Feb21

BJJ: The Secret Strength Coach? : Mark II

by Evan E. on February 21st, 2012 at 4:41 pm
Posted In: Brand new to BJJ?

I recently wrote an anecdotal experience that I had while re-visiting the weights for a lift after almost a year of focusing on BJJ instead of lifting weights.

A few disclaimers:

*Individual Results May Vary*

*I have never had a strength coach or proper weight training instruction.  What information I have learned has been through reading editorials in muscle magazines and watching 80′s training montages in rapid succession.

*I am not a competetive weight-lifter.  I am not a body-builder.  I started weight-lifting as a stress reliever and because I wanted to be stronger.  Also, because being called Mr.Fats only works when you are a jazz musician.

*I do not have a spotter.  In general, I lift what I can while still being safe enough to avoid dying in some horriffic weight-lifting accident. (See Darwin Awards)

*I do not have a degree in physical fitness or science.  Or any degree at all.  Except half an art degree.  Yes, I know I’m disappointed in myself too.

When I started lifting weights, I could not do 20 pushups in one sitting.  I was very lazy.  When I found weight lifting, it was because of the ABS Diet, which essentially told me that if I wanted to get healthy I needed to lift weights.  The way I understood it, muscle burned more calories over time than without.  I started lifting very slowly and very lightly.   I tried varied routines and in a self trained enviroment, I lost around 100lbs.  Yes, I was a super fat guy.  I’m still a large guy, but BJJ has helped scuplt my frame considerably.  I’m happy with the way I look for the first time in my life.  I want to keep working on it, because I one day I want to look like Conan (The Destroyer, not the talk show host).  I recently weighed in around 270lbs at 6’4″.  When I tell folks I weigh that much, they do not believe it. 

One year 2 months ago, I used to lift the following:

Bench Press (flat): Rep x 10-12 135lbs 4 sets.  1 Rep Max 225lbs

Leg Press (seated machine): Rep x 10-12 270lbs 3 sets

Squat (guided): Rep x 10 200lbs 3 sets

Lat Pull Down (Machine): Rep x 12 110lbs 3 sets

Leg Curl: Rep x 10 70lbs 3 sets

Bicep Curl one arm (standing): Rep x 12 30lbs  4 sets

Hammer Curl one arm (standing): Rep x 12 30lbs 4 sets

Tricep Extension one arm (standing over head): Rep x 12 25lbs 4 sets

Seated Row: Rep x 12 120lbs 3 sets

Calf Raises (Standing): Rep x 10 60lbs 3 sets

 

The day before I wrote the aformentioned article, I lifted:

Bench Press (flat): Rep x 12 185lbs x 4 sets.  1 Rep Max x 305lbs.

Leg Press (seated): Rep x 12 400lbs x 4 sets

Squat (guided): Did not do during work out.  I didn’t feel like waiting for someone to finish up.  I hate asking to work in.

Lat Pull Down (Machine): Rep x 14 220lbs x 4 sets

Leg Curl: Rep x 12 120lbs x 3 sets

Bicep Curl one arm (standing): Rep x 12 45lbs x 4 sets

Hammer Curl one arm standing (standing): Rep x 12 45lbs x 4 sets

Tricep Extension (standing over head): Rep x 10 35lbs x 4 sets

Seated Row: Rep x 12 200lbs x 3 sets

Calf Raises (Standing): Rep x 12 130lbs x 4 sets

The most significant (re: shocking to me) changes were in my legs and chest.  In no way am I suggesting that BJJ completely replaces strength training for powerlifters/body builders/The Hulk (Incredible, not Hogan).  I am saying that I have seen gains which, in my opinion, came from 3.5 days a week of jujitsu rolling craziness.  I also wanted to make an observation that while I had stopped lifting in lieu of BJJ, I had still seen gains, some significant, some not in relation to my individual experience and therefore BJJ was, indeed, a secret strength coach for me.

  Most of the guys and gals I train with at Revolution BJJ are strong for their respective size.  Some of them lift weights, some do not but they are all strong for their size.  I am not mistaking strength for technique here, either.  While they are technically very proficient, they are also strong. 

 

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Feb17

10 Things You Don’t Want To Hear Your Training Partner Say:

by Evan E. on February 17th, 2012 at 11:32 am
Posted In: Brand new to BJJ?

Training in Martial Arts brings all kinds of personalities into the gym.  Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is no exception.  When pairing up with a partner for drilling or rolling, you will likely have conversations.  The majority of the time, you will hear normal discussions of training, lives and experiences.

Occasionally, though, you will hear things you wish you hadn’t heard.

10.  “I’ve been training UFC..”

As televised fighting becomes more and more main stream, more people are finding Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.  Some of them are only stopping by your BJJ class to sharpen up their backyard UFC training skills.   These are often people who value spazzy super fast movements, flailing flopping attacks, and complaining whenever a technical ground match starts to develop in a MMA event.

9. “You wash your gi after EVERY class?!?!”

Yes, and from the smell of you, sir or madam, you do not.   Nothing gives me the heebie jeebies like hearing that a gi has not been washed after training.  Yes, I said heebie jeebies, that’s how real things just got.  Do you have any idea what’s crawling in that unwashed gi?  This literally make me shudder.

8. “You smell really nice.”

There is never a time when it is appropriate for one training partner to tell another training partner he or she smells really nice.  Especially not in a creepy hushed whisper.

7. “No leg locks, ok?”

I don’t get why some folks think it’s ok to say this.  I tell you what, I won’t do leglocks, if you won’t do any guard passes.  If you are excluding an entire branch of submissions, what’s next?  Forcing your partner to work off his or her back?

6. “Can you work off your back only?”

Oh wait.  Yeah, this happens too.  I’m a big guy, I’m over 6’4″ and I definitely out weigh you.  Sure, I’ll ONLY work off my back.  That’s totally cool.  No, you know I understand I’m a big guy and it’s not fair for me to use my top game…ever.  Sheesh.  You know the real kicker here?  The few females I train with have never ever said this to me.

5. “Wow, you’re really strong! How much do you weigh?”

This is one of the most deflating things to hear your training partner say. Especially, after really working for a technical submission that you just so happen to be working on religiously over the last month.  When you are of the larger size, you expect to hear this.  When it gets funny is when I hear people say it to instructors or upper belts..who are usually 100lbs+ lighter than myself.

4. “Watch out for my Knee/Shoulder/Ankle/Knee.  It’s injured.”

This one is tricky because yes, if you have a tender joint or slight injury, you definitely should tell your training partner.  This is to avoid them cranking a submission on it.  However, if you are so injured that the affected area needs to be avoided altogether, you’re better off just skipping the rolls.

3. “Let’s roll light” *Proceeds to go balls to the wall intense.

There is nothing wrong with asking your training partner to go light.  Listen though, if you say that and immediately switch on the Hulk power level jiu-jitsu, you have failed on levels I can’t even describe.  If you say “let’s go light”, then roll light and easy, ok?

2.  “Does this look like MRSA/Ringworm to you?”

I.am.not.a.doctor.

You.do.not.belong.on.the.mats.

Carry.yourself.to.a.physician.immediately.

Do.not.come.back.without.a.doctor’s.note.

Seriously.

1. “I’ve got this rash that just won’t stop itching.”

See above.  The only rashes I want to talk about are fancy new rash guards.  If you have a rash, I don’t want to know how you got it, where it is on your body, or that you have a slightly cheese smelling discharge.  Please, do us both a favor go see a doctor.  Now.  And do every training partner everywhere a favor by staying off the mats until you have the ok from your doctor.

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Feb14

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: The Secret Strength Coach?

by Evan E. on February 14th, 2012 at 10:49 am
Posted In: Brand new to BJJ?

Before I started BJJ, I used to lift weights 5 days a week.  I really enjoy lifting weights.  It’s challenging and a great stress reliever.

When I got serious about BJJ (especially over the past year) I began trading weight lifting sessions for BJJ training sessions.  As a working family man, I have to balance my time away from home as best I can.  Truthfully, it was a tough decision.  I didn’t want to lose my strength gains and hobby I had invested so much time in, and yet the workout I got during BJJ training was kicking my teeth in.  I wanted to eat my cake and have it too.

I should explain, at Revolution BJJ, we roll a lot.  I remember when I was first shopping for a new school I spoke with Andrew Smith about Revolution BJJ and he said literally: “We roll A LOT at my gym.  A LOT.”

See?
We roll A LOT. A LOT

I thought he was joking around.  He was serious.  In the last 13-14 months I have had at least 234 rolls with my Black Belt Instructor.  That isn’t including all of my other training partners and frankly, I’m low-balling that number. (3 classes a week, 13 months, 1.5 rolls per class).

Now, I knew rolling at this pace was a great workout, and my conditioning has gotten great because of it.  Secretly, though I’ve been missing lifting weights.  I had a day scheduled off from work and I determined myself to going to the gym to find out how much strength I had lost.  I prepared myself for the worst lifting session in my personal history and began my workout.
I proceeded to lift more weight and do more reps that I ever have before.  I had increased in every part of my old routine.  In some cases, I doubled my strength from 1 year ago.
On my drive home from the gym, I thought about what this meant.  I was in disbelief.  Jiu-Jitsu had secretly been making me stronger and I hadn’t noticed.  My mind was swimming with this new information.  Rolling requires and exhausts your core muscle group.  It does so in dynamic and fluid ways.  And core strength augments all other strength related endeavors.
While I enjoy lifting and will still do it maybe twice a week, I’m definitely going to center it around core workouts to augment my BJJ, which will continue to augment my strength and weight lifting.  I’m finally in a positive cycle of improvement.
Jiu-jitsu continues to astound me in its applications and benefits.

 

 

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Feb10

5 Things You Can Do to Improve Your Jiu Jitsu Off the Mats

by goatfury on February 10th, 2012 at 4:24 pm
Posted In: How can I be more prepared to start training BJJ?

If you can’t make it in to train more than once or twice a week, but still want to improve, there is hope for you.  If you live a long way away from a qualified brown or black belt and can only train with high level instruction every so often, you can still make progress.  You have to put in the hours, though, and you have to be willing to make sacrifices.  Here are five ways you can sharpen your Brazilian Jiu Jitsu or grappling game during the time you can’t make it to the gym.

1.  Solo Drills
You need a partner to do jiu jitsu!  Or do you?  Well, there are plenty of basic movements you can work on (and some not so basic) by yourself, provided you have a little space to do the drills.  Easy examples of functional BJJ drills you probably already do at the gym include standing up in base, shrimping, “boot scooting”, penetration/drop step, coming forward to sit up, and even light breakfalls.  Don’t limit yourself to these common drills, though- you can do dozens of other movements that you use in various techniques by simply breaking the technique down into its movements.  The possibilities are endless!  Andre Galvao has an excellent book that is sure to give you lots of ideas.  The book is appropriately titled “Drill to Win.”

2.  Reading
Speaking of books,  there are hundreds of good resources out there for jiu jitsu students of all levels, from white to black belt.  Pick something that focuses on the fundamentals of BJJ (don’t be tempted to learn overly advanced stuff right now just because it looks cool), but don’t be afraid to take a look at where your grappling journey can take you.

3.  Watch video
This one can be a little tricky.  There’s a lot of good video out there, but there are also a lot of things that you can watch and then try at the gym without really getting the main concept behind the techniques.  Even more so than with reading, be sure to focus on more fundamental stuff with video.  Roy Dean has some good fundamental instructional stuff, but don’t forget to watch highlight videos, like this one:

4.  Start a training journal
One of our coaches, Russ Helm,  recently wrote a great article about taking notes.  This is something that you can easily do when you’re done training, whether at the gym before you leave (while your memory is fresh), or once you get home, when you have a comfortable environment to look back on your day’s training.

5.  Work on your cardio
Rolling is the best way to prepare for more rolling, period.  However, you might not be able to get in to the gym and roll as often as you like.  Good ways to work on your cardio without being able to roll with a partner would include upping the intensity of the solo drilling (making a game of it where you challenge yourself do to a certain number of a drill in less time than before), swimming, running, or basic calisthenics like pushups or crunches.  While these are not ideal as compared to actual grappling, they’re far better than doing nothing if you have stretches of several days without training!

No matter what your circumstances, if you are willing to put in the time, you can improve your jiu jitsu.  Make the time to do these things and your jiu jitsu is bound to improve, even when you’re not on the mats!

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Feb02

Never Give Up

by Evan E. on February 2nd, 2012 at 9:20 am
Posted In: Brand new to BJJ?

Many people in the U.S. are blessed to have a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt to train with on a regular basis, but that is not true across most of our country.  While the U.S. has become the second home of BJJ, we are still young in the progression and some people may find that they don’t have a black belt to train with in their location.

I want to tell this story for those guys.  Four years ago I began BJJ.  I needed something to motivate me to lose weight and exercise, and running simply didn’t do it for me.  So, I started training at a gym in town run by a taekwondo instructor.  The school had developed a relationship with a black belt, though it was very long distance.  I trained there for nearly two years, but towards the end of that time it became apparent that something was wrong.  While at first, there was plenty of new technique, that had seemed to dry up.  No one was learning anything anymore.   As spokesman for a core group of my training partners, I investigated the issue and found out that the gym no longer had any connection to any BJJ lineage.

I was torn with what to do.  I felt like I’d wasted two years of my life.  I was scheduled to test for a “blue belt.”  After much thought, I decided that I could not do it.  I would either find a connection with a legitimate BJJ school or I would change to a different martial art.  I notified my former gym and left.

After some searching, I found my present gym.  I had to drive 56 miles (one way) to attend and could only do so twice a week.  I quickly learned that I was at the bottom of the pack and lacked the skill to keep up with their students.  They had technique and I did not.  I spoke to a number of my former training partners and the core group started driving up as well, making the sacrifice to train in a real school.  We all vowed to one day open a gym in our own small town, to fill that void.

Fast forward two years.   I have earned my blue belt in the new school.  Most of the core group has either earned their blue belt as well, or they are on the verge of doing so in the coming months.  This is exciting all by itself, but then something happened that none of us could have dreamed would happen so quickly.  We just had the grand opening of the new gym in our town.  We had 5 hours of free seminars by various black belts to encourage new membership (we had nearly 100 people visit the gym that day).  To top it all off, our main instructor received his black belt during our grand opening.

I say all that to say this:   If you train under a black belt, fantastic.  Take advantage of that privilege.  Realize that it is a privilege and don’t waste a moment of it.  If you do not train under a black belt, that is also ok.  Just don’t give up.  Make sure your gym has a connection with a legitimate BJJ lineage and keep working.  One day, your gym can have a black belt.  Who knows? It might be you.

Author: Allen Tate

http://taterjournal.blogspot.com/

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