Results and Thoughts on EBI 12

Last night was the 12th Eddie Bravo Invitational, or EBI 12. This one was particularly interesting because it was an all women card. I was only able to watch the first round and two matches in the quarter finals (because of that whole pesky “work in the morning thing”) but it seemed to be a pretty exciting event.

The eventual winner was Erin Blanchfield over Gabi McComb via armbar in overtime- good for her.

The only other thing I’ll say about the event is that while combat jiu jitsu- striking while on the ground- seems like a good idea in theory, watching it in practice I’m not totally sold on it. I think it’s more appropriate if the match is being stalled one way or another, but in the little I saw, it seemed like competitors were trying to strike one another while a legitimate submission attempt was going on, which was a little silly in my opinion.

Those are just my thoughts. Also, having an event at 9pm on a Sunday night would not be my top pick for an event. Especially while Game of Thrones is running. Just sayin’.

For those who watched, what were your impressions? Also, for anyone who missed the event, you can find them here.

Have a great day everyone!

 

 

IBJJF 2016 Worlds Recap

Hey Everyone,

So with everything going on I totally forgot about the IBJJF Worlds.

Check out this article from Bloody Elbow about the results, and let me know what you think- otherwise, have a great day everyone!

Ribeiro East Coast Tournament: a Success!

Hey Everyone,

This past weekend we had a tournament down in Virginia Beach for all of the East Coast affiliates in the Ribeiro Association: a number of schools competed for a pretty sweet trophy, made some great friendships and overall had a fantastic time.

How was your weekend? Let me know- otherwise, have a great day!

 

Kids and BJJ: The Anxiety of Reffing Their Matches

We had an in-house tournament this past Saturday, and I was in charge of reffing a number of matches, including the children’s division.

My face in this photo basically sums up the anxiety I felt during most of the matches, particularly when it came down to a submission attempt by one of the (tiny, adorable) competitors.

It’s a little nerve wracking sometimes, trying to discern if they are in pain, or they are just trying really hard. These kids know how to tap, but still, I worry (as is apparent in the photo) and tend to err on the side of caution when it comes to reffing matches.

On the other hand however you should let them try to go as long as possible, within reason of course- it’s a fine line between letting them fight out of something, attempt a submission, and stopping a match to make sure no one gets hurt.

I’m sure there are people out there who ref waaay more kids matches than I and have this down to a science, but it’s still sort of nerve wracking, personally.

Have you reffed a match before? How about specifically a kids match? Let me know your experience & thoughts: otherwise, have a great day everyone!

New IBJJF Rules: No Horseplay, No 50/50 Advantages, and No Sports Bra Exposure?

So IBJJF put out some new rules this week that have some people thrilled, others enraged, and a lot of us just scratching out heads.

You can check out the rules page on their site, but one of the updates includes “When one or both of the athlete’s disregard the seriousness of the competition by performing actions simulating or faking combat.”

So, no intimidating your opponent with your sick Karate Kid moves during the match. Fair enough.

Also a new development, advantages (for those who aren’t familiar with the term, it’s an “almost” point) will no longer be awarded for the 50/50 guard. And no suplexes.

Two of the more head scratching updates include white belts no longer being allowed to jump guard, which is odd, and the requirement for women to now wear a rashguard, singlet or leotard set up under the gi. Personally, I’m a little confused by the former, and not really phased by the latter. In regards to the guard jumping, maybe one too many white belts got slammed on their backs? Missed the hips and fell on their opponent’s knees? Again, I’m not really sure about the method behind the madness here.

In regards to the rash guard- I typically wear a tank top under my gi in competition, so it really doesn’t make much of a difference to me. There are some women out there that really have a problem with this- from what little chatter I’ve read on Facebook, some have a problem with the idea of overheating, and someone suggested there be an increase in the weight cut off to account for the additional garment. I don’t particularly agree with either statement, but everyone is entitled to their opinion and welcome to voice their concerns. Some also mentioned a double standard, which I can see, and maybe the solution is to require all competitors to wear rashguards under their gis. I don’t think it would be a popular solution, but it’s something to consider.

What do you guys think about these updates? Let me know- otherwise, have a great day everyone!

Happy Friday! Respectful Competitor Edition

Happy Friday everyone!

If there is one thing you could say about the jiu jitsu community, it’s that for the most part its participants and competitors are tremendously respectful, particularly at the higher levels.

GracieMag recently published an article about how one competitor, Monique Elias of Alliance, injured her ankle during one of her matches at Pans. And, true to the character of a jiu jitsu player (aka, being stubborn as all hell), Elias decided to continuing to compete even with her injury.

The tournament continued, and none of her competitors went after the ankle- which, it didn’t even occur to me until it was mentioned in the article, but technically it’s not illegal to attack an injured limb.

It’s the respect they had for her- and for their own technique, I feel, that made everyone avoid her injured ankle. Everyone wants to win, obviously, but they also want to show their skill, and respect their fellow competitors. Personally it wouldn’t even occur to me to attack an injured limb- if anything, in all honesty I would try to avoid it at all costs. What sort of skill and technique mastery are you displaying by intentionally exacerbating an existing injury?

I’m totally going to geek out on all of you for a second, I’d like to think jiu jitsu players take a page from Firefly character Malcolm Reynolds’ book. In one scene a character asks if Reynolds will shoot him in his sleep:

Have a great weekend everyone!

Pans Training Camp Weekend

In preparation for Pans this week, our academy had a training camp during the entire weekend- hours of drilling, positional training, we even threw in some strength & conditioning and a yoga session. It was a good time, and in addition to a great training session, just a fantastic time to be around friends and teammates.

I’ll post some photos when I get them (I know, I never seem to take photos of these events- usually because I’m in the middle of doing said activity). How does your academy get ready for a big tournament? Let me know- otherwise, have a great day everyone!

Competing in Pans? Review the Updated IBJJF Rules

Everyone talked about this a while ago, about how the rules were going to change for IBJJF tournaments. I vaguely remember what was going to be changed, but considering I can’t remember what I discussed with someone last weekend, let alone things that were discussed months and months ago, my memory of what’s allowed now and what’s not is a bit fuzzy.

Thankfully, the IBJJF not only has the updated rule book on their site, but also a handy dandy cheat sheet to review what updates have been made, so you don’t have to read the whole thing over again.

Check it out, particularly if you are planning on competing at Pans next week or at an IBJJF tournament anytime soon!

BJJ and Takedowns: Attacking “On the Move”

My coach had an excellent point last night (which you know, happens now and again…I kid, I kid) during class- one of the more difficult elements of takedowns, other than the actual technique itself, is executing it with a live, moving target. We become used to drilling a particular takedeown- a judo throw, a single or double, etc- that when it comes to go time, it’s hard to translate those “static” drills into a smooth execution of the technique.

It’s beneficial to work on attacking “on the move”- either through sparring, or a light back and forth with a partner who isn’t necessarily overly resistant, but more mobile and offering a more dynamic situation to work off of, rather than just standing there (we call this “hop randori” in our academy). Practicing in this fashion is a better representation of just how you will execute your takedown during more intense sparring and in competition, leaving (relatively) little surprise when it comes to use it.

Just wanted to share with you all- have a great day everyone!

Congratulations to Our Competitors at NAGA this Past Weekend!

I’m sorry, I should have mentioned this earlier: this past weekend our team headed out to Broomall, PA and competed in a NAGA tournament. Win or lose, the team did well and I’m happy for everyone who put themselves out there and competed.

Great job, guys!