Gradings
Attended the gradings at Extreme HQ with young Nick and Trav last Wednesday. Dave and Jason came along to make sure we didn't disgrace ourselves and Jeroen came along a little later after some back cracking!! Trav and Nick both did very well and got there first runs on the board with a stripe a piece!!! Well done boys well deserved.
I must say I was extremely surprised and honoured to be moved up to 4 stripes. It's quite daunting because the next step being blue belt seems ridiculous at this point in time and obviously thats because it is and I'm a long ways off (if ever) achieving this goal. Having said that I take comfort and a great degree of pride in the fact that having Jeroen as a coach i will get there one day. It's funny when Dave got his blue belt I told him not to take it so easy on us (what was I thinking??) because he has to represent that standard and show what is expected at that level. I feel the same as a four stripe white as well because I respected Dave's ability at that level and I believe its important tp represent the abilities of an Extreme member in any arena. I also love encouraging and imparting a bit of what I've learnt and the mistakes I made, etc on the newer guys as has been done and is still being done to me along my BJJ journey.
I agree with Jeroen's comments on the guys who didn't attend the grading. This is a great sport and we have a great club and I encourage every one to really jump in and get as much out of it as you can. Having the opportunity to be graded by the best BJJ black belts in Australia is something I believe is an honour you can carry with you wherever you train or compete. It's also a sign of respect to Jeroen who will only tell you to attend if he thinks you are ready. So no bullshit excuses next time!!!!!!!!
Dominance MG December 2008 Gi Competiton
Great day well represented by Extreme Students from Ringwood, Chadstone and of course Mornington. Daniel and Ricky fought very well in their division against some very tough competiton that included Pierre from Mornington Judo (well done mate for having a crack, taking the silver and impressing the rest of us with some bloody nice takedowns) and Dave (took the gold) and John from Chadstone. Peter popped his competition cherry in the heavier weights and against some seasoned competion. All of his opponents have had a heap of comp experience as I've seen them competing in everything I've been in. I managed a silver medal behind Kit from Ringwood Extreme who went on to win the Absolute Division by tapping out a blue belt and then two purple belts!!! He also got graded to blue at the gradings. Well done Kit.
Thanks to Dave CASSAR for coming with us for support. Dave is one of those one in a million people who honestly means what he says and although laid up with an injury still makes the treck to encourage and mentor the rest of us. Cheers mate.
Have a look on youtube for some of the fights under "Dominance MG December 2008 Competition"
Have a great and safe Christmas to you all and see you on the mat in 2009!!!!
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Victorian State Judo Championships
The day was well represented by the junior members from the Mornington Judo Club and they brought home a swag of medals. All in all there were 4 golds and a silver.
Dave, Harry, Patrick, Grant and I headed up in the morning and made good time thanks to Anna's GPS.... Grant was up first and had four matches for four well won wins!! Patrick also won all of his matches as did Max and Oscar. Jacinta also put in a very impressive showing in all of her matches. Harry went up an age division and had a first tough match against a brown belt. He dominated early, thought about taking the back at one stage for a RNC and eventually got taken down to lose by IPPON. Kimberly fought well in the same division and ended up with the bronze.
Well done to all the kids who had a crack!!!!
Dave, Harry, Patrick, Grant and I headed up in the morning and made good time thanks to Anna's GPS.... Grant was up first and had four matches for four well won wins!! Patrick also won all of his matches as did Max and Oscar. Jacinta also put in a very impressive showing in all of her matches. Harry went up an age division and had a first tough match against a brown belt. He dominated early, thought about taking the back at one stage for a RNC and eventually got taken down to lose by IPPON. Kimberly fought well in the same division and ended up with the bronze.
Well done to all the kids who had a crack!!!!
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
Bloody Hell!!!!!!
I am scared.
I am not ready.
I competed last year.
My wife will not let me.
I got promoted too early.
I do not trust the referees.
I need to work on my cardio.
I cannot afford to get injured.
I am not as good as those guys.
I do not want to let the team down.
I am still working on my game-plan.
Everyone will remember if I do badly.
I have not been training much recently.
I am just not in the right mindset right now.
I retired from competing once I got this belt.
I cannot get down to my weight-class that quickly.
And so the slippery slope of excuses for not competing goes.
Bar one excuse I have never heard; I only have one leg.
Here is something that will inspire you; a video of a lady with one leg competing.
I am not ready.
I competed last year.
My wife will not let me.
I got promoted too early.
I do not trust the referees.
I need to work on my cardio.
I cannot afford to get injured.
I am not as good as those guys.
I do not want to let the team down.
I am still working on my game-plan.
Everyone will remember if I do badly.
I have not been training much recently.
I am just not in the right mindset right now.
I retired from competing once I got this belt.
I cannot get down to my weight-class that quickly.
And so the slippery slope of excuses for not competing goes.
Bar one excuse I have never heard; I only have one leg.
Here is something that will inspire you; a video of a lady with one leg competing.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
2008 Pan Pacs
Another great competition spoilt by the way it was again unfortunately run!! Hurry up and wait once again became our mantra for the day. I'll just point out a couple of areas in which I and I'm sure just about everyone who competed reckon could be improved upon -
One set of scales are you kidding me????
An assigned official to each division/group who/what/where????
Open Weight divisions being called to weigh in? What the?????
Being called to weigh in at 0930 and then not actually weighing in until 1230.....
On the plus side the competition was of an extremely high standard and the sportsmanship displayed exemplary. The officials were fair although a universal interpretation of the scoring system needs to be refined. I particularly enjoyed watching the many black belts compete this year and will finish with this:
Please Peter de BEEN run the VICS/AUS CUP/PAN PACS
GI SATURDAY..... NO GI SUNDAY........
Apart from all of the above I still had a good day. Pommie Paul and Travis were first up in the 79kg white belt no gi division. Both fought very well with Trav getting pipped on points in his first match and Paul winning his first match with a nice armbar and then losing his second match on points. I lost my first no gi match by a point but was still happy with my performance. Jeroen psyched out his opponent in the purple belt gi 97+kg division and went straight through to the final. Dave was up on points in his first Blue belt 85kg Gi match then got caught in an armbar towards the end. Trav again fought very well in his first Gi match going down on points and Pommie Paul won 3 matches before losing his forth on points. I managed to win my first two gi matches then got armbarred in 17 seconds by one of Rodney ELLIS'S boys from Southern Cross Jiu Jitsu in the semi-final. He went on to win the division which gave me the bronze medal. Dave fought the same guy in No Gi and lost by an advantage. Jeroen had an extrememly tough Gi match against a monster and lost on points to take the silver medal. Rickasauros of course squashed everyone who dared step on the mat with him and took out the Gold Medal in the Open Weight Adult White Belt division. He pulled out of the Gi division because competing at 10 PM wasn't that appealing after a long day of Hurry Up and Wait!!!!!!!!!
I'm slowly uploading all of the action on to YOUTUBE so if you type in 2008 Pan Pacs in the search engine you'll find them. There are already a number of fights up there from other people including Jeroen's first No Gi match. See you on the mat....
One set of scales are you kidding me????
An assigned official to each division/group who/what/where????
Open Weight divisions being called to weigh in? What the?????
Being called to weigh in at 0930 and then not actually weighing in until 1230.....
On the plus side the competition was of an extremely high standard and the sportsmanship displayed exemplary. The officials were fair although a universal interpretation of the scoring system needs to be refined. I particularly enjoyed watching the many black belts compete this year and will finish with this:
Please Peter de BEEN run the VICS/AUS CUP/PAN PACS
GI SATURDAY..... NO GI SUNDAY........
Apart from all of the above I still had a good day. Pommie Paul and Travis were first up in the 79kg white belt no gi division. Both fought very well with Trav getting pipped on points in his first match and Paul winning his first match with a nice armbar and then losing his second match on points. I lost my first no gi match by a point but was still happy with my performance. Jeroen psyched out his opponent in the purple belt gi 97+kg division and went straight through to the final. Dave was up on points in his first Blue belt 85kg Gi match then got caught in an armbar towards the end. Trav again fought very well in his first Gi match going down on points and Pommie Paul won 3 matches before losing his forth on points. I managed to win my first two gi matches then got armbarred in 17 seconds by one of Rodney ELLIS'S boys from Southern Cross Jiu Jitsu in the semi-final. He went on to win the division which gave me the bronze medal. Dave fought the same guy in No Gi and lost by an advantage. Jeroen had an extrememly tough Gi match against a monster and lost on points to take the silver medal. Rickasauros of course squashed everyone who dared step on the mat with him and took out the Gold Medal in the Open Weight Adult White Belt division. He pulled out of the Gi division because competing at 10 PM wasn't that appealing after a long day of Hurry Up and Wait!!!!!!!!!
I'm slowly uploading all of the action on to YOUTUBE so if you type in 2008 Pan Pacs in the search engine you'll find them. There are already a number of fights up there from other people including Jeroen's first No Gi match. See you on the mat....
Sunday, November 9, 2008
You gotta love the 90's!!!!!!
In 1994 a tae Kwon Do instructor told Scott Tannenbaum that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was unrealistic against a skilled karate practitioner. Scott had 1 year of Jiu-Jitsu while the Tae Kwon Do instructor had 9 years experience. To make it more interesting Scott was not allowed to punch, elbow or knee. The TKD instructor could. Scott could only win by submission on the ground since the TKD guy said there was no way he could be taken down. Here is the result......
After the first match up the TKD instructor claimed he wasn't ready and it was a fluke that he had got taken down. Scott decided to give him another chance.....
After the first match up the TKD instructor claimed he wasn't ready and it was a fluke that he had got taken down. Scott decided to give him another chance.....
Relax and Breathe
Again more from Stephan Kesting. This article reinforces what Jeroen repeats to us on a daily training basis. Don't hold your breath!!!!!
Breathing, Oxygen and Exhaustion
For the past two weeks I have been talking about breathing, concentrating on unusual situations, like hyperventilation and the Valsalva Maneuver. I should probably have started out by talking about something that is a bit more universally applicable.
Let’s talk about this: no breathing equals no oxygen equals total exhaustion.
It's storytime: a few months ago I was talking with a very frustrated and discouraged grappler. For the sake of this story, let’s call the grappler ‘Fred’. Anyway, ‘Fred’ was a fit guy who did lots of cardiovascular conditioning to help him with his endurance, but had an unusual problem with his grappling. In his own words:
“The situation seems to occur when I train against new people who are very aggressive, usually wrestlers. I try to relax, but it doesn't seem to be working. I still seem to tense up and gas out. But when I fight guys who are so much better than me I can train for a long time and even roll for 30-40 minutes at a time with minimal breaks.”
In other words he had MORE endurance when he was sparring advanced people who kicked his butt than he did when he was grappling aggressive beginners.
It took some experimentation and discussion, but what we finally discovered was that he was holding his breath while fighting certain types of opponents. When he grappled beginners he tensed up and held his breath because he did not want to tap, or get schooled, by a beginner.
Against advanced grapplers he knew he was going to tap: he could accept that they were more skilled than he was, could concentrate on putting up a good fight and doing his best on the mat.
His anxiety was causing him to hold his breath. No breathing equals no oxygen equals total exhaustion.
The solution was fairly simple: he had to concentrate on his breathing before all else. He started to focus on inhalation and exhalation while doing pushups, while doing Yoga and especially while grappling.
Fred also used a fairly simple tool to ensure he wasn’t holding his breath while grappling: every 5 or 10 seconds he would check in on his breathing and ask himself if he was holding his breath. Submissions, body positions and techniques were all secondary to focusing on the breath, making sure that it continued to flow in and out during the heat of the battle.
Here is what happened in Fred’s words:
“When it came time for sparring, I picked one of the heavier aggressive guys to go against. I did what you said and kept reminding myself to breathe. Every 5-10 secs I was just saying to myself breathe, breathe, and breathe. I wasn't even thinking 'too hard' about my attacks and defense, I just wanted to relax and flow.”
“But you know what happened, I was thinking so clearly. I subbed this guy 5 times in 5 minutes! I have never subbed anyone that many times before in that amount of time. I hit triangles (I suck at triangles, trust me) twice, two of your kneebars, and then the ‘Minotauro’ choke.”
“The important thing was I wasn't even trying, it was weird. I mean I wasn't lying like a log, but I was just focusing on breathing rather than just trying to 'fight'. And everything was so clear. I even let this guy take my back and pass my guard, but I recovered easily.”
“The next rolling partner I had was a solid blue and I asked him to just smash me. He did smash me, but I wasn't gasping from escaping. I kept breathing and just trying to remember good posture. It was really good. I gave him a tough time and he really had to work to get me.”
“The next partner was probably the same level as me. I kept the breathing concept in mind and I nailed some more moves I don't easily pull off normally in sparring.”
Things went really well for the next couple of weeks. So well, in fact, that he decided to enter a NAGA tournament:
“Well since everything has been going so well thanks to you I am gonna put my money where my mouth is and compete in NAGA in 2 weeks. My wrestling is something that needs improvement but I feel confident enough that my other attributes will even things out.”
Shortly thereafter I received an email from Fred: below you can read parts of it:
“Stephan! I won my division in NAGA. Thanks so much for all your help. I was doing well with my breathing until the finals, where I left it all on the mat. I did not notice I was breathing a lot until they called time and I felt the exhaustion. But no one scored any points on me and I got some nice armbars … Throughout my matches I did the breathing check every 10 seconds. If you told me to compete in NAGA 2 months ago I would have laughed and thought you were crazy.”
If you find your endurance fading unexpectedly, be it when fighting certain types of opponents or in certain situations (competition at tournaments, sparring at other clubs, etc.) the FIRST thing you could do is to ensure that you aren’t holding your breath. Ask someone to watch you, and/or do an internal breathing check every 5 or 10 seconds. Think a little bit less about technique and constantly remind yourself “breathe, breathe and breathe!” You may be pleasantly surprised.
Breathing, Oxygen and Exhaustion
For the past two weeks I have been talking about breathing, concentrating on unusual situations, like hyperventilation and the Valsalva Maneuver. I should probably have started out by talking about something that is a bit more universally applicable.
Let’s talk about this: no breathing equals no oxygen equals total exhaustion.
It's storytime: a few months ago I was talking with a very frustrated and discouraged grappler. For the sake of this story, let’s call the grappler ‘Fred’. Anyway, ‘Fred’ was a fit guy who did lots of cardiovascular conditioning to help him with his endurance, but had an unusual problem with his grappling. In his own words:
“The situation seems to occur when I train against new people who are very aggressive, usually wrestlers. I try to relax, but it doesn't seem to be working. I still seem to tense up and gas out. But when I fight guys who are so much better than me I can train for a long time and even roll for 30-40 minutes at a time with minimal breaks.”
In other words he had MORE endurance when he was sparring advanced people who kicked his butt than he did when he was grappling aggressive beginners.
It took some experimentation and discussion, but what we finally discovered was that he was holding his breath while fighting certain types of opponents. When he grappled beginners he tensed up and held his breath because he did not want to tap, or get schooled, by a beginner.
Against advanced grapplers he knew he was going to tap: he could accept that they were more skilled than he was, could concentrate on putting up a good fight and doing his best on the mat.
His anxiety was causing him to hold his breath. No breathing equals no oxygen equals total exhaustion.
The solution was fairly simple: he had to concentrate on his breathing before all else. He started to focus on inhalation and exhalation while doing pushups, while doing Yoga and especially while grappling.
Fred also used a fairly simple tool to ensure he wasn’t holding his breath while grappling: every 5 or 10 seconds he would check in on his breathing and ask himself if he was holding his breath. Submissions, body positions and techniques were all secondary to focusing on the breath, making sure that it continued to flow in and out during the heat of the battle.
Here is what happened in Fred’s words:
“When it came time for sparring, I picked one of the heavier aggressive guys to go against. I did what you said and kept reminding myself to breathe. Every 5-10 secs I was just saying to myself breathe, breathe, and breathe. I wasn't even thinking 'too hard' about my attacks and defense, I just wanted to relax and flow.”
“But you know what happened, I was thinking so clearly. I subbed this guy 5 times in 5 minutes! I have never subbed anyone that many times before in that amount of time. I hit triangles (I suck at triangles, trust me) twice, two of your kneebars, and then the ‘Minotauro’ choke.”
“The important thing was I wasn't even trying, it was weird. I mean I wasn't lying like a log, but I was just focusing on breathing rather than just trying to 'fight'. And everything was so clear. I even let this guy take my back and pass my guard, but I recovered easily.”
“The next rolling partner I had was a solid blue and I asked him to just smash me. He did smash me, but I wasn't gasping from escaping. I kept breathing and just trying to remember good posture. It was really good. I gave him a tough time and he really had to work to get me.”
“The next partner was probably the same level as me. I kept the breathing concept in mind and I nailed some more moves I don't easily pull off normally in sparring.”
Things went really well for the next couple of weeks. So well, in fact, that he decided to enter a NAGA tournament:
“Well since everything has been going so well thanks to you I am gonna put my money where my mouth is and compete in NAGA in 2 weeks. My wrestling is something that needs improvement but I feel confident enough that my other attributes will even things out.”
Shortly thereafter I received an email from Fred: below you can read parts of it:
“Stephan! I won my division in NAGA. Thanks so much for all your help. I was doing well with my breathing until the finals, where I left it all on the mat. I did not notice I was breathing a lot until they called time and I felt the exhaustion. But no one scored any points on me and I got some nice armbars … Throughout my matches I did the breathing check every 10 seconds. If you told me to compete in NAGA 2 months ago I would have laughed and thought you were crazy.”
If you find your endurance fading unexpectedly, be it when fighting certain types of opponents or in certain situations (competition at tournaments, sparring at other clubs, etc.) the FIRST thing you could do is to ensure that you aren’t holding your breath. Ask someone to watch you, and/or do an internal breathing check every 5 or 10 seconds. Think a little bit less about technique and constantly remind yourself “breathe, breathe and breathe!” You may be pleasantly surprised.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Grappling with Competition Anxiety
Thanks to Stephan Kesting for his advice on comp nerves.
I don't do a lot of competition these days, and I do miss it (and the wonderful focus it adds to your training). One thing I DON'T miss, however, is the stomach churning anxiety that accompanied competition. Basically on the day of a competition I became an emotional wreck: moody, grumpy, nervous, and asked myself again and again "why am I doing this". All these emotions dissolved pretty quickly once the matches started and I had to focus on grappling with a real opponent rather than with my fears and worries. After the competition, if I'd performed up to my potential, I was usually deeply satisfied and eager to do it all over again.
Interestingly there was a period of time when I felt considerably less pre-competition anxiety. This was a two year span when I was competing fairly often: I participated in submission grappling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournaments, but I was also competing in Firefighter Combat Challenge events (www.firefighter-challenge.com). Although the Combat Challenge was a very different event than a BJJ tournament I definitely felt that there was a carryover effect; there were still crowds, cameras and the potential to screw up royally.
Somehow with competition being a more regular feature of my life, as opposed to something I maybe did once a year, I started feeling less nervous. I can't say I ever felt normal while waiting to compete, but it started to become a bit less stomach-churning, and eventually it started feeling a bit like it was just another day at the office. I attribute my decreased anxiety purely to the desensitization which results from repeated exposure to a stimulus. Get out there and do something often enough and eventually it will start to feel normal.
Interestingly enough this desensitization doesn't last forever (or at least not in my case). When I started competing less regularly the nerves came back just as strong as always
It's not that I think everyone has to force themselves to compete - many grapplers are happy to only 'compete' on the mats of their club via regular regular sparring. Some people just don't like competitions and this is perfectly OK. If you WANT to compete, however, and if you find your performance impaired by nerves and anxiety, you might want to see if you can break through the anxiety barrier by competing more, not less. Additionally, consider competing in any other sport that appeals to you, be that 10 kilometer runs, rugby tournaments or fly fishing contests. Like me, you may just find that there is a carryover anxiety-quelling effect from these other sports to your grappling competitions.
I don't do a lot of competition these days, and I do miss it (and the wonderful focus it adds to your training). One thing I DON'T miss, however, is the stomach churning anxiety that accompanied competition. Basically on the day of a competition I became an emotional wreck: moody, grumpy, nervous, and asked myself again and again "why am I doing this". All these emotions dissolved pretty quickly once the matches started and I had to focus on grappling with a real opponent rather than with my fears and worries. After the competition, if I'd performed up to my potential, I was usually deeply satisfied and eager to do it all over again.
Interestingly there was a period of time when I felt considerably less pre-competition anxiety. This was a two year span when I was competing fairly often: I participated in submission grappling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournaments, but I was also competing in Firefighter Combat Challenge events (www.firefighter-challenge.com). Although the Combat Challenge was a very different event than a BJJ tournament I definitely felt that there was a carryover effect; there were still crowds, cameras and the potential to screw up royally.
Somehow with competition being a more regular feature of my life, as opposed to something I maybe did once a year, I started feeling less nervous. I can't say I ever felt normal while waiting to compete, but it started to become a bit less stomach-churning, and eventually it started feeling a bit like it was just another day at the office. I attribute my decreased anxiety purely to the desensitization which results from repeated exposure to a stimulus. Get out there and do something often enough and eventually it will start to feel normal.
Interestingly enough this desensitization doesn't last forever (or at least not in my case). When I started competing less regularly the nerves came back just as strong as always
It's not that I think everyone has to force themselves to compete - many grapplers are happy to only 'compete' on the mats of their club via regular regular sparring. Some people just don't like competitions and this is perfectly OK. If you WANT to compete, however, and if you find your performance impaired by nerves and anxiety, you might want to see if you can break through the anxiety barrier by competing more, not less. Additionally, consider competing in any other sport that appeals to you, be that 10 kilometer runs, rugby tournaments or fly fishing contests. Like me, you may just find that there is a carryover anxiety-quelling effect from these other sports to your grappling competitions.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Last of 2008 Australian Champions Cup
Jason won this one nicely unfortunately I only got the last minute or so on video....
Marco lost this close encounter by an advantage I think?
Marco lost this close encounter by an advantage I think?
Monday, October 20, 2008
More 2008 Australian Champions Cup
Big Chris had a scrappy first roll for a well earned win!
Rick doing what he does best squashing the bejeezus out of someone!!!
Rick doing what he does best squashing the bejeezus out of someone!!!
Monday, October 13, 2008
More 2008 Australian Champions Cup 2008
Dave's first roll as a blue belt.....
Marco's first roll against a dogged opponent!!!
Marco's first roll against a dogged opponent!!!
Friday, October 10, 2008
More 2008 Australian Champions Cup
Jason's second match against a very good Brazillian guy from Perth....
Jeroen's first match against a Peter De Been guy.
Jeroen's first match against a Peter De Been guy.
Monday, October 6, 2008
2008 Australian Champions Cup
What a great weekend!!! After a bit of a delay getting there we landed in good old Hobart, Tasmania and shuttled off to our accomodations arriving at about 11.30 pm Friday night. Coach Ralph (more on that later and yes I know I'll pay for it) Jason, Dave, Chris, Brett and Big Rick decided that they needed/wanted/were going to get a feed so we traipsed around the Casino until we found a place. Marco, looking decidedly hungry yet unable to eat due to making weight, snacked on coffee and ice cubes!!
Saturday morning after a light breakfast (more coffee and ice cubes for Marco) we headed to the venue for the days competition. We all weighed in easily. especially and not surprisingly Marco and funnily enough Big Rick who they told not to bother!! Then it was hurry up and wait!
Marco was up first and faced some very tough competition in his no gi division. I thought he'd placed in the medal count and was very surprised when he came away empty handed. He executed some really nice take downs and worked well from on top.
Dave was up next in Gi for his first comp as a blue belt. He lost to the eventual winner and standing there watching the match and then reviewing it on video, he could of won it if he got his angry eyes on!!!! Someone (not me) needs to slap him around the head prior to going on the mat to get him fired up then god help whoever is in front of him! Still 2 bronzes for gi and no gi aint all bad.
Big Chris and Rickasauros competed in the same division but did not end up rolling against each other. Chris did well in his first match and then tried to slap some fire in to his second opponent who was content with basically doing absolutely NOTHING until the last minute where he managed a takedown to win. Rick squashed the shit out of him in the final to take the Gold which unfortunately gave the bronze to the bloke he squashed before. Mind you the big fella had a harder time of it this comp and was exhausted come the Gi division and lost his first match by a takedown.
Jason and Jeroen competed well in their respective weight divisions winning their first matches convincingly. Jeroen got tapped by a bloke who was in or trains with the Australian Olympic Judo Team. Jason got tapped by this funky Brazillian guy who was all over the place and the same guy managed to beat Jeroen on points in the Open Weight division.
Brett TAMBLYN from Ringwood Extreme dominated in his blue belt division to take two Golds against some tough competition.
I guess that leaves me. I won my first two Gi matches and then got caught in an armbar in my third to lose to the eventual winner which gave me the Bronze. No Gi I lost my first match on points to the eventual winner but felt very comfortable playing seated guard and growing in confidence with each competition. Thinking about my matches afterwards I was happy with the way I controlled the pace but I realised that a lot of stuff I've been taught (and taught very well) goes out of my head. Practice and experience will helpfully improve my skill retention!!
So the Coach Ralph thing...... Sorry Tambo what happens on tour stays on tour!!!! See you on the mat!
Saturday morning after a light breakfast (more coffee and ice cubes for Marco) we headed to the venue for the days competition. We all weighed in easily. especially and not surprisingly Marco and funnily enough Big Rick who they told not to bother!! Then it was hurry up and wait!
Marco was up first and faced some very tough competition in his no gi division. I thought he'd placed in the medal count and was very surprised when he came away empty handed. He executed some really nice take downs and worked well from on top.
Dave was up next in Gi for his first comp as a blue belt. He lost to the eventual winner and standing there watching the match and then reviewing it on video, he could of won it if he got his angry eyes on!!!! Someone (not me) needs to slap him around the head prior to going on the mat to get him fired up then god help whoever is in front of him! Still 2 bronzes for gi and no gi aint all bad.
Big Chris and Rickasauros competed in the same division but did not end up rolling against each other. Chris did well in his first match and then tried to slap some fire in to his second opponent who was content with basically doing absolutely NOTHING until the last minute where he managed a takedown to win. Rick squashed the shit out of him in the final to take the Gold which unfortunately gave the bronze to the bloke he squashed before. Mind you the big fella had a harder time of it this comp and was exhausted come the Gi division and lost his first match by a takedown.
Jason and Jeroen competed well in their respective weight divisions winning their first matches convincingly. Jeroen got tapped by a bloke who was in or trains with the Australian Olympic Judo Team. Jason got tapped by this funky Brazillian guy who was all over the place and the same guy managed to beat Jeroen on points in the Open Weight division.
Brett TAMBLYN from Ringwood Extreme dominated in his blue belt division to take two Golds against some tough competition.
I guess that leaves me. I won my first two Gi matches and then got caught in an armbar in my third to lose to the eventual winner which gave me the Bronze. No Gi I lost my first match on points to the eventual winner but felt very comfortable playing seated guard and growing in confidence with each competition. Thinking about my matches afterwards I was happy with the way I controlled the pace but I realised that a lot of stuff I've been taught (and taught very well) goes out of my head. Practice and experience will helpfully improve my skill retention!!
So the Coach Ralph thing...... Sorry Tambo what happens on tour stays on tour!!!! See you on the mat!
Monday, September 15, 2008
Well Done Harry and Grant!!!!!!
Saturday Dave and I took a car load of kids to Greensborough for Harry's first and Grant's second Judo Tournament. It turned out to be a really great day not only for Harry and Grant but for the Mornington Judo Club overall. Harry got a well deserved and hard fought Gold medal and Grant a very skillful Silver medal. Both boys showed tremendous spirit and demonstrated some very polished Judo techniques...... Videos of their matches to follow!!!
Monday, September 8, 2008
WARMUPS
I found a few warmup variations to ours and some pretty funky new ones at aesopian.com that looked like a lot of fun....... I'm sure you've seen these Jeroen, my personal favourite is the "Backward Dolphin" but only cos I want to see Campbell do it!!
TRIANGLE ESCAPES
These ones are courtesy of the Grapplearts.com Newsletter. Just follow the link it takes you to Aesopians Totally Awesome Journal and the escapes are from BJJ Black Belt John Simon from DominaceMMA in Richmond. I think I've covered everyone involved here......
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Somethings you just cant avoid!!!!!
What a way to start off at our new training venue! Having not rolled with the big unit for a while now I jumped in last night for a bit of a squashing session. You know what they say about big units don't you? DUUHHHH I CAN LIFT HEAVY WEIGHTS!!!!!! I know you didn't mean to fold my arm like a pretzel and snap my elbow big fella but you did so my gammy elbow is on you!!!!!!! Just kidding but remember AAAHHHHH is the same as a tap just a LOT more urgent.... Having said that it was a great night. Had a great roll with Travis (nice choke man) and actually managed to pass Jason's guard for about a nanosecond before getting plenty more tapping practice. Did a heap of triangle practice in stages and I felt more and more comfortable as we went along. Of course come Saturday I'll have forgotten the key ingredients and end up getting stacked and passed but hey... I got plenty of years left in me to get it right!!! (As long as the big bastard doesn't break anything else!!) Anyway found a guy called Chris GUARINO on youtube has a few of his matches posted and he reminded me of Jason being how he is fast, flexible and pretty f...ing good!!! Mind you Jase has more hair and less tattoos... He's competed in the ADCC and there are quite a few of his matches on youtube.
I found one of him competing as a purple belt in GI where he wins by triangle submission. I like how he adjusts his cross collar grip, snaps his legs up and holds the guy and then adjusts a couple of times before he gets the tap. Again just my novice opinion and I'm sure Coach Lynders will set me straight if it was shit! Seeya on the mat (in a couple of weeks....)
I found one of him competing as a purple belt in GI where he wins by triangle submission. I like how he adjusts his cross collar grip, snaps his legs up and holds the guy and then adjusts a couple of times before he gets the tap. Again just my novice opinion and I'm sure Coach Lynders will set me straight if it was shit! Seeya on the mat (in a couple of weeks....)
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Complex Training
One of the things that Denis Kang and George St. Pierre do are circuits which incorporate heavy low-repetition exercises (like weighted pullups) followed by explosive plyometric movements (like medicine ball slams). This combination of weight training and plyometrics is called 'complex training' and looks like a lot of hard work!!!!!
Friday, August 15, 2008
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Monday, July 7, 2008
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Extreme Gradings
Attended my second grading last night with big Rick and a mate who tagged along for a look. Rick and I didn't do the gradings due to a dodgy back and knee respectively however we were still thrilled to a part of the night. Jeroen got his third stripe, Jason his purple, Dave got his blue and Nhial and Chris picked up another stripe each. It was pretty cool to see all of the Extreme Instructors on the mat and even better when Coach gave each of them their Black Belts!!! First time he's ever given out black belts and 4 to boot!!!! With all the new colours given out we should have a huge showing at the Pan Pacs this year! What I wouldn't give to see Chris BROWN and Bernie Jenkins getting amongst the black belts out there....
Well done to all who graded and if anyone from Ringwood ar Chadstone, or Interstate for that matter reads this, we've got plenty of room for you on the mat in Mornington!!
Warming Up
Warmup Rolling With The Instructors
Well done to all who graded and if anyone from Ringwood ar Chadstone, or Interstate for that matter reads this, we've got plenty of room for you on the mat in Mornington!!
Warming Up
Warmup Rolling With The Instructors
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
Mornington Judo Club
I took some more video footage of my son, Grant and his mates at Judo training. He really lives for it and can't wait for Wednesday training nights to roll on!! I walked around the mat and took a bit of footage of as many of the kids as I could. There's some spirited pushing and pulling and some nice techniques amongst them all. They are a credit to their coach 5th Dan Michael PICKEN and I've seen Grant improve and grow in confidence since he has been training. You'll notice a bit of BJJ in his ground work which is from him watching us train and I've picked up a few throwing tips that I've tried in competition as well!
Keep up the good work kids!!!
Keep up the good work kids!!!
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Genki Sudo vs Rodrigo Gracie
Haha who is the announcer talking about at about 3.00 into the match. Someone from Team Extreme? Chris Brown maybe??
Genki Sudo vs Kaoru Uno
I remember watching this a while ago and not really being able to appreciate what was going on, etc!!!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Dominance MG Winter Gi Tournament
Another good day for Mornington Extreme!! Myself, Dave, Nhial, Marco, Ricky and Daniel all through our hats in the ring and had a crack at the annual Dominance winter gi tourny!!
As Jeroen has pointed out it's a great way to get your feet wet and have several rolls in preperation for the Vics, Pan Pacs, etc...
Nhial, Ricky and Daniel were up first all competing in the same division. Daniel went for the flying armbar on his first roll and nearly cinched it. Swapping to the other arm he tapped out his opponent with a very nice armbar!!! Ricky lost his first roll on points but then won the next two and lost his last one against Nhial.
Nhial won all his fights by submission and is really nice to watch. First Place Nhial Second Place Ricky! Well done boys.
Dave had his first roll and won by submission against a spirited opponent who really pushed the pace. Dave and I were in the same division and my first roll was with Dave. Still a bit shattered from his first roll we tapped hands and got into it. It became evident to me early on that Dave's gas tank was still a bit depleted and I managed to hold out from an ezekial attempt from dave which nearly shattered my jaw!!
I managed to pass his guard (still working that out) and then those hours of watching Coach Donahue's videos payed off when I snuck my knee ride in to inch ahead on points right at the end!!
Marco had a tough division with some hard competition and managed second place overall. Well done mate.
Dave ended up 2nd place in our division to Sam who trains at Chadstone Extreme.
I'm uploading all the fights to youtube which is taking forever. If you type in Dominance MG Winter Tournament and hit search you'll be able to see them as they go on. I've got one of each of us at the moment.
Well done to all and the next Dominance tourny is in August so we'll get amongst it again! See you on the mat....
As Jeroen has pointed out it's a great way to get your feet wet and have several rolls in preperation for the Vics, Pan Pacs, etc...
Nhial, Ricky and Daniel were up first all competing in the same division. Daniel went for the flying armbar on his first roll and nearly cinched it. Swapping to the other arm he tapped out his opponent with a very nice armbar!!! Ricky lost his first roll on points but then won the next two and lost his last one against Nhial.
Nhial won all his fights by submission and is really nice to watch. First Place Nhial Second Place Ricky! Well done boys.
Dave had his first roll and won by submission against a spirited opponent who really pushed the pace. Dave and I were in the same division and my first roll was with Dave. Still a bit shattered from his first roll we tapped hands and got into it. It became evident to me early on that Dave's gas tank was still a bit depleted and I managed to hold out from an ezekial attempt from dave which nearly shattered my jaw!!
I managed to pass his guard (still working that out) and then those hours of watching Coach Donahue's videos payed off when I snuck my knee ride in to inch ahead on points right at the end!!
Marco had a tough division with some hard competition and managed second place overall. Well done mate.
Dave ended up 2nd place in our division to Sam who trains at Chadstone Extreme.
I'm uploading all the fights to youtube which is taking forever. If you type in Dominance MG Winter Tournament and hit search you'll be able to see them as they go on. I've got one of each of us at the moment.
Well done to all and the next Dominance tourny is in August so we'll get amongst it again! See you on the mat....
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Monday, May 26, 2008
UFC 84
Couldnt think of a beter way to spend a Sunday arvo (dont tell my wife) than with good mates, (Jeroen, Dave, Harry, Marco and Jason) some nibblys, refreshments and watching a few blokes smashing the shit out of each other!!! Knockouts, passouts and tapouts there was a bit of everything. Even Tito nearly pulled of a triangle/armbar with seconds to go in the final round against Machida! Keith Jardine should have Eccyed up and gone to a rave instead of getting knocked out by Silva in 38secs of the first round and BJ Penn played "smash your face" with Sheck before introducing his knee to Shecks face.
Dave had an appointment with a mop, sink and clothes line and had to rush of at the end which really left the rest of us questioning his manhood.... (again dont tell my wife!)
Friday night training is a great idea so make sure we all support it to keep it going. Hopefully Dave wont have vaginal duties that night and will be able to attend!!!
Dave had an appointment with a mop, sink and clothes line and had to rush of at the end which really left the rest of us questioning his manhood.... (again dont tell my wife!)
Friday night training is a great idea so make sure we all support it to keep it going. Hopefully Dave wont have vaginal duties that night and will be able to attend!!!
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Victorian Championships 3 May 2008
Dave's first roll Novice Adult Gi 79kg-85kg Part 1
Dave's first roll Novice Adult Gi 79kg-85kg Part 2
Klaus's first roll Novice Masters Gi Under 79kg Part 1
One of Rick's rolls Novice Adult Gi Big Bastards
YOUTUBE IS REALLY SLOW UPLOADING SO I'LL JUST ADD THEM ON THE END AS THEY GET ON
Dave's first roll Novice Adult Gi 79kg-85kg Part 2
Klaus's first roll Novice Masters Gi Under 79kg Part 1
One of Rick's rolls Novice Adult Gi Big Bastards
YOUTUBE IS REALLY SLOW UPLOADING SO I'LL JUST ADD THEM ON THE END AS THEY GET ON
SMASHED
Got well and truly smashed at training last Tuesday! Nhials is really back in the groove tapping me with a very strong armbar from guard and nice choke when I was turtled! Klaus was Klaus and gave it to me and Sam was his usual squashing self! So I left training feeling defeated but not broken! An arm bar defence hit me in the forehead as I was driving home which I had clearly forgotten... I'm getting caught in guard a lot so I'm keen to rectify this. I've realised that I've had my hands in the wrong spot when posturing and after having a chat with Dave, I tried a couple of different things on Tuesday that really improved my game. Just gotta turn it up a bit now....
Tried to upload some Vic Championship fights on to youtube last night but it took to long so i'll have another crack tonight! From memory there's one of me, Dave, Rick, Klaus, Marco, Nhials (I think) and Jeroen so I'll hopefully have them up tonight.
Tried to upload some Vic Championship fights on to youtube last night but it took to long so i'll have another crack tonight! From memory there's one of me, Dave, Rick, Klaus, Marco, Nhials (I think) and Jeroen so I'll hopefully have them up tonight.
Monday, May 12, 2008
MRI RIGHT KNEE
Had an MRI on my dodgy right knee the other day. Apparently it's not good news!! The following is the report.....
Clinical History: MCL and meniscal tear?
Findings: Horizontal tear involves the posterior horn of the medial meniscus with the tear extending to the mid third inferior articular surface. Lateral meniscus intact. Articular cartilage over the medial and lateral compartments is satisfactory. Aticular cartilage of the pattelofemoral joint also intact. There is a small to moderate sized Baker's cyst present. There is a small effusion suprapatellar bursa of the knee joint. The ACL is slightly thickened and increased in signal and suggestive of a low grade sprain. PCL intact. The collateral ligaments are normal in appearance. Exterior tendon mechanism and popliteus are satisfactory.
Impression:
1. Horizontal tear posterior horn medial meniscus.
2. Low grade ACL sprain.
3. Small effusion and moderate sized Baker's cyst.
All of which Jeroen will understand! All I need to know is that the treatment is a) necessary, b) will fix the problem and c) how log will I be off of training???
Info: The medial meniscus and lateral meniscus are specialized structures within the knee. These crescent-shaped shock absorbers between the tibia and femur have an important role in the function and health of the knee. Once thought to be of little use, the menisci (plural) were routinely removed when torn. Now we know that the menisci contribute to a healthy knee because they play important roles in joint stability, force transmission, and lubrication. When possible, they are repaired if injured. There are even experimental attempts to replace a damaged meniscus, possibly an important advance in orthopaedic medicine. There are two categories of meniscal injuries - acute tears and degenerative tears.
An acute tear usually occurs when the knee is bent and forcefully twisted, while the leg is in a weight bearing position.
BJJ 101......
Clinical History: MCL and meniscal tear?
Findings: Horizontal tear involves the posterior horn of the medial meniscus with the tear extending to the mid third inferior articular surface. Lateral meniscus intact. Articular cartilage over the medial and lateral compartments is satisfactory. Aticular cartilage of the pattelofemoral joint also intact. There is a small to moderate sized Baker's cyst present. There is a small effusion suprapatellar bursa of the knee joint. The ACL is slightly thickened and increased in signal and suggestive of a low grade sprain. PCL intact. The collateral ligaments are normal in appearance. Exterior tendon mechanism and popliteus are satisfactory.
Impression:
1. Horizontal tear posterior horn medial meniscus.
2. Low grade ACL sprain.
3. Small effusion and moderate sized Baker's cyst.
All of which Jeroen will understand! All I need to know is that the treatment is a) necessary, b) will fix the problem and c) how log will I be off of training???
Info: The medial meniscus and lateral meniscus are specialized structures within the knee. These crescent-shaped shock absorbers between the tibia and femur have an important role in the function and health of the knee. Once thought to be of little use, the menisci (plural) were routinely removed when torn. Now we know that the menisci contribute to a healthy knee because they play important roles in joint stability, force transmission, and lubrication. When possible, they are repaired if injured. There are even experimental attempts to replace a damaged meniscus, possibly an important advance in orthopaedic medicine. There are two categories of meniscal injuries - acute tears and degenerative tears.
An acute tear usually occurs when the knee is bent and forcefully twisted, while the leg is in a weight bearing position.
BJJ 101......
Monday, May 5, 2008
Victorian Championships
What a day and night...... The usual long q signing in then weighing in (surely at least 2 scales would help?) and then what will go down in history, especially for Nial, as "the long wait"!!!!
Time delays aside it was a great day run in the usual good spirit of sportsmanship that I've seen in all BJJ comps I've been in. There were a couple of notable sooky lala's who obviously didn't like losing but overall fantastic.
Dave after a year off of comps let nerves get the better of him!!!!! Happens to the best and certainly looking at his competition and knowing first hand how Dave rolls, it was his competitor's good fortune that this was the case!! His courage and pit bull attitude was obvious when his dodgy shoulder nearly got relocated to his back!
I managed a silver in the gi masters white 79 - 85 kg after a hard fought first win which left me absolutely gassed out!!!! Nearly tapped out my opponent in the final when he crossed his feet in front of me when he had my back! No sour grapes here and he was well ahead on points but the middle of a submission attempt is not the time to stop and ask the ref if it's a legal move!!!
Got the gold in the no gi masters white 79 - 85 kg after holding out a Kimura attempt from my opponent right down to the dying seconds. He was an extremely flexible grappler and I was defending for most of the match.
Jeroen waltzed his way through to a gold in the purple big fellas adult category and then was unlucky to lose his first match in the open. There was a guard pass and back control that the ref didn't award points for that was clearly right in front of me! Hope someone got it on video!
Rickasauros dominated in the effing big fella adult white division with an undefeated run landing him 3 gold medals.
Klaus started well and was ahead on points when he got back swepped and mounted and then in typical Klaus fashion, left it until his arm was nearly torn off before tapping from an arm bar!
Marco fought very well and was beaten by the eventual winner who has been traing with the Olympic Judo team and some crazy Romanian wrestling guy!
Nial again put up a gutsy and very technical battle and nearly secured a berth to the final with a flying armbar attempt that just missed!
I didn't have my camera this time but I'll get some footage from Chris and put it on this week. Well done to all of us including the Chady and Ringwood boys!!!
Time delays aside it was a great day run in the usual good spirit of sportsmanship that I've seen in all BJJ comps I've been in. There were a couple of notable sooky lala's who obviously didn't like losing but overall fantastic.
Dave after a year off of comps let nerves get the better of him!!!!! Happens to the best and certainly looking at his competition and knowing first hand how Dave rolls, it was his competitor's good fortune that this was the case!! His courage and pit bull attitude was obvious when his dodgy shoulder nearly got relocated to his back!
I managed a silver in the gi masters white 79 - 85 kg after a hard fought first win which left me absolutely gassed out!!!! Nearly tapped out my opponent in the final when he crossed his feet in front of me when he had my back! No sour grapes here and he was well ahead on points but the middle of a submission attempt is not the time to stop and ask the ref if it's a legal move!!!
Got the gold in the no gi masters white 79 - 85 kg after holding out a Kimura attempt from my opponent right down to the dying seconds. He was an extremely flexible grappler and I was defending for most of the match.
Jeroen waltzed his way through to a gold in the purple big fellas adult category and then was unlucky to lose his first match in the open. There was a guard pass and back control that the ref didn't award points for that was clearly right in front of me! Hope someone got it on video!
Rickasauros dominated in the effing big fella adult white division with an undefeated run landing him 3 gold medals.
Klaus started well and was ahead on points when he got back swepped and mounted and then in typical Klaus fashion, left it until his arm was nearly torn off before tapping from an arm bar!
Marco fought very well and was beaten by the eventual winner who has been traing with the Olympic Judo team and some crazy Romanian wrestling guy!
Nial again put up a gutsy and very technical battle and nearly secured a berth to the final with a flying armbar attempt that just missed!
I didn't have my camera this time but I'll get some footage from Chris and put it on this week. Well done to all of us including the Chady and Ringwood boys!!!
Monday, April 21, 2008
More Victorian Championship Training Pics....
Me and Klaus
Nial and Klaus
Finally tapped the big unit!!!!! (I told you not to cross your feet...)
Marco tapping Nick
Me and Marco
Victorian Championship Training Pics....
Me and Nial
Klaus and Mark (I think...)
Dave and Mark
Nice sweep!
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Klaus and Niall's sneaky chokes......
Nearly passed out from Klaus's cross arm lapel choke and was dizzy for the rest of the day!!
Nialls tapped me with an Ezekiel Choke when I had him in side control! Didn't see it coming sneaky f#@%**r!!!!
Nialls tapped me with an Ezekiel Choke when I had him in side control! Didn't see it coming sneaky f#@%**r!!!!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Monday, April 14, 2008
Oh How The Mighty Fall
I still can't believe this is the same Mark "Smashing Machine" KERR......
Some interesting Sambo stuff here.....
Some interesting Sambo stuff here.....
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Another Great Training Session
Who'd of thought, me and Niall senior students for the night!!!!! Had a class full of new guys so we did some basic Jiu Jitsu 101 for the 1st hour (basics always win fights!!) and then Jeroen put us in the middle for some very good round robin rolling with everyone else. This certainly reinforced a couple of things.
1. This shit works!!!
2. Just because this shit works, doesn't mean it's gonna work straight away!!!
Starting out reletively easy with the new guys, I was surprised at first with their flat out try and beat you approach! Had to work pretty hard to get the submissions but was happy to get there in the end.... Hopefully the guys keep on training and stop looking at youtube!!! Well at least the leg locks on there because my effing knee is killing me again having escaped a couple of flat out leg lock attempts!!! All in all an extremely informative session with Jeroen answering questions in his own hands on manner. For example, if you drop your hips like this...... The questions sort of stopped coming after that!
My 9yr old son Grant thought it was great showing the new guys how proficient he is with the rear naked choke. It was quite amusing watching the facial characteristcs go through the following changes:
All smiles (he's only a skinny kid)
Shit I'd better do something here (turning red)
Ngghhhhhhhh (can't breathe, can't be beaten by a kid!!)
NNNNGGGGGHHHHHHHH (mummy!!!!) (turned blue)
Taptaptaptaptaptap
All smiles again!
I get the impression that the Navy blokes who came along will definately return if only to try and throttle each other!!!!
1. This shit works!!!
2. Just because this shit works, doesn't mean it's gonna work straight away!!!
Starting out reletively easy with the new guys, I was surprised at first with their flat out try and beat you approach! Had to work pretty hard to get the submissions but was happy to get there in the end.... Hopefully the guys keep on training and stop looking at youtube!!! Well at least the leg locks on there because my effing knee is killing me again having escaped a couple of flat out leg lock attempts!!! All in all an extremely informative session with Jeroen answering questions in his own hands on manner. For example, if you drop your hips like this...... The questions sort of stopped coming after that!
My 9yr old son Grant thought it was great showing the new guys how proficient he is with the rear naked choke. It was quite amusing watching the facial characteristcs go through the following changes:
All smiles (he's only a skinny kid)
Shit I'd better do something here (turning red)
Ngghhhhhhhh (can't breathe, can't be beaten by a kid!!)
NNNNGGGGGHHHHHHHH (mummy!!!!) (turned blue)
Taptaptaptaptaptap
All smiles again!
I get the impression that the Navy blokes who came along will definately return if only to try and throttle each other!!!!
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Great Training Session
On night shift this week so in lieu of training tomorrow lunchtime (when I'll be counting kimura's) I went to Chadstone for a roll. I'm very happy with my jiu jitsu at the moment. I learnt a couple of good points in relation to hopping off the mount and the triangle defence that we practiced last Tuesday was very effective.... I rolled with a couple of relatively new guys during the course of the session and was stunned to hear them tell me that I moved so well, etc, etc. If only they new!!! Still I must admit to feeling quite a sense of accomplishment (thanks to Jeroen's excellant coaching!!) in the short 9 months that I've been training. Of course I encouraged them to continue and told them the difference in their game would sky rocket over the coming months. I also gave up positions to them so that they weren't always getting squashed and then worked my way back to a better position. Big Steve took us for tournament training which was pretty tough and the Chady boys and girl (Sam) are looking in pretty good shape for the Vic's. See you on the mat!!!!
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Old Buggers!!!!!
SENIOR JIU-JITSU (BY DON WHITEFIELD)
I don't consider myself old at age fourty-two, but I know that my Jiu- Jitsu game differs a lot from the game of an eighteen year old. Anyone over thirty is considered either a Master or Senior in BJJ competition, and it is important for these students to understand the special rules that apply to them in order to make it to their black belt and beyond.
1. Rule: Roll Smart
Even if you feel like it don't take the young spaz by the horns and get tossed around. Give them a little space to protect yourself, even if it means giving up position. Another good strategy is to stay on the top for a while or keep them in your guard (if you can) and tire them out to equalize the playing field a bit.
The most important advice is to avoid unusual positions unless you are positive that you can trust your training partner to look out for you.
Often injuries occur when senior students get into unfamiliar position and they and/or their partner make a wrong move in the heat of battle resulting in injury. You have to be able to completely rely on your partner before you can open up your game.
2. Rule: Protect your body
I see teens and kids in my BJJ classes sometimes bend their joints at angles that make me shiver, but after the initial squeal they usually are back on the mat within five minutes. Their tendons and bones are flexible, but we loose this luxury as we age. The problem is that this occurs slowly and unnoticed and we sometimes spar as if we were still teenagers.
We become only aware of our age when we have (painfully) gone beyond the flexibility of our body. Since our recovery time is a lot longer than five minutes try to follow this simple rule we have in my
academy: "Tap today, train tomorrow". It reminds you to tap early even if you are not in a submission but just get caught awkwardly.
3. Rule: Recover smartly
It is sad that as teenagers we got away with 4 hours of sleep, eating only fried foods and sugary carbonated drinks. As you get older these sins will catch up with you, so change these habits if you still live that way. As a senior jiu-jitsu fighter you should get lots of sleep, water, protein, fruits, veggies and supplements; these will help you stay in the game (or get back into it if you get injured).
Be smart and recognize when you are injured: take the week off than have the injury turn chronic. Stretch every day to maintain your body's flexibility. It protects you while you roll and helps you to overcome injuries much faster. Once you return to the mats don't hesitate to point out your injury to your training partner so he can look out for you if necessary. Get medical advice early on if you get an unfamiliar injury, read up on it and educate yourself regarding recovery and prevention of these injuries.
Lastly, use your maturity and your ability to keep your cool as an advantage to prevent injuries, recover from them and protect yourself from future injuries. There is one good thing about not being a teenager anymore: You got a lot smarter since.
I don't consider myself old at age fourty-two, but I know that my Jiu- Jitsu game differs a lot from the game of an eighteen year old. Anyone over thirty is considered either a Master or Senior in BJJ competition, and it is important for these students to understand the special rules that apply to them in order to make it to their black belt and beyond.
1. Rule: Roll Smart
Even if you feel like it don't take the young spaz by the horns and get tossed around. Give them a little space to protect yourself, even if it means giving up position. Another good strategy is to stay on the top for a while or keep them in your guard (if you can) and tire them out to equalize the playing field a bit.
The most important advice is to avoid unusual positions unless you are positive that you can trust your training partner to look out for you.
Often injuries occur when senior students get into unfamiliar position and they and/or their partner make a wrong move in the heat of battle resulting in injury. You have to be able to completely rely on your partner before you can open up your game.
2. Rule: Protect your body
I see teens and kids in my BJJ classes sometimes bend their joints at angles that make me shiver, but after the initial squeal they usually are back on the mat within five minutes. Their tendons and bones are flexible, but we loose this luxury as we age. The problem is that this occurs slowly and unnoticed and we sometimes spar as if we were still teenagers.
We become only aware of our age when we have (painfully) gone beyond the flexibility of our body. Since our recovery time is a lot longer than five minutes try to follow this simple rule we have in my
academy: "Tap today, train tomorrow". It reminds you to tap early even if you are not in a submission but just get caught awkwardly.
3. Rule: Recover smartly
It is sad that as teenagers we got away with 4 hours of sleep, eating only fried foods and sugary carbonated drinks. As you get older these sins will catch up with you, so change these habits if you still live that way. As a senior jiu-jitsu fighter you should get lots of sleep, water, protein, fruits, veggies and supplements; these will help you stay in the game (or get back into it if you get injured).
Be smart and recognize when you are injured: take the week off than have the injury turn chronic. Stretch every day to maintain your body's flexibility. It protects you while you roll and helps you to overcome injuries much faster. Once you return to the mats don't hesitate to point out your injury to your training partner so he can look out for you if necessary. Get medical advice early on if you get an unfamiliar injury, read up on it and educate yourself regarding recovery and prevention of these injuries.
Lastly, use your maturity and your ability to keep your cool as an advantage to prevent injuries, recover from them and protect yourself from future injuries. There is one good thing about not being a teenager anymore: You got a lot smarter since.
GROUNDED.....
I ended up getting to training late last night due to work committments but bounced on to the mat raring to get amongst it. I was very pleased to see Niall back at training after his triathalon adventures!!! We started training at the same time and although I have the weight advantage, we were pretty much equal as far as everything else goes. Except Niall's lung capacity that is!! Anyway I must say that I enjoyed experiencing a slight advantage when rolling with Niall obviously due to his not training for the last few months and me training. It's good to see this stuff work!!
A little later I rolled with Dave after Coach Lynders gave him a "Pep Talk" regarding finishing and killing!!!! This led to me tapping quite vigorously and being "grounded" as to where I am and where I hope to go. All in all another rewarding training session with Jeroen pointing out the mistake of falling into the other persons guard (being a familiar position to be in) instead of consolidating a better position outside of guard. I also learnt that Dave could more than likely crush a bowling ball with one arm!
A little later I rolled with Dave after Coach Lynders gave him a "Pep Talk" regarding finishing and killing!!!! This led to me tapping quite vigorously and being "grounded" as to where I am and where I hope to go. All in all another rewarding training session with Jeroen pointing out the mistake of falling into the other persons guard (being a familiar position to be in) instead of consolidating a better position outside of guard. I also learnt that Dave could more than likely crush a bowling ball with one arm!
Friday, March 7, 2008
Big F#@*%KERS
Seeing this makes me NOT miss the rolling with the big blokes!!!!
Then again look at this little 66kg dynamo!!!!!
Then again look at this little 66kg dynamo!!!!!
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Your Kung Fu No Good Here
I don't know who this guy is but I like the way he dominates the fights....
And it sure as hell is no good here....
And it sure as hell is no good here....
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Bait......
I get asked on a daily basis by friends and family (usually in response to my grunts and groans from a recently "tweaked" body part) why I do it? BJJ that is. If it is causing my body so much angst, why do I put myself through it. At my age as well!!!! Bloody hell I'm only 41, hardly ready for retirement..... Still, I do often wonder how if i am going to be a twisted wreck in 10 years time and whether or not I should be doing a softer contact sport like, karate or kung fu, etc??
I was watching a Demian MAIA dvd last night on "Escaping Side Control" and was amazed at how simple his theory was and why I hadn't thought of it!!! Probably because he's a World Champion, etc training all his life while i have a meagre, all be it well trained, 7 months under my belt!!! Anyway watching the dvd was like baiting a hook. Being how I am still at the stage where I get stuck in side control and find it hard to escape, or end up turning the wrong way, etc, MAIA'S simple therories on arm position, etc make perfect sense to me and I can't wait to try them out. It's like, right, these blokes won't know what's coming, I'll be escaping like a pro next time.... So this challenge of learning and being able to actually perform a technique so that it works is one of the things that I love about BJJ. Except of course when I try a "secret" move on Jason and end up tapping, or making a strange noise.... Still, I nearly passed his guard the other day!!!
Jeroen being as open minded a coach as he is makes it easy to say, "I saw this on youtube, etc what do you reckon?" and then he points out the pitfalls or finer points of whatever the technique is....
The other thing that keeps me coming back is, I almost got Dave in a triangle the other day! And then he stacked and crushed me but I was close goddamnit!!!!
I was watching a Demian MAIA dvd last night on "Escaping Side Control" and was amazed at how simple his theory was and why I hadn't thought of it!!! Probably because he's a World Champion, etc training all his life while i have a meagre, all be it well trained, 7 months under my belt!!! Anyway watching the dvd was like baiting a hook. Being how I am still at the stage where I get stuck in side control and find it hard to escape, or end up turning the wrong way, etc, MAIA'S simple therories on arm position, etc make perfect sense to me and I can't wait to try them out. It's like, right, these blokes won't know what's coming, I'll be escaping like a pro next time.... So this challenge of learning and being able to actually perform a technique so that it works is one of the things that I love about BJJ. Except of course when I try a "secret" move on Jason and end up tapping, or making a strange noise.... Still, I nearly passed his guard the other day!!!
Jeroen being as open minded a coach as he is makes it easy to say, "I saw this on youtube, etc what do you reckon?" and then he points out the pitfalls or finer points of whatever the technique is....
The other thing that keeps me coming back is, I almost got Dave in a triangle the other day! And then he stacked and crushed me but I was close goddamnit!!!!
Friday, January 11, 2008
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Saturday, January 5, 2008
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