The road to purple belt and beyond.

I got my first stripe on my blue belt today and felt pretty good about it. The testing phase that they are implementing is very open and more of a teaching environment than a testing one. Still, I was able to find some gaps in my training and also to see how different blue belts are approaching the same task differently.

I'm currently in the process of preparing for a potential military commission into the Air Force, so that has dominated my thinking for the last few months. It hasn't hurt my training or conditioning, as I'm actually spending more time getting ready for the physical aspects of the military. It has, however, put a burden on my ability to plan for competitions, which is something I need to be doing more of, both in judo and BJJ.

Right now, competitions still feel like an event or a big deal. I need to shake that off, making them more like a special Saturday training session.

I've been doing much more no gi rolling and I'm feeling better about it. I have the ability to scramble now, but not the familiarity with what to do in such positions. It's new for me and something I need to continue to explore. It can't help but improve my gi game, which is really my passion.

I've been experimenting with spider guard more lately and I'm find that the more open I am with it, the more powerful it becomes. I just need to understand the appropriate times to transition away from it (when it's compromised), rather than clinging to it. Of course, any time I'm working something new, I tend to become a broken record until it feels natural.

Cornhusker State Games 2011: BJJ

Not as successful of an outing for the BJJ event. First and foremost, the tournament was poorly run. Very poorly run. The most egregious example being that I was told I was done, given a medal and then, after I left, I was supposed to have more matches.

I fought outside of my weight class, for some reason, so I didn't get to enjoy fighting at the lower weight.

It was, overall, a terrible tournament experience.

All that said, I came away learning a few things.

1. Lose more weight. I need to be solid in my weight class and I've easily passed my original goal of 216. I'm at 207 now. That's reasonably close to the next lower weight class and even the one below that is within reach. I'd like to compete with someone that simply isn't that much bigger than me, so that even if I'm stuck on the bottom, I can move.

2. Work take downs. They are getting there, but need to be better.

3. Work half guard. I keep getting stuck there and need "go to" options.

Cornhusker State Games 2011, Judo

I had a good time at the tournament today. The most important thing is that I didn't notice my rib at all. It didn't hinder my movement or cause me any issues at all. That's good to know for next week, my first BJJ tournament at blue belt.

I won today, so that's also great. I showed up, weighed in, and then found out that I was facing a judo black belt. Needless to say, being only a judo yellow belt, I felt some apprehension.

That being said, I did what I needed to do to be in a good position, not get thrown and ended up with the victory. I was attempting something we've been working on, which is to fake a foot sweep and then step through for an osoto gari. It worked well, allowing me to close the distance and to be in position for the throw, but he attempted to sacrifice reverse my position and landed squarely on his back. Though the call came late, it was an ippon victory and I'll take it.

Back in the Saddle!

After my blue belt test, I had some healing up to do. I was very excited to be able to come back to training for a seminar with black belt Sidney Silva.

We focused on attacking the back from various positions and I learned a lot about how I've been losing that position after I take the time to get into it. As always, it's minor differences between winning and losing a position.

For instance, taking the back from half guard has always been problematic for me, because I always felt too easily pushed over and thwarted in the process. In just a matter of minutes, Silva showed how we come up backwards, crossing our legs instead of threading a leg through and creating a much stronger base before we even try to come up to the back. That minor difference made something that felt impossible to me before seem very easy today.

I got to do two difference sessions with him, including some rolling time which is always a treat. I'm learning to be more relaxed when rolling with upper belts and to just work the game I always do to see how he breaks it down (which is always does, easily).

I highly recommend getting him for a seminar if you can.

My ribs are better. Not great, but better. I was able to roll, but not with any real power or explosiveness....which is a good thing. I've always tried to avoid relying on muscle, but you use it sometimes without really intending to....it's just natural. With my movement limited by the injury, I'm missing a lot of opportunities and haven't to be more patient. I can't wait to be 100% again.

Vaghi Blue Belt = Me

Today's test was literally one of the hardest things I've ever faced. Consider that I went through basic training and numerous other para-military schools....and never once was I ever as tired as I was today.

I'm not going to spill the details, because it's an unwritten rule that you remain silent about the experience, but a small taste won't hurt.

Phase 1: Utter exhaustion. That's enough about that. I mean really, if I think back to the most tired I've ever been....nothing.

Phase 2: Sparring in the condition created by Phase 1. Fresh people coming at you the entire time, no rest, no quarter. All you have left is technique and heart....and it's still not enough.

Simply put, I was taken to a very dark place today and found the fight inside of me that most people never get to meet. We made friends and I know, no matter how difficult of a match I face in the future, I'll have a reserve that they have never had to tap into before.

My feet are tore up and I popped a rib a bit. The only reason that bothers me is that I'm so ready to get back on the mat, get back on my dieting and start preparing for the Pan Ams.

Almost ready!

Ok. From what I hear about the test for blue belt, I won't be ready. No one is truly ready. It's not designed to be passed, but rather, endured.

I'll do my best and encourage those testing with me, as I can.

Sled dogs! We'll keep our heads down, our eyes to the front and we'll just keep on going.

My diet is going very well. I'm down to 225 from 270. I'm very excited about how well I'm moving and how much my endurance has improved. I'm also working out a lot more, which is increasing my strength. I'm stronger now than when I started my diet, no doubt.

In fact, I did 100 sit ups straight for the first time in my life. I couldn't even accomplish that when I was in the military, 19 and 174 lbs, doing sit ups every day. I was lucky to break 80 on the PT test.

Anyway, I've decided to get my weight down to around 220 in the gi. I want to see if I like going against the big guys (222 and over) now that I'm lighter and then I want to compete in the 208 to 221 group, to see if their speed bothers me as much as I think it might.

If I like the lower weight class though, then I'm not going to level out my diet until I see abs (good luck with that, huh). If I can stand 208 to 221, then I'll probably like 195 to 207.5 even better, if I can manage to keep the strength that I presently have (which has been more than enough for the 220 and over group). Who knows. Maybe I can make it all the back down to 181.5 to 194.5 group.

The lightest I've been as an adult is 174, but I was a stick. At my height, I think it'd be unwise to go that light again. I'd almost certainly have to lose muscle then and I've been practicing BJJ in a certain fashion, a smashing style, for three years now.

I think, if I ever went at medium heavy or Meio Pasado (181.5 to 194.5), I'd be at the heaviest end of it and just barely making that weight. We'll see. That's another 30 lbs from now and I'm not going to keep losing weight as easily as I have been. I'm going to slow down at some point and that's where I'll spend some time competing as a blue belt to see how it feels.

The name of the game for BJJ training this week was "reps." Nothing like getting about 150 Arm bars, triangles and kimuras in. My stomach is hurting and my body is building that hurt into memory. I'm going to try, next week, throwing each of those submissions up as often as I can.

Belt testing and dieting.

Belt testing and dieting. The two seem to be going hand in hand right now. I'm excited to test and I have this artificial count down, as it were, to keep myself motivated to continue dieting at the highest rate I can sustain.

While I'm working out a lot to increase my strength and conditioning (a bonus for the testing), every pound I lose will make the process even easier. It's a two for one opportunity that I can't pass up.

April 5th, I started this journey at 270. I'm 241 today, so it's been a very successful effort so far. I'm still very enthusiastic about getting as low as I can, but I understand that at some point it's going to get harder and I'll need to start thinking about sustaining what I've lost.

To that end, the week before my test, I'm going to up my caloric intake to what I believe a sustaining intake would be. I'll try to keep my weight reasonably even the entire week. I don't want my body to be calorie starved for the test either. If I an find a consistent plan that works for me, that's the most important thing. While it's certainly nice to lose the weight, I need to continue to learn habits that will help me keep this weight off permanently.

Counting Calories 2

On April 5th, 2011, I was given a goal. I was told to lose 20 pounds before my blue belt testing on June 17, 2011. At the time, it seemed like a daunting task. I've never actually dieted before, simply using more exercise to reach my weight loss goals.

This morning, April 29, 2011, I reached that goal. I can hardly believe how quickly and easily I've lost this weight. Everyone has been asking me what I'm doing differently and, to be honest, the best way to describe it is that I'm on the "eat less and better" diet. No one likes to hear that.

Simply put, I've almost entirely cut breads, pastas and potatoes from my diet. I've severely limited sugars, occasionally allowing myself ONE really sweet thing every few days. I've counted everything I've eaten or drunk, without limitation. I've weighed myself every day to see the trends in how my eating different types of foods encourages and discourages weight loss.

If I could stress one thing the most, protein. With the work outs I'm doing, my body craves proteins. Every calorie dedicated to protein is pretty much a calorie that will never survive, being used almost immediately for the recovery of my muscle after work outs.

Anyway, I'm done....with the goal, but I'm not done with this new diet. It's something that I can easily sustain for a while, so I'm going to keep it up until June 17, just to see what I can lose. Then I'll think about moving my calorie intake up to a maintenance level.

Counting Calories

So, I'm testing for blue belt in June of this year. It's been a long journey to this point, but in the grand scheme of things, it's really been such a short time.

Anyway, my coach called me over one Tuesday night after sparring and said "Step on this scale." The scale read 270. He said "I want it to read 250 for when you test in June. I think you can do it, if you try. I think that will give you the best chance of succeeding here."

He said some other very helpful things about watching what I eat, my future at the school and was generally helpful and complimentary.

So, I immediately came home and set up a spreadsheet to count my daily calorie intake, did research to figure out my target calories per day, my weight loss goals, etc. I've discovered a few things about myself and about calorie counting.

First, my meals are actually very reasonably made, with a fairly good selection of meats, vegetables and fiber. The only issue with my meals is that I eat too much and, when in a time crunch, I eat fast food....which really should just be called fat food. Second, I snack way too much, accounting for nearly half of my calorie intake a day. I'm watching my portions now and considering my choices a bit more I've also limited my snack consumption by forcing myself to drink more water and use those pathetic 90-100 calorie packets. It's actually odd, but they make me snack less, because I don't feel it's worth it sometimes to have to add 100 calories to my daily tracker, just to eat one of them.

I've also worked my way up to two kettle bell and body weight exercise/BJJ movement exercise sessions a week, so fill the void from Wednesday to the next Tuesday (my wait before getting to go back to a BJJ class).

While this is something I've never done before (consider what I eat), I can easily see that it is the most important part of weight loss. I've lost 6 pounds in a week from something as simple as paying attention to what I put in my mouth. I had always counted on exercise before, and when I hit a plateau, I would say "well, I can't exercise any more...I don't have the time." Eating right is something I can easily do. Especially considering that, as I reach my target weight, I can indulge on occasion, because I have my exercise regimen to keep me balanced.

I think this is the most significant step I've made towards competing next year in the Pan Ams. While I still plan on fighting in the absolute weight class, I'd like all my weight to be useful muscle mass and not fat. Now, I just have to get through Thanksgiving and Christmas....ugh.

Half guard, take II

So, I've diligently pulled half guard the majority of the time for a number of classes.

I still hate half guard, but I'm beginning to feel the common mistakes and I'm recognizing the common pass themes that people use. It's not actually that varied and if I avoid being cross-faced at all costs, I can usually make something happen.

I'm still new to it, so I'm taking a step by step approach.

1. Fight the cross face.

2. Get the under hook through a combination of shrimps, bridges and general annoyance.

This is where it tends to branch off. I can usually shoot low and start looking for the far side foot, but most people already know that sweep (thanks Matt). When they base out, I try to come to their back and then start rocking them, looking to either take the back or sweep them over my body. This is especially true if they "Wizzer" my underhook, because I can control their base.

If they are really pushing me down so that I can't come to my knees, I look to go deep half guard and start working to either an X-guard or Homer Simpson type sweep from there. See here for a break down on half guard by Aesopian.

If they try to switch their hips over me and start working the kimura game (to weaken my underhook), I start looking for the half butterfly hook and start trying to sweep them in the opposite direction.

Next, I need to start working on full butterfly guard reclamation and long distance half guard to X-guard or the standing in base sweep...I don't know what it's called.

So many of these things don't really have a name.

Half Guard

I'm slowly dissecting the Stephen Kesting half guard DVD. I've decided to do this based on the last tournament I was in. I won 4 of 6, and the two that I lost I really could have won. My problem was being stuck under half guard and I need to change that.

So, I'm watching video. I'm chasing people down to ask questions and most importantly, whenever I roll for the next two months, I'm either pulling half guard or fighting to get there somehow so that I can work it often. I'm going to also keep trying to work it against people my size so that I get really used to the weight of it.

I feel very good about this decision because it's about discipline for me. Sure, I could just go and work on fun things that I like. That would be a good thing too, because it keeps you interested, and I might do that half the time after about 4 weeks of working half guard. But forcing yourself to face your weaknesses, that seems to me to be the real first step in mastering something and it's usually something that I avoid doing in most things.

Anyway, I did a decent job of getting the underhook and framing to protect myself from the cross face. People still got it but I at least have a plan to get right of it.

I worked a couple of different sweeps from Kesting and really need to drill the foot hold sweep more. I have always had the far side deep half guard sweep in my arsenal, but that is too hard to really force. They need to give me the energy to do that. I also need to work on deep half guard entries from the underhook, so I can work the same start and then go into a various different games.

Best of the Best 16, March 12, 2011

I had a great competition. I won my division, Masters, which is great. I had two victories to get to the win, so that's good. After my two matches though, I was asked if I wanted to drop down to the younger group, to fill out the bracket. I felt good, so I gave it a shot.

I won 2 of 4 matches there and didn't give up a single point in all 6 of my matches....I lost by advantages.

I'm pretty proud of that showing. My guard never got passed, I was not taken down and I was never in any danger of being submitted at all.

What I did figure out is that I need to work on the entries to my throws and my bottom half guard game.

First, for my entries, they need to be deeper and more committed. During the match, being less committed feels safer, but you have to risk to get the reward of a nice, clean throw. I never fully committed and, as a result, lost some opportunities. In every match that I started from the top, I won easily. I have a solid top game, passes and control. I was less than 50/50 from the bottom.

Second, half guard. I have sweeps from there. I work them a lot. I need to work them with 270 lb men more often, because it's very different. I kept on my side fairly well for some of the time. I had some good movement and threateed some things, but in the end, I couldn't force a switch in position (I was tired, having already done plenty of matches).

As for my positives, I passed half guard very effectively using a Tackle Pass and Roger Gracie's pass to quarter guard posted by Trumpetdan.

Competition Jitters.

I don't really get jitters much anymore, but I do really start to focus on planning. Rather, I take what I've worked on for the last few months since my last competition and try to condense it into a new plan, taking into account things I've added and looking back on things that work for me, but I've perhaps set aside for a while.

It's a good way to remember lost, but vital techniques and to force yourself to consider all positions, even those you don't want to find yourself in.

To that end, I've basically drafted a game plan which has moves from every position that I might find myself in (for instance, close guard, open guard, under mount, etc.). They are not really ranked from favorite to least favorite, but rather, grouped based on which few seem to work well together.

Something though that I've been focusing on very recently is following Roger Gracie's methods on breaking and passing guard, passing half guard and passing butterfly guard. I like his methodology, because it makes sense to me. It's focused on lateral movement and pressure. I have a natural ability to apply pressure (I'm fat), so adding the lateral movement is a means to make use of my food given talent.

So, I've been following a purple belt's dissection of Roger's game. He can be found here on youtube and he posts a number of videos detailing Roger's approach to passing and ultimately getting to mount. It's a very well done video series. There are other lessons about using your own guard, how to finish from mount and other escapes. All are worth a view, but the one's I'm most focused on are the Passing lessons.

I really like the detail on how to stand, something I've always had a problem with during rolling. In my last two sparring sessions though, I've done nothing but stand in the guard to break it and I've only been swept once, and I specifically tried to cheat on a step in the lessons.

Thankfully, this is the exact sort of game that Ed (my instructor) plays, so he was able to give me specific adjustments that he uses to help his game work better for him. He was also able to analyze what I was doing while I was trying to follow the techniques, and he showed me where I was failing....namely in the lateral movement. You can't be centered on people while in their open guard, because you give them what they want.

Kettle bells and BJJ

So, I'm committing myself to go to a major tournament next year and my goal is to compete at the Pan Ams. This is a pretty big commitment for me and so I realize now that I need to do more than just train on gym days if I hope to feel good about my performance, win or lose.

So, I've decided to train on my own time, outside of BJJ/judo classes. I have tried this before with body weight exercises, weights, running, etc. It doesn't work and I've never really enjoyed it.

Here recently though, I've been influenced by two different resources of information. First, there have been numerous videos, emails and posts online about using kettle bell training specifically for MMA and BJJ. There is even a great video showing specific exercises and how they translate directly into BJJ and Judo. It almost seems that the Turkish Get Up exercise was specifically created for BJJ, it has so many applications.

I was also influenced by a friend that is a record setting amateur power lifter. His main praise is that kettle bell training builds functional strength through having to control weight in a way that you don't have to do when working with dumbbells and bars. It is also supposed to build explosive movement.

Well, what it's done for me is wear me out. I'm cooked from 15 minutes of kettle bells last night, which made my BJJ and judo training very difficult, but likely more productive.

I do a circuit, so that I get multiple muscles worked and a cardio effect by doing it quickly.

Kettle Bell workout

5 Turkish Get ups each side.

10 Kettle Bell Swings each side.

5 Front Squat Presses (not lunge, but a squat and then military press) each side.

10 Kettle Bell High swings to and pull into chest. (kazukshi).

5 Windmills (military press and hold, then bend to one side and touch toes) each side.

10 Kettle Bell Snatches each side.

20 pass through lunges (lunge and pass kettle bell through).

10 Kettle Bell Swings each side.

5 Turkish Get ups each side.

If anyone wants to come by some time and give it a try, please do. I'd be happy to walk you through my program.

Open guard....the enigma.

I had a great time rolling today and working on judo. We worked sacrifice throws, which I find very useful against people that like to push and shove from standing. I specifically enjoyed yoko garuma from a Russian two on one or just a clinch type position.

It really flows very naturally into knee on belly mount.

I stayed for sparring as well and I'm having an odd time of it. I either completely dominate or I am completely dominated. There isn't really any middle ground for me. I used to think it had something to do with my cardio, but I'm finding that that is not the case.

I also discovered that I have a very difficult time getting control of someone in open guard. If we start in closed guard and I release them to open, that's fine. But if we just start open....not so great. I need to work on some fast entries into an open guard set.

As for passing guard, I had some fun with a standing break today and tried the standing passes that I learned from Kris Williams down in Florida. I'm clearing legs and getting passed knees fairly well (against most people....so of the purple belts and higher blue belts still sweep me fairly regularly and I need to get a go to standing pass).

What I'm running into now is issues with people that know how to use their hands well (pushing the head, shoulder, shooting for an under hook, etc). I need to start thinking about getting passed that next level.

Training on vacation/Judo

I had a great time training while on vacation last week. I got to train with Kristopher Williams, a brown belt under Charles Dos Anjos.

We worked on a lot of passing, which is great for me for two reasons. One, we worked passes against a guard that I like to use (DLR), so now I can anticipate what's happening and try to avoid it better. Two, it's just always good to know guard passing techniques, as that really is a huge process in any stage of BJJ.

When I got back to Nebraska, it was good to get back on the mats and train with the people here, while trying to use new things learned elsewhere.

I got a stripe in Judo last night. I'm not entirely sure how that works, but I'm supposed to test for a new belt in the near (maybe not really near) future in both judo and BJJ. I've come to love my white belt and when it is retired, it will be placed in a location of honor.

Great to be back.

I saw someone post this week on Sherdog and what to do when you lose the love for BJJ. After reading his post, I just had to laugh. He'd be doing it for 9 months. That's not long enough to truly love BJJ. It's long enough to have a crush on it, but that's about it.

Loving BJJ takes years. I can barely say that I love it. I know that I do for one simple reason. Nothing ever makes me feel fine about missing training. Over the last few weeks, I've had to go to a number of work/church related functions. They've been enjoyable and even things I looked forward to, but they also cut into training time, and I felt a loss. When I've been injured and could not train, I've felt a loss. The idea of never being able to train again terrifies me and joy of training is so real that I seek out opportunities while on vacation.

My point is, if you really love BJJ, you never want to be absent. You don't miss the things you gave up for it (like T.V., video games, golf). You fight for ways to do it, view it, live around it. It consumes you. It makes you think about what you put in your body. It makes you think about ways to improve your strength, cardio and flexibility.

Needless to say, coming back tonight after far too long of a break (a whole 12 days ARRG!) was a relief. I missed it greatly and really enjoyed training tonight.

From a technical standpoint, I did some good things. I worked appropriate passes, had some good sweeps and some good take downs. I also gave up some positions, especially in half guard top and bottom. This is starting to feel like a weak spot for me, which is terrible since I end up there so often. I'll need to work on that.