LLOYD IRVIN

Nice Lloyd Irvin Interview…www.americanbjjblackbelt.com

BJJ Principle of the Week: Passing the Guard

J-Money!

Purebred Revisted!

Passador!

Sweet video from the Underground…so smooth!

Jiu Jitsu!

Game Plan 2010

Those who plan do better than those who do not plan, even though they rarely stick to their plan – Winston Churchill.  

While I developed a pretty good game plan for 2009 I didn’t “plan” on back surgery…7 months off the mat.  That left really only 5 months of mat time.  Even with that I was still able to accomplish a couple of my goals.  Below is my game plan for 2010.   I’m off to Argentina for about 10 days…then it’s game on!    

Training Game Plan 2010

My Guiding Principles

I will always have a training objective when I spar. I will continually work my weak areas and look at them as opportunities to expand my strengths. My goal in training is not to win but expand my skill-sets…training is not a competition. I will always be humble…ego has no place in a learning environment and will hamper my progress. I will train at least 3 times a week and improve my grappling fitness outside the gym at least 3 times a week. I will continually develop a conservative game with the goal of applying the fundamentals at a high level.

Styles to Emulate: Kron Gracie, Xande Ribeiro, Roger Gracie.

Long Term Goals: (1 to 5 years)
* Acheive Black Belt in BJJ within next 5 years.
* Be competent in both sport and self-defense aspects.
* Next milestone: Achieve Brown Belt end of  2011.

Intermediate Term Goals: (6 months to 1 year)
* Improve escapes from side control and rear mount.
* Develop attacks/defense against turtle position.
* Expand Armbar and cross choke from multiple positions.
* Develop guard recovery against level 3 opponents.
* Train in Brazil 

Short Term Goals: (1 to 6 months)
* Develop weekly schedule to make weak areas strong.

Weak Areas:
* Open Guard
* Throws
* Escapes

Strong Areas:
* Side Control
* Closed Guard
* Stacking Guard Passes

Guard Retention

I’m always looking to increase my understanding of guard retention principles…the more you understand the science of jiu jitsu the less energy you use.    Below is a nice guard pass counter while playing the cross grip.

BJJ Principle of the Week: It’s Easy

Lost on Mars

Imagine being teleported to another planet.  A typical day on your home world you wake up to a beautiful sun rise overlooking crystal blue water.   You might head to your gym for a few rolls and then hang out and talk about among other things…Jiu Jitsu.  You might chow with your bros and talk about MMA, birds, what’s happening that night…and of course Jiu Jitsu.  You might cruise to the beach, maybe paddle board…talk about life, birds and eventually…Jiu Jitsu.   A bird might even fly your way.  Ask you how you are…how’s training going.  If your lucky you might get to give some private lessons.  But now I’m lost on Mars.  This planet has Jiu Jitsu.  It even has beaches.  Too cold to paddle board though.  Had lunch with some friends today…we only talked about birds.  Guess my planet and Mars has something in common after all.  The Jiu Jitsu ain’t bad either.  Bjj4life!

 

13N/144E Revisited

 

Options

The Kimura was the first submission I could hit with a pretty high percentage.  Of course it didn’t take long for my teammates to figure out how to counter my one submission.  Building off the Kimura I started looking for options.  The first video shows some basic but important details to setting up the Kimura or Armlock.  The second video shows a version of a nice option I originally saw on a Renato Tavares DVD that I still use today.      

Two for the Price of One: The Mendes Brothers!

Yamato Damashii

There was an interesting poll on the Fightworks Podcast a couple of weeks ago.  Is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu a sport, martial art, or both?    

Martial arts: Systems of codified practices and traditions of training for combat.

When you think of Jiu Jitsu you have to think of the Samurai.  Jiu-Jitsu was originally utilized, practiced and perfected on the battlefield.  The earliest recorded use of the word “Jiu-Jitsu” appears in 1532 when Hisamori Tenenuchi established the first school of Jiu-Jitsu in Japan.  Jiu Jitsu is a Martial Art.

Sport:  An activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively.

Jiu Jitsu became popular in recent years do to its total domination in the early UFC and is a staple art for mma competitors.  Competitive Jiu Jitsu tournaments continue to grow in popularity worldwide and have given rise to no-gi submission grappling tournaments.  Jiu Jitsu is a Sport. 

Yamato Damashii:  Warrior or Samurai spirit (the soul of old Japan).

Bushido (way of the warrior) was the Samurai’s moral code.  Bushido stresses frugality, loyalty, martial arts mastery and honor unto death.  Jiu Jitsu practictioners must master these qualities if they hope to achieve the black belt.  Jiu Jitsu transcends the practice of chokes, joint locks, immobilizations, throws and strikes. It provides a path to a healthier life.  It provides a path to the most effective use of physical, mental and spiritual strength.  It provides a path to exhaust the body…proceed the mind…cultivate the spirit.  Jiu Jistu is both a martial art and sport but most importantly…Jiu Jitsu is a lifestyle.

Da Sweep

The “Saulo  or Xande Sweep” is popular at my school…which makes it harder to hit.  Below are some nice follow-ups to add to the arsenal when your opponent counters.