Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Holiday Training Times

Thursday 23rd December 7pm Open Mat (no gi)
Tuesday 28th December 7pm Open Mat (gi)
Thursday 30th December 7pm Open Mat (no gi)
Tuesday 4th January 7pm Normal Classes Resume

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Saturday, December 11, 2010

More photos


Grading Photos






Well done to Travis on his blue belt. Here are some photos of the day. I dont know how Long made it into the photos so dont ask.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Strikeforce Recap


Some big ko's in this highlight reel.

End of Year Events

Busy time of year. Please make note of the following important dates. Please let me ASAP if you wish to attend the Extreme Xmas Bash in St Kilda or our dinner at Taco Bill in Mornington after the last night of training for the year. First come first served.

Saturday 11th December Gradings @ Chadstone HQ 11am (6 months consistent training prerequisite)

Thursday 16th December 6pm Last Junior Class and Grading, Coach John Donehue class 8pm

Friday 17th December Extreme Christmas Party, Urban Hotel Curious Restaurant Fitzroy St, St Kilda 7.30pm $55/head

Tuesday 21st December Last class of the year 7-8pm then Dinner @ Taco Bill Mornington from 8pm (12 ppl booked)

Tuesday 4th January Adult Classes resume for 2011

Thursday 10th February 2011 Junior Classes Resume

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Above the line or below the line.

Am having a great time at the instructors training weekend. Even though I can't train due to a back injury I have learnt a lot and have spent time with some fantastic people. Watching high level guys teach and train in there chosen sport whether it be wrestling for Cris Brown or Marcelino Freitas in BJJ has been amazing. Its all on tape as well so we can all bring it back to our respective clubs. Watching Fretais use jiu jitsu strategies and techniques to beat wrestling or Cris using wrestling tactics to beat jiu jitsu has opened my eyes to a whole new level of the game. Its all been done in a friendly and sharing way with everyone asking questions and just looking to improve their skills. Its exciting to be part of group with this level of coach available. Back there today for more learning.

Anyhow, one of the best karateka and examples of a lifelong martial artist, Cameron Quinn, is in attendance and received his purple belt yesterday from Coach John Donehue. I was talking to Cameron yesterday morning and he mentioned the idea of OAR and BED as acronyms for personal development. Here is an article which outlines the idea from a coaching stand point. I really liked the idea so I'd thought it share it. The idea of course is to spend time above the line rather than below it in all aspects of our life.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Club Update

Best of luck to all the guys who have entered this years Pan Pacs. We have 10 guys representing our club which is very exciting. Get out there and have some fun and let all the hard work you have put in as a group over the last few months finally pay off. There will be no adult or kids classes on this Saturday as result of the Pan Pacs, if you are not competing then please go an support your teammates. After this weekends tournament we will return to our no gi timetable for the rest of summer. Tuesday night will remain a Gi class for both sessions while Thursday will revert to no-gi training as of next week.

Also please be aware of the following dates.....

Sunday 5th December – John Donehue Seminar $60 in Chadstone starting early afternoon.
 
Saturday 11th December – BJJ Adult Grading @ Chadstone
Adult BJJ classes at Mornington cancelled due to grading
Adults will grade from 11.00am – 1.00pm
There will be a BBQ on afterwards
 
Friday 17th December – Annual Extreme Christmas Party in Melbourne

Monday, November 15, 2010

Rashies and Shorts have arrived

Competition rashies ($40) and Keiko Raca Shorts ($80) order has arrived. Bring your money to training on Tuesday night to collect your gear. Thanks to Combat Gi for supplying us with the gear.

Some Judo Ippons

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Racecourse Road Closure

It seems Racecourse Rd will be closed for five months at the Bungower Rd end from Monday 8th November. There are plans to widen the road. Please make sure you come to training from the Mornington Tyabb Rd end to get to the Carbine Way round-about as there will be no access from the other side. All further enquiries and complaints can be directed to Nial Macdonagh at the Mornington Peninsula Shire. This is a community service announcement.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

One on one with Shawn Williams

One on one with Shawn Williams

Great interview with some awesome technical insights and training advice. Should keep you busy on a public holiday.Very impressed with this guy.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

BJJ in MMA HL


When Maia sweeps Sonnen standing, then mounts to triangle for a finish is still one of the best applications of BJJ I have ever seen in the cage. Poetry in motion. Some nice stuff here.

Spider Guard Sweep

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Fujiwara Seminar

Overhook Setups

Being a whizzer junkie I like this stuff.

Great K1 Fight

Here is a link to a fantastic KI fight recently. Take the time to watch this one. One of the best kickboxing matches I've ever seen.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Judo HL from Kyoto University

This university was there centre for kosen judo hence the stuff that looks like BJJ. Nice dojo.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Train for training's sake.

One of the things I have come to realize over time is that martial arts training needs to be a habit. A ritualised, repetitive activity that is part of your daily or weekly routine. And that to be fulfilled in your training you need to be able to train for its own sake. Competitions are great, grading to your next belt level is great, being able to get your favourite submission is great but at the end of the day unless training is a ritual or a routine, when these external motivations are removed, and trust me and some point the goal posts always move, your desire to train will fade. Learn to enjoy the process of learning and testing techniques positions and ideas. Thats where the juice is in my opinion. And when you get good enough at something then share it with the next person. That way people move forward as a group and progress occurs. I remember when I got a black belt in karate at 16 years of age after almost 9 years of training and I thought I knew something. Well it quickly became clear that it was only the beginning. In BJJ they say the hardest belt is black for the same reason. View training as a life long activity and change your perspective on what training means to you. Make a paradigm shift and see what happens.

WEC 51 Open Workout HL

Gamburyan and Aldo could be a great fight.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

History of Nova Uniao & BJJ

Here is an interesting piece on Wendall Alexander, who was one of the founding members of Nova Uniao. I found it interesting to read how the team was formed to compete against the numbers of Gracie family competitors. Also, I like the fact that it describes a lineage of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu out side of the Gracie Family, something which is often not well recognized. Names like Oswaldo Fadda, which have until recently not been adequately recognized for the contribution to the art. Sometimes to know where we are going it helps to know where we came from.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Magarida v Saulo 2004

Launching Our Junior Program

I am excited to announce that from Tuesday 5th October we will be running a Junior Program at Mornington Extreme JJG. Classes will run on Thursday evening at 6pm and Saturday morning at 9am. Classes will be aimed at junior athletes from 8-15 years of age. Classes will run during the school term and will be conducted by David Cassar and Paul Smith, both David and Paul are long time students, experienced competitors and coaches. Gradings will be conducted at the end of each term according to the Junior Syllabus that has been developed. As is standard in other BJJ schools belts will go from White to Yellow to Orange to Green to Blue. Classes are structured to develop skills, fitness, confidence and co-ordination in young people in sport of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Wrestling. Once a student has reached the rank of Blue belt and 15 years of age they can continue to train in the adult classes. This new program gives us a tremendous opportunity to develop junior athletes and take the club to the next level. A number of people have made requests for this program so please support the new classes. I will put together an information package shortly. Osu

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Coach John Donehue Workshop

A big thanks to all those who made the effort to attend another workshop by Coach John Donehue. The topic of transitioning to back control was covered in great detail over two hours and included set ups from mount, side control and turtle. There is plenty of room to review and refine these techniques over the coming weeks. I will get another date set for the end of the year soon.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Sweep from Guard

Club News Update

The old mat is going back down! For all those that have pleaded with me to get the old wrestling mat back down you have your wish. No more complaints about your body pulling up sore and losing skin after training please. Between crash mats, grappling dummies and a softer mat there are no more excuses for not doing and drilling takedowns. Buy yourself some knee pads, because I'm sick of people borrowing mine. Get ready to wrestle.

Also please remember next weeks workshop with Extreme JJG Head Coach, John Donehue, please support these events by attending if you want them to continue into the future.

Competition season is upon us so please let me know if your interested in competing in the Pan Pacs this year. There will be comp training more regularly as we get closer to November. Also keep in mind that the Australian ADCC qualifiers will be held early next year, for those interested in getting an expenses paid trip to compete and see the best grapplers in the world.

There will also be a few faces leaving in the next couple of weeks to head interstate and overseas so please come in and say goodbye to some training partners. They will be missed. We are also looking to finally get some t-shirts and hoodies done up with club logos so that everyone can get out there and represent. With a bunch of new guys on the mat that are talented and determined it is an exciting time. Onward and upward people. Osu. The blog is back......

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Saturday, August 21, 2010

2 weeks to go...


Just a reminder that a workshop with Extreme JJG Head Coach John Donehue is just two weeks away. It will be held on Saturday 4th September at the club from 3-5pm. The cost will be $70. Last workshop was a great success focusing on passing closed guard, this time we turn our attention to transitions to back control. Back control is one of the strongest positions on the ground and Coach Donehue has some interesting and unique approaches to this position. I will always endeavour to get the best technical guidance to our students, so please support this workshop with your attendance. Osu.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Grip breaks

As we all know grip fighting is a large part of training in a gi. Here is a link to over 45 min of grip breaking video. Check it out.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Big Nog HL


Updated poolside from my iPad. Blue skies and warm weather. How's Melbourne going?

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Interesting....

Here is an interesting link to a blog article by Dan Cherubin.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Why Anderson Silva has lost me as a fan.....

Very good discussion on one of the most talented and flawed MMA guys going around.

Club News Update

Just a few things to put onto your calendar or in your diary......

Sunday 12th September SABJJ Champs. If there is enough interest I will get moving on this one, but if you want cheap flights and accom a decision needs to be made very soon. Let me know if your interested ASAP.

Sunday 10th October 10am JVI Grappling Tournament Trial (Modified Rules)
I need about a dozen or so guys to compete from Mornington in this comp.

Also I will be going away next week for just over a week but classes will run as normal. Please remember classes start @ 10am this Saturday instead of midday. Osu.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Dave Camarillo Guillotine Defence

Half Guard for MMA

This clip is part 3 of a series.

AFBJJ adopts IBJJF rules for local comps....

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to let you all know that the AFBJJ has now adopted the current version of the IBJJF rules - word for word! We will continue to follow their updates in the future too.

Please note the small supplementary note that is linked next to the download on the AFBJJ site:

*******************************************************
SPECIAL REFEREEING NOTE:
In the case of Frontal Guillotine,Frontal Neck Crank and Cervical lock (with chokes),as mentioned in the context of the rules, the referee retains the right to determine
whether, in his or her opinion, the neck is being stretched (leading to possible cervical damage) or choked.
Where the referee determines that the neck is being stretched, and that possible cervical damage could occur, the fight shall be immediately stopped and the competitor applying the submission shall be disquali ed.
*********************************************************

We have included this note to clarify a point that is likely to come up. To be clear, our priority is to protect the neck. If competitors choose to apply any of the above-mentioned techniques it will be their responsibility to do so without stretching the neck. There are a few that hold the interpretation that provided a choke is on, a competitor can do whatever he wants to the neck. THIS IS NOT THE CASE. Any stretching of the neck will be deemed a disqualifiable offence.


We'll be doing a demonstration at the start of the Aus Cup and the Pan Pacs, but please inform your teammates in the meantime so you can practise techniques that do not stretch the neck.


Please email me via referee@afbjj.com or angus.friend@gmail.com if you have any further queries, being sure to include your name and club. You will be free to post my responses if you like, as I won't be answering posts on this forum.


Regards,
Angus.
AFBJJ Head Ref.

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Saturday Class Time Change

Please be aware that from next Saturday 7th August classes will start at 10am and finish at midday. Hopefully it will give everyone a chance to train and then enjoy the rest of the weekend.

MMA Live ESPN






Friday, July 23, 2010

UFC 117 Preview

SA BJJ Open 12th Sept

Check your diaries for Sunday 12th September as there will be a tournament running at ETSA park in Adelaide that day. There has been some interest in making another team trip this year to a competition. The Champions Cup will be in Perth this year, the very next weekend, over two days and may be too big a commitment. We should be able to get to SA and back with a single night there or just one big day. Let me know if there is enough interest and I will look at flights and accom. I have emailed Greg Toyama and requested entry forms and posters be sent out to us. Cheers.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

MMA Live ESPN


Best MMA show going around. Jones will be an MMA superstar, mark my words. I think this guy will be the next step in the evolution of MMA as a sport. An athlete with his head on right, background in wrestling, strikes with amazing rhythm and timing and now working on his jiu jitsu. Look out.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Stephan Kesting on Chokes

Club News Update

Just wanted to say congratulations to those guys who made the effort to attend the first Extreme Club Comp over the weekend. It was especially exciting to see three new white belts go up and compete. The exposure to match practice is an invaluable experience and can really accelerate your learning. From all reports everyone did really well. Its great to see the next generation of guys competing for Mornington Extreme. Bring on the Pan Pacs in November. With a core group of blue belts developing and some new talent on the horizon things are looking up for the development of the club.

Friday, July 2, 2010

Timetable Change End of July

From August please note the change to class times.

Saturday Mornings

10am-11am No Gi Training
11am-12pm MMA

The first day for this new timetable will be Saturday 7th August

Osu

Armbar from Guard Breakdown

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Erik Paulson doing his thing.....

Fedor loss breakdown...

Now these two have had way too much caffeine and are a bit too excited about Fedor being triangled, so against my better judgement, I will post this video because I think the breakdown and technical evaluation is a useful lesson in both attacking and defending the triangle. Werdum is well known for being able to attack two things simultaneously, in this case the armbar and choke, without doing both together the effectiveness may have diminished. Also I think its worth noting that Fedor has been knocking people out for ten years (something the Gracie family cant do) before getting caught in a triangle. And secondly I am interested if Werdum can pull this off again in the future if there is a rematch. Finally, when was the last time someone with the last name Gracie actually triangled someone in anger? So my biases aside here is the video...

Hilllary Williams gets her black belt


Four years to black belt as a female in a very male dominated sport. Inspirational. Great Video. For those of you who havent been exposed to gradings in BJJ here is the best description of the journey from white to black belt that I have read.

Marcelino Freitas moves to Australia and explains Worlds absence

Marcelino Freitas moves to Australia and explains Worlds absence

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Small gains are sustainable

Over the past few days I have been talking to lots of people about training and progress in any sport. I remember John Donehue once said the aim is to improve by 1% every single session. To walk out better than when you walked in. Don’t waste a workout. Simple as that. Every now and again we all have breakthrough moments, but by in large the gains we make are incremental. We can often make large leaps mentally about an area of training but gaining the skills and the timing to perform these skills successfully and in a regular manner usually is just a matter of small gains. Its interesting now that there are athletes crossing over to from different codes of football to chase big money that this will put this idea to the test. Sports science holds that 10 000 hours of quality practice is required for a degree of mastery is any pursuit. The sheer volume of hours required by definition to reach this level of competence means that there is very gradual almost imperceptible process occurring. Raw talent and a physically gifted athlete is one thing but this can’t completely replace skill, timing or experience. These variables can only be achieved through practice, patience and dedication. So the bottom line, as always, is more quality mat time. Pick a submission, sweep, position or transition and get to work.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Hall V Reis Superfight

Seagal teaching Anderson Silva

Someone want to take a shot at explaining this to me? I thought we left the whole Seagal thing behind years ago after Gene Lebell choked him out (twice!). Maybe Anderson likes his movies and is humouring Seagal but after his last few performances in the Octagon this is flat out freaky.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Inaugural Extreme Inter Club Competition

The posters have been up around the club for some time with respect to the first competition to be held at Extreme HQ on Saturday 10th July in Chadstone. There will novice, intermediate and advanced divisions that will be divided according to weight. It be will be in a round robin format ensuring each competitor gets a series of matches. Please support your local club by flying the flag for Mornington Extreme and also our organisation as a whole by entering and competing. Extreme JJG has now grown to support such competitions and it is vital we get started with a strong event. It has been said that experience gained in competition is equivalent to two months training. Take this chance to compete for the first time with plenty of matches or tune your game for more experienced competitors. There will be no classes on this day at Mornington as I expect everyone to attend or compete in this event and if you are going to pay to spectate you might as well enter : ) Osu. BTW Sorry I haven't posted much but the FIFA World Cup has taking up my spare time. We will return to normal postings after Holland wins the final.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Hillary Williams HL Clip

In a short space of time this girl has become one of the best female grapplers going around. Hillary just won the Mundials at her weight as a brown belt competing against black belts. Wicked triangle choke on display here.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Cold Aggression


I was interested in Brad Scotts comments in the media some weeks ago about how he expects his players to demonstrate cold aggression when playing a game of AFL. The North Melbourne coaches comments came in light of the bump and intimidation of Barry Hall by the North Melbourne backmen. I was interested in the idea of cold aggression in athletes and so went looking for a suitable definition. It seems cold aggression is premeditated. The aggressor's accompanying emotions are positive. Cold aggression can be characterized as proactive, instrumental, planned, and predatory. Compared to hot aggression which is unplanned. The aggressor's accompanying emotions are negative: sadness, anger, and fear. Hot aggression has variously been described as reactive, instrumental, defensive, and impulsive. The distinction between these two types of aggression are important from a medical point of view when it comes to responses to medication and therapy. However, I believe that cold aggression is also a suitable description for a state of mind to be encouraged in combat athletes. In the same way as Brad Scott expects this from his professional athletes in a high stakes contact sport like AFL. I'm sure he chose these words carefully from the Sport Psychology field.

But if we are to compete or fight or wrestle we need to have a switch for cold aggression when required. And the sign of a good martial artist is someone who can turn it on when required and off when it is not needed. Be nice until its time not to be nice. So when the goal is to go hunting for a submission or a finish, the other factor we need to keep in mind is cold aggression. Now I can have all the cold aggression in the world but there is no way I can apply it to another complex sport like AFL because my skill set is in martial arts. So to certain extent it is largely skill dependent. But when it comes to something more primal like fighting if you have a young, conditioned and aggressive opponent you have can your hands full; regardless of their skill set. And I think that is what happened the other night playing shark bait in that the guys who were less skilled and had less options still made a good account of themselves through being aggressive and conditioned. Compared to the guys who have lots of options and experience but forgot to add cold aggression, until I started yelling at them to turn it up. This type of aggression is encouraged fro an early age in a sport like wrestling, which is another reason why wrestling makes such a good base for MMA. BJJ on the other hand tends to be more laid back in its approach at times and we can fail to include the important ingredient of aggression unless reminded occasionally.

End Game


I am trying to teach my six year old son how to play chess at the moment. And he is starting to pick it up pretty well. A fun thing we do with the computer is to turn down how smart the machine is playing and just play against a dumb opponent and move without thinking about the consequences, just explore the map and see what happens to learn and have fun.

I understand the bare basics of chess and consider myself a novice, but I think its a useful metaphor for coaching purposes. Chess of course is a game of strategy, based on principles of combat, and requires its participants to think many moves ahead. Often the one who thinks furthest ahead is the better player, much like BJJ. If you can anticipate or dictate where your opponent is going to move then your chances of success improve markedly. It is common for a game of chess to broken down into sections, an opening, a middle, and an end game. Different players have stronger and weaker aspects depending on their game style or tactics. Just like a BJJ match has a distinct beginning, middle and end. The end game in BJJ is using a superior position to finish the fight. Roger Gracie is the prime example of someone with a very strong end game, if he gets the mount or back control, its good night. Roger very rarely wins his matches on points, the final of this weekends Mundials being a rare exception as the match went the distance. Interestingly, Roger often gives up early takedown points and loses the opening game so to speak but controls the middle and end game brilliantly.

The other night I got grumpy whilst coaching a session of BJJ because I requested everyone go "hunting" during some shark bait training. The goal was to submit an opening as quickly as possible largely because a fresh opponent would be arriving straight afterward and this skill conserves energy. Tap them out quick and get on to the next one. Easier said than done of course, especially when wrestling with someone of equal skill, but that was the goal. What became apparent quickly was that most guys haven't sufficiently developed their end game under pressure, that is, the capacity to close the deal when instructed to do so, even against less skilled opponents. And this I found very frustrating to observe. After giving it a lot of thought I decided it largely came down to two things, one of which was a poor end game. The other aspect I will blog about soon.

I am all for playing BJJ like I play chess with my son and the computer, sometimes just seeing where things go and flowing, maintaining position, keeping guard, playing safe etc. I think this is good for learning. However when the time comes and you have to close the deal quickly, like in a competition or a fight, get to the end game and finish the fight. So consider spending the next few weeks thinking about your own end game. What attacking positions, transitions and submissions do you use frequently in training and how can you accelerate the end game at will? It is something we will be focusing on a as a group as well.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Bruno Malfacine



With this weekend seeing the Mundials this guy is the one to beat in the lightest weight bracket. Here from a post on the Underground....

*** Black Adult Masculino - Galo ***
Winner @ 2009 Mundials: Bruno Malfacine
Winner @ 2009 CBJJE Mundials: Bruno Malfacine
Winner @ 2010 Pan Ams: Bruno Malfacine
Winner @ 2010 Brasilieros: Bruno Malfacine
Winner @ 2010 World Pro Gi: N/A

The Contenders?
A small field this year (pun intended), but some highly decorated grapplers none the less. The tale of the tape suggests that Bruno never learnt to share; hovering up golds at all the major competitions in the past year barring the World Pro Gi which he and many other Alliance fighters declined to enter. Terra, Pitel, Costa, Teixeira and Freitas (somehow cutting from his usual Pluma) will all be looking to the podium, but I don’t think any of them will have what it takes to take down Malfacine from his pedestal.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Mornington Club News Update

We are all set to go for Gorilla's in the Mist this Saturday after training, There are still two places left for anyone who is interested. Please make sure you get me the $70 to pay for lunch and hot springs if you haven't already done so. It will be a great chance to have a few beers, eat lunch and catch up with the boys.

Also best wishes to Grant and Harry who will be competing for Victoria in the National Judo titles next weekend in Queensland. Both boys have been training hard at State training and will be up for a good showing come tournament day. As Dave will be away with Harry for this trip there will be no Boxing for MMA classes for two weeks after Tuesday 8th June until Tuesday 22nd June when Dave returns.

Please remember Gradings at Extreme HQ in Chadstone on Friday 25th June at 6pm with dinner afterward at La Fiama.

Osu.

Friday, May 28, 2010

BJJ in a nutshell.

1)Learn to absorb punishment (White belt)
2)Learn to escape from basic positions consistently (White Belt)
3)Learn techniques & submissions, sweeps/reversals (Blue Belt)
4)Play guard and pass guard (Blue Belt)
5)Develop positional control (Purple Belt)
6)Develop transitions and flow (Purple belt)
7)Develop a Solid Game (Brown Belt)
8) Look for a weakness in your skill set (Any level)
9) Repeat, return to Step 1.

I think thats why so few people who start BJJ continue for the long term because steps 1 & 2 are so hard. But thats also the beauty of the art in that this learning process is endless and evolving. The other thing I like is that whenever you roll with someone much better than you, you can go back to step one all the time regardless of the belt colour around your waist

Deep Half Guard