May 01, 2009
MMA and BJJ Podcasts
Getting stuck in traffic is a fact of life when you live in a big city, and usually it's a giant waste of time. For the last couple of years, though, I've been using a secret weapon that makes my time in the car much more enjoyable - downloadable podcasts.
Podcasts and portable mp3 players have totally changed my commute and significantly increased my quality of life. Certain time slots, which used to be mind-numbing and boring, are now interesting and intellectually stimulating.
I listen to a wide variety of podcasts covering topics from MMA to history to science to current events shows.
You can listen to all these shows on your computer, but if you have an iPod or other mp3 player then you can upload these files to it and listen to the the shows at any point.
Here are some podcasts to get you started. You can check out hundreds of thousands of categorized episodes using iTunes or other podcast aggregators.
SHERDOG RADIO
Grapplearts was featured last weekend on the Sherdog Radio Network (which consists of several different shows).
In the MMA Sunday School segment I chatted to Scott Holmes and Rodney Dean about the genesis and inspiration for the Grapplearts iPhone application. If you're interested, my segment is at about the 31 minute mark.
FIGHTWORKS PODCAST
I also have a soft spot in my heart for the Fightworks Podcast, at least partially because they've had me on the show a couple of times.
The first time was a Stephan Kesting feature interview, and the second interview was specifically about leglocks in BJJ, MMA and submission grappling.
MMA RING REPORT
Arnold Lim from MMA Ring Report has conducted some great interviews with MMA fighters, promoters and trainers.
TVO BIG IDEAS
I don't only listen to MMA podcasts. In fact, I'd say the majority of what I listen to is only indirectly related to MMA. One of my favorites is TVO's Big Ideas program, which broadcasts some really good lectures too on a variety of topics.
In a recent Big Ideas podcast, for example, I really learned a lot about the science of stretching, stuff that's directly applicable to improving my grappling skills and remaining injury-free.
As we've discussed before, it turns out that the benefits of stretching aren't exactly as cut and dried as your High school football coach would've liked you to believe.
Stretching probably only improves performance in sports that require flexibility; the classic example being gymnastics or figure skating. However our sport - grappling - also requires a lot of flexibility and thus stretching is probably a very good thing.
HARDCORE HISTORY
I've also got to mention Hardcore History by Dan Carlin. This podcast has nothing at all to do with grappling or MMA (other than having a strong focus on military history).
I like it so much that I've been trying to think of a clever angle to talk about this show in my newsletter, but I couldn't come up with a plausible connection. For now I'm just going to tell you that it's really good.
My favorite episode in that series is Episode 12 - Steppe Stories, which takes a look at the long and bloody history of the Scythians, Mongols, Huns, Turks and other peoples who came rampaging out of the Central Asian steppe
ONE MORE
Do yourself a favor and check out some TED Talks on a topic that interests you (they include science, arts and design, politics, education, culture, business, global issues, technology and development, and entertainment).
You can download TED Talks either in video or audio-only format.
YOUR TURN!
I'm interested in finding out what you guys are listening to - maybe I'll discover something new.
So if you have a favorite MMA, BJJ or submission grappling podcast then send me then link. I'll post reader favorites in a future newsletter.
bookmark this! del.icio.us | Digg it | reddit | Yahoo MyWeb | Google | StumbleUpon
Podcasts and portable mp3 players have totally changed my commute and significantly increased my quality of life. Certain time slots, which used to be mind-numbing and boring, are now interesting and intellectually stimulating.
I listen to a wide variety of podcasts covering topics from MMA to history to science to current events shows.
You can listen to all these shows on your computer, but if you have an iPod or other mp3 player then you can upload these files to it and listen to the the shows at any point.
Here are some podcasts to get you started. You can check out hundreds of thousands of categorized episodes using iTunes or other podcast aggregators.
SHERDOG RADIO
Grapplearts was featured last weekend on the Sherdog Radio Network (which consists of several different shows).
In the MMA Sunday School segment I chatted to Scott Holmes and Rodney Dean about the genesis and inspiration for the Grapplearts iPhone application. If you're interested, my segment is at about the 31 minute mark.
FIGHTWORKS PODCAST
I also have a soft spot in my heart for the Fightworks Podcast, at least partially because they've had me on the show a couple of times.
The first time was a Stephan Kesting feature interview, and the second interview was specifically about leglocks in BJJ, MMA and submission grappling.
MMA RING REPORT
Arnold Lim from MMA Ring Report has conducted some great interviews with MMA fighters, promoters and trainers.
TVO BIG IDEAS
I don't only listen to MMA podcasts. In fact, I'd say the majority of what I listen to is only indirectly related to MMA. One of my favorites is TVO's Big Ideas program, which broadcasts some really good lectures too on a variety of topics.
In a recent Big Ideas podcast, for example, I really learned a lot about the science of stretching, stuff that's directly applicable to improving my grappling skills and remaining injury-free.
As we've discussed before, it turns out that the benefits of stretching aren't exactly as cut and dried as your High school football coach would've liked you to believe.
Stretching probably only improves performance in sports that require flexibility; the classic example being gymnastics or figure skating. However our sport - grappling - also requires a lot of flexibility and thus stretching is probably a very good thing.
HARDCORE HISTORY
I've also got to mention Hardcore History by Dan Carlin. This podcast has nothing at all to do with grappling or MMA (other than having a strong focus on military history).
I like it so much that I've been trying to think of a clever angle to talk about this show in my newsletter, but I couldn't come up with a plausible connection. For now I'm just going to tell you that it's really good.
My favorite episode in that series is Episode 12 - Steppe Stories, which takes a look at the long and bloody history of the Scythians, Mongols, Huns, Turks and other peoples who came rampaging out of the Central Asian steppe
ONE MORE
Do yourself a favor and check out some TED Talks on a topic that interests you (they include science, arts and design, politics, education, culture, business, global issues, technology and development, and entertainment).
You can download TED Talks either in video or audio-only format.
YOUR TURN!
I'm interested in finding out what you guys are listening to - maybe I'll discover something new.
So if you have a favorite MMA, BJJ or submission grappling podcast then send me then link. I'll post reader favorites in a future newsletter.
Labels: Brazilian jiu-jitsu, MMA, podcasts
bookmark this! del.icio.us | Digg it | reddit | Yahoo MyWeb | Google | StumbleUpon
March 20, 2009
A BJJ and MMA Application for the iPhone & iPod Touch
Today I'd like to tell you about my brand new application for the iPhone and the second generation iPod Touch. It's called "Grapplearts Submissions", and it's the very first tool of it's kind for learning BJJ, submission grappling or MMA techniques.
(We're still tweaking the application to work properly with first generation iPod Touch, so if you have one of these stay tuned and I hope to have good news for you soon)
This application is designed so that you can learn grappling anywhere.
The idea is that you can learn the armbar from mount while riding the bus, or remind yourself of the key points for the triangle choke while waiting in line! Now you can bring your techniques with you to class and drill them with your friends!
Click here to see the application page on iTunes (if you have iTunes installed on your computer), or click here for the info page on Grapplearts.com.
This application is designed to be used on your iPhone or second generation iPod Touch. There are 31 different armlock, leglock and choke entries, AND we show you the details that make those submissions work. In addition, we plan to add other techniques to future updates, which you'll get free!
A quick note: this is a big application because it has LOTS of video instruction. That's why you need a wifi network if you want to download it to your iphone directly.
If you don't have a wifi network then just use iTunes to download the app (search for "Grapplearts Submissions" in the iTunes store). Then synch your phone, just like you do for your music, calenders, etc.
About the price: my co-developers begged, whined and pleaded until I agreed to initially release it at at the nominal cost $0.99 (for the first week only). I personally think that this low price is a mistake, but compromise is the soul of partnership...
After March 27th I'll raise the price for sure.
So here's how to get the application, and some links to more information about it:
- Click here to open iTunes to the application page (if you have iTunes already installed)
- Or you can open iTunes manually and search for "Grapplearts Submissions" in the iTunes store
- Download iTunes for free
- Visit the iPhone page on Grapplearts for screen shots and a detailed list of contents
- Go to the Grapplearts Submission Application on Facebook (become a Grapplearts fan!)
- Click here to see a demonstration of the application on Youtube
Labels: armlocks, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, chokes, iphone, leglocks, training
bookmark this! del.icio.us | Digg it | reddit | Yahoo MyWeb | Google | StumbleUpon
March 13, 2009
Kesa Gatame in BJJ - An Unorthodox Position
Kesa Gatame (what the guy in the white gi is using in the photo above) is the Judo name for a position that is also known as the Scarf Hold or the Head and Arm pin.
Some people will object my calling this an 'unorthodox' position, because it's a staple pin in Judo, Sambo and Freestyle Wrestling.
That's true, but while it may be common in other grappling systems, it's underutilized and generally frowned upon in BJJ. (I think this is because of the common belief that it's too easy to have your back taken from here, but that's easy to counter if you know how).
These other arts have honed kesa gatame as a pinning position. The only problem is that they don't use or teach very many submissions from here.
In those sports the submission is redundant - if you pin your opponent for 3 seconds (wrestling) or 25 seconds (Judo) you win the match. Given these rules, why risk going for a submission?
BJJ is different - the ultimate goal is to submit, not pin, your opponent. And if submitting your opponent is your goal, then Kesa Gatame actually has a lot to offer!
I first learned about the submissions you can apply in Kesa Gatame from Shootwrestling, as taught by Dan Inosanto and Erik Paulson. It turns out that you can submit your opponent using a whole gamut of submissions, including:
- straight armlocks
- bent armlocks
- chokes
- neck cranks
- leglocks
So no matter what anybody says, I know that Kesa Gatame works in BJJ.
And it's not just my opinion. Several of my teammates - most notably Benito Segura, now a Marcus Soares brown belt - have refined this into an absolutely deadly position. And yes, I've been caught in it. And tapped...
When it comes to Kesa Gatame you don't necessarily need to make it your primary position, but you've GOT to learn a little bit about it.
This is an area of grappling that BJJ and submission grappling people could actually learn a lot from Judo, Freestyle Wrestling, Sambo, Shootwrestling and all the other styles for which Kesa Gatame is a bread and butter position.
Labels: Brazilian jiu-jitsu, kesa gatame, positions, unorthodox strategies
bookmark this! del.icio.us | Digg it | reddit | Yahoo MyWeb | Google | StumbleUpon
BJJ Positions - What About North South?
After my last tip about unorthodox BJJ positions I had some people contact me and tell me that I'd left out the North South position from my list of the 6 fundamental BJJ Positions.
I've actually addressed this issue in my Beginning BJJ Package, and so I'm just going to quote from there:
"The boundaries of the positional variations we've just discussed are a bit vague, and some people might classify certain variations as separate positions. For example, some people might consider the North-South position to be sufficiently distinct from Side Mount to deserve its own category, as opposed to what I've done in this book (i.e. calling North-South position a variant of Side Mount). The terminology isn't too important; to quote Bruce Lee, "...it's just a name, don't fuss over it."
The bottom line is that no classification system is perfect. It doesn't matter if you're dealing with biology, economics, chemistry or grappling: sometimes the things you are trying to classify will absolutely refuse to be forced neatly into a convenient niche. To deal with this problem I encourage you to eventually create your own classification system, and use this system to describe the unique subset of positions, techniques and strategies that YOU use when YOU grapple."
So that's the north-south position cleared up (I hope). I consider it to be a form of side control, but you can call it whatever you want!
bookmark this! del.icio.us | Digg it | reddit | Yahoo MyWeb | Google | StumbleUpon
I've actually addressed this issue in my Beginning BJJ Package, and so I'm just going to quote from there:
"The boundaries of the positional variations we've just discussed are a bit vague, and some people might classify certain variations as separate positions. For example, some people might consider the North-South position to be sufficiently distinct from Side Mount to deserve its own category, as opposed to what I've done in this book (i.e. calling North-South position a variant of Side Mount). The terminology isn't too important; to quote Bruce Lee, "...it's just a name, don't fuss over it."
The bottom line is that no classification system is perfect. It doesn't matter if you're dealing with biology, economics, chemistry or grappling: sometimes the things you are trying to classify will absolutely refuse to be forced neatly into a convenient niche. To deal with this problem I encourage you to eventually create your own classification system, and use this system to describe the unique subset of positions, techniques and strategies that YOU use when YOU grapple."
So that's the north-south position cleared up (I hope). I consider it to be a form of side control, but you can call it whatever you want!
Labels: Brazilian jiu-jitsu, positions
bookmark this! del.icio.us | Digg it | reddit | Yahoo MyWeb | Google | StumbleUpon
February 25, 2009
Combining Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, Wrestling and Striking in MMA Training
A few days ago I foolishly did a strength and conditioning workout late at night. I ALWAYS find it impossible to get to sleep right after strenuous training, so to relax I sat down on a treadmill and talked to a video camera.
I wanted to share something I've noticed that many of the top MMA fighters, coaches and schools have in common (and also how it applies to submission grappling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu training).
Here's an overview of the main points I discuss in the video.
Mixed martial art (MMA) training has three main areas:
Some people training in MMA just want to do full MMA sparring every time – but I think that’s a big mistake.
It’s my observation that most good MMA fighters, coaches and gyms combine everything all together (i.e. full MMA sparring) only a couple of times a week. Most of the time they SEPARATE the sparring into the different component areas.
By training the disciplines separately you:
Grappling and BJJ are the same, in the sense that they require you to get good at different techniques, positions and strategies (e.g. guard passes, submission, pin escapes, submission defense, sidemount control, etc.).
Following the examples of mixed martial artists and other athletes, you should train each of these areas with targeted sparring, AND also mix everything together into free-form sparring sessions.
P.S. If you want to know the Youtube url for this video it's www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XBI6SnLwH8
bookmark this! del.icio.us | Digg it | reddit | Yahoo MyWeb | Google | StumbleUpon
I wanted to share something I've noticed that many of the top MMA fighters, coaches and schools have in common (and also how it applies to submission grappling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu training).
Here's an overview of the main points I discuss in the video.
Mixed martial art (MMA) training has three main areas:
- Striking (typically boxing or kickboxing).
- Takedowns and clinching (typically freestyle wrestling, Greco-Roman or judo).
- Groundfighting (typically Brazilian jiu-jitsu).
Some people training in MMA just want to do full MMA sparring every time – but I think that’s a big mistake.
It’s my observation that most good MMA fighters, coaches and gyms combine everything all together (i.e. full MMA sparring) only a couple of times a week. Most of the time they SEPARATE the sparring into the different component areas.
By training the disciplines separately you:
- Work on each discipline separately and find your weaknesses.
- Improve the quality of your sparring partners.
- Lessen the chance of injury.
Grappling and BJJ are the same, in the sense that they require you to get good at different techniques, positions and strategies (e.g. guard passes, submission, pin escapes, submission defense, sidemount control, etc.).
Following the examples of mixed martial artists and other athletes, you should train each of these areas with targeted sparring, AND also mix everything together into free-form sparring sessions.
P.S. If you want to know the Youtube url for this video it's www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XBI6SnLwH8
Labels: Brazilian jiu-jitsu, MMA, training
bookmark this! del.icio.us | Digg it | reddit | Yahoo MyWeb | Google | StumbleUpon