“SHUGYO”

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TRAINING CONCEPTS FOR BJJ/MMA/SUBMISSION GRAPPLING

“SHUGYO”

 

“Meeting and dismissing that inner-voice, the one that calls for retreat, calls for rest, calls for acquiescence to physical exhaustion, then proceeding forward, pushing on and achieving more than what you thought you could endure, hardens your ability to survive.” –Tim Sledd

    Warriors, athletes, and competitors are looking for an edge. Some stay tuned to the latest diets, exercise routines, and literature. Some choose to buy the latest equipment, gear, or instructionals on their relevant field. But throughout history, a key characteristic of successful warriors, athletes, and competitors has been the desire to survive.

    By “survival,” I mean the ability to meet great obstacles head on, overcome them, and continue forward with the mission. Perhaps the obstacle is pain, limited finances, or fewer troops, but to a real warrior, there is nothing that will get in the way of the mission. A small percentage of people exemplify this character trait, but all of us are born with this trait and can condition ourselves to endure obstacles so as to meet our goals. 

“Fighting is actually the best thing a man can have in his soul.”

                        – Renzo Gracie Continue reading →

Functional Exercises for BJJ

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kklogo-smallMany people spend hours on the mat, hours watching instructionals, hours in the gym and often they are left looking for an edge. Nothing replaces mat time, but proper conditioning and strength building are components of any athlete’s over all game and often the difference between winning and losing.

Of course running and weight lifting can help you develop sufficient cardio and strength to excel in grappling. What do you do when you are bored with those options, don’t have a gym near by, or believe (as I do) that running is harder on the body than an armlock and weight lifting is inefficient? You turn to non-traditional yet functional alternative training methods.

Below are several cheap, simple, and FUNCTIONAL exercises that will leave you exhausted while building relevant strength. There is AMPLE example and explanation on how to do the exercises that I demonstrate, so I (after demonstrating the exercise) take you through it’s BJJ/Grappling counterpart. Enjoy the exercises, and Happy Grappling! Click “read more” to see the vids. Continue reading →

BJJ Sweeps Tutorial: Using a Judo Principle to Increase Effectiveness

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In my quest to be the best grappler I can be, I began studying Judo to supplement my BJJ. Insodoing, I bought and read Jigoro Kano’s “Kodokan Judo,” and Neil Ohlenkamp’s “Judo Unleashed.” I also enlisted a new BJJ student, Neil Coker (a Judo Black Belt, and national level judoka) to begin coaching me.

What has occured is a continual analysis of how the principles of one art can benefit the other. Nowhere has a principle of Judo benefitted an aspect of BJJ more, for me, than in the realm of SWEEPS!
Continue reading →

Caique Seminar/Promotions

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Master Caique came to town October 14th to give a seminar at Indiana University. Members of the Indiana University Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Club, Lucas Martial Arts, and Small Axe Jiu Jitsu all converged for instruction by the Master.

Caique taught everything from countering the standing guillotine, passing various guards, to continuing to attack an opponent who is playing tight defense from the bottom cross-side. Great material rich in details to refine.

After the techniques, drilling, and Q&A, Master Caique recognized some promotion from each team. The following were the Small Axe members who received promotions:

Tim Sledd (3-stripe Brown Belt)
Brandon Sieg (4-stripe Blue Belt)
Vince Kreipke (Blue Belt)
Joe Compton (4-stripe White Belt)
Aubrey Rawlings (4-stripe White Belt)
Kelsey Wagoner (3-stripe White Belt)
Adam Hayden (2-stripe White Belt)
Brandon Mcguire(1-stripe White Belt)
Jake Waltz (4-stripe Juvie White)

It is always awesome to have Master Caique in town for a seminar. His techniques and insight are invaluable. I encourage all my students to travel to the Caique Jiu Jitsu main academy in California to see why we learn the way we do and experience the great instruction.

Happy Grapping!

Michigan Open 2009, 3 Champs, 3 Runner Ups, 2 Thirds (Pics and Vids)

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team-pic

On September 26th, 2009, members of Small Axe Jiu Jitsu converged on Northern Detroit to compete in the Michigan Open. We had a competitor that weighed in less than 70 lbs and a couple who cleared the 200 lbs mark with ease. The end result of the day was Small Axe taking home 3 first place medals, 3 second place medals, 2 third place medals and the other two competitors getting some great mat time.

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Controlling the Hips! Essay and Vids

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HIP CONTROL

                It is inevitable that in BJJ you will be told, “Control the hips,” or “It’s all about the hips,” or something along those lines. The advice is sound! What do they mean? This essay is going to try to demonstrate a way to direct your attention to controlling your opponent’s hips. We will first look at what I call the “Hip Control Zone (HCZ).” Then we will dissect several different positions both offensively and defensively with respect and attention paid to the HCZ.

Hip Control Zone (HCZ):

                Imagine you are on your back, under side control. Every time you try to elbow escape, you run into his arm or his knee and you are never able to get your knee to your elbow. Or, you are attacking someone from your guard; each time you move to sweep or swing on an armbar your legs seem too short or your butt feels like it is stuck to the mat. What you’re imagining is probably a past reality and likely will happen again; someone has managed to control your hip mobility and they did so by controlling your HCZ.

                The HCZ is a moving target. Depending on the position, it can be a small target or a very large target. If a person is flat on his back the HCZ is small, but if the person bumps up onto his side turning into you, the HCZ grows larger and harder to manage.  However, the core of the HCZ is the area on a person’s side where their hip bone begins.
 

Side Control Variations: Continue reading →

Holy Trinity of BJJ (Strategy, Tightness, Timing)

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SHARP AND READY

The Big Tree will not fear the dull axe, nor will it fear the axe that has been tucked away in cabinet. Rather, the axe must be sharp and ready. To be such in jiu-jitsu, one must have four things. First, one must have a mastery of the fundamental positions. Next, one must be able to organize those moves into an actionable strategy. Then, one’s timing must be right. Finally, the tightness of the technique must be right.

Fundmentals:

In Small Axe BJJ, I came up with Minimal Objective Requirements for Blue Belt. These are what I feel are the core building blocks of BJJ. They are focused on the fundamental positions in BJJ (i.e. the guard, mount, back mount, cross-side, knee on belly, and the reverse of each position). The techniques listed are those that I feel once mastered, provide the framework for adding the Continue reading →

Mental Revelations Of the Progressing Grappler

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MENTAL REVELATIONS OF THE PROGRESSING GRAPPLER

 

                One of the most exciting parts of teaching Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is the experience of witnessing students progress in skill and develop in mental acuity. Part of the progression entails improved physical abilities, but the beauty of BJJ is that, because of its intellectual components, one’s physical limitations can be overcome. This essay will explore the various mental revelations that occur with developing and progressing grapplers.

Continue reading →

MMA and BJJ… Symbiotic??

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Ari Bolden, of www.submissions101.comrecently asked me to comment on my perspective of the relationship between MMA and BJJ. He asked me if MMA will make BJJ obsolete? He also wanted me to address differences between MMA grappling and BJJ. This post will try to address these issues as well as set an argument for the vitality of BJJ, if not the need for serious Mixed Martial Artists to train both gi and no-gi. Continue reading →