How Often Do You Train BJJ?

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a sport where hard work and dedication matters a lot more than talent. While from time to time you will see guys that have a background in grappling and will come in doing well as white belts, as time goes by if they are not putting in the mat time hours, you will see their abilities relative to you reduce somewhat.

This is what happened from my experience. When I was starting out as a fresh white belt, I trained at most 3-4 times per week, often missing sessions due to work obligations and I think in reality achieving perhaps 3 sessions on average per week.

I would slowly progress, starting out right at the bottom of the food chain. Bigger white belts would have trouble with me and blue belts would really have me for breakfast most of the time, either submitting me or at the very least passing my guard and dominating me.

I really looked up to some of the purples though. We had some very good ones (or it seemed to me so) that had some other grappling style background and who seemed to me invincible at the time.

A few years went by. Got my blue belt but really did not make much of it at the time. Yes I could do ok against most beginners but when you had someone who knew what to do, I continued to have a lot of trouble.

Nowadays as I continue to mature as a blue belt the situation is starting to change and it amazes me how vastly different the improvement is for each bjj student. Some guys who I started out training with and who were a lot more experienced than me at the time seem considerably weaker, with their game no longer as solid as I remember it.

I remember I trained with two blue belts in the beginning that from time to time submitted me even though I would give it my all just to make life hard for them. Nowadays however these same guys, because they did not train regularly would be happy if they can score anything on me at all.

The purples however is a different story. Some of the guys that progressed to purple long ago or were purples when I started now seem tough but in a different way. For me they have lost their invicibility aura somehow. For sure they are still very good, but now as I continue to train I feel they are beatable.

Jiu Jitsu is all about investing mat time to improve. You have to spend the time and you have to train with the best at what they do. You will improve and when you do it will be the best feeling. Training is what gets you from struggling against your sparring partners to anhilitating them and tearing through the comps. It also makes jiu jitsu more fun for sure especially if you are a lighter guy :) there is just that element of enjoy when you can dominate a bigger or stronger dude especially if he has been training longer than you have.

Casual to Serious Training

Most of us are training and enjoying the jiu jitsu lifestyle every day. You come to practice and normally you do ok against guys of the same grade. Some lower grades you can demolish while higher grades tend to beat you in sparring. One day however you meet the bjj competitor breed though....

This is a special breed of sparring partner. From my experience there is always one or two guys at an average decent academy that is just way above the rest for their grade. It might be a guy that trained in wrestling or judo since early child hood but not necessarily. Sometimes its a guy that just trains a lot and by a lot I mean A LOT more than everybody else. 

The thing is no matter how talented you are, or athletic or what you did before bjj, if you train a lot you catch up.. you close gaps in your game and evolve into a fighter that can hold his own against guys that have been doing bjj much longer timewise.

There is just a different approach when it comes to serious players. If casual bjj players would normally train 2-3-4 sessions per week, most serious players would train at least 6 classes a week which is when your improvement speed starts to kick in and you begin to feel that you are developing faster your partners. 

Most serious players would train twice a day every day or more and this makes all the difference. Guys at the top of the major IBJJF stands train often and once you start taking the sport seriously it starts to bring in good results. 

Once you start feeling progress I think its really time to get even more motivated by competing. Competition is an excellent driver. A good start is to take part in the local bjj circuit. Smaller comps is a great start and an excellent incentive for your training. You now have a goal to work towards and something you can work together with your partners helping each other in training and then going out and competing together against guys from other schools. Over time you move forward and progress to bigger competitions and tougher guys and I think this is where it gets really interesting to see for many, how far they can go and improve.

Passing the Guard

Passing the guard in my opinion is one of the most important components of the BJJ game and the reason for the success of such all time greats as Roger Gracie and Rodolfo Viera.

My thinking is that first you need to develop a strong bottom game, a good guard. Which one you prefer is upto you, whether closed guard, open guard, half guard. I prefer the half guard because I have a lot of moves from this position and I give a hard time for my opponents trying to pass me.

The second most important component is passing. 50% of the time you spend on top and here you have to first work your passing before trying to go for any submissions and controlling your opponent.

There are basically two types of passes available - 1) standing speed passes (e.g. Torreando pass) trying to pass the legs from standing and 2) passess from the knees mainly through applying pressure to the opponent

There is a multitude of different passes and I think the trick is to find the ones that work for you and perfect them. Here is a video of Rodolfo Viera passing technique that I found useful and fits well with my passing game:

How Long to BJJ Purple Belt?

I think most academies you will go to, people will tell you that it does not matter what belt you are and that what is more important is technique. While I cannot agree more to this statement, belts count a lot in BJJ. 

While at white belt you spend most of your time especially six months into training thinking about when will be the magic day when you get your blue belt, when you actually get to blue belt things change a lot. You are on the other side of the fence I would say. Those hungry and athletic white belts will want to hunt you down and get that sacred submission on you.

A couple of weeks ago I experienced such a moment. I was rolling with a white belt, may 6 or a year into training BJJ. I was quite tired and I think it was my fifth sparring roll and there he was going as hard as he could to try to catch me on something. He was at least 20 kg or 45 lbs heavier but having managed to attempt to take my back he latched on to try to get the choke on me. How upset was he that despite his best efforts (I mean with all his strength he tried to force everything he knew) he could not do anything and he was really upset. 

I think the blue belt is when white belts really start hunting you. I thinking many of us were that guy. Four striped white belt looking to catch a fresh blue belt on some submission hold. 

What is for sure important is belt colour whether we want to admit it or not. It is an enormous boost when you come to training and beat a guy of a higher grade and it is also an enormous set back when you come to training and you lose to a lower belt. Happens to me I think every day. Some time I go hard and try to win while at other times I like to roll light or for position, to maintain position but not use strength and of course sometimes the guy is good or you just werent focusing. The most important thing is to learn from the mistakes  as at the end of the day what is important is how you fight in competition. You can lose to everybody in training but if you come back home with a bundle of IBJJF medals and they don't, this is the real test. 

Gradually we become used to the blue belt. After a year or more you become more mature and technical. Suddenly white belts pose no real threat to you. It is no longer about you defending but it is now about attacking and holding the position you attain. As I became a mature blue belt with nearly two years at blue belt, I realized that it is nothing special for me to be able to successfully defend against other blue belts and hold my ground. Now it is time to develop my attack: actively initiating sweeps and guard passes. I don't want to recover guard from half guard. I want to transition and obtain the dominant position and then retain it at will. The more I practice the better I become at passing the guard but when I get there in side control, I want to retain this position at will. This is the next level I think and even if some submission does not work out, I want to get side control and then work to transition to mount or back or submission depending on the situation giving no room for my opponent to escape. I think this is where purple belts try to gain this additional level of expertise and whats sets them apart from the blue belts. Unlike blue belts, they already have a strategy, what passesses they like, which sweeps from the bottom work for them and they not only can defend but can also start to attack when they see the opportunity.

I have read that the IBJJF minimum number of classes for Blue Belt is somewhere around 120-130 and for Purple Belt at a minimum 360 classes. I think at Alliance it is also minimum 360 classes.

Thats a minimum of 140 classes at blue belt. Today I have had 228 classes as a blue belt so I don't think the minimum counts for much and the level at each belt can vary drastically. 

I've seen some guys here in Russia that are very good at blue belt while in the USA I have encountered some purple belts that did not appear to have that much grappling skill as I would have expected. I think really the difference is in the style of training. There are family BJJ guys that train two times per week. These guys are like 35-40 years old and it is just not fair to try to compare a 20 year old guy who trains 5-6 times a week and does conditioning. Both can be of the same belt colour.

In my fair assessment, I think I would like to hit pruple at around 350 classes at blue. I thinks thats a fair number. at three times per week thats only two years and a half which is fine in my opinion. You need to earn it and I think you want to feel purple belt and not just get it. 

Purple belt is an elite grappler in BJJ. Its a Judo black belt and a really skilled guy that should be able to easily overcome any white belt in class and also teach blue belts a thing or two about BJJ. I also think the purple belt should be well rounded, knowing at the minimum two or three good guard passing techniques, two good submissions and know one type of guard as the "go to place". Plus I think a good purple should have competed at least a couple of times. Its important to be a complete fighter that has the experience to share with the younger grades. It would be a shame for me at white belt to get advice from a purple belt about competitions if he has not entered. Of course everyone has there one situation but for purples that teach I think they should have some competition experience so they know what works and what does not in a comp.

BJJ and Your Girlfriend: Five Tips How to Get More Training In

1. Try to avoid talking BJJ/UFC/Grappling related to her and NEVER do grappling moves on her. That will make her either MAD or BORED!!

2. If you want to get some training in, you've got to make sure that your girlfriend is busy with something that she enjoys - and the important thing is that you are not needed for this. It can be anything, whether horse back riding with girlfriends, taking her parents out or travelling with them, or just very simple things like financing some girl time for her, like manicures, etc

3. If she has something special planned or is going away, that day, DONT schedule a bjj session the day before or on that morning. It will make her MAD. Instead take her out for nice dinner, buy her some Flowers!! and train when she is gone.

4. You need to make sure you work around her schedule. That means if she is working late that day - BAM!! BJJ Training Session that evening or if she is going out with some girl friends BAM!! BJJ that evening. You need to get the timing right and perfect this.

5. Training In the Morning. Yes! this works very well if you have a day job and can't be just away at the gym every evening. Do Mon-Wed-Friday training early in the morning when she is asleep (say 7am) and then Tues-Thursday you can do in the evening. Some of us have to work for a living!! but in order to get to do what we love, we have to plan our lives the smart way.

Any Comments Very Welcome and if you still get into a fight over BJJ just make up and do something nice. There is no point in fighting. All you really have to do is find some time and clean the house and cook a little. When she comes back from work tired - you surprise her!

Roger Gracie back to Jiu Jitsu!

We have all enjoyed Roger Gracie's mma career to date and no doubt if he continues he will have some success but I would like to dedicate this post to ask Roger to return back to BJJ!!

Roger Gracie has had an incredible career on the BJJ circuit but every fan in the world and every grappler that I talk to would like to see him return. We all want the best BJJ fighter in the world compete! Metamoris was awesome but we gotta get Roger BACK!!

Please comment on this post if you would like to see Roger Gracie BACK!! 

- Xande vs Roger Gracie?

- will Rodolfo Viera be able to pass Roger Gracie's guard?

- how would Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida do against Roger?

- Andre Galvao vs Roger Gracie No-GI Superfight at ADCC?

It is only us, the fans, can convince Roger so please guys comments welcome and share this post on facebook!!

Changing of the Guard

Jiu jitsu is constantly evolving. The new generation of bjj superstars that included the "holy trinity" Roger Gracie, Marcelo Garcia and Ronaldo Jacare, have now moved on to new things, either MMA or bring up new competitors onto the scene. Few others have been as dominant as these three during the first decade of the twenty first centuary but now it is time to see new legends emerge.

The biggest three that have now emerged in my view are Rafael Mendes, Rodolfo Viera and the ever improving Marcus Almeida "Buchecha" who looks like the new king of BJJ GI competition. The latter two are the two dominant monsters at absolute with few, save Braulio, who can stop their dangerous attacking game.

For many fans it would be a dream to see Roger back in the game meeting the young lions with the GI and of course it would also be interesting to see Roger back in ADCC as well. 

I believe there are a couple of tournaments that are drawing more and more attention and the biggest is the Abu Dhabi Pro Worlds. With cash prizes awarded to the elite competitors and great media coverage it is exciting to see the sport taking the next leap. 

It is now interesting to see the new breed of bjj fighters rising up. Keenan Cornelius and Mendes brothers are bringing a new style to bjj and it is interesting to see them compete against the old school fighters and what will come of it. 

Marcelo Garcia, Saulo, Roger Gracie, Lovato, Renzo and many others are bringing in their students to compete and it is exciting to see how they do against the mature crowd. It is amazing how the sport continues to evolve and many new guys are able to impress.

Training BJJ to Improve, some experience

I am a second year blue belt at the moment. Up until a few months ago, I used to train around 3 times per week as the norm which I think is how much most guys train at my academy. Recently however the owners introduced a new time table with classes in the mornings and also on Saturdays. As a result I have found myself training 6x per week instead of 3 and I have to say that I feel much more rapid improvement in my technique as well as overall fitness level as well.

I feel that training more regularly has allowed me to spend more time working techniques where I was missing important details and also one of the new classes is dedicated to stand up which I think will help me much more for competitions. I think I do much better from the top, passing the guard and I plan to in the future focus on throwing with judo or using wrestling takedowns and then end up on top of my opponent. If I lose out on top, then I can still pull guard and work from the bottom but if I can gain points standing than why not spend a little time on this as well.

I also am a big believer in private lessons. Been to the Roger Gracie Academy in London a few times and definitely every time I get a private there, I learn a lot of new details which I was missing before. It is important who your teacher is however but almost always if you have some specific questions, you can get help.

I have also read that you need at least 360 classes for purple belt. I really want to reach purple belt level but then focus on competitions first as I want some trophies at blue belt. Gonna need to train more for that of course. I think if I train hard all year, then perhaps I have a good chance at the end of the year.

The Gracies and the Birth of Valetudo

Victor Cesar Bota it looks like is still working on his debut film bring the story via film to the massess. 
I love it when I see some jiu jitsu in movies but I think it is also extremely important that the movie is well-made and shows jiu jitsu for what it is. I think the major problem is that it continues to be misunderstood as there is still a very small proportion of people that have ever trained in a grappling martial art. People see jiu jitsu still as "rolling around on the floor" and I think it is a duty of every jiu jitsu soldier to really take these guys to the gym and show the beauty behind the sport.

Marcelo Garcia X-Guard

I was just watching this video below of Marcelo Garcia sparring and just amazed how nice he uses that x-guard position to get under his opponent and sweep. Very often I get in this position where my opponent tries to pass from the top with the knee-slide and I have to prevent that. He does this beautifully and and the sweeps him from the x-guard. Very cool.

Marcelo is really a pioneer in a way because he is one of the few guys that has brought new techniques and showed that they can be applied on the elite level.

Roger Gracie Back Take

Roger Gracie is a great inspiration for me. Below is a demo I found on youtube of his amazing back take technique which I will be working on in the next couple of weeks. What I like about it is it is something I think I can get to work against almost any opponent, whether big or small and it doesnt require me to be athletic.

Deep Half Guard

Working on my deep half guard guys! Enjoying the detail with this position. Used to find it difficult to get under there but as time goes on its natural.

Ryan Hall in this video mentions one crucial aspect which is making sure your other hand does not get attacked on under hooked. When I am rolling, sometimes I forget to keep it tucked in and I risk getting caught in the arm bar.

I think deep half guard is one of those technical positions that allows you to fight a much bigger opponent and I find that this is one of the positions where it is almost impossible for my opponent to resist with just brutal strength alone.

Also take a look how he works to transition to the back. Very important detail because very often what happens is that your opponent gets back into traditional half guard or worse, nearly achieves mount and stars putting on the choke. Gotta be careful with this!

Metamoris Pro!!

October 14 Metamoris Jiu Jitsu Pro Invitational.
A stacked card of super fights that will take place in San Diego California

Roger Gracie vs Marcus Almeida Buchecha will headline the event and I think everyone is interested to see how Roger will do against the new breed of bjj fighters that are coming on to the circuit

Moreover plenty of other fights including Andre Galvao vs Ryron Gracie and JJ Machado vs Nelson
Monteiro. The only guy that I don't know is Kevin Casey but I am sure there is a reason why he has been selected.

FIGHT CARD:
Roger Gracie v Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida
Andre Galvao v Ryron Gracie
Jeff Glover v Gui Mendes
Dean Lister vs Kevin Casey
Kron Gracie v Octavio de Souza
Rafael Lovato Jr v Kayron Gracie

Going to live stream as well, more news in the next few weeks

All fights in the GI except the fight with Dean Lister!!



Stacked card, something we keep missing in the UFC. Great job organizers.

Tickets available on Ticketmaster.com and also see the website of the organizers www.metamoris.com/

Lucio Sergio Dos Santos

For those training in the UK, you probably know Lucio Sergio Dos Santos. I have had the pleasure of training with him and I can attest that he is truly one of the best bjj players I have had a chance to learn from, really great guy and a monster on the ground!
Check out the video below about him.

Half Guard

Working on my deep half guard at the moment. Very often it is hard to get the sweep from half guard when the guy on top defends heavily but allows me to get the arm under his leg for the deep half guard. So therefore I feel expanding my arsenal of half guard sweeps with a good deep half guard sweep that is simple enough and works on most guys is a great option for me to improve my game. So working hard on this at the moment.

There are so many complicated variations but Ive been looking for a simple technique that would work and avoid putting me in a dangerous position for counter attack. If the guy allows me to get the leg underhook, I feel I can move to attack from this position and then recover quite quickly without putting myself in danger too much.

In the one above, I just love the sweep he does at 3:47, check it out.

---wait-- also take a look at this one

I particularly like the deep half guard sweeps in this one, and when he gets the arm in for the omoplata transition. From the deep half guard the waiter sweep seems quite nice if you can make it work. very technical 

BJJ Progression

BJJ World Championships 2012

The BJJ World Championships Start Today!!! Extremely exciting, watch them online on Budovideos.com or if you are lucky enough to be able to come to the event in person, even better!!

Its a shame for Gracie Barra fans that we dont get a chance to see Roger Gracie and Braulio Estima in action this year due to their MMA committments but certainly Kayron Gracie and Romullo Barral are competing and I just cant wait to see how Alliance will do this year as well.

Also I noticed there are no good promotional videos this year, just a shame!! Take a look at last years one, was pretty good, they definitely should do a good one this year!

BJJ Sweep Series

There are so few good sweep series videos out there to watch. This one I like a lot. Just runs you through some of the classic sweeps and maybe one you didnt really know so much.

Everyone likes something and does it best. Me I like the last two, will try them out in class next time.

BJJ Seminar Moscow Russia

Guys, a couple of brazilian jiu jitsu seminars coming up in the next few months if you are interested. very exciting when we have great guys coming over to teach.

Max Carvalho Seminar 21-22 April 2012, organized by Gracie Barra Hungary and Axe Capoeira
http://axecapoeira.ru/?p=737



Ralek Gracie Seminar 29 April 2012
http://www.ilmma.ru/news/news79.php

This will be at the Moscow Center of Martial Arts, Chertanovskaya Metro is the closest one.

Sport Club Lion (Gracie Barra) is also organizing several seminars and also a summer camp for BJJ in Suzdal. Plenty of opportunities here.

Short summary of the announcement below, but follow the link to the Sport Club Lion website as well and call for details:
http://sportclublion.ru/portal2/component/content/article/19-introscroller/243-anons-sobitiy-kluba

Здравствуйте!

 1-3 июня состоится семинар по бразильскому джиу-джитсу и грэпплингу черного пояса по бразильскому джиу джитсу, трехкратного победителя ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship, ветерана Pride и UFC Дина Листера.

 1-15 июня состоится кшатра на севере Индии.
 Тренировочная програма: - «2 + 1» - два дня тренируемся, один отдыхаем (трек или поездка); - подъем в 5 утра, купание в горной реке - 7.00 Зарядка. Макс Дедик (Пробежка, Йога, медитация «Столб») - 1я тренировка: Леонид Гатовский. Грепплинг и Бразильское Джиу-Джитсу - 2я тренировка: Макс Дедик. Кросс и ОФП + «Ударка» (Ичи-Геки) - мастер-классы выдающихся бойцов – участников Кшатры; Отдых: - каждый 3й день – трек (поход по горам) - поездка в Маникаран и встреча с рекой Парвати
- Большой поход с ночевкой на Хрустальную Гору в конце путешествия - «Свит Лодж»
- Индейская Баня в Гималаях - Разговоры у костра; Го – Игра Самураев 19-25 июня состоится семинар по бразильскому джиу-джитсу и грэпплингу черного пояса по бразильскому джиу джитсу, многократного победителя и призера чемпионатов мира по бразильскому джиу-джитсу, панамериканских чемпионатов по бразильскому джиу джитсу, турниров IBJJF и ветерана ADCC Бруно Бастоса.

 Ну а гвоздем нашей летней программы станет лагерь в г. Суздаль, который состоится 3-13 августа и инструктором в котором будет ветеран UFC, Pride и Dream, двукратный чемпион Бразилии по бразильскому джиу джитсу, двукратный победитель панамериканского чемпионата по бразильскому джиу джитсу, черный пояс 4 степени по бразильскому джиу Маркус Аурелио.

Более подробно с информацией о готовящемся лагере можно ознакомиться пройдя по ссылке. По вопросам участия в семинарах и лагере просьба обращаться по телефону +7-985-233-11-72

Rodolfo Viera vs Andre Galvao, Abu Dhabi Pro Cup

How great would it be to see Rodolfo Viera in a gi match against Roger Gracie. This could be a great fight and certainly a super match people are going to want to see.

They could stream this live on the internet and people will pay to see this one. Rodolfo is a star but would be great to see him in a fight against an all time great like Roger.

Check out this link: http://www.graciemag.com/2011/09/promoter-wants-rodolfo-vs-roger-gracie-in-canada/

Looks like someone really wants to see this one happen.

Training In Moscow with a Great Instructor, Leonid Gatovskiy

Those of you looking to train in Moscow Russia at a great club with an awesome instructor, consider Sport Club Lion. The Head Instructor there is Leonid Gatovskiy, the first BJJ black belt in Russia under Renzo Gracie and certainly one of the most able grapplers in Russia today.

Please check out the video below:





Sport Club Lion is the number 1 Gracie Barra Academy in Russia and has some true talented fighters already on its team list. Great academy and super instructors.

Please see below an interview with Leonid Gatovskiy, my teacher.



 The BJJ Moscow Open Cup is behind us, a great event and a crowd of more than 150 competitors from all over Moscow.

I think the events just get bigger and bigger and the academies are literally full. In a couple of years I think we are going to see crowds of 300-400 people as is in the big BJJ events in the UK and it will become a big sport.

MMA is growing and bjj and grappling is an important element that many enjoy. Russian grappling and brazilian jiu jitsu has a great future ahead, lots of very good and talented guys now learning the martial art, sparring and I think the level is improving fast. We should see some strong results in the Europeans next year. Well, I might even go too!

So Who is The Greatest Grappler of All Time??

Hey so who is the best of all time??

GracieMag says Roger after 2003 but also Marcelo Garcia and Ronaldo Jacare up there at the top

Royler Gracie was probably the best in the 90s, Saulo Ribeiro was also a legend!

Rickson and Rolles Gracie were the best in the 80s!

Its a hard one, there are so many great guys out there, great to see you guys voting

BJJ Expensive In Russia?

Yes Guys, just another post about BJJ in Russia. This time, about prices.

Of course the BJJ as a sport is not really a commercial activity and you want the teachers to also make a living, teach privates, teach ordinary classes. Moscow is an expensive city if you want to hang out, go to nice restaurants and live nice.

Unfortunately in my view since BJJ is not yet mainstream and due to the lack of good quality and experienced teachers, the guys that do know their staff, they try to make money any way they can.

There are probably 3-4 good quality instructors in Moscow that can teach BJJ, I mean brown belt - black belt level and I think its a shame that some of them rather teach privates than give mass classes at a reasonable price.

I just think if you are paying 100 Euros per month for regular class, that should be enough. Of course if there was a gym in the city center, with good teaching, great facilties, what have you thats one thing. But when they charge you $30+ for one group class when the gym is located in the middle of nowhere, Christ, I dont care. Ridiculous. No wonder no one goes there.

The best guys out there, who want to teach and develop the sport really need to teach the masses and not just guys that can afford private lessons.

The BJJ student is the client. He has the right to choose whether to go to one school or another. If the price is high, the quality of facilities and instruction should be comparable.

Why do BJJ Schools dont post the price on the website?

Why do BJJ Teachers dont treat their students as clients and treat them in this way?

Why do BJJ Teachers feel some times that they are doing their students a favor by showing up to train them?

Why do sometimes schools feel no obligation to tell their students what is happening to the academy, why it is moving to another location and changing the schedule?

Why do they increase the price even though the quality of the service/product sometimes gets worse?

Some of the questions, I am sure many of us have others

ADCC 2011 HL Video

Great event and thanks to Budovideos for streaming live. Unfortunately I could not come to Nottingham this time, but look forward to 2013!

The guys looked great. Its a shame Roger did not participate due to other committments I guess. I would also love to see some more MMA stars compete. Would be fun to see Brock Lesnar get submitted or Fedor Emelianenko. On the internet articles keep appearing that some of them may participate but it never happens.

Roger Gracie Talks About His Return to MMA and ADCC

The greatest BJJ player ever talks about his return. Makes you understand why he is so great!

Fedor Grappling with Gegard Mousasi

Watched the video below. Not impressed with Fedor's grappling skills at all here. Just seems that he has no concept of guard at all. I just think with those grappling skills, Monson will take his back and choke him. You just cant allow a guy like Monson pass the guard.




What Fedor just doesnt seem to be able to learn is that he needs to train properly now and he just cant get away with it just on pure natural talent. He looks out of shape but also he needs to train grappling with great grapplers. Gegard Mousasi is a great fighter, but his base is striking. He needs to be winning when rolling with BJJ black belts if he wants to fight in MMA on the highest level. Just giving your back the way he does and have ZERO guard retention ability is not a good way to go.

Blue Belt

Wow, whoever got his blue belt in less than 12 months. I haven't really seen any good guys who have managed to reach a decent level in 12 months of training although it really depends on how much time you spend training.

I think 3 times a week for a year is not enough mat time though. It just takes longer to master and drill the fundamentals I think. Of course there are talented guys who have done Judo or Wrestling for years, but I think technique is very important as well.
In the end it is the instructors decision though. I have always been a fan of competitions though and if you can win there, you are on the right track.

For me it was a long road, lots of injuries and hard work, but so worth it in the end.

Fedor vs Monson Some Thoughts

Fedor vs Monson is an interesting match. Both fighters have skills that they did not manage to perfect over the years which are obvious. Fedor has the stand up to take this fight but Monson is hard to knock out and his BJJ could be dangerous for Fedor.

Nevertheless, I think Fedor should be able to resist the ground game of the Snowman. Werdum and Big Foot were much bigger and really what Fedor has shown recently is really in my mind a decline in the will to fight and also physical abilities. His speed has declined somewhat. If you saw his fights in the past, he was ferocious on the attack, with each hand landing either devastating strikes or upper body takedowns.

More recently he was basically man-handled by Bigfoot and also Brett Rogers. He used to be able to escape many of those positions just on physical ability alone. Now really he has to work for it. He gets real tired more quickly and then cant display the same level of quality of technique on the ground as some of the BJJ black belts.

This fight could go either way but this time Fedor has learnt that the ground game is dangerous for him these days. He will try to knock out Monson standing as he did with his opponents in the recent fights and then be careful on the ground. If Monson does wrestle him to the grounnd though, I do believe that his ability to control and finish fights will be the decider. Looking forward to this one! Great fight for the Moscow MMA crowds and very good for the sport in Russia which is quickly gaining popularity.

Big Grapplers After ADCC 2011

1. Rousimar Palhares - known as Toquinho is not only a quality UFC fighter but also a nasty grappler when it comes to ADCC rules events. His heel hooks are just plain scary and his aggressive grappling style is something of a warning to his opponents.

Even though he did not win anything, he sure showed he is a real grappling force today

2. Andre Galvao - he showed he is the best at the moment. No doubt his tactics are great as well.

3. Marcelo Garcia - still the best pound for pound grappler in the world, he showed after a tough 2009 ADCC that he still has what it takes to win, and win impressively.

The way he finished Vitor Estima and several other guys was just terrifyingly impressive. His technique is flawless and the x-guard/guillotine master is sure to reign supreme for probably many years to come

4. Rodolfo Viera - with Roger Gracie absent from the 2011 Mundials, Rodolfo has shown he is the new rising star in the sport. He still has a long way to adapt to grappling though, but I look forward to seeing how this guy will develop in the next few years

5. Rafael Mendes - if there is someone that consistently is better than his foes, its Rafael. He has this amazing ability to take the match to the positions where he has the edge and execute the advantage. Cobrinha is a great rival/

Pedro Duarte Nogueira Seminar

The Pedro Duarte Nogueira Seminar in Moscow is now over. The 7-day event was truly a great experience and I think the whole of Moscow's bjj community truly enjoyed the experience.

Pedro is truly a master in jiu jitsu and I loved his techniques especially in the sweeps and the omoplata moves he showed us and hope to you some of them in the sparring soon.

 Thank you to Sport Club Lion and its leaders for organizing the event.

BJJ as a Business?

Just a thought that some people wonder about. Does bjj make sense as a business? Well, I have some experience in the business world and probably an say a few words in this regard.

Firstly what one has to consider is the investment that needs to be made. If you have a shabby one room academy somewhere in the basement with no changing rooms this is one type of project, a budget/economy project that will only attract certain people, willing to pay little and get little in terms of the quality of the facilities.

Of course one might say that the only thing that really matters is the quality of the teaching. In fact, it truly believe that the quality of the teaching is just a single element that makes up the product that is being offered.

The product itself has the following attributes:

1. Teaching - very important. Sometimes the teaching is done by a poor quality instructor which reduces the value. Progression will not be possible without quality tuition. A good academy will offer private lessons.

2. Service - you must be cared for. The teacher must take care of his students, answer their questions and add elements to enhance student learning and experience. Without this, students will not want to dedicate years from their life to learn the sport.

3. Facilities - good quality facilities allowing athletes to train, work out, wash and change are vital. If you have a conditioning room, even if it is not part of the academy, that is a plus.

4. Location. This one is key. The academy must be easy to reach, whether by car, walking or underground. If no one can find it, reach it, then no one will come.

5. Brand. A great instructor, a successful team that wins in competitions, this are just some of the requisites, a good academy has it's own sports gear, patch. Many join the global BJJ teams like Alliance or Gracie Barra. It is important to be in line with the international standard and now the latest in whatever your area of expertise happens to be.

6. Events and marketing. Seminars are one way to attract students from other academies. Once they see your academy, they make a choice whether to join. Marketing activities help attract a student base. It is the job of the academy instructors and owners to then retain students.

You have to find a balance between investing too much in facilities, marketing and staff and making money. If you find the delicate balance, then you will succeed. Building a bond with the students is extremely important too. Think through the numbers your business plan. Be conservative. Don't go all out and burn out. Take careful steps, start small, find another instructor to support you and then expand when you have a good base of students.

ADCC 2011

Awesome event, certainly one of the coolest grappling events out there, really enjoyed watching it on Budovideos.com and its a real shame I couldnt make it to the event in person.

So many great fights, some performance dissapointments but also a lot of great guys displaying great skill. Its amazing to me that some guys like Xande Ribeiro that thrashed everone in 2009 now finds it more difficult. Is the level of grappling rising in the divisions? Well, Marcelo Garcia certainly showed that he is still the top dog in the middleweight divisions showing some incredible grappling prowess. I hope to see more of him.

Really a big shame Lucio Lagarto did not get further but the level of competition is extremely high.

A great thank you to Budovideos guys that have made the event available via the internet to so many jiu jitsu and grappling fans. Look forward to going to the next one in person!

UFC Lesnar vs Overeem - mega-fight for the fans

Since Fedor vs Lesnar fight never happened thanks to M1 Global and Vadim Finkelstein, I think the greatest thing that could have happened is the upcoming fight between the newly signed Alistair Overeem and Brock Lesnar, two of the biggest and exciting fighters out there at the moment.

I think so many of us would love to see this fight and I have to say, Dana White did great this time making a real great fight happen for the fans. Its just a shame Fedor did not step up and deliver the same for the fans.

These two monsters are both huge and extremely strong and it would be interesting whether Lesnar would be able to deal with Overeem's striking ability, takedown defense and athleticism.

My favourite for the fight is Overeem. He is too technical, a great grappler, very big and has a good endurance. Anything can happen in a fight like this, but I think Alistair will make a fool out of Brock Lesnar this time.

For Brock, the key is the takedown and ground and pound. The classic. Alistair has a great takedown defense so he has to make sure to conserve energy.

Rasul Mirzaev - Black Tiger - Reality

There is so much nonesense written on the internet around this incident, it made me want to add just my humble opinion regarding the situation.

The situation here in Moscow regarding many peoples from the Caucasus coming over has caused a lot of unhappiness among the general population. Many of the Dagestan and other country representatives behave extremely rudely and a bring many of their habits they were brought up with to Russia when they come to the country in order to make a living and have a new life. It is said to see so many migrants coming over and in groups terrorizing the general population.

However in this case, I can see a very simple story. Rasul Mirzaev, a very talented and successful athlete, sambo and mma fighter happened to be at the night club called Garazh last week. He happened to get into an argument with a guy that was mistreating his girlfriend.

How would you react if a guy 30cm taller than you and 100 pounds heavier along with his friends starts saying things to your girlfriend. Probably not very well. An accident happened. Rasul Mirzaev hit the guy, and he fell hitting his head against concrete. The situation happened thousands of time and Rasul was wrong to do so. He should have left, humbly like many other great fighters would have in his shoes, but he did not. He hit the guy, and he was wrong to do so. He should pay for this, I fully agree. The treatment Agafonov (the guy who got hit) received was not adequate and for some reason, not yet fully determined the guy dies. Is Mirzaev guilty for murder? Well, he is guilty in a way but did he mean to kill the guy? No, he did not. He is however responsible and should pay for assaulting.

I think there is nothing to be proud of what Rasul Mirzaev has done. An extremely good fighter, world sambo champion and undefeated MMA fighter with an unbeaten record of five straight wins. I met the guy on several occasions and he is probably one of the most talented fighters training in Russia currently.

Rasul Mirzaev is a fighter and an athlete. He had really nothing to do at a night club where drinking and drug abuse is the regular theme. He should have contained himself like the humble athletes before him.

What infuriates me however is when there is so much talk regarding MMA and martial arts. People, who know nothing about martial arts and hardly trained in any sport a day in their life say thing like "martial artists should be regulated, banned for life for misbehaviour" and that they are a danger to society in one way or another.
It is those people that hurt the sport, hurt the country. They dont know anything about MMA and give the sport a bad name because they somehow try to link it to crime by trying to associate it with rage. It is those people, who never heard about MMA, UFC or could not even say what the rules are in MMA, they talk in the news, talk to the press, and give our sport a bad name.

It is a great shame that this has to happen. Of course a fighter has to defend himself if he is threatened. Of course it is hard to control yourself when your family is being mistreated. MMA is a sport, and we all have to remember that the guys that study MMA, brazilian jiu jitsu and boxing, are some of the nicest people you will ever meet. Look at Fedor Emelianenko, Randy Couture and many others. These guys could not hurt anyone.

Yes there are exceptions. Jason Mayhem Miller was recently arrested, Rampage and others had some problems with the law, but we have to remember, movie stars have more issues with the law than MMA fighters. We would not put movie stars in cages, would we? for being dangerous? Then lets stop all the nonesense that just goes on and lets stop people who hardly know what MMA really is talking about MMA and their thoughts. If you don't like the violence in MMA, dont watch it. MMA is an adult sport that has developed over the last two decades. Many great athletes formed it and it has now all the regulation needed. Lets not make out MMA fighters as villains or criminals, its not right.

Russia is a country with many warriors, who gain medals in the olimpics, whether it is wrestling or boxing. Many of these people make mistakes just like people in other walks of life make their mistakes. Lets just be honest with ourselves and open minded with others, and lets hope the judges make the right decisions. It is a great shame Bellator lost such a fine fighter though.

Aikido and other stuff that does not work!

One remark that I wanted to make. I have to say that it hurts me to watch some people spend so much time with some martial arts that just don't work at all. One can argue whether some martial art is more effective vs another one. This is fine. Boxing is a great sport and a true martial art. You can learn judo, wrestling and you can even just go and lift weights all day and do lots of cardio fitness. All this will make you stronger and will help you fight.

There are some martial arts representatives however that should just admit, it doesn't work at all. Maybe a little, but mainly a waste of time.
If you want to do movies, do spend your time learning some of this aikido and Kung Fu shit. Just accept it, it does not work in real life. Don't get fooled when you teacher tells you that it only works when you are on the street. On the street you will fall down and end up in side mount and not one kunf Fu teacher will know what to do from there, let's be realistic.

It hurts because I also for some time believed in this stuff. I did aikido, but also bjj and judo. It just shows that using my judo and bjj skills, I am able to fight any aikido black belt. Aikido just does not work. It looks good and it's great for general coordination, but if you want to gain real striking or grappling skill, learn wrestling, boxing, judo, bjj, muay Thai. Don't let them fool you.

Karate can give you a good striking background I admit. I don't doubt these guys. Some are very tough guys.

Think about what you want. Don't get fooled. Talk to people, and understand what you want.

For self defense if you have only a couple of weeks you want to devote, take some courses in self defense but for a lifetime of learning, learn some true martial arts.

Stay away from fake martial arts!

UFC 129 GSP vs Shields, ADCC 2011

Generally an awesome show. Stayed up late to watch this one and it was definitely worth it.

Definitely expected Machida to win this one in devastating fashion and he did. Did NOT expect him to win via front kick of course but his striking is excellent and Randy Couture is known at least more recently to get knocked down I.e. By Lesnar and Nogueira.

Randy started great by you always expected there to be trouble from Machida and he was always looking for that opening.

Jose Aldo I am particularly impressed by though. This guy is really tough. There are fighters who are great but his time you see a fighter who is amazingly talented, great striking, but also can take a punch. The only thing that I did not see from Aldo is his attacking jiu jitsu. As a jiu jitsu fan myself, it was disappointing to see no real attacking jiu jitsu that is normally displayed by other jiu jitsu world champions like bj Penn, demian Maia and Ronaldo Jacare Souza, not to even mention Roger Gracie. Jose did nothing from is back especially at the end where he could have at least tried for an arm bar or triangle. If Werdum was in that position, you would see a very different scenario play out in round 5 I am sure of that.

I have to say lastly that GSP is as great as ever. I love a calculating fight and this one was definitely one like that. Jake was powerless to do anything really. His takedowns I guess could have been more desperate but when you try to wrestle a guy like GSP I think you just have to be 100 pounds heavier than him because otherwise he is not going down and if he does fall, he is jumping straight back up.

Another great show for the UFC!

By the way if you are looking forward to ADCC 2011, it looks like it is coming to Nottingham UK this September 27-28. This incredible event featuring the best grapplers all across the world will be held near Braulio Estima's academy in Birmingham. It is also possible that Brock Lesnar will participate and a match between him and Roger Gracie will be worth watching with front row seats no doubt.

GSP vs Jake Shields

I am looking forward to this fight. GSP is doing all the right things to prepare for this fight. He is getting his jiu jitsu ready and is training with Braulio Estima and Roger Gracie, two bjj superstars. Roger has recently visited my club in Moscow, true champion, I thinknhe is going to do great in MMA.


I think he is a very smart fighter and does not underestimate Jake who has a very well balanced wrestling and jiu jitsu base. If Georges can keep this fight standing, he should be able to do whatever he wants. Taking down GSP is a huge problem. What GSP needs to remember is to avoid a ground fight. If he takes down Jake, then he needs to get up.

Jake's guard is not outstanding though. He has a great top game but I dont think that Jake will be able to submit GSP from the bottom. This is going to be a cool fight just to see who will be able to control the fight. Jake managed to control the much bigger Dan Henderson so it will be interesting to see what his game plan will be for this fight.

If GSP does get beyond Jake Shields, things are going to get interesting. There is really only Nick Diaz that will potentially be an interesting matchup for GSP. The other will be for sure a fantastic matchup against the much bigger Anderson Silva.

Even though Anderson Silva is such an outstanding fighter, I would just love to see how this fight will turn out. If GSP manages to avoid the dangerous striking of Silva, I still believe GSP could take down the middleweight champion and control the fight on the ground. GSP is extremely athletic and it would be interesting to see how he would try to deal with a much bigger and extremely skilled oponent.

Strikeforce purchased by UFC

Strikeforce has been bought by the UFC already months ago but still we have not really seen how this acquisition is going tom play out for the fighters. I have been surprised to learn about Fedor still fighting for them after two losses on his record and being out of the Grand Prix.

Fedor vs Henderson I think will be an interesting match up as both have a potential to win this fight in my opinion. Henderson looked real good against the very dangerous Feijao and Fedor has all the skills he needs to take this fight since Henderson has really the same weakness which is the ground game. I don't think Fedor will submit Hendo and this fight will mostly be decided on the feet. It will be interesting whether Fedor will come in better shape and better prepared this time because his lack of technique in bjj which was compensated by outstanding natural ability has now been exposed.

The main Strikeforce events to now look out for though is the Grand Prix and the fights at light heavyweight. Solid fights like Werdum vs Overeem are going to happen and we all hope soon. I want also to see Mousasi fight again soon against Feijao or one of the top guys. The problem for him is that he has been fighting some weak competition or overrated competition and now he needs to take his career on to a new level if he wants to meet guys like Shogun and Jones in the ring. He also needs to get better at dealing with wrestlers. He is still getting taken down which he needs to avoid if he wants to meet guys like Jones and Evans and stand a decent chance. I think he has the potential but needs to be more aggressive and close the holes in his game.

Scott Coker needs to leverage the new marketing resource that the UFC has and also needs to make the fights happen. Too many delays and match making problems are just hurting the brand really.

Roger Gracie in Moscow 23-24 April 2011

Dear All, on the 23-24 april 2011 Lion Sports Club, top BJJ academy in Russia ( Gracie Barra) will hold a seminar by Roger Gracie, one of the most accomplished BJJ players and grapplers in the world today. This is going to be an enormous event!

The cost is 3000 RUR for two days. 15:00 start.

I think there are going to be at least a hundred people at least at this event. BJJ is growing fast in Russia and it is a great privilege to see such an accomplished practitioner, a legend at the club.

I think there maybe some grading as well and I will be sure to make some great photos.

Fedor Emelianenko - Advertising Guy For BJJ in Russia

Fedor's last fight yet again highlighted the champion's weaknesses on the ground. While many have claimed Fedor has outstanding ground game, it is clear that his skills to reach certain positions and defend against guard passers is weak.

I have first noticed this when I saw Ricardo Arona fight him. He was always great inside the guard, punching his way and through any opponent, but on his back, his only weapon's clearly were submissions rather than positional play. Yes he can through amazing armbars from his back, but when you are up against a high level bjj black belt, this just doesn't work. Fedor's guard got passed and then he got mounted by Silva, something Nogueira struggled to do but Arona showed early own.

Now every Russian is looking at Brazilian Jiu Jitsu differently. They see that you really need a complete ground game something that Judo and Sambo don't offer even on the highest level.

Diaz vs Cyborg

Strikeforce puts on a great show quite often but this time I really enjoyed the fights. The BJJ level of the combatants and the Diaz vs Cyborg show was simply exceptional. Roger Gracie in particular was perfect in what he did this weekend. He took Trevor Prangley down, mounted him while preventing him to try to climb the cage to standing and then submitted him with a rear naked choke. One takedown, one submission attempt to seal the win in the first round. It was all jiu jitsu, the Gracie style.

The other fights were also nice. Jacare did well against a dangerous Lawler but you could see that on the ground Ronaldo could do anything he wanted. Takedowns were good as well.

Diaz I thought fought a smart fight but really I agree with the fans that he does need to fight some tougher opponents. There are plenty to choose from in fact in several nearby weight divisions if not his own. Dream has some good guys too.

Looking forward to Fedor vs Bigfoot Silva now. This is going to be for sure anthers solid event, plenty of other fights would love to see in action too including Mayhem who I think would have been a much more interesting fight for Jacare. King Mo and Gegard Mousasi need to return to the cage. Not sure who they would fight, but there are some choices.

Been rewatching Pride tapes, miss Ricardo Arona, he was real good!

Strikeforce World Heavyweight Grand Prix

The new Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix that is about to begin on February 12 2011 with the Fedor vs Antonio Big Foot Silva event is one of the most exciting MMA events that is to take place this year. I think all of the fans are looking forward to this one.

Apart from perhaps Cain Velasquez vs Junior Dos Santos, for me the most exciting fights would be Fedor vs Overeem or anyone in the Grand Prix for that matter. Overeem is also a very exciting fighter and is going to attract a lot of attention going in to this fight with his exciting fighting style and dominant striking ability.

Well Done Scott Coker!

Vote BJJ Fighter of the Year 2010!

The guys on the right hand side of this blog have accomplished a tremendous deal last year as we all know. Please vote who you think was the fighter of the year last year, another great year for brazilian jiu jitsu.

Fedor vs Silva

Fedor Emelianenko is certainly an intriguing fighter to follow. Once
considered the greatest pound for pound fighter in the world,
following to the shocking loss to Fabricio Werdum, he is now looking
to return to the octagon and fight some of the best fighters out hhere
at heavyweight.

Antonio Silva in my opinion presents an interesting challenge for
Fedor. On the one hand Fedor has the chance to prove the world that he
still has what it takes to compete with the new generation of
fighters. On the other hand this fight is important for Fedor as a
second loss would really put him off his career track and out of the
Grand Prix.

Fedor in my opinion has all the skill necessary to win this fight. He
is just far more talented than Antonio Silva but technically on the
ground I still think Silva is technically more proficient. It would be
interesting to see Fedor on his back in this fight.

It looks to me that Fedor has learnt almost nothing if anything from
the loss to Werdum. While I see Anderson Silva training with Ronaldo
Jacare and GSP learning from Roger Gracie and Braulio Estima, Mr.
Emelianenko and his coaches clearly think they know it all when it
comes to he ground game. We shall have to see.

I saw a video of Barnett kind of defending Fedor a little, but really
what I think is that I have never seen Sambo fighters pass the guard
well for years. While he can punch from the guard for sure, passing is
clearly not his strongest area, and while he did escape all of those
submission attempts of Nogueira, Rodrigo was never at the level of say
Werdum or Arona on the ground. Arona by the way also had Fedor in some
serious trouble. Had Arona been allowed to punch Fedor from the mount,
I am not certain Fedor would have been able to win there.

This is going to be an exciting fight. I would love to see Fedor in
the second round of course, so let's hope he can indeed get passed
Silva. His conditioning needs to improve, he needs to find sparring
partners, and a new manager if you ask me. Good luck to him.

Guard players - a style that really stands out

Guard players are one of the most dangerous jiu jitsu fighters and grapplers out there. You carry out a takedown but get caught in the guard of these people and once they lock that guard in it can be really tough. Even if you do get a chance to break the closed guard it can be extremely difficult to do anything from there before they recover the closed guard.

Some of the guard players can be boring of course. If a guard player does not have an aggressive guard, he may just wait and wait and wait for a mistake and so it sometimes can get boring. It's great to develop the passing though. If you can pass the guard of a great guard player, then your game is dally on the top level. Passing is an important element and being able to defend against a very tight guard player is vital.

I think what many guard players fail to do though is they focus too much on this one element at the expense of other parts of the game.
All they seem to do is to try to get to closed guard and then look for sweeps and submissions. Guard players can be really conservative or risk averse, so instead of taking a chance they rather not do anything and this can make some boring matches. I love to see an aggressive player not only able to play just classic guard but when I see a very effective butterfly guard, I am very pleased to see some awesome well rounded technique.

Draculino BJJ Training for iPad:2/5 for Drac iPad App!

Got the iPad recently, great product well done Steve Jobs, but in terms of content for brazilian jiu jitsu and mixed martial arts, the UFC (they don't offer anything!!) and Apple should have done a lot more.

Basically there really is little content to actually choose from in my opinion. I downloaded the Draculino BJJ Training application with the video library for the blue belt that includes over 50 techniques to watch, but to be honest for the 23 pound sterling they charge, its not really worth it I think. If they want people to pay this much money for an app, not only does Draculino's teaching that has to be top notch (which it is) but the app itself must be awesome as a product.

There is basically only one feature which is the video library and the video quality and size was small and it seems like a product done in a rush that could have been done much better.

I did not see neither the technique search bar, nor the 3-angle video where you can see the technique demonstration and choose the angle. A lot to improve here. Training is fun, but if you pay money for a product, it should be high quality.

2/5 for Drac iPad app!

Ideal Academy for BJJ

What would a perfect academy be if you could choose all the best traits and take away the problems? What do Academy owners do and what are they not doing and should? here is just a few things that I think that should be up there on the list:

1. Good instructors - this has got to be at the top of every list. A good teacher is really a big thing and actually it's hard to find a great teacher that can take you the whole way from white belt to world champion

2. Facilities - some may say that it doesn't matter where you train, but if your gym is not clean, the toilets are dirty, it's just not a place where people want to stay for very long. The academy is a second home and so it should be a good home for an athlete

3. Good environment. A great team, good sparring partners will take you the other half of the way to being a top class bjj player.

4. Location. Your club cannot be more than 2 hours away. You just can't travel there enough and stay for long enough unless this is your full time occupation.

5. Development - progress is important. If you don't make progress, you are wasting your time. The academy you train at should give you every opportunity to train with different people, learn from elite fighters in seminars, compete and much more.

6. Cross training can be very helpful whether you want to practice submission grappling or wrestling. The opportunities should be there to take you bjj to the place where you want it to be.

7. Conditioning. Many clubs believe that it is the responsibility of the bjj fighter to do the conditioning on his own time. I don't believe this is the right approach, it is the instructor that should be there to provide a programme for card and strength training needed.

What other things should be on the list? Something to think about.

Train As You Can For As Long As You Can

Training I feel is the only way to become a great BJJ player. Romullo Barral is famous for training an enormous amount and is truly one of the most incredible BJJ players out there.

You have to put the mat hours no matter how productive your sessions may be. It was often that I said to myself that by studying 2-3 times per week in private sessions that it was thesame as 20 ordinary classes. While this may sometimes be true, you have to really do both I feel to improve.

Train with fighters that are better then you technically and weaker and practice different things. Practice what you are bad at. Over and over I practice now a few things that I am not good at. Butterfly guard, spider guard, open guard with one foot in. You basically have to practice the positions you are bad at.

Competing really helps though. By competing you really test yourself and at the same time learn from your mistakes. I went to a competition last weekend and have learnt a lot since then by going through my mistakes in a private class thereafter.

You benefit a lot from your losses and I think while you practice new moves on beginners, you definitely should train as much as you can with fighters that are better then you. You pick up new things and it gets your head working on how you should improve even though your ego may suffer.

Of course from time to time you do go and train with someone weaker and you feel good, but it is better to improve then just stall your progress.

Practice your techniques, don't just sparr. Share with you partners the techniques that you have learnt and they will share their moves that work for them. This exchange I think is very useful and you develop. Not always do you have a teacher at your side and everyone has a different game. There is a lot to learn in jiu jitsu, and the sky is the limit!

BJJ Rules

There are many resources and blogs that talk about brazilian jiu jitsu on the internet. Thousands and thousands of articles have been well written on the subject. What surprises me however how little discussion there is about the BJJ Rules.

BJJ rules is an important subject for anyone looking to compete. In my school for example we focus a lot on leg locks which is not normally part of the ordinary syllabus for brazilian jiu jitsu white belts.

I think it would be excellent if there was someone that could run through the rules and especially I think the illegal moves for each belt category because sometimes it is not entirely clear.

There is a move that I am practicing right now which is sort of a triangle body lock from the back which allows me to get the submission by crushing the stomach of my opponent. I can't quite understand whether this is a legal or illegal move under BJJ rules.

I think in competition the rules are not explained all that well and we would all benefit from a good quality explanation of this on the internet by an authoratitive figure.

Strikeforce Heavy Weight Division - That Good?

Everyone keeps saying that the Strikeforce HW division is becoming a real powerhouse and is the best in the world and specificly better then the UFC but is this really true?

Well, lets start with Fedor. Fedor, Fedor and Fedor has not fought much since he got triangle choked out in 69 seconds to Fabricio Werdum, a guy that went 2-2 in UFC and got fired. Well, it looks like he won't be fighting any time soon and certainly not before Q1 2011 when the negotiations are going to begin between Strikeforce and the weird guys from M1.

Next up is Barnett. He has talked and talked about how he could beat anyone at the UFC and now has signed with Strikeforce. The truth is and I agree with Dana White on this is that Josh does not really care about anyone but himself and the money. He will walk away from Strikeforce or the UFC if it suits him. The guy just doesn't care about anybody or anything and he feels absolutely no guilt about Affliction MMA going down in flames. Why would someone want to trust him it is unclear, a guy with a bunch of failed performance enhancing drug scandals.

After that you've got Werdum who I actually respect and Antonio Silva who has a real future in MMA as well. Both guys are great in my opinion but just won't make it to the big UFC stage because they don't speak english. Well, they've already fought but these guys are real, they will fight anyone any time.

Overeem or OBEREEM, the champion, the vicious striker with a guillotine choke that has sent even Vitor Belfot tapping out in Pride is the real deal. I'm really impressed with him and I think he will soon be moving over to the UFC once he accomplishes his dream in becoming the K1 champion this year. Dana White will sign this guy and I think Overeem will agree when he finds out that Fedor is too scared to fight him and Werdum is probably the last bout he will have left at Strikeforce.

Well, thats it guys. Lets not mention Kharitonov and Aleks Emelianenko. Both of these guys are really out of shape and should not be fighting in their condition. I hope they do join some good MMA team soon though.

Fedor fighting?

I love the way Fedor and his management behave. First they react by wanting a rematch straight away. Then they realize that Werdum is not fighting and they challenge Overeem who they did not want to fight before and since Overeem is now busy (and they knew this and that is why they challenged him) they don't want to fight until next year.

Shit! what happended to fighting Antonio Silva, Josh Barnett or even Kharitonov?! Well, all of them are still strong opponents for Fedor and losing to one of these guys would send Fedor out of the top-10 rankings all together.

So what does M1 together with Fedor decide instead? Ah!! lets not fight until Q2 2011 and meanwhile just negotiate endlessly with Strikeforce. Now Scott Coker says to us (the fans) that Fedor is too busy to fight this year and that his schedule is full..... I'm luck WHAT!!!???? He is not fighting anybody, what is he doing? Last year he fought once, the year before he fought basically once since Arlovski was like in January.

I think basically the guy should either retire or fight. I think he still loves to shine like this unbeatable champion where as really his is a judo/sambo fighter with good but not elite ground game and heavy hands who is not in shape to fight anymore at the top level. The guy just needs to face it. Either you train properly with good sparring partners (take Roger Gracie and learn the triangle armbar setup) and compete 2-3 times per year as a real champion or you retire.

Fedor is an amazing fighter but this whole idea that he is still the greatest and that Sambo is the best is crazy. There are monsters out there like Brock Lesnar, like JDS, like Overeem and Werdum. These guys are at the very top now and for Fedor to go and say that Lesnar vs Carwin was a fight between two second-rate fighters is just stupid. Lesnar or Carwin have huge weapons against Fedor. If he thinks he can easily beat them, he just need to step up because talk is cheap and those guys are real dangerous, no one can deny that. Join UFC or Strikeforce. Right now Fedor belongs to neither. He works with M1.

Triangle-pass-counter sweep

Attacking with the triangle is dangerous I find as it can often allow the guy on top to pass your guard. There are two ways of getting round this. One is just to put the knee inside and attempt to recover guard. This is not always easy to do of course but has worked for me in the past. Of course you are back to square one. It seems there is an alternative but not sure how easy this move is to carry it out. Will definitely have to practice this one next week. Check it out in the video below:

This counter just seems like a better way to go as you can essentially sweep your opponent and get a dominant position off of his attack. This is great!

Roger Gracie Sweep from Half Guard

I first noticed this move that Roger does from half guard on the bottom watching him fight in the Worlds and then later on Youtube. I can see that against Marcelo Garcia and later against Bruno Bastos he used this exact sweep with great success. I guess it is just a matter of practice and perfecting your sweeps in the half guard. Having a couple of half guard sweeps that you know really well I think can mean the difference between winning and losing and what makes this sweep so good is that you don't recover guard like some of the other techniques you may have in the arsenal with this sweep but basically get side control on top which is a great place to be considering your opponent was about to pass your guard.


Very nice Oli. Thank you very much for the video!

UFC 119 - Review

Awesome card. Excellent fighters.

Evan Dunham vs Sean Sherk = amazing fight!! Not sure about the decision but well done to both guys. Sean Sherk certainly has a great submission defense but Evan Dunham is a dangerous guy.

The Dolloway win was pretty cool I have to mention. Marcelo Garcia style guillotine choke looked outstanding. Clearly he is a promising fighter for the UFC.

Now Nogueira vs Ryan Bader upset me a bit. Nogueira technically I think won that fight. He landed more strikes and he was much more technical. I think he lost on only takedowns but many of them pretty much apart from the first one were not damaging in any way so I think the decision should have gone to Little Nog. Jon Jones would be an interesting matchup for Bader though. Would love to see this fight next.

The main event had Frank Mir scoring a KO with a knee to the head of Mirko. Mirko I think should give up on fighting now. There is nothing he has to offer any more. The fight looked like a sparring session really and although the win was decisive and Mirko still has a huge fan base I don't really see why he should continue with his career. He just doesn't seem to have the tools no more to compete at the highest level against guys like Frank Mir. He fought a smart fight but where he should be dominating is on the feet and it seems he does not have to offer the striking that he once devastated opponents with.

BJJ Grading and more news at Lion Sports Club

Last month, the club held the first ever grading of BJJ practitioners in Russia by a Russian instructor. Leonid Gatovskiy (Gracie Barra Brown Belt) has for the first time awarded blue belts to four very dedicated students that were not able to go to Poland for the summer BJJ camp held there where the team was graded. A big congratulations to all the guys.

On more news from the club, the schedule has been changed to include many more additional classes in brazilian jiu jitsu as well as for the first time including separate classes for students who wish to practice grappling. For sure this will attract many more students to the club and I think it is only a matter of time before the club sets up an affiliate elsewhere in Moscow.

The club will also likely be holding a seminar later this year most likely with the possible visit of Draculino but this has not been confirmed yet. Vinicius Magalhães is one of the biggest names in BJJ and is a true legend of the sport. This will be a great honour for him to come to Russia to the only Gracie Barra school there so far.

Competition wise it will be exciting to see more competitions from the club to give the students a chance to test their skills in both gi and no-gi competitions against some of the best bjj, sambo, judo and submission grappling clubs in the country and from abroad. Hope to see this soon as well.

Jiu Jitsu - Don't Stop Training If You Can

The one thing you need to do to get better I think is to be unstoppable and I don't mean unstoppable on the mats, no. You need to be unstoppable in you jiu jitsu attendance.

Jiu Jitsu is not about who is faster, stronger or any of that. It is really about how regularly you train, how attentive you are in class and how dedicated your our to your progress. Training is the only thing you need to do and in order to progress you just need to do the hours.

There is always something that is going to bother you whether it is your knee, shoulder, neck or something else. You just need to continue training and improving and one day you will get a little better.

I think of it in terms of 100 hours actually. Every one hundred hours you get a little better. You should of course try to take something away every class but every one hundred hours you should really see a little improvement, like a technique that you did not use much now becomes more usable or effective or you learn some new transition which you know like to incorporate in your game.

The first 100 hours you will see a lot of improvement and while the next 100 the improvement is not as dramatic, it is still there. You get tigher and crisper in certain positions and you learn new techniques. The other guys you are training with are also getting better and so it is difficult to see progress sometimes but it is there. Often you won't even know what level you are until you try to sparr with someone like a fresh blue belt only to find out that you as a white have the skill level to match him.

Explore the world of jiu jitsu and just try to make as much as you can out of every lesson. Try visiting a different academy for perspective, when you go on vacation take a private lesson and you just might begin to see things differently and this is the key to improvement.

The Feared Triangle Choke

It seems the triangle choke will forever go down as one of the most lethal moves in MMA. A move that caught the great Fedor Emelianenko thanks to the crafty skills of the ADCC champion Fabricio Werdum.

It is the same move that saved Anderson Silva from losing his title in UFC 117 allowing him to come back from behind when defeat was only minutes away.

Lastly, you had to love the skill and precision with which Ryan Couture (son of Randy Couture) applied the move at Strikeforce Challengers on August 13. It was precise. He moved his hips, controlled the leg and applied the deadly hold by forcing the head down to tighten it further.

The triangle has proven to be a deadly move, almost impossible to escape once locked in, it is worth perfecting.

New Shoulder Injury

Two weeks ago was training some BJJ moves. Sweeps from standing omoplata and knee bar from standing omoplata. Short training session actually, about an hour long due to severe weather conditions, namely smoke, over here in Moscow.

Came back after training with pain in my right shoulder which I had surgery on the year before. Hasn't recovered since. Still experiencing mild pain and really I've done almost everything I can. Giving the shoulder a lot of rest but for the moment very little progress.

Going to London this weekend and planning to see this doctor: http://www.londonorthopaedic.com/who-we-are/brian-cohen who will hopefully will be able to help me.

Just hope no surgery is required for this. I've only just a few months ago have got back in to training and now this. Extremely disappointing for me as I was planning to compete in the Grab and Pull tournament in Brighton this weekend as well.

Cuts in Judo

On Tuesday this week, was training drop seonage and managed to get a cut right above my eyebrow. Quite deep cut actually, lots of blood everywhere. Don't even know how I managed to do it, but I collided with the head of my partner. I don't think this is a common thing to happen in Judo!

So anyway, got five stitches, now can't wash the wound for a few days. Not good, gonna miss training until mid next week I think. A real shame but if you don't get stitches for such a wound, I understand it does not heal well but with stitches it heals quickly. Never heard of anyone having such an injury in judo or bjj.

BJJ Person Profile

- He does not care if he wins or loses, the only thing he does care is how he performs and absorbs technique

- He goes to training because he needs it, he wants to do it, he loves it, its automatic - he does not think about going to training, just does it

- He likes the community of the BJJ academy and his instructor inspires him to improve

- He spends all his free time or a lot of it thinking about BJJ, watching videos and other materials on the subject. Admiring BJJ heroes seems like an endless pursuit.

- He would love to compete in BJJ and test himself

- He never stops thinking about the next thing he wants to do in jiu jitsu

- Nothing can stop him from doing what he loves to do and nothing can upset him more than a serious injury

Flavio Canto

-----A Brazilian Judoka with a good ground game, Flavio Canto tends to say he doesn’t differentiate between judo and Jiu-Jitsu in training. “They’re two sports with different rules,” he says. But they should be trained together as a whole, so the athlete will become well-rounded with finishes and takedowns. ---- GracieMag

A great judoka with a solid ground game is a dangerous gi player and I am a great fan of guys like Flavio Canto that are well rounded. Jiu jitsu and judo are so connected, that you in the end cannot fully master one without the other.

Check out the video below:








Flavio Canto wikipedia profile here

The Holy Trinity

"The Holy Trinity" - the three greatest BJJ fighters of the decade - Roger Gracie, Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza and Marcelo Garcia. So outstanding are these guys that they are literally untouchable and head and shoulders above the rest. All three also have very different styles of jiu jitsu.

Roger Gracie is probably the greatest technician and fundamentals master, perhaps the best ever jiu jitsu fighter in the Gi but also an outstanding no-gi jiu jitsu practitioner. Roger has not been submitted for more than 10 years now.

Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza - an incredibly gifted athlete and a very well-rounded fighter, possessing not only amazing dynamic jiu jitsu but also high quality judo and no-gi takedowns. A true star destined for MMA success.

Marcelo Garcia - considered by some the greatest pound for pound no-gi submission specialist with three ADCC titles behind his belt and more to come.

Watch this video about Ronaldo Jacare's visit to the Beverly Hills academy I really enjoyed.

BJJ Game

Brazilian jiu jitsu is my passion. I think what makes BJJ so great however is the rule set, the submission rather then position focus.

Having said that, I think one thing that many BJJ fighters ignore is the takedowns that Judo and Wrestling give. The takedowns give your game an edge but also teach you how to improve you game and the transitions. This is why Ronaldo Jacare Souza is such an amazing success.

Jacare is not only an amazingly talented jiu jitsu fighter, he is also incredibly well rounded as a martial artist. He comes from a Judo background but also has great wrestling takedowns and now with his striking reaching a new level, he is going to topple anyone on the middleweight Strikeforce arena.

It is therefore a shame for me to see that so few clubs even in the US where BJJ is so much more developed are offering wrestling or judo. I imagine it is tricky to find instructors that can teach both martial arts but you also have to remember that the greatest artists around are very technical in their Judo and many possess great wrestling.

My dream academy would certainly offer all three of these martial arts. All three fit naturally together and should be nurtured from day one. More time needs to be dedicated to master them, but then thats life.

Romulo Barral HL

There is one guy that just seems to be getting better and better and that is Romullo Barral. His guard is simply outstanding with literally everyone apart from Roger having trouble dealing with it.

With the gi, Romullo I think is in the top-5 players in the world right now, pound for pound. His spider guard is incredible and his ability to pull a triangle on anyone just takes your breath away.

The thing is, I've seen Romullo close up in ADCC 2009 and he looks so much smaller then the guys he competes with. Xande Ribeiro looks huge by comparison and way more powerful and yet somehow Romullo manages to overcome these guys, even guys in the ultra heavyweight division when he competes. Amazing.