On Rolling...

It's often discussed how intensely you should be rolling in class to get the most out of training.

I believe there is a time and place for very hard, competition style training but ama firm believer that at least 70% of training should be with lots of control and very little ego.

The idea is to be in as many situations as possible in training to gain as much experience both defending every conceivable situation but also attempting your posisitions and techniques without the fear of failure or injury.

The reason for training is to get better, not prove to ourselves or whoever that we are better than our training partners and friends.

I came across a great clip of Ryron Gracie (Helio Gracie's grandson) training with a student and explaining his mindset while training with a student. It's a longish clip, around 8-9minutes or so but worth sitting through, and getting a glimpse into the thought processes of a higher belt practitioner while training.

Cool Physio Ball Drills!

Well Done Bro

"Don’t wait until you die to learn the warrior’s way. Do it now, each night, just before you drift off to sleep. As you review your day, consider these two questions of courage and love. Learn from each day, so that each day you can show a little more courage and a little more love. Then, as incidents occur, you may rise to the occasion and look back at the end of your life and feel good about the way you lived.” - Dan Millman

Science vs. Faith

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=110997741

I came across this very interesting article that attempts to raise questions in the reader about the scientific nature of God in our lives.

This is a topic I have spent some time trying to figure out in my own life.
I have studied many types of religions and cultures that possess significant spiritual faith.
My personal experiences have taken me through an incredible amount of personal discovery. For most of my life my faith wasn't a true faith. After several events across a span of time I believe Im now fairly "religious" and faithful that God exists.

When I read or hear about scientific discovery from doctors, psychologist, and neuroscientist I get a strong sense that they are presenting scientific data to us as fact, but yet are still very uncertain about many things in our universe and themselves.
When I hear stories from religious, spiritual, or faithful people I get a sense they are trying to do the same thing except have less of a need to define everything.

The question I always ask myself is whether or not the information being offered to me is going to enhance my ability to persevere and succeed in life or is it going to diminish my faith in God and myself which ultimately leads to increased fear and inhibiting doubt.

What I know to be true in my life, is that finding a source of positive emotional and cognitive energy will help you endure and eventually combat the massive amounts of negativity fueling the imbalance of our civilization.

Factual explanations in an every changing world seem to be fleeting. Coming and going like the whether.

Stay faithful to the things that forge your physical, mental and spiritual strength because the storm of doubt is always looming in the heavens.

Jiu-jitsu Mindset

A hand shake and a hug, this is how you’ll end your class (at least the handshake, sometimes the hug).

This is the way we end, face to face with a grip and a smile, by acknowledging everyone in class, by recognizing them and appreciating them. This is the way we build brotherhood.

You have just spent the last hour or two trying to conquer your partner, trying to learn and sometimes we bruise our partner’s ego.
But in the end, we are friends, we are family.
This is jiu-jitsu, a simple connection between two people.

The handshake and hug are gestures of our art, they are symbols of our relevance, of our unity.

by Mark Johnson

BJJ Workouts!

I often get asked for advice with regards to conditioning for BJJ.
It can be a really difficult task balancing everything, work, family, training, recreation time, studying...and then still find the time and energy for conditioning outside of Jiu-jitsu.

A lot of routines dont work for the average guy who has a life outside of Jiu-jitsu but still wants to be in as good a condition as possible for Jiu-jitsu (allowing us to get the most out of training, stay injury free and be in shape to compete). Routines often demand too much of our time, time we often just dont have, and also cut heavily into our recovery ability.
While others arent specific to the demands of our sport (for Jiu-jitsu should read - way of life).

Ive been training Jiu-jitsu for going on 14 years now and have always had an interest in physical training, especially for sport and especially Jiu-jitsu.
Ive read, watched, studied, worked with and spoken to a lot of peaople about conditioning and even lecture on an Exercise Science Degree.
But Im a big believer in the concept of Mentorship in self-developement.
Having someone we can turn to for advice and guidance in certain areas of our life.
There are a lot of good strength and conditioning coaches out there now, but only a VERY small handfull with not only the know how but also the experience of designing conditioning routines for, not only Jiu-jitsu athletes but Jiu-jitsu players with "real lives", those who dont have the luxury of training twice a day every day.
But one of the best Ive come across and have been fortunate enough to call "Coach" is Jason C. Brown.

I first came across Coach Jason several years ago when I got a dvd on Kettlebells For Combat Grapplers, which he had done with Zac Evan Esch (another great strength coach!).
I emailed Coach Jason for some training advice and was blown away with the results I achieved, since then he's been my go to Coach for strength and conditioning advice.
Jason has years of experience not only working with both high level Jiu-jitsu athletes and the rest of us, but also training and is a Purple Belt in Jiu-jitsu himself.
Jason is an expert in the field of fitness and conditioning training and a really good person.
I cant recomend Coach Jason C. Brown highly enough, (thats why I turn to him for advice :-) ).
His sight BJJWORKOUTS.COM which has a link here on my site is a great source for training information and advice, he also offers a couple of awesome products such as his new online programs KETTLEBELL TRAINING FOR BJJ 2.0, Expert Program Critique coaching by email and his new product with Brown Belt Josh Vogel LEVERAGE: FIRST BLOOD.

Leverage:First Blood is awesome! Although aimed at people fairly early on in their BJJ careers, I believe it's focus on the FUNDAMENTALS of Jiu-jitsu AND conditioning make it a great product for everyone.
Fundamentals are the core concepts, the basics behind everything we do in Jiu-jitsu and are the things that the high level guys have mastered and allow them to do the amazing things they do on the mat.
They are our foundation!

Ive spent a lot of money over the years on both Jiu-jitsu and conditioning tuition and instructional material and this is, in my opinion, a definate must.
There is a link to both Coach Jasons BJJ Workouts site and the Leverage program on my blog page where you will be able to get lots more info about him and the programs.

Check them out, train hard and train smart.
Have a good weekend
Micah