So I just got back to town but am in between a few more trips before the big tournament here in Bangkok, September 19-20. If you haven’t been keeping up, info on the masters divisions have been posted on the tournament blog: www.thailandbjjcomp.blogspot.com. Be sure to check that out and remember FIRST 100 TO REGISTER are entitled to a free rashguard when checking in. There’s just over a month now to register as the deadline will be September 16!!! We will not accept any registrations on the day-of. This is to minimize delays in getting the day started and adjusting the brackets after weigh-ins.

FBT THAILAND BJJ/GRAPPLING OPEN (09.19-20.2009)

A few things are in the works that I’d like to put out there. Yes, I still have plans on releasing the ‘women in bjj’ article and yes, I am embarrassed that I haven’t done so already. Besides that, some products are underway such as patches, t-shirts and bjj kimono. Yes, I am producing a modest run of bjj uniforms that are a quality product, plain, absent of decorative patches and at a great price. Perfect for the beginner or for those looking to add an extra gi to their rotation but not wanting to spend another $100-150 to do so. These will be in stock this August and I will be making them available at the FBT Thailand BJJ/Grappling Open, September 19-20, 2009. My aim is to provide a quality product that can support the growing BJJ community at prices we can all be comfortable with. White uniforms retail at $60 USD and blue at $65 USD. Teams looking to buy in bulk (10+) can contact me for discounted prices at bjjasia@gmail.com. *note: More details regarding measurements and pictures will be added in the coming weeks.

Prof. Gordinho demonstrates self-defense technique at EVOLVE MMA on Men’s Health TV in Singapore:

Team Evolve to fight at UFC 103
A member of the official Evolve Fight Team, Rafael Dos Anjos, will be fighting at UFC 103 on September 19, 2009. Rafael is a BJJ Black Belt with excellent striking ability. Evolve Instructors, Gordo and Gordinho, will be cornering his fight at the event.

Girls, Inc is a national nonprofit youth organization dedicated to inspiring all girls to be strong, smart, and bold. With roots dating to 1864, Girls Inc has provided vital educational programs to millions of American girls, particularly those in high-risk, underserved areas. Today, innovative programs help girls confront subtle societal messages about their value and potential, and prepare them to lead successful, independent, and fulfilling lives.

Girls, Inc.

Girls, Inc. brought 15 lovely young ladies (ages 8-12) to Fifty/50 BJJ today for a field trip. I had put together a short 2 minute video for them so they would understand what BJJ was before beginning their lesson. We sat and talked (and watched the video) for about 25 minutes before moving into the exercise room for an hour and a half BJJ lesson. One of our female white belts was there to assist me (thanks, Shanna!) as we showed the girls how to stand-up in base, break fall, perform one Judo throw, Upa Sweep, and execute an arm-bar from the guard.

They all did a fantastic job! I was very impressed with how quickly many of the girls picked up on the details even though it was a lot of new information at once. They were well behaved and asked excellent, well thought out questions. It obvious to me that Girls, Inc is doing a very important service to the community by reinforcing positive values and work ethic.

Thanks for coming, Girls, Inc.! We look forward to a continued relationship in the future!

Two of the critical areas that are emerging for me are rear mount escape and escape from the armlock from mount. The emphasis is on “escape.” I’ve gotten to the point where I can survive, for awhile if need be. But I have to be careful of becoming c…

Worked with the Mighty JH last night and MB this afternoon. Again doing the knee on stomach, wrong knee, elbow combo. With JH was definitely forcing the pin and see how exhausting that can be.

Felt better this afternoon with MB seeing how things can transition to the triple attack, to back control, one cheek sneak armlock, bat chokes etc. The pin is merely a motivating factor. I’m working on the balance for that.

One the bottom game, I’m mainly working on making sure everything is occupied with doing something productive. If the upper body is working a submission, the lower body is pushing out his base. If my legs are tying his legs up, I want to make sure my arms are pulling him off balance. And if my legs are working on his upper body, I want to make sure my arms are checking his base, moving my body etc.

(7/29/09 6:00pm) Fitness Kickboxing

I left work with plenty of time to spare but somehow I still ended up being a little bit late to the class. I was still wrapping my hands when the rest of the group started warming up. In actuallity I didnt miss that much at all but at the time it felt like time was flying by. I joined up the group and still got PLENTY of the warm-up.

When it was time to get to the bags I convienently got one right under the A/C duct. Go figure, wonder how I ended up there? Anyway, it provided some relief to offset the ambient temperature in the gym and all the body heat I was generating. A little relief anyway.

We didnt go straight into heavy-bag combinations, instead we kept the gloves off for a while and worked a lot of kicks. Leg kicks, push kicks and side kicks were the chosen ones, with various one legged squats inbetween.

We then worked punch combinations and alternated them with a trillion different push-up variations.

Nearing the end, we did some speed drills that had us running to a bag, performing a set of combinations, running back to the start, performing an assortment of ab exercises and doing it all over again.

I felt pretty good during the session. I made a conscious effort to not miss any reps, and while I did not suceed at that goal, I was vastly better than I had been previously. So I consider that a win.

The road to full recovery and to get some gains is a long one. But I finally feel that I am at least in a car on that road and I’m making progress. Every session takes me to a new mile marker. Since this road has no end, and therefore never stops…..neither will I.

I know, I know… the more I try to keep up, the tougher it gets. I have a bunch of draft posts that I don’t know if I’ll ever actually finish. BUT we had a kickass circuit workout yesterday that I wanted to post.Warmups: -Rotational movements, to get …

I am getting started again in the game. It has been really hard since my mom’s passing to really get back on track, training-wise. I went last week, trained and rolled. It felt great, but I was definitely out of practice and my cardio wasn’t what it had been. I gassed out pretty quickly. Hopefully I can get back into a routine with this again.

Big developments in the fight game. Josh Barnett tested positive for a metabolite from a steroid. This led to the California State Athletic Commission suspending him. This pulled him from the main event at Affliction:Trilogy, where he was supposed to face Fedor Emelianenko. This led to Affliction, being unable to find a suitable replacement for Barnett, scrubbing the entire show. Shortly thereafter, Affliction announced they were ceasing operations as a promotion, although continuing as a clothing company. Shortly thereafter, the UFC announced that they had reached a deal with Affliction to again allow fighters to wear Affliction gear into the Octagon.

Now, the big question is, what happens with Fedor? The only real answer is that he goes to the UFC. Affliction is gone. Strikeforce doesn’t have the money to pay him what he feels he is worth. In the past, Fedor’s demands (copromotion with M1/Global, which he is part owner of, as well as contracts for others on his Red Devil Fight Team) have kept a deal with UFC from happening. Now, it is really the only option. Fedor announced yesterday that he has a press conference scheduled for today. Dana White has called a presser for Friday. I think a deal with Fedor has likely already been signed and we will get strong hints from Fedor today and confirmation from Dana on Friday.

This means an immediate title shot for Fedor against Brock Lesnar. This will be a HUGE money fight for the UFC. The man most regard as the best pound-for-pound fighter in mixed martial arts (Fedor) versus the immense, powerful, and amazingly fast for his size Brock. That will be something to see.

Brock

Fedor

Woke up! Great start!
As usual, I stepped onto my home-mat at 9:00 am and began my usual three private classes. I enjoy these sessions – as much as do my students. It is a chance for me to try out a new teaching technique or new training idea – always fun.
It’s 11:15am – I am all done with my private classes. My wife makes me a small snack – we chat for a bit and then head of to the pool at 12 noon. 25 laps later – I switch off my waterproof MP3 player, take a shower and we head back home. It’s always tough trying to keep up with Melissa in the pool – she is a gun swimmer!
At home she makes some lunch while I attend to the half dozen odd e-mails that have arrived since clearing out my inbox at 8:30 this morning. We eat lunch while watching a bit of TV – I multi-task by sketching out my seminar plans for this weekend (I am heading interstate for Friday and Saturday – running four sessions).
Mide afternoon, time to head out and pick up my boy Felix from school. Feed him a snack and see him off to training (in the kids class with Melissa). I stay home and complete a few tasks online – sign a book order that came in – package it and drop it into Melissa’s out-tray. Another quick snack, and it’s time to pack my own bag for training. Just time to sit down and rite this blog before I head out to teach the two evening classes at my school. Tonight I have novice BJJ and advanced MMA. Fun classes!
Melissa will beat me home, cook dinner (she’s a great cook – and does the work of five men) and prepare Felix for bed. I’ll be home by 8:20pm –when I’ll have a chance to say goodnight to Felix, then sit down and answer a couple more e-mails before tucking into dinner and chatting with my wife.
Time for a couple of hours of relaxing before hitting the sack and repeating the same routine tomorrow; another day in the office – another great day!
JBW

I re-re-injured my knee. Went through some major crazy thinking. I’m still going through it.
Although I have a full week to wait for the news as to the full extent of my ACL injury – so it make seem like I’m jumping the gun here, and regardless of whether or not I go [...]