I'm on a plain - I can't complain!!

Well, I guess after a pretty long hiatus, I'm back!! It's been a few months since I visited this blog, partly because I haven't had a lot to say but I finally think I have something worth writing down...

There was some talk today at the gym about being on a plateau with BJJ and I thought I would share my whitebelt thoughts. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu seems to me to be a sport that has more plateaus than most and that certainly provides as much if not more frustration than enjoyment at times. However, with that frustration seems to come a great sense of pleasure and accomplishment when, having been on a plateau for a long time, suddenly something clicks at the right moment and place and you find your game has lifted - often seemingly by itself! The feeling of being stuck on that same level is indescribably annoying and soulwrenching, the feeling that things have changed is similarly uplifting.

So, what can be done about being stuck on a plain? Realistically, there is only one answer to this - train more! But, I think that what is important is the quality, not always the quantity of training. Talking to a few people today, one of the top reasons given for being stuck on that dreaded plateau is doing the same thing over and over and over again. I have been very guilty of this in the past. By constantly training the same mistakes or poor theory into my game I have managed to stick myself into a pretty dangerous rut. Whilst I may think that I am training constantly and therefore I should be getting better, by managing to train in my mistakes I am in fact limiting my progress.

A good example of this has been my work on closed guard over the last six or so months. I feel more comfortable in closed guard as my jiu jitsu is not particularly dynamic. I don't like scrambles and I somehow never really feel comfortable working a top game unless I have managed to sweep into mount. However, I have always had a tendency to be too passive from guard - preferring to control and think about subs if there is a clear opening, rather than actually being creative and offensive from there. In the two competitions that I have entered, this was exposed as a real weakness of my guard, that if nothing happens I often get stuck in a more or less neutral match, which then does not go my way due to a pass from my opponent or losing on points.

This was extremely frustrating to me, especially when more savvy training partners would lock down to render my guard basically useless, or indeed just break it and pass when they wanted to. I felt that I was stuck in a plateau - I knew I wanted to be in guard, I just didn't know how to use it properly. I still feel that my closed guard needs a lot of work and I need to have more options than simply locking down and hoping for the best ('I have now been in guard for three consecutive days...'). However, I do feel more comfortable attacking from close guard and I have a few more options and I'm off the plateau a bit.

I got there by changing my whole thought process towards guard and my use of it. I now try to think about sweeps as well as subs. Whilst I have not gotten to where I would like to be (not even close), this change in my training has helped me lift myself off the plateau and to what I feel is another level up - not to my final goal, but a little closer on the meter! My answer to the plateau question is to look at how you're training and try to make adjustments - seems simple, but, if you're like me, it's actually quite hard to change a mindset!!

I'm a bit out of practice with these blog posts so I hope this has not been too incoherent! I would love to hear about how other people deal with the plateau problem - please chime in on the comments section - it makes me think people actually read this!!!!

Thanks for reading!!

Abu Dhabi World Pro Trials Malaysia - after the smoke cleared!

Well, it is now Sunday afternoon and I am laying in bed relaxing after a crazy day yesterday.

To quickly sum up my results, unfortunately I lost both fights that I had. The first fight was the one I really thought I had a chance of winning and I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't control my nerves enugh to relax and fight sensibly. I started off implementing my gameplan perfectly, I dashed in and pulled guard before the other fella even really knew what was happening. I then struggled with him in guard - I couldn't break his posture enough and couldn't get his hands off my body to throw up the triangle or sweep. Eventually he broke my guard and the end started coming - I didn't tap to the choke, but the referee saw clearly it was too tight and tapped for me. I have no complaints, I knew it was tight but for some reason the adrenaline meant I didn't really feel it.

My second fight was against someone I know and I tried to tire him on the feet and hope he would pull guard. I saw the chance for a guillotine and went for it. I couldn't get the choke on the feet so I thought I would go to the ground and hunt for it there. Unfortunately, he tripped me as I went down and then got knee on belly. I defended an armbar on the left, then he transitioned well and got me with an armbar on the right, tap tap tap!

I have no complaints or regrets about either of my fights. In the first fight, I wish I had been a little bit cooler and able to display my BJJ a bit better but in the end it was a great experience and I did what I could. I didn't get my hand raised, but nor did I leave the mats feeling like I had wasted my time or let myself or my coaches down.

At the end of the day, the competition for me became more about the team and the event than my individual performance. My team mates did extremely well, producing the ladies' Absolute division winner and a number of medals. Leverage Combat Academy/Marcos Escobar BJJ won the overall team medal and I was very proud to see my training partners do so very well. It is a great source of pride and excitement to me that I will continue to train and learn from people that are consistently medalling in competitions and I will continue to be able to match myself against them and see how I stack up with them.

What was perhaps the greatest part of the day for me was watching my team pull together to produce this competition. Most of us had never even seen a competition before, let alone taken part in running one and I think we managed to step up to the task. We were, of course ably lead by Aaron Goh and Magdalene Tan with their various assistants (too many to name, thanks to all of you!) and I felt very proud and happy that competitors would come up to us and congratulate us on a smooth-running event.

I really enjoyed my day yesterday and I was so pleased to take part in the first competition in Malaysia. I t was really nice to meet so many polite, respectful, funny and downright dangerous people that all share a love of this sport and to be able to watch them do their thing. It was great to watch the quality of competition, as well as be able to really get stuck in and start to connect to the SE Asian BJJ community. It's nice to know that wherever I travel in the region there will be people I have at least met before and, as long as I bring a gi, I will be able to pass a few hours getting sweaty with them!

What will I take away from the competition? First and foremost, I was again reassured that I have chosen the right hobby. It was a genuine pleasure to spend a whole day in the company of so many people that love the same things that I do and it was an honour to be able to help out with the running. In terms of my jiujitsu, I know can see how I want to develop my game - I still want to play guard, but now I know that my guard has to be more threatening and come with more options. This will be my aim for development in the future. I also know that my adrenaline is something that needs to be addressed and I have to be cooler in future competitions.

Yesterday's competition totally fuelled my passion for the sport and makes me want to work harder and harder at it. It has made me feel even more blessed in finding Leverage Combat Academy and it has given me more drive to continue in this great sport and community. OSSS!

Finally, in this blog it just remains to thank all the people that made yesterday happen, from the organisers, to the volunteers, to the referees who all did an awesome job, to the spectators, to the weather (!) to the competitors - thanks for making sure Leverage didn't throw a party that no-one came to!! Thank you to my training partners. Thanks to all!!

When I find the cord to my camera, I will put up some of the photos I took yesterday, in the mean time, I have added a few I have stolen from others!

Competition time

Well, here we go, just about two days until my first competition. I've trained hard, feel confident about making weight and I have a gameplan of sorts - part of which includes faking an injury and heading for the bar if things head south!!

At this point, there isn't really much left for me to do. I have one more training session tomorrow night just to iron out a couple of kinks and make sure that I have everything in the right place, I won't say I'm 100% prepared, but I don't think you ever really can be. All I know is that I have tried to train hard, regularly and intelligently. I have tried to listen to my coaches and argue with them where I thought it necessary, or when I was being pigheaded (sorry!).

This being my first competition, I'm not expecting much from it, or at least, that's what I said when I entered. All I talked about was doing it for the experience. However, now, after all the hard work I've done, experience be damned! I want to leave the mats with my arms raised once - just once, that's all I'm looking for, after that, as the indomitable Mr. Goh says, 'it's beer and chicken wings!' I also want to make sure that I compete fairly, with honour and dignity and that I am as humble in a hoped-for victory as I will be in defeat. I hope I can show I am a martial artist, as well as a fighter!

So, how do I feel? To be honest, similar to my previous boxing match (lost by first round TKO if you're interested...), I'm not feeling much. I have been through most of my emotional ups and downs and now I'm just not thinking about the fact that I have to fight on Saturday. Right now, I'm trying to reduce it to an intellectual experience, rather than an emotional one as I think about my weight, think about my travel arrangements and think about the techniques I'm planning to use. Come Friday night and Saturday morning, I think that will all change of course and I'll desperately be looking for a plane to the farthest place from Kuala Lumpur possible! Right now though, I'm just glad there's not too much hard training or dieting left to do and that, win, lose or draw, I'll be having a few (or more than a few) beers on Saturday night!

All that's really left for me to do is what I can do on this blog. I want to thank each and everyone that has worked with me, rolled with me, shouted at me, laughed at or with me and encouraged me. I want to thank all the training partners that have taken the time to point out flaws in my game (often painfully), that have broken my confidence so I can build it up harder and stronger and that have not let me quit, even when I wanted to. I want to thank everybody that has taken the time to support me and spend some of their own precious training time with me.

There are far too many names to mention, but here we go -

Firstly, thanks to my wonderful girlfriend, Fatemeh, for putting up with me tired and for being understanding about the training hours - thanks honey, nearly there! (And of course little Sonia for helping with diets and general encouragement!)

huge, huge thanks must go to Aaron Goh, who has spent so many extra hours talking with me, drilling with me, going over gameplans with me and basically being a rock to support or, as needed, crush me - thanks bro!

Same to Ian Lee, who has run some excellent training sessions and, in his inimitable manner, has taken time to roll with me and give me plenty of feedback whilst crushing the breath from my body and bending my limbs in odd ways. He has also taken the time to add a few nice little touches to my arsenal.

Lim Fang Han, one of the nicest people to ever put on a gi. Thanks for all the drills and encouragement man!

Nikola Cicovic, my fellow 92kger for all the laughs, as well as the odd serious training moment!

Evan Chee for keeping me humble with his human spider act - technique does beat strength!

The Basics BJJ crew - 'Wild Zebra', Patrick Versace, Gunther and everyone else that started with me and has kept at it.

Mag and Su Ling for always being ready to roll and poke yet more gaping holes in my game!

Josep "Sexy White' for helping with so many little details of positions and subs, and being willing to let me practice my hamfisted attempts on his neck, all with amazing good humour and grace.

Of course, Professor Marcos Escobar, for being a constant inspiration and for providing us all with the opportunity to take part in this great sport - sorry you won't be there boss, I'll do my best for you!

Sorry that this has started to sound like some sort of farewell or victory speech, but I do think it's worth taking the time to say thanks now and again. I would just like to thank every single person at Leverage Combat Academy - too many of you to name one by one and I think you know who you are anyway - for everything. I don't promise to win, but I hope I can at least make you proud of me. Good luck to everyone else that's competing on Saturday - I hope our opponents are prepared, because we certainly are! OSSS!!

Ego and BJJ

Sorry for not updating more often, but it's competition time again at Leverage and, whilst I like writing about BJJ, it's a bit more important at the moment that I actually do some of it!

BJJ is a funny sport and it has to be said that ego can play a large part in training. Whilst it is important to be aggressive and roll to win, it is just as important to make sure that you are learning and, sometimes, learning comes from losing, even more than it does from winning!

I have recently been reading a few forums about BJJ and came across two stories that I wanted to share and that show that overly indulging your ego can seriously negatively affect not only your BJJ experience, but also someone else's.

In our first story, which I am led to believe happened in America, a brown belt was rolling with a beginner. Not just a white belt, but an absolute beginner. The higher belt had locked in an armbar but the beginner wasn't tapping. Not to be deterred, and absolutely determined to get the tap, the brown belt transferred the armbar to a more deadly version. The beginner was not quite aware of the seriousness of the situation and still didn't tap. The result? Snap, crackle and pop of the poor fella's arm. Not a break, but a nasty injury. As a result of this, the beginner decided BJJ was not for him and left the club, the post I read was his farewell to BJJ.

In our second story, we have the story of a girl rolling with boys. She is a blue belt and can clearly handle herself. However, rather than getting the respect due her belt, she has found that males, especially white belts cannot deal with the fact that she can not only control them, but is also able to tap them out regularly. The result? They attempt to smash her through the mats, which has in a fair few unnecessary injuries, not just from submissions being cranked more than needed, but also bruises, contusions and the odd sprained ankle as she is dragged, pushed, crushed and generally beasted all over the mats.

I think it is obvious in both cases that ego is what is driving people and it is clearly harmful, not just to bodies, but also general gym atmosphere. Whilst the first is a somewhat extreme case, the second is one that is probably fairly familiar to people in gyms all over the world.

There is a clear difference between ego and pride. Pride is generally fairly positive, it's what makes us not give up position, or fight out of bad positions and make sure that we give a good account of ourselves when we roll. Ego is what can lead us to take things a step too far and cause damage to others. BJJ is a generally safe sport, but if we allow ourselves to be blinded by ego, then this can mean that we are ignoring safety and cranking joints and crushing jaws instead of getting legitimate submissions.

Everyone gets tapped and it is how we deal with this bruise to our pride that, I believe, shapes our approach to the sport. I don't like to tap any more than anyone else, and I get a sense of achievement when I battle for and win a submission. It makes me feel proud to get a legitimate, good tap and it can really upset me when I am tapped due to a mistake or by someone that I usually can defend pretty well against (a sign of my ego showing through). However, I try not to go too far in getting the tap, and I also try not to become inconsolable when I get tapped. It doesn't always work and, one person at the gym mentioned that he feels you can't leave your ego at the door, you have to manage it. I think this is a perfect approach. We need some positive ego, or pride, but we need to try to leave the negative aspects behind, not just for the sake of our development, but also for the sake of other people's development and, indeed safety.

Interview 3 - Jósep Valur Guðlaugsson

Next in the interview series is Superman himself, Jósep. With his trademark dry humour, this is really one to read!




Could you just briefly introduce yourself - name, age (if you want to!), job, nationality and anything else you would like us to know about you?
Hi, I‘m Jósep Valur Guðlaugsson aka Sexy White,Superman or the Viking but usually I end up being known as Forrest Gump after the cool factor wears off! I‘m from Reykjavík Iceland and I‘m a software engineer.

How long have you been training BJJ?
For 4 years and 2 months.

What other martial arts have you tried?
When I was around 12 years old I tried Aikido and then Kimewaza. Total maybe 3 years. I‘ve also trained weights, gymnastics, running and overall fitness since I was very young. Now I do BJJ, Weight lifting and Tango.

How would you compare them to BJJ?
I honestly don‘t think they work for self defense. I remember when I tried the Aikido techniques on my friends or family members who weren‘t willing to act the part and do somersaults or flips at the right moments things just became awkward. Today I just feel sorry for the people who have put a lot of time and effort in a self defence form that doesn‘t really work in real life. In BJJ you can easilly roll 100% with your friend everytime just as you would be fighting and no one gets hurt and I believe the best way to learn is by doing. I don‘t believe you learn to fight by doing Kata, just as well as no one goes inside a gym and benchpresses 100kg without first benchpressing 50kg.

Please tell us a little bit about what got you into BJJ.
In my old weight gym there were a few classes teaching BJJ when BJJ was starting in Iceland. I did a few session with some of my friends after training and we always had a lot of fun. But I dropped out when I got meningitis. Only a few years later I tried again. I got hooked and for the first 2 years I trained 1-2 sessions every day 5-6x a week. Now I try to go as often as I can.

What's your favourite submission and position?
I guess it‘s Guilotine or Kimura. Something basic, I‘m not very flexible and constantly sitting and a few poorly done squats and deadlifts has made my lower back pretty stiff and sensitive so I don‘t focus much on Armbars or Triangles.
 Gi or no-gi?
I like both but I think I like no-gi more.It is faster and I don‘t have to wash my gi.

Could you give us a few words about what BJJ means to you?
The most important thing doing BJJ for me is that it‘s a great way of meeting friends. But it‘s also a great way for me to keep in shape and being active. Normaly the best part of the day is when I get to roll, then I can forget about work and the boring stuff and just play. If I show up tired, a friend will set the pace of the roll guaranteeing that when I leave I will have gotten a satisfying workout.

I have trained in many different clubs and always the morale has been good and I‘ve met a lot of good peoplein this sport that I consider my friends. After a few sessions people learn that this is not a place for egos. Most people, especially us guys, think we are much better at stuff we‘ve never tried than we really are so everybody who starts BJJ gets humbled in the beginning.  This is no place to act tough, everybody rolls with everybody so we win, we lose, we learn from each other and we goof around.

Could you talk about any figures in sport or otherwise that have inspired you on your BJJ journey?
Actually no, I‘ve never had a role model in BJJ. I just enjoy the training. I don‘t look at any champions today and want to follow their foot steps, I‘m 34 now and I want to be the 70+ years old guy that still rolls with the guys. Helping out and being in noticably good shape for my age.

If you were asked to persuade a friend to take up BJJ, would you? How would you persuade them to take it up?I often do. I point out what a great way it is to maintain a good shape and how good the morale is.

What changes have you seen in your life since you started BJJ?
I think I‘m more relaxed. I have more friends and during Christmas parties with the family it is now custom that I attack a few of my relatives so we roll around the floor in our best suits, usually it ends with them ganging up on me!

Where do you see yourself in your training in 5 years? What aims and goals do you have for your training?
In 5 years I‘ll happily be doing the exactly same but I‘ll be 2 years older.

Interview number 2 - Lim Fang Han

Next in line is Marcos Escobar blue belt, Leverage's Lim Fang Han! Enjoy!


Could you just briefly introduce yourself - name, age (if you want to!), job, nationality and anything else you would like us to know about you?My name is Fang, and I’m 31 years old. I work in advertising and I am a blue belt under Marcos Escobar, training at Leverage Combat Academy.

How long have you been training BJJ?
I have been training since November 2007, which makes it 4 years and 3 months! I can’t believe its been that long.

What other martial arts have you tried?
I used to do TKD as a kid, for about 2 years. Never went back.

 How would you compare them to BJJ?
Well, obviously I was a kid and I don’t remember much. The one thing I remember about TKD was the kata/patterns that we had to memorize. In BJJ there are no patterns, the only pattern I see is me tapping out a lot, all the time.

Please tell us a little bit about what got you into BJJ 
I was always intrigued by the UFC, and if you’ve ever watched the early UFCs, you’ll notice that BJJ was a force to be reckoned with. One day, I decided to get off my ass and actually take the initiative to learn the art. I started off in a place in Kelana Jaya, under Quico (a purple at that time), together with Eugene ‘Kenu’, Alex Padilla, Jase Kong Mikey and Leong Vieira. Shortly thereafter, our instructor at that time had found out about Marcos and wanted to join him. Unfortunately, he had to move to Bali, and he urged all of us to join Marcos’ school to learn from a legitimate source of BJJ and the only black belt in Malaysia! In many ways, it made our transition to Escobar’s much easier. That was 3 and a half years ago, and I haven’t looked back since. 

I am very grateful that Marcos welcomed us with open arms. When I joined, there were a few students who were already learning from him, some of whom are still with him today, namely, Aaron Goh and Kenneth Lam (of Streetfight Wing Chun infamy). Back then, all we had was Marcos, and ourselves. As white belts, it was a little intimidating, but we relied on each other to learn. Slowly, things began to progress, we even had our own BJJ camp in Pangkor Island, with 3 black belts (Marcos, Chico Mendes & Cristiano Carvalho), a first in the region! 

These days, the gym is full of blues and really good purple belts for the beginners to learn from. As a result, the white belts of today definitely improve a whole lot faster than we did 4 years ago! I guess that’s a definite sign of progress.

What's your favourite submission and position?
Kimura from side control.

Gi or no-gi?
I started out doing gi only, fearing nogi. But as I started doing more nogi classes, I realized how much I actually enjoyed it. The thing that I like about nogi is that it is very fast paced, and has many exchanges. Having said that, because it is very fast paced, I realized that I could develop very sloppy habits from it. The gi game, being a lot slower and grip dependant, makes you think, and execute your movements more technically. You can’t yank your hand out of an armbar when you’re doing gi.

Ultimately, gi or nogi, it depends on what you’re learning Jiujitsu for. To me, why not do both?

Could you give us a few words about what BJJ means to you?
BJJ has taught me many life lessons, about stress management, health, friendship, patience, how to approach problems amongst others. After a bad day at work, instead of heading home to sulk, I head straight to the gym to train, and almost always, I come out of it feeling better. Sometimes, work can be stressful for me, which is why it is so important for me to train. 

It has also taught me to value my health. When I started training, I was smoking a pack a day. I even used to smoke a cigarette right before training! As of today, I have been smoke free for a year because of Jiujitsu (and Marcos’ incessant advice). It may have taken awhile to quit, but I intend to stay this way, and Jiujitsu has played a big part in helping me quit.

It has changed my life for the better, and I hope it will continue to do so in the years to come.

Apart obviously from Marcos, could you talk about any figures in sport or otherwise that have inspired you on your BJJ journey?
Royce Gracie, for showing the world that the little guy can win; Rickson Gracie, for being so technical and awesome; Leo Vieira, for being the nicest/most humble world & ADCC champion ever and of course my teammates, who inspire me to train harder every day.

 If you were asked to persuade a friend to take up BJJ, would you? How would you persuade them to take it up?
Obviously, you could never force someone to do something. Without proper intent, they would never last in such a sport/art. I will tell you how I managed to get my girlfriend to start training. It was in August 2009, and Marcos was conducting a self defense seminar. Up till then, to my girlfriend, Jiujitsu was just a bunch of men rolling on the floor and hugging. I convinced her to participate in the self defense seminar, as I was worried for her safety as well. Marcos showed a series of practical Jiujitsu based self defense moves, and she found it interesting enough to participate in a trial class. After that, she was hooked! These days, she trains just as seriously as me, and has been competing and medaling in competitions regionally. 

What I’m trying to say is that you have to put a context to the art, in order to convince a person to take it up. Whether it is self defense, weight loss or even learning to kick ass, I would convince them to take up the art based on their goal. For most, it is almost always getting serious about health and weight loss.

What changes have you seen in your life since you started BJJ?
Like I mentioned earlier, I value my health a lot more these days, I am a lot more patient, more meticulous in problem solving and I am generally a lot happier because of my training.

Where do you see yourself in your training in 5 years? What aims and goals do you have for your training?
In 5 years, I hope to be a very good competitive purple belt. While I know that it is not realistic for me to want to be a Mundials (BJJ World Championships) Champion, it is a dream of mine to step on the mats to compete at the Mundials at least once and make my team proud. All in all, I just hope to be training consistently and hope that Jiujitsu will continue to help me improve myself and be a better person.

"Jiujitsu is not about who you beat, but what you conquer." - Anon

The first interview - Aaron Goh

This blog has been a touch inactive of late due to a few things going on and also trying to sort out what I think will be quite an exciting and interesting series of articles. As I hope has been clear from the beginning, I train at Leverage Combat Academy in Malaysia and I wanted to take a look at some of the people we have training there in the hope that anyone reading this that has never thought about BJJ, or has been intimidated by BJJ will see that none of us that train the 'gentle art' are supermen or women, we are all just ordinary people that aren't aggressive meatheads, but who enjoy the challenge and the fitness of a combat sport.

So, first up and with no further ado, the co-owner of Leverage Combat Academy and one of the biggest influences in my decision to start and continue with BJJ - Aaron Goh. Take it away Aaron!

Could you just briefly introduce yourself - name, age (if you want to!), job, nationality and anything else you would like us to know about?
Aaron Goh, and I just turned 30. I co-own and manage Leverage Combat Academy, a training facility that focuses primarily on Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and its applications in various forms (Submission Grappling, Mixed Martial Arts).

How long have you been training BJJ?
I started in late 2008. I didn't do too well in maths while I was at school, but I’m guessing that makes it more than 3 years.

Please tell us a little bit about what got you into BJJ and how you met Marcos. 
Well, like every hot blooded male who was a product of the 80s, I grew up watching action movies and I have always had a fascination for martial arts. I didn’t believe that anything I saw was practical though, so I always thought that fighting and martial arts was just for the movies. Until one day, I sat in the cinema and watched a Donnie Yen movie called ‘Flashpoint” (now regarded as one of the best and most realistic action movie ever filmed). It was like a spark was ignited within and I told myself “Hey, this actually looks like it could work in real life”

At that point I was already 26 years old, and I have always been into keeping fit and I was an avid gym goer. I didn’t really want to pursue anything that is close contact physically, unless I thought it was practical and could actually work in real life. So I researched more and found out that Donnie Yen used “Mixed Martial Arts” to choreograph the fight scenes and that it was a combination of various martial arts, one of which was Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I was extremely intrigued and I told myself, “I must learn this!” It so happened that 2 weeks later, The Star ran an article on Malaysia’s very first pro MMA fighter, Adam Kayoom. I got in contact with the gym that he was affiliated with at that time, but was told he was no longer teaching there. Undaunted, I went for a trial class, was immediately hooked and signed up on that same day!

The classes had a mixed bunch of practitioners, most of whom had already been practicing BJJ for a few months or a few years. I felt out of place as most of the techniques shown were beyond my comprehension and ability. It was no fault of theirs, but I was a complete newbie and so I began searching for a place that could fit me and my need to learn the basics. I mean, it’s no point learning a spinning back kick if you can’t even stand properly you know what I mean?

I remember searching for BJJ in Malaysia almost every day, constantly refreshing the search page, until one day I found out an ADCC champion and a Brazilian Black Belt was teaching here in Kota Damansara! I couldn’t believe my luck!

I went for the trial class that very week, and I still remember there were only 5 of us or so. One of them was Kenneth Lam actually! Hahaha! And that’s how I met Marcos and have not looked back since.

What's your favourite submission and position?
The back take is my favourite position. Favourite submission guillotine (No Gi) and the bow and arrow lapel choke (Gi)

Gi or no-gi?
Man, this has been and still is an ongoing debate. I’m no Black Belt but I firmly believe both Gi and No Gi complement each other. If you want to get better at the Gi, you must train No Gi. Without the Gi, you must keep your game tighter and you cannot be loose otherwise you will lose position. And if you want to get better at No Gi, you must train with the Gi. With the Gi, you are forced to be more technical with your escapes and submissions. You cannot just muscle your way or slip out of bad positions. I enjoy the intricacies of both, and I honestly feel training both Gi and No Gi has helped my jiu jitsu tremendously.

Obviously you are now the co-owner of Leverage Combat Academy, what was it you did before opening the gym and going full-time with BJJ?
I was in the car customization industry for 8 years and I was the pioneer for a lot of stuff that are staples now in the local aftermarket industry. I was the first to commercialise airbrushed graphics for cars and I was also the only person to have successfully brought the king of car customization to Malaysia, the world famous West Coast Customs.

Not many people are prepared to give up their jobs and do their hobby professionally, what was it that made you decide to go for it?
It’s not an easy decision to make for most people. If they are not sure about their passion or hobby, and they just make the jump without careful consideration, that passion can quickly become a burden once it becomes a full time venture. I decided to go for it because I really believe in jiu jitsu, and I really believe in the relationship I have with my instructor and partner, Prof. Marcos. We both shared the same goals and we both are very passionate about BJJ.

I was also feeling burned out by the long hours with my car business. It was extremely stressful, and jiu jitsu was my constant outlet. So after some careful consideration, I decided to pursue my passion.

Can you tell us a little bit about how you felt when you decided to take that plunge?
Nervous. Worried. Not so much for how things might turn out for me financially, but more so for how my relationship with my instructor will pan out. I’ve been involved in numerous businesses since the age of 21, and I can honestly tell you that a business relationship is just like a romantic relationship. It’s all fun and laughter when times are good, but when times are bad; that’s when you know for sure if you can really work with and count on your partner. I have lost count of the many friends I have lost due to business misunderstandings and dealings. My own childhood friend whom I have known for 10 years even screwed me over, all in the pursuit of wealth.

I took those lessons to heart, and I really didn’t want to lose my instructor over business. It also helps that we train together, so for the most part if there’s any misunderstanding we can always sort it out on the mats. Of course he kicks my ass, but you can be damn sure I’m gonna at least try to not make it easy for him!

You are obviously very committed to spreading the word of BJJ throughout Malaysia - could you give us a few words about what BJJ means to you?
BJJ to me is a lifestyle. It is one that I personally feel many should adopt. It is a great tool to release stress. So many people go through life with a chip on their shoulder. They work a job they hate and for a boss that they hate even more. Everyday there’s the stress of traffic, deadlines, bills, appointments and family commitments. That’s why there’s so much road rage. These people are looking for an outlet. The majority of them are ticking time bombs, just waiting for that one incident that will set them off.

My advice? Try a month of BJJ. You will be so tired after training and rolling, you won't even have the energy to get mad at the idiot that cuts into your lane.

I like to think of how similar BJJ and life actually is. In jiu jitsu, if you don’t sort out certain grips or if you ignore certain positions, you’re gonna get submitted! You learn to look at life’s problems similarly, without all the mental anguish that typically accompanies it. You become analytical. You start to think strategically. And when you get better at BJJ and as you get fitter, your self confidence increases and when that happens, it changes the way you carry yourself. Because you’re more confident, you’re willing to take chances and ask for that salary raise. Or demand that promotion. Your quality of life actually gets better through jiu jitsu, and that is why it is a lifestyle.

Obviously you have decided that BJJ is your life now, do you think it is suitable for everybody - why would you suggest that someone take up BJJ?
BJJ is absolutely suitable for everybody and I am living proof of that. I wasn’t the most athletic, or strongest or biggest or fittest in the class when I first started. I wasn't even a fast learner. I didn’t take to it as easily as I have seen some people take to it. My first 6 months, all I was doing was just tapping. And every night I would lie awake and wonder, 'can I really one day understand how jiu jitsu works?' But I stuck with it and I persevered. And I am glad I did. You do not need any particular physical attributes to take up BJJ. You do not need to have a background in any form of martial arts (I certainly did not). A person can literally get off the couch, put on a Gi and a belt, and start that very second.

The Academy is obviously going through a lot of changes in 2012, with a new training facility, could you say a few words about what you're planning for the coming year and beyond?
The new academy would not have been possible without the support of so many individuals. I always like to say that a gym is only as good as its members. Other than that, it is just empty space and walls. It is the individuals in the gym that make our academy unique and I am proud of this, more than anything else. With the new facility in Solaris, Mont Kiara we are hoping to be able to broaden our reach and encourage more Malaysians to take up BJJ.

We've also got an exciting competition coming up in March and a few seminars planned. With the ever growing popularity of Mixed Martial Arts in Malaysia, more and more people are discovering BJJ and we hope to be at the forefront of that. We’ve put in our dues and we have spent years building a strong foundation, so I really hope that this year we achieve our goal of 100 active students.

With a large influx of MMA fighters coming to the gym, could you please talk a little bit about how you see Leverage switching focus towards grooming potential MMA fighters, is that the plan at all? Will the gym be providing more MMA-focused fight training or will it remain a place where MMA fighters can come just to brush up on their jiujitsu?
Our core has been, and will always be BJJ. So the modalities will be Brazilian Jiu Jitsu with the Gi. Submission Grappling (No Gi). And Grappling with Striking (essentially, MMA). I think the vast majority have no idea what it truly takes to be an MMA fighter. They don’t know that you MUST have at least some form of stand up (striking) and ground work (grappling/ wrestling/ jiu jitsu) before you can call yourself an MMA fighter.

Most of these guys just put on a Dethrone or Tapout t-shirt and think they are a fighter. It also doesn’t help matters when some gyms market MMA as something glamorous and cool, when the reality is that it takes a lot of hard work, dedication and training to be an MMA fighter.

I want Leverage to be known for our jiu jitsu, first and foremost. And that is what we will focus on at all times.

Looking at things from a wider perspective, we saw in the first UFC that BJJ beat everything, however, in the modern MMA game, wrestling seems to be the dominant art. Is BJJ still essential for MMA? Will it rise to dominate again?
Wrestling, in my opinion, is the best companion to BJJ. If you have good wrestling and BJJ, you can dictate where the fight goes. Wrestling has the best takedowns for MMA, and BJJ has the best positions and submissions for MMA. In the first UFC, no one had a clue what ground fighting was.

But BJJ is constantly evolving. Look at the recent Mundials and ADCC. I believe it is not the case of BJJ rising to dominate again, it is a matter of fight strategy and using one’s strength to win the fight. No one will expect Roger Gracie to display the striking prowess of Anderson Silva, and expecting him to do so and win fights is ludicrous. His strength is his jiu jitsu. Similarly, no one will expect Alistair Overeem to grapple like Roger and dominate his opponents with superior positioning and submissions. He is a kickboxer and he will use that to win fights.

MMA is a complex sport, and it is not easy for any single martial art to dominate like in the first UFC. I do believe jiu jitsu fighters will continue to dominate with their jiu jitsu, and I cannot wait to see some of the champions of our sport take up MMA in the future (Rodolfo Vieira comes to mind).

Apart obviously from Marcos, could you talk about any figures in sport or otherwise that have inspired you on your BJJ journey?
Marcelo Garcia comes to mind. He’s always smiling. And he’s such a great grappler. I hope to one day be half as good as him, and as humble as he is. I want to be a great ambassador for the Malaysian BJJ scene. Leo Vieira. Such a legend and yet so down to earth and friendly. I was very fortunate to have met and learnt from him. I enjoy watching Rodolfo Vieira’s guard passes. I like the Mendes Bros too. Caio Terra. Andre Galvao. If I keep going on, I would probably list almost every great BJJ athlete there ever was! I just keep an open mind and I take inspiration from everywhere and everybody.

Do you have any final words for anyone that might be reading this?
I’d like to thank everyone with whom I have had the opportunity to slap hands and bump fists with. There are so many people who have been so supportive of Leverage and I cannot thank them enough. Most importantly, I thank God for giving me the ability to do jiu jitsu and I hope this article inspires someone enough to try BJJ for themselves. Osss!

Finding your game

As someone who is still very much at the beginning of his BJJ journey, I am in the process of finding my game. Like all sports, there are sets of fundamentals that we all have to learn and then we can begin to apply them in the way that works for us best. As I mentioned in a previous post, the kneeling pass from the closed guard is just not one that works for me, perhaps due to my body type, perhaps due to not having some details quite right, but a standing guard pass works quite nicely (if I could only figure out what to do with the legs after that!)

After about seven months of training I am starting to find my game a bit. I don't particularly care for taking the back, for instance, I don't feel as in control as other members of the team and I prefer to threaten a back take when I am really looking for an opportunity to get to the mount, a position I find much more comfortable and safe, largely due my feeling happier using my body weight and long legs to wrap around my opponent, allowing me to roll with and ride with his/her movements. I also know that there are some submissions that I have not really got the hang of yet - the armbar from closed guard is one that I rarely get as I struggle to throw my legs across the face fast enough. However, the triangle choke is one that I have been practising quite a lot recently, and one that, again with my long and fairly heavy legs I find works very nicely for me, especially now that I feel more comfortable with the movements and am not rushing so much when I go for it. Previously, I would be trying to do everything at once - control the arm, find the diamond, angle my body off and log the figure-four, all at the same time, a patent impossibility. Now I can be a bit more relaxed about things and this has lead me to having a little bit more success.

However, I still don't think I have really found my actual BJJ style, more often going for something of a mishmash of positions and movements. I am fairly simplistic in my rolling, following the same basic patterns - passing the legs, side control and then trying to transition to mount. When this fails, I rarely have a backup plan and end up simply reacting to others' movements, something which is rarely a good thing in any combat sport as it is generally not a great idea to be fighting someone else's fight. Being taken out of your gameplan and into someone else's is frustrating and often tiring. The lack of control and necessity of thinking on the spot all the time is not conducive to succeeding in any sport, let alone one in which the slightest mistake can mean a literal loss of breath or a joint!

Recently at Leverage (the Academy about which this blog is a badly disguised running advertisement!), we had a great session which reviewed a no-gi seminar some of the members had attended. We moved through an armbar from the mount to a spinning escape when stacked, eventually finishing that with a back-take. I am not Grandmaster Flash, break dancing is not my thing and my attempts to go inverted bring a tear to the eye of many (in fact, I once actually blinded myself trying to go inverted when the end of my belt fell into my eyeball, it didn't stop tearing up for days and I kept it a close secret for fear that my life would not be worth living at the gym!) However, I practised the move, just like I practise all such moves as I know that at the moment I don't have the flexibility or smoothness on the ground to be able to achieve it, but one day it may well be a part of my game. I even managed to pull it off a few times and got a nod from the coach.

I think this is the important thing. At the moment, my game is very straight forward, relying largely on strength  and weight to execute my gameplan. My transitions are not particularly slick and my submissions are not going to be winning me any UFC bonuses just yet but I am always watching other people with my body type as well as those with different bodies because I am conscious that my game is evolving and I want it to continue to evolve. As I mentioned, I have recently had some success with triangle chokes and I want to push them to being a real weapon for me. To do this, I have to get into guard and play guard more efficiently. My guard game is not great at the moment and it is time for me to start working on this, the same way as I worked on my side control a few months ago.

This is a reason that I love BJJ so much. I often talk about boxing being simpler, which it is due to a more limited moveset (although I am not disparaging boxing as being easy, quite the opposite), but I know that as I find my way through BJJ, I will have years and years of techniques and movements to play with, use or reject and I can keep my game changing and moving, to the point that I may be able to develop several different styles. Even when I find my style, I will still keep trying the more esoteric moves just in case one day I can put them into my game and become more complete. 'A complete fighter' is one of the highest complements I can think of and, after many years of practice, one day I hope to earn that accolade, for BJJ at least.

To gi, or not to gi?

'To gi, or not to gi,
That is the question,
Whether I should put on my pyjamas against the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take up a rashguard, and by opposing end them,'

 - William 'de Escritor' Shakespeare.

Again, anything written on this blog is entirely my opinion and I would genuinely love to hear comments, both in agreement or, especially, in disagreement.

Training at Leverage places a pretty high emphasis on training with the gi - out of a possible 7 training sessions, there are only two that are no-gi, and even then, there is a gi session first. I have to say, I love the gi and I love rolling with a gi. For some reason, it just feels more 'jiu jitsu' than no-gi.

Which is not to say that I don't enjoy no-gi, I do, but I seem to have a real love/hate relationship with it. Sometimes I have great rolls without a gi - feeling better, stronger and more slick than with it, but sometimes I am absolutely appalling, like it's my first time even stepping into the gym. This is a lack of consistency I don't seem to find when rolling in my pyjamas and I'm sure something that is largely due to a lack of training no-gi.

Speaking as someone who came to BJJ through a love of MMA, rolling no-gi scratches an itch to be more like an MMA fighter, my trial session was obviously without a gi and I was almost disappointed when I had to put one on for my first real class. When I break someone's posture through underhooks and controlling the back of the neck, in my mind's eye I am just like Nick Diaz, or GSP, I imagine I even look as professional and slick as they do (my mind's eye is very forgiving!), and I love the ease of movement and speed that comes with the no-gi game. However, in my humble opinion, no-gi makes me a bit lazy and more likely to muscle my way through techniques, rather than actually apply my learning, and this is why I love the gi.

There is no doubt in my mind that the gi slows things down and forces me to be more technical. The slippery nature of rolling in a rashguard and shorts means that I am more likely to slip out of holds, something that is just not possible with the grips afforded by the jacket and trousers ensemble. I have to consider the best way to break grips or find the proper hip movements to escape a position. In the same way, I have to plan my movements more carefully to gain positions. Without the gi, I find myself more likely to try to power out and, with my opponent less able to get the same level of controlling grips, I think it is easier to do so.

For beginners like myself, I think that this slower, more technical aspect to the game gives a greater depth of technical knowledge and understanding of BJJ due to its unforgiving nature - it ensures that the student approaches BJJ from a more technical standpoint, rather than allowing 'cheap' escapes from the beginning. Of course, my complaints about no-gi are not really complaints, they are simply a lack of understanding and training without a gi - I'm just not as used to it yet.

Ultimately, gi and no-gi are peas from a pod to a large extent and I certainly do love my no-gi sessions, both from a 'fun' aspect (and from a wannabe MMA fighter poseur level), as well as the feeling of improving in an almost new sport. I love trying new techniques and trying to see what transfers across to gi and vice versa.  I love the speed and hectic feel of a good no-gi roll, but, at the end of the day, if I was forced to choose gi or no-gi for the rest of my life, you would have to prise my gi from my cold, dead body. I hope people will be in here to vehemently defend no-gi and I will probably agree with the majority of their points, I love no-gi, just not as much as gi. Gi BJJ feels like serious business, no-gi for me is still something I do more for a palate-cleanser, or for 'fun'!

Stick with it!

When I was starting out in my BJJ training I found myself getting very frustrated when rolling, and I have spoken to some other people who say they have felt the same. As I touched on a bit in my previous post about self-defence, I believe this is largely due to the unintuitive nature of BJJ.

When we first code the act of fighting in our bodies at a young age, we mainly throw punches and occasionally kicks or, my favourite as a child, knees to the testicles. Because of this, most people are able to instinctively punch or kick in pressure situations.  Most people starting out in boxing have an idea how to hit already and require only refinement (sometimes significant) in terms of technique and movement.

However, I think it is safe to say that not many people spend their childhood in playgrounds fighting off their backs and, whilst we can all sidestep and move on our feet (even if it is not the pretty footwork of a professional boxer), it can be a very long step to being comfortable moving around smoothly on the floor. One day, I hope to get better at it! Indeed, for people without any judo or wrestling experience, putting on a gi, heading to the mats and lying down to learn to fight takes them right out of their comfort zone, it certainly did for me.

I would hazard that most people that take up BJJ are not thinking about the possibility of one day being really good at stepping round somebody's legs and then getting into side control. Most people are probably looking to get really good at making someone tap, however, one obviously does not come without the other and this can be a real source of frustration, again, it certainly was for me.

This becomes doubly apparent when we start rolling for the first time. I remember at least the first three or four months largely consisting of lying on the floor, stretched out, whilst someone danced around on top of me for a while before mercifully ending it. I had learned some fancy submissions, but the chances of actually using any of them seemed to not even be zero as I had not yet learned the magic codeword that can make someone tap when whispered in their ear. The unintuitive nature of the sport made positional awareness a nightmare. As a result, I grew more and more irritated with the whole situation. I often considered giving it up and going back to boxing or muay thai, something I at least knew I was able to have two-way sparring sessions in.

However, I stuck to it, more because I was enjoying how fit it was making me feel rather than because I had any hope of actually getting better at it and I was fortunate enough to have two training partners in particular that really took a lot of time with me rolling, both forming a sort of yin/yang together, one putting me in bad positions and making me recognise them and try to, at first, escape them, then begin to avoid them, and one who would always take a passive role and allow me to move around and try things, increasing my awareness and ability to move on the ground. (I won't name names for fear of embarrassment but I would also like to stress that each and every person I have worked with at Leverage has done wonders for my game, from the whitest of whitebelts, to the blackest of black and I hope everyone will understand that.)

After a while, slowly but surely, things started coming together. Whereas previously I was wondering if maybe I had missed classes where we were being taught the 'real' basics, I soon came to the realisation that the necessary movements can't really be taught, they have to be learned and the only way to achieve this is through mat time. Anyone at Leverage will be familiar with a certain person's catchphrase, 'there is no magic in jiujitsu,' and again, I have to agree with that. The only magic is in how sweat and fatigue can be transformed into ability, a sort of modern alchemy.

While I would not yet consider myself to be anyway approaching expertise on the ground, I do feel that I am becoming slightly less incompetent, which is a milestone in itself, and this is because of the work I have tried to put in, as well as the support from my coaches and training partners. However, I do take pride in the fact that I hung in there and am seeing results. I hope I am not the 'horizontal heavy bag' that I used to be and can actually give people a bit of a run for their money at times.

Therefore, to anyone just starting out and finding it all tough going, I would say stick with it! The more you do it, the more it will work. There is no quick fix, there is no one lesson that your coaches can give you to magically improve your roll - it's just hard work, mat time and taking your bruises. Every time I roll I hope to learn something new from a training partner, no matter his/her skill level and I hope you will do the same.

BJJ and Self-defence

These seem to be coming fairly thick and fast at the moment - probably because I'm not actually training at the moment (I am aware of the irony of writing about BJJ without actually doing it!), but if you've read this far, I hope you'll hang in there until the pace slows a bit! Take heart, probably not such a long one this time!

Growing up in and around London, I have seen more than my fair share of fights and even had to participate in a few of them as well (not usually very successfully!). From training in striking arts as well I would generally not recommend them overly as methods of self-defence. In any stand-up striking battle, whether in the ring or on the streets there is a real likelihood of taking damage. This link (http://blog.fightmetric.com/2011/10/diaz-vs-penn-official-ufc-statistics.html) shows the Compustrike tally for the Nick Diaz vs BJ Penn fight. BJ Penn came out of that fight looking like he'd had a minor disagreement with King Kong and then insulted Godzilla on his way home.

However, despite the fight being what I think all witnesses agreed was a pretty one-sided beating handed out by Diaz, Penn still managed to land 88 punches on Nick Diaz - count'em, 88! Whilst this is still half the number that Diaz was happy to provide him with, I think we can agree that to anyone caught defending themselves on the street or in a bar, they would like to avoid as much damage as possible - one rarely sees two boxers going at it and being willing to take one to give one. There is also the aspect that if one of those strikes had been a touch harder and better placed, Nick Diaz and BJ Penn would have swapped places on the winner's podium - something that would spell total disaster in our imaginary street scenario. To further bear this out, here is Jones vs Machida - Machida was dominated, but in the first round actually managed to land the same number of strikes - going blow for blow with Jones.  http://hosteddb.fightmetric.com/fights/index/3678

Whilst I am not suggesting that Muay Thai, boxing, karate, Wing Chun or many other striking arts would not come in handy in a self-defence situation, I hope I have properly explained my point - that standing and striking with someone carries with it a level of unacceptable risk. I do completely agree with the standpoint that the increased fitness, awareness and, indeed, ability that comes with training in one of these arts can definitely help one out and certainly the heightened confidence is something that can help one become less of a victim simply due to one's bearing, however, I think there is a way to further even the odds.

Oddly enough, this being a blog about BJJ, I am going to propose BJJ as a great art to start thinking about in terms of a way to protect yourself. First and foremost, it has the 'surprise' factor. When you take down your assailant and then move into position to control, there are unlikely to be too many people that have the training to recognise what is happening. When you then start wrapping your arms around their throat or bending limbs in impossible directions, it's hard to imagine too many people having the skills to resist. This is unlikely getting in a standup fight, where anyone can throw some sort of punch by simply extending a fist and putting it in your face - maybe not scientific, and it's unlikely to impress Floyd Mayweather Jr., but it may well be enough to impress you.

Simply put, BJJ is counter-intuitive to most and rudimentary training should go a long way towards confounding and beating someone with no training, even with just positional awareness rather than showing off by transitioning from a flying armbar to a triangle to an omoplata! However, if you are unlucky enough to get attacked by a BJJ player with more skill than you, particularly a black belt - tap and see if they let go - otherwise, to quote Aaron Goh, 'resistance is futile'!

Apart from the drunken barfight situation, there is, I believe, an even better argument for women in particular to take up the art, or at least get some training in it. Simply put, women are sometimes in danger of assaults far more objectionable than simply getting punched and I genuinely think that BJJ is the perfect art to help them defend themselves. First things first, the BJJ guard position is the rape position. We lie on our backs with someone between our legs, which is exactly where a would-be rapist is looking to put his victim. For many women, this may well be the moment of panic - on her back with someone already halfway towards his goal and the additional stress of the close proximity of his body.

For a BJJ player though, this is where the nastiness begins, not for the attacker, but for the 'victim'. Almost every beginner starts learning BJJ from the closed guard as it allows for maximum control of the opponent and gives a wide range of submission and sweep options - in other words, the attempted rapist would be in the 'victim's' world now. Getting used to the proximity of another human in a stressful situation is also a massive advantage. BJJ can teach women not to panic in this situation and instead relax and prepare to not just defend, but go on the offensive. Heaven help anyone foolish enough to try something like this on the girls we have training at Leverage Combat Academy - because certainly no-one else would.

Wristlocks, leglocks and all manner of nastiness can also help with assaults a step down from rape - how can someone snatch your purse with a broken wrist? Same for men - just let him grab your shirt or wallet from a tight guillotine! And for pity's sake, if you have to defend yourself, defend yourself with PRIDE FC rules - stomps, soccer kicks and knees to a downed opponent!

Apologies - this HAS gone on for a while - I hope you've stuck with it and I hope that anybody reading this will chime in in the comments section. It really means a lot to see the pageviews going up so thank you for your support so far. As always, if there is something you disagree with then post it too - the more you disagree with it the better - I'm always very interested in opposing views. Thank you again for reading!

On sparring....

I would like to take a little bit of time in this next post to talk about sparring and its relevance to martial arts training, especially BJJ. In a number of TMAs (traditional martial arts), there are techniques which are flashy, impressive and ultimately.....useless. Unfortunately Taekwondo is an art which is often brought up in this context. Whilst these techniques look amazing, when it comes down to an actual fight situation they may be more likely to put you in trouble, rather than get you out of it.

So-called 'Modern Martial Arts' (boxing, kickboxing/Muay Thai and BJJ) rarely suffer from this problem due to the high frequency of sparring. Students are encouraged to get in the ring or on the mats and to test the techniques they learn. With my still limited amount of BJJ training, I can't emphasize enough how this is helping me to shape my game.

One of the most basic closed guard passes I have been shown involves moving on your knees, twisting your hips and forcing your opponent to let go. It is a nice, simple guard pass with one problem. I have never been able to achieve it in rolling (BJJ sparring, check the glossary!). No matter how I swivel, how I move my knees, I remain firmly wedged between my opponent's legs. It is frustrating and a source of amusement to me - I used to consider in someone's guard to be basically the end of my roll - I was just waiting to be tapped.

Now, without regular sparring, I would never have known this, I would never have realised that this doesn't work for me and that I would be forced to look for other guard passes (I have had some success with a standing guard pass). I have to stress though, that the first pass works very well for most others, something that again they have proved to themselves through regular sparring. It's a very simple secret, sparring works. It allows you to test your techniques, find out if they work for you and even start working on new techniques that don't work for you yet, as well as try out dumb stuff that would get you killed in a live environment - what's the worst that can happen? At some point, I will definitely work on the kneeling guard pass again, as (once again) constant rolling has proved to me that I need a backup plan.

Sparring is particularly effective and useful in BJJ. Recently, I put some ideas on this in a post on Facebook and I hope that you won't mind if I reiterate a few of them here. Muay Thai and boxing also place a large emphasis on sparring, but due to the aggressive and concussive nature of the sports it is hard to spar 'hard' regularly, which means that to an extent some of the constant growth that comes with intensive sparring is lost. Any boxer will tell you that constantly going hard day after day takes its toll. It is also unusual (outside of Chute Boxe!) to see many people sparring at 100%, due to the high risk of injuries and loss of training time that can come with kayos and other boxing-related injuries. Sparring in striking arts can also be intimidating to beginners - I spend a long time gun-shy after getting my jaw almost broken in my first sparring session (it still clicks to this day!)

My experience with BJJ has been a lot gentler, even after sparring harder and more consistently than I ever did in boxing. BJJ is, I believe, one of the few arts where one can actually spar at close to 100% and do so day in and day out with comparatively little risk. Whilst accidents can, and do, happen, there is a lot less risk in being caught in an armbar from a training partner than there is in being caught with a right hook on the button. As long as you tap in time and your partner lets go, you should be ready to touch hands and get back into it as long as your cardio holds out.

I think this also holds true with partners who are trying to smash you. Whilst one of our gymmates found himself on the wrong end of an illegal move and was definitely the worse for wear, I think he would probably have found things a lot tougher if he'd been sparring boxing or MMA with someone going full out. The safety inherent in BJJ is something that I feel he can be very happy about.

Sparring is good for martial arts and really helps you develop a style and a feel for what works for you and what doesn't. In a martial art as complicated as BJJ it is crucial and something I look forward to during each and every class. I feel safe, pushed, frustrated and elated, often within moments of each other. So, when a higher belt asks you if you want to roll - get stuck in. You're in safe hands and, if you don't do it, you risk limiting your progress in the sport.

Pair up, on your knees, touch hands, let's roll!!!

Why I train.

First of all, thank you to anyone that read the first post and has come back for more - the support I have received so far means a great deal and really makes me want to keep this up - obrigado!!

This blog will not address techniques particularly as I doubt I have anything to really add that you can't find better said somewhere on the internet or, at your local, friendly BJJ gym (get off the couch and get over there!). Instead, I will just talk about what comes to mind when I think about BJJ - I hope this will be interesting to at least a couple of people!

Recently, in a conversation with someone at the gym, he was equating life to jiu jitsu - something he does a lot - trouble at work? It's like BJJ. Trouble with your relationship? It's like BJJ. Meteor hit the earth? It's like BJJ! I THINK HE'S RIGHT!! However, I don't think it's just limited to BJJ, but actually to all combat sports with live sparring. I say live sparring rather than point sparring for a reason, which I will explain below.

There are a number of obvious reasons to take up a sport - health and fitness, scratching the competitive urge, hanging out with like-minded people, etc. etc. However, why take up a combat sport like boxing or BJJ, one where you can get seriously hurt if you're not careful? For me, there are a number of reasons, like testing my limits and training against other people to see just how good I am on my own, without a team to take credit for wins or blame for losses, but I also think there is more to it than that.

To start with, I would like to talk about what I mean by 'live' sparring. In sports such as BJJ and boxing, sparring is conducted under as realistic conditions as possible, which means no stopping when a punch is landed, like in point-sparring sports such as karate. This is crucial when considering how combat sports can apply to life. In life, just like in BJJ (the sport this blog centres on), there is no giving up when times get hard. Whether you are struggling desperately to protect an arm, or facing the end of a relationship, you are under pressure and having to deal with it and the pressure. Pressure is a big part of what I think about when I think of live sparring, learning to keep your composure when leather is flying at your face or when someone is sitting on top of or behind you trying to choke you or rip off an arm and this can transfer into doing the same when your life takes a turn for the worse. Being cool under fire is one definite life skill that martial arts can teach us - how to get your ass kicked and still keep going!

Hard work pays off is another crucial lesson. Every time I tap in BJJ or get dominated during a roll I have to rethink my strategy, go back to the drawing board and train harder. Sometimes it's a little correction, like hiding my arm better during a triangle choke, sometimes it's a lot bigger, like not allowing someone to get side control but every time I have to think again and use that to inspire my training. Only by working at BJJ can you get better at it and I believe it's the same in life. Work, relationships, even play are things that we have to work at to get better at and, with each setback we have to think about what we're doing and make sure we work and train harder to get through it.

Martial arts can not only teach us how to lose and not give up, they can also teach us how to win. When your next defeat can literally be a minute away it's hard to over-savour our victories. We learn to enjoy them but not be 'bad winners' and let them go to our heads too much. Enjoy the ride up, it can be a long way to fall - similarly though, we learn we can turn things around in a heartbeat, so sometimes the losses don't sting too much either.

The final lesson I want to talk about (and thanks for making it this far, if you did!) is that sometimes no matter what you do, it doesn't come right. Talking about competition, Prof. Marcos once said that the best feeling is to come home with a medal in your pocket, but that coming home without one, knowing you did every possible thing you could to win is still not as painful as it could be. In life as well, we can sometimes do everything right and still not come away with the result we want. We can know though, that if we worked hard and prepared hard and it didn't come off right that time then we have no-one to blame, we just weren't good enough on the night - not a great feeling, but we can still try and take satisfaction in the contest itself - a lesson that I really think can transfer to life. We all want to be Anderson Silva, standing in the Octagon with Dana White wrapping the belt around our waists. Sometimes though, we're Chael Sonnen, who did everything right in the fight, but got caught at the last minute. BJJ especially can prepare us for this.

A follow-up to the introduction!

Apparently I'm not ready to go to bed yet so I thought I would just add a little more to this that may help people out with the terminology a bit. Here's slideyfoot's glossary of BJJ which seems like a start to me...
http://www.slideyfoot.com/2007/03/brazilian-jiu-jitsu-glossary.html

Here's the Leverage Combat Academy website (if you want to learn techniques and have fun, this is the place to go)
http://www.escobarbjj.com

MMA ASIA's blog
http://www.mma-in-asia.com
Like her on Facebook as well please - she really knows what she's talking abbout and her blog is good reading!

Su Ling's BJJ blog - also a student under Prof. Escobar, although far more advanced, technical and cute than me! A must read for women thinking about BJJ.
http://cupcakearmbar.tumblr.com/


And, just because he's also a MEBJJer, you should read 'It's a Malaysian Life' because if you don't the writer will armbar you, or at the very least humiliate you into the ground with witty repartee!
http://durianbelacan.blogspot.com/


Goodnight all!

First Entry and Musings on BJJ

So, first post and hopefully this will be something I keep up!! It's probably a good idea to talk about this blog and what I hope to achieve from it. First things first, my name is John and I have been training BJJ at Leverage Combat Academy (http://www.facebook.com/leverage.combat.academy ) since June 2011. I have trained in various martial arts, but this is the first martial art I have trained in that has inspired me to the extent that I feel I would like to share my experience with other people. Exactly why this is I hope will become more and more apparent as I (hopefully) continue to update this blog and I hope you will stay with me as I keep going on this journey!

Like many people, I started BJJ after growing more and more interested in MMA and becoming more and more intrigued by the ground game, something that, as a striker, I always considered a bit dull and, even worse, oriented towards strength rather than technique, something that training at Leverage has shown to be completely ridiculous!

In September 2010 I moved from England to Malaysia and left my previous boxing and Muay Thai oriented gym to a place where I couldn't really find a place that clicked. As an English teacher, I realised as well that I couldn't really come into work anymore with the bruises on the face or devote the time to training to fight that I had been able to before. I was therefore getting fat, lazy and looking for another martial art to train in to keep sharp and, more importantly, fit! A quick google search and I was on my way to a trial session at Leverage.

Leverage's professor, Marcos Escobar is a previous ADCC winner and he is more than ably assisted by the lovely Aaron Goh. As any other fighters can understand, moving into a new art can be daunting - how can you go from competence to incompetence and keep your dignity? In this respect, the trial session with Mr. Goh was an absolute dream to an avid MMA fan. We moved from a sweep from the butterfly guard, to an armbar (the PRIDE FC fan in me had a minor orgasm) to a RNC, all in about 1/2 hour. I came away from the session sweaty, exhilarated and absolutely wanting more.

Fast forward to the following Tuesday. Due to an eye injury, Aaron was not able to teach the basics class, instead lending me a gi and throwing me into the all-levels class. To say the least, I was terrified, especially when the man himself, Prof. Marcos Escobar came towards me to ask if I had ever done any wrestling, judo or jiu-jitsu before. I managed to stammer 'no' and felt like apologising immediately, but he instantly took me to one side to teach me hip escapes so that I could take part in the class. All through the session he was definitely keeping an eye on me and, with Aaron's encouragement I really enjoyed what little I was able to do before I nearly threw up with exhaustion - grappling cardio is NOT striking cardio! Again, both were extremely understanding and encouraging, showing a level of care that I have never seen in a martial arts class before.

At 12.00 at night, I returned home, again sweaty, exhausted and definitely wanting more! This was how I got hooked on the sport and have come back night after night to be choked, hyper-extended (thanks Su Ling!), admonished and supported through everything. It was also the start of meeting some of the best friends I have ever had and beginning to hang with a new family indeed. My new family of course including Sonia and Fatemeh Namdarian, without whose love and support I would never have come this far in Malaysia, let alone in life over the last year and a half...

It's late, and I'm ready for bed and to tell the story of the last 7 months would take more characters than the Lord of the Rings, but suffice to say that with Leverage, the last 7 months have been a total blast. It's a bit odd perhaps to be picking up this blog in the middle of things, but I hope that gives anyone listening an idea of my start in the sport. From now, I will begin ramblings and thoughts on the sport in general!

Thanks for sticking with me so far and I hope you'll stay around for a bit more!

Nice to meet you, my name is John!