22 + 1 Black Belts

I meant to write this post sooner, but a little thing known as the flu set me back a bit.

This past Saturday, several of my ECU brothers and I traveled to "JOP" (Just Outside of Philadelphia) to attend the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu United's Tenth Anniversary celebration/annual team day. Even though I wasn't at my best, I'm still glad I made the trip.

I guess I'll have to digress slightly and give everyone a little back story. This year's team day almost didn't happen. A sprinkler malfunction flooded BJJ United headquarters. For a time, it looked like Saturday's event might have been cancelled, but BJJ United founder Jared Weiner and the rest of his team worked around the clock to get everything ready for the big day.


When things got started, I was shocked to see how many Black Belts were in attendance. My quick count noted 22 Black Belts. WOW! But my first count was quickly proven incorrect. For only the second time in my BJJ career, I had the privilege of witnessing a Black Belt promotion.

Later, we had the opportunity to train with our teammates and in some cases with the Black Belts in attendance. While I personally couldn't take advantage of every opportunity, my friends/training partners had nothing but raves about the day.


Thank you to JoJo, Jared, and the entire ECU/BJJ United family for such a great day.

Finally, even a New Yorker like me has to admit that Philly soft pretzels are outstanding.

Growing Stronger!

One of my favorite things about being an ECU student/chronicler is seeing my fellow students make tremendous strides.

BJJ progress isn’t incremental, it’s, as I mentioned in previous post, it’s a matter of when the light goes on. In my case, I’ve felt like my progress has stagnated for a variety of reasons (and sometimes this is reflected in the frequency of my posts), but I’ve learned it isn’t always the case.

It’s not that I’m stagnating, it's more a case of other people’s "light bulbs" lighting up at an astonishing rate.

Tuesday night, I sparred with a new ECU Blue Belt. In the past, I dominated him. We hadn’t rolled in a while, but I still expected more of the same. My eyes were opened! I had to admit that the student I’m talking about had made huge strides. In fact, he did a couple of things that I’m considering adding to my own game.

Sometimes, it’s just a matter of who improves when.

JoJo always give us the tools to improve, if we keep training hard and smart, somebody’s next light bulb is just around the corner.

“The Light Bulb”

As students, it’s often easy to dismiss a technique as, “not for me”. Sometimes, we might feel a move is “too difficult”, or that it doesn’t fit “our” game. However, I’ve found that drilling techniques we don’t like right now will often help our BJJ growth.

A long time ago, JoJo said that not every technique will work out exactly the way he teaches it, but we should still see the opportunities.

While I've had tons of these experiences in my BJJ carereer – so far, two stick out:

• The first was when JoJo introduced me to the “Brabo Choke”. I was stuck in the half-guard of a skilled guard player. Suddenly, he moved to a position that resembled position that JoJo had said was ideal for the submission. I went for it, and quickly got the tap;
• The second time was just a couple of weeks ago. While I’ve had plenty of instruction from JoJo and Tito Hartz about leg locks in the past. They’ve never really been at the top of my list, but last week JoJo taught us a different variation, and my eyes were opened. While I wasn’t able to do exactly what JoJo taught, the blinders came off and I found myself in a whole new world.
  

A day later, a group of ECU students and I were talking. Amid the laughing and joking, many of us admitted that our favorite submissions were the result of a similar experience.

Our teachers give us the map to success. It’s up to us to find the right route.

“Jared Weiner Seminar November 19, 2011”

For the first seminar at ECU’s new location, we, once again had the privilege of Jared Weiner as our guest instructor.

I’ve been lucky enough to attend classes at Jared’s own school http://www.bjjunited.com/index.htm, as well as attend a seminar he’s given at ECU. Even with other options at my disposal, I knew that I didn’t want to miss a Jared Weiner seminar at ECU.

The turnout was HUGE!

Even though Jo-Jo has moved us to a “bigger boat” space was still tight. That said, everyone in the place was eager to learn what Jared had to say.

We started with a slick takedown. I’d never considered turning an arm-drag into a leg-trip before, but I definitely want to add it to my arsenal.

Next, Jared taught us two great ways to pass an open guard. I absolutely loved these techniques. At one point, Jared asked me what the principles of this pass were, my immediate answer was, “MEAN, NASTY, and SLOW!”

Later we learned how to turn side control or “knee on floating rib” techniques into Triangle chokes.

Finally, we worked on De LaRiva/X Guard transitions. There was some really cool stuff there. Jared showed us techniques that looked intimidating at first, but once anyone tried it, could be incorporated into every ECU students’ game.

This might not be my last post about this seminar, as I have several other ideas. I also know several candidates for guest authorship that will do this outstanding seminar justice.

I want to thank JoJo for once again bringing Jared to our school, and thank Jared for running an amazing seminar.

After the seminar there were numerous promotions, but I'll save that for another day.

ECU IS FOR EVERYONE!

If my five+ years of training with JoJo Guarin have taught me anything, I’ve learned that anyone and everyone can study Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, and that if BJJ isn’t your thing, ECU still has plenty to offer.

At ECU there are tall students, small students, women students, fat students, skinny students, strong students, old students, young students; and too many other combinations and variations for me to count.

JoJo welcomes everyone, and has a unique talent for ensuring that every student reaches their maximum potential.

Whether you want grappling, striking, yoga, or simply to get fit, talk to JoJo.

“Mix It Up”

I know I’ve partially mined this territory recently, but my latest collaboration with Eric Guido encouraged me to re-visit this topic.

As most of my regular readers know, I’m an older student with destroyed knees and various other injuries – 99% percent were pre BJJ.

Looking elsewhere is not always a bad idea as a good instructor in another Art or simply a different training regimen can never hurt.

Many of my training partners, including JoJo, have visited a local cross-fit program run by ECU Purple Belt Dan Stearns. While I’ve heard endless praise of the program, I realize that I’m not the right candidate.

However, JoJo has offered me a KickBoxing program that has let my knees feel better than they have in nearly twenty-five years.

At ECU, there’s also a Yoga program that gives every student the chance to improve their core and/or flexibility.

I love BJJ, but sometimes we have to step outside our comfort zones in order to take the next steps.

Fortunately, I train at an academy where I have plenty of opportunities.

Fundamentals Part II

This is part two of my study of an ECU Fundamentals Class. Once again, I have to thank ECU Fundamentals Instructor Eric Guido for his insight and help in describing the second half of an ECU Fundamentals class. This time, I’ve used Eric’s ideas, but have put them in my own words:

The second half of an ECU Fundamentals class is devoted to self-defense. ECU Black-Belt Walter Zayas is not only an expert on BJJ self-defense; he also holds belts in many other disciplines.

Over the past few years Walter has trained Eric and others in seamlessly incorporating various styles into ECU’s self-defense program.

The self defense program has definitely increased in intensity over the past few weeks. Let’s face it, very few of us will be UFC fighters, but there is a chance that we may encounter a confrontation in the street.

They also remind students on a regular basis that first and foremost Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art. It is great and amazing that we can train at nearly 100% and test each other on the mats and in tournaments constantly but what good would it be if you are a Brown Belt in BJJ but can't defend yourself against a headlock or someone throwing a punch at you?

Walter goes way beyond that and teaches knife and gun defense as well as simple combat techniques.

Eric is extremely excited about the direction the ECU Fundamentals is taking. It has become a class that everyone can benefit from it.

Most ECU Fundamentals Classes have an equal mix of White-Belts and Veterans. I absolutely LOVE the direction that Eric and JoJo have taken.