Last night was an excellent class. There were only 5 of us that even showed up. The rain, I guess. We went through our techniques pretty quickly and then were released for about an hour of open mat. By the time I grabbed my mouthpiece, everybody else had paired up and started rolling. So I sat on the side and waited.

My instructor asked if I wanted to roll for a bit so I jumped at the chance. Oddly, I like to roll with people who are much better than me. It gives me a chance to check my defense and see if I am really soaking this stuff up.  Read the rest »

Ive been training a little more lately but unfortunately have been neglecting www.chewjitsu.com, so I figured I would post this morning. I had a good rolling session last night at the gym.

We had learned a new choke that Rob Kahn made up. When I was learning it and drilling it, I have to admit, I had some doubts about it’s usability during a roll.

Last night however, I found myself taking side control, applying some “what time is it” pressure and setting up an armbar. The armbar didn’t pan out so I went back to the head pressure.  Read the rest »

So, my training nights have grown few and far between. I made it back tonight and had a really good night. A good training partner was there so I got a good session in. I was able to pull out an Americana but I was worn out. Ive noticed that people are progressing so quickly around me so I know I need to get back in there more often.

I got to roll about 6 times tonight, so Im worn out. Im off to crash.

So, lot’s of stuff has been going on lately. This past month I was negotiating a contract that I probably shouldn’t have bothered with. Problem was, it was my job that I was negotiating. Since it had taken more than 2 weeks, I decided to hit the job market again, which is never fun.

In the meantime, I had no paycheck and no money coming in so I couldn’t justify going to train 3 nights a week. Instead I’ve spent the last 3 weeks doing freelance work and now I can tell.  Read the rest »

I went to the gym the other day to do some cardio and this woman came in, got on the elliptical a few down from me. She was an older woman who seemed to be pretty new to this whole exercise trend. She pressed the buttons for a few minutes before she got herself going at a leisurely pace. Nothing really to note until the lady next to me suddenly got off of her elliptical and walked away.

I could see that she still had about 10 minutes to go and didn’t look like the type to just let her workout go like that. Still, nothing to note so I got back into focus. Then after a minute, I discovered why she abruptly left.  Read the rest »

Like me, many jiu-jitsu practitioners tend to find themselves addicted to training. Lately though, I’m finding that I’m missing class or going to class with my mind on work or other non jiu-jitsu things. So today I feel like I’m going through some jiu-jitsu withdrawals. I’m all jittery and want to train. Jiu-Jittery, if you will. (ok, sorry about that).

Work is really strange right now. I’m busy negotiating a contract, in the process of starting my own business and trying to knock out a few freelance projects that have turned into marriages.  Read the rest »

I was browsing around and found this video of Michael Dudikoff of American Ninja fame (what the hell is American Ninja?). Apparently he is mad at Royce Gracie for something about a family tree. So mad, he wants to fight Royce, anywhere, apparently even at his house.

I’m not sure who Michael Dudikoff is and unfortunately, this will force me to Google American Ninja but this video is pretty entertaining. In my opinion, the Dud(e) appears to be a little intoxicated so who knows what will come of it.

If you have a few minutes to waste, check it out American Ninja calls out Royce Gracie. Good luck to both of you.

Ed O’neill, best known as Al Bundy from “Married with Children” is a gracie jiu-jitsu black belt. The folks over at ProElite ran into Ed at the opening of a new Gracie academy and got his thoughts on a few things regarding MMA. While I disagree with some of what he says, he makes some good points. Here’s the link:Al Bundy spits MMA  Read the rest »

Technorati Tags: Al Bundy, Ed O'neill, jiu-jitsu

This fight was very much what most people expected. If either one of these guys landed a big shot, then the other was in trouble. Kimbo got there first.

That being said, there were some aspects of this fight that will haunt both men.

1. Tank is too old for this (some will say).
2. Kimbo punched Tank in the back of the head 3 times. I know he is new to MMA but you have to know when not to punch.
3. Tank is really not the face of MMA or brawlers in the MMA game today. He hasn’t been in the game for a long time.

Here are my thoughts on Kimbo.  Read the rest »

Technorati Tags: jiu-jitsu, Kimbo Slice, MMA, Tank Abbott

A friend of mine just told me something that really makes me wonder what I would do in this person’s shoes. Somebody that trains at the same gym was recently told that he has to have surgery and will no longer be able to train in jiu-jitsu anymore. Period. I don’t know the guy personally but apparently he has been training for 3-5 years and now he can’t train ever again (doctor’s orders).

I had to really think about this for a minute. I haven’t even been training for a year yet but to me, facing never training again is sort of like facing a divorce from a marriage that I thought was going beautifully. I don’t even have plans to compete or go into MMA but if I just had to stop training cold turkey, I don’t think I would handle it very well.  Read the rest »