Grappling Tips Newsletter

August 20, 2009

I'm a BJJ Lab Rat Now!

It's been a while since I was part of the University scene. I finished up with that aspect of my life in 1992 and I've never seriously considered going back. But now I'm feeling a bit like Al Pacino in the Godfather movies: "just when I thought I was out, they DRAG me back in!"

Except I'm actually sort of enjoying it this time...

You see, I've been in touch with Dr. Bryan Hogeveen from the University of Alberta who is doing the first study on Brazilian Jiu-jitsu culture in North America. And he's picking my brain in a series of hour-long interviews, getting my views on grappling as a sport, a recreational activity and a martial art.

If I don't say anything too embarrassing I may eventually put those interviews out as a series of podcasts...

The cool thing is that Bryan (the guy who is doing the research) is not only a tenured professor of sociology, but he's also a BJJ practitioner himself. Heck, he even worked as a doorman at a bar in his undergraduate days, so he can't be all bad, right?

Well Bryan has also invited YOU to fill out a short online survey about your training and training philosophy. And it doesn't matter how long you've been training - he wants to hear from everybody.

If you're reading this then I assume that you agree that BJJ and grappling are pretty great. But compared to other combat sports like Judo, wrestling and boxing, there's been a lot LESS research into grappling. The better we understand our sport the more efficiently we can train and the faster we can improve.

I'm all about mixing physical training with a cerebral approach to grappling. If you have the time and inclination, then completing this short survey might get you thinking about aspects of your sport that you haven't thought about before.

Male grappler survey:
http://www.surveygizmo.com/s/104006/bjjsurvey

Female grappler survey

http://www.surveygizmo.com/s/104010/womeninbjj

OK, that's enough for now. The electrodes taped to my bald head are beginning to get itchy and I've got some levers to push...

Labels: Brazilian jiu-jitsu, interviews, research, the mental aspect

permanent link to this article posted by Stephan @ 9:48 PM

June 30, 2009

Do You Have Competition Questions?

David Meyer has a ton of credentials, but for now I'm only going to mention three of them:

He's a BJJ Black Belt under the Machado brothers,
He's got a very solid record in BJJ and in submission grappling competition, and
He's the author of one of my favorite new books, "Training for Competition: Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Submission Grappling."

Sometime in July of 2009 I'm hoping to interview David and pick his brain on the topic of competition. I want to get his take on the very best tournament strategies and tactics, advice on how to prepare for competition and reasons why one should compete at all.

If all goes well I'll broadcast this interview on the next Grapplearts Radio Podcast.

Now I got a LOT of feedback about how informative my first podcast (the Jon Chaimberg interview) was, and how intelligent my questions were.

I had to laugh, of course, because a lot of those questions came directly from my readers - you guys! (Thanks again to everyone who sent me those questions).

So now I'm going to open up the process once again and ask does anyone has questions about any aspect of competition? If you want your competition questions answered by the man who quite literally wrote the book on the topic, then go to the contact link and send 'em in soon.

I can't guarantee that I'll use every single question, but I'll do my very best!

Labels: Brazilian jiu-jitsu, competition, interviews, podcasts

permanent link to this article posted by Stephan @ 10:22 PM

May 29, 2009

Two Interviews

The Michael Jen Interview

Whether it's because of following his posts on mma.tv, or being influenced by his trend-setting instructional videos early in my BJJ career, I feel like I've known Michael Jen for a long time even though I've never actually met him!

Michael combines a meticulous approach to technique with iconoclastic thinking, and I've now got a short interview with him up on Grapplearts.com.

The Jon Chaimberg Interview

Late last night I finally managed to interview Jon Chaimberg who is GSP's conditioning coach. I quizzed him mercilessly about the techniques, details and philosophy of MMA conditioning; in fact I don't think I've ever done such an in-depth interview!

As you may recall, before I did this interview I asked you guys what you wanted me to ask him. Thanks to everyone who contributed - I think I managed to sneak about 80 to 90% of your questions.

Give me a little while to get it transcribed and/or posted as a podcast. I'll keep you posted!

Labels: Brazilian jiu-jitsu, conditioning, interviews

permanent link to this article posted by Stephan @ 10:32 PM