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How to Keep a Audio Journal for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Smart phones have become the mainstream.  I’ve found my iPhone is only as limited as my imagination.  I can find new and productive uses for it all the time.  The other day I realized how handy the Voice Memos application is that is standard on it.  To often thoughts come to me and I am no where near my computer or pad and pencil.  But I always have my iPhone with me.  Thus began my audio journaling.  I found it easy to quickly record my thoughts on a voice memo.  It was great because when the thoughts strike me if I don’t record them some how I lose 75% of them.  Its just to busy a world and my memory too over crowded as it is to keep everything in.  Now that I had my audio journal going I came across the problem of “How do I index them so I can find the one I want?”  This lead me to transcription and How to Transcribe iPhone Voice Memos with Dragon Naturally Speaking along  with a free way iPhone m4a Transcribing (Switch Audio Converter and Express Scribe Transcription).  Either way works nicely.  In the end I have the audio recording and a transcript of it that is searchable.  I edit the transcriptions to fill in the gaps and clear up what is said on the audio.  I then reference the audio records that make up the transcript.  All in all I really find it easier and more enjoyable then typing my thoughts up after the fact or at the end of the day.  Please see my first post on journaling at: How to Keep a Journal for BJJ.

Jiu-Jitsu is Life and Life is Jiu-Jitsu

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Signed Belt Certificate Promotion Recognition for Money

ribeiro-jiu-jitsu-certificateSome time ago I blogged about Under the Table Belt Promotions in BJJ.  There were some strong opinions on if you should receive a certificate or something documenting your promotion or not.

I received this e-mail today from Jiu-Jitsu University: “Ribeiro Jiu Jitsu Belt Rank Certificate.  Personally signed by Saulo and Xande Ribeiro!  Includes your name and belt rank!  Recognize your belt rank officially with this frame ready, professional certificate.  Perfect to hang in the house or office!!”.  The price for the “celebrity” signatures is $50.  It didn’t say exactly but I can’t imagine anyone can get it.  I assume you must have some documented or proof that you attained a belt under Saulo and Xande Ribeiro school.  I would hope that the $50 isn’t above and beyond a testing fee but I think it is.  What this comes down to is making money off of testing.  I don’t know about you but this bothers me as much as getting no documentation and relying on word of mouth for substantiating your claim to a certain school and your promotions in it.  I think I remember a survey being done on The FightWorks PodCast that said the average monthly cost for BJJ classes was $100.  Why can’t they then provide a certificate like this and testing for a modest fee especially in these economic times? Sadly I think it is because the bigger the school and the more notoriety it has the more it’s a business and less like the small family feeling schools.

Jiu-Jitsu is Life and Life is Jiu-Jitsu

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Human Weapon: Hand-to-Hand Military Combat and BJJ

Rear-Naked-Choke-Human-WeaponThe other night I watched Human Weapon – Hand to Hand Military Combat.  Of course I was interested in how BJJ played a part in it.  There were two episodes on it.  The first was the Israeli Krav Maga.  I found the burst block/punching very interesting and the Vale Tudo or “anything goes” attitude very similar to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.  But when they showed the elite Israeli commandos sparing, I was like “what is this!”.  They were just hammering away at each others midsections.  Maybe it was a drill and the show misrepresented them.  Then Jason, the MMA fighter and host of the show, got to do some fighting with them.  He did some sweet take downs and seemed to be mopping the floor with them.  I didn’t see any ground fighting instruction.  I can’t believe this is a true representation of Krav Maga.  Israel has survived because they are real pitbulls in warfare. 

The next episode was the US Marines and their style called MCMAP (U.S. Marine Corps Martial Arts Program).  Sure enough they had some BJJ.  They attributed the Rear Naked Choke to the Chinese though.  Maybe no one can have a claim on being the inventor of the rear naked choke but I’d say that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has refined and polished it.  In the end they had a free for all in which it looked like a bunch of white belts using nothing but muscle and no technique.  It took about 6 guys to get Jason and he was tapping out people left and right in the mean time.  In the end again I decided the show couldn’t have given a really good depiction of MCMAP.  Marines aren’t pansies.  I would have liked them to show more proficiency  on the techniques though.

Jiu-Jitsu is Life and Life is Jiu-Jitsu