Tag Archives: Competition
The Armbar from Fifty-Fifty Guard by Keenan Cornelius
The fifty-fifty guard is a strange creature. In it you and your opponent face each other in the exact same position with your legs intertwined.
On the one hand there’s no doubt that it’s a really powerful sweeping position for whoever’s on bottom.
But on the other hand it has a reputation as a really horrible way to stall. (more…)
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
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…)
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.
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…)
Ryan Hall Interview Transcript
Stephan’s note: This is the transcript of an interview I did with noted Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, über-competitor and teacher Ryan Hall.
(more…)
In these photos Marc Laimon shows some of the techniques he used to defeat Ryron Gracie at Grappler’s Quest in Las Vegas, November 6th, 2004. (more…)
Marc Laimon, the Bad Boy of Jiu-jitsu*
Marc Laimon is ripping it up. On November 6th, 2004, he defeated Ryron Gracie in a superfight at Grappler’s Quest in Las Vegas. His school, which had been open for less than a year, placed first in the same competition. As if that wasn’t enough, he is also the grappling coach on the UFC reality TV show.
This interview was conducted on November 13th, 2004
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…) |
Yoga for Grappling, the Secret of Champions
“I was relaxed doing yoga and this gave me the equilibrium to fight well”
- Wallid Ismael commenting on preparing, and winning, his Jiu-jitsu match against Royce Gracie, December 1998
Introduction
You don’t have to look far to find yoga in grappling. (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.
A 'Stupid' Armlock I Was Pretty Sure Would NEVER Work...
Sometimes you just gotta have faith…
In the video below I’ll share an armlock with you that I’d been shown multiple times early in my BJJ career. And I always thought it was hogwash; (more…)
The First-Ever Grapplearts Q & A Podcast!
Hey guys!
Here’s something different: in November of 2011 I answered questions from my newsletter readers (sign up for free here) on the first ever Grapplearts Q & A Podcast. (more…)
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…)
A Weird Dilemma...
I recently sat down and figured out which of my articles I got the most feedback from. Here’s another article that I’ve received a LOT of feedback on. Back in 2004 I was asked a very interesting question about grappling endurance by someone I’ll call ‘Fred.’
Here was the problem in a nutshell… (more…)
How bad do you want it?
I found this short Youtube video and voice-over really inspiring and wanted to pass it on.
It has nothing to do with martial arts.
But in a way it has EVERYTHING to do with martial arts! Plus the sports-specific training footage is pretty cool too, and might give you some good ideas for your own conditioning!! (more…)
Tony Blauer on Fitness, Fear Management, and Combat Psychology
I just interviewed Tony Blauer. He’s the head of Blauer Tactical Systems which specializes in close quarter tactics & scenario-based training for law enforcement, military and professional self-defense instructors. (more…)
Sarah Kaufman, Top Female MMA Fighter, Reveals All!
Sarah Kaufman is one of the top fighters in women’s MMA.
And she is officially amazing!
Here’s an in-depth interview and podcast with Sarah. (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…)
Erik Paulson; an MMA Master Coach Shares His Secrets
Erik Paulson is an MMA Master Coach. He’s trained tons of fighters competing at the highest levels of Mixed Martial Arts. And he held the Shooto light-heavyweight title in Japan for 5 years.
He’s also my friend and a mentor. (more…)
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