BJJ: The Home Game!

Sometimes getting to the gym is just impossible. It's not an uncommon problem that all of us will face at one point or another in our Jiu Jitsu Journey; and it will happen more than once. You've undoubtedly felt the itch to be on the mats on your days off, or felt the need to get out there and go hard and leave it all out there--and that's good. But what if you get those urges but can't get to class later that day, or even later that week? Maybe you're sick, on vacation, maybe your significant other REALLY wants you to take a break (ugh), or maybe you just live in a Rebel base on the frozen plant Hoth and your gym is closed for the weather.

Working out at home isn't a new idea. Even today we can see infomercials on TV advertising the latest home workout system, product, or DVD. The idea of doing BJJ at home might seem silly, but I'm here to tell you that not only is it productive and easy to do, but also, "es normal."

First of all, you do not need a training partner to improve your Jiu Jitsu. Of course, having someone there with you will truly expand your options on techniques and what you're able to do. But not having that luxury doesn't mean you're screwed/out of options--NAY! Quite the opposite, my frien! Think about how your instructor conducts class: you have a warm-up, the stretches, line drills, and so on. There are a lot of things you can do right there to help supplement your Jiu Jitsu. Even just stretching alone will help you tremendously, as I'm sure you already know how much of a help flexibility is in Jiu Jistu. Here is a video showing some other exercises you can do at home, on your own, to keep progressing your BJJ.

It doesn't have to stop at just drills, though. Take what we JUST did RIGHT THERE for example (watching a video). Watching videos online is huge. There has never been a time when more resources are available to you at just a few keystrokes. There are a good bit of websites out there dedicated to BJJ instructional videos. Nearly every major BJJ player has their own website where you can pay a fee to learn their techniques. But even just YouTube stuff can be more than enough. Personally, I can tell you that the pay sites are worth it. I would, however, advise that you learn what YOUR Jiu Jitsu game is like before you sign up for a year of MG InAction. (Because you might not have the same game as Marcelo. You might not be the same size, body type, or aggression. Learn who best shadows your style and go from there.) But if you're on vacation, and maybe the Internet isn't an option, grab a book. We did an entire post once about BJJ Books for beginners. 

Be mindful of your diet, too. Your time off, for whatever reason it may be, can--and will--play hell on your diet. I'm not suggesting that everyone in the world that rolls BJJ is on some hardcore Gracie Diet or anything, but we can all relate to rolling on the mats after having a heavy meal and how that will really just monkey wrench your whole system when you're trying not to die. If you're going to be off the mat for awhile, do yourself a favor and be mindful of what you're putting into your body because sooner or later you're going to be back on the mat and you'll be hating yourself for that delicious double, Animal Style, from In-N-Out. Ya dig?

Strength and Conditioning, yo. Strength. And Conditioning. 

When all else fails, when you're in a hotel room, with no BJJ Gym in the area, no room to shrimp, no kitchen to eat healthy, etc. You can still do some push-ups, jog, sit-ups, jumping jacks, sit-outs, and so on. Most hotels have a dinky gym inside that you can hit up for SOMETHING (because something is better than nothing). I can relate, I've been in a Hilton with nothing more than a few ellipticals and considered myself "too manly" for that, but, on second thought, I'd rather elliptical-it-up than nothing. And the elliptical is a legit, hardcore, workout. If you're at the beach, do your BJJ drills on the beach (Remember when Rickson did it in "Choke?"). Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was (basically) born on the beaches. Pay homage, hit up the beach, do some drills, have fun.

Remember: Nothing can replace an actual class. But when an actual class is not an option, that does not mean that we have to abandon Jiu Jitsu all together. We're  BJJ players. It's in out blood. You owe it to yourself to keep your training going and mitigate the loss of your mat time as best as you can. Look, sometimes none of what we talked about is an option. But in that crazy case, then there's nothing you can do, then, hey, there's nothing you can do. But really, how often does that happen? You CAN control what you eat. You CAN control 15min a day to do some stretching. You CAN improve YOUR Jiu Jitsu even is you're not on the mats/in class. As in all things, it all depends on you.

  

Today's WBS brought to you by:

VVV Fight Co.
Please visit http://www.vvvfightco.com/
Great Gis (seriously. Great.)  and AWESOME street clothes

Paleo Coffee Co.
Please visit http://www.thepaleocoffeecompany.com/

I love this stuff. I love the different flavors, and takes these English fellows take on coffee. Seriously good stuff.

Improving Your BJJ With Yoga

Like a lot of you, I was introduced to Yoga as a youth through Street Fighter II and the character "Dhalsim." As a youth, I viewed Yoga as some mystical thing that included meditation and ultimately could make me breathe fire and slap fools from across the room with my super-stretchy arms that I (somehow) achieved through said mystical practices that involved elephants.

 Eventually, I grew up enough to learn that breathing fire is (probably) fake and can't be achieved; but I'm not a Yoga expert. Flash forward some years and shake in some BJJ and watch Rickson Gracie's "CHOKE" documentary, and then I remembered that Yoga was a cool thing, so I reached out to someone who's proficient with BOTH Yoga and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to drop some knowledge on us. Sam Dei Lune is a life long martial arts practitioner and a certified Yoga instructor, who has used that knowledge to help MMA fighters and other professional athletes improve themselves in their respective fields with Yoga. So take off your gi pants, replace them with SPATS (not Yoga pants, but you can if you're a girl. Guys, no), and let the powerful and wonderful friend of WBS take it away. Ladies and gentlemen, Sam Sarahbi:
************************************************

   Yoga not only is an invaluable tool for breath control, but also will improve a jiu jitsu practitioner’s balance, stability, and flexibility.  I will break down some aspects of yoga and their benefits for your use in practicing martial arts:

Breathing: Hot yoga, or yoga practiced at 105 degrees and 40 percent humidity, will increase your awareness of your breath by focusing on breathing through discomfort.  If you’re new to rolling, something like a solid knee mount, or a tough scramble/battle for position can be very draining if you hold your breath throughout, or breathe without a proper rhythm.  Breath control is paramount to advancing/finishing position and escapes, and can assist in controlling of the heart rate as well as mental focus and awareness.  Vinyasa yoga is a moving meditation, much like rolling, and most proficient rollers seem to prefer this type of yoga for their asana practice.  I engage ujjayi breath with my students, six seconds in through the nose, six seconds out through the nose, with a slight constriction in the back of the throat to build heat.

Flexibility: Vinyasa yoga at what would be considered normal room temperatures are probably the most helpful for flexibility.  While you may get a deeper stretch and you may be able to push your body further in heat, this is an artificial depth that you are unlikely to be able to sustain while practicing jiu jitsu.  For the most part, practice your yoga at the same temperature that you will be rolling to be better in tune with how far your body can be pushed.  Poses that spread your hips will help you wrap a higher and tighter guard.  Pigeon pose is a popular hip opener among martial artists and one that I use every day when working with fighters.

Balance:  Balance is essential in avoiding and initiating sweeps and takedowns.  If you only have time for one balancing pose and you are a beginner, I suggest Tree Pose.  This pose will have you balancing on one leg at a time.

Core Strength: Every submission, movement, position, and defense requires core strength.  Every yoga pose engages the core in a manner that can stretch, and strengthen your muscles and joints, which makes it ideal cross training for jiu jitsu.   Specifically, Boat Pose is an intense core strength builder.

Spine Strength: I include a complete series of spine strengthening in every class that I teach because it is important in preventing injury, as it is important to counterbalance some of the movements your body makes in Jiu Jitsu.  Floor bow is a full counter pose to the bending and pressure you will put on your spine during your martial arts practice.

Even though I have included some poses here, it is important to note that I suggest a full yoga sequence, with a warm-up, cool-down, and a full range of motion in between.  Make sure that you are entering and exiting each pose properly, and that you keep balance in your movements, doing a back bend each time you bend forward, doing poses on both sides, and twisting both directions.  Always consult your professional healthcare provider before beginning, or making changes to any fitness regimen/ exercise program.

**********************************************

Incredible, right? Sam is awesome. Over the course of WBS becoming 'a thing,' she and I have got to be pals. She's always insightful and has a lot of great things to say about everything from MMA to just life in general. She's a great example of what can be the result of incorporating multiple disciplines into your life. 

Get more familiar with Sam Sarahbi at her website: http://www.samsarahbi.com/

Her Twitter: https://twitter.com/SamSarahbi

and if you really want to be the coolest of the cool, and want to get more into what she can offer with her Yoga, you can pick up her book The Sequence at Barnes and Noble, or on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Sequence-Vinyasa-Yoga-Script-Cues/dp/0692294880/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1411882584&sr=8-1&keywords=SAM+DEI+LUNE

in closing, here's Rickson doing Yoga (skip to 3min to get real)

  

The White Belt's Guide to Good BJJ Books

I’ve always been a believer that putting in the extra time would produce better results—in anything. So, as a newer guy, where do you even start to supplement your training with books? Yes, I said “books.” In today’s modern age, there are a wide variety of media sources to which you can get your information—things like DVDs, YouTube, and athletes own subscription-based websites are all great—and we’ll cover some of those on future posts; but books are always going to be a foundation of supplementing your training with resources outside of class. Books are also, traditionally, going to be more cost effective than some other choices, too—and considering that you might have just dropped a couple hundred bucks on your first gi and membership dues, your BJJ Budget might not be ready for an expensive set of DVDs. But a book is (usually) cheap, and not nearly as cumbersome as loading a DVD or online video.

     Now, I’m not suggesting that books are the be-all-end-all of Jiu Jitsu education; because they’re not. Nothing can replace the training from your instructor or time on the mat. But what’s difficult is that sometimes you learn something in class that plays to your game well and you might not be able to make the next class where the follow-up technique is taught. Or maybe you really want to learn more on developing a good closed guard and how to retain it, but it’s just not being taught at your academy at the moment. That’s where, and why, supplementing your training through books comes in handy.

     There’s been an explosion of books on the sport in recent years. If you were to just Google Search "Jiu Jitsu Book" you’d see there’s enough books to fill an entire bookshelf in your study. So what books are the best ones for beginners? Well, there is no official grading system; but there are some that are always in the conversation. Now, I admit: I have not read every book out there on the subject; but I have looked into the topic enough to know what books are always brought up and suggested by people way smarter than I am on the subject—and for that reason I’m suggesting these four books as starting points to supplement your training.

Recommendation 1: A Roadmap for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu By Stephan Kesting

 http://www.beginningbjj.com/BJJ%20Roadmap%201.3.pdf

I’m sure you’ve have to seen Stephan by now. His ubiquitous presence on the Internet has made him one of the main faces of the community for at least as long as I’ve been paying attention. In this FREE online PDF, Stephan gives a detailed introduction to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu by identifying positions, defines terms, reviews direction to take/look for from each position (hence “Roadmap”) among other things. Sincerely, a printed out version of this PDF should be handed to each new student with their white belt.

Recommendation 2: Mastering Jujitsu By Renzo Gracie and John Danaher

http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Jujitsu-Martial-Arts-Series/dp/0736044043

If you’re new to the sport you probably know who Renzo Gracie is—or at least his famous last name is recognizable enough to lend credibility. But you might not be so familiar with John Danaher. John’s a black belt under Master Renzo, and generally considered to have one of the best minds for BJJ, receiving praise from such grappling minds like Greg Jackson and Vinicius “Draculino” Magalhaes. Not good enough? Danaher is Georges St. Pierre’s submission coach. This book will go over fundamentals, principals, techniques, tactics, and strategy. Considering the source, it’s what I consider another ‘must-have’ in any BJJ library.

Recommendation 3: Jiu-Jitsu University By Saulo Ribero

http://www.amazon.com/Jiu-Jitsu-University-Saulo-Ribeiro/dp/0981504434

Saulo recently shot back into the spotlight with his match in Metamoris 4, but before all of that, Saulo is one of the best BJJ competitors that the sport has ever seen. He’s a black belt in both BJJ and judo, a 5x Brazilian Jiu Jitsu world champion, and won the ADCC (the biggest/most important submission grappling even in the world) twice. And here, he’s also wrote one hell of a book. The book covers theory for every belt level—ascending from white belt to black belt—speaking to where your focus needs to be at that development stage. In the white belt portion, Saulo speaks to a lot of the simple techniques that often get overlooked in classes (since there’s no day/class dedicated to guys taking their first class) because they might be considered ‘too simple’ or ‘common knowledge.’ But here, Saulo focuses on teaching the white belt how to “survive,” something I find close to my heart—and I hope you do too.

Recommendation 4: The Cauliflower Chronicles: A Grappler’s Tale of Self-Discovery and Island Living By Marshal D. Carper

http://www.amazon.com/The-Cauliflower-Chronicles-Grapplers-Self-Discovery/dp/0982565879

     This is the leisure-reading portion of this post. You can’t focus entirely on technique or you’ll go mad. In this non-fiction selection, the author breaks up with his long-term girlfriend and moves to Hilo, Hawaii to train with BJ Penn. Not sold on that yet? Consider this: Marshal’s co-authored with Marcelo Garcia, Matt Kirtley, and Neil Melanson; and The Cauliflower Chronicles is on Gracie Barra’s list of Great Books for Jiu Jitsu reader. The book follows Marshal’s exploits and misadventures on and off the mat. He talks about his struggles to overcome injury, his time going head-to-head with BJ—and various local insects—as well as his off the mat time with colorful locals. It’s a fun getaway from life while still staying in the right (BJJ) frame of mind.  

So there you have it; four really great books to get you started. Pick one--or all 4--and get crackin' on your off-the-mat Jedi Mind training. :)