Eddie's BJJ

On the road to GOLD!!!!!

2009-01-15T19:03:00.000-08:00

Competition....I love these things. I've done pretty good in competitions so far.

Jacksonville BJJ open , 155lbs White Belt 3rd Place
IBJJF Florida State Championships, 155lbs White Belt 3rd Place
Copa America Submission Grappling National Championship, 155lbs White Belt 2nd Place

That first place title has eluded me thus far but, I plan to change all that coming Jan 24, 2009 at the NAGA World Championships.Even though this tournament will be the biggest tournament that I have competed in...I am confident that I WILL GET THE GOLD!!!

I am doing a couple of things different for this competition. First and foremost I am trying to cut weight and get into the 140lb division. I usually walk around at 156lbs so, this is a challenge. I want to see if I can truly dedicate myself to lose this weight. The first step was changing my diet. I am eating 6 small meals a day and they are healthy meals...NO JUNK. I am also including more time training BJJ and I started hitting the weights again.I started this 2 weeks out of the tournament....I should have started it a month out but, you we'll see what happens :)

So this past week of training has been fun. I have been really pushing my cardio each class and I am totally spent at the end.

Tuesday - Jan 13, 2009

I came into class early and started to roll with a guy named Augosto( I think that's how you spell it:/ ) This guy is really good he is a 3-stripe White Belt as well but he trained when he was younger in Brazil.We went back and forth for 10 minutes at least. It was a war and it ended up in a draw...because we had to line up for class. I was sooooo exhausted and now I had to do the "Competition Class" warm-up. It was CRAZY...but I loved it. I got to push myself to the limits. It wasn't over yet though....there is a lot of free rolling/sparring in competition class. I did soo awesome during sparring!! I was surprised because I thought that I was totally gassed but, when it was time to roll I just had this boost of energy. Even after class was finished I stayed and rolled for another 30 minutes. It was a GREAT day of training!!!

Wednesday - Jan 14, 2009

We had a Surf champion/ BJJ Black belt in class visiting. Joel Tudor is his name and he seemed like a pretty cool guy.

Anyway, there were some sneaky techniques this class. They were all GI chokes and the were nasty!!!We also learned some guard passes but the chokes are definitely what stood out to me. Like always we did specific training after we learned all the techniques and it was a lot harder to get them on a fighting opponent. Like with anything though...practice makes perfect!!!

After class is when I started pushing my cardio. I was rolling with some really good Blue belts and they were dominating me. I was on the defense most of the time but, I was holding on and if they we gonna tap me it wasn't going to be easy. Out of the next 30 minutes of rolling I only got tapped once. It was an overall good night and even though I was getting beat up... I seem to learn a little something from each experience.

Oh and how could I forget.... I got a new GI!!!! I purchased a Blue Gameness Pearl. I did not use it that class because it was WAY too big. As soon as I use it I will write a review.

Until next time.....Have fun and train HARD!!!

3 classes....

2009-01-09T12:37:00.000-08:00

I'm behind 3 classes for this blog!!!

Well, I'm gonna try to remember each class and summarize them.

Only one school was open on Dec 31, 2008 and that was the school right across the street from UCF. I usually don't go there but I wanted to train so I went. This class was awesome....actually there was no class!!! It was just 3 hours of rolling with everybody.Fun, fun, fun. There was a lot of Black and brown belts there. I ended up being the submission dummy for the brown belts....lol. I didn't really learn anything new but I had some goods wars.All in all it was really fun and I would love some more open mat time like that.

Jan 7, 2009
This was my first class of the new year. We started the class off in the usual manner....running, jumping jacks, push-ups, stretching, etc. Then we got into some technique. The first technique was a throw. I forget the name of the throw but, it was basically a one arm shoulder throw or Ippon Seoinage. We then practiced some escapes from the north south position that were pretty cool.

The first escape
1. you grabbed the opponents belt or GI pants
2. then you pushed off to create space
3. you then swung your legs from side to side to get momentum
4. you then had two options
- Swing your legs all the way to one side an regain half guard
The second option is pretty difficult to explain but what end up happening is you get to a sweep position.

The second escape
1. keep your elbows on your chest
2. then push up to create space
3. now you have to move one of your arms across your body
4. turn your body and grab his leg at the same time
5.you are now in a single leg takedown position

After the techniques we did specific training( sparring only using the moves we just learned). Which is always so hard because your opponent knows exactly what your trying to do...lol.

Once we lined up to end class I was pleasantly surprised at receiving my third stripe!!! I was very happy. Getting closer to that Blue belt!!!

After class I rolled with some pretty good Blue belts Jeff and Eric. They both beat me up but It was fun :) I love rolling with the higher belts...its almost like you take a little bit of something from each person you roll with. It makes you better. Or like Renzo Gracie says, " If you are the nail enough times you will eventually be the hammer." I'm definitely the nail right now....lol.

Jan 8, 2009

This was a competition class...I love the competition class!!! I always get such a good workout.

Like always we had a wonderful warm-up and then went straight into technique.

The first technique was a throw and is very hard to describe but it was awesome....I'm gonna be practicing this throw.

The next technique was the Omaplata setup/escape/counter. This was some good stuff. Especially the counter to the Omaplata escape. You attempt and Omaplata...the person rolls escaping the Omaplata...then you roll and tuck his arm in and BAM the triangle is right there!!!
There was also an Arm bar counter that was very good as well.

Then in my favorite part of class start rolling. We roll for 3 five minute matches. Each match with someone new. My first match was with a Blue belt. We went back and forth and when the time expired no one had tapped. The second match was with a very tall 2 stripe white belt. He had the control in the beginning but once I got on top I got side control and finished him with a kimura. I felt bad because I think I cranked on it a little too much but he was fighting it and it just kinda happened. He was fine though:) In my third match I faced another tall white belt...he had only 1 stripe though. He seemed very strong but he didn't have much technique yet. I let him work a little and then finished him with a GI choke from the bottom.

After all that class was over and the rolling continued:) I ended rolling with a Brown belt named Wesley. This guy is good....he always seems to beat me up effortlessly. Whats good though is he teaches me something new every time and shows me where I faltered. I had some lessons on keeping my base that were very informative.

Whew!!! That's it folks...my last 3 classes. Next week I'll post after each class.

Anyway...take it easy everybody and keep training!!

Once a week :(

2008-12-20T19:10:00.000-08:00

For the second week in a row I have only been able to go to class once this week. I wish my schedule would allow me to go 3-4 times a week but thats just not possible right now. So I usually end up going twice a week. But the past 2 weeks I have been going to school at night....but anyway...you gotta do what you gotta do....right?
Well this week I went to another competition class, so the warm-up was awesome. We learned how to counter the single leg with taking the back of your opponent. Pretty cool stuff. We did 2 variations of the same move and then the rest of the class was rolling. We rolled with 4 different opponents for 10 minutes a piece. That definitely tests your cardio ....I loved it!!!
I did alright with all of my opponents. I rolled with 2 blue belts, a purple belt, and then a white belt. I ended up making the fellow white belt tap 2 times in our 10 minute match but the other matches were not as good for me.With the 2 blue belts I held my own and had some submission defense...I didn't get tapped by either of them but the definitely dominated position :( On one of them I almost had a clock choke but he quickly defended and I was on the bottom again. Now the purple belt was another story. I could tell he was basically toying with me but yet again I showed some pretty good defense and didn't get tapped.
Hopefully I will be able to get in more consistent training in the future.

Well next week is Christmas so...... MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!! And if Santa tries to take your cookies ...CHOKE'EM OUT!!! lol

Thursday Competition Class

2008-12-12T08:27:00.000-08:00

Ok...I'm gonna give you guys a quick run down of a Gracie Barra Competition Class. The first big difference from regular class is the warm-up. Its a lot more intense and it varies week to week.

For example:
Run - 5 laps
Run sideways - 5 laps
Run backwards - 5 laps
Run highstepping(touching knees and heels) - 4 laps
Rolling forward - 3 laps
Rolling backwards - 3 laps
Falling sideways - 3 laps
Shrimping - 3 laps
Jumpingjacks - 50 reps
Push-ups - 20 reps
Sit-ups - 50 reps
Push-ups - 15 reps
Bicycle sit-ups - 50 reps
Push-ups - 10 reps
Leg lifts - 50 reps
Streching time

We then start class. Class is also a little different... in that there is alot more sparring. You learn some moves and then you spar with different people the rest of the class. That rotates week to week as well. Sometimes its straight sparring and other times it a round robin. This class definily tests your cardio.

The technique this week was .....Butterfly Guard !!! We learned about 3 sweeps from the butterfly position. I really enjoyed them and intergrated them into my game very quickly. As soon as we started sparring I was getting my butterfly hooks in and trying to sweep everybody!!I was successful on some occasions and other not :(

After class I got with some of my friends and we started sparring/training specifically on takedowns. I don't know how it is in other schools but I started to notice that when most people spar/roll they start from the sitting/down position. I am guilty of that as well and I found myself feeling weird/uncomfortable at tournaments because you start standing. I would just pull guard right away and not even try a takedown in tournaments. So yesterday I decided to spar/train from the standing position. It was awesome!!! I was sooooo tired after just 5 minutes of traing this way but I pushed on and really tested my cardio. I loved it!! I decided that I am going to give the stand-up/takedown training as much attention as the ground/submission training.

Alright....thats all I have for this week. Remember... train hard but have fun :)

Look at this instructor....

2008-12-05T18:27:00.000-08:00

I just saw this video of an instructor choking out one of his Blue Belts until he is sleeping..... Tell me your thoughts.

My first Post!!!

2008-12-05T07:53:00.000-08:00

Hello everybody :)

Well here I go... my first post. Let me give you guys a quick background of myself and the reason I created this Blog.

My name is Eddie ( duh ! ) I'm 24 years old and have been training BJJ for about a10 months now. I love it ! I am more of a casual BJJ player. I train about 2-3 times a week and I am a 2-stripe white belt. ( 3rd stripe coming soon...I hope ) I created this Blog to document my training and to share a little of the Orlando BJJ scene/tournaments.My goal is to post once a week on all the fun stuff that happened during training or tournaments.

So just kick back....relax and enjoy the blog!