The premise of this book is that Marcus Trower, a journalist, wants to explore “real” wrestling, as opposed to the “fake” pro-wrestling exemplified by Hulk Hogan and the like. Trower searches initially for a spiritual dimension in the sport, then later seeks evidence for his “human rutting” theory. In order to do so, he travels to several countries which have – or at least, used to have – a strong wrestling culture. India, Mongolia, Nigeria and Brazil are all covered, with the last of those four naturally being the one which led me to pick up Trower’s book.
I first heard of The Last Wrestlers on Bullshido, but it didn’t really catch my interest until I read this post. That strongly indicated that there was something relevant to UK BJJ history, which meant I definitely wanted to take a look.
Brazil takes up the last chunk of the book, as the author relates his experiences at Gracie Barra, Brazilian Top Team, Marco Ruas Vale Tudo and Tata Jiu Jitsu. He also gets the opportunity to interview a number of familiar names, like Ze Mario Sperry, with extended pieces on Allan Goes as well. That leads him into a discussion of how BJJ can be a force for positive change in the favelas (Tata established a school in Rocinha partly for that reason). Goes himself emerged from poverty through his success in BJJ and later MMA. Clearly this was a powerfully affecting experience for Trower, as according to this press release (link currently broken, unfortunately), he plans (or perhaps already has?) to set up a wrestling school in one of the favelas himself.
Trower provides a revealing insight into the aspirations and motivations of these fighters, as well as some thoughts on what it is like to train in Brazil and the politics of BJJ. That political dimension is especially strong in the next section, which features a feud between two UK-based BJJ instructors from several years ago. Importantly, Trower maintains his objectivity throughout, always talking to both sides of any dispute.
The immediate comparison that sprung to mind was the excellent BBC Three series, Last Man Standing. While Trower doesn’t engage physically to the same degree (he has various health issues which make that impossible: indeed, Trower's frustration with those problems provides much of the impetus for his journey), the locations are either similar or the same (both Mongolian and Indian wrestling have featured on the BBC program). Like Last Man Standing, it is not only the exploration of the sport which is interesting, but the experience of living in a new country. Trower observes locals dodging through lethal Nigerian traffic, gets his underwear stolen while bathing in the Ganges and watches children grapple horses in Mongolia. You feel part of his journey, and come to admire Trower’s single-minded devotion to his cause despite frequent setbacks.
I disliked the pungent stink of testosterone in various chapters, largely caused by Trower’s desire to prove his “human rutting” theory, in which he claims wrestling may have developed as a means of sexual selection. This is the climax of the heavy male bias throughout the book: women never feature as fellow athletes, but rather as trophies to be won. I’m very keen for more women to take up BJJ and combative sports in general, as there is currently a depressing imbalance. I would have liked to have seen at least some acknowledgement that men are not the only ones who can benefit from grappling’s mental and physical challenge.
Trower’s book appears to view wrestling and combative sports as a purely male preserve, a method of proving ‘manliness’. Trower enjoys throwing out terms like “masculine fundamentalism,” with extended discussions of how he feels men have been emasculated by office jobs and the decline of ritualised combat.
[Update, Oct 2009: Trower (at least I assume its him) has responded to that criticism here.]
That’s a personal niggle with the book, however: Trower certainly doesn’t hide his intentions, the subtitle of his book being ‘A Far-flung Journey in Search of a Manly Art’, so it would be unfair to criticise him too heavily in that regard. Also, as in Last Man Standing, the tribal environment often enforces strict gender roles. I’m still holding out hope for a Last Woman Standing, but unfortunately those societies tend to lack progressive views on women’s rights (though that’s a broad generalisation: I’m certainly no anthropologist).
[Update, Feb 2010: My wish has been granted! Last Woman Standing started last night on BBC 3. See it on iPlayer here, or the official site here.]
The Last Wrestlers is an engaging travelogue, well-written and full of entertaining characters stuffed with colourful anecdotes. Trower is a thoughtful companion through the world of grappling, tenaciously tracking down his subject in distant corners of the globe. If you enjoyed Last Man Standing, or want to learn more about indigenous wrestling, you won’t be disappointed. Available to buy here (US version here).
29 January 2009
26 January 2009
26/01/2009 - BJJ (Intermediate) - Last Class at RGA!
Class #210
Roger Gracie Academy (BJJ), Gustavo Dos Santos Pires, London, UK - 26/01/2009 - Intermediate
As you can probably gather from the lack of posts, I decided to concentrate on interview preparation since my last class on the 12th. As I’ll be busy Wednesday, that means tonight is going to be my last class at RGA, at least for the moment (might well return to London to work some time in the future).
Bullshido has had an interesting new addition, in the form of Mark Tripp. While he registered back in 2005, Tripp only just starting posting this month, and has already shared a bunch of great stories from his many years of experience:
Mark Tripp’s Background
Tokyo Police Aikido
The ‘KI’ Master
Choked Out by Gene LeBell
Gene LeBell’s Advice On Respecting the Tap
The Seagal Incident
Chuck Norris ‘Kills’ Gene LeBell
The Silat Challenge
Practical Joke
Well worth checking out the threads those posts came from, particularly if you’re keen on grappling.
Getting back to tonight’s final class at RGA, which was also the first time I’ve been taught by Gustavo for a while. As usual, he showed us some open guard sweeps, from a sort of spider guard position. One foot is pressed into their same side bicep, while that side hand is gripping their opposite collar. Your other hand is holding their same side sleeve, while the foot on that side goes against their hip.
Starting with them standing up in this position, Gustavo demonstrated how you can pull them into two basic submissions. First, you can drag them into a triangle, by yanking on the sleeve, raising your hips and flinging your legs into the triangle. Alternately, if they twist, you can shift the foot on the bicep to slide under their armpit, pull on their sleeve and bring your other leg over their head for the armbar.
Gustavo then showed us two sweeps, for when they have their knee raised up to block armbars and triangles. For the first sweep, take the foot you have on their hip and instead weave it under their thigh and hook with your instep (so, sort of De La Riva position). Pull on their sleeve, this time bringing their arm out, then back under their own leg (Paxton described it as a ‘looping punch’ motion). You can now use that momentum to shove them over, ending up in side control.
Finally, you could instead switch your grips, so that instead of holding their lapel, grab their sleeve with both hands. Then straighten out the leg by their raised knee, so that its lying alongside them. Switch the hand nearest that leg from their sleeve to their same side heel.
Now swing your other leg all the way over past their head, so that you are facing away from them on all fours, but still maintaining a grip on both their sleeve and their heel. Again straighten out the leg nearest theirs, then pulling on their heel, continue your roll, knocking them over your own leg and shifting around to side control (you could also try and go straight through into mount, but their knee may be in the way. If that’s the case, follow your momentum to go through to side control).
I had trouble stripping Paxton’s grips in specific sparring from the closed guard, as his hands were glued to my hips. I only managed to do anything much when he made a mistake, and the same was true on top. At one point he tried to switch from a triangle to an armbar and I squeezed past, and on another occasion I think he was going for some sort of sweep, but there was enough force that I could bounce right over into side control.
In free sparring, I began with Melissa, who was stopping over in London on her way to the European Championships in Portugal at the weekend. She wanted to start from standing, presumably to prepare for that competition. After a bit of wibbling round, I eventually pulled guard, then spent most of my time squirming to get into half guard. Melissa loves going for chokes, so I also found myself constantly defending against that too. I’m still being too complacent, shoving an arm in between when she went for the cross choke. That did give me enough leverage to shift my hips over and get into a position where I could push back against the choke with my legs and get breathing room, but its a bad tactic. I should instead be trying to prevent the choke altogether, rather than just delay it: anyone stronger than me is liable to still get the choke despite my weedy arm-wedge.
For my last ever spar at RGA, I didn’t want to pick just anybody, and therefore waited for Paxton. He’s been a great training partner ever since he started at RGA, a few months after me, so it was satisfying way to finish my time at the academy.
I managed to roll him over from side control to come out on top, but with the important caveat that whereas I’d just sat out two rounds, Paxton had been rolling. Had we both been equally knackered, I doubt I could have reversed him like that. Similarly, I escaped from several choke attempts from mount, knee-on-chest and the back through repeated bridging, but that is much easier when you’re fresh.
I had a go at the ‘running man’ escape from side control Saulo demonstrates, but did it wrong so basically just gave up my back. I’d earlier also tried Damian Maia’s side control escape, where instead of pressing a forearm into the neck, he wraps his arm over their head. I’d be wary of getting submitted that way, but had some success with Melissa using Maia’s technique.
Not entirely sure where I’ll be training next week, but should hopefully be able to sort something out. I’d like to return to RGA some day, if I ever find myself working in London again, but we shall see. Would be very cool to head back and see all my old training partners flying up the belts. :D
Roger Gracie Academy (BJJ), Gustavo Dos Santos Pires, London, UK - 26/01/2009 - Intermediate
As you can probably gather from the lack of posts, I decided to concentrate on interview preparation since my last class on the 12th. As I’ll be busy Wednesday, that means tonight is going to be my last class at RGA, at least for the moment (might well return to London to work some time in the future).
Bullshido has had an interesting new addition, in the form of Mark Tripp. While he registered back in 2005, Tripp only just starting posting this month, and has already shared a bunch of great stories from his many years of experience:
Mark Tripp’s Background
Tokyo Police Aikido
The ‘KI’ Master
Choked Out by Gene LeBell
Gene LeBell’s Advice On Respecting the Tap
The Seagal Incident
Chuck Norris ‘Kills’ Gene LeBell
The Silat Challenge
Practical Joke
Well worth checking out the threads those posts came from, particularly if you’re keen on grappling.
Getting back to tonight’s final class at RGA, which was also the first time I’ve been taught by Gustavo for a while. As usual, he showed us some open guard sweeps, from a sort of spider guard position. One foot is pressed into their same side bicep, while that side hand is gripping their opposite collar. Your other hand is holding their same side sleeve, while the foot on that side goes against their hip.
Starting with them standing up in this position, Gustavo demonstrated how you can pull them into two basic submissions. First, you can drag them into a triangle, by yanking on the sleeve, raising your hips and flinging your legs into the triangle. Alternately, if they twist, you can shift the foot on the bicep to slide under their armpit, pull on their sleeve and bring your other leg over their head for the armbar.
Gustavo then showed us two sweeps, for when they have their knee raised up to block armbars and triangles. For the first sweep, take the foot you have on their hip and instead weave it under their thigh and hook with your instep (so, sort of De La Riva position). Pull on their sleeve, this time bringing their arm out, then back under their own leg (Paxton described it as a ‘looping punch’ motion). You can now use that momentum to shove them over, ending up in side control.
Finally, you could instead switch your grips, so that instead of holding their lapel, grab their sleeve with both hands. Then straighten out the leg by their raised knee, so that its lying alongside them. Switch the hand nearest that leg from their sleeve to their same side heel.
Now swing your other leg all the way over past their head, so that you are facing away from them on all fours, but still maintaining a grip on both their sleeve and their heel. Again straighten out the leg nearest theirs, then pulling on their heel, continue your roll, knocking them over your own leg and shifting around to side control (you could also try and go straight through into mount, but their knee may be in the way. If that’s the case, follow your momentum to go through to side control).
I had trouble stripping Paxton’s grips in specific sparring from the closed guard, as his hands were glued to my hips. I only managed to do anything much when he made a mistake, and the same was true on top. At one point he tried to switch from a triangle to an armbar and I squeezed past, and on another occasion I think he was going for some sort of sweep, but there was enough force that I could bounce right over into side control.
In free sparring, I began with Melissa, who was stopping over in London on her way to the European Championships in Portugal at the weekend. She wanted to start from standing, presumably to prepare for that competition. After a bit of wibbling round, I eventually pulled guard, then spent most of my time squirming to get into half guard. Melissa loves going for chokes, so I also found myself constantly defending against that too. I’m still being too complacent, shoving an arm in between when she went for the cross choke. That did give me enough leverage to shift my hips over and get into a position where I could push back against the choke with my legs and get breathing room, but its a bad tactic. I should instead be trying to prevent the choke altogether, rather than just delay it: anyone stronger than me is liable to still get the choke despite my weedy arm-wedge.
For my last ever spar at RGA, I didn’t want to pick just anybody, and therefore waited for Paxton. He’s been a great training partner ever since he started at RGA, a few months after me, so it was satisfying way to finish my time at the academy.
I managed to roll him over from side control to come out on top, but with the important caveat that whereas I’d just sat out two rounds, Paxton had been rolling. Had we both been equally knackered, I doubt I could have reversed him like that. Similarly, I escaped from several choke attempts from mount, knee-on-chest and the back through repeated bridging, but that is much easier when you’re fresh.
I had a go at the ‘running man’ escape from side control Saulo demonstrates, but did it wrong so basically just gave up my back. I’d earlier also tried Damian Maia’s side control escape, where instead of pressing a forearm into the neck, he wraps his arm over their head. I’d be wary of getting submitted that way, but had some success with Melissa using Maia’s technique.
Not entirely sure where I’ll be training next week, but should hopefully be able to sort something out. I’d like to return to RGA some day, if I ever find myself working in London again, but we shall see. Would be very cool to head back and see all my old training partners flying up the belts. :D
22 January 2009
Book Review - Mastering the Rubber Guard (Eddie Bravo)
Eddie Bravo is a notable figure in Brazilian jiu jitsu, due to the no-gi strategy he has dubbed '10th Planet Jiu Jitsu', along with his various controversial views. He began training BJJ in 1994 under Jean-Jacques Machado, from whom Bravo received his black belt back in 2003. That same year, Bravo made his claim to fame by defeating the legendary Royler Gracie at the prestigious Abu Dhabi Combat Championship, a no-gi invitational event. Bravo was soundly beaten by his next opponent, Leo Vieira, but submitting a Gracie proved sufficient to provide him with a platform from which he could market his unorthodox take on Brazilian jiu jitsu.
[For more on the 10th Planet JJ system, see here]
Since Bravo's infamous ADCC victory, he has risen to prominence in the BJJ world: if you take a look through any BJJ internet forum, you'll notice varying opinions on the man and his approach to BJJ. There tends to be a division between those who swear by his nogi system as a groundbreaking innovation and those who feel it is a limited strategy which relies on flexibility (though as always with binaries, that is simplifying matters). I've not yet made my final judgement, lacking sufficient experience in both BJJ and Bravo's approach to the sport. One thing I can say is that beginners should steer well clear, instead focusing on the basics first. Unfortunately many white belts don't spend enough time on the fundamentals, getting overexcited by flashy videos they see on the internet.
However, this is not entirely the fault of Bravo, who could be compared to Rorion Gracie in his mixed public reputation, but superb command of marketing. The book which really made Bravo's name, Mastering the Rubber Guard, is a professional piece of work (in terms of technique, at least: I'll cover the introduction in a moment), methodically breaking down Bravo's approach to the bottom position in BJJ. Most of this revolves around what he calls the 'rubber guard', but because the aim is to lay out his entire system, the book does contain some material on other positions. For example, there is also in-depth coverage of the half-guard.
[Incidentally, Royler (who has a considerably more impressive pedigree in competition, having accumulated numerous titles both with and without the gi, as well as a 5-4-1 record in MMA) also has a nogi instructional volume on the market, BJJ Submission Grappling Techniques. While not as focused or detailed as Bravo's publication, Royler does cover a broader range of positions, and is probably a better choice for beginners.]
The introduction to Mastering the Rubber Guard is amusing, particularly if you've seen PRIDE FC 10. Bravo is one of the commentators for that event, and can be seen - a diminutive, clean-cut figure in a suit - at the beginning of the DVD. Things have changed a great deal since then: not only has Bravo become doused in tattoos, but he's also grown inordinately fond of smoking pot. He and his friend, UFC commentator and comedian Joe Rogan, fill the opening pages of Mastering the Rubber Guard with purple prose on just how wonderful they've found marijuana, along with certain life philosophies I can’t say I agree with either.
It's unusual that a book meant to help you with BJJ would spend such a significant chunk of its pages talking about weed, but then I was expecting that from the various mixed reviews on the net (e.g., this). It is also clear that if you take the intro at face value, Bravo believes strongly that ganja has been of great help to him personally, so not surprisingly he wants to talk about it: it's his book (for which he got free rein from his publisher), so despite my difference of opinion, I don’t mind a bit of distraction before getting to the technical meat.
While those aforementioned internet reviews tend to be understandably dubious about the pothead intro, the majority seem to agree that the BJJ material is well presented, if too advanced for white belts. I didn’t want to get ahead of myself (I was still a white belt myself when I got this for xmas), but someone posted on an internet forum mentioning the half-guard section could be useful earlier on, so this encouraged me to give at least that segment of the book a try. I often find myself in half guard, but have trouble getting a sweep/escaping from there, so at least one of Bravo's technical tips has been of use. I have often used the lockdown to knock my partner's leg out of position, in an attempt to disrupt their efforts at passing and/or submission.
Despite having originally got hold of Mastering the Rubber Guard back in Christmas 2007, the rest of the book is not something I plan to even attempt to incorporate into my BJJ until much later (when I'll also revisit this review, which at present – like the rest of this website – is aimed at beginners). Again, that is not to say that there is anything wrong with the technique or the manner in which Bravo teaches it. Each move in Bravo's canon is carefully explained, with numerous full-colour pictures and helpful textual accompaniment. Better still, it all fits together, so much so that Bravo can provide a flow chart detailing all the various connections from each position. By referring to this chart, you have clearly described answers to the common problems and obstacles hindering your application of technique.
Bravo's method of presenting an overview for his instruction is so good that it should serve as a model to other instructional books. The flow chart of technique is an excellent idea, and one that I've also seen Ed Beneville use in his more recent Strategic Guard. I'm not sure if Bravo is the first person to include a chart for a BJJ instructional in this way, but regardless, his usage is exemplary.
There is also an entertaining bit of introductory text from Bravo for most of the techniques, explaining how he came up with his frequently bizarre terminology (which some might find offensive, the most notorious offender being 'crackhead control'), and the origins of the technique itself. Contrary to criticism, Bravo does normally acknowledge his sources, rather than pretend he invented everything from scratch.
Nevertheless, for my current level, I feel it's too advanced. Once I have solid fundamentals, I'll be able to try out more complex strategies like the rubber guard, but for now, I'm perfectly happy working basic escapes from side control and developing my defence.
If you're a beginner, I would advise you do the same. Leave Eddie Bravo until later, rather than eagerly devouring videos you might have seen on the net, or what is available in Bravo's instructional volumes. A far better first choice of instructional material would be Mastering Jujitsu, after which you could progress to Ed Beneville's The Guard.
However, if you're flexible, have a good grasp of the fundamentals and are looking to add something different to your game, then Bravo has plenty to offer. I'd suggest Mastering the Rubber Guard could be useful at purple belt, but then I can only go by my own experience: more advanced students of BJJ, especially those who have found success with Bravo's material (e.g., Roger Gracie black belt Oli Geddes, who has a huge archive of his competitive videos here, was fond of Bravo when he was a purple, but I haven't heard him mention 10th Planet techniques as much since then) may have a different perspective.
There is also the argument that BJJ should be fun, so if you enjoy playing around with rubber guard and the like, that's up to you. Nevertheless, keep in mind that Bravo gained a black belt in 'traditional' BJJ (if that is even a viable term) before he became famous for 10th Planet JJ. It would be a costly mistake to think you could circumvent all the hard work he put in before he was able to develop a functional system. Available to buy here.
Update Dec 2012: Re-reading this review as a purple belt, which I received early last year, my opinion on Bravo has not changed. My summary would still be that his system and this book is potentially viable for advanced students with a considerable degree of flexibility, but should not be attempted by white belts. Unfortunately, white belts are still by far the BJJ demographic most likely to view 10th Planet as a magical shortcut that can bypass the difficult process of learning the fundamental techniques of BJJ. Speaking personally, I still don't feel I have sufficient mastery of fundamentals to start indulging in anything outside of those basics. I've also seen a number of training partners injure their knees due to rubber guard, which is obviously off-putting.
[For more on the 10th Planet JJ system, see here]
Since Bravo's infamous ADCC victory, he has risen to prominence in the BJJ world: if you take a look through any BJJ internet forum, you'll notice varying opinions on the man and his approach to BJJ. There tends to be a division between those who swear by his nogi system as a groundbreaking innovation and those who feel it is a limited strategy which relies on flexibility (though as always with binaries, that is simplifying matters). I've not yet made my final judgement, lacking sufficient experience in both BJJ and Bravo's approach to the sport. One thing I can say is that beginners should steer well clear, instead focusing on the basics first. Unfortunately many white belts don't spend enough time on the fundamentals, getting overexcited by flashy videos they see on the internet.
However, this is not entirely the fault of Bravo, who could be compared to Rorion Gracie in his mixed public reputation, but superb command of marketing. The book which really made Bravo's name, Mastering the Rubber Guard, is a professional piece of work (in terms of technique, at least: I'll cover the introduction in a moment), methodically breaking down Bravo's approach to the bottom position in BJJ. Most of this revolves around what he calls the 'rubber guard', but because the aim is to lay out his entire system, the book does contain some material on other positions. For example, there is also in-depth coverage of the half-guard.
[Incidentally, Royler (who has a considerably more impressive pedigree in competition, having accumulated numerous titles both with and without the gi, as well as a 5-4-1 record in MMA) also has a nogi instructional volume on the market, BJJ Submission Grappling Techniques. While not as focused or detailed as Bravo's publication, Royler does cover a broader range of positions, and is probably a better choice for beginners.]
The introduction to Mastering the Rubber Guard is amusing, particularly if you've seen PRIDE FC 10. Bravo is one of the commentators for that event, and can be seen - a diminutive, clean-cut figure in a suit - at the beginning of the DVD. Things have changed a great deal since then: not only has Bravo become doused in tattoos, but he's also grown inordinately fond of smoking pot. He and his friend, UFC commentator and comedian Joe Rogan, fill the opening pages of Mastering the Rubber Guard with purple prose on just how wonderful they've found marijuana, along with certain life philosophies I can’t say I agree with either. It's unusual that a book meant to help you with BJJ would spend such a significant chunk of its pages talking about weed, but then I was expecting that from the various mixed reviews on the net (e.g., this). It is also clear that if you take the intro at face value, Bravo believes strongly that ganja has been of great help to him personally, so not surprisingly he wants to talk about it: it's his book (for which he got free rein from his publisher), so despite my difference of opinion, I don’t mind a bit of distraction before getting to the technical meat.
While those aforementioned internet reviews tend to be understandably dubious about the pothead intro, the majority seem to agree that the BJJ material is well presented, if too advanced for white belts. I didn’t want to get ahead of myself (I was still a white belt myself when I got this for xmas), but someone posted on an internet forum mentioning the half-guard section could be useful earlier on, so this encouraged me to give at least that segment of the book a try. I often find myself in half guard, but have trouble getting a sweep/escaping from there, so at least one of Bravo's technical tips has been of use. I have often used the lockdown to knock my partner's leg out of position, in an attempt to disrupt their efforts at passing and/or submission.
Despite having originally got hold of Mastering the Rubber Guard back in Christmas 2007, the rest of the book is not something I plan to even attempt to incorporate into my BJJ until much later (when I'll also revisit this review, which at present – like the rest of this website – is aimed at beginners). Again, that is not to say that there is anything wrong with the technique or the manner in which Bravo teaches it. Each move in Bravo's canon is carefully explained, with numerous full-colour pictures and helpful textual accompaniment. Better still, it all fits together, so much so that Bravo can provide a flow chart detailing all the various connections from each position. By referring to this chart, you have clearly described answers to the common problems and obstacles hindering your application of technique.
Bravo's method of presenting an overview for his instruction is so good that it should serve as a model to other instructional books. The flow chart of technique is an excellent idea, and one that I've also seen Ed Beneville use in his more recent Strategic Guard. I'm not sure if Bravo is the first person to include a chart for a BJJ instructional in this way, but regardless, his usage is exemplary.
There is also an entertaining bit of introductory text from Bravo for most of the techniques, explaining how he came up with his frequently bizarre terminology (which some might find offensive, the most notorious offender being 'crackhead control'), and the origins of the technique itself. Contrary to criticism, Bravo does normally acknowledge his sources, rather than pretend he invented everything from scratch.
Nevertheless, for my current level, I feel it's too advanced. Once I have solid fundamentals, I'll be able to try out more complex strategies like the rubber guard, but for now, I'm perfectly happy working basic escapes from side control and developing my defence.
If you're a beginner, I would advise you do the same. Leave Eddie Bravo until later, rather than eagerly devouring videos you might have seen on the net, or what is available in Bravo's instructional volumes. A far better first choice of instructional material would be Mastering Jujitsu, after which you could progress to Ed Beneville's The Guard.
However, if you're flexible, have a good grasp of the fundamentals and are looking to add something different to your game, then Bravo has plenty to offer. I'd suggest Mastering the Rubber Guard could be useful at purple belt, but then I can only go by my own experience: more advanced students of BJJ, especially those who have found success with Bravo's material (e.g., Roger Gracie black belt Oli Geddes, who has a huge archive of his competitive videos here, was fond of Bravo when he was a purple, but I haven't heard him mention 10th Planet techniques as much since then) may have a different perspective.
There is also the argument that BJJ should be fun, so if you enjoy playing around with rubber guard and the like, that's up to you. Nevertheless, keep in mind that Bravo gained a black belt in 'traditional' BJJ (if that is even a viable term) before he became famous for 10th Planet JJ. It would be a costly mistake to think you could circumvent all the hard work he put in before he was able to develop a functional system. Available to buy here.
Update Dec 2012: Re-reading this review as a purple belt, which I received early last year, my opinion on Bravo has not changed. My summary would still be that his system and this book is potentially viable for advanced students with a considerable degree of flexibility, but should not be attempted by white belts. Unfortunately, white belts are still by far the BJJ demographic most likely to view 10th Planet as a magical shortcut that can bypass the difficult process of learning the fundamental techniques of BJJ. Speaking personally, I still don't feel I have sufficient mastery of fundamentals to start indulging in anything outside of those basics. I've also seen a number of training partners injure their knees due to rubber guard, which is obviously off-putting.
12 January 2009
12/01/2009 - BJJ (Intermediate)
Class #209
Roger Gracie Academy (BJJ), Maurição Gomes, London, UK - 12/01/2009 - Intermediate
Tonight was concentrated on guard passing, which continues to be my worst area. Maurição stuck with the basics, beginning with a straightforward standing guard pass. Post your hands on their chest, spring up to your feet, also grabbing one of their sleeves. Push their knee on the other side off your hip, bouncing to help dislodge their hold.
Once that limb is loose, immediately clamp their knee to the floor, bringing your own knee over the top to pin their leg. Swing your other leg behind you, then put your nearest hand by their hip, in order to block them. Shift your first leg under the other, staying sprawled out: don’t bring your knees up to their side yet, as that gives them a window of opportunity to get their knee through and escape.
If they put up resistance when you try the leg pin pass - e.g., block your knee, shrimp onto their side etc – then you can switch to a different guard pass. Get your same side arm under their leg, grabbing their opposite collar (palm down, so your fingers are on top). From this position, you can either move around past that trapped leg, shifting your hips and keeping the pressure on to slip through, or try moving round the other side.
Specific sparring with Justin was rather one-sided, as he had no problems at all either passing my guard or sweeping me. I attempted the hook sweep as usual, though need to be careful I’m not too exuberant when disengaging closed guard: I ended up flinging myself right off and Justin simply used gravity to go straight to side control.
I tried my favoured (but almost always ineffectual) kneeling guard break, but wasn’t able to open up Justin’s guard. Nick G stepped in at this point, noting that its difficult to keep control of their hips with that technique, especially if they have a size advantage. He suggested I should instead be trying to stand more often, and also briefly demonstrated another kneeling option. Your posture stays low, grabbing the gi material on their sides, after which you gradually work your knee through: Nick noted that you have to be very wary of chokes when doing that.
Next up was side control, this time with Liam. Again, on top I was being flung off or reversed with ease: I kept overbalancing, and I’m still not mobile enough in transitioning. I had a go at the knee-on-chest Maurição showed us last week, but not getting that knee in right yet. I’ll keep practicing, as I’m keen to establish an option that doesn’t require you to get their elbow clear first, along with the typical pass which does.
Underneath I was more comfortable, shifting around and following Liam to prevent the pass, but nothing more than that. I was simply holding him off rather than getting near to escaping. That continued into free sparring, which unfortunately today was a continuous line-up rather than picking our own partners. I spent almost the whole of that thirty minutes in half-guard, which was ok if my partner wasn’t too big, but I got smashed when trying that against the beefy Polish guys.
In the midst of that smashing, the second of the Poles was looking for a guillotining, but ended up face cranking me instead. I didn’t want to tap to that, as its not going to help him against anyone his size or bigger so bad habit to get into, but on the other hand, I probably should have just saved myself some pain and restarted. Eventually slipped out, but my face and neck were a little sore at the end of class.
Most useful tip was when I went with Nick. He disdainfully looked at my “flop on the floor” approach to sparring from the knees, advising me that I have to ensure I establish some grips, even if I’m planning to pull guard. I also need to prevent my partner from getting grips: I’m way too complacent when going from knees, as I pretty much assume I’m going to be defending for the majority of the spar, so don’t pay much attention to their opening grips. Something to rectify.
Finally, Nick also had some advice for the mounted triangle. He let me get to mount in order to see what I’d do, but noted that once I’d got a leg under their head, I was raising up my other leg in order to lock on the triangle. That’s a mistake, as it gives your partner the chance to escape: you should keep your hips down and weight low all the way through the technique. So instead of lifting your leg to try and get it around your foot, pull your ankle back enough that you can slot it into place behind your other knee.
Should be training again on Wednesday, but I have some preparation to do for a job interview next week, so may stay at home in order to work some more on that. Depends how far I get tomorrow night.
Roger Gracie Academy (BJJ), Maurição Gomes, London, UK - 12/01/2009 - Intermediate
Tonight was concentrated on guard passing, which continues to be my worst area. Maurição stuck with the basics, beginning with a straightforward standing guard pass. Post your hands on their chest, spring up to your feet, also grabbing one of their sleeves. Push their knee on the other side off your hip, bouncing to help dislodge their hold.
Once that limb is loose, immediately clamp their knee to the floor, bringing your own knee over the top to pin their leg. Swing your other leg behind you, then put your nearest hand by their hip, in order to block them. Shift your first leg under the other, staying sprawled out: don’t bring your knees up to their side yet, as that gives them a window of opportunity to get their knee through and escape.
If they put up resistance when you try the leg pin pass - e.g., block your knee, shrimp onto their side etc – then you can switch to a different guard pass. Get your same side arm under their leg, grabbing their opposite collar (palm down, so your fingers are on top). From this position, you can either move around past that trapped leg, shifting your hips and keeping the pressure on to slip through, or try moving round the other side.
Specific sparring with Justin was rather one-sided, as he had no problems at all either passing my guard or sweeping me. I attempted the hook sweep as usual, though need to be careful I’m not too exuberant when disengaging closed guard: I ended up flinging myself right off and Justin simply used gravity to go straight to side control.
I tried my favoured (but almost always ineffectual) kneeling guard break, but wasn’t able to open up Justin’s guard. Nick G stepped in at this point, noting that its difficult to keep control of their hips with that technique, especially if they have a size advantage. He suggested I should instead be trying to stand more often, and also briefly demonstrated another kneeling option. Your posture stays low, grabbing the gi material on their sides, after which you gradually work your knee through: Nick noted that you have to be very wary of chokes when doing that.
Next up was side control, this time with Liam. Again, on top I was being flung off or reversed with ease: I kept overbalancing, and I’m still not mobile enough in transitioning. I had a go at the knee-on-chest Maurição showed us last week, but not getting that knee in right yet. I’ll keep practicing, as I’m keen to establish an option that doesn’t require you to get their elbow clear first, along with the typical pass which does.
Underneath I was more comfortable, shifting around and following Liam to prevent the pass, but nothing more than that. I was simply holding him off rather than getting near to escaping. That continued into free sparring, which unfortunately today was a continuous line-up rather than picking our own partners. I spent almost the whole of that thirty minutes in half-guard, which was ok if my partner wasn’t too big, but I got smashed when trying that against the beefy Polish guys.
In the midst of that smashing, the second of the Poles was looking for a guillotining, but ended up face cranking me instead. I didn’t want to tap to that, as its not going to help him against anyone his size or bigger so bad habit to get into, but on the other hand, I probably should have just saved myself some pain and restarted. Eventually slipped out, but my face and neck were a little sore at the end of class.
Most useful tip was when I went with Nick. He disdainfully looked at my “flop on the floor” approach to sparring from the knees, advising me that I have to ensure I establish some grips, even if I’m planning to pull guard. I also need to prevent my partner from getting grips: I’m way too complacent when going from knees, as I pretty much assume I’m going to be defending for the majority of the spar, so don’t pay much attention to their opening grips. Something to rectify.
Finally, Nick also had some advice for the mounted triangle. He let me get to mount in order to see what I’d do, but noted that once I’d got a leg under their head, I was raising up my other leg in order to lock on the triangle. That’s a mistake, as it gives your partner the chance to escape: you should keep your hips down and weight low all the way through the technique. So instead of lifting your leg to try and get it around your foot, pull your ankle back enough that you can slot it into place behind your other knee.
Should be training again on Wednesday, but I have some preparation to do for a job interview next week, so may stay at home in order to work some more on that. Depends how far I get tomorrow night.
07 January 2009
07/01/2009 - BJJ (Intermediate)
Class #208
Roger Gracie Academy (BJJ), Nick Gregoriades, London, UK - 07/01/2009 - Intermediate
The classes have now been split into Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. White belts start with the Beginner class, then on getting their third stripe they can progress to Intermediate. Once they get their blue belt, they can only train in the Intermediate, until they get their third stripe on that new belt. Then they can move into Advanced, to which they're restricted once they get to purple.
That means that several of my favourite training partners are now, understandably, training in Advanced rather than the new Intermediate session, like Christina, Helen and Tran (the latter two who, as purple belts, couldn't train in Intermediate anyway). Still, plenty of good people left, like Paxton, Tanvir, Anne and Indra, all of whom were there today.
Paxton gave me several good tips on throws, which I think he heard from Bruno. On the seoi-nage, grip a lapel with your same side hand. Use your grip to pull across to put your partner off balance, then twist into them, bringing your free arm underneath theirs, then lifting them in the usual way (remembering to use your bicep to hold them and not your shoulder, or they may be able to choke you).
Also, on the tai-otoshi, make sure you really pull and push with your arms: I keep making the mistake of forgetting to use my arms sufficiently, which goes for various other techniques too. It will be good to get in some more judo, as that will help lots with the 'kuzushi' part of things, learning how to properly unbalance an opponent and enter into throws. Shall have to see how my schedule works out, once I find a new job.
Specific sparring from side control raised the familiar problem of being unable to clear their elbow. I was trying to get my other knee underneath to scoop their arm out of the way, but couldn't quite manage it. I switched to north-south instead, as its better than a stalemate, aiming for the reverse scarf hold transition Iain showed us in judo a while back. I was able to get my elbow into one of their armpits, but failed to remember how the rest of the technique went. Underneath, I was mostly just stuck under knee-on-belly for a while.
The focus on knee-on-chest tonight was therefore rather useful: I've never used it, as I've always felt way too unstable and easily moved. I feel much more comfortable in side control or in scarf control. Best of all, not only was Nick there to teach the correct positioning, we were also lucky to have a man present who is famous for his knee-on-chest, Maurição.
To transition from side control to knee-on-chest, you first need to clear their elbow. Use your knee to do this (the leg furthest from their head), then switch your hips back to trap their arm. Grab the collar behind their head with one hand, with the other should be pressed into their far hip, both hands attempting to push firmly towards the floor.
From there, push off with your arms and pop your knee onto their chest (Nick mentioned that while the position is often called knee-on-belly, knee-on-chest is more accurate, as pressure on the chest is a lot more effective than pressure on the belly). The knee should be pointing towards their far shoulder, keeping your toes off the floor to maximise the amount of weight on your partner. Your other leg should be stretched out, making sure that it isn't easy for them to grab it.
Keep your hips as low as possible, meaning you end up sitting on them, but with your bum off to the side of their body. To further add to their discomfort, the arm that is gripping their collar can be used to press into their face, making it difficult for them to turn their head.
At this point, Maurição stepped in with a great tip. Even if you can't clear their elbow, you can still transition to knee-on-chest. Bring the knee nearest their face right up to their head. Grip their collar and hip as before, and again push up and bring your knee to their chest. Though they have an elbow in the way, you will simply shove past it, bringing your knee outwards in a small arc as you do so. I'm always having trouble getting past that elbow, so this should be very useful for me.
To finish, Nick then showed us an armbar from knee-on-chest. Having got your knee in place, the natural reaction of your partner is often to push on that knee with their hand. It's painful, so shoving with the hand is the immediate response to get rid of all that pressure. However, this also frequently means that there will now be a gap by their elbow.
You can take advantage of this by feeding your hand through (on the inside). Wrap your hand around the back of their bicep and pull in tight with your arm. That should now mean you can squash their arm against your shoulder (I also wondered if a gooseneck wristlock might be an option at that point, given the angle of the wrist: Roy Dean shows a bunch on his DVD, though I don't remember them being from this position). Push down on their face and step your leg over their head.
Having trapped their arm, you can now spin all the way to the other side to go for an armbar. Nick noted that at this point, many people make the mistake of not spinning far enough, so lose the armbar. To prevent that, grab their trouser leg to help pull yourself round: you want to be facing the opposite wall, making a complete spin. Finally, drop back and go for the armbar, squeezing your knees together.
Technique was so in-depth today (always a good thing, in my opinion: the more detail on technique the better), sparring was cut a little shorter. As I normally only do two or three, that wasn't much of a concern for me, just meant less resting time. I started off with Tanvir, who has recently come back from a knee injury. I was looking to go for the hook sweep again, but still not properly bending my partners at the waist properly.
When I could see I was losing control of Tanvir's leg, I secured a De La Riva hook instead. That did indeed give me better control, but I then didn't know what to do with it: should take another look at sweeps from there. I made sure not to do the same thing on the other leg, as especially because I'm not as familiar with De La Riva as half-guard, I didn't want to do something random and exacerbate the knee problem.
With Indra, I was again looking for the hook sweep. Got a bit closer this time, but as against Tanvir, I wasn't getting the necessary bend. Indra was able to push with her knees and break my control, getting back to a sitting position. I tried going for an armbar instead, but as usual with my submission attempts, left way too much space so she spun out. I at least ended up with a sloppy side control rather than losing control altogether, but had time run out I imagine Indra could have escaped from that too.
In half-guard I was finding the lockdown useful again, in terms of preventing Indra from getting into a good position to pass. I aimed to push her leg back to disrupt her base, then try to shrimp to the other side, press on her other knee with my arm and hopefully make enough space to get a knee through for closed guard. Worked twice, I think, but I should be using my arms more and being careful not to end up flat on my back.
At the end of class, lots of gradings, which is in keeping with the various new belts I saw earlier that night. Jason is now a purple belt, and I saw a new brown belt too, so most likely others I missed. It was mainly stripes in the Intermediate class, with one new blue belt. Indra, Anne and I all got another stripe, which puts me on two. Always pleasant to get a promotion of any sort, but as its time based, I'm not sure what it will mean when I train somewhere else, as I will have to leave RGA at the end of January. Hopefully I can shift to one of the affiliates (such as Jude's new place in Kilburn), but that all depends on cost and how long I'm in London.
Roger Gracie Academy (BJJ), Nick Gregoriades, London, UK - 07/01/2009 - Intermediate
The classes have now been split into Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. White belts start with the Beginner class, then on getting their third stripe they can progress to Intermediate. Once they get their blue belt, they can only train in the Intermediate, until they get their third stripe on that new belt. Then they can move into Advanced, to which they're restricted once they get to purple.
That means that several of my favourite training partners are now, understandably, training in Advanced rather than the new Intermediate session, like Christina, Helen and Tran (the latter two who, as purple belts, couldn't train in Intermediate anyway). Still, plenty of good people left, like Paxton, Tanvir, Anne and Indra, all of whom were there today.
Paxton gave me several good tips on throws, which I think he heard from Bruno. On the seoi-nage, grip a lapel with your same side hand. Use your grip to pull across to put your partner off balance, then twist into them, bringing your free arm underneath theirs, then lifting them in the usual way (remembering to use your bicep to hold them and not your shoulder, or they may be able to choke you).
Also, on the tai-otoshi, make sure you really pull and push with your arms: I keep making the mistake of forgetting to use my arms sufficiently, which goes for various other techniques too. It will be good to get in some more judo, as that will help lots with the 'kuzushi' part of things, learning how to properly unbalance an opponent and enter into throws. Shall have to see how my schedule works out, once I find a new job.
Specific sparring from side control raised the familiar problem of being unable to clear their elbow. I was trying to get my other knee underneath to scoop their arm out of the way, but couldn't quite manage it. I switched to north-south instead, as its better than a stalemate, aiming for the reverse scarf hold transition Iain showed us in judo a while back. I was able to get my elbow into one of their armpits, but failed to remember how the rest of the technique went. Underneath, I was mostly just stuck under knee-on-belly for a while.
The focus on knee-on-chest tonight was therefore rather useful: I've never used it, as I've always felt way too unstable and easily moved. I feel much more comfortable in side control or in scarf control. Best of all, not only was Nick there to teach the correct positioning, we were also lucky to have a man present who is famous for his knee-on-chest, Maurição.
To transition from side control to knee-on-chest, you first need to clear their elbow. Use your knee to do this (the leg furthest from their head), then switch your hips back to trap their arm. Grab the collar behind their head with one hand, with the other should be pressed into their far hip, both hands attempting to push firmly towards the floor.
From there, push off with your arms and pop your knee onto their chest (Nick mentioned that while the position is often called knee-on-belly, knee-on-chest is more accurate, as pressure on the chest is a lot more effective than pressure on the belly). The knee should be pointing towards their far shoulder, keeping your toes off the floor to maximise the amount of weight on your partner. Your other leg should be stretched out, making sure that it isn't easy for them to grab it.
Keep your hips as low as possible, meaning you end up sitting on them, but with your bum off to the side of their body. To further add to their discomfort, the arm that is gripping their collar can be used to press into their face, making it difficult for them to turn their head.
At this point, Maurição stepped in with a great tip. Even if you can't clear their elbow, you can still transition to knee-on-chest. Bring the knee nearest their face right up to their head. Grip their collar and hip as before, and again push up and bring your knee to their chest. Though they have an elbow in the way, you will simply shove past it, bringing your knee outwards in a small arc as you do so. I'm always having trouble getting past that elbow, so this should be very useful for me.
To finish, Nick then showed us an armbar from knee-on-chest. Having got your knee in place, the natural reaction of your partner is often to push on that knee with their hand. It's painful, so shoving with the hand is the immediate response to get rid of all that pressure. However, this also frequently means that there will now be a gap by their elbow.
You can take advantage of this by feeding your hand through (on the inside). Wrap your hand around the back of their bicep and pull in tight with your arm. That should now mean you can squash their arm against your shoulder (I also wondered if a gooseneck wristlock might be an option at that point, given the angle of the wrist: Roy Dean shows a bunch on his DVD, though I don't remember them being from this position). Push down on their face and step your leg over their head.
Having trapped their arm, you can now spin all the way to the other side to go for an armbar. Nick noted that at this point, many people make the mistake of not spinning far enough, so lose the armbar. To prevent that, grab their trouser leg to help pull yourself round: you want to be facing the opposite wall, making a complete spin. Finally, drop back and go for the armbar, squeezing your knees together.
Technique was so in-depth today (always a good thing, in my opinion: the more detail on technique the better), sparring was cut a little shorter. As I normally only do two or three, that wasn't much of a concern for me, just meant less resting time. I started off with Tanvir, who has recently come back from a knee injury. I was looking to go for the hook sweep again, but still not properly bending my partners at the waist properly.
When I could see I was losing control of Tanvir's leg, I secured a De La Riva hook instead. That did indeed give me better control, but I then didn't know what to do with it: should take another look at sweeps from there. I made sure not to do the same thing on the other leg, as especially because I'm not as familiar with De La Riva as half-guard, I didn't want to do something random and exacerbate the knee problem.
With Indra, I was again looking for the hook sweep. Got a bit closer this time, but as against Tanvir, I wasn't getting the necessary bend. Indra was able to push with her knees and break my control, getting back to a sitting position. I tried going for an armbar instead, but as usual with my submission attempts, left way too much space so she spun out. I at least ended up with a sloppy side control rather than losing control altogether, but had time run out I imagine Indra could have escaped from that too.
In half-guard I was finding the lockdown useful again, in terms of preventing Indra from getting into a good position to pass. I aimed to push her leg back to disrupt her base, then try to shrimp to the other side, press on her other knee with my arm and hopefully make enough space to get a knee through for closed guard. Worked twice, I think, but I should be using my arms more and being careful not to end up flat on my back.
At the end of class, lots of gradings, which is in keeping with the various new belts I saw earlier that night. Jason is now a purple belt, and I saw a new brown belt too, so most likely others I missed. It was mainly stripes in the Intermediate class, with one new blue belt. Indra, Anne and I all got another stripe, which puts me on two. Always pleasant to get a promotion of any sort, but as its time based, I'm not sure what it will mean when I train somewhere else, as I will have to leave RGA at the end of January. Hopefully I can shift to one of the affiliates (such as Jude's new place in Kilburn), but that all depends on cost and how long I'm in London.
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