Article - BJJ & MMA: A Symbiotic Relationship

Article #5, by Can Sönmez

[For more on the history of BJJ, see here. For a discussion of the development of MMA, see here]

'Jiu jitsu,' as it is still known in its native country, had spread across Brazil for almost seventy years before it made a significant impact on the United States. BJJ's expansion outside Brazil is largely thanks to two brothers, Rorion and Royce Gracie, and one event, the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Bringing the 'Gracie Challenge' to a tournament setting, broadcast on pay per view, was a brilliant piece of marketing. It also inaugurated a long-lasting relationship between BJJ and the fledgling sport of mixed martial arts.

For those who began after 1993, a huge number of BJJers will cite Royce's victories in the octagon as their inspiration. I've seen that story told by Roy Dean, and it's a running theme in the informative UK history thread on SFUK. Chris Brennan sums it up in his recent interview from Final Round, when asked his reasons for starting in BJJ: "same as everyone, I guess. I saw Royce in the first UFC and started training right after that."

In Royce, the early UFCs found someone physically unimposing who could calmly and efficiently defeat much larger opponents, often without throwing a punch. Better still, he achieved this in a no-holds-barred environment open to all-comers. Rorion's younger brother presented a very attractive proposition to martial artists looking for proven efficacy, as well as a considerable threat to traditionalists unwilling to embrace change. Thanks to the exploits of Royce and those who followed him, it is now generally accepted that in order to succeed in the sport of MMA, you need a good understanding of grappling: BJJ remains the most common choice to develop skills in that area.

MMA began as 'vale tudo' ('anything goes', in Portuguese), which presents another major connection with Brazilian jiu jitsu. Originally, vale tudo was a part of BJJ, something which the first fighting generation of Gracies trained to conquer. However, MMA and BJJ are no longer equivalent, if indeed they ever were. BJJ is a component of MMA, but does not constitute a truly complete style in its own right, no matter what the Gracie Academy might try to tell you. It would be foolish for BJJers to compare a BJJ tournament with a mixed martial arts fight: though both are strenuous tests of combat ability, only MMA will demand all round fighting prowess. Adding in strikes and slams makes a big difference: for example, instead of struggling to open a particularly tricky guard, you can just punch your opponent in the face. To paraphrase Carlson Gracie, getting struck can knock you down a couple of belt levels.

Nevertheless, MMA remains a powerful advertisement for BJJ, just as Rorion intended back when he helped create the UFC. After SEG sold out to Zuffa, both sports reached even greater heights. There are valid criticisms to make about their business practices, the 'Zuffa myth' (in which Dana White claims Zuffa invented everything, like the rules, weight categories etc. Their version tends to conveniently ignore the hard work done years earlier, by pioneers like John Perretti) and an unfortunate tendency to value spectacle over sport, but nevertheless, Zuffa innovations like The Ultimate Fighter brought MMA to much broader public attention: BJJ has followed in its wake.

Rorion hasn't been idle either. Where once he cleverly used tapes to disseminate his teaching, he and his sons have now turned to the internet, developing Gracie University and its accompanying Gracie Combatives DVDs. In the process, the Gracie Academy is attempting to distance itself from the competitive events which were once the bedrock of GJJ's success. Instead of challenge matches and constant sparring, they are beginning to ossify into the compliant drilling of a thousand 'self defence' courses, and worse still, testing for rank via video.

In a sense Gracie jiu jitsu has come full circle, now casting itself as the traditionalist martial art dismissing the benefits of tournament fighting. The same kind of arguments were once used by practitioners of styles like wing chun and aikido, in order to deride the UFC. This is therefore a dangerous step backwards, but it is still early days: we shall have to wait to discover the full implications of breaking the old link between BJJ and competition.

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26/11/2009 - BJJ

Class #264



RGA High Wycombe, (BJJ), Kev Capel, High Wycombe, UK - 26/11/2009

If anyone reading this happens to be a student at Warwick, tomorrow I'm running a free seminar on poetry related to AIDS, as part of Sexual Health Awareness Week. Full details here, with the handout and poems available for download. So hey, even if you're not able to make it, at least you can check out what I'm going to teach. ;) Update Apr 2010: Download here.

I'm also excited to see that one of the best BJJ sites on the web, Global Training Report, is back online. Unfortunately, looks like he isn't going to do any more interviews because he's so angry about copyright violations. That would be a huge shame, so I hope he changes his mind in the future.

Class tonight focused on the open guard, but unusually Kev just showed techniques from the bottom, rather than corresponding passes. To begin, Kev showed how to get into cross guard after they've managed to get a solid grip on the inside of your knees. This is a bad position for you, as they are well placed to initiate a pass.

Sit up, then immediately scoot backwards (so you aren't purely relying on abdominal muscles). That should unbalance them slightly while in turn stabilising your base. Overwrap one of their arms with your own, then kick out to break their grip. Do the same for their other arm. It doesn't matter too much how you overwrap the arm (e.g., you could use your same side arm, the opposite arm, or even try to wrap both their arms at the same time), but for me, the same side arm felt the most natural.

It is also seemed to set up the next stage, which is to cross-grip their opposite sleeve. Pull that towards you and secure a grip behind their ankle as well, putting your same side foot onto their hip. That should block off that side completely, leaving your other foot to go on their hip or bicep.

Next, Kev moved on to a triangle from open guard, in the same position. It is important that their posture is broken, as you will struggle to get this submission if they are upright at this point. Pull down on their arm and shoot your hips up, kicking your legs through. You can either try and leap straight into a triangle, or more methodically just get your ankles crossed, then adjust into the triangle. If they're able to resist the triangle but you have your legs locked, you may be able to armbar them instead.

Specific sparring was cardio intensive today. We began by only using our legs, meaning that the person trying to pass had to keep their hands on their belt, while the person underneath actively tucked their hands into their belt (the person standing can't do that in case they fall over and need to break their fall). That meant that you had to constantly move, as to pass you were running around your partner, while underneath you were frantically spinning to keep up, trying to establish hooks and pushing on the hips.

I find it hard enough to pass when I've got my arms, so this was really hard for me. On the bottom, I was much happier, generally able to spin into position, hook their legs, and keep facing them. I couldn't do much else, but then with no hands it was hard to set up sweeps or submissions.

Kev then changed to allowing one hand, which made a considerable difference. I now managed to land a couple of sweeps from the bottom, particularly as they no longer had a second hand to post out. However, I was still just as bad passing on top.

Finally, as you'd expect, it was normal open guard sparring, with both your hands and your legs. Again, I fared much better on the bottom on top, though I almost got a pass towards the end. I pushed through to top half guard, freed my leg and spun round to a sloppy north south, but left too much space. My partner was able to get to his knees and single leg me (the fact I was knackered by this point probably didn't help my defence much).

24/11/2009 - BJJ

Class #263



RGA High Wycombe, (BJJ), Kev Capel, High Wycombe, UK - 24/11/2009

Though I've made it abundantly clear I hate training takedowns, I was nevertheless interested to see this site. It's a full judo syllabus up to black belt, as far as I can tell, with elite level judoka Craig Fallon (among others) demonstrating the techniques in large animated gifs.

I also wasn't able to make the beginners session today, as the person who normally gives me a lift is now busy until around half seven on Tuesdays. So, may just be the advanced class on Tuesdays for me from now on, which is a shame. Then again, always a small chance I may finally manage to find a job, preferably in Birmingham: I'll still holding out hope of living in the Midlands again and training at Braulio's.

Tonight's focus was the De La Riva guard, specifically sweeping from there. After the throwing section, Kev went through a quick drill on moving from cross guard (by which he just meant feet on the hips while one hand grips their opposite sleeve, the other by their heel) into De La Riva.

The first De La Riva sweep starts with them in combat base (they have a knee up in your guard, other foot tucked behind), attempting to pass your guard. First, you need to secure a cross-grip, grabbing the arm by their raised knee with your opposite hand. Your remaining hand grabs behind the heel of that same leg.

Next, you need to make space to insert your De La Riva hook, bringing your same side foot past the back of that raised knee, hooking around their inner thigh with your instep. If they have already left space, great, but normally in combat base, a person will sink their butt down to prevent the De La Riva hook.

You therefore need to create that space, by putting both your feet on their hips and pushing. As soon as they leave space by their raised knee, establish the De La Riva. Your other foot should try to hook into the space behind their other knee. Usually you can wedge that in even if they're sitting on their heel, but if not, you can push on their knee instead.

Using the cross-grip on their sleeve, pull their arm across your body, to the side opposite their raised knee. Once you have them off balance, remove your grip from their heel and transfer it to around their back. As they should now have forward momentum, you can lift them with your legs and your hand grip, then drop them over their shoulder to the raised knee side. Follow through and move into side control.

Alternatively, if you find that their weight is too far to the opposite side of their raised knee, you can roll them in that direction instead. Note that in that situation, you'll have to remove your De La Riva hook before you can move round to side control, as your leg will still be wrapped in place otherwise (which it won't in the other direction).

Kev then showed what to do if during your De La Riva sweep set, they pull the arm you've cross-gripped backwards. That will make it difficult to pull them forward and grab the back, but you can still attack the other arm. Use your free arm to grip that, then transfer the sleeve to your other hand (which will be by their raised knee side). You can now sweep them to the opposite side

Finally, Kev showed how to take the back from the De La Riva. Again, you're in position, with your De La Riva hooks established on their combat base. Instead of going for a sweep, bring the foot on the opposite side of their raised knee all the way over their arm and leg, so that you can put that foot behind their knee.

You also want to have your leg over their arm, maintaining your grip on the sleeve. Generally they will pull their arm back if you do this, as otherwise, they could potentially be leaving their arm vulnerable to submission (as we found during drilling: because it was drilling rather than sparring, both I and my partner didn't initially have that reaction due to the lack of resistance, and found as a result that the arm would get into all sorts of unpleasant positions).

Transfer the grip your have around their heel to their belt. Once you've secured that, you can let go of their sleeve and use the belt grip to move behind them, getting both hands onto the belt when you get there. Keep a hook behind their knee, as you're also going to need a hook behind the other knee with your free foot. This makes it possible to knock their legs forward, pulling their belt towards you, which will open up an easy transition to back mount.

Sparring started off with Trev, whose long legs made for some bizarre positions again. The spar started in my guard, so I was trying to keep in mind the principle of knees to my chest, and also always having grips with my feet and hands. The 'ball' concept is something I read in one of jnp's posts on Bullshido a couple of years ago, but I've only found myself able to apply it to any extent recently.

It also worked well with my next sparring partner, Tom, the other blue belt in class today. In addition, I was constantly working to keep my feet on either his hips or behind his knees, inserting my shin and knee in front of his stomach if he started to break down my open guard. He did eventually put me in half guard, where I momentarily had a lockdown with double underhooks, but he swiftly escaped the lockdown using Kev's technique from last month.

Something I haven't done in the past is also make sure I'm gripping with my hands, either behind his heel, on a sleeve or the collar of his gi. So, I found I could maintain and recover open guard, but not launch any attacks (I tried a sloppy armbar, but as usual was way too obvious). I was briefly tempted to try and spin into something I'd seen on the Paraestra DVD yesterday, but will need to rewatch Yukinori Sasa many more times before it's sufficiently clear in my head to try during the pressure of sparring.

I also noticed that, four years since I bought it through the Warwick Uni judo club, my old £20 judogi has at last begun to show its age. There was a slight tear by the knee at the end of sparring. Should be easy enough to patch up though, and I've got another three gis even if this one gives up the ghost. Still, I'd miss it: very comfortable gi.

DVD Review - Paraestra Guard Instructional (Yukinori Sasa)

Short Review: Yukinori Sasa takes you through a range of guard positions, including his own unique approach, which he calls 'spiral guard'. The instruction is clear and methodical, combining a beautifully presented book with video footage: any issues I had understanding the book were resolved when cross-checking the accompanying two hour long DVD.

Even though this is in Japanese, there are enough English headings to navigate the instructional successfully. Language turns out to be a minor barrier, as the photography (often augmented by additional pictures emphasising important details) makes for easy interpretation, particularly when coupled with a DVD covering the exact same techniques. Available to buy here, for £27.

Full Review: Matt from ScrambleStuff, a new company selling MMA/BJJ t-shirts and Japanese DVD imports, sent me a review copy of Yukinori Sasa's Paraestra Guard (or to give it the full title, Paraestra: Attack from Guard Position), which arrived this morning.

To give you a bit of background on Paraestra (if you don't care, skip ahead to the book, the DVD or the techniques), Paraestra is one of the pre-eminent BJJ teams in Japan, founded by legendary black belt and MMA fighter Yuki Nakai.

You may remember him from Choke: he is the small Japanese guy covered in his own blood calling out Rickson Gracie, with a black eye so swollen he can barely see. Nakai is the epitome of fighting heart, as not only did he manage to get to the final of Japan Vale Tudo '95 after getting thoroughly beaten up by much bigger guys (Nakai fought at 154lbs, while his opponents are listed on Sherdog as 216lbs, 253lbs and 185lbs respectively), but he also managed to defeat Gerard Gordeau despite being gouged in the eye so badly he went half blind.

Another indication of his character is that after losing to Rickson, Nakai decided he better learn some BJJ (although not immediately): Nakai became the first Japanese BJJ black belt. He is also an incredible coach, judging by the quality of his students, which includes Shinya Aoki, Masakatsu Ueda and a certain Yukinori Sasa, the author of this DVD and book (produced as part of the Fighting Spirits series). Whilst earning his black belt from Nakai, Sasa fought his way to a brown belt gold medal at the 2005 Mundials (listed as Yukinori Sosa rather than Sasa).

The drawback of this DVD and book set is immediately apparently: it is all in Japanese. The pertinent question – which I hope to answer in the course of this review - is therefore whether or not the instruction is sufficiently accomplished that it overcomes that language barrier, able to impart the relevant information purely through pictorial means.

The Book ^

So, to begin with the book. It is gorgeously designed, soft cover, with an attractive dust jacket (for the collectors among you, Matt includes what looks like a receipt with the ISBN listing). While this is all in Japanese, the publishers are aware that there are English speakers interested in their material. To cater for us, there are a few words of English dotted throughout in important places: for example, the contents page. While it is mostly in Japanese, each section also has an English subheading.

Thanks to that bit of translation, I can see that the segments are divided into Sasa sweep, spider guard, spiral guard, sweep variations, x-guard, closed guard and escapes. Sections are roughly between ten and twenty pages, while the book comes to a total length of ninety six pages. Each technique has a further bit of English at the top of the page for categorisation: for example, 'Spiral Guard 09', or 'Escape 01.' The Japanese description beneath is presumably more specific.

The photography is clear and large, as there isn't much text competing for space. The pictures are normally aligned in rows of three, ranging from six to twelve pictures on average. Some of the techniques require a double spread, while some are straightforward enough that they only need a single page and five pictures. On occasion, Sasa also includes inset close-ups, especially on grips, which is definitely helpful.

There is frequently an extra section, with the English heading of 'Point!' Sometimes that is simply to emphasise a particular detail (again, often grips), but at other times you get two pictures, headed 'Good!' and 'Bad!' Basic, but it gets the idea across (as per the pic on the right: unfortunately I don't have a scanner, so you'll have to make do with my low-quality camera phone). It reminded me a little of the 'misconceptions' segment in Jiu Jitsu University.

Sasa wears a red gi, while his training partner is in a black gi. This makes it easy to distinguish between the two of them. However, that only lasts for the first thirty-one pages, after which the pictures fade to monochrome. It is still possible to tell them apart, as red is obviously much lighter than black, but grey and black isn't as good a division. A white gi might have been preferable, but it's a small point.

More complex techniques are presented from multiple angles, indicated by two vertical lines connecting the pictures. This is always an excellent idea, and was well implemented here, only included when necessary. If every page had been in that format, the book would have had to increase in size, needlessly raising the cost of the set.

Like Ed Beneville, Sasa also utilises illustrations on the photos themselves, such as directional arrows and circles (mainly to highlight hand positioning). He doesn't do it all the time, but it is helpful when present. In fact, I think the book would have benefitted from more, but then that flaw is pretty much neutralised by the fact it comes with its own DVD.

At the end of the book, the three men involved grin happily above what I assume are their brief biographies. I gathered the dates towards the start were their year of birth, but I'm not sure what the rest indicated. Possibly competition successes.

Finally, if you happen to read Japanese, you'll be able to understand the Paraestra network page, which presumably lists all the Paraestra schools in Japan. That might seem an unusual thing to include in an instructional book and DVD, but then it does have 'PARAESTRA' in big letters on the front. ;)

The DVD ^

The DVD (two hours long) isn't in a separate box: instead you'll find it contained within a plastic folder at the back of the book. Alongside it is a DVD cover, which you can cut free to put on a DVD case (you'll need to be careful, as it fits exactly). This DVD should work on any player, because as far as I'm aware, it is region free.

Again, everything is in Japanese, with a couple of key details translated into English. The title menu gives you the option to 'all play', or alternatively select from the six individual segments, which are the same as in the book.

On the main menu, the sections are in Japanese, but once you click through, you'll be greeted with a large background picture stating the name of the segment in English underneath. Your options are further subdivided by technique, again in Japanese. You also have the option to 'all play', as well as 'back', which helpfully are both in English.

While the techniques themselves are listed in Japanese, they normally follow the chronology of the book (as I'll mention later, there was at least one example of the order shifting around, but unless I missed something, that was the exception rather than the rule). You can also match up the Japanese characters on the menu to the Japanese characters in the book, though that's a bit more labour intensive.

Sasa and his partner run through each technique fairly quickly, ranging from around a minute to three minutes. The pattern is generally a methodical but brisk demonstration from two angles, then at full speed. Sasa does plenty of talking as he shows you the move, so it's a shame I can't understand what he is saying. That doesn't detract from comprehending the technique, but I still regretted the absence of English subtitles.

Initially, the DVD footage matches up exactly to the pictures in the book: I assume that for the colour sections, the photography was taken during filming. This is mostly true for the later monochrome segment, but there are some slight differences. It made for a valuable comparative tool when they were a perfect fit, so I would have preferred it if that correlation was maintained. However, that's a trivial point.

The Techniques ^

The first section is titled Sasa sweep (five pages in the book, slightly over ten minutes on the DVD). I'm not sure if that is how these techniques are normally referred to, as I recognised at least one of the variations from something Tim at Nova Força showed me. Whatever the proper terminology, Sasa puts together a connected sequence of sweeps based around a modified spider guard position, where you have one of their arms wrapped with your leg, the other on either their stomach or their hip. Sasa pulls guard into the first one, after which he demonstrates how to get the sweep both from when they're on their knees and if they stand up.

Spider guard (thirteen pages in the book, twenty-one minutes on the DVD) follows. This includes an omoplata set-up and how to land a triangle, along with various sweeps. Sasa also shows a technique I didn't quite understand (in terms of purpose: the instruction made sense), as he appeared to merely shift his grip. It might possibly be some kind of transition between guards, but I wasn't sure: at points like this, the language barrier was more noticeable.

Partially for that reason, I wouldn't recommend this set for beginners. There is a need to have some recognition of what is going on, due to the lack of English. If you've got a bit of experience, you can usually work out the position without too much difficulty. However, a complete beginner might well get confused without the additional explanation of text or English narration. On top of that, the techniques themselves aren't always straightforward, though given that I recognised the majority of the content, any blue belt shouldn't have much trouble.

Spiral guard (twenty-one pages in the book, twenty-seven minutes on the DVD) isn't something I've seen before, so this is possibly an invention by Sasa (or at least he has gone to the trouble of building up a series of techniques around that particular position). I'm guessing the name is related to all the spinning Sasa does here, which appears to be an integral part of the guard.

He begins by pulling a sort of half guard, spins around his partner's leg, then sweeps them over his head, using sleeve grips combined with rolling backwards. Sasa follows that with a method of taking the back, spinning behind his partner, then knocking their legs out from under them. He goes on to include a couple of variations.

First, instead of complex manoeuvring to get to their back, Sasa simply moves forward once they hit the floor. Second, you can instead get up while gripping their legs, putting them into the same position you'd see in a wheelbarrow race. From there, it's a simple matter to flip them over and move to side control.

In the book version of this technique, I liked the 'Point!' section Sasa includes for the first variation. He explains how to grip around their torso, initially by focusing on a detail, then showing that same detail solo. Removing the training partner makes the grip itself much clearer, while the previous picture puts it into context. Page thirty nine and forty one feature further useful examples, this time demonstrating a solo roll to isolate and clarify the relevant motion required to execute the preceding technique.

While the majority of this section is about sweeps, Sasa includes two submissions at the end, attacking the knee and the arm respectively. A second angle would have been useful for the armbar, but that is only an issue in the book. The DVD makes it perfectly clear, exemplifying the numerous advantages of combining instructional media.

Sweep variations (ten pages, thirteen minutes) includes a number of sweeps that rely on controlling your opponent's leg then standing up. Sasa first shows how to execute a sweep from standing, so you effectively pull guard right into the technique. In the process, you make a full rotation, spinning under and through their legs, then standing back up, while still controlling one of their legs. That means you can dump them on the mat, using your grip to then facilitate the pass.

Sasa continues with a similar technique starting from the floor, where you're already wrapped around their leg, before showing a variation in butterfly guard. This is a bit more flashy, as you flip your opponent over your head before spinning through for the sweep. Rotation is clearly an integral part of Sasa's game, which he uses to perform yet another sweep, finishing off this section with a leg submission from a comparable position.

X-guard (ten pages, ten minutes) was more familiar, because Sasa shows the same technique I've seen taught a few times this year, most recently by Kev at RGA High Wycombe. Like Sasa's earlier sweep variations, you're aiming to isolate their leg from underneath then stand up, meaning you can easily overbalance them on their remaining limb.

There is also a simpler method, that just knocks them to the side from x-guard, followed by a transition from butterfly guard, then a technique to take their back. To finish off the section, Sasa adds in an x-guard lower body submission.

Closed guard (fourteen pages, twenty-three minutes) was initially confusing, as I didn't understand the point of the first two techniques. That wasn't because they were complicated: both of them were ways to jump guard, but didn't go anywhere after that. They also didn't seem very secure, as the first ends with Sasa hugged tight to his standing opponent, while in the second he is hanging off their body gripping with his legs and one arm. The DVD failed to make them any more appealing: I would have thought the point of pulling guard is to get your opponent down to the mat in a position where you're in control, not leave them standing.

Nevertheless, Sasa demonstrates plenty of solid basics after that strange beginning. He kicks off with a well-structured presentation of how to break their grip from closed guard and move into an armbar. The book offers further detail on the grip, along with multiple angles. That's followed by a flower sweep and two ways to land the triangle.

Sasa then explains how to take the back from guard, using his earlier grip break to move into an arm drag. The two page spread then shifts into technical mount before rolling into rear mount. I felt there were one or two steps missing at the end, but as before, those gaps were more than filled by the DVD, where you can see the technique demonstrated in full from several angles.

That section finishes with a couple of cross chokes, two variations on the omoplata, then finally a pressing armbar. It looks like one of the pictures went awry for the omoplata from standing, as it doesn't fit with its alternate angle. The top photo looks like Sasa lets go of the arm, when in fact it's important to keep hold of it. However, again that's a small point, as the alternate angle makes it clear, further bolstered by the DVD.

Sasa's final segment is on escapes (eleven pages, twelve minutes). That starts with side control, which was interesting. At first it looked like the basic shrimp to recover guard, using the forearm under the throat position I prefer. However, just when you think Sasa is going to finish the process as normal, he does something that took me completely by surprise.

At the point where you would usually just shrimp to the other side to establish guard, Sasa instead puts one foot on the shoulder while gripping the sleeve, then swings all the way around to re-establish guard. I've not seen it done like that before, and at first thought he was setting up some kind of crazy submission. As it ends in the anti-climax of full guard, it looked to me as if this method unnecessarily complicates what should be a simple technique. On the other hand, it might be explained in the narration: perhaps there is some grip he has to overcome I didn't notice.

The book continues with a straightforward demonstration of how to recover full guard from half, shrimping the trapped leg free. On the DVD, the order of techniques is switched around for some reason, but it was the only time I noticed a difference in layout.

Either way, Sasa then goes into a north south escape, where you basically make space, bring your legs up into a sort of inverted guard, then spin back to closed guard. He probably could have done with a couple more pictures to guide the reader through the transition between inverted guard and closed guard. Then again, on the rare occasions I had that feeling of wanting a bit more description, I knew there was the DVD to flesh out the photographs. Once again, that did indeed make it clear.

Next is a knee on belly escape, where you grab their belt with one hand and behind their foot with the other. From there, shrimp, then get to your feet, in the process taking them down and establishing your own knee on belly. I was a bit confused about that belt grip (which is hard to see), until I noticed the 'Point!' section, which clarifies it.

Sasa moves on to a standard trap and roll mount escape. That takes a moment to work out, because the photographs go immediately from trapping their arm and foot with a slight bridge, to Sasa on top. Some kind of arrow indicating the required bridging motion would have been useful (though it may well be mentioned in the Japanese text). However, this is a really basic technique even beginners can recognise, and the DVD makes it obvious.

The book finishes with a few escapes from the back, starting with two from the rear mount where you're looking at the the floor, both with and without hooks. The last technique is an escape from turtle when you're facing their legs, which here is simply a matter of driving forwards then dropping back to guard.

If you're looking for a well-organised instructional on the guard, especially if you're small and quick, then this is definitely worth picking up. Despite the almost total lack of English, Sasa's teaching is clear and methodical, beautifully presented on both the DVD and the book. He includes both orthodox escapes and closed guard techniques, along with more exotic offerings, based around his love of spinning into sweeps and submissions. While beginners will recognise some of those escapes and closed guard attacks, this is better suited to at least blue belt level, when you're able to appreciate the more advanced open guard Sasa demonstrates.

The language barrier is a minor issue. I would certainly have liked to know what Sasa was saying, especially when it came to the guard jumping, but I didn't have any trouble understanding what he was doing. The justification behind that particular pair of techniques may have eluded me, but thanks to Sasa's demonstration, I could easily repeat them: the instruction can't be faulted. Available to buy here, for £27.

Article - Gi Fashion

Article #4, by Can Sönmez [FAQ Entry]

As I mention every time I see yet another "what gi should I buy" thread on BJJ forums, my first set of rolling pyjamas was a £20 judogi, bought through the university team. The material around the knees is beginning to get a little frayed, but the gi is still going strong after four years: my £25 Black Eagle judogi is in similarly good condition. So, why is it that so many people are willing to drop upwards of $140 on a heap of cotton?

I suppose it's a reflection of broader clothes-shopping habits. Some people just want something functional: all my trousers come from shops like Millets, because my main concern is lots of zip pockets. I look for something cheap (my last pair cost me £10) that works for the job at hand. Others want the trendiest label, and there is certainly no shortage of them in the BJJ gi world. I was once surprised during an RGA conversation, when somebody explicitly stated they wanted a well-known brand: low cost and practicality didn’t come into it.

The gi is also sports equipment, which I sometimes find easy to forget when looking at the astronomical price tags and flashy designs. As with many sports, that also involves an element of supporting a team, but unlike football, BJJ offers the chance to be an active member of that team. Hence the flourishing trade in club patches, with some instructors even insisting they're essential training wear.

For example, I have read that Xande Ribeiro said "without it you are like a stray dog, only out for yourself". His teacher Royler Gracie is known for giving push-ups to any visitors arriving to train at Gracie Humaíta without representing their team. Then there is the insistence of several Gracie Barra schools that you must wear an official Gracie Barra gi, as if it were an identifying uniform as well as protective clothing.

I would assume that high-end examples like Lucky Gi and Shoyoroll can offer enhanced quality rather than merely aesthetic improvements. I've never owned one, so that will remain an assumption. However, the fashion aspect of other options is obvious: the growing female market makes this clear. CatFight caters specifically to women who want something more than a plain white gi with no sense of style, and therefore provides a wide array of bright colours and attractive decoration. It is perhaps part of women's greater ability to communicate (to make a generalisation) that they tend to be more expressive in their choice of clothing.

Thus far, I've bought nothing but plain white, with as few labels as possible. That too could be seen as a 'fashion' of sorts, in that I'm intentionally avoiding anything that makes me stand out. I've noticed this is common to a number of men, who turn their noses up at any concept of fashion. Different colours, patches and brands go towards emphasising individuality, but it also draws attention. Therefore my choice to stick with the most boring gi available is a reflection of my lack of flamboyance in everyday dress, and general introverted nature. Not to mention that there are certain people who take sartorial innovation as an incentive to up the intensity during sparring.

Of course, I do have a few more garish items in my wardrobe, like the bright orange Bruce Lee print shirt I bought on Khao San Road in Bangkok five years ago. I somehow doubt I'll ever find myself picking up the gi equivalent, but you never know: perhaps in a decade or two, I'll feel confident enough in my skills to venture beyond the safe (but bland) realm of the pure white gi. ;)

Update October 2014: It's taken five years, but I may be turning towards the dark side. As of this month, a black gi is now regularly in my rotation, along with a blue one. We'll see if I start end up wearing bright green or something, but at the moment my BJJ bling is still 99% restricted to my fabulous nogi wear ;)

Update February 2015: Not bright green yet, but I do have bright purple. Bright green will be following shortly, among others... ;)

Update July 2017:Several shades of green, plus tie-dye. Think I've hit peak colour, but we'll see if I can come up with anything more ridiculous in the future. ;)

A post shared by Can (Jun) (@slideyfoot) on Jul 10, 2017 at 3:07am PDT

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19/11/2009 - BJJ

Class #262



RGA High Wycombe, (BJJ), Kev Capel, High Wycombe, UK - 19/11/2009

I haven't been to a Thursday session in a couple of weeks, and I'd forgotten that sometimes there aren't many blue belts present. Tonight, as has happened before, I was the only non-white belt student there, which was unfortunate. On the other hand, that had the fantastic side-effect of getting Kev as my training partner, which was awesome. Like I said in my article a little while ago, nothing beats having your instructor as a training partner: sort of like a private lesson within a group lesson. :D

Kev's turtle theme continued, with the same drill on maintaining chest to back contact starting off the lesson. That was followed by one of the defences I used on Tuesday, trapping the arm and escaping from the turtle. It's very simple: if they reach too far with their arm while you're in turtle, wrap your arm behind the elbow, also securing their wrist or sleeve with your other hand. You then roll in the direction of their trapped arm, flipping them over your back, meaning you end up on top in side control.

To aid that roll, you can kick your leg nearest to them backwards, dropping that side towards the floor. As they are effectively using you for base, that knock their balance, making it easier to bring them over you. For further assistance, you can also use your other arm to shove them as they go over. Essentially, you're spinning on the spot, rather than a big roll to the side.

Also, make sure that when you move to side control, turn towards their legs, not their head. If you turn towards their head, you'll roll yourself right off their body, and they might even have a chance to take your back. So instead, keep your weight pressed into them, then turn towards their legs.

Kev's choice of counterpoint tonight was a clock choke, using a version he learned from Felipe Souza. Reach under their same side armpit with your far arm and open up their same side collar. Feed that to your other hand, after you've reached over their near shoulder to get it into position. With your far side arm, grab their collar, meaning that you have the same kind of grip as a lapel choke.

Keeping your weight down, switch your hips and walk towards their head, in a repeating process of bringing one leg under, then the over leg over (hence the name 'clock choke', where you act as one of the hands on the clock face). If they somehow manage to roll you over, because you have that lapel choke grip, you may still be able to finish the submission.

In specific sparring, I unsurprisingly didn't have a great deal of success against Kev, but I did get plenty of success. On top, I need to try attacking more, rather than just switching position. I also need to be careful of getting my knee anywhere near the middle of his legs (as that results in a kneebar opportunity), and it is also dangerous to have them facing your legs. That's because they are then better able to go for a double leg, or various other escapes Kev used on me (like the one where you get your head between their legs and flip them up and off into side control).

Underneath, I felt more comfortable, but again got repeatedly rolled and my back taken. However, I was at least doing the right thing. I asked Kev if I should be trying to turn to face his legs, and he agreed that was a sensible defensive strategy. Firstly it means they can't insert their hooks, and secondly (as above) you can attack with double legs, as well as having a greater chance to roll back into guard.

Naturally this worked a lot better when I was with the white belts, as they leave much more space than brown belts like Kev. So, I was able to roll back into guard a few times, but a little sloppy on several occasions. With someone more experience, I think they probably would have been able to get into side control before I could re-establish closed guard.

I decided to stick around for the hour of sparring tonight, as I wasn't able to make the advanced class on Tuesday. Kev began with a brief bit of guard passage, where one of the white belts kept trying to go into rubber guard. Posturing up seemed to neutralise that threat, but again, with someone more experienced (especially with the rubber guard), I'd run into problems, as I'm not used to facing it.

I also sparred that same white belt a bit later in free sparring, and was able to control him in his guard, and also passed to half guard and then mount a couple of times. Using shoulder pressure definitely helped, as long as I made sure to stop any underhooks. However, I did have the rare advantage of size, which definitely made a difference: with somebody bigger, I'd have a much tougher time pressing them back down when they tried to sit up in guard.

I wanted to give the advice from David Onuma's great instructional video a try, as it looked like a handy grip from the guard. I didn't get very far though, as I didn't do a good enough job of breaking down my partner's posture when in my guard. Still, it did at least inspire me to try an armbar, which I hardly ever attempt: definitely something I need to go for more often, as it is such an important submission from the guard.

Kev added in a bit of grip fighting, then I had another chance to spar the instructor, which is always great. That mostly stayed in his guard, while I attempted to maintain good posture and not get swept. As ever, I have to try standing up more often, rather than relying on the safety of my knees.

Last spar was with Trev, whose long, flexible legs are always dangerous. I was just about able to fend him off, trying to keep my knees near my chest when he moved into my open guard. When he did eventually pass into half guard, I managed to get an underhook on the same side as the trapped leg, but couldn't quite manage to get up onto my side (I tried bumping him forward with the underhook, but without much luck).

I also narrowly avoided getting triangled once he got to mount: only my knee and framing arms stopped him, as when he tried to roll into a triangle from guard, I was in position to break free. However, in mount, it was just that wedged in knee, so no real technique on my part. Had the spar gone on longer, I'm sure he would have eventually landed that triangle.

17/11/2009 - BJJ (Beginner)

Class #261



RGA High Wycombe, (BJJ), Kev Capel, High Wycombe, UK - 17/11/2009

If you enjoyed the No Gi Worlds live stream last week, then I just encountered something else which might interest you. Chatting in this thread, one of the posters brought up the fact that his instructor has a webcam running the whole class. Even better, the results are available for anyone to see, on this site, which also has a few archived classes as well as live broadcasts.

It looks to be very much Gracie jiu jitsu rather than typical BJJ, so plenty of self defence included. Normally I'd skip that section of class, but by a strange coincidence, the technique he shows here is actually one I could have used at the weekend, because some guy in a club bear hugged me from behind and lifted me up. I'm pretty sure he was just being exuberant (he was dancing with one of the girls in our party) rather than malicious, but it did make me wonder what I could do in a less benign situation. Thanks to that online class, now I know. ;)

In terms of RGA High Wycombe, tonight Kev focused on the turtle. This is something that was a major part of training in the few judo sessions I've attended, but doesn't crop up so often in BJJ. Kev began with a drill, where the aim was to practice maintaining chest to back contact at all times, legs sprawled back and hips down. You and your partner take it in turns to spin around the back, moving to different positions, for a couple of minutes.

Kev followed that with the wrestler's sit-out, adding the point that you should move backwards a little first. That should disrupt their base, and give you slightly more space to effect your escape. As Kev mentioned, this technique is tough to achieve in sparring, so requires a lot of practice: any additional tips should prove useful.

Shifting to the top, Kev demonstrated a method for taking the back when attacking the turtle, starting from their side. Begin by chopping your hand into the space between their far leg and arm. You want to wedge your arm down by their thigh, making sure to keep your elbow back: otherwise, they might be able to trap that limb and roll you over.

Having secured that grip, roll them towards you, on top of the foot you have closest to their head. This is so you can then immediately insert that foot by their thigh as they try to turn away, establishing a hook. If they do not turn away, then they're essentially giving your their back, so you can insert your hooks from there.

Once you've got that first hook in as they turn away, you can then wedge in the second hook. Here again you may need to knife hand their far knee, in order to create a wedge to make space for your foot. With both hooks in, you're in a great position, so can flatten them out, go for a submission, or roll them over and work for the rear naked choke.

Specific sparring from that position, I was initially comfortable rolling back to half guard and guard, but then my training partner tightened up. He then managed to turn me over or shift to side control repeatedly, such as by grabbing my foot and arm. This isn't a position I'm too familiar with, so it was useful having that intensive specific spar, being able to carefully isolate how to stay tight, where to move, and what angles to create.

When attacking, I was trying to develop good control, keeping my chest in contact with their back. I first attempted to get my hands into the back of the collar, so I could pull back to create some space. That was overly ambitious, I think, as my partner had far too much leverage for that to do any good. Getting the cloth by his armpits might have been better, though I was constantly wary of getting my arms trapped.

During king of the hill, it was nice to roll with a couple of white belts, where suddenly there was much more space. They also made the mistake of leaving their arm in, meaning that it was a simple matter to trap that arm with my own, then roll them and end up on top in side control (though of course I said afterwards that they need to make sure I can't lock that arm).

They also put their knee in the middle of my bum, which is another mistake. As Kev pointed out earlier, this opens you up to getting kneebarred, as the person turtling can reach between their legs and get hold of your foot. I never go for leg attacks (and you can't do that against white belts anyway), but it's something to keep in mind when in the turtle.

Unlike normal, I didn't stay for the advanced class tonight, as I wanted to make sure I got back home in time to help my gf with her job interview tomorrow. Some things are higher priority than BJJ! ;)

10/11/2009 - BJJ (Advanced)

Class #260



RGA High Wycombe, (BJJ), Kev Capel, High Wycombe, UK - 10/11/2009

I was pleased to see my article on the No Gi Worlds live stream get plenty of hits over the past two days, presumably because people are looking for results. I also wanted to note that if you missed the stream, it is going to be replayed at some point this week. Initially, there was a guy from Budovideos on The Underground saying tonight, but the Nogi Live site itself currently reads "we will be rebroadcasting the finals in the coming days".

When I find out exactly when the replay is happening, I'll put it on Twitter (which is linked through to my Facebook updates, if I happen to know you on there). Speaking of Twitter, I've been playing with their new list feature to make a 'BJJnews' section on my Twitter page. I'm looking for people who actually put up BJJ specific news, rather than lots of pointless "@randomguido: UFC was awesome, bro!" type posts. Most pertinent account on the Nogi Live situation is the Budovideos Twitter page. I didn't see one for nogi.com, so if somebody knows they have one, tell me.

I wouldn't normally bother writing up the throwing section of the advanced class, as it's not something I tend to concentrate on very heavily, but tonight was interesting. Instead of just running through throws, Kev worked specifically on grip fighting. First, he went through four fundamental grips, and how to do them correctly (remember, he's got a black belt in judo as well as the brown belt in BJJ and MMA record), in a flowing sequence.

The most basic is the collar and elbow. One hand grips deep in the collar, the other grabs the cloth slightly above their elbow, tight. A variation on that is a high grip: you simply slide your collar gripping hand a bit further up. Next, Kev went to a cross-collar grip, which as you can probably guess is simply gripping the opposite collar rather than same side.

Finally, Kev went through the slightly more complex Russian grip. Release their elbow, instead grasping their opposite sleeve. Pull on that, aiming to move towards their back (bit like an armdrag), so you can bring your collar-gripping arm over their back, grabbing by their armpit. Done right, you should end up with their arm pulled across your body, while your other arm is over their back. This is perfect for breaking their posture down, forcing them to bend over.

I hate takedown sparring, as it tends to hurt (due to a combination of my crap breakfalling and occasional aggressive training partners). However, Kev had a magnificent solution that even a wimp like me could be happy with: you don't throw anyone, you just fight for grips. Much less painful than getting thrown repeatedly: busts up your fingers a bit, but I prefer that to the usual grazed elbows, sore back and dodgy knees.

Groundwork continued in mount, this time a somewhat unusual technique Kev mentioned he was working with Daniel Strauss. Instead of an armdrag from guard, this was an armdrag from mount. First, you slide your hand into the crook of their elbow, until you can grab around the other side. You also need to make sure you've threaded your arm over theirs, otherwise this won't work.

For base, you'll need to immediately post out with your arm and head on that side, or you're likely to get bridged. Yank that arm up and across, moving straight into a technical mount where you're also pressing your torso into that elbow. That stops them pulling their arm back out again. This is therefore potentially a risk if you're using Saulo's arm frame to defend mount, which I do regularly: so, be aware they can try to armdrag you if there's enough space by the crook of your elbow.

To finish, you're going to take their back. Similarly to Kev's high mount transition preceding the armbar from earlier, grab their other elbow with both hands. However, instead of using that to get your knee in for high mount, roll them into you and establish your hooks for back mount. You'll need to stay tight here, or they might spin into your guard, meaning that you've just rolled out of a dominant position for no reason.

From here, you can go into a triangle from back mount. The technique is similar to the one Pedro Carvalho demonstrated on his old tapes from 1996. Demian Maia also used it in Science of Jiu Jitsu, from 2007, on his 'Attacking the Back' DVD. Kev described it as an old technique, so perhaps it isn't used as much these days. No reason it shouldn't be, however, considering it's a brilliant way of controlling your opponent from the back.

Kev's version was probably closer to Carvalho's, as unlike Maia, Kev didn't say anything about cupping under the chin. Also like Carvalho, it makes for a great attacking position, with a whole bunch of submissions available once you've secured it. The basic idea is to step over one of their arms: it could be that they've reached down and tried to remove one of your hooks, or you could just shove their arm down yourself.

Either way, once you've got that leg over, cross your feet. While this is normally a cardinal sin in back mount which will get you footlocked, your feet should be too high for that in this particular position. Pull their arm across their neck and trap it in place, before stepping off their hip to shift up, until you can bring that leg across too, triangling it with your other leg. Make sure you step off their hip, and not the floor: the latter option may give them enough space to escape.

From here, tense your calves to make the choke tighter (bring the top of your foot backwards). You probably won't manage to submit them from here, so to add pressure, grab their leg with one hand, then basing your other hand behind you, raise up and simultaneously pull their leg towards you. This should bend them in half, adding much more power to the choke.

If that still doesn't work (I found I wasn't tapping to it, most likely because I'm weeny, so there isn't much neck to get your legs round), no problem. Their arm is seriously vulnerable. You can apply a wristlock (Roy Dean can help you with those), a keylock, a straight armbar, and many other options. You could also grab more of their leg, hauling it right back so you can go for a toehold. Do note that toeholds aren't allowed until brown belt, while you have to be at least a blue belt for wristlocks.

Specific sparring from the back went ok in terms of defence, as using Aisling Daly's handy advice on the 'Shirley Temple' method, I was able to protect my neck long enough to recover half guard (well, most of the time: Howard caught with me a bow and arrow choke first).

However, when it came to my turn, not much luck. As is so often the case, I wasn't able to stay on the back. I had a go at trying the tips from Lesson 4 of Gracie Combatives, about remounting, but not successfully. I think I was possibly doing it on the wrong side, as it felt like I had a long way to move in order to slide back into mount.

I'm off to Bristol to visit my girlfriend tomorrow (should be able to run through some more Gracie Combatives for her), so no training again this Thursday. I've already put up my article for this week, so next post should be next Tuesday.

10/11/2009 - BJJ (Beginner)

Class #259



RGA High Wycombe, (BJJ), Kev Capel, High Wycombe, UK - 10/11/2009

I've started putting the date on new additions to my blog index, which should make it easier for anyone who is looking to beef up their Google Reader list. I use the yyyy.mm.dd format for dates, as being a geek, I like to be able to easily put things in order (in this case, Z-A on the 'added' column, with a secondary A-Z sort on 'blog title'. I made a handy little macro that does that for me whenever I press Ctrl+Shift+S). Which is also part of the reason I love Excel. ;)

This week, Kev is focusing on the mount, so it's a shame I'm off to Bristol tomorrow. I would have liked to have made the beginner class on Thursday, as I'm hoping he's going to go through the ezequiel from mount at some point (been trying to land it for a while, and though Kev has already given me some great advice on that, it would be very helpful seeing him go through the submission step by step from a grapevined low mount).

The first technique was an armbar from mount. This was mostly the same as before, but getting into the technical mount was a little different. Unlike previously, Kev started in my preferred low mount, grapevining the legs.

From that stable position, you first want to shove their arm to the mat. Grab their wrist with either one or two hands, then drive it to the floor. Kev grips with the thumb, which he mentioned can also help your base (if you're shoving with both arms and they try to bridge you halfway through). As usual, it isn't about arm strength, but straightening your arms and letting bodyweight do the job for you. Bring your knee up to their armpit, repeat on the other side, moving into high mount.

The technique then continues the same as before, though I did have a chance to get some further details from Kev, specifically on getting past their arms when securing the collar grip. Back when I was training at RGA HQ, Roger Gracie ran a class on how to use your hip against your elbow to drive that hand through (making a knife hand for less friction), but I had been thinking you needed to keep on shoving it with your hip.

As Roger did a seminar at Kev's Aylesbury location recently, he was able to clarify: you only need to get the hand past their blocking arms using the hip. Once you've done that, you can shift back to just pulling on their lapel to drive your other hand into a deeper grip.

In addition, Kev had some further points on that technical mount to armbar transition. As you shift into what Kev calls the 'dog leg' position (your far leg is diagonally wrapped around their arm, foot by their head), you want to keep a hold on the far arm. The grip should be by their elbow, but the clever part is that you also want to prevent their other hand from locking up (e.g., if they grab their gi or something). While holding their elbow, you simultaneously want to wedge your forearm under their other wrist, prying it away from any gi or arm they could grab. That should make it easier to isolate when dropping back for the armbar.

Also, like I mentioned last time, Kev crosses his feet when doing an armbar from mount. Given that there was recently a Bullshido thread on exactly that topic, I wanted to ask about something I'd read, which is that you should only cross your feet if both arms are trapped. If they get one hand out, you switch back to uncrossed. Kev has a different suggestion: if they get the non-trapped hand out and move to escape, he tends to catch them in a triangle (if they're turning into him) or go for a belly-down armbar. So, his legs stay crossed.

Kev then showed how to escape the armbar from mount. You're in exactly the same position as above, where they're in technical mount and have now brought their leg over to go for the submission. You need to grab their leg, then switch your own legs in order to get to your knees. This is easier said than done, but if you manage it, you should be in their guard, ready to run through the usual armbar escape.

A really useful element I hadn't thought about before, which I need to add to my technique summary, is shifting backwards on this escape. That helps to kill their pressure, combined with driving your shoulder into their leg and crushing it towards the floor. It was much easier to free the arm if you move backwards slightly first.

Specific sparring from mount was similar to last time, as again I found I was more successful when using a low grapevined mount, rather than moving higher up. However, also like last time, I couldn't launch much of an attack from there. I tried to shift into a high mount, but generally Howard started to bridge at that point. I did normally manage to switch into a sloppy technical mount, but not very secure, so kept floppy back into a grapevined mount to prevent losing control entirely.

I also had a go at triangles from mount. As I already had an arm under the head, I thought I could use that to lift the head and quickly get my leg under. Wasn't too successful, as I think I was trying to bring my leg too great a distance, and it also felt like perhaps there were some other steps I was missing. Moving into a rolling triangle might work, like the one from side control last week, but mount is of course a somewhat different position.

Escaping I managed to get back to half guard repeatedly, which was good. I think the Saulo arm frame helped with that, because as soon as Howard tried to shift into technical mount, I was able to create enough space to get my knee through, spinning to half guard (or once, rather less successfully to the bottom of side control).

Article - No Gi Worlds 2009 Live Stream

Article #3, by Can Sönmez

[If you're looking for the No Gi Worlds 2009 results, click here. For future reference, this is where the IBJJF stores competition results. If you're looking for the 2010 No Gi Worlds, that went a pay-per-view route instead]

Update: If you missed the 2009 live stream, the whole thing has now been released on a six hour long two DVD set. It is all region, so there shouldn't be any problems watching it no matter where you live.

I had an article all ready to go for later this week, but after watching the No Gi Worlds live stream last night and this morning, I felt the need to put something out about that instead. It is potentially a historic moment in BJJ, but not because of the fights. While the action was exciting, with upsets, beautiful grappling technique and even high amplitude throws, it is the medium which may prove truly momentous.

BJJ is known for being an expensive sport. The monthly training fees are often huge, to buy a gi can take plenty of cash, DVDs are far from cheap, and private lessons tend to be an expensive treat. However, Nogi.com, Budovideos and a whole bunch of other sponsors have done something new with Nogi Live. They've released an event for free: no pay per view required, just an internet connection.

You can't complain about free, but as one of the organisers of the No-Gi Worlds live stream warned might be the case, in an earlier Fightworks Podcast interview, there were a number of technical problems from the beginning (which here in the UK was 19:00).

The live coverage stuttered along for the first hour and a half, stopping and starting repeatedly. As you can see from my Twitter feed, I almost gave up at several points. However, I'm glad I decided to give it another try later, as the commentary had kicked in by 20:30. At 21:14, the Nogi live video went down again, but stabilised around 21:22, after which I didn't have any major problems (well, except for my laptop crashing, but I can't blame the No Gi Worlds for that). By the time of the finals at 22:06, the streaming issues appear to have been solved.

There was also a sidebar which didn't seem to serve any purpose. The whole night, it simply read "Upcoming Competitor 1 vs Upcoming Competitor 2". I presume the idea was that this would update as the event progressed, but clearly that needs more work for next time. It would be a handy feature if they could get it up and running.

Initially, commentary was handled by Joanne Spracklen (not Spracklan: the caption was wrong) and Jeff Glover. If you're not sure who Spracklen is, she runs MMA Girls.net, an unusual qualification for BJJ commentary (though she sensibly left the technical side of things to Glover). Either way, they had a difficult job. The camera jumped around from match to match (there were many to choose from, with twelve mats going at once), often with two at the same time on a split screen, making it tough to keep track of competitors. Glover didn't appear to have any notes, so had to rely on his ability to recognise fighters from his personal knowledge of the BJJ scene.

I was particularly pleased by the amount of women's matches on show: in terms of gender equity, the stream was much, much better than I'd expected. Having said that, I did get annoyed at the prolonged drooling over two ring girls, especially when it interrupted fight footage. I strongly dislike the whole concept.

By 21:39, I was watching my third female bout, a trend which continued into the finals. Another four had been streamed by midnight, including the excellent match featuring Sophia McDermott (they appear to have had trouble spelling her name), a methodical Rickson Gracie brown belt. Canadian blogger and black belt Sheila Bird was also competing, in what eventually became an exciting match with Hillary Williams.

There was a notable shift in commentary style for the finals. Glover and Spracklen were chatty, cracking jokes and exchanging anecdotes. Shawn Williams and Sean Patrick Flanery modified the tone, focusing on in-depth technical analysis rather than banter. That is probably a reflection of their experience commentating on the 2008 Mundials.

I don't often bother watching competitions unless there is a good deal of commentary: for me, it doesn't just add to the viewing experience, it makes it worthwhile. Even two people stalling in guard becomes an intriguing battle of wills, if the commentators can provide relevant and interesting technical input (such as noting grips, pressures, angles etc). Getting background details on competitors is great too, fleshing out the athletic endeavours taking place on the screen.

A few hiccups occurred with that commentary, such as the awkward handover shortly after 10pm, which involved several minutes of dead air and paper shuffling. It then completely disappeared at around 00:30, after the finals, but presumably that was so Sean and Shawn could take a break, given that this was a live event.

Once the finals and ensuing discussion had finished, there was an extended period of bouts with no sound at all, from 02:17 until 02:55, after which the screen went black. I went to bed a bit after 3am, so not sure if and when the absolutes took place: something to look forward to when I wake up, I guess. ;p

Interestingly for a BJJ competition, it wasn't just BJJers. Renowned MMA champion and catch-wrestling proponent Josh Barnett made a triumphant appearance in the black belt division, despite holding no BJJ rank (for his explanation prior to the event, click here). Satisfyingly, there was an interview with him later on, at 1am, one of several (including Kron Gracie, somewhat randomly) to fill in the time before the absolutes. This was a fabulous idea, especially as the two Seans did a brilliant job with the questions. So, definitely something that should be repeated for the next event.

I'm hopeful there will be other free streams, which I guess will depend on how much attention the advertisers receive as a result. All in all, this turned out well, so if the connection issues can be ironed out, perhaps this could be the future of BJJ broadcasting.

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Article - BJJ Schools: Size Matters

Article #2, by Can Sönmez [FAQ Entry]

[This article is about the size of your school, rather than your training partner. If you're looking for advice on that, see here if you're small, or here if you're large]

Generically speaking, you can divide BJJ schools into two types, big and small. I began at the largest club in the UK, perhaps even the whole of Europe: the Roger Gracie Academy. There are several hundred students, with new white belts turning up every session, and a significant proportion disappearing soon after.

This is related to one of the disadvantages of a large school: with so many people, it can take a while to make social connections and feel a part of the team. However, in my experience this is not due to all the regulars forming a clique, but the rapid turnover of beginners. It's harder to invest time in somebody who you can't be certain will be there next week. Hence the tendency to wait until building relationships with newcomers.

In a large school, it's also difficult for the instructor to answer everybody's question. Even if there are several instructors present, there is only so much time to get round all the students. This conversely points to the major advantage of training at a big school: a broad range of experienced training partners of all shapes and sizes, who soon become integral to your development. That happens to an extent at every school, but especially if it has a lot of members.

In my case, I learned a great deal from Tran and Christina. Not only were they both much better than me, but also willing to answer all my never-ending questions on technique. As a result, much of what I try in sparring is directly influenced by them: what I refer to as the 'Tran side control escape' is something I use all the time.

At a small school, you don't get that same diversity of training partners, which is especially irksome if you're very small, rather large, or a woman. You have to make do with the same people most sessions, so you don't have the luxury of sticking to those around your size or skill level. The huge powerlifter known for neck cranks and injuring people, whose orbit you would have carefully avoided at a large school, suddenly becomes a regular opponent.

However, that also means there are less people competing for the instructor's opinion, meaning you can benefit from plenty of personal attention. Experienced training partners are a good thing, but easy access to an instructor is even better. I've really enjoyed taking full advantage of that where I am now, RGA High Wycombe.

Every lesson, I aim to put as many questions to Kev as possible (though naturally I don't want to get annoying, so I try to keep them sensible and concise). His brown belt knowledge has already been hugely helpful in the couple of months I've trained under him.

Having experienced both environments, I'm not certain I would pick one over the other given the choice. As with everything in life, there are both positive and negative elements to either option. However, I can say that I'm very happy where I am now: as long as there are people who can challenge you and help improve your game, you're at a good school, no matter the size.

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