300

There are a lot of "300" inspired workouts floating around at the moment, this is the basic version of the one Ive been using for the last two months or so and Ive had some really good results with.
By using natural body weight conditioning exercises and a unique, non-stop superset concept, 300 workout's unleash your natural growth hormones and jump start your metabolism and as a result help increase fat burning.
Ive made good strenght/conditioning gains and even improved my flexibility by using full range of motion exercises.

This is the basic version of the workout that Ive been doing. I started with this one for my first 3 weeks or so. I wasnt getting to roll as often as Id like then so was doing the workout 3 times a week.
Remember there are no "one size fits all" workouts out there. We need to be constantly assessing ourselves in 3 aspects: technique, physical conditioning and mental prep.
As this article is based on conditioning thats what we will address. As I said we need to be constantly assessing ourselves, do you find yourself gassing in training, lacking flexibility or getting out muscled all the time and by guys your weight or lighter. There are some guide-lines for basic strength requirements for jiu-jitsu, which Ill put up in another post.
It's important to remeber that jiu-jitsu is technique based but when we are talking competition jiu-jitsu attributes become more important but you should never be trying to out muscle opponents as there is always someone stronger, however as a competitor one still needs a base level of strength and conditioning.
This workout is an excellent one in that it hits these requirements really quickly and requires very little time and needs no equipment other than somewhere to do pull ups.

The workout consists of 5 pairs of exercises done back to back in a super-set fashion until you have done 30 reps of each in good form! Each workout you try to improve your time (once you are doing all the reps correctly that is).

Basic 300:

1a) push ups
1b) chin ups

2a) full range of motion, flat footed squats
2b) slow full range janda sit ups

3a) hindu push ups
3b) body-weight rows (i loop my jiu-jitsu belt over my pull up bar for these=good grip work at same time)

4a) wide stance, toes out full squats
4b) slow full range twisting crunch (left and then right = 1 rep)

5a) sprinter lunge (left and right = 1 rep)
5b) basic burpee (full squat palms to floor between your legs, jump feet to push up position then jump back to bottom squat position and then stand up)

Time yourself, keep form very strict on all exercises, and try to improve your time. I managed to get my intermediate version done on Friday in 25 minutes, which i was stoked with as Ive improved my time a lot since I started.
Let me know if you have any questions. Enjoy and train hard and smart!
Micah

Friday Inspiration

The important thing is this:
To be ready at any moment
to sacrifice what you are
for what you could become.

Andre Galvao and Leo Viera

Here is a cool clip of Andre Galvao and Leo Viera playing around with the stability ball. The stability ball is a great tool to use to help your jiu-jitsu. It can help develope strength, conditioning and very important dynamic balance which will help with passing the guard.
Ive got a couple of cool instructional clips I found to get you started that Ive been playing around with and I definately recon it's worth a go, it will help your balance and it's a lot of fun!
Use this clip to give you some ideas and to motivate you to get your hands on a ball.
Ill post the first instructional clip to get you started with this weekend.

(Cant let Darell be the only person squatting on the ball :-)! )

Andre Galvao

This an awesome interview and glimpse at some older training footage of Andre Galvao. Ive got some more and will post it asap, also will stick up my current body-weight workout that Ive had a few requests for and that Ive been getting really good results with.
Enjoy
Micah

Monday Inspiration...

"If you believe, then you have already taken the first step towards your achievement."

Gracie Diet

Combination Tables

These tables are the heart of the Gracie diet. By understanding and following the matches established in them correctly, the chemical combination of the foods are believed to be respected, always maintaining a neutral pH of the blood.This is believed will make digestion easier, as well as prevent and even combat ailments.
I often get asked for advice regarding the diet as I have have attempted to follow it for several years now and have definately felt healthier for it. I am no expert but these tables are definately the starting point.

Other observations are waiting at least 4 1/2 hours between meals to allow for complete digestion and avoiding incorrect combinations.

• Egg yolk (raw or cooked), coconut, coffee, brewers yeast, and many varieties of teas are compatible with any food, for they are considered neutral.
• Avoid: Sweets, canned goods, black pepper, clove, cinnamon, mustard, pickled foods, and vinegar.
• Never eat: Pork and derivatives.
• Bread: to be less fermentable, shall be made out of pure or natural flour and eaten 24 hours after baked. Also, it should be eaten as toast or oven warmed.
• No alcoholic beverages.
• No smoking.
• Drinking a glass of water when you get up and before you go to sleep.

Good sources for more info are Master Helio Gracie's book "Gracie Jiu-jitsu" and Royce Gracie's "SuperFit". Royce in his book includes Protein shakes and MRP bars and shakes between meals to increase calories and ensure nutritional requirements are met during periods of hard training.
In a recent interview on the fighters podcast the legendary Rickson Gracie mentioned that he believed life is about moderation, metioning that he ate 6 small meals a day, (still following the combinations) and not taking anything to extreme but maintained his fathers belief that most disease enters through our mouthes.

I have had good results following the diet and believe it's worth experimenting with even if it just leads you to eat healthier, drinking more water, eat more fruit and vegetables and eating less meat.
It's also worth remembering that jiu-jitsu is the ultimate form of self-defence and that self-defence is more than just throws and chokes, it's about defending ourselves against bad habits like smoking and eating crap. Respecting ourselves and others and conducting ourselves with humility and respect.

Inspiration...

Self-respect is the fruit of discipline.

Passing The Guard-Pt1

Passing the guard is a huge part of Jiu-jitsu, and one that you will spend a great deal of time working on.
Ive been fortunate enough to get to train with some guys with really slick guard games so have been making a conscious effort to work on my passing game-plan.
Im a big fan of Mike Fowler and came across this clip on youtube, which is an exerpt from his excellent no-gi instructional dvd set.
It's a worthwhile starting point as he covers some great concepts and principles that apply to all types of passing and have helped my guard passing.
Enjoy.

Inspiration

"Size doesnt matter, if it did, the elephant would be the king of the jungle."
Rickson Gracie

Killer Omopalata's and The King

Inspiration...

I have learned that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.
–Henry David Thoreau

Gameplan Design

The Gameplan is an organisational tool that will help streamline your training and allow it to always have direction.
It's basicly a start to finish outline of what you use on the mat, from shaking hands to submission.
Ideally do a rough draft on paper but keep it as a word document as it makes it easier to update, and you should be updating it regularly! It's a living thing and you will be adjusting and refining it all the time.

It's a framework of techniques for each position, i.e. CLOSED GUARD: armbar-triangle-... you will then have details for all you've learnt for each of these, i.e. triangle: control the head, clamp down with shin etc.

It's very important that you use a standardized format and terminology so that if you look back in 6 months you know what the heck you were talking about.

STARTING: Standing: Gi: your gripping system, grips you work for, takedowns, pull guard
No Gi Standing: armdrag single ,double leg etc
*note:these are just hypothetical examples to give you ideas.

Important that you have CONTINGENCY SITUATIONS, what ifs...
Must have your objectives outlined at the start of each position:
e.g.GUARD: Objectives: submit, sweep, take the back, submit!
(important to note that you must have gi and no gi gameplans for each position, they may very well be similar but should still be seperate. Can even have MMA gameplan.)
e.g.GI GUARD -double wrist control to push/pull triangle
-collar and sleeve control to cross choke-armabar-triangle



Dont just list every technique that you know! That could go on for pages and pages and isnt focused enough.
Must have Positions Of Referance
e.g. for guard, double wrist control, collar/sleeve, etc then have options in bullet form off that.

Position
-initial grip 1
-initial grip 2 -option 1
-option 2...
Then contingency plan:
-if he escapes triangle-hard transition to omopalata
-look to face plant opponent
-get sweep
It's also important to have transitions- if in a scramble need to look for POSITIONS OF REFERANCE,i.i to lock in a submission or position.
e.g if opp passing your guard and it's almost passed, dont be stubborn and hang on just to waste energy and get passed, have transitions planned.
Getting guard passed- turtle out-granby roll to reposition guard
-hit double or single leg
-turtle guard sweep

Now work your way through all 8 Primary Positions doing the same thing.
BACK-MOUNT-SIDE-KNEE RIDE-ATTACKING TURTLE-GUARD-OPEN GUARD-HALF GUARD

It's also important to include "your" techniques, find the techniques that work for YOU in each position.
You dont have to include every conceivable type of guard. If you suck at butterfly guard, dont play it, likewise for De La Riva Guard etc stick to the 8 primary positions and work from there.
It can be as deatilaed or simple as necessary.
Remember this is your A-Game!! Choose techniques that you would use to step onto the mat and win now.

This is where the learning happens as it will allow you to now start to identify the holes in your game. The areas you need to work on get stuck onto your training game-plan or your B-Game and get worked on, when you pulling them off regularly then add it to your A-Game.

Once done the primary positions then remember their opposites, i.e under mount, passing guard etc.
I know the initial process is a pain in the a$$ to get started but you just need to do it! Once the basic outline is done it gets easier and starts to come alive.

I hope this helps, if you have any questions give me a shout and Ill do my best to try answer them.
Now get that gameplan down!

Monday Inspiration

"Our fears don't stop death, they stop life."

Roger is 2X Absolute World Champion

Roger Gracie's the big name at the World Championship 2009.
With his win over Romulo Barral with a choke from the mount in the absolute black belt final, he wrote his name into the hall of two-time winners of Jiu-Jitsu's most prestigious category along with Amaury Bitetti (96 and 97), Rodrigo Comprido (99 and 2000), Márcio Pé de Pano (2002 and 2003), Ronaldo Jacaré (2004 and 2005) and Xande Ribeiro (2006 and 2008).
Roger had 9 fights and finished all 9 in the same fashion, pass,mount and choke. (gameplans? worthwhile?:-) )
There are 9 pictures identical to the one above, just each with a different opponent on the receiving end. It's also great to see what are generally considered "basics" being used against the best in the world. How often do you hear,"basics! basics!".

Marcelo Garcia was back on form and won the middle-weight division.
For more results go to www.ibjjf.org and check graciemag.com

Inspiration...

Courage does not always roar.
Sometimes courage is the quiet voice
At the end of the day saying
“I will try again tomorrow”.

2009 Worlds Have Begun!

The 2009 World Championships are on the go at the moment in the U.S. again, it appears the Championships new home.
The middle-weight division is stacked with incredible talent and will definately be the division to keep an eye on.
Some of the names in the 38 fighter bracket include: Mike Fowler, Kron Gracie, Lucas Leite (the guy who edged out Kron earlier this year on points in the finals), Edson Diniz, Regis Lebre and Marcelo Garcia!
Featherweight will also see "Cobrinha" stacked against Mario Reis and Rafael Mendes who beat him earlier in the Abu Dhabi World Pro Cup in a six-minute match, Cobrinha apparently cracked a smile. “So let’s see, with 10-minute matches, things are different. I’m going to turn on the turbines the whole ten minutes, without stopping.”
Xande Ribeiro defending open weight Champion is out due to injury.
There are going to be some awesome matches this weekend!
Micah

Gameplans Why Bother?

Firstly it gives you a way to constantly evaluate your performance in class and competition (if you compete). Im always amazed at how many guys say they feel they arent improving but when I ask what they are working on they just stare at me blankly. Either that or they change their focus constantly without any structure. Having a gameplan allows you to really evaluate your game all the time. It also allows you to identify and eliminate weak points and improve a lot quicker than if you just wing it as you go.

It gives you a big confidence boost and really allows you to focus your taining as you can eliminate the "what do I do know!?" situations in class as you can work out what you are trying to achieve offensively and defensively in each position. This is also where the evaluation and elimination of weak points come in as now after training, you can quickly think where you did well and if there was a point you got stuck or didnt know what to do you can identify what you need to work on.
You can chat to your coach or training partnersfor help, or work it out yourself. There is so much information available now for jiu-jitsu it's awesome, books,dvd's the internet. Identify where you have holes or weak points in your game andwork on them. But you cant do this if you dont even have a gameplan.

Ill discuss next time some basic tips on how to structure a gameplan.

“He who fails to plan, plans to fail”.

Inspiration

"Not the past, not the future, life is now."

Rickson Gracie