Epi 64 BJJ, Judo, and Self Defense with Dave Camarillo

The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunesand Stitcher radio

Dave Camarillo has been training in the martial arts since he was five years old.  He started Jiu-Jitsu when he was 19 years old.  He is also known for coaching some of the best in the world of MMA.  He also shares a story of a robbery that happened to him on a bus in Brazil.

Dave Camarillo

Dave Camarillo

Some highlights from the interview:

“I really don’t think that martial arts is for sport first, I sincerely believe that it is for self defense and self awareness.”

“Competition is not for everyone because it definitely has a psychological positive and negative.”

“I would rather a child be a good person than win a tournament.”

“I see an over emphasis on winning, that’s not good for kids, kids need to be happy.”

About students wanting to do MMA, “For 99% of people out there trying to fight, it should not be for a career…. It is for people who want to test themselves in that arena…. If your goal is to be famous (doing MMA) I won’t train you.”

When asked about goals for new students “Your first goal is attendance.”

“Jiu-Jitsu is not just about armbars… it is about being a better person… You will increase the quality of your life in all aspects, because you are in a safe environment around like-minded people.”

We also talk about:

  • His involvement with a combatives program
  • How his situational awareness in Brazil helped him avoid making a big mistake
  • Dealing with weapons in a street fight
  • Self defense and jiu-jitsu
  • Advice on how to flow your jujitsu techniques
  • The power of family members training together
  • Kids and martial arts
  • Forcing kids to take a martial art and other life skill
  • Having a positive training environment for kids to train
  • The differences between Guerrilla Jiu-Jitsu and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
  • How hard he was pushed as a kid doing Judo
  • Advice for someone wanting to do MMA
  • Advice for someone transitioning from Jiu-Jitsu to MMA
  • Some of the rules of Judo and how people adjust to them
  • How it is important for a kids program to have a rewards system
  • Goals for new students

Want more Dave Camarillo? Here is how you keep up with him:

Quote of the week: “A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor” English proverb. Sometimes you need to be pushed and go through some hard times in order to become better.  When you are on the mat, don’t be afraid to step outside your comfort zone.

Article of the week: The All Time Best 5 Submissions In MMA /UFC

Want a better Guillotine Choke? Check out this seminar by our friend Roy Marsh!

GD 4 disc bjj

 

 

 

 

 

Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast

Episode 23 Interview With Coach and BJJ Black Belt John Connors

john connors mma

The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunesand Stitcher radio

This week on the podcast we bring you an interview with coach John Connors. John is the author of the e Book Quick Start Guide to Complete Jiu Jitsu Competition Readiness”. This is a great guide for someone who is an experienced grappler or just starting out.

At the age of 35 John found himself in the business world and lacking the fun and excitement of a sport. John started BJJ with Roberto Maia, and the fun and excitement was put back into his fitness. John eventually got his black belt in 2006 from Roberto Maia. John is now 51 years old and is very active on the mat and he also has a passion for coaching.john connors bjj

John Connors talks with us about:
Meeting goals off the mat
Coaching BJJ and MMA
Grappling for older people and not getting hurt
Making a game plan for competition
Developing key moves
Positional sparing
Limiting your training to get better faster
Making the most of your training time
Coaching during a match
Setting different goals for your competition
Sparing like it is an actual match with a referee and a coach
Dealing with an adrenaline rush
Getting better at winning scrambles
The advantages to getting a fast start to a match
Advice for the non competitor
Setting new challenges outside of your comfort zone
How competition can help you get better at BJJ
Advice for someone’s first day at BJJ

 

Quote of the week: “Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” John Wooden

Article of the week: 3 Steps for Returning to BJJ After Injury – Breakingmuscle.com

Links
Get John’s Ebook for competition for free here
Rickson Gracie Documentary Choke
Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers (this is a link to the entire book as a pdf!!)
Email John Connors at John@dedhamjj.com
John’s Facebook page
John’s Twitter @Connorsmma

Book review- The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle

BJJ coaches should read this

Anyone in a leadership role in the gym should consider reading this book. The cover of the book sums up what the topic very well: “Greatness isn’t born. It’s grown. Here’s how.” I hear people talk about Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers regularly in the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu community. People like to talk about the 10,000 hours of practice is what it takes to truly master something. This book definitely challenges the 10,000 hours of practice that is discussed in Outliers. Consider the athlete that quickly rises to top in a short amount of time (BJ Penn, got his black belt in a little over 3 years). The Talent Code has nothing to say about BJJ, but the topics discussed will transfer over to BJJ coaches easily.

This book focuses on “talent hotbeds”, places that produce a disproportional amount of talent. An example of a talent hotbed in the book is a rundown tennis club in Russia. This particular club is in a freezing climate and only has one indoor tennis court. This tennis club has produced more top 20 women players than the entire United States. How can this happen? What is going on there? Daniel Coyle travels to this small tennis club and shares what he finds. He travels to many talent hotbeds, and discovers what they have in common.


Talent Code Video- It does a great job explaining what is in the book

Drilling is a big concept in BJJ. Coyle discusses how it actually changes our brains to function differently (faster and with less effort). You need to be drilling with different levels of resistance. During drilling you should occasionally stop and think about what is happening when you fail, then try again. Any time you are rolling and you get tapped out, take a few seconds to think about what happened leading up to the submission.

This book also gives a lot of advice to coaches about how to explain things. It will help you communicate more effectively and give your students a better way to remember the techniques.

There are many different aspects of this book that translate into any sport. It will get a second read from me, and I am sure that I will learn even more the second time around. I recommend this book to any coach of any sport.

Check out the Talent Code Blog

Other articles you might like:

Drill one handed

Slow down while you are rolling to improve your Jiu-Jitsu

Thanks for reading, like me on Facebook.com/BjjBrick