David Camarillo on the white belt...

Fourth Stripe Grading

Everyone starts at the bottom. Everyone must work hard to progress. Nothing is free.

I have given much thought to my last post regarding BJJ gradings. To sum up, I was under the impression that building a game from the ground up, based on situations experienced, would lead to a better game. Organic Jiu Jitsu. Of course, if you are constantly getting caught in triangle, you will learn the defense. And that was the basis of my perspective last week.

I spent some time discussing that perspective with my Professor and he, as with everything in the realm of BJJ, improved my vision. There were two specific discussions that I want to share, as presented by someone who has been there and done that. These two "Perspectives from Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt" should be important for everyone who trains in BJJ.

The First Perspective

Driving back from the Marcelo Garcia seminar a couple weeks ago, my Professor shared some of his insights regarding his game when rolling with me. I was interested in finding out how he was able to take control so easily in almost every situation; the little and almost unnoticable things. His words were simple and profound. He said, "I know what your options are." He knows what my options are is because he taught me what my options are.

The Second Perspective

In a private lesson last week, Professor and I spent the first half hour just talking, specifically regarding my BJJ Gradings post. It was time to defend my perspective to my teacher. The discussion was around curriculum. He said, "Do University students go to class and simply choose to learn what ever they want? No. They follow a curriculum based on someone who knows what is important and what is not. That way success is structured and measurable, and ensures the student leaves with the right tools to be proficient in their profession. In our case, the profession is fighting in BJJ."

Tonight I passed one of the hardest gradings mentally I have had to face so far in BJJ; my fourth stripe. The curriculum was not easy and there was a lot to cover; 2 pages of techniques in my case for the stripe. In order to progress in our BJJ club, you need to really understand your stuff and train hard. Rather than discuss what I did or how I did in the grading, I want to discuss how my Professor's two perspectives came into play in altering my thoughts on BJJ Gradings today.

At this stage in my training, I have been introduced to a lot of techniques that cover almost every basic situation found when rolling. As I continue to train, I will know more and more what my opponent's options are. I will constantly re-discover what works because it comes from someone who has done their homework and shares the secrets. Curriculum gives us the path. Gradings ensure we stay on the path. And I am very lucky to have my Professor as a guide to keep my game, and my mental development in check.

Ous!

P.S. Thanks Sam for being my training partner for the grading.

BJJ Gradings

I wish there were more hours in the day. I wish there were more days in a week. And I wish I could train BJJ 5 days a week. For me, it is an addiction like surfing. When you catch that perfect wave or have that "everything goes right" roll; you keep coming back for those moments. Even when you get your ass kicked and know you could have, should have, not rolled over so easy, you want to correct it.

Because of a flurry of personal and professional things (most good, some bad) occurring all at this precise time in my life, I feel that my BJJ mind is getting its ass kicked. I felt useless rolling today, which is rare for me. And in addition to the storms beating down my brain from every direction, I am grading next Wednesday.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is the simple thing that holds everything together for me. It is the perfect game to play in order to progress mentally, physically, and for the new age crowd; spiriturally. It is not easy. But it is not difficult either. The challenges can be overcome with time and dedication. The hard part is where to put the focus.

Gradings urgently set the focus on proper curriculum or fundamental study. The general overview of what needs to be achieved to make progress. You have to demonstrate an understanding in front of the class and the Professor. This public display causes the previously mentioned urgency that forces preparation. However, there is a difference between "showing" and "understanding". "Showing" means steps can be demonstrated in a controlled situation and does not speak to proficiency. "Understanding" means that techniques can be implemented in different ways and used as a part of a larger plan in real world situations.

At this point, with the curriculum I need to demonstrate, I may be ready for my next level with some polish of course. In terms of the curriculum I understand, there is no way for me to gauge that with a stripe or a belt. When I roll, it all just sort of happens. Some things come naturally. And some things I must pull out of the mental technique library. And techniques are added that do not reside in the curriculum.

For me, I wish that BJJ was a little more organic and less structured at this point. And I think that this can only be achieved, for me at least, by focusing more on the whys and less on the hows. Because if I understand the whys; the hows will be much easier to apply, even invented.

There is a lot of curriculum to take in and it is extremely difficult to be proficient at everything. Could I even use all of it? Probably not. But over the past 15 months, I have my favourites. Does that mean that everything else is useless? Of course not. But some things are more important for me right now than others.

I look forward to the day where there is no set curriculum and I can focus on just training and adding to my game. Well, I kind of do that right now which may get me in trouble for the upcoming grading. Self discovery, the "oh that works" moments, when rolling have always been of greatest value for my BJJ memory. Holes appear in my game and I do my best to fill them in; I remember these techniques most.

I do not know why I am so conflicted at grading time. I see the importance. I know the need. But for some reason I am conflicted as to a gradings value to me personally at this point in my training. But this is my conflict as a white belt, with a white belt's understanding. I know when I am a purple, brown, or even black belt and read this, I will then understand the value of providing the general base for future progression thrust upon me by the discomfort of gradings.

Ous.

Latest Class Photo

Here is our team's latest photo, with a few guys missing, from just over a month ago. (Click it to see larger version.)

Don't Sleep On It

Our past Wednesday class was devoted to a senior belt grading where our blue belts and purple belt graded. I have to admit, it was more like a demonstration than a grading to the white belt line watching. Basically those who graded were asked to demonstrate technique after technique in different situations from memory. It appeared to me that 80% of what I saw was based directly on the white belt curriculum. The other 20% was some pure candy. My personal favourite was Tommy's Turtle Choke. Slick!

From watching the grading, it made me realize how important it is to have a series of techniques dedicated to memory and be able to draw upon them when needed. Earlier this week I wrote about thinking faster; essential. But it is more than that; acting faster and just going for it is even more important.

"G", one of my seniors and solid fighter, expressed the importance of building a strong base technique, or two, or three for each situation that could be drawn upon easily. That base of techniques will provide a strong launch pad for future applied curriculum. That, tied in with Professor's "attack, attack, attack" mentality would make for a pretty good fight plan against any opponent. But more than those two elements, hesitation must be reduced or eliminated to be effective.

If an opponent gets an advantageous position and I stop to think about how to escape; that hesitation will be the opportunity my opponent needs to submit me. So I must act fast and hope for the best. The only challenges for me with this "act quick" mind set is that the game speed will increase, I have to fight to curb clumsy or gross movements, and build my stamina to compensate for the lack of stationary position time.

So, at this point in my game, my biggest opponent is myself. How do I want to roll? How will I go about improving my game. I think, because I am getting to a good place in my training, if I can concentrate on indentifying one personal error and correct it the next time I roll, I will keep getting better and better faster. There are hundreds of classes to come, so I have lots of time and opportunity to improve...

Ous.

P.S. Always be quick to seize opportunity.

Second Stripe Grading

Tonight I added another ring to the target on my back; I graded for second stripe white belt and passed.

Gradings are an opportunity for Professor Schilling to assess our ability to preform techniques listed in the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu curriculum for our team. For each stripe there is around 20 to 40 specific defenses, offenses, guard passes, and movements that need to be understood and demonstrated before moving forward in rank. This is in addition to "how we roll" in class.

But rank is more than just an addition of a stripe to our belt; it is an addition of responsibility. If I have one stripe on my belt, I should be able to help out a no stripe teammate with any technique for my level. And as I progress and my technique catalog increases, I should be able to be able to help out junior students more and more, not only with my immediate belt level criteria, but everything I have learned to this point.

There were three specific things I did to help me with my grading.

1. The first was make it to class regularly and often. Being in class and training hard helped me establish the physical tools needed to preform my techniques, as well as apply my knowledge.
   
   
2. The second thing I did was mark off all the items on the curriculum that I had a pretty firm grasp on. I would not mark off something I was not too sure of. This helped me narrow down what I needed to work on step by step and one technique at a time.
   
   
3. The third and most valuable thing I did in my preparation was set up a couple of private lessons with Professor Schilling. I can not express how important and helpful these sessions were. We covered the curriculum step by step with points I needed to focus on. This gave me a high level of preparation for not only the grading, but my regular training as well.
   

I would not have passed if it were not for my teammates as well. Unlike Karate, Kung Fu, Tae Kwon Do or any of the other form based martial arts, you can not do Brazilian Jiu Jitsu alone. My team forms me and I them. My rank is a reflection of the teamwork we all put into our Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training.

The one thing I will always remember from earning my Shodan in Goju Ryu is the rank is not a destination; it is a starting point. And like with anything in life, knowing where you are and where you have been helps you with where you are going. And I just took another step forward...

Ous.

P.S. Congratulations to everyone on the team who graded. And thanks for helping me with my training; you all rock!

Private Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Lesson

Today I had my first private Brazilian Jiu Jitsu lesson with Professor Schilling. I can not express how valuable this hour was. We first had a discussion about my training and experience. This talk time was a great opportunity to share some feedback, ask questions, and discuss the upcoming lesson.

We then did a quick review of the curriculum with a review of the first stripe elements (I am currently a first stripe white belt). This first stripe review was good because we do not always have time re-visit every technique in class. So the brush up was nice.

We then took out the second stripe curriculum which formed the basis of the lesson. We started with stand up self defenses which were a good warm up. We then moved on to the other elements; I will not discuss them all as there are too many to list. The constant feedback, corrections, and attention to detail by Professor was extremely valuable.

It only makes sense to have a private lesson every month or two. There is a lot of information offered in every class, but it is essential to focus on belt level curriculum and/or personal deficiencies to improve in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. There is simply not enough time to get this essential info or feedback in class. Private lessons are a valuable resource to take advantage of for personal development in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Ous.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Class Format

One thing, of many, I like about my Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class format is the consistency. Our 2 hour class begins with a light warm up of running around the mat in different ways; forwards, backwards, sideways, knees up, kicking behind, and sometimes jumping and sprints.

After we finish running we do some technical drilling like break falls, rolls, shrimps, sprawls, firemen carry, etc. And then stretching top down. All in all this first part of class lasts about 20 minutes to a half hour. And it is easy enough as to not cause exhaustion and gross motor skills for the learning and rolling part of the class.

The learning part of the class is when Professor Schilling, my instructor, shares his techniques and we break out and work with a partner. The teaching style of this is great. The introduced technique is usually broken into sections. You get the first part down and then move on. Then the second. And then the third. This breaking down of the techniques helps get a fundamental understanding of the “what comes first” mechanics before moving on. It is a great way to learn and retain information.

After the warm up, stretching, and skills development, we start the rolling part of the class. Professor pairs up the class for a series of 5, 6 and 7 minute rolls (a roll is a controlled ground fight). Generally senior belts work with junior belts in the beginning and then moves to similar skilled student rolls. When I first began, I did not even roll for the first two or three classes; Professor allows all new students to watch first to get an idea of what is going and avoid injury.

I have attended hundreds of Karate classes to attain my Shodan (First Degree Black Belt). There is far more formality in Karate, but the curriculum is spread out and you never knew what came next; weapons, kata, basics, self defense, drills, etc. I prefer the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu format as it allows me to more easily focus on my development in the art and takes into account how the body was designed to operate; warm up, introduce new function, apply skills in a stressful environment, then rest and recover.

Training in a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class 2 or 3 times a week helps condition the body properly without injury and even leaves extra days to spend some time in the gym on cardiovascular or anaerobic workouts. Progression is guaranteed if you make it to your classes consistently.

Ous.

If you want to know more about Schilling Jiu Jitsu, my awesome Brazilian Jiu Jitsu School, visit scott-schilling.com.