Continue reading]]> When we started Jiu-jitsu, many of us knew nothing. The only arts that are similar are wrestling and judo, but everyone doesn’t have that background. Without that, we’re left with watching MMA or Army Combatives as common conduits of grappling knowledge.

What about the person who has none of that? What if they just happened to stumble into a gym one day and decide to give it a try. What then?

That first class and intro is not enough to give them a full sense of the breadth and wonder of the art. It’s not enough to set them on a firm foundation for growth. And it’s not enough to demonstrate the relevance of it all.

In time, all those issues can disappear, but if we can shorten that barrier to entry, it will increase the growth of the art.

There is a tool that can help in that area, and it’s Alexandre Paiva’s book on Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. The book is a technical reference manual filled with over 1000 high quality images, demonstrating techniques in all the common positions. So you can refer to it whenever and wherever you want.

You would benefit from the book if:

• You desire to speed up your process of learning at the lower belt levels.
• You want to get a better sense of how the complex web of jiu-jitsu is interconnected.
• You want to study different variations of basic technique to inspire your own creativity.

With that said, we’re not going to focus on what’s in the book. Instead, the rest of this post will be about:

1. Why it’s a great resource for white belts.
2. How you can use it to expand your foundation of knowledge.
3. What upper belts can take from it.

Resource For White Belts

We begun with the idea that white belt face a barrier to entry when they first start training. It stems from the fact that many of you, who are at that level, don’t have a strong foundation of knowledge that you can use to make sense of new technique.

That’s why, in general, white belts have a harder time retaining information.

It’s not just a function of time. Previous knowledge gives you an advantage when it comes to learning related topics, and as the base grows, the advantage grows as well. That’s why analogies and metaphors can be great teaching tools. They allow you to do the same learning hack with unrelated topics, by creating connections between diverse knowledge.

The book will help you to build that foundation of knowledge, and it’s unique benefit over video is that you can reference it anywhere and anytime. So consider it a way to shorten the distance between floundering in the ocean and finding an upstream current.

Here’s some ideas for how you can accomplish that best:

• Choose one technique in each category and study it.
• Practice those techniques before and after class for least one rep each.
• Ask upper belts for advice on the techniques that you don’t understand.

As a white belt, the first few months should be focused on generalization. You want to gain a broad base of knowledge so that you start to understand how all pieces fit within the puzzle. By choosing one diverse technique, you will speed that process up.

As far as practice goes, it’s important that you space your drilling out. It makes it easy for knowledge to transfer to long term memory. That’s why cramming is less effective than studying over the course of weeks. Your brain needs time to forget and each reminder reinforces the knowledge.

So don’t worry about how many reps you drill in a day, just try to do it at least once every day you train over a period of time, and you’ll see results.

There’s an idea in the field of learning processes that more difficult knowledge is to gain the easier it is to maintain. For that reason, trying to figure out technique on your own has benefit, but you don’t always have to reinvent the wheel. Ask for advice. It has the intangible benefit of helping you build relationships within your gym.

None of this advice applies only to the techniques in [easyazon_link asin=”0804842752″ locale=”US” new_window=”default” nofollow=”default” tag=”bjjcanvas-20″ add_to_cart=”default” cloaking=”default” localization=”default” popups=”default”]Alexandre Paiva’s book[/easyazon_link]. You can use it with or without the book, but if you have it, you have a catalog of techniques that you can refer to at the drop of a hat.

Expand Awareness Of The Web

Page after page is filled with technique, and those pages cover a broad spectrum of jiu-jitsu. It’s possible to look at one page and then turn to another and see a potential counter.

If you study it, not only will it reinforce your knowledge of technique but also you’ll start to see the connection between positions.

In a sense, it depends on how deep you go down the rabbit hole. If you just look at each technique in isolation and then try to practice them, your benefit will be limited. However, if you compare similar techniques against each other and take note of the details, you’ll start to see possibilities that extend beyond the page.

Here’s an example.

Alexandre Paiva does something radical with the cross choke. He reverses the order of the grips, by feeding the palm down grip first. Then he uses that to create space for the second grip to slide in easily. That’s a small variation but if you expand it out to other situation, you can see possibilities.

Also pay attention to how the details change between the gi and no-gi versions of the same technique. That is an area where the book really shines because it shows you both sides of the equation. You can see the modifications that are made, and you can apply those modifications to other techniques.

The Intricacies Of Knowledge

If you’re like me, you’ll recognize at least 80% of the techniques. So shift your focus to how he does things differently from the way you do, and why.

Personally, I wrote down several notes on that topic, and most of them were all about the grips.

One that was fascinating was the inside belt grip he used for some of the butterfly sweeps. The palm was up, and it was in front of the hip. That’s something to experiment with. In addition to that, there was a spider guard grip combination where he went foot in the bicep and collar grip on the opposite shoulder.

It’s those little variations that offer a rich field of study.

Continue reading]]>

One day, I walked into the library, and something quite unexpected happened..

By chance, my eyes fell upon a book, and it had a word on the cover that stood out to me. You could probably guess which one it was if you take just a moment to look up above.

I picked it up, read a little bit, and then it left the building with me.

On that particular day though, my intent had simply been to renew a few books that I wasn’t quite done with them. So it was quite the unexpected find.

Now I’ve read it, and I believe that there are some great lessons that can be taken from it and applied to Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. That’s exactly what I’m going to do here.

The Premise of the Book

Similar to Outliers, Rebounders is a book that profiles successful individuals in order to identify and highlight common traits and patterns. The main difference between the two books lies in the level of focus that Rebounders places on internal factors of success.

In fact, the last chapter of the book focuses on common elements that define a rebounder. Oh, I should explain that term first.

• Rebounders: These are individuals who have the developed an increased ability to navigate through obstacles and setbacks to achieve their goals.
• Wallowers: These are individuals who break down in the face of adversity and blame their troubles on external factors.

One thing that is frequently reinforced in the book is that whether you are a rebounder or not right now, it’s never something that can’t be changed.

So here are 9 characteristics of a rebounder:

1. They Accept Failure
2. They Compartmentalize Emotions
3. They Have A Bias Toward Action
4. They Change Their Mind Sometimes
5. They Prepare For Things To Go Wrong
6. They’re Comfortable With Discomfort
7. They’re Willing To Wait
8. They Have Heroes
9. They Have More Than Passion

One note about this before we go into the application is that none of the individuals identified as rebounders in the book had all of those traits. Instead, each of them had different combinations of the characteristics.

Look for the Silver Lining

Failure is always a possibility. That’s a fact.

It doesn’t matter if you compete or not. Every time, you step on the mat, there is that possibility that you will fail in some way. Perhaps, all  your favorite techniques just aren’t working or you’re getting submitted over and over again. Whatever it may be, there is something that you can gain from that experience.

You should know that though, right? It’s been a concept that has been reinforced in many forms and by many individuals, but I still see people who haven’t made the effort to ingrain the concept in their mind.

Just doing that small thing would massively help your rate of growth in this art.

Don’t Let Emotions Interfere with your Goals

There are emotions that can be helpful as well as those that can be harmful when it comes to success in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. We all understand that. The issue lies in controlling it all.

Make the effort, and always place your goals above all else.

Take Massive Action

There are so many ways to improve your jiu-jitsu. You could go to class and pay attention. That’s always a good option. You could watch tape and instructionals. You could visualize your performing technique in various situations. You could coordinate with teammates to drill outside of class.

Of course, there are far more options than that, but all of them are better than doing nothing.

Change Course if Necessary

I once read an article by Martin Rooney in Gracie Mag, where he said that one of the limitations to being great at anything is being good at something else. Ultimately, it comes down to being self-aware and knowing when to adapt.

In Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, your growth might require that you make significant changes. Examples would be learning a new position from scratch, changing your behavior, changing diet, a drastic change of training environment, among other things.

Prepare for the Worst

This is a little tricky. One concept to keep in mind is that attempting to avoid all risk is a risk in and of itself. Instead, the focus should be on identifying the risk and making efforts in advance to lessen the possible damage.

This idea is in play whenever you spend time learning defense.

 Weather the Storm

Embrace the grind. There are a lot of positions that just aren’t comfortable, but you can definitely increase your tolerance. It’s important because when you’re comfortable in really bad situations, it’s far easier to escape.

Are You in for the Long Haul

That’s the question that matters. If you put in time and focused effort, you can become great at this art.

There’s so much knowledge available out there. So “read everything, see everything, hear everything, try everything, observe everything, in order to retain in the end, just a little bit.”

Model Success

There’s a very common idea that success leaves clues. This book is built on that idea.

Obviously, there are many successful individuals in the world of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu that we can learn from. In fact, you can learn something from everyone, no matter the color of their belt.

When Passion Isn’t Enough

There is a difference between passion and desire. You can be passionate about the art and have no desire to achieve anything in it. You can also flip the coin and switch that around.

Of course having both would be great, but defining your goals is absolutely essential.

Summary

This was a series of quick associations between Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and the characteristics that Newman highlighted in Rebounders: How Winners Pivot from Setback to Success. The purpose was just to give a quick overview, without depriving you of the opportunity of actually reading the great stories.

Each story shows you how these intuitive characteristics have been developed and used to achieve success through all the obstacles and setbacks that are common in life.

I’m sure that you can find many ways to apply the lessons to your training. I know that I am.

Find this book. Read it. You will not regret it.[

Continue reading]]>

With that headline, I guess it would be quite appropriate to tell you which instructional I’m talking right off the bat. The instructional is called Tornado Roll and Inverted Guard, and it was done by Chuck Anzalone. I watched it way back when I was a white belt.

Even given the fact that the topic matter isn’t likely to place high on anyone’s list for white belt basics, I learned some crucial lessons from the experience. It created the desire in me to learn how to granby roll but also gave me the tools to accomplish that goal in the form of some simple drills.

There was even a period of a few weeks where my main focus was those drills. That’s probably why I succeeded in attaining the ability to do the 180 granby smoothly. Also even now I still have the omoplata, triangle, and armbar series that I picked up from this instructional.

So now let’s go into the format of the instructional.  There are four sections. I will add more detail to each section below. I also included some notes to show when the section starts and how the drills and techniques are numbered.

A Conversation with Chuck

This is a interview where Chuck answers questions about his background among other things. There are definitely some interesting parts. Some of the questions are:

How did you get started in BJJ?

What was your relationship with Carlson like?

Why did you want to do a video on this material?

Part One:  Drills (16:29 1-12)

This section is all about developing the granby rolls, and it is filled with drills obviously. One great thing about the structure here is that there is a clear progression.  The drills start off easy then steadily increase in difficulty as you get closer and closer to the actual roll and some of its applications.

Part Two: Applying the Tornado Roll to Familiar Positions (34:40 13-23)

This section has numerous techniques that incorporate the granby movement. I will list them.

Techniques

Finishing the Armbar using the Tornado Roll

Escaping North/South using the Tornado Roll

Escaping the Turtle Position using Tornado Roll

Using the Tornado Roll to Maintain Your Guard

Omoplata using the Tornado Roll

Recomposing the Omoplata using the Tornado Roll

Triangle Choke using the Tornado Roll

Controlling the Arm: Omoplata vs Triangle

Armbar using the Tornado Roll

Taking the Back using the Tornado Roll

Shoulder Lock from Half Guard using the Tornado Roll

Part Three: Inverted Guard (58:17 24-39)

Techniques

Details on using the Tornado Roll to Invert

Inverting from the Open Guard

Controlling the Inverted Guard Position

Omoplata from Inverted Guard

Triangle Choke from Inverted Guard

Armbar from Inverted Guard

Kneebar from Inverted Guard

Footlock from Inverted Guard

50/50 Heel Hook from Inverted Guard

Taking the Back from Inverted Guard

Counter for When Your Opponent Tries to Take Your Back

Taking the Back When Your Opponent Stays Low

Inverted Guard Sweep from Half Guard

Inverted Guard Sweep from Cross Guard

Sweep from Closed Inverted Guard

Kneebar from Closed Inverted Guard

Closing Comments

The last time I watched this instructional was when I was a white belt. My perspective has changed since then because I have far more knowledge to associate with the material, but the instructional stands the test of time.

Unfortunately, it is no longer available but some of the material can be found on Youtube at Chuck Anzalone’s page: Buffalo BJJ.

Continue reading]]>

I’ve had this set for awhile now but it wasn’t until recently that I actually sat down and watched it all. I wish I had done so earlier since there is a lot of great technique on it.

The instructional is split into four parts, which include takedowns, guard passes, submissions, and sweeps. Some of the techniques are even demonstrated in competition or against some resistance.  Also here and there, Jacare focuses on why he uses certain grips rather than others.

One thing is note is that Jacare does the explanation in Portuguese, while a voice-over is done over that in English. it is still easy to understand what’s being explained though

For me, the most interesting things were the grips he was using in multiple positions and how smooth his weight distribution was throughout the movements. Altogether, it’s great material to study.

Techniques

Takedown Strategy

• Taking the Back
• Ankle Pick
• Addressing the Opponent
• Ankle Pick Variation
• Variation on Morote Seoinage
• Counter to Single Leg
• Reversal from Failed Double Leg
• Fireman Throw
• Variation on Fireman
• Foot on Hip Throw

Passing the Guard

• Passing the Butterfly
• Passing the Butterfly 2
• Passing the Butterfly 3
• Passing the Spider Guard
• Opening the Closed Guard
• Variation on the Closed Guard
• Knee in the Middle to Omoplata
• Passing the Situp Guard
• Passing the Half Guard
• Passing the Open Guard

Submission Strategy

• Ezekiel Choke
• Armlock from Side Control
• Triangle from Open Guard
• Armbar from Mount
• Rear Ezekiel Choke
• Gi Choke
• The Wrist Lock
• Armbar from North South
• Gi Choke 2
• Triple Attack from the Mount
• Kimura from the Turtle
• Clock Choke

Sweep Strategy

• From the Closed Guard
• Armdrag Sweep
• From the Situp Guard
• From the Turtle
• From the Turtle 2
• Sweeping from the Butterfly
• Sweeping from the Butterfly 2
• Sweeping from the Butterfly 3
• From the Closed Guard 2
• From the Situp Guard 2
• From the Double Sleeve Guard
• From the Situp Guard 3

Continue reading]]>

I first studied this instructional a few years ago, and the only things that stuck with me were the London and Golden Gate sweeps in their basic forms. Now that I have more knowledge to associate with the material,  I can appreciate how much more great technique is available on the Lost Techniques.

The instructional begins with interviews by Vince Quitugua and Mauricio Mariano on how Vince’s half guard developed. Then it moves on to actual instruction, which is pretty straightforward, but there is a lot of time spent demonstrating technique and explaining the concepts behind them.

In fact,  the best part of the instruction method can be found in the level of focus on situations. For example,  he spends a good amount of time showing adjustments that can be made to the London and Golden Gate sweeps to make them work against a opponent’s common reactions.

Techniques

Mount Escape to Half Guard
S Mount Escape to Half Guard
Low Mount Escape
Back Escape to Half Guard
Side Mount Escape to Half Guard
Knee On Belly Escape to Half Guard
Turtle Guard Transition to Half Guard
Half Guard Recovery Concepts

London Bridge Sweep
Golden Gate Bridge Sweep
London Sweep Situational Applications
Golden Gate Sweep Situational Applications

Headlock Sweep
Tail Sweep
Kimura Bait to the Back
Knee Cut Counter
Butterfly Reset to Half Guard
Knee Shifter Reset
Knee Shifter Sweep
Elevator Hook Sweep
Back Flop London Sweep
Mount Bait to Bridge Sweep
Wrestler Pass Counters

Continue reading]]>

Secrets of Our Success is unique in that it is like a collection of mini instructionals instead of just one. When you watch it, you get a lot of different perspectives on one DVD.

Now since each of the Paragon elite are showing their favorite techniques, it can seem a little disorganized. Just understand that the main benefit of watching this instructional is to introduce yourself to a wider range of possibilities rather than to work on a specific position.

There is however a area where organization does come into play, and it can be found in the presentation. The menu system on the set is well developed, and it is quite easy to find and review specific techniques with ease.

Also all the instruction follows a similar pattern. They begin with a demonstration, followed by a explanation with demonstration, and then finish with a slow motion demonstration. The one small exception to this is in Aurelio Gallegos Jr’s section, where he does the first demonstration against some resistance.

In addition to the main course, so to speak, there are some interviews with most of the Paragon members on the set, and those were actually quite interesting. Then there are some bonus techniques shown by Bill Cooper and Jeff Glover, as well some bloopers from the production.

Now some time has past since this set was made, but I couldn’t find any techniques on it that weren’t still relevant.

Techniques

Ricardo Miller

Guard Pass to Side Control
Guard Pass to Mount
Guard Pass Counter
Choke & Armbar
Paragon Half Guard

Tyrone Glover

Sweep (Front Headlock Transition to Side Control)
Mount Escape
Triangle (Finish Variation)
Open Guard Pass
Toe Hold

Jeff Glover

Arm Triangle #1
Arm Triangle #2
Arm Triangle #3
Arm Triangle #4
Arm Triangle #5

Adam Benshea

Takedown
Guard Pass
Spinning Armbar
Hugging Armbar 1
Hugging Armbar 2

Bill Cooper

Arm Spin (Front Headlock Reversal)
Arm Spin to Arm Triangle
Flying Triangle
Pop-in Triangle
Guard Pass

Aurelio Gallegos Jr

Knee Slide Guard Pass
Counter to Knee Slide
Fly Trap to Sweep
Fly Trap to Kneebar
Bear Trap to Mount

Lalo Salazar

Back Attack
Bow & Arrow Choke
Side Choke
Sweep (Omoplata Sweep)
Spin Choke