This idea came to me recently as I started to watch a few videos at MMAFaestro and I remembered Bruce Lee taking the time when in the hospital having his wife write out his entire philosophy.  Don't get me wrong, I am certainly no Bruce Lee, but the idea is to use this time wisely.  In my case for personal understanding.

Step one is to lay out all the positions and my fundamental game. 

I am not saying it will be shining brilliance, but just my best understanding to date.  It will be woefully incomplete at best and wrong at worst, but I think it is a worthwhile project for my own personal journey.  I am happy to have you look over my shoulder, but test everything you see and assume I have no clue.  That way we won't break any hearts.

Look for the first installment next week!

Paul

The image above was my view as I headed to stop in on the academy and say hi to some friends there.  Since my pinched nerve (12/22/2009) I have not been training so I wanted to stop in and socialize a bit.  So far it has been about 9 weeks.  I have not thought about bjj much, trying to keep a long term view on things.  BJJ does not define who I am - it is something I love doing.  I also realize that everything we love will come to an end at some point.  Luckily bjj is one of those things that we can do for a long time.  Less so than painting, more so than football.

Most people would advise during an injury to use that time to focus on the mental game, watch videos, attend class and listen, etc.  I am sure that is a great use of time, but for me, I just didn't feel it.  All I have wanted to do recently is other things.  I have been messing with piano, reading books on spirituality, traveling, and making short videos of my wife and kids.  Also photography has been a big joy recently.  Inside I hope that this mental break will do my game good.  I expect it will, but if not, I know when I return to the mat, it will come back to me.  Sure I'll be slower and have a harder time stringing things together, but all is well. I don't think Dave will take away my belt.  Will he?  ;)

Back to the image above.  It struck me as the end of the rainbow looks like it is hitting the academy (almost).  Most of us see the black belt as that end.  In truth, there is no pot of gold and there is no end no matter how hard you look.  We just keep searching.  We keep following the beauty that we love.  It is not the end that matters, just as it is not the pot of gold.  We marvel at the beauty of the rainbow without expectation.  BJJ is the same.  Pure joy in the experience drives us.  Who needs more?

Paul

It seems every day there is a new source for online training.  Happily, most of them are very good.  I just wanted to point out the site that Dave teaches on, MMA Faestro.  It has tons of his lessons on Judo, MMA, and BJJ, so if you ever wanted to train with Dave, this is as good as it gets.

Also there are other fantastic coaches like Paul Schreiner of Kaijin MMA, Kenny Florian, Dan Camarillo, Jon Fitch, Frankie Edgar, Mark DellaGrotte, Flavio Canto and more.  If you are looking for wrestling, mma, bjj, striking, whatever - this is a fantastic source for a low monthly charge.

Since I have been injured I find myself looking over the site more and more to keep my head in the game.

See you on the mat!

Paul

Cane's Blog

When I first started bjj (1st class in 1996) information was scarce.  I used to have these old vhs tapes of guys like Pedro Carvalho.  Now it is a different time.  There is a ton of stuff out there and the problem is more overload of the fancy new stuff than anything else.  So I wanted to point you to a blog that is truly excellent, and focused on core techniques.

It is run by Cane Prevost, a brown belt and instructor with SBGi Portland.  Clear explanation and solid fundamentals shown with care and humility.  We can all improve our posture and basics and this is a great place to hear that perspective.  I hope you enjoy his blog as much as I do.

See you on the mat!

Paul

I rolled with Dave about 3 weeks ago and he used shoulder pressure to pass my guard over and over.  He then said "Study BJ".   I found this compilation online and it shows how simple BJ's guard passing game is, and exactly what Dave was doing to me.  

Attributes - Strength, Speed, Agility, Flexibility, etc.  These are all attributes.  We each have our own unique set that are relative to others.  I may be more flexible than you, but less so than BJ Penn.  That said, we all have a sense of what attributes we have in abundance as compared to others (we roll with).  We know we can call on them when needed.   When pressed we resort to these tools when ego comes calling.

Preference - We all have certain positions we favor.  Some positions are more natural and others we have just worked over and over until proficiency.  The most likely reality is that a position naturally made sense to us and we thus worked it.  In that way, it becomes a preference.  When challenged with a tough opponent, ego calls on our preferred "go to moves" in an attempt "to win".

As stated above, ego can bring us to use attributes and favored positions to climb out of danger.  From this (devlopmental) perspective, ego is bad.  I agree 100%.  However, this is a model for "in the gym".  A model for development.  If you want to get better, you have to be able to shut off the ego.  You must put yourself in bad positions, tap to lower belts, and work the positions you are weakest.  This is the only way to create a technical game, and it is NOT easy to do.  Even to this day I struggle with it. 

I think most people in bjj understand the above, but they do not understand that while eliminating the ego is required for ideal developmental training, so is cultivating the ego for competition and tough training.  The best have a bit of a swagger to them and this is no accident.

It does not mean that you are cocky, arrogant, or you don't respect the abilities of your opponent.  It just means that you are confident in yourself.  You know your game and you plan to impose it.  You have the sense that this match is yours to lose.  They are the hunted and you the hunter.  If you don't have a bit of this I think you will not only struggle in competition, but also in those tough battles within the academy.  If you don't like the term "ego", just use the concept of "confidence".

Personally, this is where I need the most work and as with most of bjj I am sure it will be a lifelong journey.  Like most things it is a balancing act.  Get too far to one side or the other and you fall off the tightrope.

Have a great roll!

The other day, Dave mentioned that we should all cultivate the mentality of the whitebelt.  In essence this means being open to new ideas every time we step to the mat.  This also means letting go of what you already hold true. "You cannot pick up the new, if your hand is clenched to the old."  Wise words indeed, and part of the duality that is bjj.  You are always learning, testing, finding what works - assembling a game like the potter molds a pot, but you must always be ready to return to the beginning, mashing the clay together until it is formless again, trusting the process that it will return with more perfection.

If you are a fan of religions or philosophy you have heard of the Taoist book known as the Tao Te Ching, suppposedly written by Lao Tzu.  I like to think he was a jiu-jitsu practitioner.  Enjoy:

It is easier to carry an empty cup
than one that is filled to the brim.

The sharper the knife
the easier it is to dull.
The more wealth you possess
the harder it is to protect.
Pride brings its own trouble.

When you have accomplished your goal
simply walk away.
This is the pathway to Heaven.