Well last night was the last night of our 2 week semiar with alex monsalv, I managed to make it to most of the classes and really enjoyed his style of bjj. Feel like my game is getting better now that I've stopped sitting down on my ass and pulling gaurd so much which was a slight problem before, I think the reason I started doing it so much is 1) I suck at standing and passing open guard and 2) guard seemed like the safer option with most of the bigger or more technical guys. BUT thats not how my game is in competition so its good to at least be more agressive and try passing their gaurd.
We had 3 belt upgrades from white to blue, one was ali who just turned 16 so could switch his green belt to blue rolling with him still frustrates the hell out of me becasue he's fast and uses positions the other guys just physically can't (i think he secretly trains yoga). Muneer and Jeff also got thier blue belt so congratulations I think that makes around 10 of us now? Reza also gave stripes out I was a bit surprised but also happy to get one as it feels like i just graded to blue not that long ago.
In other news lost my passport so probably won't be coming back to the UK before january as the uk embasy is having problems at the minute soo kinda bumed about that but at least it means I can plan my trip properly and maybe do the europeans or some other comps when i'm over.
Heres a couple of bjj quotes I found that I like
A real jiu-jitsu fighter does not go around beating people down. Our defense is made to neutralize aggression. "
-Helio Gracie
"The secret to this sport is while you are the nail hang in there, let them hit you. Untill the day that you become the hammer and then you smash them back." - Renzo Gracie
Monday, 30 November 2009
Tuesday, 24 November 2009
Pictures
Feeling too sick to write anything remotely intelligent or entertaining, was getting into a really good training routine till alex infected me with flu haha ahh well at least we get to spend some time together even if it is wrapped up in blankets watching californication and burn notice :)
Till I recover Here's some pics from training
Till I recover Here's some pics from training
Wednesday, 4 November 2009
sunshine and shwarma's
Not been to training much the last few weeks, not sure why, really lacking motivation as I just don't feel like I have a good training partner here so I've just gotten in to the habit of playing defensively and not doing a much else plus there are no competitions until the Europeans and that's if I manage to go mehh so things are a bit doom and gloom at the minute. Trying to check out if there are many females training in the UAE found that there was a purple belt called Ghalia Baggily teaching in dubai buuut shes not there any more, dropped her a message on fb asking if there were many other girls training there becasue I can't find any useful info on google!!! Had my birthday but it just made me feel homesick which is stupid seeing as this is technically home.
I'm still really enjoying capoeira it would be nice to do some stand up again too but maybe I'll just buy a punching bag for now as I don't think my body cant take any other more classes at the minute. I've been taking loads of vitamins for my joints, my fingers hurt like hell at the minute and look ooogly too (too much playing guard). Its helped a bit its a mix of glucosamine sulphate, msm and fish-oil so hopefully after a month they will take effect.
Recent academy news Alex Monsalve from Alliance is coming out for 2 weeks on the 15th november which means there will be 3 black belts teaching :)
I've been earning some money by doing circuit training, personal training and diet/nutrition plans which has been keeping me busy. See example diet for male athlete 76kg training 10h a week aim lose 2kg body fat maintain lean body mass
2300-2700kcal
Carbohydrate: 318g (1272 kcal) 55% total daily intake
Protein: 145g (580kcal) 25% total daily intake
Fat = 50g (423kcal) 20% total daily intake
80g (400kcal)surplus carbs for sports drink/recovery bars if needed on heavy training day
Breakfast (2h before training)
50g porridge oats
300ml skimmed milk
1 carton 150g low fat yogurt
100g berries
Midmorning snack 4 oat cakes
120g cottage cheese
Lunch (2-4 hours before training or 3 hours after last meal)
Low GL for slow release of energy during long training session
175g grilled white fish
1 large sweet potato 300g
1 portion of carrots 85g
1 portion of broccoli 85g
Post training High GI snack (if training in evening for quick absorption of glucose and replenishment of glycogen stores)
2 alpine bar
200ml chocolate milk
1 medium apple
Dinner 2-4 hours after training or 3 hours after last meal/snack
Brown rice 85g uncooked weight
120g grilled chicken
1 large portion 85g vegetables
Exercise wise I'm liking partner exercises as they work well and are also fun, most of them would fit in really well with bjj or any martial arts training as you can get a good conditioning work out in without the need for too much equipment.
Here's some video's I found on Youtube :)
I'm still really enjoying capoeira it would be nice to do some stand up again too but maybe I'll just buy a punching bag for now as I don't think my body cant take any other more classes at the minute. I've been taking loads of vitamins for my joints, my fingers hurt like hell at the minute and look ooogly too (too much playing guard). Its helped a bit its a mix of glucosamine sulphate, msm and fish-oil so hopefully after a month they will take effect.
Recent academy news Alex Monsalve from Alliance is coming out for 2 weeks on the 15th november which means there will be 3 black belts teaching :)
I've been earning some money by doing circuit training, personal training and diet/nutrition plans which has been keeping me busy. See example diet for male athlete 76kg training 10h a week aim lose 2kg body fat maintain lean body mass
2300-2700kcal
Carbohydrate: 318g (1272 kcal) 55% total daily intake
Protein: 145g (580kcal) 25% total daily intake
Fat = 50g (423kcal) 20% total daily intake
80g (400kcal)surplus carbs for sports drink/recovery bars if needed on heavy training day
Breakfast (2h before training)
50g porridge oats
300ml skimmed milk
1 carton 150g low fat yogurt
100g berries
Midmorning snack 4 oat cakes
120g cottage cheese
Lunch (2-4 hours before training or 3 hours after last meal)
Low GL for slow release of energy during long training session
175g grilled white fish
1 large sweet potato 300g
1 portion of carrots 85g
1 portion of broccoli 85g
Post training High GI snack (if training in evening for quick absorption of glucose and replenishment of glycogen stores)
2 alpine bar
200ml chocolate milk
1 medium apple
Dinner 2-4 hours after training or 3 hours after last meal/snack
Brown rice 85g uncooked weight
120g grilled chicken
1 large portion 85g vegetables
Exercise wise I'm liking partner exercises as they work well and are also fun, most of them would fit in really well with bjj or any martial arts training as you can get a good conditioning work out in without the need for too much equipment.
Here's some video's I found on Youtube :)
Monday, 12 October 2009
Training lots
Well I have been back for a month now and training is going well. Haven't updated in a while which is rubbish seeing as all I have been doing in training due to lack of job! Anyways as we have a couple new teachers over from Brazil class times have changed to 2 hours at night from 7-9 and 1 hour in the morning from 10-11. My schedule has been looking somethings like this.
sunday: BJJ 10-11, Nogi 7-9
monday: Capoeira 6-7 BJJ 7-9
tuesday BJJ 10-11, 7-9
Wednesday: capoeria 6-7 BJJ 7-9
thursday: BJJ 10-11, 7-9
friday: off
saturday: capoeria 6-7 BJJ 7-9
Saying that I missed yesterday completely as I was tired and decided to take the guys out on the boat in the afternoon, so I crashed out early and slept through no gi training. My new Brazilian friends have labelled it with great amusement "vagabond style" As i still have no job and have just been training and showing them round Bahrain.
In other news I started doing capoeira, as we have a new teacher called Luciano who pretty much just defies gravity. I have been so focused on bjj that I thought it would be good to mix things up and try capoeria while I have the chance. The first class is a blur and I didn't really have a clue what was going on, my brain is defiantly more wired for fighting on the ground! We started by doing a warm up which included jumping over and ducking under some kind of stick and lots of stretching then he taught the basic stance or ginga position and worked on attack and defence from there. By the second class I was starting to pick up on some of the names and actually realise what was going on a bit more, this class we worked on handstands and headstands, headstands i can do but handstands still need a bit of work! I found it a bit more easy to get the rhythm when we were sparing at the end. I'm really enjoying the class so far I like the music played on the berimbau which is like a huge bow, the class gives me a completely different energy than bjj, for now I'm doing 3 classes a week but I'll see how it goes after a month I might start doing more.
sunday: BJJ 10-11, Nogi 7-9
monday: Capoeira 6-7 BJJ 7-9
tuesday BJJ 10-11, 7-9
Wednesday: capoeria 6-7 BJJ 7-9
thursday: BJJ 10-11, 7-9
friday: off
saturday: capoeria 6-7 BJJ 7-9
Saying that I missed yesterday completely as I was tired and decided to take the guys out on the boat in the afternoon, so I crashed out early and slept through no gi training. My new Brazilian friends have labelled it with great amusement "vagabond style" As i still have no job and have just been training and showing them round Bahrain.
In other news I started doing capoeira, as we have a new teacher called Luciano who pretty much just defies gravity. I have been so focused on bjj that I thought it would be good to mix things up and try capoeria while I have the chance. The first class is a blur and I didn't really have a clue what was going on, my brain is defiantly more wired for fighting on the ground! We started by doing a warm up which included jumping over and ducking under some kind of stick and lots of stretching then he taught the basic stance or ginga position and worked on attack and defence from there. By the second class I was starting to pick up on some of the names and actually realise what was going on a bit more, this class we worked on handstands and headstands, headstands i can do but handstands still need a bit of work! I found it a bit more easy to get the rhythm when we were sparing at the end. I'm really enjoying the class so far I like the music played on the berimbau which is like a huge bow, the class gives me a completely different energy than bjj, for now I'm doing 3 classes a week but I'll see how it goes after a month I might start doing more.
Wednesday, 7 October 2009
Lilac Vulkan gi
I'm happy that my birthday and christmas are coming up - if anyone is wondering what to get me I really like this gi!- Tried on the new vulkan light weight and the fit is great and are really good quality. If anyone is looking for one you can get them from budovideos website (link under womans training gear) they deliver super fast, I was impressed when my friend ordered one and it found its way to Bahrain in a matter of days! Oh and I just read Georgette (see my blog roll) has ordered one and is going to review it so I'll be looking forward to reading that!
Saturday, 3 October 2009
Throws and Takedowns
As this part of my game is lacking quite a bit I decided to get my ass into gear and start working on the standup part of my game. There are loads of different techniques and approaches to take the match to the floor in BJJ. Very broadly speaking there are 2 options, one is to pull a form of guard and therefore commence the fight from this position to work on sweeps or submissions. The second is working to get a takedown or throw and ending up in a dominant position usually in side control or mount. In all of my fights I have used some kind of takedown or throw, or someone has pulled guard on me.
I guess so far I have been lucky as to be honest I never had a particular throw or takedown in mind I usually ended up countering my opponents move when I felt them off balanced. So I browsed online for a good DVD to get me inspired and ordered "Brazilian jiu jitsu - techniques and tactics volume one throws and takedowns"
The dvd is presented by master Marcus vinicius di lucia, and is very well organised. It begins with a number of judo throws divided into legs hip and arm throws. Once you watch the dvd a few times and start to remember all the traditional judo names for things you can then watch the section on combination and counter throws which starts to get your brain ticking a bit more on not just how to attack with only one option but know how to respond to your opponents response and use this to your advantage. The last section is on takedowns which I have never really enjoyed probably because they often involve alot of explosive strength and changing levels to shoot in which I don't mind in no-gi but tend to steer clear of in bjj as I'm usually with heavier people and have more luck with throws. However we have been drilling lots of takedowns at rezas so maybe I will start to get the hang of them a bit more.
I would defiantly recommend this DVD for white and blue belts, it helps you to feel a bit more confident regarding your standup which is often where people seem to have the biggest problems. It also includes a bonus section with some good stretches and a quick cardio workout. So far I have managed to successfully switch between the leg throws O soto gari and o uchi gari
Here's a clip of the dvd from Youtube
I guess so far I have been lucky as to be honest I never had a particular throw or takedown in mind I usually ended up countering my opponents move when I felt them off balanced. So I browsed online for a good DVD to get me inspired and ordered "Brazilian jiu jitsu - techniques and tactics volume one throws and takedowns"
The dvd is presented by master Marcus vinicius di lucia, and is very well organised. It begins with a number of judo throws divided into legs hip and arm throws. Once you watch the dvd a few times and start to remember all the traditional judo names for things you can then watch the section on combination and counter throws which starts to get your brain ticking a bit more on not just how to attack with only one option but know how to respond to your opponents response and use this to your advantage. The last section is on takedowns which I have never really enjoyed probably because they often involve alot of explosive strength and changing levels to shoot in which I don't mind in no-gi but tend to steer clear of in bjj as I'm usually with heavier people and have more luck with throws. However we have been drilling lots of takedowns at rezas so maybe I will start to get the hang of them a bit more.
I would defiantly recommend this DVD for white and blue belts, it helps you to feel a bit more confident regarding your standup which is often where people seem to have the biggest problems. It also includes a bonus section with some good stretches and a quick cardio workout. So far I have managed to successfully switch between the leg throws O soto gari and o uchi gari
Here's a clip of the dvd from Youtube
Friday, 18 September 2009
Bahrain BJJ
Well after what seems like the longest wait I finally arrived back to Bahrain late on Wednesday night. It was the weirdest thing stepping off the plane, for me I always notice smells first, Bahrain just smells completely different to England, the crisp clear autumn smell has been replaced with the seasonless dessert humidity. Annoyingly the relief I thought I would feel when I got here has yet to make an appearance.
I felt so nervous going to training at Reza's again for a mixture of reasons, mainly I was worried that reza wouldn't think that I should have got my blue belt, as the guys that train there are all really good. Training didn't really do anything to make me feel better about that, me and alex were just messing around and I did that triangle escape Ze had showed us where you hold the same collar to choke them and stack them till their legs open then go for double leg pass, I think its more of a last option but Reza saw and was like you should never do that you'll just get arm-barred and then drilled triangle escapes where you posture up to break their position. So from the beginning I felt kinda like my head wasn't in the game which I never get I always feel like when I train I'm so focused. Anyways as it was Ramadan there wasn't too many people there and fasting all day must mean alot of the guys don't have their usual vast amounts of energy so we just rolled for about and hour as Thursday is like an open mat session. I rolled with Alex, reza and ali, felt like I knew nothing, I think its going to take alot of training there to get back into the swing of things but luckily this year I will be doing lots of training and I know when I feel like I'm doing good here it will mean that I really am getting better.
The next competition the club here are doing is the Asian super cup but I don't think there will be girls competing, still I'm going to train like I intend on going to it just in case. And finally, a bit of good news in the midst of all my doom and gloom, there was a girl at bjj! She's a good foot taller than me and hella strong which should mean I have to really work on my technique, but I'm not complaining. Hopfully tomorrows training goes better, for now at least I have fixed my diet and sorted out my S&C training. My mantra for the next few months will have to be nothing in life worth doing is ever going to be easy, training 6 days a week with bigger stronger guys ain't easy but slowly and steadily progressing in bjj is worth it!
I felt so nervous going to training at Reza's again for a mixture of reasons, mainly I was worried that reza wouldn't think that I should have got my blue belt, as the guys that train there are all really good. Training didn't really do anything to make me feel better about that, me and alex were just messing around and I did that triangle escape Ze had showed us where you hold the same collar to choke them and stack them till their legs open then go for double leg pass, I think its more of a last option but Reza saw and was like you should never do that you'll just get arm-barred and then drilled triangle escapes where you posture up to break their position. So from the beginning I felt kinda like my head wasn't in the game which I never get I always feel like when I train I'm so focused. Anyways as it was Ramadan there wasn't too many people there and fasting all day must mean alot of the guys don't have their usual vast amounts of energy so we just rolled for about and hour as Thursday is like an open mat session. I rolled with Alex, reza and ali, felt like I knew nothing, I think its going to take alot of training there to get back into the swing of things but luckily this year I will be doing lots of training and I know when I feel like I'm doing good here it will mean that I really am getting better.
The next competition the club here are doing is the Asian super cup but I don't think there will be girls competing, still I'm going to train like I intend on going to it just in case. And finally, a bit of good news in the midst of all my doom and gloom, there was a girl at bjj! She's a good foot taller than me and hella strong which should mean I have to really work on my technique, but I'm not complaining. Hopfully tomorrows training goes better, for now at least I have fixed my diet and sorted out my S&C training. My mantra for the next few months will have to be nothing in life worth doing is ever going to be easy, training 6 days a week with bigger stronger guys ain't easy but slowly and steadily progressing in bjj is worth it!
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