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