Bushido Notebook

"All models are wrong; some models are useful"--George Edward Pelham Box Just like all pizza is not good pizza, the same holds true as jiujitsu: Not all jiujitsu is good jiujitsu. Even with the jiujitsu of the Gracie's, not all Gracie JiuJitsu is the same jiujitsu either. One Professor’s jiujitsu is not the same as another Professor's jiujitsu. One Professor may be a small man and emphasize technique and timing over power more than a Professor that developed as a very athletic, large player who may emphasize technique and timing less.  So having a black belt from one is not the same as having a black belt from another. I'm not saying that one is better than the other I am just saying that one style does not equate to the other. There’s no such thing as “the best” martial art.  Martial arts are the best for what they were developed for.  The martial arts of my Bushido are taekwondo (TKD), MCMAP (and subsequently (LINE), and judo/jiujitsu.  TKD known for its ki...

E·go ˈēɡō/ noun a person's sense of self-esteem or self-importance. "a boost to my ego" self-esteem, self-importance, self-worth, self-respect, self-image, self-confidence "the defeat was a bruise to his ego" It's easy to say check it at the door, but like shrimping, it ain't easy. (“Shrimpin’ ain’t easy.”) Ego gets in the way of jiujiitsu in lots of ways.  One way is in feeling like you have to win, all the time.  When you are tapping someone out ego prevents you from developing weaker parts of your game because you are afraid to lose.  Ego also keeps your partners from developing their game because every roll becomes a competition and not training. Ego makes you want to defeat people you may not be able to due to size, skill level, age, or other factors.  You may mentally defeat yourself with negative feedback based on your own ego.  Ego can also make you feel like you deserve something you don't, such as belt promotion.  No one deser...

The wait between promotions can be nerve wracking when you know you’re close, in that you’ve put in the hours on the mat, the time in your current rank, and feel as though you are performing and demonstrating competence on the mats.  It could be a week, a month or a year...you just don’t know.  It’s up to the subjectivity of your professor.  A lot of old school professors don't give any clue, rhyme, or reason for their promotions.  The student has no way of gauging if or when they will earn their belt.  This is terrible for all types of reasons, but also good in some ways. One of the terrible reasons is the anxiety that builds up in the student who wants to have objective targets and goals for improvement and reward. The good of it is that it teaches someone to let go of that expectation and to play Jiujitsu for the sake of playing Jiujitsu, living in the moment versus pursuing a goal for the future. It also forces the student to have faith in their professor...

I'll say this up front: I am not a competitor. I practice jiujitsu for self-defense and for personal development. Leg attacks are not a big deal for me mainly because I don't compete. I rarely do them but I am as a brown belt in jiujitsu, only a one or two stripe white belt, so to speak, with leg attacks. I’ve started using straight ankle locks here and there, but I don’t dare to get into the game of knees just yet until I have learned to properly protect myself and protect my training partners. Dave has a very evolved leg methodology that I have to get some more perspective on, probably in private lessons. Inside, outside, high, and low. I’ll put some more notes to this, but it’s a hierarchy of what leg attacks have advantage of the other. Basically if the opponents spine is the center line, where your legs should be to protect yourself while attacking their legs, and what leg locks have tactical advantages over a potential counter leg attack...in other words ...

Kaizen is a Japanese word composed of two words “KAI” means change and “ZEN” means better. Put together it means change for the better or improvement. Kaizen is a quality management philosophy of making small improvements over time. It is the process of continuous improvement in small increments that make the process more efficient, effective, and controllable.  It is used in manufacturing by companies like Toyota in Japan.  I am adapting this concept to apply to jiujitsu.  Using continuous improvement practices through the course of a jiujitsu career you never stop improving on techniques.  Once you, for example, pass a belt test and move on to more challenging techniques and concepts you don’t just stop improving on the previous set.  The goal is to continuously improve on what you have already learned while continuing to take ownership of additional techniques and incorporating them into your own game, or style of jiujitsu play.  You improve and updat...

The Path to the Black Belt I came into jiujitsu with the purpose of 1) learning self-defense and 2) getting a black belt to affirm my proficiency and so that I can certify my children's technique and award them with belts as they earn them.  The path isn't as simple as I thought it would be.  I thought I would have to learn techniques and at some point have to demonstrate those techniques to be awarded a belt.  When I first started I found out that time limits and promotions were subjective and completely up to your coach/instructor.  I didn't care for this approach.  There was no set curriculum or time limits.  It was very general.  Basically one should be submitting 90% of people at their current belt level before being considered for promotion.  That was about it.  If you "looked" like you were ready for a stripe, you got a stripe.  4 stripes and then when you "looked like" you were ready for the next belt it was handed to yo...

The Gracie Academy has been able to reach out and gain influence in the jiujitsu community effectively acquiring schools through a de-facto affiliation.  The attraction has been through marketing their teaching methods via Gracie University, using that as a tool to gain and retain students and to grow your school and profits.  The gateway is Gracie Combatives (GC).  I recently completely and passed the GC online test, scoring high enough to qualify to attend the instructor certification course held at the Gracie Academy in Torrance, CA.  Currently a brown belt with over ten years jiujitsu experience I found the program surprisingly challenging and effective as a tool for teaching good self-defense techniques and providing an organized baseline by which to engage and measure my progress.  The good, the bad and the..the "it's up to you": The Good: There is an organized curriculum with highly detailed instruction on the philosophy of the training et...

I got a question the other day from one of the Academy's white belt students. He said that it seems like I am the only instructor that teaches throws and asked why I taught throws.  There are a lot of ways that I could answer the question, but the sake of time I just said that I teach the Academy curriculum first and that I also teach related judo throws from which the curriculum originated.  I went on to say that if they watched videos of Master Helio Gracie from several decades ago he is doing throws.  Judo throws.  He was listed at a 7th dan with the Kodokan and was even asked to teach there.  I have seen video of Royce Gracie competing in judo tournaments.  I have seen jiujitsu competitions with Royler Gracie doing judo takedowns.  So many people either don't know or refuse to admit that the Gracie style of jiujitsu has its origins in old school judo, which itself is a style or offshoot of Japanese jujitsu.  Japanese jujitsu didn't skip jud...

In martial arts it can take 2-3 years just learning how to use your own body.  You spend the next 2 years perfecting imposing your techniques on the opponent.  Jiujitsu takes it a step further....spending the next 5+  years learning how to make the opponent fall into your techniques instead of you imposing your techniques on him.  Striking martial arts, such as taekwondo, it takes around 4 years to earn a black belt legitimately.  Much of this time is learning how to use your own body to deliver techniques on an opponent.  Learning to kick someone in the face, for example.  Now imagine from that point learning how to trick your opponent into falling their face into your kick.  That's jiujitsu.  It isn't enough to put someone into a choke or armbar.  Anyone can do that with little training.  Jiujitsu in part is learning how to trick your opponent into falling directly into your technique, without you having to forcefully impose your...

Last night I got beat down on the mats, again.  I am a purple belt and couldn't sweep 2 white belts, passing the guard of a blue belt, and surviving with two brown belts.  It isn't the first night that I have had a hard time lately either.  What in the world is wrong with me lately. I went home with my head low, thinking into the night and mentally reviewing each more, drill and roll with each partner.  I didn't have any excuses.  I mean, I should have made a bunch of them.  The white belts and blue belt all outweighed me by at least 30-50 pounds or more.  The two brown belts are the top non-black belts at the Academy.  On and on.  But there are always excuses and they all stink.  I have always been this size since starting jiujitsu and I am not getting any bigger, so nothing is new.  I just have to tighten things up and move on.  I remembered at some point during my sulking though that this isn't the fir...

I'd taken to learning techniques via video a few years ago. It is a great way to pass on techniques because as a student I can watch it as many times as I want and replicate the technique. The down side is that I don't have the instructor there to ask questions. Either way I thought it was good to go. Then I went to a seminar with Shaolin a few months ago. he was pretty point blank that he is against that type of learning. Maybe he is just old school or something. Lots of the "masters" are against that kind of training. But then again lots are for it. Just depends I guess. For me it is all about what you do with it. I think that some are against it because that means that students learn faster, therefore it makes them less important in the learning process, so why should a student pay them for what they can get cheep or free over the Internet and other sources? So then instructors institute minimum class hours in order to get promotions. Ok, well, makes sen...

There's been lots of controversy in the Brazilian jiujitsu community over Rorion Gracie and his sons' Gracie University, which enables people to learn and earn rank, primarily online. Many of the purest out there are outraged because of the far harder road they've had to take to get a belt. Here are some opinions of my own in posts to online communities about it: It's both and a great business strategy. But here's my thing: I practice both judo and GJJ.....which in my opinion is a subset of judo. Judo kata or GU simulated combat: What's the difference? I think there are many issues at play here, two of which are knowing the techniques for promotion and two, being able to apply them to an unwilling person. Up to blue belt I can understand just knowing the techniques, but beyond that in my opinion the point is to be able to apply them to an unwilling opponent. Another thing is that I don't get the 600 techniques that the Gracie Academy is talking about. I m...

I am admittedly a judo novice. Though I have practiced judo on and off for many years to supplement my self-defense training and more specifically my MCMAP and jiujitsu , I have only been a judo player for about a year, since I began preparing for and received my blue belt from Sensei Maurice Allan. I have noted, however, that within judo there are many styles, based on the backgrounds of the players involved and the teaching styles of their masters. Some of these styles include Greco -Roman and other types of wrestling, Sombo (a Russian derivation of judo), and Brazilian Jiujitsu ( BJJ ) (a Brazilian derivation of judo). Playing with other judoka I've noticed that BJJ players tend to be uncomfortable in the standing phase of the fight but very comfortable on the ground, particularly in the guard, though unfortunately sometimes to their own detriment. BJJ players tend to fall naturally into the guard when taken down and lose matches that way in judo tournaments. I...

In the previous Judo vs. Jiujitsu article I discussed some of the similarities and differences between Judo and Brazillian Jiujitsu (BJJ). I continue to ponder what makes them two separate, distinct arts, despite the similarities and history. What makes them different? In trying to discover this I thought about why it is that I study both and what it is that I enjoy and get out of them. I often see and growing distinction between BJJ and Gracie Jiujitsu, the Gracie brand of BJJ. Grand-Master Helio Gracie in particular distinguishes his jiujitsu as a means of self-defense and not a sport. BJJ has become more and more a sport, and more techniques are integrated regularly that have very little practicl self-defense applications, but are great for sport competition. I began the study of Gracie Jiujitsu for this reason, the emphasis on self-defense. I recall using, unsuccessfully, a sport jiuijtsu technique in training once, and promising myself to not go down that path again. S...

I received a black belt, in taekwondo, at the age of 17 after over 3 1/2 years of training, yet, I still had no confidence in my ability to defend myself, much less fight. I had some techniques and skill sets that gave me an advantage a few years later at the age of 20 when I joined the Marines and we practiced LINE training and had boxing matches. Yet, I still had little confidence in my ability to protect myself. I became a green belt Marine Corps Martial Arts Instructor at 26 years old. A three week school, I began getting the first feelings of true confidence due to the rigorous training that went into learning how to fight. At 29 years old I was introduced to Brazilian Jiujitsu (BJJ). Within a few months I had far more confidence in myself than ever before up to that point. Years later again now at the age of 33 I have earned my brown belt in the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP). I have more confidence in myself now than ever before. As I look back I wonder to ymself wh...

Since the very inception of judo it has had to defend itself from the skeptics of whether or not it could hold its own against jujitsu. Judo, created by Dr. Jigoro Kano in 1882, was conceived from jujitsu originally, but with many of the more dangerous techniques removed and with an emphasis on sportsmanship and personal development rather than purely a combative art. Among judo's first tests again jujitsu was with the Tokyo Police in 1886. The police department was searching for a fighting method for its officers. 15 judo players versus 15 jujitsu players from a rival school. Judo won 13 of the 15 matches. The rivalry moved forward when years later in 1951 Brazilian jiujitsu (note spelling), founded by the Gracie family of Brazil, took on Japans judo masters in competition. Brazilian jiujitsu ( BJJ ), however, is not the jujitsu of old from Japan. BJJ is a derivative of the original form of judo brought to Brazil by a judo master. At that time judo was often calle...

Endurance Conditioning: During sparring sessions, judo stand-up in particular, I used to find myself getting very tired, very fast. Part of it is breathing and relaxation, but another part of it is lack of conditioning. Some ways to condition the cardio are running and swimming, and better yet, combining the two. Running, depending on your own level of fitness, might be jogging for middle distance (2-4 miles) 2-3 times per week. You can supplement this with 40 yard prints at the end of the run. 1-10 sprints is sufficient, depending on your level of conditioning. The goal of the distance runs should be to improve your time every time you run. As for swimming, 1000 meter swims with minimal breaks is optimal for basic conditioning. Relaxation and controlled is a key to judo success as well as swimming. At the end of the 1000 meters and a 5 minute break, 50m sprints are a good way to max out after a swim, similar to sprints after a run. 2-10 is a good number, depending on your per...

In the last three years I've attended several Brazilian Jiujitsu (BJJ) seminars given by BJJ masters, mostly named Gracie. I wanted to see what ancient secrets these jiujitsu mystics had to teach that would give me the edge in my Bushido. The seminars, lasting from 3 hours to an entire 3-day weekend, go through an overwhelming amount of information and techniques. All of it great information...many techniques I wouldn't have figured out, or maybe even learned for years, if ever!.....Hardly of it anything I could remember once I got back on the mat the next week! How was I to be a true student of the art if I couldn't remember the techniques from the professors for more than a few hours? I should have paid attention to what I saw a few of the other students doing...a few blue belts and ALL of the purple belts.....they all had pens and varying levels of worn out notebooks. They were the true students....I might as well have been a guy paying good money to watch a demonstr...

I remember watching the first Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and watching Royce Gracie submit all challengers with his chokes and arm-bars.....it was like magic at the time. Years later when I first started Brazilian Jiujitsu (BJJ) I just wanted to put on the chokes that I'd learned in the Marine Corps and the arm-bars I was learning in class but I was finding that they were far easier to execute on a static partner than during sparring (rolling, randori). I found myself getting lucky here and there, but more and more often not even going for arm-bars because I'd end up getting reversed and submitted myself, or getting frustrated that I wasn't even getting a chance to try out my techniques because I was busy defending myself from them, especially from the more advanced students. It was like being a rag doll for months on end. That's no fun at all, and if it isn't fun, then why go to practice? The submissions are one of the more exciting things about practic...

Typically in Brazilian jiujitsu (BJJ) classes an instructor or senior student will teach 3 or 4 techniques and the students then practice them. They might be related or combinations, and they might not. One thing that happened to me as a beginner student is that I was overwhelmed with techniques and I still didn’t have a handle on the basics, much less the ability to add tools to my game. For a while I was frustrated because I couldn’t learn it all fast enough, and thought that maybe I was just a slow learner, until I realized two things: (1) the other new students with less than 6 months experience in BJJ were having the same issue, and (2) the blue belts with few or no stripes had really good basics, but rarely used the fancier, seemingly complicated techniques that were often taught in class. When I came to that realization I decided to come up with a methodology for my own training so that I was improving on my basics while still learning new techniques, but without overwhelming...