Grappling Tips Newsletter

June 30, 2009

Here's a half guard sweep I can personally vouch for. I use it all the time when I'm training with the gi.

www.grapplearts.com/half-guard-sweep-with-bjj-belt.html

I've even used this technique in competition when my opponent stood up to pass my half guard. Passing the belt through his legs stopped the guard pass and gave me the sweep.

Obviously this particular variation relies on you getting a good grip on your opponent's belt. But I think you should study this sweep even if you train mostly without the gi!

That's because this technique is similar to the transition from the half guard to the single leg takedown, which is a bread and butter half guard technique both in 'regular' BJJ and also in no-gi grappling.

Anyway, check out this BJJ Half Guard Sweeping technique, demonstrated on me by Oscar Daniotti, a BJJ Black Belt under Ricardo de la Riva.

Labels: gi, half guard, sweeps

permanent link to this article posted by Stephan @ 10:28 PM

Do You Have Competition Questions?

David Meyer has a ton of credentials, but for now I'm only going to mention three of them:

He's a BJJ Black Belt under the Machado brothers,
He's got a very solid record in BJJ and in submission grappling competition, and
He's the author of one of my favorite new books, "Training for Competition: Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Submission Grappling."

Sometime in July of 2009 I'm hoping to interview David and pick his brain on the topic of competition. I want to get his take on the very best tournament strategies and tactics, advice on how to prepare for competition and reasons why one should compete at all.

If all goes well I'll broadcast this interview on the next Grapplearts Radio Podcast.

Now I got a LOT of feedback about how informative my first podcast (the Jon Chaimberg interview) was, and how intelligent my questions were.

I had to laugh, of course, because a lot of those questions came directly from my readers - you guys! (Thanks again to everyone who sent me those questions).

So now I'm going to open up the process once again and ask does anyone has questions about any aspect of competition? If you want your competition questions answered by the man who quite literally wrote the book on the topic, then go to the contact link and send 'em in soon.

I can't guarantee that I'll use every single question, but I'll do my very best!

Labels: Brazilian jiu-jitsu, competition, interviews, podcasts

permanent link to this article posted by Stephan @ 10:22 PM

June 27, 2009

The Very First Time I Used the Logsplitter Sweep...

Check out this video, which shows the very first time I stumbled across the 'logsplitter' position. it was a complete fluke, but it still won me the match and a silver medal.

Then read on to find out what happened AFTER that competition...

Cool, huh? This is a guard variation I now use all the time because it offers both sweeping options and submission options. The best part is that nobody has any clue of what to do when they're caught in it.

But I didn't become competent in this position right away. In fact it took about a year for me to start working on it, and that was only because I received an email out of the blue from someone who had also been experimenting with it.

Click here for the whole story - including pictures and more video.

Labels: butterfly guard, competition, half guard, leglocks

permanent link to this article posted by Stephan @ 8:59 PM

June 22, 2009

GSP's MMA Conditioning Coach: Jon Chaimberg

Jon Chaimberg is a guy I've always wanted to talk to. Actually, that's an understatement, because I what I really wanted was pick his brain mercilessly until he gave me all the secrets of his incredible approach to MMA conditioning.

Jon has worked with many top Mixed Martial Arts fighters, including Georges St-Pierre, Denis Kang, Rashad Evans, Nate Marquardt, David Loiseau, Keith Jardine and many others. Here's a circuit he put together for Denis Kang, and in a second clip he's working with GSP, Loiseau and Kang.

I wanted to get to the bottom of why so many top MMA fighters hold this guy in such high regard and make him a central part of their fight preparation.

Recently I took the bull by the horns and called him up. We talked for almost a whole hour, and I asked some very detailed and specific questions about MMA conditioning. Jon pulled no punches and shared much of his approach for working with fighters.

We talked about specific exercises, periodization, crossfit, aerobic vs. anaerobic work, program design, overtraining, initial assessment of an athlete, and a whole lot more. You might be surprised to hear what he had to say about the mistakes that some big name fighters make in their conditioning program.

And you can listen to the whole interview right here, in the brand new Grapplearts Podcast!

I plan on creating other episodes and adding other interviews to the podcast periodically (alas, not at predictable intervals though).

If you want to download future episodes automatically then click here to sign up for Grapplearts Radio in iTunes - it's completely free and totally simple.

Click the player below to listen to the whole interview

Labels: conditioning, MMA, podcasts

permanent link to this article posted by Stephan @ 1:36 PM

June 20, 2009

Do I Really Think Boxing Sucks?

Boy, did my post a few days ago (with the tongue in cheek title: "Another Reason Why BJJ is Better Than Boxing") set off a firestorm

I admit it: I'm biased! I run a site called "grapplearts,", not "boxingarts." I spend my time rolling around on the ground with men wearing pyjamas or spandex, not circling them and trading punches. And unlike the anonymous sniping that is so prevalent on the internet, I also signed my name to my inflammatory post!

Here are just a few of the outraged rebuttals I received:

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"BOXING IS EFFECTIVE"

Agreed! I think that boxing becomes an effective very quickly - faster than most other striking arts actually.

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"BOXING IS MORE EFFECTIVE THAN BJJ"

I Disagree! If we're comparing pure style to pure style, then 95% of the time BJJ will beat boxing (the early UFC's proved that).

Please note that I'm NOT saying that boxing has no place in MMA - of course it does. MMA stands for "Mixed" Martial Arts, and to be effective in Mixed Martial Arts you need to MIX your training (wrestling AND striking AND grappling)

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"BOXING IS SUBTLE"

Agreed! The timing, distancing and rhythm for high level boxing can be very subtle.

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"BOXING IS MORE SUBTLE THAN JIU-JITSU"

I Disagree! I'm not sure how I'd quantify this, but I think that Boxing relies on reflexes and instant responses. The slower pace of BJJ allows for a lot more adjustments and application of subtle nuance than boxing.

Also each individual technique in a martial art has subtle nuances that require tweaking and adjustment, and BJJ has a lot more techniques than boxing (which was the original point of the post).

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"BOXING TAKES A LONG TIME TO MASTER / BOXING IS HARD TO MASTER

Agreed! It takes a lot of time, blood, sweat, tears and effort to get good at boxing. No doubt about it.

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"THAI BOXING HAS A LOT OF TECHNIQUES"

Yup! It has more techniques than boxing. And BJJ has more techniques than Thai boxing

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AND NOW BACK TO MY MAIN POINT...

By now it should be obvious that I was being a bit tongue in cheek with my choice of a post title, but the bottom line still stands. Boxers don't stand around showing each other 15 variations of the 'inside-out-mongoose-punch' the way BJJ'ers do.

Of course Prince Naseem will now probably come out with an instructional DVD series, show 25 new punches and blow my argument completely out of the water...

permanent link to this article posted by Stephan @ 4:59 PM

Straight From Brazil - a Deep Half Guard Sweep

For the past 2 days I had the pleasure of training with Oscar Daniotti, a black belt under Ricardo de la Riva in Brazil.

Oscar came to North America to cover the 2009 Mundials for Faixa Preta, a Brazilian magazine dedicated to covering the art of BJJ.

While we were shooting the breeze about the deep half guard position Oscar smiled and showed me a really cool variation. I already knew the basic sweep, but the way that he used the gi to entangle my leg made it 10 times more difficult to counter the sweep.

So I got my camera out, handed it to my friend, and asked him to taking pictures. So here - straight from Brazil - is that technique!

Click here to see pictures and get step by step instructions for the new Deep Half Guard Sweep.

Note: of course this sweep is dependent on the gi. There's been a lot of debate about training gi vs. no gi, but I think that most grapplers should should train at least a little bit of both.

If nothing else, learning innovative ways to attack with the gi in BJJ exercises your grappling imagination and keeps your brain active.

Labels: gi, half guard, sweeps

permanent link to this article posted by Stephan @ 4:24 PM

June 17, 2009

Another Reason Why BJJ is Better Than Boxing

A few days ago, while traveling, I made my way down to Dartmouth's Fitplus gym. That's where I participated in a BJJ class taught by 6th degree Carlson Gracie black belt, Alexandre Penao.

Despite feeling slightly under the weather that evening I really enjoyed the training session. People often talk about the sense of camaraderie in the BJJ community. This is never more in evidence than when you walk into a new club and are welcomed on the mat as a brother-in-arms.

(And then your new friends try to choke you unconscious...).

One cool thing that happened that night is that Alexandre Penao showed us a technique that none of us had ever seen before.

It was a cool rolling choke against the turtle position. Then he showed us how to use that choke to set up an entry to the mount and choke the guy out from there. This second technique was also entirely new to me.

Now I've been doing BJJ a long time. And I've been practicing other grappling arts for even longer. But I hadn't seen this stuff before. Not in person. Not on Youtube. Not in my extensive library of books and DVDs.

But the funny thing is that in BJJ this happens ALL THE TIME! Someone is always dreaming up new ways to choke somebody out, twist them into a pretzel, or flip them overhead.

No matter what belt rank you are, so long as you continue training you'll accumulate new techniques, details and insights until the day you step off the mats for good.

We're very luck that our sport is rich enough to allow this kind of continued growth.

How often do you think that an elite level boxer goes into the gym and has someone show him a completely new punch? How about two completely new punches?

This just doesn't happen in boxing. Ever!

But in jiu-jitsu and submission grappling there's always something new to learn.

Keep on rolling

Stephan Kesting
Grapplearts.com

Labels: Brazilian jiu-jitsu, chokes, inspiration

permanent link to this article posted by Stephan @ 8:08 PM

40th Birthday, UFC 100 and GrappleCamp 2009

To celebrate my upcoming 40th birthday I'm organizing and hosting a great big grappling get-together. I'm calling it GrappleCamp 2009 and it will be in Vancouver BC on Saturday July 11th and Sunday July 12th.

At this event I'll be sharing ton of new material that's been working really well for me. Butterfly Guard, X Guard, Half Guard, Kneebars, Omo Plata, Leglocks, etc. - a masterclass on the topics I've covered in my DVDs.

GRAPPLECAMP PRE-SEMINAR

I'm also hosting an optional 'pre-seminar' on the evening of Friday July the 10th. At the pre-seminar I'll be going over the fundamentals of the material for the weekend. The feedback from other pre-seminars is that they're insanely useful, especially if you're new to some of the material.

It'll be free for anyone already registered for the seminar. Yup. No Cost. You're welcome :-)

UFC 100

After training on Saturday we'll go on a group 'field trip' to a local restaurant to view UFC 100! I started watching the UFC back in the early 1990's, so there's no way I'm going to miss this historic MMA episode. And you're invited to come along too!

EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION

I fully expect this event to sell out, so by signing up early you'll assure yourself a spot, get a price break, and also get a much coveted Grapplearts.com T-Shirt.

Click here to register!

Labels: grapplearts, seminars, training

permanent link to this article posted by Stephan @ 7:29 PM

June 13, 2009

Seven Things I Wish I'd Known...

I'm on the road this week, and tonight, on the eve of UFC 99, I find myself in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

I'm excited about tonight's UFC for number of reasons. First of all the card itself looks great. Then it's being held in mainland Europe, showing how much the sport has grown. And finally I'll be watching the events with UFC fighter TJ Grant (who recently defeated Ryo Chonan).

It's always fascinating to have insider access to the insights of a pro-fighter when you're watching one of these things...

Anyway, as you've probably figured out by now, I'm all about sharing information. I also don't think that anyone has the monopoly on truth - myself included!

That's why when I see something really good created by someone else then I want to share it with you!

I recently came across something that I thought was particularly useful: a special downloadable article called "Seven Things I Wish I Knew When I Was a Blue Belt" (right click to save it to your hard drive).

This report is written by John Will - if you don't know who he is, you should! He's one of the most senior BJJ blackbelts around, and he's not even from Brazil! He received his black belt from the Machados way back in 1998, making him one of the first twelve non-Brazilian BJJ black belts in the world!

And he's not been idle! Just a few of his accomplishements include teaching thousands of people at his acclaimed seminars, producing a series of instructional books and videos, working with law enforcement and special forces, and heading the grappling program for a series of Australasian schools.

When that much mat time meets that much teaching experience good things are bound to happen. In this article John shares some of his most important BJJ insights.

I'm sure you'll like it as much as I do

Right click here to save the pdf document to your hard drive: Seven Things I Wish I Knew When I Was a Blue Belt

Labels: Brazilian jiu-jitsu, MMA, UFC

permanent link to this article posted by Stephan @ 4:30 PM

June 08, 2009

Three Steps to Mastering Any Technique

Some people look at grappling as a giant grab-bag of techniques. They may learn hundreds of techniques, but there's no rhyme, reason or organizing framework to guide what they learn or work on next.

If you're very physically talented then maybe you can get away with this approach, but I find it much easier to learn, retain, and use techniques if they're coherently organized.

Here are the three things I focus on when I'm trying to learn a specific technique (and it doesn't matter if it's a guard sweep, a pin escape or a submission).

Body Mechanics and Control
Entries and Setups
Finishes, Followups, Counters and Recounters.

Let's take a quick look at each of those three areas

1 - Body Mechanics and Control

There are right ways and some wrong ways to do any technique.

For example, the triangle choke should be applied with your top leg crossing over your ankle and lower shin. If you apply it with your toes under your knee then it won't be as tight or effective (and you could even injure your foot).

Or let's consider the kneebar submission. If your body is in a straight line you'll have much less power than if you had used proper body positioning.

How you align and position your body has a LOT to do with whether the technique will work or not.

Solid body mechanics mean that you'll be more efficient, waste less energy and be more powerful in your movement.

Good body mechanics and positioning are also critical for controlling your opponent, giving him fewer opportunities to escape and counter your technique.

Do yourself a favor and spend the time learning proper body mechanics.

2 - Entries and Setups

When you know how to apply the technique correctly, the next piece of the puzzle is figuring out how get there in the first place.

That's where setups and entries and entries come in. These are ways to trick or force your opponent to give you the positioning and energy you need in order to apply the technique.

One example of a setup might be getting your opponent to commit to a certain guard pass so that you can nail him with your favorite guard sweep.

Or let's say that you want to attack with the straight armbar from guard. To do this you might want to get your opponent's elbow across your centerline. Once you've maneuvered him into that position then it's pretty easy to slap on the armbar!

In fact, someone who is skilled at the armbar from guard probably has 10 or more setups to move that arm into position. No matter how you try to establish posture, the armbar expert has a setup to suck you right back into his attack.

So instead of learning 100 different techniques, take 10 of your favorite techniques and learn 10 entries and setups for each of them. This will make you much more dangerous on the mat.

3 - Finishes, Followups, Counters and Recounters.

Now you've learned how to perform a technique correctly and different ways to get into it. Does that mean that you're done and can now move onto the next technique?

Not exactly...

Things don't always go according to plan, and so you also need to know different ways to finish or modify your technique AFTER you've applied it.

Maybe you're applying the Omo Plata armlock but your opponent has super-flexible shoulders and you just can't finish him. If that's the case then you might want to switch to a different finish (a toehold, a wristlock or a sweep, for example).

Or maybe your opponent counters your omo plata attack by cartwheeling over top of you - what's your answer now?

Knowing how to counter the most common counters - what I call 'recountering' - is critically important. You won't master any technique until you learn how to circumvent your opponent's attempts to shut you down.

So to recap...

First learn the proper body mechanics for a technique...
Then learn a whole bunch of different ways to get into that technique...
Then learn different methods to continue on from that position if your initial attempt is countered or nullified.

It's true that this can be a lot of work, but it's also very rewarding. Just remember that you're not doing it all on your own - take full advantage of all the resources available to you, including your instructor, classmates, DVDs, the internet, books, etc.

You'll get there!

Labels: teaching, the mental aspect, training

permanent link to this article posted by Stephan @ 9:03 AM

New Book for Grapplearts Subscribers

I publish a lot of stuff on this blog, but I save some of the best stuff for the people who are subscribed to my newsletter.

I just added a new resource - a single book that breaks down the different variations of the Guard position. It's called A Glossary of Guards. After you download it you can read it on your computer or print it out and take it with you anywhere.

If you want to get your hands on it then just sign up for the Grappling Tips Newsletter (it's free and you can unsubscribe anonymously at any time). Then I'll immediately send you a link where you can download some really cool, readers-only stuff.

Labels: grapplearts, the guard

permanent link to this article posted by Stephan @ 8:00 AM