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.

I'm Back...

For the past two months I have been keeping my nose down and sticking to business. My wife gave birth to our second child, Sofia Karin Stoll. This has been the most challenging time of my life, in addition to running my company and, of course, preparing for my blue belt grading.

Now that everything is falling back into place, I will be again more consistent with my mental release here on Got Jits. I found time to read a couple books while away from writing, and will be bringing that stuff up as well.

Now that I have a new belt around my waist, my focus will be on putting together an even better game plan. Not that the belt has anything to do with it because I still fight the same, but now there is no "etched in stone" curriculum and I can work with my professor to establish some custom attacks and defenses now that I have a better understanding of the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. But I see this as just a new beginning, I am a white belt all over again and it feels fine.

Ous!

P.S. Congrats to everyone who graded and passed. Jason and Timmy put on a show as they passed their Purple Belt grading. Timmy chose me as his grading partner and got to experience his sharp skills first hand, a true honor. Thank you, Timmy. And Chris also walked away with a well deserved Blue belt around his waist.

Game Plan on the Fly

Sometimes you have no other choice than to abandon your standard game plan when facing opponents of a larger size or superior skill. Some attacks or defenses will simply not work and you have to adjust accordingly.

In recent history, say the past year or so, every class I am paired with opponents who outweigh me by 30 to 50 pounds married to more experience. I do not learn much in the 5 minutes of attack defend, but the hours spent on reflection has taught me much. And my game has improved vastly because of this as well as my strength and conditioning. Of course my opponents have improved as well, so the results of each match has not altered much, but is closing in on parity. Time will do this as everyone improves.

I have learned when fighting a stronger and larger opponent, it is far more difficult apply different arm bars where strength is required. Try an Americana from top half guard against a guy who outweighs you by 50+ pounds who can most likely beat Sylvester Stallone in an arm wrestling match... You get the point. So how do you form a game plan on the fly?

At this place in history in my training, 16+ months of training, I have more and more tools in my arsenal. Enough understanding that I can more than likely do most of what my Professor tells me to do as he observes from the side lines. But all this understanding must lead to the formulation of what may work and what will most likely not work on an opponent that I size up before a match.

For a smaller opponent - Use your weight and work to hold top positions, avoiding sweeps and escapes. Strength has to match up well against speed. Shutting down mobility should lead to victory.

For same size opponents - All things being equal in size, initiative must be used to stay in control of attack. Once in defensive mode, the game is much harder to play. Getting and keeping control is the path to victory.

For a larger opponent - Where is the weakness? How could you work to gas an opponent with big muscles? Is it easier to leg or foot lock a tall opponent? How can you take away their size advantage; perhaps working on getting to the back? Is it easier to choke a big guy than to arm bar?

Experience is teaching me that it only takes time to figure out what works and what does not. As long as I stay on the mat and spend time on seemingly more productive routes to success, the faster I will achieve my goals. If I take a step back, eliminate all the useless stuff like emotion, appearance, and hesitation and then focus on options, the game becomes much more fun and fluid. And, of course, having Professor point out errors in judgement and style helps immensly over time.

Next time you face off against a tougher opponent, picture a better fighter than yourself, say Marcelo Garcia, and ask what would he do in the match? Then try it out.

Ous.

Litany Against Fear

I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.

Frank Herbert

Rear Naked Bed Making

There are right ways and wrong ways of applying different submissions, but I want to first talk about making your bed. Anyone can make a bed, although I suspect most fighters, to the disappointment of spouses and perhaps parents, are not very good at it. I know that I get an ear full every once and a while from my wife when I don't straighten the sheets.

When making a bed it is essential to do it the same way each time, step by step. First remove all loose materials from the under sheet. Then straighten up the pillows so they are in proper order and not sticking up or out. Then pull the top sheet or blanket over the bed and pillows. Then tuck in the sheet under the pillows for presentation's sake. And then swipe out any bumps. The bed is done and looks nice too.

Having a nicely made bed will impress your spouse, significant other, or parents regardless if you care or not. It may take some time in the beginning to get a process down, but the more you do it, the faster you will get. Just take a look at a maid in a hotel; 3 minutes to make bed so tight and neat, it looks military. Step by step practice leads to increase speed and accuracy in getting the job done right.

The same goes for a submission techniques. I failed to apply a rear naked choke this week that I usually can put on and pretty tight. I was in perfect position for the submission. In an attempt to put it on quickly, I missed one step that allowed my opponent to peel it off because I did not get my second hand in low enough behind his head; hidden below the bottom part of his skull to act as a door stop. And because I did not get the second hand in tight enough, I could not use my head to layer on my attack defense. And the whole technique fell apart like a house of cards; especially since my opponent was very strong.

Speed does not matter if you want to make a bed properly. The same rule should apply when attempting a solid submission. Sacrificing speed for sloppy execution harms the perfection of the technique and leads to bad habits over time. Go as fast as you can without missing steps. You may miss the application due to a defense, but step by step will eventually lead to speed, accuracy, and a successful submission.

Ous.

Gassing

I was away from the mat with a thing for the last two weeks. Last night was my first class back where I felt something I had not felt for a long time and certainly never to the extent it hit me yesterday.

Class was pretty normal, although we are in tournament preparation mode for Joslin's in November. And there was nothing out of the ordinary going on. The rolling portion of class Professor put me with the usual heavy hitters for my first two rolls. I felt fine, although I find it difficult to not rely somewhat on strength when out muscled. After these rolls I was paired up with an sneaky opponent that weighed less than me, causing me to move and think at a faster rate.

Near the middle of the third roll, I lost my breath but continued to roll. After my breath left me, my muscles started to work less and less. I felt clumsy and my attacks were more holey than church on Sunday. I kept trying to keep up the attack and gain position and play my game, but I could not hold anything. Credit goes to my opponent, but it was frustrating for me to feel like I could not lock anything in, which is unusual.

After the three rolls, class came to an end. While standing in line, I could not breath. I do not know what asthma feels like, but I imagine it felt like this. I knew I would not die, so it may sound strange, but I enjoyed the agony. I did my best to stay upright, although I did put my hands on my knees once or twice, and see through the fading darkness to pay attention to Professor's words during the final bow. The hardest part about being gassed is to not show that you are gassed, and to not pass out of course.

So I know why I gassed; I drove to damn fast far too early in the race. Two weeks off requires some re-building to get back to proper fighting shape, especially when you were ill. Missing classes is the fastest way to become unhealthy. The flip side is that the fastest way to getting healthy is to make it to every class. But all this lead me to an interesting paradox on gassing: the more you gas, the less you gas. I will be better next class.

Ous.

Checkmate or Stalemate

I had the opportunity to watch a class on Wednesday due to a thing. I rarely get to watch my team mates roll as I am usually "in the shit" and seeing where most of the guys are in terms of skill is pretty cool. I have to mention Victor because this guy has improved immensely since he started with his brother in January this year. He uses the fundamentals well and once he learns to sew things up tighter, he will be a force. He also has some really sneaky knees...

Anyway, I saw something in the rolling portion of class that I did not expect and I will comment because I have been there before and have learned to move past it. I saw a part of match where fighter (a) got caught in bottom mount. Fighter (b) held it and was ready to launch an attack and waited for fighter (a) to make an escape attempt. Fighter (a) knew what was coming and refused to attempt an escape. It seemed like forever where fighter (a) just lay there while fighter (b) held position and waited.

When fighter (a) was asked why he did not attempt an escape, he replied, "because I know what fighter (b) is going to do". They ended up breaking the stalemate and started over in a different position which I could not understand. This was a missed opportunity to learn for both fighters. I wish I could have seen fighter (a) at least attempt the escape so fighter (b) could have done his thing. But I question why fighter (a) knowing what fighter (b) wanted to do could not put together a plan. As well, there are a few options to escape from bottom mount that fighter (a) has used on me more than once, all of which were effective to a least create space and get out from under there or end up in half guard. It surprised me that he did not use escape techniques in this situation even though his opponent was larger. Maybe I missed something...

I wrote about this a few months ago talking about 2 specific times I could not escape, but could not get tapped either. Once when Mikey had my back locked in an Anaconda or Back Triangle really tight and I did not know how to defend my neck while breaking the lock. And once when Gabre had my arm trapped in closed guard real tight and I, again, could not escape while defending the cross choke grip he was attempting. In both instances it is my opinion that I was check mated, even though there was no submission. I now have some idea how to deal with both these situations because I looked for answers. But with the fight I just mentioned, the bottom fighter had viable options already.

I am happy that I am still a white belt and will continue to keep my mind open like a white belt. If I play all defensive all the time just to avoid getting tapped, I will hit a ceiling and plateau in my ability. Sometimes it is better to get tapped just to see how it happened, why it happened, and work on a solution for the next time it may happen.

Grappling, like chess, has so many pieces and so many variables. I would rather lose to a checkmate than force a stalemate if it meant I got better for the next time. Will ego be my biggest opponent as I progress? I hope not because then that and everyone else will kick my ass.

Ous.