Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Category Archives: Tournament Tips
Epi 327 David Aguzzi From Grappling Industries
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
This week we have an interview with David Aguzzi founder of Grappling Industries the fastest growing BJJ competition. Grappling Industries has a round robin format that gets competitors lots of matches. They currently sit in the number two spot for biggest BJJ competition organizations.
We talk about:
- How Grappling Industries started
- The round robin format
- The popularity of Gi compared to no-gi
- The reasons why no-gi is not as popular as gi
- Different belt ranks at tournaments
- Grappling Industries competing with NAGA
- How Grappling Industries is improving their tournaments
- David’s thoughts about the future of BJJ
- If BJJ will ever be in the olympics
- Having Pro MMA fighters enter a BJJ tournament
- Why scrambles cause injuries
- Giving points for knee on stomach
- Why he recommends that most people don’t cut weight
- Some behind the scenes info about a tournament
- Some options for people who can’t afford to pay the entry fee
- Plans for Grappling Industries in 2020
Links:
- http://grapplingindustries.com/
- Grappling Industries on Facebook
- BjjBrick Shop
- Your First Year of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
- Six BJJ Training Games to Play While Rolling
- Your support is appreciated on Patreon
Quote of the week: “Good fences make good neighbors” Robert Frost
Article of the week: From a World-Class Rower, Tips to Sharpen Technique
Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast
The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunes, Stitcher radio, and Google Play Music for Andriod
Epi 248 The Grappling Referee David Karchmer
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
This week we have a conversation with the grappling referee David Karchmer. David has been a BJJ Black Belt since 2012. He has officiated over 3,500 gi and no-gi matches for multiple organizations.
We talk about:
- This reason for his website The Grappling Referee
- Doing video education for interesting calls in BJJ matches
- How enforcing the borders is different between organizations and individual referees
- When to move grapplers back to the middle of the mat
- The role of safety in border enforcement
- What happens when two competitors fly off the mat
- What is done when a submission attempt ends up out of bounds
- Getting submitted by a move that is not intended to be a submission
- When it is appropriate to talk to the referee
- How injuries are handled from a referee’s point of view
- Kids vs Adults rules
- When a referee should stop a match
- Common mistakes competitors make
- Remembering to control long enough to get you points
- Bending the rules
- Advice for people that want to be a referee
- Finding a mentor for being a referee
Links:
- The Grappling Referee website
- Go like his Facebook page you will learn great stuff
- Davids other interview with The BjjBrick Podcast
Quote of the week: “Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, you ought to set up a life you don’t need to escape from.” Seth Godin
Article of the week: Properly Responding to Feedback to Get Better At BJJ
Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast
The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunes, Stitcher radio, and Google Play Music for Andriod
Epi 184 The speed of your Jiu-Jitsu
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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.
Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast
The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunes, Stitcher radio, and Google Play Music for Andriod
Epi 164 A Study of 4 White Belt World Champions 2016
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
This week we interview four people who won IBJJF worlds as a white belt in 2016. The interviews are comprised of the same four questions that we hope give you some insite into why they are winning. This is a great way to find out how some people are finding competition success early on in their BJJ career.
Janine Mutton (20m 40s)- Middle From Action & Reaction Mixed Martial Arts Toronto. Janine started BJJ with no background in martial arts. She quickly found a passion for being on the mat and training hard.
Janine Mutton
Janine talks about:
- Starting BJJ
- Setting the goal of winning worlds
- Competitions before the worlds
- Making an eight week plan
- Training 3 or 4 times a week to avoid over training
- Positive self talk
- Pressure passing with her body type
- The take down game
- Her favorite submissions
- Her training schedule
- Her background in body building and soccer
- Doing squats and deadlifts
- Advice for white belts
Maui Lacaze (39m 56s)- Light Feather From GF Team. You will find Maui training at Millenium. Maui was able to submit all his opponents at worlds.
Maui Lacaze
Maui talks about:
- Winning every match at worlds by submission
- What BJJ is like in French Polynesia
- Starting BJJ with his cousin
- His game plan
- His training schedule
- Surfing
- His plans for competing in the future
- Getting his blue belt
Gabriela Lembcke (45m 40s)- Rooster From Alliance. You can find Gaby training at Snow MMA. She credits some of her early success to wrestling and having a great BJJ team. You can watch a video of Gaby’s match in the finals here.
Gabriela Lembcke
- What got her started in BJJ
- Training at Snow MMA with Samuel Snow
- Having confidence in her BJJ
- Her favorite submissions
- Her off the mat training
- Her diet and having a nutritionist
- Her background in wrestling in highschool
- Advice for white belts that want to compete
George Mandujano (57m 15s)- Ultra Heavy From Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu. George trains at Ralph’s House Fight Gym.
George Mandujano
- What got him started in BJJ
- Staying calm
- Not working too hard for a submission
- How he starts his matches
- Playing a top game
- His wrestling background
- How playing football helped make him tough
- His strategy while on the mat
- His plans for the future
- A recent match that resulted in a knee injury
- His training schedule
- Training with other gyms
- Training with smaller teammates
- Not being affraid to ask questions
Quote of the week: “Always do sober what you said you’d do drunk. This will teach you to keep your mouth shut.” -Ernest Hemingway
Article of the week: Why Everyone Should Lift Heavy
If you are interested in supporting The BjjBrick Podcast find out how here (Now with a $.50 option)
The BjjBrick Wall of Support is being constructed and you can help
Mat Tales 11 “Not a Hero”
Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast
The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunes, Stitcher radio, and Google Play Music for Andriod
Epi 158 The Grappling Referee David Karchmer
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
This week we bring you an interview with BJJ black belt & referee David Karchmer. Over the last eight years David has officiated more than 3,000 gi and no-gi matches. It is great to share with you this conversation with such an experienced Referee.
We talk about:
- What got him started as a referee in 2008
- How some of the rules have changed over the years
- Video instant replay in BJJ
- Using digital score boards in BJJ
- The idea of using a body cam on a referee
- Evaluating footage from a spectator
- Trends in BJJ techniques
- Being a referee with different rules
- Improving as a referee
- Having unified rules for BJJ or submission wrestling
- What referee is in charge of the match
- Is competitive BJJ being true to the roots of the martial art
- The idea of a hidden score card
- What motivated him to become a referee
- What happens when a referee raises the wrong hand
- Deciding who wins a tied match
- How the knowledge and experience of the referee can effect the match
- How someone can learn to become a referee
- Why the best referee teams work an hour then take an hour break
- His thoughts on AJ Agazarm vs Vagner Rocha
- Outlawing jumping closed guard
- Keenan Cornelius vs Tarsis Humphreys
Links:
- The Grappling Referee
- The Grappling Referee on Facebook
- The Grappling Referee on Youtube
- 5 Super League Pro Invitational
Quote of the week: “It annoys me when people who don’t know what they’re talking about boo the referee.” Jonah Lomu
Article of the week: Stop Warming Up, Start Learning Up
If you are interested in supporting The BjjBrick Podcast find out how here
The BjjBrick Wall of Support is being constructed and you can help
Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast
Gary talks about his audio book “Red Card and Red Crotch- How I Got Kicked Out of Professional Sports”
The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunes, Stitcher radio, and Google Play Music for Andriod
Epi 139 Jimmy Fortunato and The Good Fight
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
This week we bring you an interview with Jimmy Fortunato. Jimmy started a tournament company called “The Good Fight” in 2008. Jimmy started training jiu-jitsu in 1997, and his experiences competing ultimately lead him to make some improvements to BJJ tournaments. A couple of years ago The Good Fight switched from a point based tournament to a submission only tournament.
We talk about:
- Why he started The Good Fight
- A little bit of history behind The Good Fight
- Making the change to sub only
- The basic rules
- The goals of the tournament
- Jiu-Jitsu Theatre
- Advice for kids doing a tournament
- Advice for parents
- Some of the most popular submission in competition
Links:
Quote of the week: This quote was presented by Ken Blackburn “Don’t pray for an easy life. Pray for the strength to endure a difficult one.” Bruce Lee
Article of the week: 5 Reasons You Should Say “Hello” to the New Student in Your BJJ Class From Jerry Tsui
If you are interested in supporting The BjjBrick Podcast find out how here
We are now looking to start a new segment called “Mat Tales” and we need your help. If you have a BJJ story good, bad, or just amazing. Please share it with us and we will try to get this new segment rolling.
Gary shares the concept of his audio book “5 Min Into My Cardo- My First Roll”
Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast
The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunes, Stitcher radio, and Google play store for Andriod
Epi 138 BJJ & Kettlebells With Ken Blackburn
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
This week we bring you an interview with Ken Blackburn. Ken is a coach and athlete. Ken is a life long martial artist and he holds an american Kettlebell record in the Chair Press. Ken has been doing BJJ for about 17 years, and he is happy to help introduce the BJJ community to the benefits of Kettlebell and other training methods. In 2008 Ken along with his partner Steve Cotter founded the International Kettlebell and Fitness Federation (IKFF).
We talk about:
- His start with BJJ and Kettlebells
- Kettlebell sport
- Some benefits that Kettlebells bring to BJJ
- Work capacity
- Developing mental toughness
- Grip endurance and strength
- The Bulgarian Bag
- Mace and clubs
- Animal movements
- Why you should warm-up and cool down
- How to do a proper warm-up and cool down
- How to keep motivated
- Training movements vs training muscles
- Mapping out your goals
- The culture of the Kettlebell community
- Common mistakes with strength and conditioning
- A schedule for doing strength and conditioning
Links:
Quote of the week: Our quote this week is the Oath of Kings and Champions by Travis Stevens. It will motivate you.
Article of the week: 10 Habits of Successful BJJ Competitors
If you are interested in supporting The BjjBrick Podcast find out how here
Byron is working on a new audio book about kennel cough and BJJ
Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast
The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunes, Stitcher radio, and Google play store for Andriod
Epi 97 Sam Spiegelman Q&A Part 2
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunes, Stitcher radio, and RSS link for Andriod
This week we have part 2 of Sam Spiegelman answering your questions about strength and conditioning. Sam is a Brown Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Mark Vives, he trains at New Breed Training Center. He has written a bunch of great articles on Breaking Muscle. Sam is also available for online consultations.
Sam answers these questions:
- What supplements do you recommend?
- How do you deal with cramps during training?
- What should I ear before a competition?
- How do I improve my flexibility?
- What are your thought on training multiple times per day?
- What muscle groups are used more for offence or defense?
- If someone can roll only twice a week what off the mat training should they do?
- Does the training mask work?
- What tips do you have for recovery after training?
- What apps for your phone do you recommend using for conditioning training?
Links:
Quote of the week: “Drillers make killers” presented by Gary Hull
Article of the week: “What Happened When My Son Got Beat by a Girl“
Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast
Epi 90 Atos Black Belt Tim Sledd Part 2
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunes, Stitcher radio, and RSS link for Andriod
This week we have part 2 of our interview with Tim Sledd. Tim is a 1st degree black belt under Andre Galvao. Tim not only runs his own gym Small Axe BJJ, he is also the Director of affiliates for Atos. Tim shares lots of information about what is going on behind the scenes at Atos.
If you missed part 1 of this interview check it out first here!
Tim Sledd
In part 2 of this interview we talk about:
- What Atos does differently than other BJJ teams
- Systems building with your techniques
- Drilling, and how to drill properly
- Specific sparing and how it is used
- Speed drills, flow drills, and fine motor skills drills
- The culture of Atos
- The culture of Small Axe BJJ
- Left brain right brain confusion
- Advice for a student doing a first tournament
- How to start off a match strong
- The Leg Drag
Links:
- Email Tim Sledd: smallaxebjj@gmail.com
- Small Axe website
- Essays by Tim Sledd
- Leg Drag Workshop Dvd by Tim Sledd
Quote of the week: ”Everything Should Be Made as Simple as Possible, But Not Simpler” Albert Einstein- Presented by Matt Thorton
Article of the week: “BJJ Promotions, and Lack Thereof” By: White Belt Survival Strategy
Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast