlation between a vitamin D deficiency and a decline in cognitive function, particularly for individuals over 60. According to one researcher quoted in the article:

“There were some people in the study who had low vitamin D who didn’t decline at all and some people with adequate vitamin D who declined quickly. But on average, people with low vitamin D declined two to three times as fast as those with adequate vitamin D.”

It would be a shame to learn all this jiu jitsu, and then lose it all later in life.

Now if you will all excuse me, I’m going to go sit in the sunshine, drink some milk, and then have some salmon and…something else really high in vitamin D.

Take a look at the article, and have a great day everyone!

Technique Video, and Why I Disagree with It

As I’m sure you all know, I’m not a huge fan of Keenan Cornelius- he’s more the guy I would warily keep an eye on if walking down the street or sitting in the same room as him. But, you have to admit he’s pretty popular, and has had some success with his techniques, and that deserves some respect.

That being said, I really don’t like this recent technique video he’s put out, regarding choking people with your foot and “making them mad”. I thought maybe people were getting ‘mad’ because the choke is so super simple that they feel silly getting caught in it. I watched the video, andhe is instructing people to apply pressure to the throat either close to, or directly on the windpipe. Dude, the reason people are mad is because you’re putting their larynx at risk for injury, which would piss anybody off. To me, a choke is not about causing your opponent pain: I joke sometimes that when choking someone, I think it should be more like the snake in the Jungle Book- your opponent being lulled into a sense that they are fine, and the next they are waking up wondering what the heck happened.

That doesn’t really look like what is happening in this technique. I would imagine the person is tapping from pain, or panic, not from “whoa, I almost passed out there”. The main principles of a choke are to cut off the blood flow to the brain via the carotid artery, while avoiding the windpipe as much as possible. The first part, cutting off the blood to the brain is being achieved- the second, not so much.

This is just all purely my opinion however. Check out the video for yourself and let me know what you think. Otherwise, have a great day everyone!

Articles on “Unlikely Villains” in BJJ

BJJ Heroes has an interesting article on “villains” in jiu jitsu. While I certainly think there are awful people in the sport (as there are awful people in every sport) the players mentioned in the article aren’t true villains, per se. These are just people who either met a lot of opposition when they they presented a new idea, or just not well liked for one reason or another.

Anyway, check it out, let me know what you think- otherwise, have a great day everyone!

Solemn Friday: 9/11 Edition

Hey everyone- today’s not so much a “happy” Friday per se, but rather one where we’re going to take a moment of silence to remember 9/11.

Have a great weekend, everyone.