Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Another Great Seminar at ECU!


On Saturday July 9, 2011, JoJo hosted yet another outstanding seminar at ECUBJJ. One of the JoJo’s great strengths as a school owner is his ability to recognize the many different ways he can help his students improve. “When we have seminars, I like to bring in people who have different games than mine so everybody can see different things.”

As a student, I definitely appreciate that. In the less than two years that ECU has been open, I’ve had the privilege of attending seminars given by Black Belts such as “Rob G.”, Jared Weiner, and Justin Garcia, as well as Leg-Lock expert Tito Hartz. Every single seminar has shown me a slightly different perspective that I’d like to think has helped me grow my game.

Saturday’s seminar brought a new player to the game – NJ United MMA & Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu owner, and head instructor Jay Hayes. Barely eight years into the BJJ game, Jay currently holds the rank of Black Belt, is a multiple-time Pan Am medalist, and a school owner. When JoJo told me about Jay, I knew this was a seminar I didn’t want to miss.

I’m glad I didn’t.

Even though I arrived a little later than I’d hoped (I had to go home to get my no-gi gear), I loved the way Jay linked the techniques he taught and didn’t overload us with too much information.

While I missed Mr. Hayes’ takedown-defense philosophies, the great Josh Kaplan filled me in. Even secondhand, I could see the advantages.

I did make it back in time for Jay’s exploration of the Guillotine Choke. Jay showed tons of details that made the guillotine much more effective for me (and I hope everybody else at the seminar).

Jay’s details gave me the confidence and skills to finish a choke that I haven’t hit for a long time but, finished six times in three rounds of sparring on the day of the seminar.

I’d like to thank JoJo for bringing Jay to ECU, and I definitely want to thank Jay for putting the guillotine back in my arsenal.

As always thanks for reading the ECU BJJ & MMA Blog. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed the seminar.

Friday, July 1, 2011

Submission!

Recently, JoJo has placed a renewed emphasis on submissions. According to JoJo, “We need to work on submitting our opponents.”

To help us accomplish that goal, JoJo has been introducing new drills that emphasize submitting our opponent.



While I’m admittedly only an occasional competitor (and far from elite when I do), I can see the wisdom of this approach.

Tournament matches typically last anywhere from five to ten minutes. Even the most finely conditioned athletes will eventually tire after four or five matches that go the distance. A quick submission will give the competitor time to rest physically, and mentally prepare for their next opponent.

The second huge advantage is even more evident. In grappling competitions, submissions immediately end the match. Whether you are leading on points, or down significantly, if you earn a submission YOU WIN!

Finally, earning a submission victory lets a competitor win without leaving the match in the hands of referees/judges. As JoJo says, “You can’t fight the ref.”