CJJ Training Weblog

Find something you are consistently having problems with and work on it. This will round out your game and reduce or eliminate any gaps in your skills. You can find out what your weaknesses are in drilling, sparring, or in tournaments. You can work on your weaknesses on your own, during drilling/sparring, or with private lessons.

I found my weakness is working from the bottom: especially guard. That is because I am almost always in side-mount or on top because I have a larger body type. In a recent tournament, I faced an olympic caliber wrestler and pro-MMA fighter in the intermediate division (I am in intermediate and he was in advanced but there was no advanced level in this tourney so they dropped him into intermediate). I was forced to play a game I never play: jumping guard. I did well with this strategy considering the skill gap, but in the process discovered how relatively weak my bottom game is from my top game. I am grateful for this experience, as it allowed me to see my weaknesses and gave me a target to work towards. As a result, I am dedicating the rest of this year to improving my bottom game.

You are only as strong as your weakest link, so remember to work your weaknesses as well as your strengths!

~By Japheth Brubaker

Everyone who knows me well knows that I don’t believe in shortcuts, but I do believe in training - and learning - smart. Here are some tips to keep you on the right track!

First, understand the vision your school has adopted. The vision at Capital Jiu-Jitsu is simple:

Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is a complex martial art requiring leverage and skill to overcome brute force. The art is complete, with basic strikes, throws and takedowns, ground grappling and self-defense. It is also a sport, providing practitioners with venues for throwing and grappling with the gi, takedowns and grappling without the gi, and no-holds-barred fighting. Capital Jiu-Jitsu teaches the complete art of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, but has additional programs in takedowns, throwing, striking, flexibility and fitness, to further enhance a practitioner’s ability to compete (though for some these programs are an end in and of themselves). While competition is valued at Capital Jiu-Jitsu, it is not pushed. All practitioners, regardless of their motives, are welcome. Some may train for self-defense, for fitness, for flexibility, for community or for fun. All these reasons, and more, are supported by both fellow students and staff! Finally, Capital Jiu-Jitsu looks for the BEST in grappling, takedowns, throwing, striking, flexibility and fitness training. Compromise on this is not an option, including for the reason of making the company more profitable.

Second, train as often as your time will allow.

Third, find a support group at your school. Email them, call them, post on their facebook pages.

Fourth, get a notebook and take notes. Just simple key words to help you remember the techniques, with a section for questions. Most questions you will answer on your own, but for the ones you cannot, take a private class.

Fifth, adopt the following Jiu-Jitsu maxim: Position Before Submission.

Sixth, adopt the following guideline of learning priorities:

FIRST Priority = Learn to escape from inferior positions.
NEXT Priority = Learn to keep and transition between superior positions.
LAST Priority = Learn submissions from superior positions.

Seventh, recognize when you are using technique over strength and praise yourself. Recognize when you are using strength over technique and correct yourself.

Eighth, research! Look at video footage, read books, ask questions.

Ninth, wear the gi.

Tenth, love the art! And this is the most important Best Bet of all!

I lost 20 pounds in three months on the zone diet. I went from 245 in January to 225 in March. My power, endurance, tone, and performance has gone through the roof while losing the weight. I use the Zone Diet as part of my tournament training.

You never go hungry on the Zone Diet. You eat as much as you need, you just have to balance protein, carbs, and fats. And yes, you get to eat fats, but just the good kind like nuts, avocado, and olive oil. The balance of protein, carbs, and fats, is what regulates your body to maximize output and energy levels and decrease bad weight.

I am not an expert on the Zone Diet principles but I have applied it and achieved great results. I am extremely excited that Capital Jiu-Jitsu CrossFit trainers teach Zone Diet principles to students and staff who are interested.

Take advantage of the Zone Diet beginning today! For more information ask one of our CrossFit trainers!

~By Japheth Brubaker

Visualization is a critical component of training. We learn the moves, we drill the moves, and we spar. But do we visualize the moves?

Before my last tournament in BJJ, I practiced visualization. I imagined myself completing the moves successfully at the tournament. I imagined completing these moves over and over again, in different scenarios, with different opponents. I took small parts of my day to visualize: morning, afternoon, and night.

I focussed my visualizations particularly on an area I wanted to work on: takedowns. I visualized takedown after takedown: single-leg, double-leg, snap-downs, etc.

In the final match in my division, I executed a takedown by transitioning between a snap-down and a single-leg takedown. I had never executed that transition successfully at a tournament before. Visualizing the move enabled me to do so. I then got side-mount and controlled the match from there, receiving a gold medal in the blue-belt heavyweight division.

The expert coaching and great training environment at Capital Jiu Jitsu are the reasons why I was able to perform well at this tournament. Another reason is that I visualized myself performing well.

Learn the moves, drill the moves, spar, and VISUALIZE.

~By Japheth Brubaker

CJJ: Tell me about your experiences training as an MMA
fighter.

IA: Its been an amazing journey! I’m really having a
great time. I am training hard for sure, but I’m
having a lot of fun along the way.

CJJ: What do you do on an average day?

IA: I do what my coach tells me to do when it comes to
training. I get up and get my first workout out of
the way as soon as I can, I eat, and I wait a little
and train some more. I love training, and I can’t get
enough of it!

CJJ: Who do you look up to in the world of mixed martial
arts?

IA: Wow, I don’t know. I admire lots of people, I
suppose. I’m still waiting for Kyra Gracie to start
MMA. She is definitely someone I look up to. In
addition to her, I’m going to have to say that Gina
Carano is one of my favorites. As far as male
fighters, GSP, Chuck Liddell, Rich Franklin, and
Forest Griffin, are all in my top ten. There are just
so many that I admire!

CJJ: Where do you see yourself in five years?

IA: We’ll see. That’s quite a long time from now. Who
knows? I could possibly still be fighting MMA, but
I’m hoping to help other athletes follow and reach
their dreams too.

CJJ: Tell us about your victory over Bethany Marshal at
CageFest?

IA: That was a great night. Bethany is definitely a
warrior. She was a tough opponent. I think I will
always remember that fight, since it was my first
fight and all. I went there and did what I was
trained to do. I played my game, but most of all, I
had fun with it.

CJJ: According to sources, you are now among the top
ranked female amateur fighters in Virginia. It is
also rumored that you are also quite feared, since no
other school appears to want you fighting one of their
women. How do you feel about this?

IA: It just means I’m going to have to travel to other
states to find fights. Unfortunately, my family and
friends wont be able to see me fight live. At
CageFest, there were lots of people that traveled
three and half hours to see my first match.

Preparation to be an MMA fighter is not an easy path. Persistence is key to success. You have to really want it. About nine months ago I came to Will and Jeremy and told them that I wanted to fight MMA. Jeremy told me something that made sense the minute I heard it. He said, “You have a lot of time to train, but it’s important for you to understand that you have to take responsibility for your training. We are all here behind you, we are all here to help, but we are nothing more than resources.” I thought about what he said a lot. Take responsibility for your training became a mantra for me. No one can make me a fighter. It was my responsibility to learn to use my resources, and so my training began.

I understood that hard work was extremely important, but what I didn’t know was that I was going to get better results by training smarter rather than training harder. Work smarter not harder was just one of the lessons I was about to learn while on the path to becoming a fighter. While I’ve always worked hard, I also wondered how much longer could I keep up such a high level of intensity. The answer was that I couldn’t. My coaches helped me see that, and soon after, every moment I spent training had a purpose behind it. I actually learned to be just as disciplined about resting as I was about training and diet.

I reflected hard about not wasting anyone’s time. After all, everyone that wanted to help was doing it for no other reason than to help me out. They were giving their valuable time to me! I truly understood this, and it motivated me to be the best I could be.

The mental preparation was also very important. My mind would beat me up before I ever stepped into that cage, if I let it; so not only did I have to train my body, I also had to train my mind. If I wanted to be a winner, I had to believe I could be one. I realized that all these people had put so much into my training and development, and I couldn’t possibly let them down. But I also realized that by giving them everything I had, I was a winner in their eyes no matter what happened on fight night.

There are a lot of people that want to fight, and some work hard for it. Some think they have the right people helping them, and maybe they do. But I know that I had the best people standing behind me - I had the Capital Jiu-Jitsu Team. That was huge, and that alone made me mentally strong. I feel that we are all very blessed. Not only do we have awesome people at Capital, but many are very knowledgeable and experienced, and are willing to share that knowledge and experience. It’s wonderful and overwhelming at the same time.

Fighting MMA was an important goal I wanted to achieve. This was a goal that I knew I couldn’t achieve alone no matter how hard I worked. It is true that it takes a lot out of a person, which is why it is so important to be surrounded by supportive and understanding people. Those people made me a winner whether I won or lost. A few months ago, I had the potential to be a fighter, but I was incomplete. My resources, the Capital Jiu-Jitsu Team, and my family, all contributed to making me complete. This win is for us all.

~By Iman Achhal

When training there are three speeds to keep in mind:

1) Drilling
2) Training
3) Competition

And each has its place in preparing someone for the highest levels of proficiency.

The first speed, Drilling, is the speed at which one student gives the other student every opportunity to practice a technique. This is the speed that partners need to use when practicing techniques that they just learned, drilling them over and over until their muscles begin to absorb the knowledge.

The Training speed is the speed at which two students practice against each other with resistance, but not full resistance. Students should be able to drill or spar together at a training speed for an hour or longer. If they cannot train for a long period of time then they are probably working at a Competition speed. The Training speed is a wonderful tool for fine tuning your techniques, working on timing and working new moves into your game.

The Competition speed is the speed at which two students practice against each other with full resistance. It is very important that students preparing for tournaments or fights work at this speed from time to time. However, this speed should only be used by students who have achieved at least some level of proficiency in the art. After all, when sparring with full resistance, the training speeds tend to be fast, and so the potential for injury increases.

My history in competitive sports began with Jiu-Jitsu. Throughout my years in school and in college, I was never very interested in sports, and it wasn’t because I was hopelessly un-athletic (I would describe myself as mildly un-athletic). The reason, I think, was two-fold: I hadn’t found a sport that interested me, and, for me, competition with others was unfulfilling. When I discovered Jiu-Jitsu, I was immediately fascinated by the method, but the idea of actually competing or that I was participating in a “competitive sport” didn’t occur to me for a very long time.

Practicing an art is something that can greatly enrich our lives. But, being an artist is still accessible to all of us, regardless of how many notches we can put on our belts. Most people assume that the role of an “artist” is reserved for only the supremely talented, the young, the highly intelligent or those with “rich” life experiences. Perhaps these types of traits are conducive to producing art or even necessary to create great art, but they are not a prerequisite for creating art at all. In other words, art is not about the product; it’s about the process. At least, that’s how I’ve always viewed it when aspiring to become an artist myself. For the observer, art may be good or bad, but to the artist, there is no good or bad: by the time the observer is evaluating, the artist is usually busy making more art.

Our sport has so many qualities that make it ripe for artistic expression. I could write for pages describing what I believe those qualities to be, but I’d rather encourage everyone to look for the art in Jiu-Jitsu themselves. This can’t be done without letting go a bit and forgetting how you stack up against the next guy. In fact, that guy that’s wiping the mat with you might not even be using Jiu-Jitsu to do it — he might just be using our moves.

Ultimately, ignoring every other potentially rewarding aspect of BJJ in favor of trying to “win” will prove unrewarding. It’s not that focusing exclusively on competition is wrong - far from it, actually competing can be a great addition to training for some of us - it’s just that the well is so much deeper, and many of the challenges lie beneath the surface.

Occasionally you may find the debate on various message boards about whether a jiu-jitsu school with “only” purple belt instructors is qualified or legitimate. Inevitably there will be the opinion that such a school can’t possibly be as successful as a school boasting brown or black belts among its students and instructors. The assumption is simple: a person holding a higher rank is better, knows more techniques, and has spent more time devoted to training in the art; therefore, he must be a better training partner. Or in the case of instructor, he must be a better teacher, and a better teacher makes for a better school.

Debunking this viewpoint is so easy it’s like shooting fish in a barrel. 

First, there is a significant difference between being a highly advanced practitioner and a highly proficient instructor. When the two qualities can be found in one individual, that person is truly gifted and would be an enormous benefit to any school. However, just because someone has attained a high rank in BJJ - or any art for that matter - does not ensure that his ability to teach and/or run a school will be as lofty. Successful teaching encompasses so much more than knowing well what it is you are trying to teach. You must have the ability to demonstrate your knowledge, to impart what you have learned in a way that uninitiated students can understand. You must be clever enough to articulate course content by various methods, to maximize the potential learning among a variety of students. Not everyone absorbs information in the same manner, so an instructor simply teaching an arm bar by breaking down its components won’t necessarily educate all of his students. But an instructor who teaches that same arm bar in layers - one layer being its components, a second layer being body weight and momentum, a third layer being timing - that instructor stands a much better chance of passing on proper application of the technique to as many students as possible.

So if a school’s instructors are great teachers first and foremost, yet who “only” hold the rank of purple belt, then we need to measure what separates purple from brown, or brown from black, in order to determine if students are being shortchanged. But the differences among the advanced belt ranks form a discussion that is outside the scope of this article. For further reading I recommend a few threads Michael Enright posted of articles written by Roy Harris. Suffice it to say that by the time a person has reached the rank of purple belt, much of the fundamentals and techniques have been entrenched. What is remaining for that practitioner to continue his quest in BJJ is separate from his ability to successfully teach what he has learned thus far. Therefore, assuming a person possesses the ability to teach, as far as his students should be concerned it matters little whether he has attained a purple, brown, or black belt ranking.

The second flaw is the assumption that learning from a much higher belt will advance a student faster. This presumes that being in the presence of greatness will make a student learn quicker. Sadly, BJJ is not a team sport. Having Michael Jordan, arguably the best basketball player ever to live, as his teammate on the Chicago Bulls allowed Scottie Pippen to reach levels he otherwise would not have reached. But you are not on a basketball court. And it’s largely wrong to believe that you will make greater gains in your practice simply because you are being taught - or training - with a black belt. Recently there was a Royler Gracie seminar at Capital, and in my experience his thoughts on things not related to submission techniques were more valuable than his drills we performed. The theme surrounding most of his recommendations was that BJJ is an individual sport. What primarily determines your level of success is you, not anyone else. In the past there has been criticism of Royler for expecting questions from participants of his seminars, and then providing somewhat esoteric answers. Those who feel that way are completely missing the lesson. He could not have described it any better when he stated that for students to become successful in BJJ, they need to “learn how to learn.” For better or for worse, no black belt is going to help you reach that goal.

It was during Royler’s seminar that I asked the question: bigger students still manage to stack me when I’m trying to hit a triangle, so what tips did he have to avoid being stacked? Ignorantly, I was hoping for some hot tip (e.g., “grab the head, hook the leg, blah blah blah“). Instead, Royler basically said that I shouldn’t be so arrogant to expect I can hit a triangle on a bigger, heavier opponent, especially one who is near or at my level. I should be much more focused on not putting myself in a bad position when rolling. And that was a clear message suggesting that lying on my back, versus a heavier and stronger opponent, trying to catch him in a triangle, is just not a good tactic. It is up to me to fashion my game in such a way that matches my size and tendencies. The reason I bring this up is to reiterate the notion that BJJ is an art that grows extremely individualistic as the pupil grows. And if you happen to be overly concerned with your instructor’s current rank - black, purple, whatever - then you are distracting yourself from the real task at hand.

The third flaw with this viewpoint is the idea that daily training with a much higher belt will also make a student better faster. Again I will defer to Royler, who stated that your biggest gains in BJJ will come from continued training against opponents who are around your same weight, and with lesser experience. Think about it: how could you possibly make your game better if you roll with a brown or black belt every day? I suppose if your goal is to perfect a good “lay and pray” strategy, then rolling with black belts is for you. But if you wish to develop a good offense with solid attacks and transitions, you will not get far.  To develop the muscle memory needed for quality attacks and counters, you need to ingrain techniques through continued, repetitive practice at full speed. There is no better opponent for this requirement than someone not quite as good as you, and around the same size. And for this initiative the white and blue belts at Capital should be thankful that there are so many other fellow students who can provide this type of training.

If you’ve made it this far, you could be asking yourself that by referring to Royler’s fantastic seminar, aren’t I contradicting myself about the need for higher belt ranks to make a school successful? This brings us to the final flaw, and that is classifying Capital as “only a purple belt school” in the first place. Indeed, we have the luxury of visiting instructors who hold just as high, if not higher, belt ranks as any BJJ school in the country. Seminars by outstanding instructors such as Royce, Rodrigo, and Royler allow students the experience of taking away knowledge from a black belt, and slowly integrating the tips, techniques, and suggestions to their game. You don’t need daily interaction with a black belt to absorb the kind of knowledge that they provide.

Now, quit your fussing and go train jiu-jitsu.

[This article was written by Capital Jiu-Jitsu White Belt, Nick Horton]

First of all, I will start this entry by saying that one of my
greatest mentors’ sayings has re-burned its meaning into my soul
through Jiu Jitsu: “It doesn’t matter where you start. It only matters
where you finish.” I had my first encounter with grappling in High
School as a 180 lb. sophomore, wrestling in the 215 lb. weight class
due to the beckoning of one of our linebacker coaches. This was my
first experience with the concept that bigger dudes are probably
stronger, but not necessarily invincible. Throughout my three years of
high school wrestling, grappling became a very important part of my life, as did weightlifting (because of football), and I grew both in wrestling
technique and size. As a 212 lb. senior, I rarely encountered anyone
stronger or bigger than me in wrestling, and I lost hold of the
valuable lessons I had learned as a smaller, inexperienced wrestler.

After high school, the gears shifted a bit, and I decided that I would
take my shot at football and accepted an appointment to the United
States Military Academy. Struggling through a few terrible years of
losing seasons with the “Brave Old Army Team,” if nothing else,
strengthened my hatred for losing and desire to win. By chance, part
of our curriculum at USMA happened to be boxing and combatives. The
Army began basing its combatives courses on Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in the
late ’90s, and it became a staple of Army training. During my four
years I trained very hard, and became quite proficient in the Army’s
“Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.”

After graduation, our pugilistic training did not stop, and I was
pleased to discover that there was quite an emphasis on combatives
training at Fort Bragg. Every Wednesday we would run two miles, then
form up for Combatives in the grass wearing our Gi-like BDU’s. This
training was both rewarding from a cardio standpoint, and because it
made us more and more comfortable with engaging in full contact hand
to hand skills. Yet, I did not know what was in store….

LESSONS 1-5:

After moving to the D.C. area at the Army’s call to work at Bethesda
Naval Medical Center, I decided that I wanted to continue my training
in martial arts and enrolled in the Muay Thai class at Capital. Muay
Thai routinely put my heart rate at levels that I did not know
existed, and I refined my physical conditioning to higher levels than
I have ever achieved.

Finally, after a few months of watching all the Jiu Jitsu
practicioners waiting every day to paint their art on the mat, I
decided that it was time to re-engage my learning of the ground
ballet, and I enrolled in the Jiu Jitsu course as well. My first five
lessons were very informative, and I realized that what we had done in
“Brazilian Jiu Jitsu” combatives was little more than learning the
ABSOLUTE basics. I left the first five classes thinking, “Man, that
wasn’t so bad. I would love to really put myself out there and see
where I stand with all these other people that are in class with me.”

LESSON 6:

The beginning of this class was a very similar experience, and as we
went through the drills I continued to pay close attention and learn
whatever I could from both Jeremy and my partner. At the end of class
I walked over to the “Mat Master” and proudly proclaimed that I was
ready and I wanted to have a roll with some of my fellow students.
After listening to my proclomation of having a base knowledge of the
beautiful practice, Jeremy made my night when he said, “Alright, go
ahead and line up and we’ll get you some work.” I was so giddy as I
skipped over to the back wall that I did not even ponder the fact that
I had not done any grappling in well over six months. Let alone with
anyone that was trained at any other level besides Army
Combatives….and so it began.

My first round I approached with the confidenced learned through a
life of success in individual sporting contests. Although I was
kneeling in front of a partner that outweighed me by at least twenty
pounds (for the first time since I was a young buck in high school), I
felt that I would at least be able to put on a decent display of my
skill. The first lesson I learned from my first round of sparring
would prove to be quite familiar, possibly because I had read it in
the Jiu Jitsu manual I was given before Lesson 1: You cannot power and
explode your way through techniques and continue to learn. So at the
end of Round 1, I was completely smoked and wondering if I had just
jumped into the deep end without my water wings.

The second round I was paired with a classmate whom I outweighed by
twenty pounds or more. The irony of which would not strike me until
four minutes later when I was maintaining a death grip on the leg of a
man at least one half times older than me, twenty pounds ligther than
me, and surely a great deal happier than me as he was pounding on the
young, strong, bull headed youth that had been paired with him. Lesson
2: Technique not only conquers strength, but also age and significant
weight advantage. Plus, the damn Gi kept me from running away!

The third round. Surely now I would be able to redeem myself and Army
combatives due to my conditioning and desire. Wrong. I was soundly
handled again by another classmate fighting a decent weight
disadvantage. Lesson 3: If you try to push people around, you might
succeed at first, but you will end up having to pull yourself up off
the mat in order to get back to the opponent with superior technique.

So as I wiped the sweat off of my forhead, I stood up beaten and out
of breath. Was I disappointed? Absolutely NOT! It was actually quite
the opposite. I had learned some very valuable lessons, and my
decision to join Capital Jiu Jitsu had been validated WAY beyond a
reasonable doubt. I found myself humbled, and yet more inspired to
continue training! What I learned from those thirty minutes on the
blue mats was more than I learned in more than ten years since
stepping onto the wrestling mats in Satellite Beach. First, Army
Combatives is NOT Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. That is like comparing finger
paint Turkey’s to Picasso. Second, it pays to pay attention to
everything that is happening both during instruction, and in drills.
Third, I will never again doubt the words of experienced
practicioners, whether written or spoken. And finally, DAMN Jiu Jitsu
is fun and rewarding. If it can teach me more about myself in thirty
minutes than I was able to learn in close to ten years (and I am not
the brightest crayon in the box), then I cannot wait to see what my
next lesson will be like. Let alone the next fifteen!

“The Wackiest White Belt Known to Man”