Epi 184 The speed of your Jiu-Jitsu

This week we talk about an important and sometimes overlooked attribute to BJJ. The speed of the game may be something you use to your advantage or something that you are find yourself working to mitigate.

Gary has no idea that I put him in the movie poster from the movie speed. -Byron

We talk about:

  • Tips for the slower grappler
  • Some techniques that are better done slowly
  • Why your speed may leave you some day
  • When you should slow down or speed up
  • How to speed things up
  • How to slow things down
  • The speed of particular positions

Quote of the week: “Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later.”
not by Anita Goodman but the quote was said by Og Mandino

Article of the week: Positional Sparring: Getting the most out of it

Korbett’s Kids Epi 3-  Korbett Miller answers a question about kids and drilling. Check out Korbett’s website here for more info on developing a strong kids program at your academy.

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Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast

The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunesStitcher radio, and Google Play Music for Andriod

 

Epi 183 Gina Franssen From X2 Fitness

This week we have an interview with Gina Franssen. Gina is Minnesota’s first female Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt. You can find her at her female focused gym X2 Fitness. We cover a wide range of topics in this interview.

Gina Franssen (far right)

We talk about:

  • What BJJ was like for women fourteen years ago
  • How she was involved in a women’s only BJJ school
  • Adding men to what was once a women’s only BJJ school
  • What she looks for in quality male training partners
  • How she got started in martial arts
  • A tip to find a gym while traveling
  • Advice for women starting BJJ
  • Why it is important to learn to be comfortable being uncomfortable

Links:

Quote of the week: People seldom refuse help, if one offers it in the right way. A. C. Benson

Article of the week: Drilling: How To Get the Most Out Of It

The Referee Corner Epi 4: Why does the referee alter the gi?

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Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast

The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunesStitcher radio, and Google Play Music for Andriod

Epi 182 Chokes and Jokes With Submission Ace Dominique Bell

Dominique Bell is a brown belt training and teaching at Atos Jiujitsu HQ – San Diego. Dominique has been on fire on the mats and is definitely a person you should be watching. In his spare time he is the person behind BjjComics.

We talk about:

  • Training BJJ full time
  • Training in the army combative program
  • Moving across the country to train at Atos
  • BjjComics.com
  • Similarities of BJJ and rock climbing
  • The differences in his gi and nogi game
  • His bottom game strategy for nogi
  • His first experiences doing jiu-jitsu
  • How he prepares mentally and physically 30 min before a mach
  • Why it is so important to have a game plan

Links:

Article of the week: Competing in mid-adulthood: How to train to win after age 35

Quote of the week:  “It is not sufficient to see and to know the beauty of a work. We must feel and be affected by it.” Voltaire

Korbett’s Kids Epi 2-  Korbett Miller answers a question about kids training to compete. Check out Korbett’s website here for more info on developing a strong kids program at your academy.

Your-First-Year-Of-BJJ-artwork-1199

Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast

The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunesStitcher radio, and Google Play Music for Andriod

Live Sparring/Free Rolling: Get more out of it than just a good fight

Live sparring, for most of us, is why we do jiu jitsu. Live sparring is where things get fun, where we pressure test our techniques, and where we find out which moves work for us and which might not. Live sparring, however, is not the easiest environment for newer students to make technical improvements in their jiu jitsu. Here are a few suggestions that might help.

Check your ego. This advice is repeated so often that it has become a bit cliché, but at no time on the mats is it more applicable than during live sparring. Not having your ego in check can cause a you to make choices on the mat that can be detrimental to your progress. Some examples would be: Not rolling with teammates (especially those of lesser rank) who frustrate you and/or tap you often. Not rolling when you’re tired so as not to get beat by a lesser skilled, but fresher or more athletic teammate. Not taking chances or trying new techniques that might leave you vulnerable.

Breath and relax. Only when you’re calm can you see what’s happening. And when you can see what’s happening you can start to learn. You will learn more “losing” calmly than “winning” by spazzing and scrambling like a wounded cougar.

Have specific and achievable goals. This seems to be especially applicable if you find yourself (like I often do) rolling almost exclusively against grapplers with more skill and ability. If you’re working on your kimura and there’s no one in class that you can actually submit, try to just dominate the arm and catch the kimura grip. Maybe you’re training partners are too good for even that—what position do you want to set the kimura up from? Set a goal to at least get there.

Roll with everyone. It’s easy to fall into the habit of rolling almost exclusively with a few training partners that give us fun and reasonably competitive rolls. There’s nothing wrong with rolling with our favorite training partners, but we also benefit from those training partners who are behind us a bit in athletic and technical ability as well as those who can crush us. When rolling with a training partner you can easily beat, don’t take the easy way out and just throw on your best submission every time—use this roll to try new techniques or roll from a position you are week from. When rolling against someone who can easily beat you, don’t put all your focus on not getting tapped at all costs—concentrate on things like good postures, good movements, good fundamentals, etc.

Don’t be afraid to use positional sparring during open mat when it makes sense. Positional sparring during live sparring might make sense if you’re working on a specific move or specific piece of your game—this could be especially helpful if you roll with a more advanced training partner who is especially good at what you’re working on who can give you feedback after the roll.  It might also make sense if you’re nursing an injury and are concerned some positions may leave you vulnerable to aggravate the injury. Positional sparring may also make sense when rolling with a new student who is not comfortable engaging—you can save time and get to the actual sparring if you just let them start in side control.

To wrap things up: Live sparring is a great way to evaluate your jiu jitsu, make adjustments, and refine your technique. To get the most out of it you need to treat it as a learning and training exercise as opposed to a competition to be won or lost. Always remember—there is no honor in gym wins.

Train hard. Train smart. Get better.

By Joe Thomas Find more articles by Joe Thomas here

Epi 181 Interview with Kim Pruyssers

This week we bring you an interview with Kim Pruyssers. Kim is a purple belt in BJJ, she recently placed silver at Pan Am. You can find Kim training at Pacific Top Team in Corona California.

We talk about:

  • Juggling a busy life and training BJJ
  • Her competition history
  • Training full time and raising four boys
  • Transitioning from only training with the gi and now doing no-gi
  • Some of her favorite attacks
  • Her first experiences with Jiu-Jitsu
  • Her women’s only program and why it is successful
  • Lessons she has learned by coaching
  • Why some women’s classes fail
  • Her strategy for competing in open weight
  • Advice for women starting BJJ in a class with all men
  • Training on a busy schedule
  • Advice for dealing with frustrations on the mat

Links:

Quote of the week: “If your arm breaks do not stop, if your windpipe is crushed keep going, your knee gets destroyed, why stop. Always, always keep going forward. Your body will heal itself so no reason to slow down.”-Jeffery Gloover

Article of the week: 3 Tips To Improve Your Takedowns

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Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast

The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunesStitcher radio, and Google Play Music for Andriod