Monthly Archives: July 2014

Epi 41 Felipe Costa World Champion Competitor and Teacher

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Felipe Costa

Felipe Costa

This week we bring you an interview with Black belt world champion Felipe Costa.  Not every world champion is relatable to the common grappler. Felipe shares his story, and I can guarantee that you will find many themes and feelings that you can relate to. With students being able to relate to him this has giving him a powerful teaching tool.

We talk about:

  • He has been training since he was 12 years old
  • He never won a major tournament until he became a black belt
  • It took him 10 years to get to his black belt
  • Being a black belt means much more than rolling like a black belt
  • His favorite techniques and positions
  • His early competition career
  • Overcoming being nervous and self doubt
  • Beating a competitor that is better than you
  • BJJ camp 2014 Sept 5- Sept 15. in Cancun
  • His current neck injury that has kept him off the mat for over 2 months
  • He describes the level of pain he has with his injury

    Felipe Costa giving Ryan Hall his black belt

    Felipe Costa giving Ryan Hall his black belt

  • Goals for a bjj student for their 1st year
  • History of some of the rules in the IBJJF
  • His current goals
  • Advice for a BJJ students first tournament
  • What he was like as a blue belt
  • How the internet has changed BJJ training
  • Learning basic techniques vs the fancy techniques
  • Advice for making your own strategy
  • What he does before he competes

Connect with Felipe Costa:

Quote of the week: The Man in The Arena by Theodore Roosevelt “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” Thank you Wil Horneff, from Training Grounds Jiu-Jitsu & MMA for presenting the quote.

Article of the week: Have You Ever Seen Someone Humiliated Like This in Jiu Jitsu… By Coach John Connors.  Check out John Connors interview here

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Episodes 31-40 of The BjjBrick Podcast

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Join Gary and Byron on the BjjBrick Podcast

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Epi 31 Developing Talent with Daniel Coyle –Daniel Coyle is a New York Times bestselling author ofThe Talent Code and The Little Book of Talent.  He is one of the leading authorities on developing talent.  He may not be a Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, but his ideas about how to practice can help you understand how you learn.  The methods he has found could help catapult your game to the next level and beyond. 

Epi 32 Alliance Black Belt Jonathan “Macarrao” -Thomas This week we are joined by Jonathan Thomas.  Jonathan was recently awarded his black belt from Romero “Jacare” Cavalcanti. You will find Jonathan training, teaching, and positional sparring at The Alliance headquarters in Atlanta.

Epi 33 Breaking things down with Ostap Manastyrski –Ostap Manastryski is a brown belt under Elliott Bayev, he trains and teaches at OpenMat Mixed Martial Arts Academy in Toronto Canada.  Ostap breaks down BJJ videos on his YouTube channel, this is a great resource for anyone wanting to better understand BJJ.

Epi 34 Making changes to your BJJ game –This week we take a break from having a guest on the show and Gary and Byron talk about making changes to your BJJ game.
Epi 35- Listener Stories, Injuries Part 1 of 2 -This week we have stories from our listeners. These are stories about getting injured and overcoming the injury. This episode is packed full of great advice for anyone who has been injured, or if you have a teammate that has been injured. It is important to know what to expect and the advice will help get you back on the mat my friends.
Epi 36- Listener Stories, Injuries Part 2 of 2 -More amazing injury and recovery stories from the listeners.
Epi 37 Great Advice from Carlos Machado -Carlos Machado is a Red Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.  He has been teaching BJJ in the United States for over 20 years.  He moved to Texas in 1995, and he is now running 6 BJJ schools. He is the oldest of the five legendary Machado brothers.
Epi 38 Nick Albin- He May Not Be A Jedi, But He Is Chewy -This week we talk to Nick Albin otherwise known as “Chewy”. He teaches and trains BJJ full time and is the head instructor at Derby City Mixed Martial Arts in Louisville, KY. Chewy is a Black Belt under Renato Tavares. He also has a website with lots of great information about BJJ here http://chewjitsu.net/
Epi 39 The 3 Steps to Making Changes to Your BJJ -This week we talk about making changes to your BJJ and developing a game plan.  We break it down into 3 main steps: 1) Define the objectives 2) Get help 3) Do the work.  You are the only person how is ultimately in charge of your BJJ development take responsibility and make it happen.  To help you obtain your goal we strongly recommend that your write it down.
Epi 40 Interview With BJJ Black Belt Wil Horneff -This week we talk to Wil Horneff. This interview is packed full of great training advice and you can tell Wil has a passion for training and helping his students. Wil is a Black belt under Ralph Gracie, he owns a school in Westwood NJ called Training Grounds Jiu-Jitsu & MMA. At Training Grounds they teach BJJ, MMA, kickboxing, and also teach Kids Martial Arts in Bergen County, NJ.

Review of Moko Rashguard from Fuji Sports

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I have had this rashguard for over 2 months and have been pretty happy with it.  It’s comfortable and fits me well (I am 5’11” 170lbs and ordered a medium).  It shows no sign of wear or any defects.  The Moko is a high quality rashguard.

My experience with it- I have worn it as much as I can this month to put it to the test.  It works great as a no-gi rashguard.  It’s comfortable and does not distract me as I train.  I also have been wearing the Moko under my Gi.  I do not usually wear anything under my gi but I have enjoyed it and will probably continue to do so.

Recommendation- If you like the looks of the Moko you will be happy with the performance and durability. At a price of $64, it is a stylish premium rashguard.  If you are just looking for a basic rashguard Fuji has more basic options with the same great quality. This rash guard was provided by Fuji Sports to BjjBrick for the this review.

Click on pictures to enlarge

Click on pictures to enlarge

moko2 moko3 moko4 moko5 moko6

Epi 40 Interview With BJJ Black Belt Wil Horneff

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Wil Horneff bjjThis week we talk to Wil Horneff. This interview is packed full of great training advice and you can tell Wil has a passion for training and helping his students. Wil is a Black belt under Ralph Gracie, he owns a school in Westwood NJ called Training Grounds Jiu-Jitsu & MMA. At Training Grounds they teach BJJ, MMA, kickboxing.

We talk about:

  • How some movies eventually got Wil into BJJ
  • What it is like running his school
  • Books he recommends: Gold Medal Mental Workout for Combat Sports, and The Inner Game of Tennis
  • Why he focuses on adding pressure to his game
  • Training with some high level BJJ athletes
  • The current rules for IBJJF and why they are set up the way they are
  • BJJ and self-defense
  • Some of the ways BJJ needs to be changed to help in a street fight
  • How training in the Gi can help for self defense
  • He gives advice for 1st year students
  • The importance of drilling until you can’t do the move wrong
  • S-Training and how it helps develop skill
  • Wil’s current goals
  • Why creating space is bad for BJJ
  • Why you need to not drill moves in isolation
  • Getting more confidence and being calm during competition
  • Advice for your first time compeating
  • What Wil was like as a blue belt
  • Advice for developing your own game plan
  • Developing a culture of learning and leadership in his gym
  • Some traits that Wil looks for in a good student
  • We talk about some of Wil’s history in acting
  • He played the bully in the movie “The Sandlot”
  • He gives behind the scenes stories of “The Sandlot“, “Born to Be Wild“, and “The Shining“

Wil Horneff Contact info- Westwood, NJ http://www.njtraininggrounds.com/, His email wil@njtraininggrounds.com

Wil Horneff teaching kids class

Wil Horneff teaching kids class

Quote of the week: “Don’t forget that I cannot see myself – that my role is limited to being the one who looks in the mirror.” Jacques Rigaut

Article of the week:“To Wash or NOT to Wash Your Belt?” From: The Jiu Jitsu Transformation

Our interview with Wil about his back injury is here. It starts at 2h5m23s

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Epi 39 The 3 Steps to Making Changes to Your BJJ

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The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunes, and Stitcher radio

Join Gary and Byron on the BjjBrick Podcast

Join Gary and Byron on the BjjBrick Podcast

 

This week we talk about making changes to your BJJ and developing a game plan.  We break it down into 3 main steps: 1) Define the objectives 2) Get help 3) Do the work.  You are the only person how is ultimately in charge of your BJJ development take responsibility and make it happen.  To help you obtain your goal we strongly recommend that your write it down.

1) Define the objective– Make a realistic objective that is attainable but not too easy.  Your objective can be a new move or you can try to change your style.  You might decide to make one of your best moves (a brick) even better, or you could make a week area of your game stronger.  Your objective could also be to drop a few pounds or become more flexible. It is up to you what you want to work on, make sure it is something that will pay off in the long run. Try to avoid picking a fad.

2) Get help– Tell your coach what you are working on, that way you two are on the same page. Get a small group of training partners together that will be able to help you. Find someone who is good at the area you are working on. Find a book that covers what you are working on, or watch YouTube videos(if you have not seen this YouTube thing, it’s pretty sweet).

3) Do the work– No one can do the work for you, and no one knows if you are working as hard as you can. The bottom line is you gotta work hard to make changes happen.  At first making changes will be difficult, it will feel like you took a step backwards.

Toward the end of the show Byron explains how he is doing this 3 step process.  He will be working on his back defense. He then goes through the 3 step process with his objective.

Quote of the week:“Do you listen, or do you just wait to talk?” Pulp Fiction

Article of the week: “Beware The Belt Chaser” Grapplearts.com

Sponsor: FujiSports.com check out the High Capacity Duffle Bag

 

Epi 38 Nick Albin- He May Not Be A Jedi, But He Is Chewy

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The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunes, and Stitcher radioKick Albin Chewy

This week we talk to Nick Albin otherwise known as “Chewy”. He teaches and trains BJJ full time and is the head instructor at Derby City Mixed Martial Arts in Louisville, KY. Chewy is a Black Belt under Renato Tavares. He also has a website with lots of great information about BJJ here http://chewjitsu.net/ 

We talk about

  • How your teammates help you shape your game
  • Training with Renato Tavares
  • The idea that you always need to be learning in BJJ
  • Adding new techniques to your game
  • Chewy’s style of BJJ, he moves a lot and pushes the pace
  • How his wrestling effects his BJJ
  • Competing as a wrestler and advantages for BJJ
  • His BJJ Blog chewjitsu.net
  • How he got the name Chewy
  • An article he wrote about chasing the next belt rank
  • Managing expectations at each belt level
  • How shorter time limits could effect grappling matches
  • Using competition video for training
  • Training with injuries
  • Advice for people competing for the first time
  • What he was like as a blue belt
  • Developing your own game plan for BJJ

Quote of the week: “Given the choice between the experience of pain and nothing, I would choose pain.” William Faulkner

Article of the week: 10 Reasons you’re still a white belt

Links:

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