Grappling Tips Newsletter

November 30, 2006

2006 Christmas Holiday Sale

Until Christmas all DVDs at Grapplearts.com are 10 to 20 percent off. At the same time we are maintaining the Grapplearts volume discount where you can save up to an additional 20% by ordering multiple videos. Finally your shipping costs don't go up as you order additional videos, which adds another level of savings.

I know there are a lot of conflicting calls for your hard-earned dollars at this time of year, but there really has never been a better time to order from me. Check out the holiday pricing here!

permanent link to this article posted by Stephan @ 12:52 AM

Neck Cranks

Q: "What are the true dangers of neck cranks?"

A: It is funny how many clubs ban leg locks but allow neck cranks. Necks are under a lot of stress in grappling, even under 'normal' conditions: throw in a couple of uncontrolled neck cranks and you are looking at herniated disks, osteoarthritis, spinal stenosis and a whole host of other painful degenerative conditions.

A lot of things can go wrong with a neck crank. First the person applying it can be just plain malicious. Or uncontrolled. Or he can slip. Or the person caught in it might not tap early enough. I'm not saying ban them outright (although you could make a strong case for doing just that), but treat these submissions very carefully: they can easily end someone's grappling career.

Part of what makes neck cranks dangerous is that nobody ever taps when they are just lightly applied. It's always like this: say you're caught in a neck crank - it only hurts a little bit - you suffer through the pain, hoping to find a way out - your partner applies it harder - you resist - your partner applies it harder still - you finally tap out. Subsequently, surprise surprise, you find out that your neck is injured!

If you tear ligaments in your knee, your ACL for example, you can get it fixed with surgery. It is a painful procedure with a long recovery time, but it can be done. If someone slams a neck crank onto you, however, your surgical options are much more scary.

Until the day when surgeons routinely do full neck replacement surgeries (don't hold your breath) APPLY THOSE NECK CRANKS LIGHTLY, TAP EARLY AND DON'T BE A HERO. If you can't do these things then don't play with neck cranks at all.

Labels: Injuries

permanent link to this article posted by Stephan @ 12:46 AM

Dynamic Half Guard DVD Update

Thank you to everyone who ordered the brand new Dynamic Half Guard DVD. We have been shipping them out via UPS like crazy since Friday November 24th, and it looks like it is going to be my most successful video ever! I had a suspicion that this video was going to be very popular...

My shipper still has Half Guard DVDs ready to go out, and now you can combine it with other DVDs on sale to get an awesome Christmas deal

Labels: the guard

permanent link to this article posted by Stephan @ 12:24 AM

A Quick Note

I just wanted to tell the people who write in with questions that I really appreciate their emails and I am trying to answer them one-by-one in this newsletter. There are thousands of readers of this newsletter, though, and the backlog of questions is considerable. If I haven't answered your question yet then I apologize: I'm trying my best to get through a very long to-do list!

permanent link to this article posted by Stephan @ 12:21 AM

There Can Be Only One

Q: "If you only had time for one cardio excercise which would you choose: swimming or running?"

A: Swimming and running are both awesome exercises, and both have their pros and cons.

The biggest benefit of swimming is that it is a great whole-body exercise which is relatively easy on the body. The constant pounding from running, however, can take its toll on your joints, especially if you are 200 lbs or more. Some people turn this argument around and say that running, as a weight-bearing exercise, likely strengthens bones more than swimming does.

A downside of swimming is that you need a pool (or lake, or ocean) to do it, whereas you can run just about anywhere. When I travel I always take my running shoes, because I might not find a club or a gym to train at but I can always go for a cruise around the neighborhood.

Swimming requires more technical ability than running, but this doesn't need to be a barrier if you are willing to take some swim classes or get some coaching.

Swimming stimulates appetite more than running - just think of how hungry you are when you come out of a pool. If your primary goal is weight control or weight loss then I wouldn't recommend swimming.

The majority of people find that they can reach higher heart rates while running than while swimming, so for pure cardiovascular conditioning the edge goes to running.

As for me personally? I would love run and swim, but my swimming technique is rather poor, and that means that running is a far more efficient way for me to get my exercise. On that far-off day, when I wake up and have no urgent items on my to-do list, I'll spend some time with a swim coach and become a swimmer as well as a runner.

permanent link to this article posted by Stephan @ 12:00 AM

November 19, 2006

Two More Previews of the Half Guard DVD

I've uploaded two more excerpts from my soon-to-be-released Dynamic Half Guard DVD to Youtube and Google Video. You can check them out at

Preview 1: How to counter your opponent's attempt to block a backclimb attack. You can watch it below, or at Youtube (www.youtube.com/watch?v=UP5ODwPbP1g) or at Google Video (http://tinyurl.com/y3sjsp)

Preview 2: How to secure the Kimura armlock from half guard when your opponent grips his shorts or gi pants. Again you can watch this clip below, or at Youtube (www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdVWyYb61IM) or at Google Video http://tinyurl.com/y7rtrd

P.S. I am expecting that this DVD should be available on www.grapplearts.com by Wednesday or Thursday.

Labels: the guard

permanent link to this article posted by Stephan @ 3:32 PM

Favorite Reader Hightlight Reels

Ask and thou shalt receive! Last week I asked for some of your favorite grappling and MMA highlight reels, and many readers sent in suggestions. Here are the top highlight videos, according to the Grapplearts readership:

permanent link to this article posted by Stephan @ 3:28 PM

November 13, 2006

My Favorite Hightlight Reel

It seems like every MMA, BJJ and submission grappling competitor has a highlight video nowadays, and I'm going to share my favorite one with you. The competitor is Masakazu Imanari, who fights in Japan at 145 lbs. If you haven't already seen it, check out the video below or at the following url: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ldw-TFeZqY

One reason I like Imanari so much is that he is unique. To my knowledge no other MMA fighter is so focussed (fixated?) on leglocks and pursues them to the extent that Imanari does. Styles make fights, and although Imanari isn't always going to win he makes fights veryexciting: I know that I wouldn't be looking away when he steps into a ring...

NOW IT'S YOUR TURN...

While we're on the subject of highlight reels I want to open the floor to your suggestions. If you have a favorite highlight reel of a specific MMA, BJJ or submission grappling competitor please send me an email (stephan@grapplearts.com) with a link to the video. Next week I'll share what was sent in by the readership.

permanent link to this article posted by Stephan @ 9:29 PM

Congratulations Denis Kang

Denis Kang recently fought again in the Pride Grand Prix, in the Yokohama Arena, Japan. To get to this point in the world's most prestigious welterweight tournament he had already knocked out Brazilian fighter Murilo 'Ninja' Rua and submitted tough Russian Amar Suloev

On the final night of the tournament (November 5th) he faced two opponents. First he beat veteran Japanese fighter Akihiro Gono to advance into the finals. Unfortunately in this fight he severely damaged his bicep and shoulder - probably while punching Gono in the head!

In his second fight that night, with his arm heavily taped, he faced Kazuo Misaki. At the end of a very exciting fight both fighters were still standing, and the decision went to the judges. After some deliberation a split decision for Misaki was announced - I suppose one way of looking at it is that one of the judges thought that Denis was the best welterweight in the world and the other two thought that he was 'only' the second best.

Anyhow, huge props to Denis for a great performance and doing well in the two toughest, and back-to-back, fights of his career. We know you'll be back in action as soon as you heal up!

permanent link to this article posted by Stephan @ 9:18 PM

November 07, 2006

A Roadmap for the Rear Naked Choke

The Rear Naked Choke, or RNC, is one of those fundamental techniques. Choking someone from rearmount is an incredibly effective and efficient tool in the jiu-jitsu arsenal, but I only acquired it relatively late in my grappling career.

Instructions on how to do the RNC are in the first martial arts books I bought when I was 12 years old. I also learned how to do it in Judo class at about the same age. The choke is easy to apply once it is locked on, but getting my arms into the RNC position on a skilled, resisting opponent was usually an exercise in frustration. Until about two years ago I had probably used this choke successfully less than 5 times in actual sparring.

Since 2005, however, the RNC has been one of my best submissions. So what changed?

Over the years I had gone repeatedly to Marcus Soares and Erik Paulson with questions about how to sink it, apply it, and counter my opponent's attempts to stop it. They told me what I was supposed to do, but the RNC still wasn't happening for me in sparring. One of my favorite expressions is that "lessons repeat themselves until learned", and apparently I wasn't learning the RNC lesson very quickly.

Two other things finally helped me connect the dots: watching Marcelo Garcia compete, and working with Marc Laimon for an afternoon. It's asif I'd reached critical mass: finally I'd heard and seen the important details enough times and the route to the RNC started to swim into focus. I now had a roadmap for the RNC, where I could insert all the various technical details I'd been shown.

So without further ado, I'd like to direct you to my latest creation: a 10 minute video tutorial on applying the RNC. Hopefully it won't take you 25 years in the martial arts to make this choke work for you!

You can see it below, or visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=176SLdBhj_A
to view it.

Labels: chokes

permanent link to this article posted by Stephan @ 12:19 AM