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MMAOutlet.com Sponsors JiuJitsuMap.com

I’m proud to announce that MMAOutlet.com has decided to sponsor JiuJitsuMap!  You will notice the logo on the site, a new sponsor page and link section.  I’ll be doing reviews of different items sold by MMAOutlet.com.  To start it off I will be doing a review of the Vulkan Pro Light Gi.  As it is getting hotter at classes I’m especially excited to try a lighter gi.

I’d like some suggestions on other items I should review.  Check out what they have at MMA Outlet and let me know what you would like to see reviewed.

Jiu-Jitsu is Life and Life is Jiu-Jitsu

 

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5 Things I Learned At BJJ Tonight

  1. A bicep cutter exerts so much pressure it leaves blood blisters.  They look a lot like your shoulder after having a shotgun kick into it.  Because the pressure was on my bicep and forearm I have a matching set.
  2. My finger tips are toughing up.  Around my finger nails it used to be sore from gripping the gi after class.  Now I’ve developed calluses that have helped them toughen.  They are still a little sore after but not near as much after class.
  3. I’ve forgotten the guillotine escape from in guard.  I had both legs of a white belt named Ethan in class today.  I was getting ready to inch my way up to cross body or mount.  The next thing I knew he had me in a guillotine.  I was so surprised I let go of his legs and he put in his guard.  I got my arm over his should for the escape but couldn’t remember the rest from there.  Yes, I tapped.  I’m not proud of it but that’s what I get.  I know the technique I’m going to practice at home this week.
  4. My breathing technique has improved.  I’ve been focusing on getting more oxygen during periods of inactive during a roll.  It feels good to have more oxygen during a roll.  Breath in through the nose and out through the mouth, fill those lungs, and repeat.
  5. I’ve been coasting.  Its so easy to coast.  The next thing you know your lead shrinks and all the sudden you realize the pack is over taking you or is passing you.

Jiu-Jitsu is Life and Life is Jiu-Jitsu

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Roger Gracie vs Bruno Bastos at Mundials

I just watched the Roger Gracie vs Bruno Bastos match on Georgette’s Blog.  Here are some of the things that caught my attention and that I was impressed with.  First of all, 2/3 of the match with just jockeying for the takedown.  I know that having takedown skills are important in your game. I was more impressed with the importance of them as I watched Roger and Bruno battle it out.  In my mind it looked like Roger realized it was going to stalemate if they kept going on like this so he jumped guard to move it to the ground game.  The next thing that caught my attention was the taking-the-back, as Georgette points out by Roger.  I had just read Meerkatsu’s post "K-Taro Nakamura Back Control & Choke Review" and was thinking about the "Armdrag from closed guard with back take" example.  Roger did it with style of course and made it look easy.  I find that getting up and moving my hips out is the hard part.  Roger gave me a few pointers as he did it.  I noticed he grabbed the opposite knee and pushed off the hip with the leg he was trying to get around.  Once the hips came out Bruno couldn’t or didn’t stop the rest of him.  Roger then, it looks like, put a body lock on him and rolled him over.  I couldn’t tell what submission he used to finish it.  Does anyone know?

Jiu-Jitsu is Life and Life is Jiu-Jitsu

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Jiu-Jitsu Needed in Yellowstone!

Yellowstone 2010 Bison

I haven’t posted for a while because I went on holiday with the wife’s side of the family to Yellowstone National Park.  The picture is of some bison we saw on our visit.  You can’t see them very well.  My iPhone is much better at up close pictures but the over all view is beautiful so I used it.  That is the Madison River that separates me from the bison.  After the vacation I needed a vacation, so I took a sabbatical.  Believe it or not, I kept a eye open for Jiu-Jitsu schools in my long travels.  I figured even in the "wilderness" they had a McDonalds there must be at least one school I can visit while I’m out and about.  Nope!  Not a single school.  Oh I could have done Yoga or Palates in West Yellowstone.  But when it comes to facing anything in the great outdoors I doubt "downward-facing-dog" will do much for you.  They need at least one BJJ school in each of the major tourist towns in Yellowstone.  Alright, maybe my reasoning isn’t the strongest but if I could make a living teaching BJJ and live in Yellowstone, I’d put in my 2 weeks today and the house up for sale.

Jiu-Jitsu is Life and Life is Jiu-Jitsu

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Broken Toes, Mangled Knuckles and BJJ

Joshs-broken-toe

Last nights class was good as always but it wasn’t without its mishaps.  Josh, while doing a umpa broke his smallest toe.  Yes, that is a picture of his foot, courtesy of Mark.  The smallest toe doesn’t look broken.  Maybe a little swollen but Josh said it was bending in all the wrong places.  It seemed to be a very clean snap and didn’t hurt much according to him.  I imagine today it is a different story.  Mark taped it up and Josh went back to rolling.

So what do you do for a broken toe?  I couldn’t think of anything but taping and basic First Aid,  R.I.C.E. – Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation.  I figure some of you out there might have done a toe or two and have some advice I can share with Josh.  Any suggestions or things to look out for?

What about knuckles?  I had a hold of a gi lapel and my opponent yanked it away.  My middle finger made a sickening pop, that didn’t hurt much, and we went on.  After my finger was sore and has developed a knot on the side.  When I showed it to my doctor he checked to make sure my tendons were intact but that was about it.  Any one have a similar injury and know what’s going on with my finger?

Jiu-Jitsu is Life and Life is Jiu-Jitsu

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Sushi Day and The Jiu-Jitsu Roll!

Tona's Awesome Sushi

Its sushi day!  I don’t go all that often as my usual tab is $40 just for myself.  So it is a special treat, sushi day.  If ever you are in Utah and want the best sushi to be found come to Tona’s Sushi Bar in Ogden.  I’ve traveled near and far.  They have been the best sushi I’ve ever eaten and remain so.  Especially the maki nigiri.  Tell Tony or Tina, the owners, I sent you. 

I asked Tony of Tona’s today to make me the Jiu-Jitsu roll!  "I have never heard of a Jiu-Jitsu Roll" you say.  Its because I made it up with the help of Tony just today.  As I sat eating my maki nigiri we talked about what the ingredients should be.  I decided because Jiu-Jitsu is powerful it should have something that really stands out.  We decided that ingredient should be spicy tuna.  But it also should show the smoothness of the technique so I decided it should be topped with salmon (maki). It needed one more ingredient.  I asked Tony what he thought and he said "something crunchy".  I thought "Ya to give it that tap or snap feeling!"  Tony recited off a list of things we might try when he said "mango" the light went on.  Mango to represent Brazil in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Here is what it looked like.  The lighting wasn’t so great for a picture but the roll was!  It was spicy sweet.  Give me your ideas for a roll!  Like what would be the ingredients for the arm bar roll?

Jiu-Jitsu Roll

Jiu-Jitsu is Life and Life is Jiu-Jitsu

 

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Development Milestone – Tap Out Pat

By way of a journal entry.  I tapped out Pat Monday for the first time.  No, small accomplishment in my book. I was 1-4 against him that night.  I still have Chris, Miles, and Grayson to go and then Mark.  But one tap out at a time.

Pat was in a gi and the Ezekiel I got on him wouldn’t fly in no-gi but that’s the point of a gi isn’t it.  It was the first time I had seen Pat in a gi, as a matter of fact.

I’m not trying to brag.  Its just that others who have been training longer then you have are always progressing too.  They remain a step ahead of you.  To make a small leap and catch up for a bit is exciting.  I see it in the white belts eyes after I tap them out.  They are thinking just what I’m thinking about those better then me.  "When will I ever tap this guy you!".  "Will he always be better then me?"  I want to tell them to hang in there.  I try to tell them but I wonder if they believe me.  When they move up in rank they will still be in the same situation.  Over coming discouragement is part of learning.  Learning takes time and effort.  But I’m human and I often think "I give myself very good advice but I seldom listen" – Alice.

Jiu-Jitsu is Life and Life is Jiu-Jitsu

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Gi Donation for West Side After School BJJ

Gi Donation

A few days ago I blogged about "Donate a Gi and Change a Life".  Thank you to all you who responded and sent Mark a gi to help in this worthy effort.  He has posted about the progress in his post "Kindness and Selfless Acts".  I have included a picture from one of the classes.  You may notice they have colored belts.  Its only because that is what was donated.  They are all white belts with what ever could be West-Side-HSJJfound to make do.  The class size varies but is usually around 30 individuals.  I’m sure some of the ladies reading this may notice in the first picture that the gi’s are a bit large on the girls in the class.  I am sure they can sympathize with the difficulties of getting a good fit.  Its time for hot water and tumble try to shrink them up some.

In another year I’m sure we will be bringing large numbers to the local tournaments.  I’m looking forward to seeing West Side represented by these young energetic students who are putting forth the effort and time to learn BJJ.

Jiu-Jitsu is Life and Life is Jiu-Jitsu

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BJJ a “Full Contact Sport”

I’ve got a good friend who I have been trying to get to come to Jiu-Jitsu.  He recently witnessed a confrontation between a parent and his kid’s coach.  It looked like it was going to end in a fight.  The coach didn’t start it.  It was a over zealous parent that got in his face and started shouting.  You know the type.  The coach was a large muscular man and the parent of average build. From the story my friend told me.  I think what most up set my friend was that the bigger coach didn’t seem to know how to react and my friend didn’t either.  My friend realized he was unprepared for a fight if one ever happened.  He decided he should join me at Jiu-Jitsu but when I explained what submission grappling is like he backed off and said "I don’t like people to touch me"  I responded with "I don’t think an assailant cares".  Although he agreed with my logic the "fight or flight" feeling of the situation he had been put in had now dimmed.  His discomfort at being touched was greater then the adrenaline he had felt during the conflict.  I still want him to come with me.  But how do I convince him? 

Jiu-Jitsu is Life and Life is Jiu-Jitsu

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Puke and Roll, Puke and Roll, Repeat

Let me just start off by saying I’ve never puked before, during, or after rolling.  I have been choked to the point I thought I might.  Who knows what the future holds for me.  But as of right now I haven’t.  The other night we had one of our guys getting ready for a MMA fight this Friday.  It was sort of a quick set up and he hadn’t had time to properly prepare.  To help him he asked that we send guys against time in 4 minute intervals.  The idea being the fresh guys coming in one after another would give him a really good work out and help him acclimatize to the stress and fatigue of the fight.  That was my understanding.  It didn’t take much time at all it seemed before he was running into the restroom to puke.  He went right back, to his credit, until he had to puke again.  So the cycle of puke and roll then repeat began.  This soon had the stories going of others puking at tournaments and so forth.  I begin to wonder what would cause it.  Butterflies? They ate to much before training?  A bad burrito?  May be you can share a story or two with me.  What made you puke?