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Archive for the ‘Judo Techniques’ Category

Why and How To Keep a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Notebook

Posted in BJJ Techniques, Judo Techniques, Uncategorized on November 18, 2012| 10 Comments »

Brazilian jiu-jitsu notebooks

Jeff gets arty: Brazilian jiu-jitsu still life with gym bag, notebooks, and gi.

A technique notebook is one of the most powerful Brazilian jiu-jitsu training aids. I’ve been keeping one on and off since my first judo class and have found that my rate of progression is directly proportional to my diligence with updating my BJJ notebook. Jiu-jitsu isn’t something that’s easy to describe using words alone and a couple of people at my gym have asked to see my notes, so I figured I’d put together an article explaining why and how I do it.

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Demian Maia MMA Retrospective: A BJJ Submission Extravaganza

Posted in BJJ Techniques, Judo Techniques, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), Uncategorized on October 25, 2012| 4 Comments »

UFC 131 weigh ins

Demian Maia weighs in for UFC 131 in Vancouver. Photo courtesy of MartialArtsNomad.com

Demian Maia might be the best Brazilian jiu-jitsu technician in mixed martial arts. Of his 17 professional MMA wins, nine have come by submission and three by TKO. Maia’s MMA career has been interesting – from highlight-reel submissions to boring decision losses and back. Watching his recent quick victories over Dong Hyun Kim “The Korean Stun Gun” and Rick Story in UFC 148 and 153, respectively, inspired me to track down some videos and put together a brief Demian Maia MMA retrospective.

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Entire Judo Throwing Technique Syllabus in One Awesome Video

Posted in BJJ Techniques, Judo Techniques, Martial Arts / Jiu-jitsu History, Uncategorized on October 13, 2012| 8 Comments »

Holy crap! A two-hour video breakdown of every judo nage-waza (throwing technique) in the gokyo no waza and shimmeisho no waza. 68 judo takedowns in all! And it was put together by the Kodokan Judo Institute, the International Judo Federation (IJF), and the All Japan Judo Federation so it’s the real thing. It was passed on to me by one of my longtime Dynamic MMA training partners, who Twitter types may know as JiuJitsuDude.

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The Importance of Breathing in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Posted in BJJ Techniques, Judo Techniques, Nutrition/Wellness, Uncategorized on September 27, 2012| 7 Comments »

Can't do much Brazilian jiu-jitsu without these things

The heart and lungs, a BJJ fighter’s best friends. Image courtesy of Gray’s Anatomy. Public Domain.

Breathing in BJJ is often overlooked. There’s no shortage of information about the visually exciting side of Brazilian jiu-jitsu technique… escapes, submissions, sweeps, counters… the magazines and websites are overflowing with that stuff. But breathing? Boring. Right? Not exactly. When I’m rolling with someone, one of the main things I pay attention to is their breathing pattern.

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Knee Injuries in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Posted in BJJ Techniques, Judo Techniques, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), Nutrition/Wellness, Uncategorized on September 17, 2012| 10 Comments »

Catch-as-catch-can wrestler Neil Melanson performs a leglock

Catch wrestling specialist Neil Melanson demonstrates a kneebar – aka “the king of leglocks”. Photo courtesy of MartialArtsNomad.

Knee injuries are very common in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, especially since it seems like heel hooks, toeholds, and other leglocks are getting more popular. Is it the Toquinho effect? The rise of the 50-50 guard? Rubber guard disasters? Maybe leglock master “Judo” Gene LeBell is to blame. At any rate, the list of high-level BJJ (and MMA) fighters who have been slowed down by knee injuries goes on and on: Kron Gracie, Xande Ribeiro, David Avellan, Dustin Hazelett, Bas Rutten, Roger Gracie, Tito Ortiz, Romulo Barral, Marco Ruas, Georges Ste-Pierre, to name a few. How to these injuries happen? And how do you treat them?

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Judo Footsweeps for BJJ, MMA, and Grappling

Posted in BJJ Techniques, Judo Techniques, Uncategorized on March 11, 2012| 12 Comments »

University of Toronto Judo Club. Hart House.

The Hart House Judo Club at U of T circa 2001 – an amazing place to learn judo footsweeps.

A perfect judo footsweep is beyond satisfying. With almost no effort on your part, your sparring partner finds themselves laid out wondering what the hell happened. Incorporating judo footsweeps into your Brazilian jiu-jitsu training is well worth the time spent. They aren’t necessarily hard to learn, they just take a lot of practice and a strong understanding of happo no kuzushi (breaking balance).

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Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Promotions – History and Musings

Posted in Judo Techniques, Martial Arts / Jiu-jitsu History, Martial Arts / Jiu-Jitsu Philosophy, Uncategorized on February 23, 2012| 7 Comments »

One of the most famous black belts in BJJ - Royce Gracie. Photo by superwebdeveloper.

Belt promotions are a hot topic in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Hang around the mats and changerooms of any BJJ academy and you’ll hear lots of talk about who does and doesn’t deserve a promotion. Stories abound of instructors who intentionally delay promotions with the intention of giving their students the edge in competitions. But what does a belt really mean? And where did the colours come from?

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