Rickson Gracie advises on how to train and roll.

Rickson Gracie advises on how to train and roll. He emphasizes the fact that Jiu-Jitsu practisioners should focus on the thecnical side first without using their physical assets. In the words of Rickson himself :


 

 

“Even when you spar during training, you should minimize your natural talents. By limiting yourself, you may find yourself in much worse situation, but you are forced to think your way out, using techniques you would not have otherwise used. When you start doing this, you begin to understand what is really wrong in a certain situation and you begin to understand what actually needs to be done in a technical way in order to improve the situation. You then begin to develop a real, deep progress, understanding the mechanics of any situation.”

“It is important to remember that in a serious fight or in a competition, the mechanics of the fight will be exactly the same as when you are training in a gentle manner. The only important difference will be your mental attitude. When you train, you should put more emphasis on learning than on competing with your partner.”

“You don’t learn when you are fighting, bringing in all sorts of tension and emotion. You learn when you are having fun, training in a smooth and gentle way. You need to work on improving your technique until you are comfortable in any situation. Eventually, you will develop a subconscious understanding of the techniques and they become reflexes. Only after you have done all this you are ready to take your natural abilities “off the shelf” and add them back into your game. Now the effectiveness of the technique will be at least ten times better.”

source: Rickson Gracie Association Newsletter

OSS?

Oss! This a common acknowledgement used in martial arts academies and studios. Recently we hosted Prof.Terere who often used the term and expected it as a response or acknowledgement whern giving instruction. As not everyone has had experience with traditional martial arts I came across a cool explanation of the term and it's use from Gracie Mag.
Hope this helps.

"The famous "OSS" has many origins. The first definition of "OSS" is an abbreviation for Onegai Shimasu, which translates into a request, a solicitation, an invitation like "please", "if you may" or "With your permission", much used when inviting a partner to train.

The second definition of "OSS", also known as "ossu" means Oshi Shinobu, which conveys the idea (the literal translation has nothing to do with the context) of "persevering when pushed" in other words, never give up, have determination, grit and withstand the most arduous of training. Carrying on without giving up, under all kinds of pressure- that's the idea of inner strength so common in Asian culture.

Therefore, at the start of a fight, the martial artist will shout, invoke, emanate the "OSS", as a way of letting this sentiment tout. In many sources, "OSS" is defined as a manifestation of ki energy, or in other words, a different kiai(strength) indicating one is ready to fight.

According to Miyamoto Musashi, in the book "五輪書, Go Rin No Sho", the samurai would use three types of shouts: One before combat, the second during combat, when attacking to muster great strength and the third after the fight, to celebrate victory.

"Oss", beyond demonstrating strong spirit and determination before a fight, is also used to suggest or confirm a piece of information. Thus whenever a Sensei asks or informs something, the response is "OSS!" it is the response that will confirm understanding."

 

 

Tips On Drilling

Drilling is something that all black belt world champions say that people do not do enough, yet so many people think they are. The 10-20 reps you do during class is not drilling!

“Repetition of the same thought or physical action develops into a habit which, repeated frequently enough, becomes an automatic reflex.”

Try break your move down into several different sections and begin to drill each and every section slowly until you get the flow.
Once you think you have it, maybe after 300-500 reps you can move on to drilling it at a faster pace, usually until you are exhausted.
Doing 2-5 minute rounds of back and forth drilling is a good option. If you can find someone who will be a dummy for an hour or two it's a big plus!
This repitition helps to build the one thing that we all hear about in jiu-jitsu, and that is muscle memory.
Without it, you will only hit your move on new guys and even then you will probably be surprised.

 

1. Playing music while drilling helps.
2. Bring a timer.
3. Find someone close to your size to drill with.
4. Don't worry about number of reps to start with, take your time.
5. Try to pick one position per session. It is ok to couple things that flow into each other.
6. Don't talk, do.
7. Always refer back to your instructor if you have issues.
8. Utilize white belts. They are usually eager.
9. Drilling takes time, but if you only have 15 minutes a day...its better than nothing!
10. Work on your cardio.
11. Important! Advanced moves will take you longer to become proficient at, spend your time drilling basics. Basics eventually become advanced.
12. Drilling is about effort and hard work. Don't sit around talking about the reverse berimbolo terrapin guard. Get in the gym and drill!!!

Technique and Aggression

Being technical doesn’t mean being lazy.
Being aggressive doesn’t mean trying to hurt your training partners and being an idiot in class.
But it will take a lot of training and mat time to balance the two

Defence and Escapes

Escaping submissions and bad positions isn’t easy. 

 

The best answer to a problem is usually “don’t let it happen in the first place.”
That’s always disappointing to hear but it’s unfortunately true.
Of course learn the escapes and counters but also become aware of what mistakes got you there in the first place.

Boxers don’t ask “How do I get unpunched?”

How to get good. The secret...

 

Firstly...
Get on the mats,
get good instruction
and do conditioning, drilling or sparring.

Gameplans, flow charts, notebooks, journals and instructionals are all helpfull BUT training is the "secret".  

Secondly...
Spar with everyone you can.
Force yourself to go with guys who intimidate you.
Experience is what counts, not mental tallies of who tapped who.
And always finish the round, no matter how tired you are.

New Era

We have been incredibly fortunate here at Phoenix BJJ/MMA to have hosted for seminars and got to train on a few occasions with the legendery competitor and BJJ coach Fernando "Tererê" Augusto.
We have enjoyed our time training with him and are proud to announce that as a result Phoenix will be affiliated with Prof. Terere now who will be making regular trips to the academy for training and teaching.
Phoenix will still exercise the same politics and ego free principle on our mats and are doors are as always open to all like minded practitioners of our awesome art.

Now go train!