Choices...

7:00 wake up. Take an hour to get showered, shaved, and dressed. Wake up the kids, clean up the kids, dress the kids. Make breakfast for everyone. Get the son's snow suit on, leash the dog and drive him to school then walk the dog. Drop off the car and head to the train station for work by 9:00.

9:00 until 5:00. Code like a bastard. Play the office game. Make deliverables. Keep the money flowing home. At 5:00 catch the train home and pick up the son. Be home for 5:45.

6:00 until 8:00. Play with kids. Help wife with dinner. Feed myself and kids. Play with kids some more. Read "Goodnight Moon", "Where the Sidewalk Ends", and "Ernie Does Not Need Diapers" to kids. Sing "Twinkle Twinkle" and a few other songs. Send the kids to dream land.

8:00 until 10:00. Help wife clean the house. Take out the dog for a walk. Spend an hour chatting with wife or catching a show on Television. Get ready for bed. Fall asleep by 11:00.

Repeat every day.

This is a snapshot of what my life has become. It is a never ending routine to keep the wheels spinning in the right direction. The only problem is there is little time for myself. And it is hurting my Brazilian Jiu Jitsu; something very important to me. I read and read and watch and absorb. But when I want to bang, there is no time, training partners, or my ass is too kicked by the day to keep my eyes open.

I have weekends most times and make it to No Gi class; that makes me feel great. But life is killing me. I think things will get better when the kids are older, and I know that others are probably in the same boat. But shit, something has got to give!

Perhaps my next article will be about the subtleties of the arm drag from open guard and all the wonderful possibilities of shifting a little to the left or right. There is a great deal of fun to be had on the outside.

Ous!

P.S. My only gift this Christmas was BJ Penn's Book of Knowledge. Kick ass and essential reading for everyone.

Fedor vs. Hong

Marcelo Garcia's MMA Debut

Back on the Rack...

I am a husband first. A father second. And in most cases I get to be myself third. In life we must choose our paths and take full responsibility and ownership of our commitments. This year has been more difficult than most in my roles as husband and father. A wife and two kids is a full time job. And I also have a real full time job as software developer; leaving almost no free time. But these chosen jobs I gladly do with passion and commitment because the dividends are spectacular.

Last night I finally got back to class after a few months of life putting a wedge in between me and my Jiu Jitsu. As I bowed in, I got to re-connect with some very important people in my life; my classmates. That felt great. But it felt even better to start the process of reconnecting with myself. There is nothing worse than completely losing yourself. But on the flip side, there is nothing better than finding yourself. And today I feel great.

Over the next few weeks and perhaps months, my task will be to find my body memory when rolling again. I got gas in the tank, but I need to put the hurt in all the right places to get back in tip top BJJ shape. And there is no shortage of those willing to put me in my place. So let the fun begin.

Ous.

Serra vs. Gomi

Marcelo Garcia to compete MMA

Where am I???

Just over two months ago I had surgery. Unfortunately the procedure did not go perfectly and there were some complications rendering me unable to do much of any physical activity. As well, I have been in a sort of social comma; spending much of my time with my family for the summer while I recover.

And since I have been chilling out during this time, I really did not feel like writing. But that is all about to change. For the past few weeks I have been working with a personal trainer to get back in shape and flexible again. Wayne Campbell from Athletic Advantage in Toronto has been merrily kicking my ass with his program to get me back in fighting shape. A few more weeks of his torture and I will be back on the mat at least in limited capacity. If all goes well, my recovery will be complete and I can play once again.

So there you have it, in case you cared. More to come...

Ous!

Surgery

Still recovering from my surgery; will be back soon.

Respect the Arm Bar...

You know it is coming. The pieces are in place and you know the tap is inevitable. And when a black belt has it keyed in, get ready to tap fast and do not expect muscle out. Respect the arm bar.

I am nursing a little bit of a hyper extension today after class last night. I rolled with my professor; it was actually like rolling with a ghost because he kept disappearing only to reappear in a dominant position with a submission set up. He took top mount while I was on my side and grabbed my top hand, setting up the sit back arm bar.

I thought on his way back I could turn into him and drop my elbow to the floor. The problem was, he did not sit back, he sat straight down and there was no space to pull out. And with that, the arm bar was locked in and my attempt to muscle out against his strength caused the extension. I respect his control, because it could have been a lot worse if it were anyone else. Respect.

There have been times when I have rolled with a less experienced classmate and had a submission on, but they persist in attempting an escape. I have two options in this situation; let it go or teach a lesson. I, depending on the situation, will most likely let the submission go to avoid causing an injury. But there are times where I will give it a little pressure and bring the submission to the brink, until I get the tap.

My advice to anyone in a potentially bad situation in class; you gotta show some respect for the techniques taught and tap when they are laid on tight. Otherwise you risk the throbbing discomfort of your mistake.

Ous.

Rickson v. Royler Gracie

Pre-Trourney Preparation

Many of my team mates are in tournament mode here as it is tournament season with the second "Grand Prix" qualifier happening this Saturday. I am not competing as my head is just not in it with my new born and toddler taking up the vast majority of my time; but I am still progressing in general, which is fine by me. I did get to act as chum for one of the big sharks of our club, Sam Osman, last night and thought I would share some thoughts.

Our class, traditionally before a tournament has a pre-tournament show where Professor plays ref and we have formal scored matches in front of the class. They are fun to watch and you get a little bit of that competition feeling because you are put on stage. It is great preparation for the tournament to get a feel for what a real match feels like.

Firstly, almost all matches I watched were tense and explosive. Tense and explosive. I suspect that for many of the first time competitors, their main opponent will be themselves and burning out too quickly. That is something that will be remedied over time.

In my match with Sam I felt that I lacked any explosiveness and made some very critical mistakes like escaping and putting myself into Sam's Guard, not staying on my feet longer, and playing defense too much rather than attempting proper attacks. However, the mistakes are a drop in the had as Sam has superior skill, size, and experience. And I am fully comfortable with getting a whipping from him, as long as I try my best; he is a worthy mentor.

One thing learned though; do not pause once hit the ground on a take down. Whether you were taken down or took down your opponent, be active as soon as possible and fight for the dominant position. A fraction of a second pause can put you in a bad position. And being on offense is far better than being on defense.

Ous.

P.S. Good luck to Team Schilling on Saturday!

Inefficiency and Corrections

Sometimes you don't know it until IT bites you.

A few weeks ago I was in a roll with a pretty slick fighter with good mobility. He got mount and I was unable to upa or bump him off, well for a little while. I found myself pushing him up and off me, straightening my arms in the process to make space giving him ample opportunity to arm bar me. A beginner white belt mistake.

After class, Professor pulled me aside asked me to take top mount on him. He escaped like butter. I mounted high on his chest, got my hooks in from a low position, postured up from a middle position and pressed down on his hips; each time nothing would stop him from escaping with simplicity. He then mounted me and asked me to escape. I was tired after the rolls, but that is no excuse; my mount escapes were weak, useless, and almost non existent.

I love my Upa, but that only works when the conditions are in line. Professor then told me that someone who can not escape from mount should not have a blue belt around their waist. I agreed. I was embarrassed and ashamed that there was such a gaping hole in my game. But it was what it was and needed to be fixed.

So for the past month or so, every roll I start mount bottom and am at the point where I can now escape in a few seconds using some tools Professor taught me, as well as my Upa when available. I am still improving my sneaky knees and shrimps to become even more effective with my escapes.

There are so many positions and options in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. It takes a long time to be proficient in all of them. But a good instructor, like my Professor, will tell you what to fix quick, what to work on, and which way to go. It may not be pleasant to hear sometimes, but deal with the information without ego and do what he says; he really does know what is best when it comes to your development. I am a better player for it.

Ous.

Marcelo vs. Arsdale 2003

Marcelo vs. Xande 2005

Relax, It's Jiu Jitsu

Just training over the past while and taking in the benefits of escaping from my current reality. It is nice to just do it sometimes, with out analisys; Jiu Jitsu is fun.

I have been playing a different game over the past few weeks in order to help me find my style and my game. Professor told my my greatest challenge would be to relax and let the BJJ do the work. He quoted Rickson Gracie; "Flow with the go."

So that is what I have been doing, flowing with the go. It is fun rolling with white belts who are bigger than me, stronger than me, and younger than me with this relax mind set. Sweeps, transitions, and submissions seem to flow easily when I just let go of my strength and let the Jiu Jitsu take over.

As for rolling with the Purple Belts, I have found a new level of getting my ass kicked. I could resort to playing my strength, but I understand now that doing that would hurt my progression. So I will play the game and get better. But even though I am getting my ass kicked, I see that I am doing it to myself; falling into traps set out for me. And that kind of rolling will only lead to correcting mistakes.

I love my training right now; it is more important than ever. And my perspectives are constantly changing for the better. I imagine a time when I truly flow with the go and let my game replace my strength.

Ous!

Organic vs. Military

Funny how a hour discussion with my Professor can turn my entire plan on its head. I have a pretty good idea of one or two escapes and controls for each position I encounter; the white belt curriculum embedded a lot of that in my head. Originally my idea for putting together my game plan was to come up with my one or two favorite techniques for each position and drill them ruthlessly until they were second nature. However, there is a problem with this...

Do I want to play Soccer like Germany or like Brazil?

They do call it Brazillian Jiu Jitsu and not German Jiu Jitsu, right? So my philosophy has been altered about what my steps are in putting together my game plan. I have found that my best learning comes from actual rolling where moves and flow are very unpredictable. Depending on the match, it is sometimes not that difficult to set the condition for submission. There are sometimes too many variables to establish one technique for one position. So if I pigeon hole myself with only one or two possibilities, I lose so many more options. And that will get me tapped.

However, if my focus is getting to a place where I have control and options, the game is much more in my favor. This makes most sense after Professor showed me a couple of pages from Eddie Bravo's latest book. Where as before my goal was an entire move and only one move, now it will be to put myself in the ball park and work out my submission from there.

Another thing he mentioned which I find very valuable is to not be so rigid when rolling at this level. He dropped that famous "Be like water" quote from Bruce Lee, and strengthened his message even further. So where does that leave me? Still learning and doing my thing. But concentrating more on training and less on "Kataizing" my game. This will also make for less work and better results I think.

Ous.

Back to the Beginning

Here is where things get interesting. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu gained popularity in 1992 due to Royce Gracie in Ultimate Fighting Championship 1, so by my calculation, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has been slowly snow balling for the past 15 years. It has been evolving and evolving with new techniques, flavours, and curriculum being added to it. I must also mention the effect of Mixed Martial Arts on the evolution of BJJ as crafty people have actually learned how to punch the face from within closed guard. The fundamentals remain, but there is a frothy layer of new school bubbling up and a record pace.

Here comes the fun part, how do I choose what I want to work on, need to work on, and how can I improve my game. I am a kid in a candy store about to get a stomach ache. This, I think, is the first step in putting together my ground game plan. Here is what I am going to do:

1. Type out each position in a spread sheet; closed guard bottom, closed guard top, half guard bottom, half guard top, side control bottom, side control top, mount bottom, mount top, and north south bottom.
2. For each position on the spread sheet, write out my favorite and most successful techniques for each.
3. Add techniques that I think may work to each category.
4. Work out a flow in my mind of if technique 1 fails, go to technique 2, etc... There should be a simple flow laid out as well as an escape or back to square 1 plan as well.
   
5. Go over the plan with my Professor.

Once I have the base of my plan drawn up, it will be my own personal Blue Belt curriculum. Of course, I will study everything that is put in front of me to build my fundamentals, but with the goal of taking only the stuff that will improve my game plan. *If you try to catch too many rabbits, you may not catch any.

As I get the first draft completed, I will post it here for everyone to take a look at. After that, I will put together my Step 2; how to train and work my plan. Putting it down on paper is only a guide to follow, work has to be done. I will post my step by steps on that as well. I estimate that there will be 23 techniques in all for every position listed above, not including variations or transitions. But we will see...

Ous.

Killing Habits

One of the greatest challenges I am finding in building up my game is deleting all the bad habits I carried into class with me when I started over a year and a half ago. These bad habits not only slow down my progress, but they also get me into trouble some times. I need to forget what I know, let it all go, and re-build from the ground up.

This may sound silly, but the stuff my Professor teaches actually works. It is solid, effective, and if deployed properly, will work 90% of the time. I question why I, in certain situations, try something completely different. The simplest solution was taught to me, but slips my mind when given the opportunity. Perhaps that is the key to proper progression; letting go of all the previous habits and replacing them with new and better ones.

Last night we were working on control and a pass from half guard. Get position, pull the lapel, pass the lapel under arm of opponent, arm over head grab, shift weight to floor (all the way on the side floor), sneak bottom knee inside, and peel away the top foot going to full mount or side control. It was slick and I used it right after in randori (roll time). It worked. But it made me think of all the things I would have normally done, most of which could have got me in trouble (swept or put in full guard).

So, that is why I mention it here. I need to let go of my bad habits and put into full effect all the good stuff I have learned. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (or my current version of it...) can be so messy. My goal is to clean house.

I have also started working more on my game plan and will be meeting Professor Friday for a private lesson to go over it. I will post it up for everyone to take a look at, as well as how I decided on the elements as I continue to write.

Ous.

Big Steps and Small Steps

I find that going back to class after a short hiatus can be pretty challenging, especially if that hiatus involved turkey, sweets, and lots of laying around. Of course, for me over the past three weeks, it involved an average of 4 to 5 hours of sleep a night with my two kids. So I felt that my first class back was extra crispy.

After 10 years of Karate, I often saw people get discouraged on their return and then quit. They could not keep up with the class. They did not know the curriculum. They were passed over in a grading. And many other reasons. In fact that was one of the reasons I halted my career in Karate; stopping in the Black Belt Sai Kata in front of all my peers and my Sensei in a weapons class because I did not have enough time to practice it. Life got in the way in a big time. My ego took a hit and I used it as an excuse to throw all my work away... well there was more to it, but my ego taking that hit was the catalyst. It happens to everyone at some point in their life.

The best part of going through that is it prepared me for my training mind set in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. My expectations have a lot less to do with ego (in this case what others think about me) and more to do with my own personal progression (what I think about myself). I do not have to be an expert. I do not have to be top dog. I do not have to be able to kick every one's ass. All I have to do is train.

Some classes I get my ass kicked. Some classes I do the kicking. But as long as I am there, I am progressing, and that is all that matters. This all came into perspective after being a paper weight while getting a whooping from Sam on Wednesday. I was shut down and non-functional due to gassing. Did I learn something, sure. I learn something every time I fight him. It brought to the forefront that which I just spoke about, but I also learned that he is using combos a lot more which means all heavy weights in the Grand Prix this year should be very afraid... terrified even.

So, my advice to anyone who reads this; train for yourself. You do not have to be Superman. All you have to do is show up and give it your best every time. Progress can be slow or fast, but it is still progress. No progress is made if you do not train. Do it for yourself and no one else, that is the key to sticking with it and getting better of course.

Ous.

Progression

Did you know that every moment of the day, we are moving over 1000 miles an hour? That is how fast the earth is spinning. We do not realize it because we are stuck to this ball of dirt along with everything else around us, hurling itself through the universe at untold speeds. It kinda feels like we are standing still, doesn't it.

I brought this up because this is a great analogy for class and progression in BJJ. As everyone around you gets better, it is hard to notice your own progression. The blue belt who has been tapping you for a year still taps you, even after an entire year of training. But I have found that I only notice how well I have progressed when I roll with a relatively new student at the club, even a student who has been training for only a few months less than me. I wonder what it would be like against a non-fighter on the street... ? ... ;)

Tonight I am going back to class after the holiday war. Yes, war. This year I had 7 separate Christmas events. Crazy! But I did manage to get a new project launched: Hypnofighter.com. I took some of the tools I have been using for my own progression and polished them up for others to use.

I also wanted to give a shout out to Aesopian, a brother fighter from Tampa! He just earned his Purple and to my recent knowledge, has a really kick ass site: Aesopian.com. Check it out.

Ous.