So everyone still seems to be posting clips, photos and reactions to last weekend’s ADCC results. And that’s understandable, it’s a big event that happens every other year and so there’s still going to be a bunch of hoopla, until the next superfight happens. It’s all exciting, but I’m a bit of a restless soul I guess and I’m already prepared to watch the next competition to take place, to see how things will shake out.
Anyway, just my personal thoughts. Have a great weekend everyone!
This past weekend a group of some of the top grapplers in the sport came together for the Abu Dhabi Combat Club, or ADCC championships. There were names that most, or not all of us recognize, such as Andre Galvao, Marcus Buchecha, JT Torres, Garry Tonon, and tons of others.
As I’ve stated repeatedly, I live under a rock, so there were a ton of amazing grapplers who I didn’t really know about until now. So, shame on me for that. Admittedly, I didn’t (and still don’t tbh) know much about the absolute winner, Gordon Ryan. But, he won the absolute, so good for him! It’s fantastic to see when hard work pays off. There were also a number of upsets, from Ffion Davies submitting Bia Mesquita, Cyborg losing to grappler and (at the moment) BJJ blue belt Nick Rodriguez, and a number of others I’m sure that I’m not mentioning at the moment. Overall, I think the people at Fight to Win did an awesome job, and while I didn’t catch a ton of it, overall I think it was a pretty well run event. I heard there were some issues with the Flograppling feed, so that was unfortunate.
Overall I’m interested to see what these upsets and the results of these matches bring about in the world of grappling. Let me know what you all thought- otherwise, have a great day!
I’ve encountered this issue recently, regarding what someone not in the sport might call a person who does jiu jitsu. Both terms are used when talking about jiu jitsu students, but what do you prefer? It does make sense to call oneself a “martial artist”- jiu jitsu is considered a martial art, and so in that line of thinking it makes sense.
I always prefer the term “grappler” though, when talking about jiu jitsu. Probably because this is what I think of when I hear the term “martial artist”:
…If only I could be so cool.
But the term grappler I feel also emphasizes more the sport element of jiu jitsu, which technically isn’t wrong, but doesn’t paint the whole picture. Jiu jitsu did start as a self defense system, and that history should be acknowledged and respected.
I guess it depends on how you view jiu jitsu itself: do you think of it as a martial art and self defense system, or do you think of it as more of a sport?
Let me know what you think- otherwise, have a great day everyone!
One female jiu jitsu player recently shared her experience on Planet BJJ, about how a man refused to roll with her because the man’s wife “wouldn’t let him” roll with a female….
Er, what?
I legitimately do not understand this mentality- which admittedly even though I was in a relationship with a fellow grappler/jiu jitsuka/whatever, I’m also involved in the sport so I’m coming at this from a totally different perspective. I was never jealous of him rolling with another female because I knew how I behaved with other guys, and understood what happened in class and on the mats.
I would really like to sit down with one (or a couple) of these women and try to understand their concerns which leads them to push this edict on their partners. Is it lack of communication? An expectation as to how each grappler will react while rolling with one another (how a girl will react to the guy, and vice versa)? I’m genuinely curious as to where the issue lies precisely: I typically believe that once we understand the cause of an issue, we can work on resolving it, or at least coming to some sort of compromise.
Have you encountered this as a woman, a guy refusing to roll with you due to the request of a partner, and more importantly, did they explain why? Dudes, have you been with a girlfriend/partner that didn’t like the idea of you rolling with a female, and did you two talk about what was causing the issue? Let me know!
Anyone remember a letter to a graduating (presumably highschool) class that everyone thought was written by Kurt Vonnegut, but really wasn’t- you know the one that started off with advice about always wearing sunscreen and was turned into a terrible song? Maybe I just remember it because we had to perform it in the forensics group I was a part of in Junior High (forensics as in public speaking, not CSI stuff, sadly).
Anyway, there is a part to the speech that I’m sure most grapplers can relate to- “Be kind to your knees. You’ll miss them when they’re gone.”
The website Science of Skill appears to feel the same consideration should be given to your back as well, and posted an article about the potential risk factors for back injury and ways to possibly avoid it.
Check it out and let me know what you think. Or, feel free to share your distaste of Baz Luhrmann’s “Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)”.
I know, I know, I’m late to the party on this news, but according to DSTRYRsg, jiu jitsu competitor Braulio Estima stripped of his title as 2014 Worlds Champion, and has been banned from competing for 2 years, after DMAA or methylhexanamine was found in his system after said tournament.
According to the post, DMAA can be found in a number of energy drinks and pre-workout supplements, which sucks if Estima accidentally ingested the substance, but a banned substance is a banned substance: you should definitely be careful of what you are putting into your body if you know you are competing in a tournament that has a list of stuff that’s not allowed in your system. Personally I think 2 years is a bit harsh, but I do agree with the title strip and a suspension period. I think a year would have been sufficient, considering the nature of the substance, coupled with the face that jiu jitsu is really a year-round sport and a number of important tournaments can go by within that period of time.
Check out the article and let me know what you guys think-otherwise, have a great day everyone!
Did anyone see this past weekend’s UFC? If so, then you know exactly what I’m about to talk about.
First, let’s go over exactly what cauliflower ear is, just in case anyone isn’t sure (courtesy of Wikipedia, of course):
“Cauliflower ear… is a condition that occurs when the external portion of the ear suffers a blow, blood clot or other collection of fluid under the perichondrium. This separates the cartilage from the overlying perichondrium that supplies its nutrients, causing it to die and resulting in the formation of fibrous tissue in the overlying skin. As a result, the outer ear becomes permanently swollen and deformed, resembling a cauliflower.”
Basically, when the ear receives enough trauma, the skin on the ear will separate from the cartilage and fluid will fill the space. Eventually that fluid hardens into scar tissue and that’s how you get cauliflower ear.
For a number of people this is seen as a badge of honor, if you will, and refuse to drain the fluid that builds in the ear. For those folks, hopefully this is your “scared straight” moment:
Yup, that’s right: this girl was struck in the ear with enough force that her cauliflower ear exploded.
The officials thankfully stopped the match, but really, ew.
I’m posting the video below of the moment (obviously NSFW, unless your superiors are cool with exploding ears):
In short, drain your ears kids- you may think it looks cool now but even if someone isn’t punching at them, cauliflower ear can lead to more complications down the road.
Holy crap, I think that’s the longest I’ve gone without posting for quite some time.
I went to Master Worlds- won one match, lost by points in the final of my division and lost by points in the absolute. A bummer, but I’m also taking it as motivation to get back in the gym and tighten some techniques up, adjust some reactions to things.
Anyhoo, while I get caught up on work and life things, check out this article from the Science of Skill on joint care. Because trust me, even if you don’t think you need to take care of your joints, you totally do.
Hey everyone, BJJ Heroes has a cool list of women jiu jitsu players who were pioneers, and/or otherwise left an indelible mark on jiu jitsu throughout the past couple of decades.
Check it out, let me know if you think someone should be added to the list, who, and why- otherwise, have a great day everyone!
So Metamoris 4 is this weekend (August 9th, 5pm PST), and I definitely think the matches set to go down will be interesting. Check out the Metamoris site to see the teaser videos, including Josh Barnett and Dean Lister, Kit Dale and Gary Tonon, and the match I am looking most forward to watching, Saulo Ribeiro and Rodrigo “Comprido” Medeiros:
What matches are you looking forward to the most? Do you have any predictions on who will win? Do you think the crowd will finally riot if there are too many draws throughout the night?
Let me know what you think-otherwise, have a great day everyone!
A Skirt on the Mat 