Brazilian Jiu Jitsu | Semi-Charmed Life

21Apr/100

Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight

10.

That's what it says on my mouthguard.

Today I had one of those days at the gym where it's so bad it makes me almost want to quit. I don't know if anyone who does not train can relate. It was the first time I've ever finished a class angry. I felt angry at myself for doing so poorly. It's been almost two years. Did I learn anything at all?

Today's just one of those days where I have to dust myself off and keep on going.

29Sep/090

Resistance to Change: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Sometimes it boggles my mind how resistant to change some people are. I don't particularly believe in the saying "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" because it's this type of lazy thinking that leads to a stifling of innovation. What's scary is that not only are people resistant to change, they are downright venemous about it when someone suggests something new and different.

I recently read a post on a grappling forum I browse where the thread starter was complaining about how he was frustrated by how his instructors often never taught counters to the techniques taught in class. He felt that instructors should teach both the technique and the counter to the technique.

Now, I understand some of the arguments against this. One of the strongest arguments is that if a counter is taught at the same time the technique is being taught, students will be frustrated in class when they can't apply the move because they will be countered all day and will get the impression that it "doesn't work." They would be discouraged from using it because of their frustrated atttempts.

But most of the responses to the the thread starter was along the lines of "STFU you suck, just keep training." "Stop bitching." etc. etc. Everyone felt the TS was an idiot because, over time, you will learn a lot of this through experience on the mats. While I don't disagree that mat time is always the best way to get better, I was shocked that people did not feel that there might be a better way to approach teaching/learning brazilian jiu-jitsu.

I'm not saying I agree that a counter should be taught immediately alongside a specific technique, but why not during the same week? Or the same month?

I brought up that perhaps a more structured and focused approach to teaching might yield greater results. Not necessarily a strict curriculum, but maybe classes could be taught in such a way that a specific concept was focused on each week or each month. This was shot down with a response that basically amounted to "but it won't work!"

The current approach it seems is a haphazard "technique of the day" approach, at least from my experience. Each class, the instructor shows a particular move, but it is never tied in to a move learned the previous day or is seemingly unrelated to the previous lesson. While I have no doubt about the skills or teaching capabilities of any of my instructors, it appears that instructors figure out what they want to teach in class the day of.

Why should brazilian jiu jitsu be any different than a typical school teacher's curriculum? I believe with more thought and planning, bjj can be taught and learned more effectively. One day I hope to prove myself right by teaching.

Of course, not ALL instructors teach like this, and in fact some instructors DO put thought, effort and planning into what they teach their students.

But I want to prove the naysayers wrong. That the generally accepted way of doing things is NOT the best way. Just because world champions have been produced out of the current way of doing things does not mean that the system is perfect. There is always room for change and improvement.

Too many people have the mentality that just because they did things a certain way, that it is the right way to do things because hey, they turned out fine. Suggesting anything otherwise is nothing short of an assault on their character! This is true not just in brazilian jiu-jitsu, but in just about every aspect of someone's life.

Tagged as: Brazilian Jiu Jitsu No Comments

28May/090

A Dream

If money was not an obstacle, what kind of career path would you choose? What would you do with yourself?

I forgot how the question goes, but it's something similar to that. It's a question that I've come across in the past that I was never able to answer. It's supposed to help you discover what your passion is in life, or at least that's what they say.

Well in the past few weeks, I've been secretly entertaining an idea that will probably only amount to nothing more than a dream, at least in the near future. I hope to one day open my own bjj school, but I want to focus on a youth program. Schools in the city are notoriously expensive. Ideally it'd be a low cost after-school recreational type of thing.

I want to open up my own school because I want to spread the art. I love and believe in brazilian jiu-jitsu. I love the concept of minimum effort for maximum efficiency. Of personal efficiency to protest the stronger. The force of leverage against brute force.

I want to focus on youth because I feel it is not very known on that level. When parents think of martial arts for their children, they think of karate or TKD. I want brazilian jiu-jitsu to be accepted into the mainstream. To be viewed beyond the context of UFC, which is what many people associate it with. I also think bjj is great for youth because it'd help keep them in great shape due to the intense nature of the sports. Way better than video games. It's also competitive but fun at the same time, and most importantly, the skills you learn in bjj are PRACTICAL.

I'm a long way from opening my own school. Hell I'm a long way from even being close to being qualified to teach.

None of this means very much if I don't train hard. I have years and years to go before any of this can be a possibility.

Tagged as: Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Life No Comments

6Apr/091

Monday Morning Thoughts

I've been extremely busy lately. Not the good kind of busy nor the bad kind of busy, but just busy. It feels like there are just not enough hours in the day. I started a new gig where I have to be in the office by 6:30am. This is what my schedule looks like Monday through Friday

5:20am: Wake up
6:30am - 4:30pm: Work
6:00pm - 7:30pm: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
8:45pm - 10:30pm: Get home, shower, eat, check all the websites that are blocked at work (email, fb, etc.), then sleep.

Rinse and repeat.

If I sleep any later than 10:30pm, I feel like shit the next day. One or two days of the week I substitute BJJ with the gym. A friend of mine joined the same gym, so it's nice to have someone to work out with.

I just did my first no-gi class in BJJ last night. It was fun but it felt completely different. It's weird not to have the grips on the gi to use, and the pace feels so much faster. I just placed an order for two of Matt Thornton's DVDs (FJKD3, disc 1 & 2). Expensive as hell. It's 39 a pop and there's 9 DVDs in the set. I only ordered the first two because it'll probably be more than enough for me to digest. The reviews were good, so I can't wait to check it out. The next DVD set I want to get is Brandon Quick's Fade to Black. It's supposed to be an amazing instructional, focusing on chokes.

In other news, if anyone has been following the news at all they might know about the shooting that happened in Binghamton on Friday. I went to SUNY Binghamton, and the place where the shooting happened was a few blocks away from the house I used to live at. This is a tragedy. I don't know why these mass murdering rampages have been so common in the past several years, starting with Columbine.

Anyway, I was upset to find out that the shooter was Asian. A friend of mine remarked how he thought it was funny how I got worked up about the fact that he was Asian. This is a tragedy regardless of his race/ethnicity/religion, but I cringed when I found out he was Asian because we have been in the media lately for some crazy shit. There's the Virginia Tech psycho. Then the Canadian guy who decapitated someone on a bus, and another Virginia Tech guy who decapitated a woman in a coffee shop. Now this.

I don't want people to have the impression that Asians are repressed psychotic individuals who will snap at any moment. May be a little too late for that though.

Anyway, as I was reading the paper this morning, some of the accounts from the survivors really got to me. One man told of how he wanted to protect his wife because all he could think about was how he needed her to be alive to raise their two children. He threw his body over hers to protect her, but a bullet that hit him went right through and fatally wounded her. He stayed with her body for over an hour until the authorities came in. Tragic.

So many senseless murders lately that it's almost becoming the norm. I just read this morning about the guy in Seattle who killed his five children and finally himself. It was discovered that he snapped because his wife had planned to leave him.

What's wrong with the world today?

I started this post on a positive note and now it's ending on a sad one.

Tagged as: Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Crime 1 Comment

31Mar/091

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in NYC

For anyone interested in taking Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, the following are some places that offer legit, quality instruction in the New York Area. Anyone who wants a good work out and a fun and practical way to stay in shape, give this a try.

For those who are unfamiliar (taken from my Academy's website):

Brazilian jiu jitsu is a grappling-based martial art whose central theme is the skill of controlling a resisting opponent in ways that force him to submit. Due to the fact that control is generally easier on the ground than in a standing position, much of the technique of Brazilian jiu jitsu is centered round the skill of taking an opponent down to the ground and wrestling for dominant control positions from where the opponent can be rendered harmless. To control and overcome greater size, strength and aggression with lesser size and strength is the keynote of the sport. This is done by utilizing superior leverage, grip and position upon your opponent. Students of the sport gain a deep understanding of the workings and limits of the human body. This knowledge can be used to subdue and control an opponent with whatever level of severity the student chooses. The path to this knowledge is physically and mentally demanding. Students benefit from greatly increased physical fitness, problem-solving ability, self-knowledge of their body and mind and the many social benefits of working within a large group of like-minded fellow students as you learn and have fun together.

Long Island

Serra Jiu Jitsu - Run by Matt and Nick Serra (Huntington and East Meadow)

Redboy BJJ - I hear about them alot.(Port Jefferson)

Soca Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Academy - Run by Alexandre "Soca" Freitas (Bellmore)

Scarola BJJ - Run Joe Scarola. Used to roll with Matt Serra but split from him. His school is now a Gracie Barra affiliate. (New Hyde Park)

D'Arce BJJ - Also run by a Renzo black belt. (Bay Shore)

Queens

Magno Gama BJJ - Magno is an instructor at my school (RGA) and now teaches in Astoria, Queens on certain days. The link I posted is to his Myspace. I don't think his website is up yet because his school is pretty new. He is an EXCELLENT teacher.

Staten Island

Codella Brazilian Jiu Jitsu - Run by a Renzo Gracie black belt.

Brooklyn

Brooklyn BJJ - This place is highly recommended for Brooklyn.

Lotus Club Brooklyn - Run by brown belts. Sounds like a legit place.

Manhattan

JiuJitsuInc (I think this was formerly known as Studio X) - Run by a Kenny Florian Black Belt.

Alliance NYC - Run by Fabio Clemente. Top notch school. It seems they consistently do well in competitions.

Renzo Gracie Academy - My academy. Great facilities. Good instruction. Lots of class times offered for flexibility. Downside is that it's a big academy, so it's a bit impersonal at times and also tuition is a bitch. This is probably true of all Manhattan schools though.

blackbelt-photoshop2