Masafumi Matsumoto I saw a recent video clip of Eddie Bravo this morning.In that clip, he talks about the current status of grappling in MMA…… in relation to the modern leg lock game.He brought up Ryan Hall and Garry Tonon as excellent examples of integrating high-level leg lock attacks in MMA.The majority of MMA fighters may not …
There’s something amazing about rolling with someone who has clean and smooth techniques.Technical sparring with such a person may be one of the most enjoyable things about BJJ.I imagine this is similar to jamming with a great musician or dancing with a great tango dancer.The sense of competition against each other fades away, and you …
Most things are red herrings.There are so many distractions around us, especially in this age of social media.It’s easy to forget what’s important…Or perhaps you were too distracted by your surroundings to take some moments of reflection and think about what’s important to you.You don’t need a vacation or anything to think about such things. …
Rules matter a lot.BJJ is the way it is partly because of the current IBJJF rules.Even though BJJ has the same roots as Judo, these two grappling systems emphasize different things.So, most players in each style are inclined to learn what’s the best thing to do according to each style’s respective rules.You can’t spend much …
You see two elite grapplers scrambling for a better position.It’s exciting to watch such exchanges.And it feels great when you move quickly as well.It feels as though you’re doing something awesome.After all, being quick is important, right?Yes and no.I’ll explain it.Being quick is important, provided that a specific condition is met.Because if you’re just quick …
There’s an unusual but common way of improving your BJJ skills.Many people often realize that they can retain what they learn when they start using this method. They usually start paying more attention to details as well.I know some of you already do this.But many beginners don’t.The reason why they don’t do it is understandable, …
BJJ is partly a creative activity.There are different ways of defining “creativity”, but…… we could say creativity is about connecting dots that you didn’t think could be connected before.And you make such connections by trials and errors.I remember something my coach back in Japan said a while ago.He usually comes up with one new technique …
Have you ever seen the Sixth Sense?It’s a movie from 1999… so some of you weren’t even born yet when it came out.I’m not going to tell you how the movie ends. But at the end of the film, some crucial information is revealed to the viewers. And then they are likely to realize that …
Are you “using” your senior training partners enough and properly?“Using” sounds like a wrong thing to say, but bear with me for now.One obvious way of using them is to ask them questions directly.I’m not one to ask so many questions myself, but I believe it’s one of the best ways to improve your skills …
Kashiwazaki Katsuhiko is a legendary Judo player from Japan and known as a newaza/groundwork specialist.He won a silver medal at the 1975 World Championships and a gold medal at the 1981 World Championships.He became an all-Japan champion 5 times in his weight category (-65kg) as well.When I started learning BJJ, learning resources for BJJ were …