Ze Grapplez: Grappling & MMA News + Commentary: UFC Rio

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Day 5 of 7 on Attacking the L3gz: The Rise of Toquinho

Found this online the other day.
Appropriate as Day 5 of 7 regarding monsters who prey on legs

The Rise of Toquinho from stuart cooper Films on Vimeo.

Happy Trainingz!

Cachorrao (Ricardo Almeida) On Teaching Jiu-Jitsu

Through his facebook (ah, the new millenium) Cachorrao,Ricardo Almeida, a former UFC fighter, mixed martial artist, & Renzo Gracie BJJ Black Belt had disparaging words for teachers who don't roll with their students.

You can read the original post on Graciemag, and below is the message:

Instructors who don’t train with their students are a fraud.
A lot of the time it’s because they’re scared of getting subbed in front of the group.
The day I get scared of getting subbed I’ll stop teaching.
And I hate tapping out!
It’s not because I’ll think I’m worse if I lose a match or sparring session.
It’s because I’m a perfectionist, and I’m really bothered by technical blunders.
Being a black belt has nothing to do with invincibility; it has to do with the art of improving on what we do and persevering in the midst of adversity.
Have a great week—in and out of the academy.
---

I've had the fortune of virtually all of my Judo coaches always having been hands on teachers. Both in mat work and in throwing. I've visited clubs where age, weight, or ego has perhaps led to a decline in how often instructors do Judo with their students. Realistically, in Judo, after years in the sport, I understand perhaps not doing standing randori with younger players as the injuries do take a toll (as my knees will attest). But mat work and such should continue to be a part of training through exchange and live rolling.

That being said, I've heard and seen in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructors (who are fraudulent belts) that don't roll with students, or that only roll with higher belts. I understand that a spastic white belt can injure a black belt who perhaps makes much of his true income on private lessons. Yet, I am torn in discerning how often an instructor "should" (for who am I to say) be hands on.

Perhaps, as a lighter weight player, my ego has been sufficiently smashed early on that survival and perhaps just winning by dominating positionally and transitioning is enough for me some days.
As a pluma or pena peso weight class, this is a life long understanding.
- Happy Trainingz!

***AND....b/c I'm continually working on my diet as a tool to aid my training, recovery, and stamina in training: a post also from Graciemag highlighting what Vitor Belfort eats in the mornings to aid the cutting of weight (and it looks delicious!)

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Rousimar "Toquinho" Palhares: Hype video for UFC 142/Rio

Off topic, but a recent interview with former UFC welterweight contender Karo Parisiyan on his ups and downs in the sport, training, and life.

Building off of yesterday's post about attacking the feets/knee/legs, I came across a pre-fight video montage with Palhares (recent UFC heel hooker, David Avellan kneebar-er, vicious ADCC competitor et cetera).
Similar to the previous video the UFC put out about him where he chronicles his struggles, this one features the inimitable Murilo Bustamante offering some thoughts on Palhares as well.

Not since Masakazu Imanari has a mixed martial artist with an affinity for crippling leg locks been so successful.