Masahiko Kimura (1917-1993)

This is a short documentary by an American judoka who travelled to Japan after WWII to train with a famous Japanese Univeristy team. The teacher is Kimura,a legend of kosen judo, where the emphasis is on ground work and not just throwing, this form of judo is one of the major influences on modern day BJJ. Essentially it was the Japanese who introduced Judo to the Gracie family.
I have also included footage of Helio Gracie fighting Kimura in a challenge match and getting thrown with Kimura's favourite throw an o soto gari (outside leg reap), squashed and his arm snapped (yes, literally) but in true Gracie fashion Helio doesn't tap. There is a photo toward the end of the video after Kimura applies the submission where he is smiling amazed that Helio hasnt tapped and the arm has gone pop. The reverse figure 4 arm lock to this day is known as the Kimura in recognition of this man. Its well worth reading his bio and researching his life story, his competition record is amazing. In recent years both Renzo and Royler Gracie have had trouble with the Kimura armlock in MMA competition and the technique is now sometimes amusingly called the Gracie killer.

BJJ Worlds HL Clip 2003

Here is a compilation of some of the best submissions from the Mundials way back in 2003. Look out for Australia's own Elvis Sinosic catching a guy with a knee bar as a brown belt. Marcelo Garcia also gets tapped with an armbar in this one as a brown belt, he has come along way since then to become one of the worlds best. How times change, its bizarre to see him on the recieving end of an armbar rather than dishing one out. This years worlds will be held in three weeks time in California. Should be a great competition.

Watching this reminds me that its really the fundamental submissions that do the damage, there's nothing super-fancy on display here. For the brown and black belts its all in the set up's and transitions, ultimately being one step ahead of your opponent and controlling where the action goes and when. If you've trained for 12-18 months you will have seen most of these submissions before but applying them in a pressure scenario with a non-compliant opponent especially one skilled in jiu-jitsu is a different matter altogether. Nice to watch it done well though.

UFC 74 Preview

The two marquee match ups for the next UFC will be Koscheck vs GSP and Couture v Gonzaga. Both are great fights stylistically and should be awesome to watch live. The show will be shown on Foxtel MainEvent on Sunday 26th August usually around midday. So I thought we might have a get together and watch the fights and someone has kindy offered their house for the occasion. Mark this date in your diary. I will email and handout invites once the details have been finalised. But it would be great if we can all chip in for the cost of the pay per view. So in the meantime watch these previews and let the predictions and discussions begin!

UFC 74 GSP vs Koscheck Preview
Uploaded by bawzz

UFC 74 Couture vs Gonzaga Preview
Uploaded by bawzz

HL Clip Margarida

This is the guy where the standing guard pass variation comes from, you see it at the 2min mark of the clip. That's him tapping Saulo Ribeiro at 2.25min with a baseball bat choke and catching Fabio Gurgel at the very end with a cross lapel choke from guard. I really like his game especially his standing shoulder throws. Hope you enjoy.

BJJ Drills

BJJ-drills-1
Uploaded by Atomas

Some drills to help improve movements commonly used during BJJ practice.

BJJ World Champs in August

The 2007 Worlds is just around the corner. This important event takes place on August 23rd through the 26th at the California
State Long Beach University Pyramid. Keep your eye on the net for results and pictures. This is the first time this tournament has been held outside of Brasil and there has been much speculation about the impact this will have on the standard given most athletes from Brasil, particularily in the coloured belt divisions, may not be able to afford the trip.

Check out http://www.ibjjf.org for more information.

What is Jiu Jitsu?

The correct offensive and defensive technical application of the following principles:

Timing : the choice, judgment or control of when something should be done; the regulation or occurrence, pace or co-ordiantion to achieve a desired effect.

Momentum :the quantity of motion of a moving object, equal to the product of mass and velocity, impetus gained by movement or progress.

Leverage: improved mechanical efficiency or advanatage using a lever to increase force applied.

Base :the lowest part or edge of something especially the part on which it rests or is supported, foundation.

Balance : an even distribution of weight ensuring stability, a state of equillibrium or parity characterised by cancellation of all forces by equal opposing forces

Position : a way in which someone or something is placed or arranged, a situation or set of circumstances.

Angles : the space between two intersecting lines or surfaces at or close to the point where they meet

Transitional Control: the process of changing from one state or condition to another while maintaining the restriction of an activity, tendency or phenomenon.

Strength, size and aggression are handy when grappling but to my mind thats not the gentle art.

Thanks to the Concise Oxford Dictionary for some help explaining the principles

Relax and Breathe

The two most common words a beginner in grappling will hear and then duly ignore as they try to rip their partners head off! Relax and Breathe. Grappling is hard work, thats for sure, learning to manage your breathing helps you keep energy in reserve, stay calm and relaxed and recover both mentally and physically ultimately making you a more efficient grappler . This applies whether your positioned the on top or on the bottom. The close physical nature of grappling doesnt allow for a chance for a breather whenever you choose as in many other stand up fighting styles. The only thing that you can do on the ground is conciously relax and breathe. So next time your on the mat be aware of you and your training partners breathing and make sure your breathing is under control. We never drive a car in top gear all the time with the foot to the floor, there's four or five gears that you use depending on the circumstances. Grappling tempo and breathing are the same and need to vary according to circumstances. All the greats look relaxed when they roll so lets try and emulate them.

2 Half Guard Passes by Ricardo De la Riva

Here is a clip of two half guard passes by De La Riva (the one in the blue gi who doesnt speak english). Want to get back to some more half guard work in class over the next few weeks. Watch and learn. Also check out aesopian.com for some more sweeps from half guard that I'd like to play with as well.

Gracie BJJ Demo in Japan

This is Royler and Rickson putting on a demo of Gracie BJJ in Japan. It is essentially pre-arranged sparring but it is a nice introduction to some of the techniques and concepts of BJJ. Rickson is considered by many to be one of the worlds best BJJ practitioners. Enjoy.

Judo HL Clip Nice Throws!

Underhook in the Clinch By Randy Couture

How to finish a RNC by Stephan Kesting

Marcelo Garcia HL Clip

Genki Sudo HL Clip

Genki Sudo - The Legend of The Samurai
Uploaded by psykojojo

Tony Blauer - Maxims & quotes for effective training

Caught some Tony Blauer video on mma.tv and it reminded me how much I like his stuff. There are more video clips on crossfit.com for which I have added a link. Well worth checking out if your interested in how martial arts training can be integerated into self-defence training and how the two are not necessarily related and the essential framework that needs to be built to bridge the gap. Here is a collection of quotes by Tony Blauer and some notable others.......

“Experience is something you get, shortly after you need it!” – HIGH GEAR maxim
“The superior fighter has no emotional attachment to any one range of combat.” - T. Blauer
“If you face just one opponent, and you doubt yourself, you’re out-numbered” -Dan Millman
“Training should hurt, but never injure…if there is no pain, there is no fear…if there is no fear, then you’re not really training.” - T. Blauer
‘The height of strategy, is to attack your opponent’s strategy” -Sun Tzu
“You can only beat the opponent, who makes a mistake” - T. Blauer
“It’s not who’s right, it’s who’s left.” - Unknown
“You never know how much you can do, until you try to do more than you can.” -T. Blauer
“Real fights, happen in the space of a phone booth” - T. Blauer
“The MIND navigates the BODY.” – Unknown
‘Character’ is who you are when no one is looking. –Unknown
“What you practice, is what you’ll do” Benny Urquidez
“Be careful what you practice, you may get really good at the wrong thing!” - T. Blauer
"A really bad idea, embraced by millions of people, is still a really bad idea.” - T. Blauer
“When the student is ready, the teacher appears….but when the student feels they are the teacher, the student in them disappears.” - T. Blauer
“Control the mind and you can control the behavior”. - T. Blauer
“There is no right or wrong in our system, only Desirable and Less Desirable.” - T. Blauer
“Sparring, is NOT Self Defense.” - T. Blauer
“Don’t look at the technique, or final action, look at the tenacity, the will, and the indignation that fueled the action.” - T. Blauer
“Those who talk, can usually be persuaded to walk” - T. Blauer
“Real fights are only the ones you can’t avoid.” - T. Blauer
“Make your fighting stance, your everyday stance and make your everyday stance, your fighting stance.” - Musashi
“DO more, KNOW more, THINK more, HAVE more and WANT more than your opponent.” - T. Blauer
“Man, the living creature, the creating individual, is always more important than any established style, or system.” - Bruce Lee
“Failure to plan is like planning to fail.” Unknown
"F.E.A.R. – False Expectations, Appearing Real"
“If I am to lose, let me lose to the superior fighter. Let me lose because he was better than I was, not because I was worse than him.” - T. Blauer
“Don’t do your favorite move, but rather, the worst move for your opponent.” Chess maxim
“Do you want to BE good, or FEEL good? Truth before ego…” - T. Blauer
“The way you feel, affects the way you think; the way you think, affects the way you feel; they both affect the way you move.” - T. Blauer
“If you can’t think to do it in training, what makes you think you’ll think to do it in the street.” - T. Blauer
“Never let FEAR, PRIDE, or EGO, dictate your next battle plan.” - T. Blauer
“The longer you practice failure, the harder it becomes to recognize success.” - T. Blauer


About Tony Blauer:
Tony Blauer has been teaching professionally for over 20 years and has pioneered work on the psychological and behavioral components of confrontations. Dubbed "The Self-defense Psychologist", Blauer conducts seminars the world over and is considered one of the foremost authorities on personal protection. Mr. Blauer stars in over 20 instructional videos and has appeared in over 90 magazines including FORBES.
He currently runs TACTICAL CONFRONTATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS, a consulting firm specializing in training military and law enforcement groups in his 'S.P.E.A.R. SYSTEM'.
For more information on Tony Blauer's motivation & combative seminars contact him directly at (514) 482-1643 or on the WEB @ www.blauertactical.com