Self Defense

Often people ask me about self-defense courses. Personally I don’t like them. In general the people that want to take a self-defense course are looking for a quick answer. The problem is there is no quick answer if you want to be able to defend yourself, especially if the attacker is larger and stronger. You need to develop a skill set and this takes time. You not only need to know the moves but have drilled them enough so that they are effective. The problem with most self-defense courses is that you are learning a very small skill set over a very short period of time.

At the Martial Arts School in Columbia Maryland where I train we teach many different disciplines. I would suggest that anyone who wants to learn how to defend him or herself study a Martial Art. It takes time so be prepared to stick with it. Training is not always fun for everyone but you need to just keep reminding yourself of your goal.

If I had to pick one Martial Art that will help absolutely everyone be able to defend themselves it would with out a doubt be Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Jiu-Jitsu takes time to master but once you start becoming proficient you will notice that it is very easy to control someone. I have personally witnessed a 19-year-old girl weighing roughly 115 lbs defeat a man that was nearly 50 lbs heaver then her and she was even not a black belt. Jiu-Jitsu is all about body mechanics. You learn how you can use leverage, off balance your opponent, and move & position yourself to control your opponent. It is also submission based so you do not need to rely on strength or power to knock someone out.

Another advantage in taking Jiu-Jitsu is the live sparring. In striking arts you cannot spar every day for injury reasons and also many people just don’t want to get beat up on. Since there is no striking in Jiu-Jitsu you can safely spar everyday (if you wish). This allows you practice the moves and positions with real scenarios and with real reactions from your opponent. It also allows you to gauge your progress and know how effective it really is. The sparing will also inevitably get into good shape, which can only help you in an actual situation.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in MMA

It is no secret that Mixed Martial Arts promoters prefer the fights to stay on the feet. The rules are set up in ways that strongly favor the stand up disciplines (Boxing, Muay Thai, etc). For one there are multiple short rounds. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is not always a fast art. It can takes time to set submissions. Also the ref will stand it up if it looks like they are not working. Many people will try hard to stall so that the ref will stand them back up. Often you will see wrestlers score the takedown and then stall so they can be stood back up to score another takedown (not a bad strategy if you have good takedowns but how is that any more exciting then if they were to stay on the ground). Another thing is that they are required to wear gloves. The gloves not only allow you to hit harder but the gloves are thick so it makes it hard to grip and to slide your hand under your opponents chin for the choke.

With all that said Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is still a common place in MMA. When most people think of Jiu-Jitsu they think of submissions but Jiu-Jitsu is much more then that. The “guard” is often used defensively. It helps to control your opponent so that you don’t take a lot of damage or to get back on top (Sweeps). Also being good at Jiu-Jitsu allows you too be able to pass your opponent guard, mount or take their back. Often you may see someone with good Jiu-Jitsu skills pass the guard and mount but finish the opponent with strikes.

Surprisingly enough at the highest level of MMA competitions you see many fighters that are purple belt level in Jiu-Jitsu or even lower. It is obvious when you see a true world-class black belt. When guys like Demian Maia or BJJ Pen fight it’s clear they have a large advantage on the ground (Both on Top and Bottom).

Jiu-Jitsu can also be used as a “Hail Mary” play. Recently some very high profile fights have been ended with a submission from the fighter that was loosing. Fedor Emelianenko lost to Fabricio Werdum via Triangle after Fedor knocked him down and jumped on him. Brock Lesnar defeated Shane Carwin with an Arm Triangle after being pummeled in the first round. And even more recently, Anderson Silver defeated Chael Sonnen with a last minute Triangle after loosing almost every round of a five round fight.

All of the current champions in the UFC have trained extensively in Jiu-Jitsu and have proved that you need to be well rounded to be champion. No matter how good you are on the feet you never know when you might end up on the ground. This is one of the reasons that at the MMA School in Columbia Maryland were I train we put a very strong emphasis on being well rounded.

It is clear that there will always be a place for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in MMA. After all if you take out the Jiu-Jitsu its just a kick-boxing match.

Dragging.... But its Friday!

Last nights practice was a rough one. At the Baltimore Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu school were I train, we train very hard and this week was been no exception. My body was feeling it by Thursday night and is not exactly recovered yet. Luckily it is Friday so at least I do not have to work tomorrow. However I do have to do a circuit both tonight and tomorrow, which will not be fun, but I do get to sleep in a little and then I get a full day to recover before Monday.
I'm finally starting to feel a little stronger since being sick and my weight is still right on. So I am looking pretty good for the Miami Open Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament in a couple of weeks. I can't wait!
I will be heading into Jiu-Jitsu class tonight around 7 and probably get done class and my circuit by 10. So after that I get to sleep. I can't wait for that either...ha!
On another note I have to take my children to a birthday party on Saturday and then my daughter is having a small party at my mom's house for her birthday. My daughter will be having another party closer to her actual birthday but my mom lives kind of far and couldn't make it. So a weekend filled with training and chasing after the little ones. I will be sneaking naps where every I can...

Joint Practice

Another great practice last night (Wednesday) at our Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu school in Baltimore. Competitors from one of our sister schools (Ivey League MMA) visited. It was a great time. We turned the heat up as high as it would go and trained for about two and a half hours. For the last half an hour or so we were running suicide sprints. It was a blast! I love hard practices. It seems bad while you are doing it but it is very satisfying after you finish. You feel like you can do anything... well after you get a good night sleep.
I have been training very hard this week trying to get ready for the Jiu-Jitsu tournament in Miami at the end of this month (Not that I don't always train hard). Its just hard coming off of being sick for over a week and jumping right back in but there is very little time to get ready. I will be training as hard as I can for the next two weeks. Luckily my weight is right on from being sick.
I can't wait for my wait to get back out there and fight. It's been a rough year so far between injuries and getting sick and a few early bad performances. Got a lot to prove!

Training Hard!

Another day Training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Baltimore! I'm starting to feel a lot better. Last night I went in for the intermediate class. Our instructor was in a little bit of a mood and pumped it up a little. It was great. It wasn't quite as tough as an advanced class but it was still a lot of fun. We got to run "Match of the Days" (tournament style matches). I didn't do so hot (don't really want to get into what happened. Ha!) but it was still a lot of fun.
Afterward I did my first circuit since being back. That was tough! I felt like I was starting all over. I was very tiered but I willed myself through it. I got less then three weeks to get ready for my next BJJ Tournament so I really need to push myself.
The action wont stop tonight. We have visitors coming up to our Jiu-Jitsu school in Baltimore from our sister schools for our advanced class. It is always a good time when the competition team all meats up at one school. The heat will be turned up and the training will be hard. I love it!

Well I'm back!

For those that don't know I was extremely sick over the last couple of weeks. It was horrible and even included a visit to the hospital. All I could think of while I was sick was getting back to class at the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu school in Baltimore where I train. Well... I am back. Last night I attended my first advanced class since being sick. I held up pretty good although I felt noticeably week and I tiered easily. I hope to be back to full strength by the end of the week.
Do to being so sick I missed the tournaments last weekend. It was very upsetting. I worked really hard to recover from an injury and get ready for the tournaments and then got sick. Oh well. I am now registered for the Miami Open, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament at the end of the month. I am very excited to finally get back out there. First I will need to get back into shape.
After class tonight I will be doing my first circuit since getting sick. Circuits are miserable but necessary, especially if I am going to be in shape by the 23rd of this month. At our MMA school everyone who competes are on circuits.

Busy! Busy!

It has been very crazy for me over the last couple of weeks. Things have picked up at my job. My daughter started her first day at kindergarten. I have been working to help people negotiate contracts. I have also started our new conditioning program at the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu school in Baltimore where I train.
Over the last month D'Angelo Kinard from Advanced Sports Performance has been working on a new conditioning routine for our competition team and it was final installed on Monday. We will be doing three circuits a week and ever so many weeks we will change up to other circuits.
The first circuit I did on Monday was brutal. It was a complete body workout. My back legs and shoulders are very sore plus it was very cardio intensive. It was very hard doing the submission grappling class (No-Gi) and then the advanced Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class right after it. By the end I was completely drained!
Today I am on a leg Circuit and then No-Gi and advanced class. On Friday it’s all upper body. Once my body gets used to the new conditioning routine I will go back to running on Tuesdays and Thursdays before class. I am going to compete in a Jiu-Jitsu tournament at the end of this month. It will be the first tournament I have done since injuring my arm. It will be great to get back out there. This long layoff has been miserable.
The new training is definitely not fun but if it helps me achieve my goal of winning at the worlds then it will be well worth it. It’s like my coach keeps saying, “You are older so you have to work twice as hard”. That is what I intend to do. One thing is for sure by next June (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Championships) I will be a machine... Hopefully not a broken one!