A video about the “core” of Jiu Jitsu.

Thanks to Brad for showing me the video.

Back in September I wrote about wearing a cup when practicing Jiu Jitsu. I decided not to wear a cup back then because of the following two arguments:

1. In a street fight you won’t have time to put on a cup.
2. When you don’t train with a cup, you get accustomed to it.

I still think both of these are true, but I’m a bit wiser now and have  reconsidered my position on the issue.

First, I have become accustomed to rolling without a cup. It is almost as if I have developed a “six sense” for avoiding trauma to that area of my body; however, I don’t know if I’ll ever be smooth enough to avoid all contact or impact.

In fact, it’s statistically likely that some contact or trauma is inevitable to that area of the body if you train long enough without a cup. So this is my take: I’m now “better and wiser” for not wearing a cup for a while, but because there will always be a risk of injury, I’m going to now protect myself. But I’m also wise enough to not let the fact that I’m wearing a cup affect my Jiu Jitsu. Or put another way: I am still going to pretend like I’m not wearing one.

This is because the point above about not wearing a cup for a street fight is still very true. That’s the thing though: in a street fight, you won’t have time to put on a cup. But in class, you do.

I recently snagged the 2009 Pan Jiu Jitsu Championship DVD set from Jiu Jitsu Progear. As hinted in a previous blog post I have been watching more Jiu Jitsu related videos in my spare time. I like the DVD very much so far although I haven’t been able to watch all the fights yet.

I was excited to get the DVD because I wanted to find a solid set of fights to watch and learn from. Instructionals are great for learning, obviously, but it’s hard to have techniques sink in when you are doing other things when watching TV. With this DVD set I can intermittently watch at my leisure.

Some people have complained that videos/DVDs like this fall short because the fights are not narrated (there are no announcers). I disagree: it is one of my favorite features (or lack of feature); I like being able to watch and make my own observations. If I where watching it live I think announcers would be appropriate.

I hope in watching these fights I will be able to pick up little nuiances and techniques. Will it work? That’s the topic for a future blog post.

Below is the official promo for the video.

The next Pan Jiu Jitsu championships are in March.

Last week I injured my shoulder grappling and practicing takedowns – nothing serious, but it forced me to sit out for a while.

Because of my enthusiasm for the sport, I wanted to think about what I could to for minimal impact on my Jiu Jitsu. So  I began to think about some ways to continue to “improve” when you can’t train.

The quotes above are intentional: the best way to get better is to spend time on the mat – but when I can’t train I do the following to keep my mind in the game.

Watching Class

I believe watching class is the absolute best way to learn when you can’t train. I’ve done this a few times now and almost always something new will “sink in.”

I enjoy walking around the mat, making observations and asking questions, but I’m always conscious not to disrupt the lesson plan or pace of the class.

When I watch class I learn at about 1/8th to 1/12th the pace of actually participating. A slower pace of learning – sure – but at least it’s something. And it it may do the trick for you when you are anxious to learn but can’t train.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dougsparks/856169816/

Watching Video

The next best thing to do is to watch instructional Jiu Jitsu videos.

I think everyone interested in Jiu Jitsu has tried watching video clips of the sport on the Internet at some point. Online videos have their place and may help in learning or reviewing different submissions, escapes and passes, but I’ve found that I do much better watching professionally produced DVDs. I find DVDs provide greater context – and, as a consequence, better educational effect – than most lone clips on the Internet. They are also viewable at a higher resolution.

I probably learn around 1/80th the pace watching a video than I do participating in class. While it may seem almost useless, I’d rather watch video about something I’m interested in rather a then a random show on TV.

Yesterday I attended Boulder Grappling Academy’s seminar featuring Relson Gracie. This was my first time meeting and learning from Relson. It was a great experience – I left feeling very excited about upcoming classes.

The school was packed and the event brought students from as far as Castle Rock, Colorado (which is about an hour and half from Boulder, depending on traffic). It’s great to see the attention it brought to the dojo.

The content of the seminar was interesting and pertinent. I learned new techniques and improved on some techniques I already knew. I enjoyed Relson’s teaching style – he added (often funny) comments and insights as he discussed details about techniques which are often overlooked or executed incorrectly.

In addition to learning techniques, one of my favorite parts of the experience was hearing Relson discuss some of the wider aspects and contexts of specific Jiu Jitsu techniques. It was insightful to hear his take on the effectiveness (and ineffectiveness) of some techniques gaining in popularity in the martial art.

I was also struck by Relson’s down-to-earth, friendly, and approachable personality. He is a living legend, on the same level as Muhammad Ali or Larry Bird, yet as friendly as approachable as your next door neighbor. It was obvious to me he was glad to be there, to teach, and to meet and talk with the students.

If Relson is holds a seminar near you I definitely recommend checking it out.

pic credit(s): http://relsongracie.com/gallery/view/id_6/field_/title_Relson-Gracie-Pose/

Last night, after some deliberation, I skipped class. I’ll make it up soon enough.

I attend class about 3 times a week, but I aim for 4. Sometimes it’s only 2. The number of classes I attend depend on the usual things: work, I how I physically feel, etc. No surprises there.

When I think about class attendance I remember I conversation I had with another student about five months ago. His point was that you should never “over do it” when I comes to attending class: you should go to class as you want to and when you feel like it. Not following his advice, it was argued, can lead to burnout or injury.

He gave multiple examples from his Jiu Jitsu career of people who would sign up, start training, and get pumped. Very pumped. These people attended class whenever they could (5 times a week or more) and usually advance quickly. But unfortunately, after their first belt, or even as soon as 8 months into training, they would begin to burn out, their attendance would decline, and most of them would quit. Exceptions abound, of course, but this was the pattern he observed.

He also discussed how Jiu Jitsu should be fun. When it stops being fun, you should take a look at yourself and your training. In even some of the highest levels of athleticism (the Olympics, for example), trainers often ensure their pupils are having fun and enjoying themselves because it can be a key factor to not only their happiness but their success in the sport. Jiu Jitsu should be no different.

I tend to strongly agree, and this philosophy largely guides my attendance decisions. Jiu Jitsu is too fun, interesting, and empowering for me to give up, and I plan on doing it for a long time. I follow these guidelines because I don’t want to get sick of, stop liking, or get burnt out on the martial art.

For my first six or seven months of Jiu Jitsu I was convinced it was smart to wear a cup when training. This was confirmed when I racked my training partner with my knee – on accident, of course – and when my cup protected me from various impairments to my reproductive compacity when people passed my guard with various knee passes which would have otherwise may have been quite painful.

I was able to overcome the discomfort and considered myself wise for wearing one – and for better or worse – my Jiu Jitsu was probably a little more fearless because of it.

My thoughts on the issue remained consistent until I had a conversation with an instructor. He mentioned the following two points about wearing a cup when training:

1. In a street fight you won’t have time to put on a cup – and if you find yourself somehow wearing a cup you should consider yourself lucky – lucky enough to go buy a lottery ticket. As much as possible, you should be able and used to defending yourself without having a dependence on a piece of a equipment. This is a common-sense reality of street fights.
2. When you don’t train with a cup, you get accustomed to it. He said you “develop radar” and sensitivity – you begin to make adjustments that reduce likelihood of injuries to groin.

I pretty much immediately stopped wearing a cup after the conversation. I was a bit nervous at first, but he is right: you really do begin to account for your sensitivities when you don’t wear protection down there. And the more I think about the arguments for not wearing a cup when training, the more obvious and true they  seem.

I have done a complete 180 on the issue and I think my Jiu Jitsu and self defense is better because of it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ronalddevillaphotography/ / CC BY 2.0

Tying a belt is something we all do as Jiu Jitsu folk; personally, I know it is something I could do better. While it is inevitable that your belt will come undone with enough time when rolling proper technique may help it keep tight a little longer.

Below are some of the more helpful or interesting videos I have found one how to tie a belt.

First, my overall favorite:

I love this second video. Very clear instruction and very helpful:

This is a good video with some good basic info. It could be zoomed in a little more but it still good to learn from.

Lastly, a video from the man himself, Relson Gracie. Since I am with a Relson Gracie affiliated school I couldn’t let this one slip by.

While Jiu Jitsu Kit is a Jiu Jitsu centered blog, I don’t think all my visitors will be familiar with the sport and martial art. That’s why I put together this post. It is a guide to acquaint those who don’t know what “rolling” is or what the term “gi” means. It is also meant to be passed to friends, family, girlfriends, boyfriends, wives and husbands who have no idea what Jiu Jitsu is about.

If you have ideas for updates or additions please let me know. I’ll update as corrections or suggestions roll in.

Jujutsu

Jiu Jitsu finds its roots in Jujutsu, a martial art which originates from Fuedal Japan, and means “art of softness.” Jujutsu evolved among Japan’s samurai and was a martial art to help a person survive when they have no weapons in combat. Judo evolved from Jujutsu.

Jiu Jitsu

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu – which I normally refer to as just “Jiu Jitsu” – evolved from Judo after Mitsuyo Maeda brought the sport and martial art to Brazil in 1914. “Jiu Jitsu” and “Jujutsu” can refer to the same thing (the Japanese martial art), but in the context of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and grappling, Jiu Jitsu is the body of techniques and knowledge, primarily originating from Brazil, that tend to focus more on grappling and ground fighting.

Ground Fighting

“Ground fighting” refers to fighting or hand-to-hand combat on the ground – unlike most other martial arts, which focus on stand up fighting. Jiu Jitsu, obviously, tends to focus on ground self-defense. Examples of martial arts that focus on stand-up fighting include Kung Fu, Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Aikido, and boxing.

Gi / Kimono

A “gi” or “kimono” (the term is often interchangable and referes to the same garment) is the traditional clothing people wear when practicing Jiu Jitsu, although some practictioners/schools do not use or wear gis. Judo and karate practitioners also wear gis but sometimes the cuts or measurements are different.

Belt

Many martial arts have belts. In Jiu Jitsu, belt rank may sometimes vary per school or tradition, but usually the belts are the following, in order from beginner to advanced: white, blue, purple, brown, black, black-red, and red. Red belts are exceptionally rare – last I heard there are only five red belts in the United States.

Professor

“Professor” in Portuguese means “teacher” is typically refers to a black belt instructor in most schools or traditions of Jiu Jitsu.

Rolling

Is “sparring” in Jiu Jitsu and may refer to an “educational” fighting session. “Rolling” can be “full speed”, but sometimes people roll at a slower pace to practice and focus on learning techniques.

Tapping

“Tapping” or “to tap” is the physical or verbal act of tapping your opponent when he or she has you in a hold or position that, if held, will break a limb, have you pass out if he or she holds it, or is extremely uncomfortable, and/or otherwise cannot be maintained. This communicates that the he or she has “won” the match or rolling session. Both the opponent or ground can be tapped. At my school, to verbally tap one says “tap” out loud.

Arm bar

Is a hold and advantageous position in Jiu Jitsu. In an arm bar, the person who is performing the arm bar is attempting to extend the elbow joint beyond 180 degrees. Obviously, if the hold is intensified, the elbow will break. A competitor wants to get an arm bar so his or her opponent will tap. There are many holds in Jiu Jitsu.

Leg bar

Is another hold and advantageous position in Jiu Jitsu. In an leg bar, the person who is performing the leg bar is attempting to extend the knee joint beyond 90 degrees. Obviously, if the hold is intensified, the knee will break. A competitor wants to get an leg bar so his or her opponent will tap.

MMA

Is “mixed martial arts” and although there might be no direct relationship between Jiu Jitsu and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition, most competitors who compete in MMA will train in Jiu Jitsu to better equip themselves for dominating the ground portion of their bouts. Most MMA fights, when they go the ground, will see the application of Jiu Jitsu.

Wikipedia was consulted when writing this post.

Update (7/6/9): Edited belt entry. Thanks Caleb!

Update (8/30/9): Edited arm bar entry. Thanks Georgette!

pic credit(s): Via Flickr by San Diego Shooter at http://www.flickr.com/photos/nathaninsandiego/2561704120/.

I need my sleep. For one reason or another I have betrayed my body over and over again and  neglected to get enough sleep this week. Yesterday the reality of how sleep deprivation effects my performance in Jiu Jitsu become clear to me. Yesterday’s class was a good class – but it took considerable effort to get enough from it because I was so tired. Here is why.

First, it was hard to retain information and execute new techniques without extra concentration. The amount of time it took learn something was longer than normal. It was also easy to forget specific details – such as the position of a foot or a type of grip.

Second, being tired does things to your overall confidence – even if not on a conscious level. Break falls, for example, seemed hard to execute properly. I also had hesitations to be thrown. Not helpful, obviously, to learning and growing your technique – or your partner’s.

Third, being so tired made for poor decisions when rolling. In three consecutive roll sessions I tried to pull guard – but ended up defending side control. Being impatient and unwise made for a poor (and mostly painful) day in rolling.

Tomorrow is Saturday, thankfully – and when I wake up late tomorrow morning and finally well rested, I should  think about how I can get more sleep on a regular basis. If I don’t there is no guarantee I won’t make the same sleeping mistakes I made this week. Training in Jiu Jitsu – and many other things – is just too important to interfere with.

pic credit(s): http://www.flickr.com/photos/54288707@N00/94341457/