SAVE THE DATE: Baroni vs Leben BARE KNUCKLE

What. A. Time. To. Be. Alive.
These are limitless times, friends.
October 20th. Be there. I will 100% order this stream.
Fun fact: I got to roll with Chris Leben in the Gi at Arena MMA while I was visiting SoCal last year. Add’l fun fact: I rolled with Jesse Taylor (TUF winner) there as well.

Great Moments in Leg Lock History: Oleg Taktarov

Forgot about this one, until I saw Eddie Bravo post it on IG: 

Straight ankle lock, preceded by and inversion to roll through from standing: 

This Guy: Wilson Junior

Wow.
This guy.


"There was Marco Ruas(UFC) vs Roberto Leitao .. I remember Leitao got a triangle on  Ruas and Ruas standing up and slammed him to the wall to see if he released.. I was watching and thinking “fuck” that’s the place to train ."

"He invited me to join their elite no gi training there. As we were supposed to meet there one Monday morning he was late so I was waiting for him outside as one of our local friend passed by: a tough blue belt called Paulo Filho (15×0 on Pride and 4 times World Champion) and invite me to go up. That was my first training there. In that class we had Liborio, Ze mario, Carlson senior him self and Vitor Belfort was training for his first fight against Randy Couture."

"I always try to pass the Carlson Gracie mentality.. Pass and smash! No funky Bjj, no gogoplata,berimbolo and all this faggot stuff.. We do it knee on the face here.
There is no flow rolling here. War has to be the rule at all times, if you can’t take it, you can leave… Many guys didn’t survive our aggressive training and left to other clubs to do Zen Bjj. Here in Carlson, is the place where the children cry and the mother don’t see. If he survives the training he will be a bad mother fucker for sure mate!
One thing I don’t like in my club is a pussy student, here we have fighting Bulldogs.. I want people to know when they see those Bulldogs patches on the other side of the fighting area… You better be ready my friend because it will be nasty.. Ezequiel choke will be over your mouth.. While you are trying your berimbolo someone will crank your foot, better don’t let us pass your guard because knee on the belly will become knee on face, shoulder of justice and other nasty stuff..
That’s how we roll!"

"In 2013 I already announced after this English Open that I will run 4 hour long competition training for the hardcore team, those guys join those classes will get the HardCore Patch to put on their gi.
Also this training will show who is real keen to be good on Bjj and the other who just want to go the Pub and say “I do Bjj” “I do mma” etc…"

"The Gym will not be business man friendly.. Will be cold,dark,rusty irons bars, will be similar a jail with cage fighting and mats. I think the Carlson style will fit perfect in Poland, polish guy are hard workers and very talented"

 

Monday Morning Extra: The Gracies and the Birth of Vale Tudo

Not subtitled, but some great Vale Tudo footage.
 

Helio Gracie Documentary & UFC 144 Ballin' or Busted

Take some time and watch a great documentary on the one and only Helio Gracie.
Jiu-Jitsu has made me a better person, a more caring and humble person, and calmed my more self-destructive side. It has protected me in my MMA fights, given me something of value to seek and strive and pursue, and has literally changed my life. Take some time, watch, learn, and give thanks.

on UFC 144:

I picked 4 fights correctly. Guys like Boetsch, Imura, Lee, and Hunt all played live underdog roles to a "T".
Talk about stingrays/live underdogs on one card. The Okami, Kongo, Yamamoto losses were all what I thought they could be: upsets by a mistake/getting caught.
That's why they call it a fight, right?
And that's why I don't bet real money on MMA anymore, unless the line is just too good to ignore (when Dominic Cruz fought for the belt the first time, or when Mike Brown fought Urijah etc).

Happy Trainingz!

Your Grandfather's Submission Game

I'm not here to debate the effectiveness of various submission styles. Having spent time doing Judo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Submission Wrestling, and some limited time in Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestlings....if it's grappling I am a fan and will spend time learning about it.

From Pankration to Jiu-Jitsu matches to rough and tumble to vale tudo and the like....grapplers have long figured into the toughest man in the room question asked among men the world over.

Whether it's Count Koma traveling the world over, the Catch as Catch Can Carney wrestlers, or Vale Tudo matches in Brazil, the toughest man in the room often knew some grappling in one form or another.

Here's to those that came before whether they wore a Gi, a singlet, shoes, went barefoot, wore a belt, fought at carnivals, on tatame or whatever the case may be.

Happy Trainingz!