Technique: Attacks from the Mount

3/21/2011~3/25/2011


This week at El Dorado Hills Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, we focused on different attacks from the mount position. Getting to the mount position is equivalent to four points in a match after you have secured the position for about three seconds. There are many different attacks from the mount when you are wearing the gi. Here are some of the basic, high percentage attacks!


Gi Submissions:
- key lock: Isolate arm from body, hold their wrist & hold your wrist.
- collar choke: 1st hand is knuckles past trap. Other hand comes over to grip the shoulder.
- armlock: They defend choke & turn onto a side. Keep legs tight (S-guard) around body.


No-Gi Submissions:
- key lock: Isolate arm from body, hold their wrist & hold your wrist. 
- choke: Modified ezekiel choke.
- armlock: They turn onto one side, attack the arm (keep forearm attached to your chest).

Eliot Kelly

www.edhbjj.com

"Focusing on your strengths is just as important as focusing on your weaknesses!"

2011 Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championships

      Every March is a very exciting time for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. The Pan Jiu-Jitsu Competition held in Southern California is one of the biggest, most premiere events Jiu-Jitsu has to offer. If it was up to me, this would be an annual even to compete in or go down to watch. The enthusiastic crowd, the exciting Jiu-Jitsu, and warm Southern California weather are all great draws to make the event a must see!

      One great option, if you are unable to go to the Championships is to watch it online. A website called Budovideos offers a FREE viewing of the preliminary matches on Saturday and a $10 charge to watch the finals on Sunday. (It's much cheaper to watch it online then it is to purchase an entry ticket!) Here is the link to the online streaming: 

http://online.budovideos.com/

Eliot Kelly

www.edhbjj.com

Experience JiuJitsu in El Dorado Hills

How Kung Fu Panda Learned So Fast?

     Lately there seems to be a lot of movies related to Martial Arts movies. Just the other day Kung Fu Panda was playing and I happened to stop my channel surfing to check out what it was all about. Kung Fu Panda turned out to be a pretty cool movie with lots of action and words for thought by the great Master Instructors: one was a tortoise and the other was a red panda. Aside from all the words for thought and social commentary, I was more interested to see how someone like Po (the panda) could learn and improve at such rapid rates. 

     Master Shifu (the red panda) starts to train Po by mainstreaming him with his other pupils but this method seems destined to fail. Po is unable to keep up with the level of the other students and even with his determined "can do" attitude, seems hopeless in his quest to become the Dragon Warrior. Things don't start to change until the rest of the crew leaves to stop Tae-long and Po is left alone to train with Master Shifu. At this moment, Master Shifu realizes how to motivate and elevate Po's training to another level. They go about training in a very specific nature intended for the development of Po and ONLY Po. Individualized training that is specific to fit the level, needs, personality, and motivation of the individual dramatically changed the productivity and output of Po's training. Basically, Po had 24 hr long private lessons with the best instructor around. In addition, his instructor fully devoted himself to structuring the best possible training that fit Po's needs. 

    There are several other factors that contributed to Po's rapid development. 1: Po had no distractions and was able to completely focus on learning (and actually he had to overcome his addiction to food). 2: Po  had complete trust in his instructor, Master Shifu to make him the Dragon Warrior. 3: Po was determined to succeed, and wouldn't allow himself to fail. 

     I think I might go on Netflix to watch some other Martial Arts movies to see if this seems to be the popular trend. Any movie suggestions? NOW, who wants to go watch Kung Fu Panda 2 with me?

Eliot Kelly

www.edhbjj.com

El Dorado Hills Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

"The secret is, there is no secret." - Po

Technique: X-Guard

2/28/2011 ~ 3/4/2011

     This week at El Dorado Hills Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, we looked at different open guard positions and how you could use them to off-balance your partner. We learned that being able to use your foot as a hook played a big part in doing this. If the guard passers objective is to maintain their balance as they advance their position, then the guard players objective would be to off-balance your partner and improve their position. The X-Guard is a great way to off-balance your partner by getting underneath them and pushing your partners legs out (as if you want them to do the splits).

X-Guard Basics:
One hook behind the knee. Another hook infront of the hip. Leg hooking the hip is on hop. Arm closer to the free leg should scoop the free leg all the way up to your shoulder. (Try putting your scoop hand behind your head to ensure that you have fully secured the leg). Re-position your hips directly under your partner.

Sweeps:
1. Roll onto shoulder towards the direction your partner is facing. Finish with knee on belly.
2. Adjust hook behind the knee to ankle. Roll onto shoulder in the opposite direction from above.
3. Roll onto shoulder towards the direction your partner is facing. Use the foot hooked behind the knee and post off the mat to stand up. Stand all the way up while holding your partners leg.

Submissions:
- Knee on belly to armlock.
- Reverse armlock if they grab the lapel/head for balance.
- Knee bar (make sure to position hips directly in front of the knee)

Eliot Kelly 

www.edhbjj.com

El Dorado Hills Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

"Garra, Força, Respeito e Persistência"

Top 6 Calorie Burning Workouts... Not BJJ?

The other day I was online and noticed an article titled: SIX BEST WORKOUTS FOR BURNING CALORIES. The list looked something like this:

1. Kickboxing = 800 calories/hour

2. Biking = 700 calories/hour

3. Zumba = about 500/hour

4. Jumping Rope = 780/hour

5. Aerobic Step Class = 600/hour

6. Running = 650/hour

     These are all great workouts, but I believe the list is incomplete. In my opinion, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Submission Grappling should be one of the Top 6 Calorie Burning Activities. Not only is Jiu-Jitsu a full-body workout that requires the use of every major muscle group, but also is an incorporation of resistance exercises, interval training, and core strengthening. 
     In a typical Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu workout, we always start with a good warm up. As you warm up, your heart rate will increase and stabilize. Depending on the type of warm up, there may be moments of high intensity and low intensity. Transitioning into drills and practicing technique, it is important to keep the body moving as you take turns and learn through repetition. The final part of practice will involve situational goes and matches. Just like the warm up, 20 ~ 30 minutes of matches at the end of class will involve moments of high intensity and low intensity, which is a great way for your body to burn fat. As you get used to the workouts and your stamina / endurance increases, you will find that you have lowered your heart rate recovery time. Not only will your body become more efficient as you learn the different technical movements, but also your cardiovascular levels will have adapted to the different requirements necessary for competition. 
     Consistency is the key to finding success with any workout. It is important to ease your body into your workouts and find an instructor that will help you with that transition. 

    

Eliot Kelly

www.edhbjj.com 

El Dorado Hills Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

"The health benefits of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu are available to everyone!"

3 Ways to Improve your Jiu-Jitsu at home

         In my opinion, there are three basic activities a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner could be doing outside of scheduled practice hours to help improve their game. The first and probably most obvious is Strength Training. This doesn't necessarily mean going into the gym to do exercises on a machine or training with weights. There is plenty you can do with your body weight and material in your surrounding. For example, you could use a swing set to do a set of pull ups or balance your upper body on the swing to do push ups. There are many different and creative ways you can build your strength. 
         I like to think of Jiu-Jitsu requiring both Basic Strength and Focused Strength. Basic Strength would refer to the general strength training required to keep the body strong enough so you are able to use your technique (people who have previously done competitive sports or go to the gym regularly would already have developed this). Focused Strength refers to developing your strength that would enhance your ability to execute a move. Here are a few examples and exercises of Focused Strength.


Grip Strength Exercises:
- Pull ups on a swing set
- Hold two 10 lb. plates in each hand (don't drop them on your toes!)
- Pull ups using a towel
- Grip racquet ball
Leg Strength Exercises:
- Squats
- Lunges
- Sideways Lunges
- Wall Sits
Core Strength Exercises: 
- Superman Arch (on stomach, lift chest and legs off the floor at the same time)
- Back Bridge
- Trunk Twists
- AB exercises


       The second area you could train is flexibility. Flexibility training is easily overlooked when compared to Strength training activities, but can provide just as much and in some cases even more benefits than Strength training in your Jiu-Jitsu game. In Jiu-Jitsu, just like many other sports, it is important to limber up the muscles in the hips, groin, hamstring, and back. Even some of the biggest Sumo Wrestlers in Japan who weigh over 300 lbs are able to do the splits and touch their foreheads on the ground. Stretching is a great way to start or end the day, throw 5 to 10 minutes of stretching into your morning/evening routine and you will start to see some results. If you are looking for a more intense stretching routine try some cross training workouts with Yoga! 
       The third activity is visualization. Visualization is my favorite way of training. You get to close your eyes, relax, and you don't even have to break a sweat! These days I have to make time to make this happen, but while I was living in Japan I could easily fit it into my weekly routine. While I was in Japan, my commute to the Dojo was about a 20 minute train ride and a 15 minute jog from the train statin to the gym. While I was on the train I would close my eyes, relax and go over the technique we learned from the previous practice session. I would see a person doing the move step by step by step. The best comparison I can think of would be pushing the play and pause button on the remote control.  As I became better at visualizing, I would start to do it while I was jogging to the dojo as well. (Yes, my eyes were open! But my body was relaxed) In many ways this solidified the moves, and reinforced what we were learning. I also felt refreshed at the end, and think visualization took on a form of meditation. 
       Strength, Flexibility, and Visualization are great additions to your Jiu-Jitsu game and daily lifestyle. You don't have to do it all at once, and it doesn't have to be for hours at a time. However, the key to seeing results is consistency. Do it on a daily basis for 5 to 10 minutes and check back in a month to see if you have made any progress. 

Eliot Kelly 

www.edhbjj.com
El Dorado Hills Brazilian Jiu Jitsu  

"Positive consistency will make you a Champ! Negative consistency will bring you down. Bring POSITIVE consistency into your life from as many directions as possible."