Category Archives: Competition
Keenan Cornelius on Training, BJJ Competition, MMA Goals and More
Keenan Cornelius is a BJJ phenomenon. Known for his exciting guardwork and movement-oriented game, he won double gold medals in four of the biggest BJJ tournament in the world as a purple belt, which is a HUGE accomplishment. Here’s my recent interview with Keenan
Ronda Rousey and the Power of Gameplans
In case you were hiding under a rock, Ronda Rousey fought Liz Carmouche last night at UFC 157. She both validated her UFC Women’s Bantamweight title, and made history by being in the first-ever women’s match in the the UFC.
And just in case you were under that aforementioned rock, despite a very spirited fight by Liz Carmouche, Ronda won the match with an armbar at 4:49 of the first round. (more…)
A Surprising Way to Pull Guard...
Should you pull guard in competition? And if you decide to pull guard, then how do you do it correctly?
In a certain sense, I am uniquely unqualified to answer these questions…
You see, much of my BJJ comes from 8th degree black belt Marcus Soares, and Marcus is very much from the old-school Carlson Gracie way of doing things. (more…)
Roy Dean: BJJ, Aikido, Judo, Wrestling, and the Martial Artist's Path
You can listen to, read, or download this interview in several different ways…
- Hit play in the middle of the audio player at the bottom of this list, and/or
- Right click on this link and select ‘save as’ to download this mp3 file to your computer, and/or
- Subscribe to the Grapplearts Podcast in iTunes (RECOMMENDED, because this allows you to also listen to previous interviews and podcasts), and/or
- Read the transcript below. (more…)
A Fancy-Pants Z Guard Pass that Never Worked Until...
There’s this one impressive, fancy-pants guard pass that I’ve seen in competition many times. It makes everybody go ‘oooh’ and ‘aaaah’, but despite its dramatic nature it’s undeniably effective and has won a LOT of matches at the highest levels of competition.
I tried to imitate this technique, of course, but it was always a complete disaster. I never managed to figure out exactly what these high-level guys were doing. (more…)
Best Takedown vs. Larger Opponents?
Every grappler needs to have a basic understanding of takedowns. You don’t want to be so uni-dimensional that you have no idea how to take somebody down.
But the problem is that not every takedown you learn from Judo or wrestling will work on someone a lot bigger and stronger than you. (more…)
BJJ Training Strategies
Having the right assortment of techniques is pretty darn important in BJJ. But having the right training strategies is even more important…
By ‘training strategies’ I’m talking about the big picture. Like knowing which techniques to use, when to use them, and how to correctly train those techniques in the first place. (more…)
10 Ways to Improve Your BJJ Coaching
by guest author Brendan Hufford
Tournaments are inherently stressful environments. There is always a lot of commotion, and unfortunately, there is also often a lot of disorganization. Assisting our students in navigating such an environment is an essential skill that separates a teacher from a coach.
Judo and BJJ Cross-training
Judo has a lot to offer to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners. And vice versa. Judo places more emphasis on throwing, of course, and BJJ is more ground-oriented, but Judo groundwork (known as ‘newaza‘) isn’t entirely dissimilar to BJJ groundwork. (more…)
BJJ Competition and Training Strategies with Brandon 'Wolverine' Mullins
In this interview 2 x World No Gi Champion Brandon ‘Wolverine’ Mullins shares his best competition and training advice. The questions come from my newsletter readership, who I polled to see if they had any questions for Brandon, especially about training, competing or holding their own against bigger opponents. Boy, did they ever!
We then sifted and sorted hundreds of emails to pick out the very best questions for him, and this in-depth conversation was the result. Maybe one of my best interviews ever! (more…)
The Evolution of the 'Logsplitter' From Fluke to Trusted BJJ Technique...
Today I want to tell you a story about how I stumbled across a technique by fluke at a tournament, and how it became one of my bread and butter moves from Butterly Guard, X Guard and Half Guard. (more…)
'Making Weight' - The Effects of Dehydration on Physiological Functioning
Many combat sport competitors cut weight. Many fighters cut 20 or more pounds, and then rehydrate, trying to put most of those pounds back on between weigh-in and competition. (more…)
Perfect Peaking 1: Preventing Overtraining in MMA, BJJ, and Submission Grappling Training
By Stephan Kesting
Originally published in Ultimate Athlete, March 2003
The hard time for the training is already passed” – Rickson Gracie in Choke, before the 1995 Japan Vale Tudo Fighting Championship (more…)
PERFECT PEAKING PART 2: Tapering and Peaking for MMA and Grappling Competition
By Stephan Kesting
Originally published in Ultimate Athlete, June 2003
Introduction
| “Proper planning and preparation prevents piss-poor performance” - the 7 “P’s” of the British SAS (more…) |
Several years ago I was discussing the sports psychology and Jiu-jitsu with a friend. We were debating what makes grapplers like Rickson Gracie truly great – what is it that sets him apart from the rest of us? (more…)
The MMA Formula: Striking + Takedowns + Groundwork
Mixed martial art (MMA) competition has come a long way from the early UFCs, where Karateka faced off against streetfighters, and Jiujitsu practitioners battled Kung Fu stylists. (more…)
Marcio Feitosa Talks Techniques, Training and Teams
Marcio Feitosa is the head instructor Gracie Barra, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu team headed by Carlos Gracie Jr. that has produced such competitors as Renzo Gracie, the Machado brothers, Nino Schembri and many others. (more…)
Not using too much power is important if you want to develop your technique, but if you want to develop a game you can really use against another competitor at a similar level, you have to be very active in your training and avoid the laziness of relaxing. (more…)
by Martin Rooney, MHS, PT, CSCS, NASM
Have any of you ever watched a weight class fight in which one fighter looks far bigger and heavier than the other even though they weighed exactly the same amount the day before? (more…)
18 Tips To Help You In BJJ & Grappling Competition (and Why Competitions Are a Good Idea)
by Jason Scully
Jason Scully (in the green shirt) is a teacher and competitor with more than 12 years of grappling experience. He is a BJJ brown belt and owns The Grapplers Guide Academy in Central New Jersey and also operates The Grapplers Guide.
An Advanced Submission used at the Highest Level
I thought that this was just too cool not to share…
A few years ago my friend Matt Kirtley sent me a breakdown of the rolling reverse omoplata. This advanced technique looks pretty fancy but I can vouch for it because I’ve used it on some very saavy training partners. (more…)
The 3 Most Common First-Time Competition Errors
I was recently asked “what are the most common mistakes that first-time competitors make?”
BJJ tournaments in general, and ESPECIALLY your first competition, are likely to be a little bit chaotic. (more…)
Best Interview Ever? Ryan Hall Speaks his Mind
The Ryan Hall interview is ready, and it might be my best interrogation ever!
With more than 200 tournaments, countless superfights, and solid performances in the Mundials and ADCC Ryan is one of North America’s most successful and prolific grapplers. (more…)
Sports Psychology for BJJ, MMA & Submission Grappling
*** A Sports Psychology Question from a Reader ***
Hi Stephan,
I was listening to your interview with Ryan Hall and I was wondering about which Sports Psychology Books you had read or would recommend. (more…)
Judo for BJJ, An Olympian's Perspective
One of the most neglected areas of BJJ training is takedowns. Which is a shame, for a couple of reasons… (more…)
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