Georgette's Jiu Jitsu World

Exercise: What makes a good coach in BJJ?

2012-01-27T14:09:00.001-06:00

Julia Johansen posted an exercise she learned from "Magical" Ray Elbe on her blog today. The essential question she posed to him was, what do you look for when you promote someone to blue belt? Among other factors, the most interesting part of his answer (imho) was: "when you give someone a belt, you’re passing on YOUR lineage."

She continues:

"Then he did an exercise with me. This was taught to him by Marcos Avellan, a BJJ black belt who guest taught at Ray’s gym for a month, and which I now pass it along to you, because it’s really freaking cool. . . . [M]ake a list of everything you want in your ideal BJJ coach."

This is especially timely as I have done more and more thinking about what "quality coaching" entails. Partially because I just switched academies, partially because of Megan's post the other day on what it takes to start a successful BJJ academy.

So here's my list--

excellent technique (gotta know it to be able to teach it!)
can teach to different types of learners effectively-- visual, aural, kinesthetic
kind, compassionate
good listening skills, observant
humble, self-critical
detail-oriented
patient
adaptable, flexible
dedicated
has competition experience
good judgment-- of character, of business decisions, knows when to push you and when to hold back

Next step: "Okay – now go through it and write a T next to anything that is a TRAIT (ie. dealing with personality) and an S next to anything that is a SKILL, anything that needs to be gained/learned."

But I had a hard time with this. Some seemed "personality" oriented but I believe they can be learned behaviors also. Hmmmm.

S            excellent technique
S             can teach to different types of learners effectively-- visual, aural, kinesthetic
T            kind, compassionate
S (T?)    good listening skills, observant
T (S?)    humble, self-critical
T           detail-oriented
T           patient
T           adaptable, flexible
T           dedicated
S           has competition experience
S&T!   good judgment-- of character, of business decisions, knows when to push, etc.

The conclusion: "Then Ray pointed at the TRAITS and said if you’re looking for a coach who is friendly, accessible, knowledgeable, understanding, etc, then promote based on that list. So someone could be a total genius at jiu jitsu at white belt, but if they’re a complete tool they will be a white belt for a VERY long time. This made so much sense to me. If I am passing on a LINEAGE to someone, they’re going to be a reflection of me. If I were a black belt, I wouldn’t give some toolbag my lineage. I would give it to people who I would be proud to attach my name to."

Well. I like it. And yet I find it leaves me still... reaching. It seems to add a welcome focus on "moral character" to promotion decisions, which is great. But still doesn't tell me anything about the "readiness" to be a new belt level. It's a floor, perhaps, but not the ceiling-- if that makes sense.

Share your list of what makes a good coach in BJJ.....

Advice for whitebelt women on learning jiu jitsu (my "sweet spot" theory)

2012-01-26T13:22:00.000-06:00

I saw a thread developing on Jiu Jitsu Forum today and had to add my $.02.

It started with this comment from a Renzo Gracie whitebelt with 3 stripes:

"Do women in you [sic] school drill and roll with men? or are they left to roll with only other women? I almost feel like they are in a special category and not held to the same high standards that men have to go through... I'm sure this isn't the case at most other schools just wondering if this is the case where you are at?"

Fellow lady blogger Kitsune responded very thoughtfully:

"You can't expect a 110lb GUY to be competitive against a 240lb guy either (until the experience level is disparate enough that the small person has enough technique to kick the large person's ass). It's not about what is between your legs.

I really wish that everyone who thinks female BJJ artists are inferior could be strapped to a chair and forced to spend a morning watching a little 115lb female black belt own a gym full of big guys.

You may think we have it easy, but most of you cannot even begin to imagine what it is like to have every single person on the mat be towering over you, and have to work EVERY DAY against people who are twice your size. Not just the bruises and getting your ribs cracked, but the psychological burden of getting smeared all over the mat all the time. It is BRUTAL. The women who survive, who stick with it long enough to start getting subs on bigger men deserve mucho respect. We have to be GOOD, held to a much higher technical standard than the average, to make things work at all.

Some men whine, "I've been going to class for three weeks and I can't sub anybody." Well, howdja like to go to class four times a week for a YEAR and not sub anybody. When I hit the year and a half mark, I could still count my legitimate subs on the fingers of one hand (and have fingers left over). Imagine how hard it was to keep dragging ass into class. Now it's been almost three years, and I'm just starting to get to the point where I can reliably hold my own against an average size white belt, and the point where I can actually get some subs. I can't even begin to describe how much hard work that has taken, and how much chutzpa it has taken to not give up.

Once a female BJJ artist gets to about purplish-level, it starts to even out a bit, and believe me she had to just about kill herself to get that far. The white and blue belt journeys of a female BJJ artist are hard, hard, hard, HARD. Purple and up, my observation has been the women- pound for pound- are as good as any man their level, if not better.

On a practical note- assuming there *are* any other women to roll with, yes, a decent instructor carefully picks partners for the lower-belt women... other women, and skilled colored-belt men.

It is a well-known fact that you are most likely to be injured by a white belt. Many of them do not yet know how to work safely with their partners, many of them do not know how to moderate their game for a smaller or otherwise physically limited partner, and many of them are spazzy and tend to crank subs. Just having a person in top side control can crack a rib if they're a lot bigger and not being really careful; it's happened to me. If you are half the size of the other people in your gym, rolling with white belts is pure suicide until you have enough experience to be able to protect yourself.

My teacher went out of his way to pair me up almost exclusively with skilled colored-belt men for at least the first year and a half (there were usually no other women present). If I'd been rolling with a lot of big clueless white belt guys, I would have spent most of that year and a half on the bench with injuries (if I didn't give up altogether).

That method kept my injuries to a reasonable level, but it was no walk in the park. The fact that I was working almost exclusively with much more skilled higher belts meant that for a year and a half, I got owned by everyone. They were gentle about it and taught me a lot- but owned nonetheless. None of the techniques I tried worked, because the colored belts were always three steps ahead of me. I didn't know what it felt like to roll with someone my own level or lower, someone that I might be able to actually GET something on. That was hard in its own way. Now that I finally have enough experience and technical skill to actually start getting some stuff, I have a lot of ground to make up in that area. I had to try to develop a game much differently than most male BJJ artists go about developing their game. Now I'm trying to break myself of the hesitancy to try stuff (subs and sweeps, mostly) because I've been so conditioned to think, "No sense even trying that; this brown belt will defend it easily". Now I can work with some whites who maybe *can't* defend it that easily. It is a serious reality shift. I still have a "holy crap" moment every time I try a technique and it WORKS.

So yeah, good teachers will pair the women up together, or women with good colored belts, but it's not to make it "easy" on us or to keep the standards low. It's just to try to keep us out of the hospital in the first year, till we have enough experience to take care of ourselves better.

Another thing- many techniques have to be tweaked when you're trying to do them on somebody twice your weight, or somebody whose legs are twice as long as yours. It takes a lot of experience before you can start to be able to watch the demo, try it on a partner much larger, and be able to figure out for yourself how you need to alter the technique to make it work with the size disparities. Trying to do that at white belt or early blue belt level is very frustrating- you don't know how to adapt, so you just try the technique as demo'ed and fail, and feel like you "can't do this". It makes the process so much easier if the first time you learn a new technique, you get a chance to try it AS DEMO'ED on someone your own size (ie, another girl, if you've got one) and see how it's SUPPOSED to work. After that, it's easier to try it on different sized partners and figure out the alterations. It's a lot harder to have to figure out tweaks on your own for a technique you've never seen before."

Another comment from the original poster,


"At my school none of the girls roll with any of the guys, and are given no exposure to them. If their technique is there then they should still be able to effectively roll against a 240lb man."

This prompted my response, which I would appreciate your feedback on.

1. I wonder if you know how poorly this reflects on your school. Are you sure "none" of them roll with "any" guys? and are given "no" exposure to them? Or are you taking a whitebelt only (or mainly whitebelt) class? Do you speak from the limited experience of a whitebelt who has been training, what, 6 months? a year? or have you asked upper belts at your academy? have you asked the women at your school?

2. "effectively roll" meaning what... not be tapped? achieve and maintain positional dominance? not get injured?

3. As a petite female, I have learned to protect myself by choosing training partners carefully. I usually won't roll with a brand new whitebelt until I get to know him a little bit (meaning he's not brand new any more and I get a feel for his personality, his maturity and control, etc.) I frequently roll with men who outweigh me by 50-80lbs and occasionally I'm lucky enough to roll with guys who are 120+lbs more than me (one a blue belt, one a black belt.) I have heard the following theory attributed to several people, but Hillary Williams repeated it to me first:

"Given approximately equal experience levels, size and strength will win.

For a smaller weaker man to defeat a larger stronger man, he will need a two year technique advantage. (Of course we're talking a substantial size difference, not 10-15 lbs.)

For a WOMAN to defeat a MAN, (note, size is less relevant because even same height/weight individuals will produce a muscle-mass disparity in the man's favor) she will need a four to six year technique advantage. "

I have not found the latter to be true consistently-- on occasion, even going balls to the wall (so to speak-- not them "taking it easy on me") I have submitted a male opponent who is 20-30 lbs heavier than me (or more) who is within 1 year of me in either direction, experience-wise. But the big jump in technique advantage required reflects the greater upper-body strength of 99% of men *and* I think the better training available for men, who almost always have at least a good number of remotely-similarly sized training partners (whereas most women are stuck almost always being the smaller/weaker of a pairing.)

The ladies in your academy may choose to drill with other women so that they can learn the techniques and not have to struggle against weight and length in addition to the unfamiliarity of the movement. They may choose to spar against other women out of fear, preference for better smells, desire to improve competition performance, or sheer ignorance that they'd be welcome to spar with the guys. Have you invited any ladies to roll?

I'll also add that I agree with everything Kitsune's said and wanted to elaborate just a bit more: Know what a sweet spot is in tennis? or racquetball? It's the place on your racquet face that "works" best. It's not on the edge, it's somewhere in the middle, and when you connect with the ball there, you know it. Or think about playing hide and seek as a kid with someone else telling you "warmer" and "colder" as you got closer and farther.

Trying things in jits, especially takedowns and sweeps, also involves a sweet spot. When you first learn a sweep, there's a range of places you can put your hands, legs, balance etc and if you picture it like a bullseye, when you're in the outer realm the technique won't work at all. The closer you get to doing it "right" (someone calling out "warmer!") the easier the technique is and the less you have to force it. As people learn sweeps, they can "fudge" a little bit and make up for having less than perfect technique with a little extra power, push, pull, whatever. They have a greater # of permutations of variations in grip, balance, positioning that will "almost" work. Men have, therefore, a larger "sweet spot" at the beginning of learning that technique. Women rarely have sufficient muscle to "force" a technique to work, therefore their sweet spot is much smaller. Sweeps simply won't work AT ALL until we get past "cool" and "warm" and very, very close to "hot." So if a guy drills a sweep 20 times with a partially resisting partner, maybe 4-8 of those reps will be in the "warmer" area, giving him 4-8 opportunities to figure out what works and be positively reinforced for being even "close." A girl with the same 20 attempts MIGHT get it ONCE in the warm-enough-to-work, much-smaller sweet spot. She has to drill it 100 times with the partially resisting partner to get the same 4-8 data points.

NO WONDER IT SOMETIMES TAKES WOMEN LONGER TO ACQUIRE THE SAME LEVEL OF PROFICIENCY.

Your thoughts?

Lady grapplers in Texas/Oklahoma/Louisiana

2012-01-25T13:55:00.000-06:00

MatShark is putting on the San Antonio Open on Saturday March 3rd, and there will be an 8-lady blue/purple belt tournament, 130 lbs and under, with a cash prize of $150 & trophy; medals to 2nd and 3rd places. Only $40 to participate, and that includes NoGi and Open divisions at no extra charge. One nice thing, they're running it with IBJJF rules, so your lower limbs are (relatively) safe!

Check it out at MatShark.tv.

Crash bang.

2012-01-24T16:33:00.001-06:00

Well, I had to bail on class last night. This brief I'm working on initially looked like it would take about a month but the deeper I get into it, the deeper I see I need to go, so I decided it was better to stay late and get more done.

This was unfortunate, because when Idid leave the office, I was rear-ended, on the entrance ramp to the highway. Fortunately, I'm fine, more shaken up than anything though my neck was sore and I had a headache after (my teeth snapped together so hard!) The poor guy behind me, he was so nice about it and very apologetic.. his airbag went off if that gives you any idea of how hard he hit me. Good thing I had my foot on the brake, it kept me from slamming into the car in front of me. And a witness stopped, gave me her name and contact info. I drove home-- poor car, all bashed in and messed up. Good thing he was insured.

Aaannnd... I'm kind of bummed out today, the latest efforts at getting me knocked up were less than successful ("as always," the little voice in my head goes.) Went to the doctor's office this morning for a blood test because-- get this-- how evil?!?!-- I had a faint positive pregnancy test on Saturday morning... I tried very very hard not to get all excited, and just cool as a cucumber tested again that night (negative) and the next morning (negative) and Sunday night (negative) and yesterday... so on and so on... ultimately, I conclude that I had a bad test and it was an evaporation line (sorry if TMI!) As I cha-chinged the blood test on my insurance card, more proof of my nonmother status was on the way (sorry if TMI again!). My wonderful patient sweet husband... I'm not the googly-oogly type of girl who squeals at anything to do with babies, I am more curious about what kind of imp we together could create, and how much of my mom and dad will be passed into the future generation, and how nifty it would be to make a real live person. I hope anyway! So, I'm torn between making some real live chocolate chip cookie dough for dinner tonight, I know, bad bad bad, and eating slow cooker pot roast and cauliflower and kale tonight which actually sounds pretty good.

Hey, if the "good" food sounds just as good or better than the "bad" food, that's steps in the right direction, right?

OK- cheater/easy pot roast:

3 lb chuck roast
1 packet each-- brown gravy mix, ranch dressing mix, and Italian dressing mix
1 onion
1 c. water

Slice the onion, cover bottom of slow cooker with slices. Put roast on top. Mix 3 packets with 1 cup warm water, using a fork and trying to get it well blended. Pour over roast; cook 8 hrs on low.

I know it sounds weird, but it's oh-so-good. And if you can wait till the next day to eat it, you can lift off any fat which comes from the meat while it's still cold from the fridge.

Pasta with roasted cauliflower, garlic and walnuts

Serves 4. I actually prefer this without the pasta but if you do the pasta, this dish is best with short molded pasta, such as fusilli, campanelle, or orecchiette. The above photo is with campanelle. Prepare the cauliflower for roasting after you put the garlic in the oven; this way, both should finish roasting at about the same time.

2 heads garlic , papery skins removed, top quarter of heads cut off and discarded
6 Tbsp plus 1 tsp olive oil
1head cauliflower (about 1 1/2 pounds)
Salt and ground black pepper
1/4 tsp sugar
1 lb pasta
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 - 3 Tbsp juice from 1 lemon
1 Tbsp fresh parsley leaves , chopped
2 oz grated Parmesan (about 1 cup)
1/4 c chopped walnuts , toasted

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position, place large rimmed baking sheet on rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees.
2. Cut one 12-inch sheet of foil and spread flat on counter. Place garlic heads, cut-side up, in center of foil. Drizzle 1/2 tsp oil over each head and seal packet. Place packet on oven rack and roast until garlic is very tender, about 40 minutes. Open packet and set aside to cool.
3. While garlic is roasting, trim outer leaves of cauliflower and cut stem flush with bottom. Cut head from pole to pole into 8 equal wedges. Place cauliflower in large bowl; toss with 2 tablespoons oil, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper to taste, and sugar.
4. Remove baking sheet from oven. Carefully transfer cauliflower to baking sheet and spread into even layer, placing cut sides down. Return baking sheet to oven and roast until cauliflower is well browned and tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer cauliflower to cutting board. When cool enough to handle, chop into rough ½-inch pieces.
5. While cauliflower roasts, bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta; cook until al dente. Squeeze roasted garlic cloves from their skins into small bowl. Using fork, mash garlic to smooth paste, then stir in red pepper flakes and 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Slowly whisk in remaining 1/4 cup oil.
6. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup cooking water, and return pasta to pot. Add chopped cauliflower to pasta; stir in garlic sauce, ¼ cup pasta cooking water, parsley, and ½ cup cheese. Adjust consistency with additional cooking water and season with salt, pepper, and additional lemon juice to taste. Serve immediately, sprinkling with remaining ½ cup cheese and toasted nuts.

OMG amazingness...

2012-01-23T10:21:00.001-06:00

Class two at the new academy tonight :)

Back at it again!

2012-01-20T11:40:00.001-06:00

This applies to two things.. I started training again last night and it was heaven.

Also, my former teammate Kamal Shalorus, the "Prince of Persia," is fighting in the UFC again tonight! He's in the undercard, fighting in the 155 lb division against a Russian fighter making his debut in the UFC.

Kamal used to train with us at Relson Gracie in Austin, but now has moved on to Santa Monica CA where he trains with Henry Akins at Dynamix MMA, and the Golden Boys Wrestling crew. Kamal was an Olympic wrestler and says he's returning to his roots, though he still likes to "stand and bang." Here's a nice interview with him on Fighters.com.

Check out what awesome shape he's in:

Good luck Kamal! Fala guerra!

I'll be watching the fights, which start tonight at 5pm central, with my husband at Sam's Boat, as usual. Come join us.

While I'm at it-- yummy Chinese lettuce wraps!

Ingredients:

16 Boston Bibb or butter lettuce leaves
1 lb cooked chicken, shredded in small pieces
1 Tbsp cooking oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp Asian (dark) sesame oil
1/4 c hoisin sauce
2 tsp minced ginger
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp Asian chile pepper sauce (or to taste)
1 (8oz) can water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1-2 lg. carrots, peeled and julienned or diced

Rinse whole lettuce leaves and pat dry, being careful not tear them. Set aside.

In a medium skillet over high heat, cook the onion in the plain (not sesame) oil, stirring frequently till golden brown and soft. Add the garlic, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, vinegar, and chile pepper sauce to the onions, and stir. Stir in chopped water chestnuts, green onions, celery and carrots, sesame oil, and cooked chicken; continue cooking about 2 minutes.

Arrange lettuce leaves around the outer edge of a large serving platter, and pile chicken mixture in the center. To serve, allow each person to spoon a portion of the meat into a lettuce leaf.

This is also really yummy cold or at room temperature :)

Male vs. Female

2012-01-19T15:28:00.000-06:00

An interesting collateral follow-up to the great thread on Sherdog about the differences in how men and women train as athletes, and in jiu jitsu specifically....

From Erin Gloria Ryan today on Jezebel:

"Should Female Marines Get a Break?

A plan to make the physical requirements more difficult for aspiring female US Marines by requiring full pull-ups has been postponed indefinitely. And as it stands now, women interested in becoming lady Leathernecks must meet lower physical standards than their male counterparts. But for jobs that require brute physical strength, is it fair to give women a break? Yes, and no.

According to the Marine Corps Times, the Marines had been planning since last June to make full pull-ups necessary in order for a woman to achieve a perfect score on the Physical Fitness Test (PFT). The PFT is a test that Marines — both men and women — must pass on a semi-annual basis. It measures soldiers' ability to complete three tasks: a 3 mile run, 2 minutes during which the Marine must do as many crunches as possible, and the upper body strength test. Soldiers can earn a score of 0-100 on each of the three areas, and must earn a minimum total composite score (it varies by age) in order to meet standards.

Men and women must meet different standards in order to pass these tests. As it stands now, in order for a man to achieve a perfect score on the upper body strength portion of the PFT, he must complete 20 full pull ups, and a woman need only complete a flexed arm hang for 70 seconds. The proposed change would have still given women the option to utilize the flexed arm hang in lieu of pull ups, but flexed arm hangers would only be eligible for a maximum score of 70/100 unless they completed a pull up. One pull up would result in a score of 75 points, with five additional points awarded to women who completed each additional pull up. So, for women, a perfect score would require completing 6 full pull ups. Men, on the other hand, would still have to complete 20 pull ups in order to score 100 points. In addition, men need to run 3 miles in 18 minutes flat for a perfect score, where women have 21 minutes to do the same. Men and women are expected to perform the same number of abdominal crunches.

In many fields where strength matters, it looks like ladies get a break. In order to pass the physical standards test at most fire departments, for example, female candidates are required to carry less weight over a shorter distance than that of their male counterparts. Police department standards vary as well. Last year, a group of rejected female candidates to the Chicago Fire Department sued after failing the physical test, claiming gender discrimination when it was too difficult. Even in the Marine Corps' Combat Fitness Test (CFT), women are given more time to complete a series of battle-simulating tasks than the men.

The rationale behind different physical standards for men and women is the same logic behind the separation of the genders on the field of sport: simple biology. Fiber for fiber, female muscle mass is just as strong as male muscle mass, but men still have 40 to 50 lbs more muscle mass than women and less fat. When it comes to building brute strength, women are often at a hormonal disadvantage to men as well; we've got estrogen in spades, but male bodies produce much more muscle-building testosterone. Of course, this in no way means that every woman is physically weaker than every man or that they're incapable of amazing feats of physical strength. But generally speaking, men tend to be more prone to bar bending He-Man-ery. Which tends to translate better to strength-based achievement.

Women are already barred from the most physically intense jobs within the Marines. There's no such thing as an infantrywoman, and ladies aren't allowed to work in artillery or on aquatic tractors. Because of the elite unit's ridiculously high requirements for upper body strength and speed, women aren't even allowed to try out for some of the most elite military teams. In other words, separations already exist within the military that address physical differences between men and women. And further limiting women's involvement in the Marines — or in any strength-based job — might prove detrimental to units themselves.

Opponents of physically unequal standard for men and women in careers that essentially rely on physical strength point out that while a test can accomodate a woman, a fire does not care if you're a lady, and the weight of a falling wall will not adjust itself accordingly. And if men are overall more capable soldiers than women, then lowering standards to include ladies in more roles that rely on strength is actually doing the military a disservice by possibly putting them at a disadvantage to forces with gender blind testing. Sure, a woman should be allowed to do anything she wants — if she can meet the physical standards of the job.

And this makes quite a bit of sense. If my building were on fire and I were passed out under a collapsed beam, I don't care if the person who rescues me is a man or a woman; just get me the fuck out of there. But on the other hand, is it possible that there are traits that put women at an advantage that aren't measured by existing Physical Fitness Tests? Sure, there's no overcoming biology, but sometimes, biology (or socialization) works out to women's advantage. And that can benefit teams as a whole.

According to a 2003 report called Hiring & Retaining More Women: The Advantages to Law Enforcement Agencies, women may not possess the biceps of their male counterparts, but they make up for it in interpersonal skills.

Research conducted both in the United States and internationally clearly demonstrates that women officers rely on a style of policing that uses less physical force, are better at defusing and de-escalating potentially violent confrontations with citizens, and are less likely to become involved in problems with use of excessive force. Additionally, women officers often possess better communication skills than their male counterparts and are better able to facilitate the cooperation and trust required to implement a community policing model.

Being a Marine is not the same as being a police officer, but traits that the report says women possess — such as better communication skills, de-escalating skills, and less trigger-happiness — could translate to an advantage on the battlefield, or at least better PR. Would female Marines be as likely to pee on the corpses of slain enemy combatants? Maybe. At the very least, it's a little trickier for a lady to pee standing up.

In addition to personality traits that would enhance a police force or military unit, women's physiques may offer some advantages for combat. Our smaller size and lighter weight means we're more portable and can fit into smaller spaces. Our stretchy connective tissue means we're more flexible. And research suggests that higher levels of estrogen help ladies' muscles recover from exercise more quickly than men, and that we're uniquely suited to extreme endurance activities, like ultra-marathons or childbirth. This means less recovery time, and that ladies can endure more pain for longer. All advantages in extreme situations that can offer a complement to the brute strength advantage that biology tends to afford men.

But we don't test aspiring Marines for their ability to squeeze into a tiny space, hold an uncomfortable position for an extended period of time, or keep going for hours with minimal recovery time. The Marine PFT and CFT tests don't screen for every possible trait that could make a good soldier.

We don't need higher standards for female firefighters, Marines, or law enforcement officers. But these jobs would be well-served to measure physical attributes at which women excel in order to better understand how women contribute to the team as a whole.

And that's an idea worth saluting."

Make it snappy.

2012-01-18T16:16:00.000-06:00

I hate how stuff seems to pile up all at once. I promised to finish the whole pile as it then existed over Christmas break, but failed (was delighted to spend time with family, so I'm not really wishing I'd have prioritized any differently.) So yes I still have reviews to do. Tatami gi, B12 instructional, Emily Kwok's Bigger Stronger Opponent instructional, Drysdale's new nogi instructional. I know.

But work is ... yes, nutty busy. Deadlines abound. Not training much at all lately-- had a minor abdominal surgery at the beginning of the month in the pursuit of a homegrown baby, so I'm just working out at the "regular" gym for the moment. Did attend the quality Womens Grapple Camp last weekend in San Antonio, though. I didn't think I'd roll at all but woops, I forgot, and so I rolled. A lot. None of my stitches bust loose so it was win-win.

Aside from working and still teaching kids' class and working out and cooking more and watching Downton Abbey on Sunday nights, yep.. that's about it.

I am very excited that a new jiu jitsu school is opening officially tomorrow night. I hope I'll be happy there, and I hope I'll find my passion for jiu jitsu again. A moderate passion (can't do seven days a week for the foreseeable future) but passion nonetheless. I was starting to feel like class was a chore. That's no good. Change... is good.

Thanks for sticking with me despite my slow posting habits these days.

A slew of healthy food...

2012-01-09T11:32:00.001-06:00

After eating nonstop all through the holidays (thanks to the fabulous cooking at my inlaws' house plus all the great food in Vegas) I returned determined to "be good." And so far I have been, mostly. Lost 3 pounds since December 31, even though I have only trained once and gone to the gym once. My new year's resolutions included the vow to eat 5 vegetables a day... sometimes I cheat by eating 5 servings a day instead of 5 different vegetables, but it's a start. Anyway, here's some of the yummy things I've been making lately.

Italian Grain Soup

1/3 cup whole grain bulgur wheat
1/3 cup barley
1/4 cup lentils (I used green and yellow but whatever you have is fine)
1/4 cup split peas (I don't care for these much but needed to use up what I had)
4 slices bacon, sliced into pieces 1" wide.
28 oz can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano (or plain, and add your own spices)
1/2 yellow or sweet onion, chopped
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary
garlic powder, salt, pepper
2-3 cups chicken stock

1. Sort lentils to remove any stones. Rinse in colander with running water.
2. Boil 3 cups water in large pot or chef's pan. Add grains, return to boil, then lower heat and simmer, uncovered, 25 min or until tender. Do not add salt (adding salt at the beginning makes your lentils stay tough.)
3. Drain grains in colander and set aside. Return pan to med-high heat and fry bacon until fat begins to render but meat is still uncooked. Add chopped onion and rosemary, lower heat to medium, and stir frequently, cooking until onions and bacon are browning but not hard and crunchy.
4. Stir in canned tomatoes and cooked grains. Add chicken stock to desired consistency (some like it more brothy, some like it thicker like a stew. The photo above was pretty stew-like and thick; I used just 1.5 cups of stock.) Heat over medium heat and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste.

Pork Chop with Tomato, Onion and Feta

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
4 pork loin chops, 1 inch thick, brined for 30 min in solution of 1.5 qts water and 6 Tbsp salt
salt, black pepper, garlic powder to taste
1/2 pint red grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 pint yellow grape tomatoes, halved (or can just use all red.)
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 tablespoon dried basil
2 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion and cook until golden brown. Set aside.
2. Heat 1/2 tablespoon oil in the skillet. Season pork chops with pepper and garlic powder, and place in the skillet. Cook over med low heat to desired doneness. Set aside and keep warm on plate tented with foil.
3. Heat remaining oil in the skillet. Return onions to skillet, and stir in tomatoes, garlic, and basil. Cook and stir about 3 minutes, until tomatoes are tender. Stir in balsamic vinegar, and season with salt and pepper. Top chops with the onion and tomato mixture, and sprinkle with feta cheese to serve.

Italian Style Swiss Chard (sorry, didn't take a picture.)

1 bunch Swiss chard (feeds two people. It cooks down a lot!)
1 cup water
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
salt to taste

1. Wash the Swiss chard leaf by leaf, and cut into 1 inch strips. Separate the thick and tough stalk sections from the upper leafy strips. Bring the water and 1 tablespoon of salt to a boil in a large saucepan.
2. Cook the stalk sections in the salted boiling water for 3-4 minutes. Stir in the leafy strips and cook until the leaves are wilted and the stalks are fork tender, about 2 more minutes. Drain and set aside.
3. Heat the olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a large skillet over medium heat until aromatic, about 2-3 minutes. Add the drained Swiss chard, cook and stir for 2 minutes; season with salt to taste.

Killer Kale Salad (again sorry no photo)

Red kale (green kale works too) washed and sliced into 1/2" wide strips
Baby spinach, washed
Chopped bell pepper (I like the yellow version in this)
Sprouts-- any variety, I used radish and broccoli
Dried cranberries
Walnuts

Dressing: shake together till blended, in a dressing cruet or jar--
2-3 Tbsp habanero pepper jelly, melted in microwave 15-30 seconds
2-3 Tbsp whole grain or brown mustard
a glug or two of white wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar
salt/pepper to taste
2-3 Tbsp olive oil

Hope your make-weight and healthy-eating plans are going well! :)

How to: Launder a Fresh Smelling Gi (and it's not bleach!)

2012-01-08T15:10:00.001-06:00

Made a discovery just before Christmas that I gotta share.

100% natural homemade laundry soap, made by a firefighter in Maryland who sells her stuff on Etsy, that smells oh-so-good and costs the same or cheaper than commercially made laundry detergent.

She makes her own cocoa butter soap bars (which you can also buy on her Etsy site) and allows them to dry outside in the sun for about 1 week before grinding them up. Then she adds baking soda, borax and soda ash (aka washing soda) and mixes it all together with pure scented oil. It is free of harsh chemicals, detergents, and petroleum products that store-bought products are mostly comprised of.

I tried three of her fragrances and can't decide which one I like best so far. (I tried the apricot-chamomile-tangerine-orange... the vanilla-walnut... and the "fresh snow" which is a clean, laundry-ish, otherwise-indescribable fresh scent. She included a sample of Monkey Farts too-- which is described as pineapple/banana/grape/cherry/bubble gum/vanilla.) The scent is strong enough to last on a gi through a class and into open mat. I have a front-loading, HE (high efficiency) washer and this works great in it because it's very low sudsing. I use 2 Tbsp of soap per load because I like the fresh scent to be relatively strong and I want to be double-sure things are clean. You're supposed to use a tablespoon for a front loader, or two for a top loader.

It comes in a little paper sack with a wee wooden scoop that is just about one tablespoon. I transferred it to a tupperware container because one of my sacks sprung a small leak during shipping. She charges $7.49 a pound for the soap, and shipping is $5.95 each (or, if you order 3 lbs at once, she'll ship them all for the cost of one.)

I found that using about 2 Tbsp per load (I liked the smell!) I got 43-45 loads out of one package of soap. You should get the same "coverage" if you have a top loader. That's $.17 per load, or if you figure in the shipping and buy 3 pounds, it's $.22 per load. Tide liquid laundry detergent with 24 loads was $5.54 today at my grocery store, on sale, which is $.23 a load. I guess it's not a huge savings, but I like the smell, first of all... and the fact that it's ordinary ingredients, not petrochemicals, and it's supporting a small business-owner (a woman and a firefighter, on top of that.)

I did a test run with some white bathtowels to guesstimate the cleaning capacity. Unbeknownst to my husband, I rubbed yellow mustard into two, grape juice into a second pair, and spaghetti sauce on the third pair. One load of one each was washed with Tide in warm water, and one load was washed with just one tablespoon of her homemade soap and warm water. All towels came out clean except (cough) for a faint pink spot on the grape juice towels. (I bleached them.) Assuming my husband doesn't read this blog, I should be fine. Assuming you don't spill grape juice on your white gi, you should also be fine with one tablespoon of the soap.

I did some research on homemade laundry soap for this post, of course. Some people with hard water complain about soap residue (but that is a problem with hard water, no matter what kind of soap you use.) Some people with septic systems say that soap flakes clog up the system-- but this looks more fine and powdery, so I don't know what to tell you. I don't have septic, but if you do, please share what you know. A series of questions and answers on the subject of homemade laundry soap and septic systems here indicated this wouldn't harm a septic system...

I read about it here, on the Prairie Homestead blog, where the author made a liquid/gel version, and on about five hundred other sites. Pretty much everyone uses the same recipe, except this version adds baking soda too. I think this may help with the pH of the water and it's a common laundry additive.

I love the variety of scents this gal offers. I found the apricot-chamomile-tangerine one to be soft and less citrusy... the vanilla-walnut is creamy, nutty and not overly sweet... and the fresh snow is very typically laundry-ish. Some others I plan on trying..

AUTUMN HARVEST (LIMITED EDITION) ~ hints of cranberry & autumn citrus fruits. It's the scent of fall & the crunch of fallen leaves.
BABY BEE ~ Scented in Peaches, Coconut, Bergamot, Oranges, & Lemons.
BUTT NAKED ~ Sweet smelling, has fresh apples perfectly harmonized with refreshing melons & juicy pears.
IRELAND JADE CLOVER ~ wonderful ozony blend of clover, green grass, with hints of fresh cut wisteria. Refreshing!
LIME CUPCAKE with VANILLA CREAM FROSTING ~ Persian lime and lemon zests topped off with vanilla cream!
OATMEAL, MILK, HONEY ~ Perfect blending of the 3 scents Oatmeal, Milk, & Honey.
PUMPKIN CRUNCH CAKE (Limited Edition) ~ Pumpkin pie filling, yellow cake, pecans & spices.
SOAPY CLEAN ~ Clean, unisex scent that smells just like its name. Neutral smell like you've just taken a shower.
YUZU ~ Japanese grapefruit with a peachy, strawberry scent.

Now I'm hungry :)

Anyway, thought I'd share. I'm off the mats for a bit... doing some minor medical procedures in the pursuit of fertility, plus caught a cold. I hope I am over both by next weekend, because I'm doing the Women's Grapple Camp in San Antonio with Emily Kwok and Val Worthington! I'd hate to have to just sit and watch but if that's what I gotta do, I will.

Advice on how not to get hurt?

2012-01-05T09:23:00.001-06:00

I have a girlfriend who trains in an area without a lot of BJJ options. She just sent me this message and I hope you can help her with her decision.

"This year I've made a resolution to figure out how to get hurt less often in BJJ or quit training. As an example, in December I got my ribs popped and then ended the month with a concussion from a knee to the back of the head. It's starting to get to the point of being just too dangerous to continue training.

So what I would like to know is, do you have any experience (or know of any lady who does) with how to get hurt less often?"

I will say that she's at a gym affiliated with a quality program (it's not a TKD school by far) and her coach, from what she's described, sounds like a good guy, with a reputable black belt.

Suggestions welcome!!!

Tangentially related-- Hillary Williams writes in a Sherdog thread about technique vs. strength, and men vs. women in jiu jitsu:

"The actual strength capability, if it can be mildly quantifiable, is as Mcrow so graciously reminded us: 145 pound guy =/= 145 pound girl as far as muscle composition. I don't really need to touch on that part.

However, *how* women use the strength we have is also interesting and needs to be touched on. It explains why little male grapplers are still not quite comparable to female grapplers. I'm not going to go on feminist babble, but I will mention some gender differences that everyone knows but know one really thinks about.

Men are taught to be boisterous, aggressive, courageous etc. from a young age. They help dad build things, play sports or games with other kids, and use their bodies as tools very young. This allows them to develop a very instinctive sense of using their bodies effectively because they learn naturally. In many male sports, an "attack" gameplay is the norm: movements that involve leaving one's space and aggressively confronting an object or another player. Women, however, are gracefully emphasized. Almost no girls are put into contact sports; volleyball, soccer, gymnastics are common. These all teach grace, movement within a bounded area, and reacting to intrusions in that space.

When you watch women in combat sports, there is a similar pattern that emerges. When men start Jiu Jitsu, they are familiarized with the idea of combat their entire lives from being males and are generally pretty stoked about it. They really want to be fighters. They'll not know one bit what a guard pass is but they will flop, flail, and attack as best they can. They'll be generally aggressive about the learning process itself and will decide their own style of game down the line. Women are almost all apprehensive at first. I'll jump on a 2000 pound animal that's never had a human on its back with no fear, but I know I was terrified the first time I did BJJ. They're out of their element, almost none have ever done anything full contact before (most girls don't "wrassle" with dad or friends, either). Their Jiu Jitsu, initially, is often more reserved, unsure of goals or objectives (many don't have the UFC/MMA familiarity with even seeing the ground movements like many men today do), and are more reactive to movements that invade their space rather than attack outside it. Part of this has to do with our disadvantage of effect use of our body as a whole: We are stronger the more compact we are, and reaching outside this space leaves us exposed and vulnerable.

As we're learning BJJ, girls understand--at least subconsciously--that what we're doing isn't "normal" for girls. We kind of compensate by emphasizing the technical aspect of Jiu Jitsu, which can be manipulated to appear graceful and thus socially okay for a girl to do. Girls are slightly more naturally flexible (the majority of the difference is early emphasis of stretching in female exercise) and so we end up doing very flexible, flowing games that react to the aggressive male attacks that we encounter in the gym. We become sneaky, we learn to be quick and agile, to move around you rather than through you.

Tangent: That ISN'T to say women are more technical, or that the game produced is more technical. I hate that phrase, actually. Who's to say that a black belt doing berimbolo and tornado and rolling around on their head is more "technical" than the person who does the most basic scissor sweep? If both the techniques were effective in their objective, they are technical. Just because something is simple, does not mean it is not technical.

Because women rarely train with other women, quite often our reactive game works well for us. We defend all the time; men can't stand 'losing' to girls, so most of our rolls are defense rather than expansion. I have seen MANY female students (and I have done this myself) abandon certain techniques in the gym because they were simply not effective against big guys. If you don't have female training partners, like me, you end up with parts of your game (that could be vital against equally sized opponents) given up on due to frustration.

This can lead to a lapse in a girl's offensive Jiu Jitsu. When men try to "not use strength," it's a catastrophe. Don't worry boys, it's not your fault, it's just impossible for you to roll like a female would. Even if you're trying to "not use strength" (stupid idea to begin with), your body shape, size, and weight is a challenge in itself. When we run into situations where we're finally with someone going balls to the wall to beat us, we're confused and unprepared. The more you compete and do Jiu Jitsu, the more you can taper your training and prepare yourself, but I don't know a girl in BJJ that didn't say her first tournament was a shock. Men are used to aggressive rolls, winning some and losing some, and have a much easier time of it.

That being said, I think the "technique beats strength all the time" boolsheet that is fed to women as a BJJ pitch is absurd. Women are taught that "if you just focus on technique, technique, technique, it'll all work out." It also implies that strength and technique are mutually exclusive, as if strength is a bad thing. If strength was such a bad thing or not important we wouldn't have damn near every one of our top athletes looking like fitness models and doing S&C daily/weekly. Technique is the effective and efficient use of strength as much as an armbar is. If I can use my shoulder and weight distribution in a way that I can hold down a 190 pound brown belt, I'd consider that some pretty damn technical shoulder pressure. Women think they're aren't as strong, or that they'll never be able to match their male partner's strength, so they don't even attempt to access their own potential."

Happy new year and all that!

2012-01-03T14:44:00.001-06:00

So happy to be back home, sleeping in my own bed! But husband and I had a fantastic two weeks visiting his parents, aunt/uncle, and extended family in Vegas.

Too much eating of course... but I did get some training in at Drysdale's gym, which helped a teeny bit. Many thanks to James, Aaron and Sonny for helping me feel welcome and teaching some great classes. I worked on a transition from butterfly to single leg X guard, two sweeps from there, the berimbolo, and the ninja roll among other things. At least I got moving.

Today, back at the office and phew, back in the gym too. My crossfit-esque class kicked my butt at lunch and I am determined to attend consistently 5 days a week. It will take a serious effort to lose all the extra breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks I accumulated. *sigh*

Hope you had a great new years with loved ones and are already back on the mats. I have a couple more reviews coming up-- the Tatami basic gi, Emily Kwok and Stephan Kesting's new series on fighting a bigger stronger opponent, and Drysdale's new nogi instructional too.

Welcome home :)

Gals' Gis: Black Eagle Predadora vs. Gameness Ladies' Feather

2011-12-29T16:26:00.001-06:00

I love that manufacturers have been listening and making a variety of "ladies' fit" gis. Especially for curvy gals, it can be frustrating trying to find a gi that feels good. If you're looking for a lightweight competition gi that is still sturdy enough for daily training, these are two great options. Women of any shape will like them both, but the Predadora suits curvier ladies better than the Gameness. The Predadora shrinks less, too, but I liked them both.

As you know, I'm sponsored by Black Eagle, who make the Predadora, the ladies' version of the Predator. Gameness also offered me a gi recently so I could consider their products and service.

I've had a Gameness Pearl weave, size A1, for almost as long as I've been training, and it's just too bad I didn't write a review of it earlier. I will say that even though I custom dyed it, I didn't end up wearing it once I had plenty of other options, because it didn't fit so hot and because the twill pants were pretty icky when wet with sweat. [Maybe I'll write a review, minus shrinkage stats?]

So, I agreed to try out the Gameness ladies' gi and literally 24 hours later the Feather arrived at my doorstep. I brought it and the Predadora with me to Las Vegas for the holidays and wanted to give you my opinions on them both.

Unlike most of my gi reviews, I've only worn the Gameness Feather five times, all while training here at Drysdale's academy. I feel like that's enough to have a useful opinion about it, so here we go.

Gameness Feather

Stats: 475g pearl weave top, rubber collar, lightweight ripstop pants. F3 size weighs 2.9 lbs. Available in white and violet on the Gameness site for $155-165.

Previously reviewed by Michelle Welti.

Measurements: I ignored the label instructions and attempt to shrink the heck out of it. Although I'm short enough for the F2 size, I'm round enough for the F3-- currently, 5'2" tall, >140lbs, 36-28-39. Here's the size chart from Gameness' website.

Size	Height	Weight
F1	4’9″ – 5′	85 lbs. – 100 lbs.
F2	5′ – 5’4″	100 lbs. – 120 lbs.
F3	5’3″ – 5’6″	115 lbs. – 145 lbs.
F4	5’6″ – 5’9″	140 lbs. – 170 lbs.
F5	5’8″ – 6′	165 lbs. – 200 lbs.

First measurement is straight out of the bag; second is after 6 wears and 5 washes and dries on the hottest settings.

Jacket-

Front top of shoulder to hem at bottom: 27.5" / 26.125"
Chest width under arms: 18.25" / 17.75"
Arm length (under arm): 21" / 18.75"
Cuff: 5.75" / 5.25"

Pants-
Waist: 20" / 20"
Leg length, outside, waist to cuff: 35.25" / 33.25"
Cuff: 9.25" / 9"
Rise, front: 13.25" / 11.5"
Rise, rear: 15.5" / 13.75"

As you can see, it does shrink a bit, so take that into consideration when you wash and dry.

General impressions: The gi top has a nice weave to it- the inside-facing side of the material is smoother than the outside and feels comfortable. The hem tape is the standard Gameness label stuff. Here's the shoulder patch.

The front lapel has the standard Gameness banner.

There seems to be an excess of material in the back of the jacket-- perhaps because I am short-waisted. But I like the length of the skirt.

The sleeves fit nicely-- slim and trim, but IBJJF legal.

Before and after shrinking, the pants were a little snug especially around my bottom and thighs, but welcome to my life; on a lady who carried her weight elsewhere they'd be better. These photos taken after class, so you can see that like many, the gi stretches out a bit-- it gets poochey knees and more room for movement although the derriere is always on the tight side.

The gi jacket is tapered in the torso, but not enough to keep the front from "belling" outwards from the waist up.

The pants are a huge improvement over the old twill ones, which were thick and rather stiff, especially when wet. The ripstop is crisp and light. If you airdry them, they are a little more "starchy" feeling. One drawback is the two-belt-loop thing that's become a pet peeve for me. Once you've rolled a while, the string creeps up at the sides and tends to cut into your hips a bit.

(Don't laugh at my in-laws' guestroom bedspread.)

In general, it's a very well made gi. I could only find one stitching error-- a spot at the bottom of one leg, where the double layer over the knee ends. Nothing that seemed more than cosmetic.

Reinforcement inside the crotch with double seams.

And reinforcement of the vent in the jacket skirt.

A really nice touch is the different height of the rear and front rise in the pants. No plumbers' crack and you're not going to have the high-waisted feel in the front, or the saggy crotch halfway to your knees.

Sadly, I didn't bring a third gi for collar-thickness comparison shots. If you demand a super-thick collar a la HCK, you will be disappointed. They're both on the average side.

Overall, I like the gi. I'll have to wear it more and keep updating as my experiences grow (and my derriere shrinks.) I am pretty much at my highest weight ever so I expect the fit to improve, and with it my happiness (with the gi and generally speaking.)

Black Eagle's Predadora:

Stats: "Ultra light" pearl weave top and ultra light ripstop pants. I have the F3 and it weighs 2.75lbs (just .15lb more than my Vulkan Ultralight.)

Previously reviewed on Sherdog... and of course by MegJitsu who helped develop it.

Available for US$102 on Black Eagle's site and $15 shipping to the US, or US$115 at Budovideos, but at the time of posting, the F2, F3 and F4 were out of stock.

Note: you can buy the jacket and pants separately to mix-and-match sizes, which is nice.

Measurements: For reference, again I'm 5'2" and >140lbs.

Here's the size chart on the Black Eagle website--

size CM height age body weight

000	110	UNDER 3' 8"	4-5 yrs	45lbs	20.5Kg
00	120	3' 9" to 4' 2"	6-7 yrs	60lbs	27.0Kg
0	130	4' 3" to 4' 5"	8-9 yrs	80lbs	36.5Kg
1	140	4' 6" to 4' 9"	10-11 yrs	100lbs	45.5Kg
2	150	4' 10" to 5' 2"	12-13 yrs	120lbs	54.5Kg
3	160	5' 3" to 5' 5"	Small	140lbs	63.5Kg
4	170	5' 6" to 5' 9"	Medium	175lbs	79.5Kg
5	180	5' 10" to 6' 1"	Large	185lbs	84.0Kg
6	190	6' 2" to 6' 5"	X Large	200lbs	91.0Kg
7	200	6' 6" UP	XX Large	225lbs	102.0Kg

Budovideos shares this size guide:
Height - Weight (lbs)
4'9"-5'0" - 85-100 - F-1
5'0"-5'4" - 100-120 - F2
5'3"-5'6" - 115-145 - F-3
5'5"-5'9" - 140-170 - F-4

Black Eagle gives the same special treatment to the Predadora fabric they've given to the Predator. "Sanforized - Guaranteed never to shrink out of fit (still allow for an initial shrinkage of around 1%-2%) [and] Mercerised - Increases the strength of the fibres and further protects from shrinkage."

Here's my shrinkage results, with hot water washes and hot machine drying.

[need to insert measurements]

Overall: My favorite gi so far, because of the fit and, to a lesser extent, the fabric. I finally have a pair of gi pants that doesn't make me feel fat nor like I'm wearing a tent-diaper when I put them on, and no matter how much I weigh, the pants don't restrict my mobility.

I know once I get back down to my normal training weight, much less my competition weight, this won't be such an issue. But this gi is one less excuse to not go train. I know non-jiu jitsu people won't go to the gym because they are ashamed of how they look. They think they'll just walk in their neighborhood until they lose a little weight and feel better about themselves, before going to the gym. We can predict how well that works. At the moment, post-holidays, post-eating everything my inlaws put in front of me, post-time off this summer for my knee, I can't afford any excuses not to train. These pants feel fantastic. They're not tight across the rear and are comfortable around my thighs.

The pants shrunk a bit in length after the first wash/dry but no more. They're just about as short as I'd care to wear them. I wouldn't want them shorter, but they are IBJJF legal.

Six belt loops, evenly spaced across the front, make me happy. The double layer of fabric over the knees starts mid-thigh and ends mid-shin.

I like the color scheme. I am a bit tired of pink and lavender and flowers and butterflies. This is a simple turquoise-and-silver scheme (the embroidered eagle on the shoulder is silvery grey.) I don't need feminine on my gi, to be honest.

Maybe you can't tell from this photo, but the fit on the jacket is another plus. It's really slim in the torso and would be tight under the arms if it were any smaller. The benefit of this is that the jacket stays put around your body even if the belt comes untied. The skirt is on the shorter side and good luck to people trying to wrap your lapels under your arms, behind your head, etc. The shorter lapels and skirt take some getting used to if you're accustomed to a baggy male-fit gi and normally have miles of gi available to wrap people up.

See what I mean about the fit? The fabric really follows the contours of your body around the shoulderblades, the torso, the waist, and under your arms. Not a lot of extra in the arms themselves either. IBJJF legal and no more.

The fabric itself is quite soft and thin; not as thin-feeling as the Vulkan Ultralight, but definitely thinner than the Atama Mundial #9, the Koral MKM, the Fenom, and the Fuji. It's as thin as the Feather, but softer/smoother to the hand. Also, it seems to stay a bright white even in the knees and on the back, which I believe is a result of either mercerization or sanforization.

The word Predadora appears in 3 places on the gi top-- both shoulders and the back of the skirt. The embroidery is super-tight and smooth, inside and out, which is to be expected from a company like Black Eagle which offers custom embroidery on all kinds of gear. Here's the inside of the skirt. (Sorry for the white bands on the photo, I screwed up the image manipulation and didn't feel upset enough about it to redo it.)

The gi is reinforced in all the standard places-- here's the interior vent on the jacket skirt...

There were some defects though. I was told by Steve at Black Eagle that they're using a different sewing/assembly system for the gis going out now because of some quality complaints, but I decided just to live with it or fix mine myself with a needle and thread.

Hard to photograph, but this shows how the second layer of fabric over one knee was a little larger than the pants underneath, resulting in a permanent fold or wrinkle about an inch long. Didn't affect the feel or function, but worth noting.

Another sewing problem could lead to a durability issue. The folded-over entrance to the channel in which the belt runs was not sewn together. Not a problem now but maybe in months or a year, more stitching could come loose, and that's a place where you will get wear and tear. It was a simple fix with a needle and thread, or I could have gotten a seamstress to do it for a couple bones. But as I mentioned, Steve reports that this issue has been resolved by switching who does their sewing.

Ultimately, despite these problems, I give the gi an A. I love having a lightweight gi that stands up to intense training and has thicker collars than the Vulkan Ultralight. I love the soft hand of the fabric and I especially appreciate the pants, with room for the junk without being a flappy diaper.

Looking forward to trying the Black Eagle Raptora soon....

Gi review part three: the Dom Gear DMX

2011-12-23T18:32:00.000-06:00

Earlier, I cheekily described this gi as "Rick Perry. A decent beginning if you didn't press for details, but spectacular failure ensued." That was entirely unfair-- Rick Perry didn't even start out decently, whereas the gi certainly started out great-- and I only did it for the limited purpose of fitting into my "Iowa Caucus" joke. Here's a better, more accurate examination.

Dom Fightgear is a Texas company with a big presence at a lot of local tournaments and an interesting "about us" story on their website:

"One day Rocky Haire [a personal injury attorney] was leaving his firm, heading to his Porsche in the parking garage, when a paper blew across his path. Only God knows why he left at that moment and the paper was in that precise spot. It was Bryan Griffin’s Angel Tree application. Angel Tree is a group that sends out Christmas presents to the children of inmates. Rock sent him a letter asking if the application had been granted and if there was anything he could do for him. Anything. For months Bryan [an "oil and gas guy"] ignored the letter, thinking it was more bad news from a lawyer. Had they found his prints on something? Rocky made arrangements for the gifts, just in case, and forgot about it.

Bryan finally opened the letter and couldn't believe it. He responded immediately and it was Rocky’s turn to be surprised--Bryan said he was fine and didn't ask for anything. Later they would laugh about why Bryan didn't need anything in prison, and when the Statute of Limitations expires, we will tell you why he was the wealthiest guy on the block.

Bryan was released and set out to find Rocky. Since they were both MMA fans and fighters, and both businessmen, they formed an alliance to promote high end fightgear."

It's worth a mention that Dom Fightgear has a moral agenda as well: "In a very real sense, DOM has always been here, as it is more a state of mind than a clothing line. Once we establish a significant presence in the world market, we will roll out our plan to get bullying stopped in the public schools of our Nation—and more importantly, bring God back into them in the process."

Huh. Interesting.

I won this gi at a tournament last spring and I'll tell you why it took so long to review it in a moment.

Let's discuss specifics.

For reference, I measure gis out of the bag, then wash in the hottest possible wash and rinse setting, and dry in a hot dryer at least once before the second measurement. Future washes are usually on warm or cool settings but still machine dried. If further shrinkage is notable, I will re-measure. Also, when I modeled for the pictures I was non-competition-weight >140lbs, 36-28-39, 5'2".

This gi is available in white, black, blue and pink for $135 on Dom's website. The DMX II, the competition (gold weave) version is available in white or black only for $119.

Reviewed previously by ... no one, as best I can tell. Wow. The sister gi, a lighter competition version, was reviewed by CageDoor.net a while back.

Stats: Their website doesn't list specifics, but the pants are ripstop and the jacket is doubleweave and quite thick, as well as being lined with microfiber material. My size A1 (pants and jacket) weighs 4lbs 5 oz. My A1 jacket with A2 pants weighs 4 lbs 8 oz. This is not a lightweight gi despite the ripstop pants.

Note: Measurements of the size A1 pants/jacket but photos taken with size A2 pants, A1 jacket. Explanation to follow.

Measurements: size A1 before and after wash--

Pants across waist: 21"/21"

Leg outside, front waist to cuff: 34"/34"

Cuff: 10"/10"

Rise (center of crotch up to waist) front: 18"/18"

Jacket front length (shoulder next to collar to bottom hem): 30"/27"

Chest width (underarm to underarm): 23"/21"

Arm length (underarm to cuff): 22"/19 1/2"

Cuff: 6 1/2"/6"

The jacket is trimmed at the bottom and cuffs with a satin tape saying "Domaine de la Octade."

In an interview with CageDoor, Rocky Haire (one of Dom's owners) said that he invented the phrase "Domaine de la Octade" after being inspired by a Food & Wine article and that it means The Octagon is my Home. Read the interview here.

My first impression of the gi-- wow, it's lined! Not with rashguard stretchy material. It's microfiber, woven, and rather thin, and feels simultaneously sleek and fuzzy. Like the skin of a peach, actually. Second thought was, damn, this is heavy. Third thought-- ugh, I hate the pink. Classic Crayola "carnation pink" but I wasn't looking the gift horse in the teeth at the tournament so I didn't think to trade it for another color.

Capturing the lining in a still photo proved to exceed our documentary skills.

The lining made this an extremely comfortable gi top. It didn't add any thickness or diminish the roominess of the cut, which is rather boxy and judo-esque. The a lining was well-shaped and finely attached to the jacket, without excess fabric bunching up in the armpits or sagging below the jacket hem; no loose seams or exposed stitching. The fabric seemed to be sturdy enough to withstand the tugging and pulling, and really made the gi feel great on bare skin. It was also nice in hot weather, because the sweaty microfiber felt much cooler and less restrictive than sweaty doubleweave. In cooler weather (which we didn't have much of, before summer came) it was also warmer-feeling especially when the gi was first put on.

The satin tape proved to be the first casualty, however, and began to fray and disintegrate during the very first class. After the first wash, there were tendrils of black thread hanging like tinsel.

All the patches (tops of the shoulders and front of the chest, plus the bottom of the gi pants, as seen below) are made of the same satin fabric, and they appear to suffer the same fate to one degree or another.

I know I'm being picky, but here's what seemed to precipitate the fraying of the patches-- after a wash, the edges of the satin seemed to curl up and develop "corners," which seemed subject to greater abrasion and later fraying. Also, seemed like the gi material shrank a bit more than the patches, creating some puckering and protrusion as well. But the patches look slick anyway-- nice shiny high-quality satin and very smooth, thick, tight embroidery on top-- and if you just trim the loose threads with scissors you can probably maintain the look for a long time.

The pants were the second casualty.

Explosive casualty, that is. I'd worn the gi about four times, and was suiting up for the fifth. I happened to be in the changing room, and I squatted down because the pants felt a little tight (the way you'll try to loosen up jeans that are fresh out of the dryer, perhaps.) The dangnabbit pants split right up the backside-- from mid-butt cheek straight down the back of my hamstring to the bottom of my calf muscle. Not on a seam-- right down the middle of the fabric. So much for ripstop! Fortunately I always carry a spare gi in the trunk of my car (you never know when you might want to roll, right?) so I was able to train that night.

Now, I've never pretended I am the slimmest girl on the mat-- although this was mid-tournament season as I prepped for the Pan so I was definitely at or near my fittest and lightest. I wouldn't pretend to blame Dom Gear for the pants being a little on the "fits like a glove" side (though they do brag that this will be your impression on their website-- "Lined lightweight gis, hoodies and shirts that you want to wear everyday--that sit on you like a glove and can take a beating or go on a date.") The competition-weight pants were also on the slim side for the male reviewer at the CageDoor. But I guarantee you, the strain of containing my derriere was not THAT great. The fabric or the cut or both was flawed in some way.

However, it was a great opportunity to see Dom's customer service in action. I emailed them photos of the tear. I didn't hear back from them for a while (couple months!) and emailed again. Turns out they'd immediately sent me a new pair of pants, and for some reason I never received them, so the delay was mere miscommunication. Siegfried (another of the owners) was very kind and within a day shipped me a whole new gi-- this time a size A2 at my request. So, these photos are of the A2 pants, which I didn't measure, as I haven't worn them to train in nor have I washed/dried them yet.

The A1 pants were a little short for me, but these A2s are just fine, length-wise, although they too are slim cut.

As a result, I conclude that the Dom pants are not cut for ladies shaped like me. The rise is too high (the waist comes up over my bottom rib) and the hip/thigh area is too straight, making the pants too tight around the quadricep area.

I wish there were more than 2 belt loops, but I like how they're placed if you're only going to have two-- closer to the hipbone and therefore more likely to keep the strings low. The belt is a flat stitched strip of the pants material. No extra fabric reinforces the stress points at the waist vents or crotch, but the knees are double-layered down to the ankle.

The gi top is roomy, as I mentioned, but the arms are just right length-wise. Again this picture is of the A1 top and A2 pants.

The collar feels unusually thick, although soft... thicker than the Atama Mundial #9 and every other gi in this review. The Dom website doesn't say what the core of the lapel is made with.

Left to Right: Black Eagle Predator, Dom DMX, Kauai ripstop, Ouano Comp Light, Atama Mundial #9, and Tatami Nova.

Bottom line: Dom Fightgear aimed to make the Armani suit of gis with this. I wouldn't go quite that far. The cut is off, the pants were ripstart instead of ripstop, and the jacket shrinks a fair bit; however, the lining is really, really nice, and it's a good heavy training jacket, if not pants. I would be concerned about the patches raveling, but they'd be easy to remove.

Gi review, part two: the Black Eagle Predator MK II

2011-12-22T11:43:00.000-06:00

I am sponsored by Black Eagle, so logically you'd think I'm biased in a review of their products. I would like to think I'm balanced and fair about it, at least I am certainly trying to be... but take what I say with a grain of salt, of course. I guess I am lucky to be sponsored by a company about whose products I can be enthusiastic. Most jiu jitsu fighters (I think) who are sponsored are getting money as well as gear. Since I just get gis from Black Eagle, I can afford to be choosy in the sense that if they started making crap, I wouldn't wear it or keep the sponsorship. If I depended on them for airfare and tournament entries and training costs, well, then, maybe I'd feel differently. Again, I am very lucky to be partnered with them.

With that out of the way... let me join the hordes reviewing this spiffy gi. I've had these gis in my rotation for about nine months. I have a blue and a white, custom embroidered, and I wear the crap out of them. We took all these photos a couple days ago, and I was non-competition-weight >140lbs, 36-28-39, 5'2".

Lots of reviews out there, by JiuJitsuSweep...a number of threads on Sherdog, again by BJJinChicago, and again by SEAMMAGear... Meerkatsu wrote a technical test review here ... Slideyfoot...ArcanumBJJ... okay, that's enough. But there are more out there if you want to really be thorough.

Available for purchase on Black Eagle's site in white for 60 pounds (US$94) and shipping to the UK is under 5 pounds; to the US is only US$23 or so. The black and blue versions retail for 70 pounds/US$110. If your order price exceeds 100 pounds, shipping is free.

Stats: "ultralight" ripstop pants, pearl weave jacket, and an A1 weighs 2.9lbs. By comparison, my Vulkan Ultralight A1 weighs 2.6lbs. Many many people complain how soft and almost flimsy the Ultralight feels, and you won't say that about the Predator.

Measurements: Black Eagle provided this chart so you can compare your current best-fitting gi to this model and see what size is best.

I compared my two gis to their measurements and surprisingly, found them spot on, with a 1/4-5/16" variance at most. (Yes, I got out my mom's sewing ruler for this.)

Considering that fabric is factory cut, usually from a huge stack of layers using CAD computers, machines like a table saw and even lasers, this is extremely uncommon and speaks of great attention to detail. (Yes, I contacted several industrial sewing contractors.. MonaLisa Manufacturing, Bearse Manufacturing and Robocuts in Canada.) Now you know why, when you buy pants in more than one color, but only tried one on, and you get home and the other color doesn't fit properly.

I really did my best to shrink these suckers, just to test. I probably hot-water-washed and hot-setting-dried them at least 45 times (two months' worth of classes) before taking the second measurement. A tiny bit of length shrinkage, well under 1%, on the pants, not the jacket. No width shrinkage. When there were different measurements obtained on the gis, I state that.

Pants across waist: 21"/21"
Leg outside, from waist to cuff [their "D" on the chart]: new 35" and 34 3/4"; washed, 34 13/16" and 34 1/2" respectively [note statistically insignificant yet different shrinkage.]
Cuff: 9"/9"
Rise (center of crotch up to waist) front: 15" and 15 1/4" new, 14 11/16" and 15" washed
Rise rear: same [some womens' fit pants have a longer rear rise for better fit; this was not a woman's fit gi but it fit me fine. See my Predadora review soon for the ladies' version.]

Jacket front length (shoulder next to collar to bottom hem, basically their "B" on the chart): 28"/28"
Chest width (underarm to underarm, their "C"): 21 11/16"/21 3/8"
Arm length (underarm to cuff): 22"/22"
Cuff: 6"/6"

Opinion and comments: Two fabric treatments are unique to the Predator BJJ line as far as I know-- the material is Sanforized - a method of stretching, shrinking, and fixing the cloth in both length and width, before cutting and producing to reduce the shrinkage which would otherwise occur after washing, and it's Mercerised - which further preshrinks the fabric, makes it stronger and easier to dye, and gives the cloth a lustrous appearance and a softer feel. I do notice a difference.

I notice that the mercerization makes the material, especially the white, stay cleaner-looking. Usually after a good long open mat, the back and knees of my gis look dingy, but this treatment seems to resist getting smeared, and when it's clean, the white gleams just a tiny bit (dammit, it does not glow in the dark-- which would be COOOL!)

Also, the fabric has a nice soft hand-- it's not any thinner or more flexible than, say, the Atama Mundial 9, but it's more slick to the touch. I bought my husband one of these gis as a gift, and when I rolled with him wearing it, I found sleeve grips to be challenging even with a pocket/cat's paw type grip. Even Leticia's tricky pistol grip variation was tough to keep.

I like the color schemes. The black version comes with contrasty goldenrod stitching/belt/loops. Obviously, the white gi has black embroidery and black belt loops, belt, etc.

The embroidery on the back, front and pants can be whatever color you like when you do the custom thing. The Black Eagle patch on the side of the leg (above) is very securely stitched to the material and I haven't found any fraying in nine months of several-times-a-week use.

I didn't photograph the blue-and-red for this post, but I have a couple shots from the Leticia/Bia Mesquita seminar. The belt loops, belt, and shoulder patches are red, and I haven't noticed any fading of the red. The blue fades a little bit at the edges of the sleeves and cuffs, but nothing out of the ordinary.

The fit is fine for me. Comfortable in the torso and sleeves, and a fitted rise that would be slightly (not excessively) looser on someone with less of a bum. The pants are ripstop, not as fluid as the Kauai type or even a well-worn Atama Mundial pair, but not stiff like the Ouanos. Overall, good construction, and for a "lightweight" gi it definitely feels more sturdy and resilient than the Vulkan Ultralight (which is supremely soft and comfy, and I find to be plenty tough, but some complain about its lightness for day-to-day training.)

SIX belt loops. Keeps the belt low all the way across, kinder to the hipbones. And unlike Seymour, I prefer the flat-style belt to the round cord. Stretches less, feels better under the back.

The pants are cut to be pretty slim so it surprised me that I liked them, being as curvy as I am. I didn't feel confined or constricted, but I do think they're succeeding in their aim of providing a "competition" cut that is IBJJF legal but as far from boxy, floppy or judoesque as possible. The second layer on the front of the legs goes from above the knee to a little further down the shin than halfway.

I wish my husband would have straightened out my jacket before snapping this one but he was a champ about taking these-- we were running around the house packing to leave for two weeks at his parents, trying to wrap gifts and clean up and all that too...

I will say, the embroidered back patch gets a LOT of abrasion and wear because I have a nasty habit of being flat on my back, but the stitching still looks sharp and tight. Sadly I did not photograph it before leaving home but I'll try to add something after the holidays.

The collars are a comfortable thickness, softer than some other rubber-cored collars as Meerkatsu noted. From left to right: the Predator, Dom Gear DMX, Kauai Ripstop, Ouano Comp Light, Atama Mundial 9 (the 2nd white), and Tatami Nova. This is also a good example of the minimal fading after nine months of heavy wear and tear.

If it weren't for the Predadora ladies-fit, this would be my favorite gi. I highly recommend it. :)

The Best BJJ Gis Survey 2011

2011-12-20T11:24:00.000-06:00

It's up. A fantastic collection of data AND statistical interpretation...

Check it out here.

BIG thanks to Matt Kirtley, the brownbelt known as Aesopian to many, for his amazing work on this huge project ...

The Iowa Caucus of Jiu Jitsu Gis: a Six-Way Fight to the Death- Part One: Ouano Comp Light

2011-12-20T11:09:00.003-06:00

Think of this as the Iowa Caucus* of gis, except that I actually like a few of the candidates. I wish I could truly analogize each gi to a specific person, but 3 of these gis are so good, they're not Republican candidates, they're Obama. But I'll give them names anyway just for laughs. This way I even get to make fun of some politicians. I will say, my "short version" summary below stretches the facts a bit to make room for the candidates. None of these gis are actually as bad as the politicians who play them on TV.

* For my non-U.S. friends, the Iowa caucuses are noteworthy for the amount of media attention they receive during U.S. presidential election years. Since 1972, the Iowa caucuses have been the first major electoral event of the nominating process for President of the United States. Although only about one percent of the nation's delegates are chosen by the Iowa State Convention, the Iowa caucuses have served as an early indication of which candidates for president might win the nomination of their political party (in this case, the Republicans, since we have a Democrat hoping for re-election) at that party's national convention. Read more here.

The Ouano Competition Light is Michelle Bachmann. Looks good, but doesn't fit me at all.

Black Eagle Predator MK II. (Obama.)

Dom Gear DMX-- Rick Perry. A decent beginning if you didn't press for details, but spectacular failure ensued. (He gets two pictures. I couldn't decide between 'em.)

Tatami-- [Please note, I am sponsored by their competitor Black Eagle, but in doing my reviews, I try very hard to be objective and note my findings accurately and form opinions from that data.] Jon Huntsman. Bland, can't recall anything specific, not objectionable, but not my first choice. This is a basic simple version I was given for reviewing by BJJHQ.com and I think it's the Nova Basic without the blingy shoulder patch (note the photo at the top of their page shows my version of this gi, but the current model has the patch.)

Kauai Ripstop. (Obama)

Black Eagle Predadora (ladies' fit). Now this is where my little political joke just can't stand up, because I freaking love, love, love this gi. I would probably quit my job just to volunteer full-time for any candidate I liked this much. My hands-down favorite gi of all time and the standard by which all others are measured. Obviously not because I'm sponsored by them, but please remember that as you read on.

On to the specifics! For reference, I measure gis out of the bag, then wash in the hottest possible wash and rinse setting, and dry in a hot dryer before the second measurement. Future washes are usually on warm or cool settings but still machine dried. If further shrinkage is notable, I will re-measure. Also, I took all these photos together, and I was non-competition-weight >140lbs, 36-28-39, 5'2".

Ouano Competition Light: Ouano has these on sale right now, but only size A0, A4 and A5 are in stock; $110-120. Rumor has it they're retiring this gi.

Sorry, couldn't figure out how to rotate the picture of the interior label, I'm on a linux machine right now and it's impairing my mojo.

Reviewed previously by Kumachan... BJJGearJunkie ... and on Sherdog.

Stats: 8 ounce ripstop pants, 450 g lightweight jacket, A1 weighs 3 lbs even.

Measurements: size A1 before and after wash-- Pants shrank a little lengthwise but not widthwise. Jacket shrank a little both ways.

Pants across waist: 21"/21"
Leg outside, front waist to cuff: 37"/35"
Leg outside, back waist to cuff: 37"/35"
Cuff: 10"/9 3/4"
Rise (center of crotch up to waist) front: 16"/15 1/2"
Rise rear: 16"/15 1/2"

Jacket front length (shoulder next to collar to bottom hem): 30"/28"
Chest width (underarm to underarm): 22"/21"
Arm length (underarm to cuff): 22"/21"
Cuff: 6 1/2"/6"

I was given this gi by a good friend and sponsor, Mike at MMAOutlet.com. I like the color scheme, but the fit isn't good for me. Too long in the torso and sleeves, too poofy in the torso, too deep a rise, too flat a bum. I wore it once and felt constricted. The pants are ripstop, but of an unusual variety that feels more stiff than flexible. Overall, good construction, and for a "lightweight" gi it definitely feels more sturdy and resilient than the Vulkan Ultralight (which is supremely soft and comfy, and I find to be plenty tough, but some complain about its lightness for day-to-day training.)

I also loaned this to a visiting gal for two weeks who is taller and slimmer than me, and she had no complaints. I was impressed that the black never faded in about 30 washes (I kept trying to shrink the sucker just to see.)

I'll let the pictures speak for the gi: fraying seam tape in one spot

Nice reinforcement on the interior vent of the jacket.

One spot of skipped stitching, interior pants at the crotch, but note the triple seaming.

Expansive double layer on the front of the pants will provide good wear protection. Four belt loops, and a stretchy thick cord belt. Doesn't seem to be the type that will easily fray/develop "runs" if you know what I mean.

Yes, this is me, post-Thanksgiving, post-Christmas party. These pants are a little tight. If you have a bum, they're not for you. I prefer pants with a rear rise longer than the front rise, so that you cover the plumber's crack and yet don't have that "high waisted" feeling in the front. These pants definitely felt high in the front.

The flash bleaches the gi out a bit, but the black is really quite dark. Here's what I mean about the rear and front rise being the same-- this comes up over my bellybutton in front. Excellent reinforcement of a stress point, worsened by my holiday insulation.

Not too blingy for my taste (too much for some though)-- this is the forearm embroidery. Couple loose threads after a few wears.

Exterior jacket vent reinforcement, very nice.

Sleeves a little long for me. Definitely big/loose in the torso and shoulders.

Nice sleek color stitching highlights the shoulder yoke. Note the matching embroidered name on the outside of the left leg.

No where near as offensive as the real Michelle Bachmann... probably a very useful and delightful lightweight gi for someone less curvy than me, made even more appealing by the black that doesn't fade despite about 30 hot washes and dries.

If you'd like to see it in action, Cane Prevost recently posted about playing top half guard on his excellent blog The Gentle Art, and he's wearing the white-with-orange version of this gi in his videos, found here.

Up next-- yet ANOTHER review of the BE Predator MKII! Stay tuned!

An alternative to chocolate...

2011-12-20T08:17:00.000-06:00

We interrupt the review-a-day broadcast to bring you a holiday dessert that doesn't involve chocolate... should you be invited to a potluck, or want to make something for the family that's a little off the beaten path.

It's a pear-ginger cake, with whipped cream frosting and a rum-caramel glaze. Serves sixteen hungry monsters.

Cake:

12 oz. (1-1/2 cups) unsalted butter, softened; more for the pans
1 lb. 2 oz. (4 cups) all-purpose flour
4-1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt

3 c. sugar
6 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 c whole milk, at room temperature
1 lb. firm-ripe Anjou or Bartlett pears (about 2 small pears), peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch dice
5 oz. (1 cup) finely chopped candied ginger (available in the bulk section, or the spices aisle)
1 Tbsp. vanilla

Glaze:

1-1/2 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1-1/2 oz. (3 Tbs.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 c. heavy cream
1-1/2 Tbs. dark rum
Pinch of salt

Frosting:

6 cups heavy cream
7 oz. (2 cups) confectioners’ sugar
2-1/2 oz. (1/2 cup) coarsely chopped candied ginger for garnish

Instructions:
Position racks in the bottom and top thirds of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F.

Butter three 9x2-inch round cake pans and line each with a parchment round. Butter the parchment.

In a large bowl, stir the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Using stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each addition.

On low speed, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in three increments, alternating with the milk in two increments, starting and ending with the flour. Beat on low speed between each addition until just incorporated. The batter will be thick and fluffy. Stir in the pears, candied ginger, and vanilla.

Divide the batter evenly among the three prepared pans. Level the batter with a spatula. Set two pans on the top rack and the third on the lower rack. Stagger the pans on the oven racks so that no pan is directly over another. Bake, swapping and rotating the pans’ positions after 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. While the cake is baking, wash your stand mixer bowl and put it and the whisk attachment into the freezer to chill. Cool on racks for 30 minutes. Invert the cakes onto the racks, remove the parchment, and cool completely.

Make the Glaze:

Fill a cup measure with water and put a pastry brush in it. In a heavy-duty 3-quart saucepan, stir the sugar, lemon juice, and 1/3 cup cold water. Brush down the sides of the pan to wash away any sugar crystals. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, occasionally brushing down the sides of the pan, until the mixture starts to color around the edges, 5 to 8 minutes. Gently swirl the pan once to even out the color and prevent the sugar from burning in isolated spots so that the sugar caramelizes evenly. Brush down the sides of the pan if the sugar threatens to burn. Continue to cook until the sugar turns medium amber, about 30 seconds more. (Once the mixture begins to color, it will darken very quickly so keep an eye on it.)

Reduce the heat to low and carefully stir in the butter. It will bubble up. Keep stirring until the bubbles settle down, then add the cream a couple of tablespoons at a time, stirring to combine after each addition. Continue stirring until the caramel is smooth, about 2 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in the rum and salt. Strain the caramel through a fine sieve into a heatproof measuring cup to remove any small pieces of sugar. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. You should have about 1-2/3 cups.

Make the whipped cream:

Using a stand mixer fitted with the chilled whisk attachment and bowl, whip the cream on medium speed until it starts to thicken, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar, raise the speed to medium high, and continue to whip until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes more. Raise the speed to high until the cream forms stiff peaks and is very thick, about 30 seconds more.

Assembly:

Put a cake layer on a flat serving platter or a cake stand lined with strips of waxed paper to keep it clean while icing. Top the layer with 2 cups of the whipped cream, spreading it evenly with a metal cake spatula almost to the cake’s edge. Put the next cake layer over the filling and spread 2 more cups of the whipped cream over it. Top with the last cake layer and thickly coat the sides and top of the cake with the remaining whipped cream. Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes.

Glazing:

Slowly pour the glaze over the top of the cake, making sure that it covers the top and drizzles down the sides (some of the whipped cream frosting should show through the drizzles on the sides).

Press the coarsely chopped candied ginger pieces in a 1-inch band around the base of the cake for decoration. Remove the waxed paper strips.

Refrigerate the cake for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours before serving.

The Sao Paulo Approach to Passing by Tony Pacenski

2011-12-18T12:42:00.000-06:00

"Little" Tony Pacenski sent me this DVD to review about a year ago-- my own jiu jitsu limitations prevented me from appreciating or putting this into action until fairly recently and I didn't understand how to do reviews where I didn't find myself executing at least half the techniques. Now I feel more comfortable with a pressure-based game and I don't mind sharing what I think about the DVD even though I don't execute all of the techniques or even half. Guess that means another instructional I'm growing into, which is fine by me :)

This system is more than just a "pass" and in short, this pressure is what Fabio Gurgel and Leo Viera and Terere and the Mendes Brothers and several other big names punish people with. I haven't yet drilled the actual Sao Paulo pass (aka Wilson Reis pass, aka Tozi pass) itself enough to be attempting it in live sparring yet, but I will get there. The good thing is, the concepts Tony teaches apply to a spectrum of situations, not just passing one type of guard.

Tony began as a blue and purple belt under my master, Relson Gracie, training at Maxercise in Philadelphia (Steve Maxwell and Phil Migliarese). He now belongs to the same family of fighters as John Ouano, Johnny Ramirez, and Tim Credeur, the BJJ Revolution team. Tony is a 1st Degree black belt since 2006 under Carlson Gracie black belt and World Champion Rodrigo Medeiros. He has over 15 years experience, and has competed successfully throughout. At the 2009 American National Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championships he took 3rd place in the Light Weight Master Division; 4th place in the black belt open division at the 2011 Gracie Nationals; and won the Abu Dhabi Pro Trials, black belt master division in March 2011.

Tony spent two years in the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu instructor program in Torrance, California. He has a bachelor's and a master's degree in Education. Tony now teaches at the BJJ Revolution Team-Redondo Beach Academy.

His DVD contains a very detailed, multi-leveled, multi-faceted discussion of the Sao Paulo (pronounced "sam paul-o") approach to passing the guard, captured in two settings. Footage from a seminar in Philadelphia, in July 2010 is augmented by additional video from a number of different angles to clarify the coverage. Overall, it's great content, hampered a bit by the informal recording and some organizational issues. But it's cheap at only thirty bones, so I'd say despite the minor technical issues it's well worth the price.

Other reviews can be found at The Grappler's Guide ... another thread on NHBGear's forum begins with a cross post but includes feedback from another reviewer.. and over on Sherdog there's a thread too.

The first nitpick for me was the overly broad topic divisions and lack of menus. I like to be able to return to separate theories or topics independently, but his DVD is just 3 sections so if you don't write down your own menu with time notations, you're stuck fast-forwarding and rewinding like mad to find your spot. The intro is quite short and not terribly helpful. Part One, 48 minutes long, is mostly seminar footage of a basic problem-solving perspective on passing a variety of open guards. Part Two, 29 minutes, goes deeper into more advanced guards, passes, counters and recounters, and the actual SP pass.

I like to know the big picture (the forest) before I start looking at the component techniques (the trees) when I am presented with an instructional presented as a holistic framework-- especially when the introduction explicitly states that this isn't just a "pass" but a "system." He defines the Sao Paulo Approach loosely as 'a type of pressure, redirecting the legs and controlling the hips, which forces them to either go to their knees or get their back taken, or you control them so well that you can rest in the middle and pass when you feel it's time to go.'

But right off the bat he jumps into a grouping of subsidiary techniques to break the closed guard-- though he notes that this was covered on the previous volume (which I don't have yet). I'm still wondering at this point what exactly the pass system is, and wondering when I really need to pay attention to details. After two views, I realized this stuff is excellent extra detail but not essential to the pass system at all.

Eventually in part 1, I learn how to redirect my partner's legs, control their hip, and defeat their escape from the cross-side. He thoroughly addresses different grips, angles and weight distribution. Lots of detail on common mistakes and transitions.

A good ways into the seminar, I think I find the "heart" of the Sao Paulo approach.

Another nitpick-- the seminar footage isn't bad; Tony's voice is always very clear and understandable. But the camera work was not ideal for later instructional use. I didn't mind the amateur bobbles much, and again it's only $30. However, the background music during the added-later footage is god-awful. Whatever, I should perhaps grow up a bit. But a voiceover of Tony describing his actions and rationales would have been infinitely better.

Part 2 suffers without a menu or section divisions that I could use for replay purposes. This part is more like a traditional instructional, filmed in the academy with a partner as opposed to seminar footage.

If you want a list of techniques, I didn't make one. Tony's site, Soulfight.net helpfully details the contents:

Analysis and troubleshooting of the de la riva guard.
Two methods of smashing the outside de la riva hook.
Refinement strategies to passing the de la riva guard moving to the Sao Paulo Pressure Game standing and on the ground; bonus material and instruction.
Understand how to easily stop the opponent from moving from the de la riva guard to sitting up guard/single leg guard.
2 ways to stop and pass the sitting up guard/single leg guard you need to apply without thinking.
The $100 detail to focus your opponent to miss the de la riva guard and the sitting up guard to play your game.
Modified Bull Pass to Sao Paulo Pressure Game Leg Control.
Learn how to make the opponent change his body position so you can get the angles you want for the modified bull pass!
Analysis of the basic Inverted De la Riva Guard/Inside hook.
Learn how to kill the inverted de la riva guard with all the fine points: knee control, the stance, hip control and confidence.
Analysis of inverted de la riva guard and the knee cut/shin pass: 2 variations explored. Sao Paulo Pressure Game leg redirection added.
How and when to use the collar grip fighting game to pass the inverted de la riva guard. Sao Paulo Pressure Game leg redirection added.
How to counter redirect the inverted de la riva guard legwork with opponent controlling the collar with the left or right hand. 3 variations explored and Sao Paulo Pressure Game added.
How to counter the inverted de la riva guard when the opponent controls the collar and sleeve control well; 2 variations explored.
How to pass the inverted de la riva guard if the opponent controls the ankle
How to pass the half inverted de la riva guard and sleeve control/loop guard
A quick look at passing the half inverted de la riva and half spider guard.
The Sao Paulo Pass aka: The Wilson Reis Pass or The Tozi Pass.

As an example of his instructional style, which I found very concise, but detailed, and easy to follow, I'll share his explanation of the theory behind the SP pass, found in part two.

What made this pressure/passing system click for me was connecting it to little blips and blurbs I've been treated to by other instructors. Donald Park (RGDA) in particular worked on the seated guard and the knee-forward pass with our competition class; Hillary Williams taught me a Z halfguard pass she'd gotten from one of the Mendes brothers. Once I started recognizing the bits and pieces I had scattered all over my brain, the real benefit of this DVD became apparent. It really IS a system. At first I was irritated by the "rabbit trail chasing"; more organization and a big-picture-first type of presentation would have been great. I did love getting all the what-if's and recounters, though.

Content-wise this gets a B, because the organizational issues impaired my ability to mentally grasp the system and techniques. But the content, once you digest it, is so good, I still recommend it.

Technical execution-wise, this gets a C when compared with the rest of the market out there (like Kesting's and Roy Dean's offerings). Better production quality, menus and so forth would really boost this score. But again-- what a value.

Only $30 on Soulfight and you can also get the first volume of his seminar series, High Percentage Guard Passing, Attacks and Escapes there for only $25. Or you can get a download package of all eleven of his DVDs and 4 additional gifts for $87.

Gracie Bullyproof teaches more than childrens' jiu jitsu....

2011-12-17T15:03:00.003-06:00

I've had the Gracie Bullyproof series for a year now and it has truly changed the way I teach children. Although my husband and I don't have children of our own (yet!) I am privileged to assist in teaching a childrens' kajukenbo class with my prior instructor from back in the pre-jiu jitsu days. We have kids ranging in age from 4 to 14, and I used to feel like I was herding cats.

But once I started incorporating the Gracie Bullyproof teaching methodology (even when teaching something not jiu jitsu-related!) it changed my world completely, and their experience seemed to improve dramatically as well. Double plus good.

This series of 11 DVDs has been reviewed before already:

On BJJWeekly...
By Dev on Fueled by Fear.. Part 1... and Part 2...
I could have sworn Slideyfoot wrote a review as well, but I was thinking of his stellar Gracie Combatives review...

There are even some reviews out there by non-jiu jitsu parents and people-- some of who have not apparently watched even the instruction-to-parents part, but I'll include for perspective:
From Oprah...
and from Big Wowo..

I think my review might be unique because of the length of time I've been putting their methods into practice prior to writing my review. Also, I am a lawyer, a criminal prosecutor specifically, so as I watched I was thinking about the issues of bullying, self-defense, and legal liability for physical assaults. Short version-- Bullyproof is seriously good stuff for motivating your child in any fashion, in jiu jitsu, in chores, in other learned skills and behaviors. And the jiu jitsu ain't bad either ;) Fortunately, they teach legally-sound approaches to the issue of self-defense, too.

But what if you don't have kids? or don't teach kids? Whether you have kids or not, Rener and Ryron Gracie share some strategies that enhance your ability to deal with people across the board. It's all about the motivation, baby.

I am focusing my review on the first four DVDs, which cover Parent Preparation, two discs containing the ten Gracie Games, and the Rules of Engagement. The remaining discs are the Junior Combatives lessons, 33 in total, which prepare your child for the adult training of the Combatives lessons. Of course the production quality in all respects gets an A. Good lighting, sound, scripting, angles, and coverage. The content is also top-notch.

The whole premise of Bullyproof is to have a bunch of games a parent (who may not know any jiu jitsu at all) can play with their child, games which incidentally teach the skills (mental, verbal, and physical) that may help them counteract bullying. It also infects them with a love of jiu jitsu quite sneakily, by horsing around with mom or dad. As Rener puts it, kids learn differently from adults. Kids are motivated by having fun and aren't as into the details. I can't get over what a profound insight this is-- maybe totally obvious to the parents in the audience, but for me, whoa... I mean, I've always been "the cool aunt" and "the cool cousin" but this takes me to a whole new level.

Disc One: Parent Preparation

Rener and Ryron begin with a short history of Helio Gracie's development of Gracie Jiu Jitsu and a brief mention of their father, Rorion Gracie's, role in creating the UFC, which I think is great if you have a non-jiu jitsu parent watching.

Emphasis is placed on children standing up for themselves verbally first... the more they learn, the less likely they are to get into fights. By following this program, the Gracie brothers promise that your child will not be victimized by bullies and will have greater self-discipline and confidence. You can begin playing the Gracie Games with your child when they're old enough to stand, or if they're older, that's fine too. If you start them young, they may be ready to move on to the Junior Combatives program (discs five through eleven) when they're around five to seven years old.

The Parent Preparation disc is the most profound of the set, and even if you don't teach jiu jitsu-- even if you don't have kids-- this can be invaluable information for anyone who needs to share information, persuade others, or wants to improve someone's performance. (I think these techniques apply in the workplace.. to resolve conflicts.. in marriage or friendships.. in most relationships between people!)

Parent Preparation contains a number of different sections. My only picky complaint is that you have to return to this main menu to navigate between the topics, instead of being able to press "fast forward" or whatever to skip sections.

Rener and Ryron are assisted by a handful of young boys and girls as assistants, two of whom are two of Rener and Ryron's brothers. They range in age from 4 to 12 and are great for demonstrating how the instruction and action is modified for different kiddoes.

The Rules of Engagement are very important and receive due attention early on, with plenty of explanation later on in the Junior Combatives section as well.

They emphasize that these "rules" are their suggestions only, but that if a parent disagrees, for the sake of the child, the parents must substitute their own rules because children need standards and confidence in their parents' support. Rener says the rules were openly discussed in his household since a young age, and as a result, he always knew what actions were allowed. He cautions that without this clear guidance, no amount of "bullyproofing" and "self defense" training will help because a child will be too uncertain to take action when they should.

The Golden Rule: This part of parent prep was amazing to me. "Expect nothing, praise everything" has revolutionized my relationships with the kids in my kids' class. As Rener puts it, "the only thing that matters is that they're on the mat and having fun." Don't let your kids associate training with not being good enough! As a child, all their indications of making progress will come from YOU, so make sure you praise everything. Yes, it might be more efficient to also tell them what they're doing wrong, but the aim is not efficiency; it is to foster their love of spending time with you by having fun; incidentally, by trusting in the system, with time and "perfect adjustment" (below) they will get better and better! And after all, the most efficient instruction in the world is useless if the student doesn't want to listen! Kids don't want to learn-- they want to play. So disidentify with the role of parent and become another 7 year old (or whatever age they are..) Be a playmate for that 5-10 minutes a day!

Transfer Teaching: This. This again. Put them in the right position so they can feel the correct movement, but don't tell them what to do. You do it for them, until gradually the responsibility for the correct movement transfers from you to them. The child will let you know when they're ready to assume that responsibility. Put their hand where it should go, then praise effusively. This is also known as the "Perfect Adjustment." You adjust them and then tell them PERFECT! This avoids any miscommunication caused by using words and getting impatient when the child doesn't immediately follow what you mean. You fix their mistake without the student even knowing it existed-- all they hear is "PERFECT!" So they're happy, and the next time they are in that position, they try to get that "PERFECT!" again. Remember, not all mistakes need correction. Your child wants to be good at something-- don't expect perfection. "Nothing matters more than fun, comfort and closeness."

In a later discussion about the educational pedagogy involved and its application to academic instruction for adults, from Kelly, Dev's wife...

"It is basically an extreme form of Positive Reinforcement combined with hand-over-hand modeling. In special needs classes (and with babies and small children), it is a highly effective means for teaching things like self-feeding, crawling, self-dressing, waving 'hi', etc. The idea is to foster confidence in an action that they thought they could not do on their own, while weaning them into doing it completely on their own (without telling them that they are...) in a no-fail environment. Step one is hand-over-hand (typically with a verbal cue) and praise, then hand-hover-over-hand (verbal cue) and praise, then just a verbal cue and praise.

For un-'impeded' adults, the philosophy would absolutely still be effective. It would, hopefully, evolve more quickly, and the positive praise would not need to be as often. In a non-physical environment, like a Lit class, the same principles can be applied (I taught remedial math and reading to high school freshman using this tactic), but it is a bit more 'fuzzy' in it's uses at that point. For example: your student gives his/her analysis. You could say something to the effect of 'Good! Yes, what it seems that you are saying is______ (this would be the correction without saying they are wrong, and this is where you would acknowledge their 'good action' and toss in some 'right information' on top of it). If the student was a struggler, you might then throw an additional 'Nice analysis' (or something similar) afterward, while looking that person in the eye, so they know you meant it."

God, I learn something new every time I read about jiu jitsu :)

Two other things I liked especially-- a good discussion of safety considerations for adults playing with children who are usually much smaller and weaker, and a focus on jiu jitsu as a privilege that must be earned rather than an obligation. 5-10 minutes a day as a treat after they've helped you with some chore, and "Always leave the table a little hungry"-- in other words, stop while they're still having fun and wanting more.

Rener briefly mentions that in the Junior Combatives lessons, you and your child may want gis and mats, which are available on graciekids.com, but early on and for the Gracie Games in particular, just some carpeted space and shorts/tshirts would be enough.

On to the Gracie Games:

Disc Two: Gracie Games 1-5

The introduction has some adorable footage of Rorion Gracie "rolling" with a teeny toddler while Rener discusses the origin of the Gracie Games.

Each game has a memorable name and story, and presents different levels so you can engage your child with increasing challenges and different techniques. Later, the level 3 challenge fosters transitions between techniques. It is expected that your child will cycle through all of the levels of all the games several times, by the way. So definitely NO RUSH to hurry through these things-- practice makes perfect!

Spiderkid, for example, teaches mount maintenance. Spider hands, the level one technique, teaches basing and crossfacing.

After your child is comfortable with level one and level two, you move to level 3.

The next game, Shark Bite, teaches a simple upa-roll mount escape, and a method for controlling their posture comes in level two.

Bulldozer teaches the technical mount, riding a rolling opponent, and taking the back. (It's really quite amazing.)

Then my personal favorite and that of many of "my" kids-- Crazy Horse! Back maintenance, to you jiu jitsu people...

And Tackle the Giant, an essential for self-defense (duck the punch and double-leg shot.) I won't keep posting all the menus and all the videos I captured... you get the picture.

Disc Three is Gracie Games 6-10. These games cover the jiu jitsu techniques embodied in side control, transitioning to mount, maintaining base while standing, breaking a single or double hand grip on your wrist, escaping mount when being choked (the "rape" choke), closed guard defense against punches, and standing passes of open guard (a primitive toreando) as well as some open guard sweeps.

Disc Four is the Rules of Engagement. As a lawyer, I was very interested in their focus on avoiding physical confrontation. Some parents in our classes have initially expressed concerns about their childrens' safety, starting fights in the schoolyard, or "beating up on" their siblings at home. Rener and Ryron emphasize that the first rule is avoid the fight at all costs. Should it go beyond avoidance, the "Three T's" policy takes over. This means:

1. Talk: Tell the bully to stop. (Some kids are just kidding and don't know they're being hurtful.) If that doesn't work (and we're talking over a period of days, not "right that minute")...
2. Tell: Tell adults. Preferably more than one. Tell your teachers, tell your parents, tell the principal that so-and-so is calling you stupid every day. Tell them you have already talked to the person and they won't stop. ONLY if that doesn't work over more days...
3. Tackle. This means FIRST you mentally tackle them. I won't spill all the beans here, but I will say that the "verbal jiu jitsu" they preach-- with one simple easy-to-remember question-- is effective. One of my students, age 7, successfully employed this technique this past spring and his 8 yr old tormentor backed down. I know, one data point does not a line make.. but it's data nonetheless.

As a lawyer, I focus on the potential legal liability incurred whenever a physical confrontation exists. Keep in mind I'm not giving you legal advice here and I'm not your lawyer just by writing on the blog! If you have doubts or questions, it's always best to ask a lawyer practicing in your state or jurisdiction because laws differ from place to place. BUT-- as a prosecutor, if I were looking at a case file, and let's say Johnny, age 10, did everything as prescribed in Gracie Bullyproof, and Bobby the Bully was the complainant in an assault case... I would not be prosecuting Johnny. Also, I asked a friend who is a police officer, and he concurred. It's logic, folks, something in short supply sometimes. But even in the no-tolerance atmosphere prevalent in schools these days (and rightly so)-- Rener and Ryron devoted an entire section of their "Rules" talk to the "critical conversation" which takes place in the principal's office. Their advice there is so sound and so wise, I struggle to imagine any child who follows it getting in serious trouble, if any trouble at all.

Overall thoughts-- I love that their first demonstration is relatively short. Keeps the child's interest (don't forget, they're watching with you!) and yet the brothers return to share a greater level of detail after you've tried it a few times for fun. I do wish that you could jump within a technique from level one to two to three, instead of having to return to the menu screen. The level three techniques usually teach combinations and transitions, emphasizing pattern identification and technique selection. What I kept being super impressed with was how GOOD Rener and Ryron are at the TEACHING side of things. (I really learned a few details. I should have watched this first before getting into jits at all!) Which means it's a GREAT introduction to jits for grownups too! especially if you have a lady who's not keen on the idea of it.. but maybe she enjoys the roughhousing with her child?

During a seminar at my academy recently, Rener said something I thought was rather profound. He said that the first generation of jiu jitsu fighters, like his dad and the other Gracie brothers (first generation offspring of Helio), were focused on showing the world the efficacy of jiu jitsu versus the other fighting arts. Now, the second generation like Rener and Ryron are focused on giving structure and organization to the art and improving the transmission of the information. It is definitely the case that not all those who can DO can TEACH as well. I think we may all come into contact with an amazing jiu jitsu fighter who can't explain what they do or how, or who can't motivate someone else. Rener does most of the talking in this series, but he and Ryron are both extremely capable ambassadors for the art. They are analysts. Rener explained in this seminar that he learns more about his art from having to teach it to a wide variety of physical and mental beings-- from having to adapt and adopt techniques to work with big, small, old, young, and everything in between. He is supremely skilled at the communication of information and at instilling a passionate appreciation for jiu jitsu.

At every stage, the brothers lead by example, demonstrating all the skills they focus on in Parent Preparation. Lots of praise, lots of "perfect adjustments" and lots of transfer teaching. It's an impressive series that grows with you and your child, whether you start at barely-walking age or barely-not-walking-out-the-door-with-the-car-keys age. I've tried these techniques on the mats with a four year old with ADHD, and a fourteen year old distracted by new braces and a Wii at home. It's so much fun, kids beg their parents -- "I wanna go to karate more!"

(Unfortunately, Rener and Ryron offer no techniques for getting parents to stop calling any and all martial arts "karate", and I have little to offer on that account myself.)

I have even tried some of these behavior modification techniques on colleagues in the work environment... *cough cough* It's true, you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. I can't quite manage the hand-over-hand adjustment when I'm trying to change their mindset... but I try, and lots of positive reinforcement definitely makes people like to listen to me more. :)

Try it. It's a great holiday gift, too. You can get it here.

Get ready for a lot of reviews.

2011-12-14T15:57:00.001-06:00

We leave tomorrow for two weeks' holiday with the extended family and inlaws, and I aim to do a review a day till I'm all caught up with the backlog. :)

Speaking of reviews-- Kintanon has written up an extensive and quite thorough review of all the tournament organizations he's experienced. He's a purple belt in Athens GA. Give it a read here.

I've sprung something in my left knee, again. This time it happened in bed-- don't get silly now-- I was pushing/wiggling my lower leg around trying to sort out a pile of blankets and I felt something go twang. Isn't that retarded? It doesn't hurt while walking or grappling, thank goodness.. just when going up and down stairs or pushing in the clutch. It's like something attached to the underside/inside of my patella is pulling loose. Not pleasant.

Stay warm, peeps.

Healthy comfort food

2011-12-09T14:52:00.001-06:00

If you're like me, you're simultaneously looking forward to, and dreading, the rounds of family dinners and holiday parties that crush all clean-eating rules, with their pigs-in-blankets, scalloped potatoes, lemon-poppyseed cakes, and eggnogs-- the evil dastards!

Oh, and don't forget the gingerbread men.. the champagne punch... the French toast... even the carrots come glazed!!!

Don't throw your hands up and order a pizza this week, thinking it's useless to resist the depredations sure to come. Instead, make some healthy quinoa chili. If you prefer, leave out the ground beef.

This serves eight, and as written, is 412 calories per serving, with a substantial 27.5 g protein and only 11 g fat each.

1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
2 cups water
1 pound extra lean ground beef

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 (19 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped (optional)
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1 teaspoon dried parsley
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed

Bring the quinoa and water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the quinoa is tender, and the water has been absorbed, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and stir in the ground beef. Cook and stir until the beef is crumbly, evenly browned, and no longer pink. Drain and discard any excess grease; set beef aside. (If you're really wanting low fat, trust me- rinse your beef in cold cold water. You'll heat the meat back up again anyway and the cold water solidifies the fat and rinses it down the drain. Hope it's a rental though; eventually this is better for your arteries and worse for the other pipes.)
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, garlic, and jalapeno pepper; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Season with chili powder and cumin; cook 1 minute more to release the flavor of the spices. Stir in the tomatoes, black beans, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, zucchini, oregano, and parsley. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Simmer until the bell peppers are tender, about 20 minutes.
Once the red and green peppers are tender, stir in the quinoa, beef, and corn kernels. Return to a simmer, and cook 5 minutes to reheat.

Sick....

2011-12-08T22:33:00.000-06:00

Just got back from a work trip to El Paso TX, where it snowed (yay!) and was very cold (down to 13 one night!) and I got sick (probably unrelated, since I was sniffling on the plane there.) It sucked to be busy for work and not feel good, not to be in my own bed or sleeping when I wanted to, but the work event went well and generally speaking I survived. Came home and had to get busy (again) right away (after a night's rest I mean) cooking for the Christmas party. It's all good.. I just wish it wasn't all quite so close together. And because I'm sickie, I had to skip the Relson Gracie seminar tonight, so I missed my friend Chris Spicer getting his brown belt.

Time for Nyquil and hot tea.

Things you should watch.

2011-12-05T10:41:00.003-06:00

Anyone watch the Bisping-Miller fight this weekend? I was quite disappointed. Not that either of them is a big favorite of mine-- far from it-- but I have come to expect a certain level of performance from anyone that remotely seems to be a "big name." And I know it's easy and wrong to armchair quarterback this kind of thing, but Miller didn't look "ready."

Had a fabulous time this weekend at Cleber Luciano's gi seminar. Cleber is celebrating his promotion to 5th degree blackbelt under Royler Gracie, and is one of the youngest 5th degrees out there at 37 years old. (Rener and Ryron are 5th degrees and only in their early 30s... scary!) Cleber has been a blackbelt for 20 years. Started at age 6!!

A Cleber highlight--

Cleber v. Jay Zeballos (JJ Machado bb) in the 2009 NABJJ finals...

I wish I'd taken his nogi seminar because he taught takedowns that aren't dependent on wrestling. I get so accustomed to thinking judo can't be done without the gi.

I'm getting ready to get on a plane to El Paso. Who can blame me for watching a little jits before I do?

Carlos Gracie Jr. and Marcio Feitosa pt 1

Pt 2

Marcelo Garcia and Stephan Kesting-- setting up and finishing the north-south choke--

Adilson Souza v. Joe Moreira-- just skip to 1:30, it's crappy camera work and the match doesn't get started till then. And such crappy camera work, the guy doesn't even focus on the match the whole time-- but it's about the only Moreira competition footage I could find.

(Moreira co-wrote the 3 volume Guard series that I love so much with Ed Beneville.)

Here's a Moreira bb in a friendly roll with a Korfhage brown belt. I don't know who Korfage is but it was listed as "guard game vs. top game" so I'll google Korfage one of these days.

Enjoy :)

Candy for your Sunday afternoon.

2011-12-04T14:54:00.000-06:00

Ronda Rousey and Henry Akins, Rickson bb, at Dynamix in Santa Monica. Just a little light warmup.

The 11 best.

2011-12-02T16:03:00.000-06:00

The eleven best political quotes of 2011, by Chris Cillizza at the WaPo.

11. Who?

“I don’t even know who this woman is.” — Businessman Herman Cain on Sharon Bialek, the woman accusing him of sexual harassment.

10. Blinding him with science.

“To be clear. I believe in evolution and trust scientists on global warming. Call me crazy.” — Former Utah governor Jon Huntsman via Twitter on the debate over climate change within the GOP presidential primary field.

9. The government is me.

“I am the government.” — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on being the government.

8. Palin-ism.

“Journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn.” — Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin responding via Facebook to the attempted assassination of Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

7. Ubekistan.

“When they ask me who is the president of Ubeki-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan I’m going to say, you know, I don’t know. Do you know?” — Herman Cain on foreign policy.

6. Re-writing history — and not in a good way.

“You’re the state where the shot was heard around the world in Lexington and Concord.” — Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann.....in New Hampshire.

5. They’re made of people!

“Corporations are people, my friend.” — Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney in response to hecklers at the Iowa State Fair.

4. GTL

“Get the hell off the beach...you’ve maximized your tan.” — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) warning sunbathers to flee Hurricane Irene.

3. Facts are funny things.

“His remark was not intended to be a factual statement.” — Spokesman for Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) regarding the senator’s claim that abortions accounted for more than 90 percent of what Planned Parenthood does.

2. Certainly not certain.

“I can’t say with certitude.” — Then Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) on whether a lewd picture was, in fact, him.

1. One word says it all.

“Oops”. — Texas Governor Rick Perry at the end of a 50-plus second (unsuccessful) attempt to remember the third federal agency he would eliminate if elected president.

Stuff to watch while you procrastinate at work.

2011-12-01T12:15:00.001-06:00

I'm not procrastinating, by the way. I'm just trying to be better about updating!

Diego Moraes, Daniel's little brother, vs. Jordon Schulz (no shirt.)

Bill Cooper...

Victor Estima v. Renato Tavares-- here's what Geeza says about this one: "Of all the matches I watched at the European Championship in Lisbon 2008, I consider this match had the best submission. Victor Estima vs Renato Tavares (colored belt). This is not a move that just came up - it is a carefully rehearsed part of Victor's arsenal."

Enjoy :)

Stretching to reach the keyboard? - with photos!

2011-11-28T15:38:00.002-06:00

Haha, just kidding... I didn't eat that much on Thanksgiving Day! Hope you didn't either. I figured out this was my 20th Thanksgiving dinner party in Austin... not bad :)

We had about 26-28 people over for dinner, and I made a mountain of food (most of it healthy, too.) A 23-pound turkey, gravy, stuffing of course... but numerous vegetable sides and my plate was 3/4 veggies and one slice of juicy breast. Sweet potatoes with ginger and orange (from a friend)... I made roasted green beans with red onions and walnuts.. a stir fried brussels sprouts dish garnished with candied pecans and bacon... and braised kale with garlic. Mashpots too, with not as much butter as I could have included. Pecan and pumpkin pies (I didn't eat either!) and an apple-raspberry crisp made with oat flour for a gluten-intolerant friend. Sadly, I failed in my "no dessert initiative" (I don't care for pie or cooked fruit) because a teammate's girlfriend brought a ....

....

DOUBLE-DECKER, CHOCOLATE-CHIP PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE....

*sigh*

It was really good. I had to eat my whole slice. I couldn't say no.

Some random pictures, kindly taken by guest and good friend, Ammad...

Paul, who runs TXMMA.com...

Bill was a mentor to me for my first few years out of law school.

Bill's daughter Leah has been coming to my parties since she was eight. Now her dad emphasizes the benefit of a child who can also be your designated driver.

Many people chipped in with the phenomenal desserts, only a few of which are shown here...

We did it buffet style in the kitchen then you had to find a place to sit-- tables throughout the downstairs. Like having 4 separate grownups tables. Or kids tables?

Elaine (and her husband Ajay) have been coming to these Thanksgivings for years, and now they bring their kiddos too. This is Anya...

Anya has gorgeous eyes..

Ajay with his eldest, Yana...

Checking out the fish tank..

These were the best brussels sprouts ever. Well, they're the only ones I've ever liked. The candied pecans and bacon helped.

A good time was had by all :)

I lazed around the majority of the weekend. Did some Black Friday shopping and collapsed on the couch to watch that Emily Kwok/Stephan Kesting instructional, How to Defeat the Bigger, Stronger Opponent. Spent Saturday at the Abu Dhabi World Pro Trials in San Antonio and I'll get you some killer matches soon. Congrats to many teammates who performed excellently :) :) Went in to the office last night. Didn't really train any at all until this morning and again at lunch. Not really stressing the enormity of my derriere at the moment. After all, my fifteenth annual Christmas Party is on December 10th, and I have to cook up a storm for that too.

Anyway, I am slowly putting together several reviews. I have an evidentiary hearing Dec 5-7 and an answer due Dec 15th, but when those are done I'll be posting a flood of stuff.

In the meantime, peep this CRAZY RECEPTION by Aaron Dobson!!!!

1001!

2011-11-17T10:25:00.001-06:00

This is my one thousand and first post :)

This blog started as a way for me to share photographs and boring daily-type events with family members in other geographic areas, long before I got into jiu jitsu. It's grown a fair bit, and now averages about 500 hits a day from all over the world. I love it! And I hope you do too... whether you come for the jits, the political rants, the recipes, or whatever.

Training's been going well, since I'm focused mainly on drilling and less full on sparring. I don't have time to attend many classes, due to work commitments, but I have been getting in some open mat time almost every day.

On a political note: those Occupy people. Sheesh. I'm all for protesting things you want to change, don't get me wrong. But have a concise goal-- a statement of what you want to do about it-- don't just pitch a tent and bitch. Yes, you get people talking, which I suppose is a first step. But have a policy change in mind. It's all very well to complain that the wealthiest get wealthier and the poor get poorer. WHAT SHOULD WE DO ABOUT IT?

A friend in the NYPD sent me this, made by someone he knows. I watched it carefully with a prosecutor/government employee/legal eye... and I was very impressed by the control and caution exercised by the police in what could have been a very dangerous situation. I know some people wonder why the protesters needed to be moved even temporarily. Well, I'll tell you a few reasons...

1. Health hazards-- pooping, peeing, food and water contamination, sexual abuses all documented (not necessarily at the same time, or even in the same place.)
2. Hazards to public workers-- when someone gets ill, shoots themselves, gets caught stealing, etc, the police and/or EMS get called in. Usually police are first on the scene. The crowds were often hostile towards the cops (needlessly! do they think the cops are among the 1% wealthiest? I laugh.) and would make it far more difficult for the cops to do their jobs in helping EMS/medical personnel get to the situation, or to take reports of thefts, assaults, etc.
3. In many circumstances, body heat scans done at night revealed that large proportions of the tents were empty at night.
4. Zuccotti Park in particular is owned by a private company which still has the right to control access to the property.

Check it out.

And, back to jiu jitsu... Jason Scully's vid on the Berimbolo sweep... kinda cool..

Guess what???

2011-11-15T13:23:00.001-06:00

You know that closed guard pass where they feed your arm under your body and hold it there? (I can explain further if you need me to.)

I just discovered quite by accident that you can pendulum sweep people when they do that!

Of course it was a whitebelt. But the theory is there. He wouldn't have been swept if he hadn't been so focused on holding onto my arm. But that's the whole point.

:)

What's all this talk about pre-training eating?!

2011-11-11T15:37:00.000-06:00

I'm just sayin'-- maybe if you don't have my camel's hump (aka derriere, aka stored energy supply) then you need to worry about feeding the machine before you train.

Me? I have all the stored energy I need for a month on a barren island. I don't like having food in my tum before a workout unless it's maybe something liquid-- for example, I'll drink a glass of milk before an early morning class. Or like at the IBJJF tournaments, right after I make weight, I drink mango nectar. But solid food? NO WAY.

Went to lunch open mat today (on an empty stomach as per always) and had FABULOUS rolls probably because of this gameplan assignment making all my stuff more front-and-center in my mind. I truly had the best time. Rolled with a nice guy, nogi, super mellow and technical but not holding back too much if at all.. really focused on my hook sweeps and butterfly and engaged hooks (Thanks Emily!) and WOW, thanks Rener for the back game... double plus good.

Because it was nogi, guillotines were on the front burner. I was having a serious time trying to finish my guillotines/Marcelotines. Only got one. Definitely need to work on that.

Oh yeah, and, um... not getting reversed/swept in top half when your opponent is tall and lanky. Somehow my crossface just wasn't cutting it like usual.

Homework assignment: gameplan

2011-11-10T19:47:00.000-06:00

As assigned by JoshJitsu:

From Feet:
a variety of judo throws/footsweeps, executed poorly if at all, depending on what they give me... nothing as pretty as a seoi nage though
single legs or double legs to reaps
ankle picks
Russians
Monkey flips

From Knees:
Ankle pick to side control
Seated guard to butterfly/hook sweep
or to spider guard> sweep
or half guard >old school sweep
Loop Choke

Opponent’s Guard:
Guard break via whatever method followed by knee-through pass
From halfguard, Mendes Bros or Donald/Daniel pass
Standup with knee or ankle control -> Toreador pass to side control

Opponent’s Butterfly guard:
Daniel pass
Marcelo pass

My Butterfly:
Over/Under sweep
Armdrag to the Back.
Loop choke

My Guard: (my pitiful whitebelt guard)

My primary goal is always to sweep or take the back. I want to get on top. I threaten chokes and armlocks to force them to defend, then take advantage of their reactions.
• Lately, I have had good luck with a deep overhook to a shoulder lock, then I use their reaction to shoot for a standard armbar, and from there, the omoplata.
If people are posturing away from me I go for a whitebelt killer, then try for guillotines (I like Marcelotines!) when they sit low and heavy as a counter. I also tend to get cross collar grips, or if they’re huge and hard to close guard around, at their first insistence on breaking the guard, I shoot back to feet on hips and aim at spidery sweeps.

In Mount:
Americana, mounted triangle, armbar, ezequiel
technical mount to the back (my favorite)
transition to north-south, to a NS choke.

Mounted:
Rickson’s mount escape
knee to elbow to halfguard and sweep from there

Half Guard Bottom:
90% of the time I get lockdown -> whipup -> Old School/Plan B
10% of the time I get passed Relson-style (they face my feet) and I am screwed

Half Guard Top:
Daniel/Donald pass
brutal shoulder pressure in their throat sometimes becomes a choke>tap

Side Control Top: (my favorite)
Isolate both arms and continually attack both so they don’t know what to defend. Most common submissions– farside americana, straight armlock, or spinning armbar; nearside straight armlock; papercutter choke; transition to NS

Side Control Bottom:
shrimp to guard, sometimes I get a shin sweep from here
turtle up and sit to guard
reverse them by trapping headside arm and shoving head towards my hips, then rolling

Back Mount:
RNC (1 or 2 arms), cross collar choke, arm-behind-head collar choke
Fredson choke
Armbar
Triangle

Back Mounted:
Strip hook on strong side, get shoulders to mat, then stiffarm their lead knee, shrimp out and come up to side control (ideal) or get knees up to intercept mount attempt and regain guard- always watching to ankle lock them

KoB:
I don’t play this much, sometimes in a tournament as a handy points-grabber from side control

Bottom KOB:
Tanaka’s shrimp escape

Planning Thanksgiving in a healthier way...

2011-11-10T12:53:00.000-06:00

I'm on a real comfort-food cooking kick lately but this wars with my desire to eat healthy foods. This summer instead of being active and fit, I was lazing about.. then this fall I got super busy at work and am not training as much. Thus, I head into the holiday ("eating") season trying hard to maintain my current trajectory and lose more weight. (Already down 12, planning on another 15-20.)

Instead of my usual carb-fest at Thanksgiving, I'm cooking:

Turkey, gravy
Stuffing
Mashpots
Braised kale with chorizo
Green beans with onions
Maple roasted sweet potatoes
Pecan pie
(other desserts courtesy of the guests)

Seems pretty healthy, eh? I'm omitting classics like creamed corn pudding, buttermilk biscuits, the "real" green bean casserole with french fried onions, the dark chocolate-caramel-walnut tart, and apple strudel. I don't care for pecan or pumpkin pie, so hopefully this way I will be dessert-free on turkey day.

Anyway, came across this recipe for Jewel Roasted Fall Veggies. Serves 6, 190 calories and 7.5g fat per serving-- enjoy!

4 medium beets
1-1/2 pounds carrots
1-1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts
8 large cloves garlic, left unpeeled
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Put the beets into a small baking dish and rub them with 1 tablespoon of the oil. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and roast for 30 minutes.

While the beets are roasting, peel and cut the carrots into 1-inch-thick rounds, and trim the Brussels sprouts and cut them in half lengthwise. Put the carrots, sprouts, and garlic cloves in a large baking dish and toss with the remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

After the beets have been cooking for 30 minutes, add the large pan of vegetables to the oven separately, and cook everything for 1 hour more, stirring the vegetable mixture once or twice.

Remove the beets from the oven and transfer them to a cutting board to cool. Stir the thyme into the carrot and Brussels sprout mixture and let it continue to cook for another 10 minutes while the beets are cooled and cut.

When the beets are cool enough to handle, after about 5 minutes, peel, then cut them into 1-inch chunks. Remove the other vegetables from the oven, toss with the beets, season with salt and pepper, and serve.

Taking responsibility for my own training.

2011-11-07T09:49:00.001-06:00

It's time I stopped feeling somewhat sorry for myself and started stepping up to the plate. What do I mean? Well, I've always had this vaguely childlike attitude towards my jiu jitsu training. I want to be taken care of-- brought along-- guided-- almost parented-- by my instructors and coaches. I've said before I have "daddy" issues and to some degree it's not a joke. I flourished under a relatively paternal coach in other athletic endeavors throughout my life-- my riding instructors, my track coaches, my racquetball mentor, all the way up to my current trainer and Oly lifting instructor. They've all, to one degree or another, found what makes me tick and perform best. I need/prefer/like to have a coach who follows my progress personally, who mixes stern demands with warm praise. I like to feel like I have their focus, and once I do, I will break my back for words of commendation and approval.

So jiu jitsu used to do that and have that for me. Of course it's a predominantly male activity, so most of the people who mentored me from the start were guys, and especially at the beginning, I got plenty of focus from them since I was one of a very small number of girls at the academy. But then our academy started changing-- the head instructor moved out of state, another blackbelt left, a substantial number of the guys who used to give me lots of time and attention have gone elsewhere for training. Plus, I'm now kind of invisible in the academy, because I'm a fixture. I think I'm less the pet/mascot/little sister and definitely more the average ordinary bluebelt like any other bluebelt. This is GREAT in the sense that I am counted an equal (in terms of meriting help or attention; not in skill!) of the guys. But it sucks because I realize.... there's no one watching my progress and deciding what I need to learn next but me.

So, I decided recently that I will embark on a program of vegetables before dessert. I will drill at least 20 minutes on something useful before any fun sparring. I will map out my gameplan (after this oral argument tomorrow!) and begin fleshing out the weak places. I have NO EXCUSE for the gigantic stack of notes taken in privates and classes and seminars that basically collects DUST and by now is impenetrable gibberish since I haven't reread the contents in months and YEARS since they were written.

That is a box (like an inbox) on my desk at work into which I started depositing notes from classes and so on-- over two years ago-- the box has been filled and emptied (into a desk drawer) 3 times-- the stack in the box is currently 2 1/2" tall and there's probably another 4-5" in the drawer. This is ridiculous. Plus all the instructionals at home (500 gig worth!) I don't need any more classes, I could just live on a desert island (with mats and a partner) for a few years and still have oodles of things to work on.

So that's the plan, minus the island of course.

JoshJitsu's blog pointed out this cool site, by a UK BJJ fighter and strength/conditioning coach named William Wayland. Check out his slidecast on integrating your S&C for BJJ and MMA.

To start your Monday off right, here's a recipe for the version of brownies I first gave to Marcelo Garcia at the seminar in Dallas in 2009.

4 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate
3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3 eggs
1 tablepoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup each chopped walnuts, milk chocolate chips, and semisweet choc. chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).

Microwave chocolate squares (not chips) and butter or margarine in large bowl at HIGH for 2 minutes or until butter or margarine is melted.

Stir until chocolate is melted. Stir in sugar. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour, then chips and nuts.

Spread in greased 13 x 9 inch pan. Bake for 35 minutes or until edges pull away from pan sides. (In my oven this is more like 29 minutes so do NOT overbake!)

Coming soon: reviews and reports

2011-11-06T09:28:00.000-06:00

I just got back from NYC and have been cramming for my argument before the 5th Circuit on Tuesday. I haven't had a chance to post about the trip yet, but I will. Just wanted to say, I am so excited about a number of things that I'll be posting about in the near future!

First, gi reviews. I have been training in a few gis for the last few months to be able to review them for you, and I'm considering doing a big "comparison" review. The gis include the Tatami Estilo Classic from BJJHQ, the DOM Fightwear DMX pink gi, the mens' navy Vulkan Ultralight, and two gis from Black Eagle-- the Predator MK II and the Predadora ladies' fit. I'll do a head-to-head rundown with the Atama Mundial #9.

Second, instructional reviews. Tony Pacenski's Sao Paulo Pass, the Best of Roy Harris 3-DVD set from Roy Dean, Gracie Bullyproof, Brian Johnson's Basic 12 Curriculum (he's a black belt out in Seattle under John Will), and Emily Kwok (who took silver in the 2011 NoGi World Championships yesterday) and Stephan Kesting's latest, How to Defeat a Bigger, Stronger Opponent.

Here's a bit from Tony's Sao Paulo Pass...

And this is from Emily and Stephan's new collaboration...

This morning I'm hitting the Austin Women's Open Mat for some fun, then back to the grindstone...

Have a lovely day!

Cookies.

2011-11-04T15:06:00.000-05:00

This recipe makes awesomely soft, fluffy, cake-like cookies that are perfect for the fall season. When you rotate the baking sheet halfway through the bake time, gently press down the top of each cookie with your spatula to help flatten them out.

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup solid pack pumpkin puree or cooked, mashed sweet potato
2 1/4 cups all-purpose or whole wheat flour (you won't taste the difference)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-2 cups fresh cranberries
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon orange zest (or 1 Tbsp. orange juice concentrate if you're lazy)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla, egg and pumpkin. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices; stir into mixture until blended. Cut the cranberries in half and stir into mixture along with the orange zest and walnuts. Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheets.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating cookie sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through. When cool, dip the top of each cookie into a powdered sugar-milk glaze and let dry before eating.

Comfort food-- chicken n' dumplings

2011-11-04T09:04:00.001-05:00

It's getting chilly and that makes me feel like having homey comfort food. This recipe serves 6 to 8 hungry people.

For tender dumplings, the dough should be gently mixed right before the dumplings are dropped onto the stew.

5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 large onion, chopped fine
1 teaspoon salt
3 garlic cloves, minced
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup dry sherry (don't use cooking sherry, it's too salty)
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 cups frozen peas
4 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves

Dumplings

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups heavy cream

Instructions

1. For the stew: Bring broth to simmer in Dutch oven over high heat. Add chicken and return to simmer. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until chicken is just cooked through, about 10 minutes. Transfer chicken to plate and tent loosely with aluminum foil. Transfer broth to heavy heat-resistant pitcher or bowl.

2. Return empty Dutch oven to medium-high heat and melt butter. Add carrots, onion, and salt and cook until softened, about 7 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in flour and cook, stirring frequently, for 1 minute. Stir in sherry, scraping up browned bits. Stir in reserved broth, cream, thyme, bay leaves, and pepper and bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until stew thickens, about 20 minutes.

3. For the dumplings: Stir flour, baking powder, and salt in large bowl. Stir in cream until just incorporated (dough will be very thick and shaggy, don't overstir).

4. To finish: Discard bay leaves and return stew to rapid simmer. Shred reserved chicken and add to stew along with any accumulated juices, frozen peas, and 3 tablespoons parsley. Using 2 large soup spoons or small ice cream scoop, drop golf ball-sized dumplings onto stew about 1/4 inch apart (you should have 16 to 18 dumplings).

Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until dumplings have doubled in size, 15 to 18 minutes.

Garnish with remaining parsley. Serve.

[note: I would like to experiment with step 4 by putting the oven at 300 degrees, I think, and putting the simmering stew in the oven as soon as the dumplings are added. I'd like my dumplings to have a brown top!]

Make Ahead: Follow recipe through step 2, refrigerating stew and chicken in separate airtight containers up to 24 hours ahead. When ready to proceed, warm stew in Dutch oven and proceed with step 3.

Attn European readers: need visa for European Cup in Portugal.....

2011-11-03T15:42:00.000-05:00

From Bobby McMasters, our correspondent in Romania! Read this and please get back to me if you can help!

"Hey Georgette,

First of all, I hope all is well with you. I'm straight chillin' here in Romania, bracing myself for the winter.

Second of all, I wanted to ask you to forward a message to your readers:

My first BJJ student, long-time friend and training partner, Sandu, is trying to make it out to the European Cup in Portugal this January. The trip out there, including the entrance fee should be paid for, so I am not asking for money. What we need, however, is a visa. Those of you who have seen my mini-documentary understand what these guys are up against within their own country, so you might be able to guess what they face internationally as well.

What we need:
A short-stay European visa of any variety. As I said before, we don't need money. We need someone from the EU (preferably from Portugal) to do whatever paperwork is necessary for your country to get our guy into the Schengen zone so he can compete. Sandu has a visa for Romania but as all Europeans know, Romania isn't in the Schengen zone, so he can't cross into Hungary and thus enter into the Schengen zone. Romanians are allowed to cross this zone but Moldovans are not.

Many Moldovans, up to 25% of the population in fact, work abroad, and many times illegally. Obviously there is a huge incentive from other countries to keep illegal Moldovans out of their countries, so sometimes even if one has all the necessary paperwork, they are regularly denied legal entrance into Schengen participant states. Here's one story from my own experience:

I got married here in Romania almost a year and a half ago. Three of my Moldovan friends planned to come out for the party, and they took the necessary steps to secure a 10-day visa for Romania. While I was on the train, headed to the destination, I got a call from one of my friends.

"Robert! We have a problem at the border!"
"What's up?"
"You need to tell the border guard that we're going to your wedding".
"Alright, well you have all your paperwork in order, right"?
"Of course. Here talk to this guy".

My friend puts the Romanian customs officer/border guard on the phone with me and the conversation goes like this...
"Hello, I have three Moldovans here and they claim that they are going to your wedding".
"That's right", I say
"What are their names?"
I give their names, no problem. The guard then asks, "I see that they have a 10-day visa, can you assure that they have a place to stay and that they will be back in Moldova after ten days"?
"Of course".
"Where will they be staying"?
"With me, in a hotel".
"What hotel"?
I give him the name of the hotel.
"I see that you are getting married on Tuesday. This is very strange. In Romania, we get married on the weekend, so why is this?"
I continue to answer inane questions for another 20 minutes or so, until the border guard agrees to let them in after they give him 2 liters of their wine as a (presumable) bribe.

In any case, this is one of many stories I have about things that come up on a regular basis. It's ironic because I've been regularly passing over the same border ILLEGALLY for almost 2 years now and rarely have run into a problem. It's just my passport that lets them think that I am not here to work illegally since I'm American and not Moldovan. Oh, the irony.

SO, to make a long story short, Sandu is not the guy you have to worry about. He will come back to Romania, and then Moldova. He will not stay in your country and take your jobs. I promise. Let me know if you can help out, and I will do what I can to help with what I can. I would do it all myself but as a US citizen, I can't really do much. Help be a part of making it work for the first Moldovan to ever compete in the European Open.

Thanks for your time!
-b"

Off to NYC!

2011-10-26T13:07:00.002-05:00

Leaving this evening... I'll be in NYC for a week, visiting family and preparing for another big work project that has me arguing in front of the Court of Appeals in New Orleans next month!

While I'm in NY, though, I am definitely getting some training in. Already lined up some classes at Marcelo Garcia's and a private with Emily Kwok!

See you in a week :)

Put your money where your mouth is.

2011-10-25T14:16:00.002-05:00

I'm proud to be sponsored by MMAOutlet.com and have been proud to consider the owner, Mike Ripberger, a friend ever since we got to know each other a bit at the Pan in 2010.

So today when I found a promotional email from MMAOutlet in my inbox, advertising a limited edition rashie from Manto, I knew how I wanted to present this to him. Maybe not the most subtle method of putting my cards on the table, but then again no one has ever accused me of being too subtle.

Sent: Tuesday, October 25, 2011 2:08 PM
Subject: Re: Limited Edition Manto Deadly Tigers - Only at MMA Outlet!

Hey Mike--

I have always appreciated your sponsorship, as it's difficult for women jiu jitsu fighters to get sponsorships at times, and you have always been supportive and wonderful to me and to my gym (Relson Gracie Austin.)

But I just received your promotional email about the Manto product you're selling. I wanted you to know I am boycotting Manto because of their attitude in defending their sexualization of women training in the combat arts. I'm not alone in this boycott, either.

I encourage you to read my blog post on the issue, as well as several articles covering this on the internet, as well as our comments on facebook walls, including Manto's... and you are welcome to respond with your own commentary. Sorry to put you on the spot like this, but I plan on making this correspondence between you and I public-- because I think it's important for consumers to know how leaders in the community like MMAOutlet.com feel about this issue.

Thanks again for your continued support, and I look forward to hearing your response.

For your information:

http://georgetteoden.blogspot.com/2011/10/boob-gate-nsfw.html

https://www.facebook.com/mantofight/posts/10150314960046627

http://jezebel.com/5848740/martial-arts-exec-offers-bizarre-defense-for-nipply-photoshoot

http://bjiujitsu.blogspot.com/2011/10/branding-in-bjj-what-works.html

https://www.facebook.com/MegJitsu

Sincerely,

Georgette Oden

I encourage you to do the same (or the same sort of thing) if you feel so moved.

Update:

"From: Mike Ripberger
To: Georgette Oden
Sent: Wednesday, October 26, 2011 12:02 PM
Subject: Re: Limited Edition Manto Deadly Tigers - Only at MMA Outlet!

Hi Georgette,
I did not go over all of those threads with a fine tooth comb, but I think I have a fairly good what the controversy is about. I understand why some people are upset. I would encourage everyone to vote with their dollars (pounds, euros, etc.) when it comes to backing the products they believe in.

If we observe Manto or any other brand routinely disrespecting women or perhaps just not representing our sport in a positive way then we will cease to carry them.

That being said, we think Manto is a quality brand that has consistently represented our sport with class and dignity for several years. Their approach to fight wear has really been a breath of fresh air. When everyone else seemed to be promoting sex, violence and skulls with barbed wire, they charted their own course producing fight wear that captured the essence of BJJ and MMA in a truly original and artistic way. We expect more great things from them in the future.

While MMA Outlet is becoming a bigger player in this industry, in the grand scheme of things we are still an *extremely* small business. To date MMA Outlet has only paid cash to one BJJ athlete to compete wearing our logo. That athlete was Penny Thomas at the No Gi Mundials. We take women in the sport seriously and as such we keep our elbows in and our hands up when sparring with them :)

Being a small company, it’s important for us to try and keep everyone happy. That includes our customers, our friends, sponsored athletes and our partners. Our goal is to help spread the growth of our sport and the brands that help connect us with the spirit of martial arts on and off the mat.

We definitely take this feedback into consideration and will continue to align ourselves in the future with companies and athletes that we feel cast our sport in a positive light.

Thanks,
Mike"

Well said. I appreciate your perspective and your support. If more businesses would be willing to take a stand as you have, it would go a long way towards encouraging more professionalism and respect in the community. Thank you Mike :)

Georgette's Jiu Jitsu World
georgetteoden.blogspot.com

Instructional Review--Jiu Jitsu Outlaw by Abmar Barbosa

2011-10-24T10:08:00.001-05:00

Abmar Barbosa is a well-known and successful blackbelt under Robert Drysdale with an extensive list of grappling achievements. Mainly known for his crowd-pleasing and aggressive guard, he shocked the BJJ community in the 2010 Pan Ams by running over heavy favourite Kron Gracie in the first fight of the competition, winning by 11-0. He went on to submit another high-profile figure Lucas Leite, ending in second place in that competition after losing in the final by one sweep. Barbosa opened his own academy in Massachusetts in 2009.

Jiu Jitsu Outlaw is Barbosa's first instructional release, a professionally filmed and edited 4-disc collection put out by Digitsu in 2010. I watched the first two discs about 20 times over the last year or so, but only recently felt like I was ready to absorb more material (and that doesn't mean I had mastered the first two discs-- more like, my mind was ready and my rolling was bringing me to more of his guard scenarios where I might appreciate his instruction.) You can buy the set on the Digitsu website here.

This is not an instructional for whitebelts and probably not for new blues, unless you happen to play a LOT of spider, DLR, and open guard already. I definitely was stretched to absorb and process the depth and breadth of the techniques covered, but that's great in my book, since I know I'll be able to get more out of the series as I grow in the sport. I definitely don't see myself outgrowing this in the next 6-8 years!

His instructional technique is excellent. First, he teaches the movement, demonstrating a predicate move he assumes you know as background when needed. (For example-- here's the traditional armbar we all know.)

He then explains why we need another version and why his is better. I found myself nodding along many times when he'd say something like "We're all taught to do the armbar/the sweep/the pass this way.. but when you do this and this, it never works." He's right, because we are ALL taught the armbar, so we all see it coming, and maybe by mid-blue belt, we'll rarely get sucked into that standard old thing unless we're snoozing or much weaker than our opponent. His version of some oldies-but-goodies looked sufficiently different that they would work better, but sufficiently the same that I could pop it in to that slot in my brain without too much relearning and readjustment.

Barbosa, in a white gi, demonstrated each technique from multiple angles against an opponent in a blue gi, making it very easy to tell who was doing what. After at least 6 repetitions, the music would come up and they'd do it at "live" rolling speed, usually with a slow-motion segment, also showing it from multiple angles. When needed, they'd show multiple angles at the same time so you could see the progress of the movement simultaneously:

The Good: Explicit instruction and almost-overwhelming level of attention to detail; explanation of why you should do things a certain way (and correspondingly, there are times when things are "up to you" -- he's great about making it clear when something is a must-do versus when it's a matter of stylistic preference that doesn't influence the tactical benefit or the execution of the move); emphasis on grips and particularities with clear verbal and visual instruction; he goes for submissions over points where possible, and for points over advantages where necessary; numerous repetitions of the movements from all camera angles, including slow-motion views plus rolling-speed demonstrations. The cameraperson must be a jiu jitsu player, because you got the impression they were moving around the demonstration the way you'd want to move if you were there in a class and watching it live. Abmar's English isn't fluent, but it's certainly adequate; he rarely aggravates the listener with "do this" but instead will say "your elbow comes through here past his hip," for example... and he makes things clearer by pointing at important elements, gesturing frequently to augment his spoken words.

The Bad: Occasionally, his spoken instructions are hard to hear because his head is underneath his partner's body or is turned away from the camera, where the mike was, but at worst it's only a few seconds and since there are repetitions from different angles, you won't miss much. Wish he would have done each technique once or twice at the start without (much) explanation so we could have the big picture, then broken it down with increasing levels of detail and rationale. This was more a problem with the more complex movements not easily visible from one viewpoint that were new to me-- so maybe if they're not new to you, this won't bug you at all. I didn't notice that 'till disc 3 though. Oh, and sometimes his names for things, like the Vidal pass, didn't connect for me so I wished I would have known more about why the name was given so I could remember it better. (Later I discovered that he got his black belt from Felipe Vidal and Robert Drysdale, so that helped somewhat, but not much.) Not a huge complaint of course, and it means I will probably come up with some whacko name for the pass myself. And I noticed on a few of the techniques on the DLR guard disc, the camera angles weren't quite as pleasing-- the focus was wholly on the specifics of the move, so it got a little close in, and I wished it was from a slightly wider angle (I kept leaning as if I could peer around the edge of the monitor and see the "rest" of the figures on screen.) Last, he emphasized that all these techniques are ones he's used successfully in competition; I wished he had included footage of the movement in that context. I know that is a hairy pain in the rear to put together though, and it's already 4 discs of stuff. No biggie.

The Ugly: Oh, gawd, the music. Thankfully none while he taught each move, but it came up during the rolling demonstrations and then I had to mute it. It was that annoying (you hear it in a clip below, sorry!) Some nasally-voiced fool repeating "arms, arms, arms"-- wtf, lol...

Disc one is Closed Guard and covers:

Knee-block armbar (includes a nice knee-pick sweep option)
Modified ezequiel chokes, 2 variations
Modified flower sweep and MFS to armlock, 2 variations
Elbow-over armlock
Modified pendulum sweep
Overhook sweep fake to a bellydown armbar
Collar choke and arm lock from mata leao arm control

Here's a brief example of his teaching style-- the armlock from mata leao arm control. He's already shown countless details on getting to this position, and now it's time for a variation when the collar choke isn't comfortable for you or your opponent is countering it effectively. This is just the first of many times he shows it.

Palm-to-palm control to arm lock (similar leg movement to the Brazilian legs drill we do)
Underhook lapel control to arm lock
Abmar's pendulum sweep

Disc two is Spider & Barbosa Guard- nearly two solid hours of technique here:
Spider guard (SG) movement drills 1-3 (really, there's more like 5 or 6- reminding me why wall-walking is important and how shameful it is that I STILL can't do it)
Foot on Bicep (FOB) sweep-- includes two important details I didn't know
Lasso sweep to armbar

Triangle from SG-- works on standing opponents, not just kneeling ones
Lasso with reverse De la Riva (DLR) sweep (Sweet!!)
FOB sweep to armlock-- with welcome details on how to finish any armbar with varying leg positions, to avoid common escapes and counters
Lasso sweep defended to an armlock
Rolling FOB sweep -- sweet!! plus shows you recovery from a mistake in your FOB sweep
Rolling FOB sweep to triangle, after they counter the rolling FOB sweep
Roll under chin strap sweep (over my head, for now)
Single hook spider to sweep
Barbosa guard (BG) to inverted triangle-- the Barbosa guard looks like them having double-unders on you, and he turns their apparent advantage into their apparent hell. Nice work.
Sweep fake to submission combination (includes crucifix, clock choke, and some other niceties)
BG back take
Abmar's hurricane sweep
Counter to a heavy stack pass

Disc three is Passing the Guard:
2 double-under passes
Arm control double-under passes, 2 variations- one leads into an inverted head-and-arm triangle
Double-under backstep pass
"Vidal" pass
Collar-grip butterfly passes, 2 variations. I think the second variation, below, is super slick. This music is repeated throughout the 4 discs. This is an example of how he demonstrates after the instruction phase, slow motion and at normal speed--

Shin trap butterfly pass
Leg over butterfly pass
Knee clear butterfly pass
Modified X pass
Z guard pass
Quarter guard pass

Disc four is De la Riva Guard: I thought this was taught in an unusual order-- until I considered that I am fairly noobish when it comes to "exotica" like deep DLR, reverse DLR etc. I train at a Relson Gracie school that doesn't really address these kinds of guards, so perhaps if I was more familiar with these things, this would be the obvious order for them to be taught.

Deep DLR sweep with lasso control
Roll through sweep
Roll through sweep to the back
Knee stomp sweep to the back
Reverse DLR roll under sweep to the back
Rev. DLR roll under sweep, defended
DLR dental cloth control (and variation) to the back (another name that doesn't gel for me)
Rev. DLR pass to collar choke and to triangle
DLR pass to mount- I tried to upload a snip of this technique too, but it didn't work. I'll shorten the video clip tonight and see if I can add it later.
And last but not least, the DLR footwork pass.

All in all I like the instructionals because I enjoy bringing in a little "exotica" to try to mess with my teammates' minds. DVDs like this help me expand my understanding of the game and show me a different perspective on the guard in particular. The production isn't fancy, just hours and hours of solid technique that will keep me busy for years. I'd compare this favorably with my Stephan Kesting DVDs without a doubt (which have historically been the highwater mark for me.) You can buy the set on the Digitsu website here.

Many thanks to the folks at Submission Control and Digitsu for providing me with the DVDs for this review!!!

Boob-gate (nsfw)

2011-10-22T07:29:00.003-05:00

Manto, FightChix, Fightergirls, and other companies too numerous to list make money, in part, by using images of women grapplers, women MMA fighters, and female athletes generally in their advertising.

This is something I have no problem with.

They even make money off of gorgeous-looking, sexually-appealing women in skimpy clothing and suggestive poses. I have no problem with that, either. I wish there were more ads featuring rippling male abs, bulging male biceps, and taut male bums, for that matter.

What I have a problem with is advertising that sexualizes training or competition for men or women, or ads that demean women generally. So when Manto posted a Bardot-lookalike and a Loren-lookalike play-fighting, foreplaying, and snuggling---

--- I was turned off of Manto forever. That photospread caused a fair bit of controversy after they posted that picture on their facebook page and tweeted it as well. It's published in a Polish men's magazine. In the English tweet, it was subtitled something about "two girls fighting over a Manto t-shirt" and said something about "breast control."

Logic, people-- they're both wearing the same Manto t-shirt.

Oh that's right, you're not supposed to look at the t-shirt.

My good friend Mark helpfully translated the bottom line of text from Polish, which reads ""the moments of breath in the bedroom." Hmm.

Comments by Manto and an owner thereof, Alberto Marchetti, included:

"The 'mma themed' photoshoot was organized by one of mainstream's [sic] men's magazines for which [sic] we were asked to provide gear and mat space. We had no creative control over the photoshoot."

"I wouldn't have apologized, the photo shoot is not intended for women, it's for men. Men don't need to apologize because they like sexy women! It's the 21st century! If women's skin offends u too bad for you!"

"In my opinion women are portrayed in the media the way they want to be portrayed. There are publications that talk about successful business women just as there are ones that talk about the sex appeal women have on men, but then again how many women do you see buying Business Week at the news stand? They have a choice, no one is forcing them, $5 in their pockets, but which magazine will they buy to read on the plane?"

I found this pretty appalling and said so on my facebook wall and in comments on Manto's. I was so proud that apparently many men, as well as women, agreed with me.

Other companies have found a way to use sexy babes without sexualizing our training. Here's an example-- FightChix. Granted, I hate their silhouette image -- c'mon, do anyone's boobs point up at the ceiling like that?? and no, I mean on the shirt, not in it... But even though this is a very sexualized image, it does not include sexualized training or competing. It's just a sexy girl, standing up in a tshirt, in what may be a hotel lobby. Whatevs.

In an apparent attempt at countering the sexy imagery, FightChix's subtitle on their website is "Empowering Women Worldwide." I'm not sure how empowered I'd feel walking around with this phrase hovering over my derriere...

But as far as the visual images go, I have no problem with even the sexiest of FightChix's photography. It doesn't make it look like you're supposed to be ready for sex while training. While it clearly appeals to the "fighter's babe" more than the "babe who is a fighter," at least in my opinion, sometimes fighters started out as fighter's babes! And we're all worthy of respect.
That, however, is why I do have a problem with some of their logos and slogans. WTF?! Trust No Bitch? Shame on you, FightChix. I am joining Abby in my expression of distaste and my boycott of the brand.

Fightergirls, a company started by fighter Debi Purcell, uses hot sexy women in its photos, but it's hard to find a suggestive pose on their website. This is about as sexual as they get, advertising their capris. She's tough, though feminine. She can clearly handle herself. She doesn't need to show her lady parts, and she has better abs than most. Double thumbs up.

E-zine Jezebel covered the controversy and found Manto's "mansplanations" bizarre. Megan blogged about it over on Tangled Triangle. In fact, I first noticed Manto's crap because MegJitsu posted about it.

So what's the difference? Women who train can be sexy, sensual, desireable creatures, but when we train, just like men, we're not there for sex. We are there to learn, to kick ass, to progress, to do a million and one things depending on our goals for the sport and for the day-- but we're not there to get laid. So WTF with the boob control, Manto?

It pisses me off that dumb knuckledraggers (every academy seems to have, or have had, at least one) look at the Manto pictures and say "how come we don't have those girls at my school?" I mean really.

Number one, if that blonde came to your school, she wouldn't be dressed like that, she wouldn't be all lushly made up with bedroom hair trailing over a shoulder. She'd be there for self-defense or learning a new skill, she'd come wearing clothing that fully covered her physique, and she wouldn't be HAPPY if you demonstrated back mount with a handful of her tit.

Number two, I bet there ARE girls (or at least one girl) at most of these guys' schools. And they come in, do their business, make friends, and go back to their lives. By saying you wish Miss Bardot was at your school, you're insulting the ladies who are there. What, you need to have a buffet of sexy babes to make your school better? Why does that make your training better? Are you some kind of Playgirl centerfold? Maybe you should worry about making your school better by being a better training partner first!

Number three, sex should not be used to influence and shape the image of the women that are engaged in a mostly-male sport. It's annoying and demeaning, not in the least because there will always be boneheads who turn to the (lone?) lady in their academy, utter a Beavis/Butthead laugh, and say something about breast control (or whatever the wording was.) They are already stupid, but gain bravery to express that stupidity from all the clowns defending the Manto pictures as "funny," "normal sex drive," "sex sells," or it's "justified because there are women who hook up with guys in their academy," etc. ad nauseum.

A later explication by Meg so fully and perfectly summarizes how I feel about this, that I am just going to quote her:

" Of course sexualised images of women and men are currency across many sectors and are ogled for pleasure and fun by men and women. What concerned me in this particular case, was the broadcast of such a sexualised portrayal of female grapplers as a public communication by a brand which, in part, markets grappling kit to women.

As an aspect of brand identity, this was not acceptable to me. For me, as a grappler and consumer, I want to support brands with my hard-earned dosh that emphasise the skillfullness of grapplers (male and female) and positively reinforce respect for athleticism and hard-won skill and technical abilities on the part of practitioners.

I believe it is clear I am not the only person, female or male, that agrees with this. Others may not, that's fine. A brand can manage its identity as it sees fit, also fine. But as a consumer, it is also fine that I position myself in relation to any particular brand's identity. The emphasis on a sexualised portrayal of female grapplers pitched at a certain male gaze in that public communication is not the sort of brand identity I want to associate with. So I, and others, let Manto know that was the case. . . .

Essentially, nipples and boobies in principle don't freak me out . . . and I think women's bodies are rather glorious. However, for me, that does not translate to into a willingness to hang with a brand that uses such a sexualised portrayal of female grappling in its brand-building. Doesn't mean others shouldn't or can't and clearly any brand can manage its identity as it sees fit, but equally a brand doesn't exist apart from its community of customers, a community which may include many perspectives, and a brand can reasonably expect to lose custom, just as it may attract custom, through its chosen identity. That's the market at work."

I agree with Meg completely. I haven't ever purchased (or reviewed for free) material from Manto, and I promise, I won't be sending my hard-earned "dosh" their way, ever. Nor will I use my precious time to review their stuff. Manto is off my list, forever. Not that they care.

But I want to steer you towards a new company out there that I can get behind. Fluffy Lamb Fightwear. Seriously-- they have cute stuff. I bought some at the last UFC Fan Expo in Houston and I've been wearing it since. Instead of skulls, barbed wire, gargoyles and boobalicious babes, they have a frowning sheep as mascot. The kids' designs lack the tongue-in-cheek flirty bylines present on the adult versions, but neither is anything approaching rated-R much less X. The whole story is posted on their website, starting with an expedition in Nepal, but here's the short version:

"While most companies sell MMA apparel with the intent of being 'bad' or 'menacing', Fluffy Lamb takes a different approach. We think the toughness doesn't always have to come in a package adorned with skulls and aggressive messaging. Enjoy the irony of the Fluffy Lamb!"

Here's a couple of the designs they sell on their website. I have the pink "no petting allowed" one and another not shown here. I love the material which is very soft and stretchy; I got a medium and it's a nice fit, babydoll in style but not overly tight or too short. It also doesn't get distorted or twisted in the wash/dry process, like some cheap shirts.

So, that's my rant of the week. Sorry it took a while to post-- I was out of town and insanely busy for work.

I'll be in NYC next week for a week of family time and training and hopefully not too much eating. I plan on hitting Marcelo's, of course, looking forward to meeting Emily, seeing Marcelo again (I'm bringing those brownies!) and seeing Jamie and Kamjohn, and Matt Serra's to visit my bud Mike D., and if you think I should try for any other academies while I'm there, pipe up! :)

Female Champions

2011-10-21T16:45:00.000-05:00

Charlie Liu at SubmissionControl will be posting part two of his Female Champions series tomorrow... if you want to know more about the purple belt force of nature and daughter of Megaton Diaz, Mackenzie Dern, then check it out!!

The first installment of that series honored Leticia Ribeiro as the First Lady of BJJ. Read it, and watch the videos, here.

Perfect tournament round.

2011-10-11T00:04:00.000-05:00

Stealing Leslie's assignment from Kintanon (well, I should start with the first one, which was a grand map of my comfortland in jiu jitsu... but I will do that another time. When I'm not trying to procrastinate going to bed, and instead have a good solid hour or two for thought.)

The assignment was, what's your ideal tournament round?

1. Takedown: sasae tsurikomi ashi

2. Land in half guard (and pass) or in side control.

3. Americana or armbar on far arm.

It seems so easy when you write it down on a piece of paper. Not so easy when you're actually doing it live.

Grappler's Quest, Houston 10/8/11

2011-10-10T22:58:00.000-05:00

Some videos for your viewing pleasure...

Brownbelt super fight, TJ Waldburger (brown tshirt) v. Marc Stevens (black and white rashie)...

Blackbelt super fight, Bruno Bastos (short sleeve rashie) v. Rafael Lovato Jr. (longsleeve rashie).

Purplebelt womens' absolute semifinals-- Ariadne Burkhart (white gi) v. Monica Carrizales (blue gi).

The other semifinals bracket-- Kelly Fasholz (Bruno Bastos; white gi) v. Lora Hallock (Paragon, black gi).

For bronze: Lora v. Monica.

For gold: Kelly v. Ariadne.

I really want to blog about the soft porn Manto advertisement but I am away on a business trip. Might get it up tomorrow night. Yes, I have the hotly-contested photo itself. Check back soon.

Improvising in jiu jitsu.

2011-10-07T08:26:00.002-05:00

Before I tell my story, check out this post by Mauricio Zingano about his and his wife's experiences competing in ADCC the last 3 go-rounds. Found it on reddit, and I agree with some commenters-- changes on the part of both parties could have resolved a lot of this. But the metaissue for me, as a competitor who has had to cut weight for almost every tournament I've ever done, is-- what would it be like to have to make weight 3 times or more over a span of 3 days after a transAtlantic flight (flying always makes me retain water like a beast)-- or shoot, make weight multiple times over 3 days regardless? That's just tough. Unless you're naturally in that weight category, which invites the question-- is it fair to "force" someone to compete at the bottom of a weightclass, or is it fair to your opponents to cut and fight at the top of the next weightclass down?

Also-- hooray! Pandora isn't limiting the free listening to 40 hours a month any more! :)

But back to my story.

I have not been training too much since work is crazy busy. Maybe once a day, even had to skip a day or two. But I got to roll some nogi with my good friend Tom yesterday. He was instrumental in getting me into jiu jitsu and he always demolishes me, but with a good spirit. He's not much bigger than I am, AND he's got stomach cancer, so you'd think with the chemotherapy he's been enduring for months now that I might have a chance!

But you'd think wrongly. He's a badass. If I don't roll with him regularly, it's very diagnostic for me to drop in and roll with him, because I can mentally compare myself and how he felt to the last time and see changes that, with a shorter intervening timespan, would be invisible. Yesterday was no exception.

I've always naturally been a top player, and he used to fuss at me for not being more aggressive off my back. I've been back at the drawing board scribbling furiously for the last 9 months or year or so, attempting to take my sub-white belt guard up a notch or two. It was a great feeling to play yesterday and realize that I was on my back AND identifying and flowing from submission attempts and sweep attempts. I also am seeing something eye-opening-- that (at least from this bluebelt perspective) it seems it's less important that every move I make culminate in a fully-fledged sweep or submission but at least DO SOMETHING. Used to be I wouldn't start to do something unless I was sure what I would do next.

If it were a cooking situation, my whitebelt/new blue self would go like this: I wouldn't start to do anything in the kitchen until I had a recipe in front of me and had read it through once.

But now, with a little more cooking under my belt, I know more or less what's in the pantry, and even if I don't know what I will make for dinner, I know it probably will start with me getting [a pot/a pan/a mixing bowl/or a cutting board] out and then [reach for an onion/some garlic/ or olive oil] and so on.... I can improvise with most whatever I find in the pantry because I have more than "recipes" in my head-- I have cooking skill. So I know how ingredients work, what techniques go with which, which spices go best together (in my taste!)...

In grapplespeak, this is-- even if I don't know what I will end up doing, I can [brace my forearm on their throat/get an underhook/get an overhook/get wrist control] and then [move my hips/break their posture/sit up into them] etc etc.

It's all about having a bigger vocabulary of principles and seeing the flow chart of how they each can originate from different approaches and flow further on into a number of different possibilities and outcomes. It's improvising. I feel like I'm finally "getting it." Everything I do doesn't have to be carried out to the ultimate finish and in fact it isn't, most of the time. But if I don't do something as a first step, they're GOING to do something worse to me. If I get my first step going, it deters them, and even if they foil my first step, their reaction invites MY reaction, and it's a cascade of beautiful (or not-so-beautiful!) chess moves all over the board.

I know, I know... this is the most obvious recitation of jiu jitsu. But it's all exciting and wonderful to me.

Also, thanks to Jodi at CombatSportsReview for making me reread Kintanon's great post on Hip Control.

Headed to Houston tonight for the Rener seminar, then tomorrow is Grappler's Quest (no I'm not competing are you crazy) and UFC. Be back Sunday. Working like mad to be ready for my hearing, which will have me in lovely El Paso all next week.

New invention should be used for gis....

2011-10-04T22:14:00.002-05:00

New cloth self-cleans by killing bacteria when exposed to light. Read all about it here.

Bleach and vinegar with gis-- sanitizing, setting dye

2011-09-30T17:11:00.006-05:00

I bleach my gis. On average, I think I bleach gis (and rashguards, tshirts, athletic bras, etc) maybe once every 30-40 washes. But the last post on laundry safety got me to thinking about vinegar too, so I did a little reading, and here's my report!

BLEACH

After three years of occasionally bleaching my stuff, the worst effect I notice in terms of wear and tear on the material is a spot or two, about 1/2" by 1/2", on the collars of my oldest gis where the material has worn thin or shows the collar "interior" material.

Not even sure this is due to bleaching, as I see the same effects on other peoples' gis. Still definitely tough enough for long classes and rough use.

I know "they" say not to bleach but I have found every once in a while, even a freshly laundered piece of equipment will have a little smell to it... that's true of bathtowels that were left to sit on the floor instead of hung up, too. So whenever I get a whiff of "that smell," I know it's time to bleach.

I have a front loading washer, and I add bleach carefully to avoid weakening the fibers more in one spot than in another (and avoid bleach streaks on colored items)-- I start the washer with the clothing inside and let the water run till it's about to start agitating. I pause the cycle and put 1/4 c of bleach in the dispenser, then start it back up. The clothes don't sit with "straight" bleach on them for any length of time, they immediately start to slosh around in the water, and that seems to work pretty well.

I did a bad job of this with my navy Vulkan; I was in a hurry and decided to put the bleach in from the start. Now I will be dyeing my navy-with-denim-streaks gi a royal purple. So be careful about it-- if you're in doubt, put your bleach in a jug of water first and pour that in.

If you have a top-loader, fill the tub with water first, add bleach, swish around, and then add your clothing.

I described this process to, and got a little feedback from, a chemistry professor who specializes in the effects of chlorine bleach in laundry.

"We have found that bleach creates some potentially nasty by-products in fabrics. However, it is also an extremely effective and useful antimicrobial agent. If you're using it so seldom, you're probably splitting the difference quite well. Your laundering practices sound quite well considered to me.

Best of luck with your laundry!

Yours sincerely,
Alessandra

Alessandra Leri
Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Environmental Science
Marymount Manhattan College
221 E 71st St.
New York, NY 10021
(212) 517-0661"

I emailed her back to ask: Could you give me an idea of what the "nasty by-products" are when you use bleach in the laundry? I occasionally bleach my sheets and towels too. Is there a way to categorize how much bleach is too much or too often? I googled this and wasn't able to come up with anything truly helpful...

She answered:

"Hi Georgette,
It's true; there's really no scientific research out there on this issue. We've actually just started assembling our results. I will have the dataset together soon, so I will keep you posted on the details!
Alessandra"

VINEGAR

But what about vinegar? Vinegar is commonly advocated to set the dye in new gis. So I did a little research about that first. A website for fabric designers and dyers debunks that myth:

"The problem is that you don't know what kind of dye was used when you buy a gi. A treatment that will help set acid dyes will tend to strip off fiber reactive dyes, while the carbonate that will set fiber reactive dyes won't do any good for union dyes. You must match such chemical treatments to the exact dye type that was used, for acceptable results. Furthermore, such treatments are best used at the time of dyeing, rather than much later.

Many people recommend 'setting' dye in cotton clothing [like gis] with vinegar. Vinegar is not the answer! In fact, vinegar can do nothing useful for cotton dyes. Vinegar will help set some acid dyes, but only if applied while it is gradually heated to a simmer (generally in the presence of salt), and solely in cases in which this necessary part of acid dyeing was omitted; acid dyes are used on silk, wool, or nylon, but never cotton.

There is only one type of product that you can buy that will actually set dye regardless of its type. A product called Retayne, sold by local quilter's supply shops as well as by most mail-order dye supply houses. Retayne and other commercial dye fixatives are the only real solution to commercial clothing that bleeds.

Retayne is a cationic bulking agent, which acts to seal in the dye by physical means, rather than the chemical bonds which are so dependent on the type of dye. It seems that the particles of Retayne adhere to the dye molecules, effectively making them larger, so they do not come out of the fabric as easily. Note that Retayne is washed in as a laundry additive, and thus can be used only on things that can be immersed at least once without the dye immediately floating off and ruining other parts of the same item. Retayne may be removed by washing with overly hot water, and thus treated items must be washed in cool water."

Huh, so there you go. You can quit marinating your new gis in vinegar!

What about using vinegar to kill bacteria and germs? Lizinha mentioned this on that last raucous post about laundry. I looked at the link she provided, but it didn't say anything about killing bugs-- though it did recommend vinegar for defeating perspiration stains and odor. Next, I hit up wikipedia:

"Vinegar is an acidic liquid produced from the fermentation of ethanol in a process that yields its key ingredient, acetic acid (ethanoic acid). It also may come in a diluted form. The pH of table vinegar ranges from 2.4 to 3.4[1] (higher if diluted). The acetic acid concentration typically ranges from 4% to 8% by volume for table vinegar and up to 18% for pickling vinegar. Natural vinegars also contain small amounts of tartaric acid, citric acid, and other acids. . . .

Vinegar has been used to fight infections since Hippocrates, who lived between 460-377 BC, prescribed it for curing persistent coughs. As a result, vinegar is popularly believed to be effective against infections.

Nonetheless, many sources caution against using vinegar as an antimicrobial agent, even full strength.

While vinegar has some antibacterial properties, they are too weak or inconsistent for it to be used effectively as a disinfectant. William A. Rutala, Susan L. Barbee, Newman C. Aguiar, Mark D. Sobsey, David J. Weber, (2000). "Antimicrobial Activity of Home Disinfectants and Natural Products Against Potential Human Pathogens". Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology (The University of Chicago Press on behalf of The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America) 21 (1): 33–38."

Here's an article on the pros and cons of using bleach vs. vinegar in a kitchen/food-safety context. The upshot-- studies that find vinegar kills germs are generally vague in terms of how much of the germs are killed and how much are left behind.

Another article suggested using "a few drops" of a natural oil such as tea tree oil in your laundry. They say, "Many essential oils are naturally antibacterial, including peppermint, tea tree oil, oregano, lemon, thyme, and eucalyptus. Essential oils are not safe to consume or to apply undiluted to the skin, but they can be added to household cleaning solutions, soap, and loads of laundry. It is important to obtain high grade essential oils, with only a few drops being needed in a cleaning solution. Consumers should also be aware that essential oils do not kill 100% of bacteria, although many are very effective. Tea tree oil also kills fungus, and can be used on mold and mildew in places like the bathroom."

I find it hard to believe that "a few drops" in your washer would be sufficient and since a tiny bottle of tea tree oil costs about $5-6, I think that would get old quick. Though I think a lemon/tea tree-scented gi would be lovely! That article also pointed out that vinegar in the laundry will remove soap residue and leave your clothing fluffy. Didn't say squat about germs.

SUMMARY

All in all, a little bleach every once in a while goes a long way towards killing the bad stuff in your gi, and has the side effect of making it smell summer-y fresh (if you like a faint scent of swimming pool when you get really hot and sweaty.) Vinegar neither sets the dye on your gi nor effectively kills the germs, unless you spray it full-strength onto the fabric and let it sit. But it is less chemical-y that way, which is good for the environment.

One thing vinegar is REALLY good for-- salad dressing!

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons dark brown sugar, optional*
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup olive oil
spring greens
Assortment of salad ingredients, such as cherry tomatoes, chopped carrots, sliced red onion, chopped celery, diced cucumbers, walnuts
Blue cheese, for garnish

Directions

If using a good quality balsamic vinegar you should not need the sugar, but if using a lesser quality you might want the sugar to round out the dressing.

Beat the vinegar in a bowl with the optional sugar, garlic, salt and pepper until sugar and salt dissolves. Then beat in the oil by droplets, whisking constantly. (Or place all the ingredients in a screw-top jar and shake to combine.) Taste and adjust the seasonings.

Toss a few tablespoons of the dressing with the salad mix and desired salad ingredients, top with blue cheese and serve immediately.

If not using dressing right away, cover and refrigerate, whisking or shaking again before use.

Ideal training partner.

2011-09-29T10:39:00.001-05:00

I've been thinking about what qualities make up the ideal training partners lately, mainly as I count my blessings for having many many people who fit the bill.

I can summarize it by saying it's kind of like how you know when two people probably have a great marriage-- because they both believe they got the better end of the deal.

I rolled with a guy in morning class today that I'd say is one of my ideal training partners. We both sat after our roll and insisted that the other person kicked our ass. Yeah, sometimes that's one person being sincere and the other person being nice (and it could have been that this morning; I was definitely being sincere, and he was definitely kicking my ass.) But that's still part of the ideal thing. Every day isn't an ass-kicking day; it's nice to have a partner who is warm and positive about the things we do right even when it's our day to be the ass that gets kicked.

My ideal training partners are a smaller subset of those I consider favorites. Why? Well, some of my favorite training partners are years ahead of me in experience and technique; some are enormously big and strong; some are a little newer to the game than me. I love training with them for many different reasons, and they all share some of these qualities-- but an ideal partner has all of these:

Not so physically disparate that one needs to hold back to make it fair
Kind, generous, enthusiastic, supportive
Aggressive, not timid, so you can be the same way
Evenly matched enough that you feel any letting up will result in your loss of position
Evenly matched enough that even with best effort and good technique, you might still not get a submission
Evenly matched enough that regardless of who gets position/submission in the end, you'll both transition through successes and mistakes on the way
Creative and open-minded
Clean and well-groomed
Finds joy and laughter in the process; isn't too critical of themselves or others
Focuses time and energy into efficiently using training time
Spends some time off the mats thinking about jiu jitsu

What makes an ideal training partner for you? :)

Oh-- here's a recipe for some good food. This satisfies ALL my requirements for a "great" recipe: it's quick and easy, inexpensive, attractive to look at, delicious, and very very healthy. It travels AND refrigerates well and it can be eaten hot or cold. I like to double the batch and bring it to work for lunch. Sometimes I add chopped red bell pepper to the onion and garlic saute. Sometimes I put in halved cherry tomatoes or kalamata olives; basil instead of parsley (I don't care for cilantro) and pine nuts or walnuts and feta or goat cheese. You can toss in grilled chicken or shrimp, but the quinoa is an excellent source of complete protein. It's also excellent just the way it is!

Black Beans and Quinoa-- makes 10 servings; 76 calories per serving

1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup frozen corn kernels
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro or parsley

Directions--

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and saute until lightly browned.

Mix quinoa into the saucepan and cover with broth. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes,

Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated through. Mix in the black beans and cilantro.

Enjoy! And good luck to everyone competing this weekend! :)

Custom BJJ gi?

2011-09-28T14:40:00.000-05:00

Any experience with custom gis y'all want to share?

So far I've heard of two companies: Fushida and Killer Bee. Looking for input for a friend.

Taking notes.

2011-09-28T10:15:00.001-05:00

I used to take notes that were anal in their completeness, every class. (Like most BJJ bloggers, I started out blogging a mind-numbing recitation of every move, thinking that I could just use my blog as a clever online note review service. Fortunately that didn't last too long, thanks to Mike Webber in California and my then-instructor Phil. Long story. Anyway.)

Now I don't really take notes unless it's a seminar or a private lesson. This morning, I came to our little jiu jitsu lab session with my notebook, ready to review some things from a private and a seminar with Hillary Williams.

Only it was like interpreting cuneiform scribblings on a temple wall somewhere. Oh, I could read my writing-- it's just that it seemed to refer to arcane rituals having nothing to do with jiu jitsu.

"Halfway grip- punch through hard- tight under- slide knee."

Or the teaser--

"Counter to counter- americana from armbar."

Whaaaa????

Some of the stuff was done right thank goodness... the Rafa Mendes pass for the halfguard with their knee in your hip... and I got to practice it a bit on a willing brownbelt. Scott, a purple, helped me sort out the one that starts with "Halfway grip" though I never did get the counter to counter one.

The nice thing about Hillary is, if she didn't write up a handout with all the techniques, she'll gladly email you an answer to your question later. She's super cool about that (though now that she's in med school, I think I'll wait till Christmas to ask!)

I wish more instructors would let you videotape seminars and privates. I get it, some asshole burned them and put it on youtube. (I wish the most awful karma on whoever does that!) But I promise, I wouldn't. However-- what I should be doing is pairing up with a friend from the same seminar, and videotaping US doing the techniques as soon as possible after the seminar. Ideally, after we have the instructor "vet" our execution just to make sure we have it right.

I owe Monica a typed-up version of my notes from the Hillary seminar, which might help me figure them out. And I owe Ben my Rodolfo Vieira notes, in exchange for some notes he took at another seminar I can't even remember. LOL.

Happy training, y'all :)

Oh one more thing-- Cane Prevost did a lesson on mount bottom with some very nice structured teaching, and it happens to dovetail really well with what Donald taught in his last seminar. Check out the mount bottom lesson here.

Great times at another all-women open mat....

2011-09-26T09:12:00.005-05:00

Another great Girls in Gis open mat this Sunday afternoon-- and though I missed the Renzo/Sperry superfight to attend, it was worth it.

We had a surprising number of upper belts in attendance-- three brownbelts, at least two purples, and then a horde of blues and whites. (Including three ladies who have been training 3 weeks, 1 week, and only 2 classes!)

This is Gabriela Mueller on the left who, with her husband, runs Team Gacho Jiu Jitsu (Macaco/Chute Boxe) in Spring, TX, and my instructor, Christy Thomas, on the right. (All photos courtesy of my sweet husband, who came for the last couple minutes because he wanted lunch!)

Many thanks to the host school, Sean Cooper's Trainers Elite MMA for opening their doors to the group (this is where my husband trains, by the way!) and to their resident "head lady in charge" Helen, for running the warmup and teaching some techniques. Helen just got her blue belt so the feather weight blue belt division in Texas is larger by one... I usually only see 2-3 gals in that division at local tournaments and it's nice to see another lady join the ranks.

She taught a single leg takedown to halfguard pass to side control to a clock-like choke using the farside lapel under the arm and behind the head. She also taught a scissor leg takedown, as a counter to a single leg, that ends up with a kneebar. It was something like this:

I partnered up with a visiting brownbelt from New York who's in Texas for work, and had a great time. She and I skipped the scissor takedown; it looked a little iffy and I am happy to have a two whole meniscii right now :)

The open mat portion was fantastic. I got to roll with a brand new girl who has all the right basics and big-picture concepts... then Elena, a blue belt from Austin who trains at Paragon.. that was fun too because I'd never met her or seen her before, and we're about the same size, and she has a spunky, sassy personality. I feel like a little kid on the first day of school sometimes, all excited about making new friends. You think you know "everyone" who does jits in your hometown, until you find out you don't-- and it puts a smile on my face to add to my list.

Then I got to roll with Libbie, the NY gal. Whooooo, we had an epic roll. The kind I love because I feel like my body and brain are connected for once... I'm flowing, for once... things are working and clicking and my inside voice isn't getting in the way, for once :) I think we rolled for about 20 minutes! I finally had to just quit to catch my breath (no damn cardio!)

And then I finally had a roll with Lana, another Texas blue belt I know pretty well but have never rolled with. It was all going okay, she has a good guard and I was struggling to pass, until then, I was all tied up and had to stop a sweep by posting on my forehead. It was forceful enough that my sweaty noggin skidded on the mat a bit-- I actually asked her right then if she'd heard the sound effect of my skid-- but I foiled the sweep and got the pass. But then, cue sad music-- while I held side control I felt my nose start to bleed! Boo! Turns out I probably posted on my FACE. SAD FACE. So I cleaned up and by then it was time to head next door for lunch at an Italian place. Yum. I was good, too, I just had a big salad.

Just a quick comment about ADCC this weekend-- duh, Marcelo Garcia! and duh, Michelle Nicolini!

And last-- why wasn't Caio Terra competing? is it backlash against his outspoken stance regarding the use of performance enhancing drugs? Read all about it in Matt Little's latest interview on TXMMA.com.

The dark side of just drying, not washing, your gi.....

2011-09-25T18:33:00.009-05:00

Fair warning-- I copied and pasted from various emails into this blog post and screwed up the font color in places, somehow. Instead of it all being white text on dark grey background, some is black text on dark grey, and I have insufficient HTML skills (and patience) to fix it. I'm sorry! please let me know if you can't read the black parts!

Meg posted a fascinating piece on her blog, MegJitsu, about a couple who are exploring a new way to stay clean and fresh in jiu jitsu. Michelle and Brandon Bledsoe, white and black belts, respectively, out of Wolf Clan Combat Sports in Knoxville, Tennessee, "wash" their gis without water. Huh! I checked Brandon out and he is legit-- just got his black belt this year under Helio Soneca and competes in jits as well as MMA. So this is no random guy training alone in the basement with youtube for 6 months; he obviously cares about his students and his own safety.

Meg says they "tumble dry [their] gi with a dryer sheet for 10 minutes on a delicate setting/very low heat after class. I had to ask Michelle, do gi ‘washed’ in this manner start to stink as soon as sweat or moisture hits them?" Michelle's answer was:

"Nope, no smell at all. People actually comment on how good they always smell! Because you are evaporating the sweat, there is no bacteria sitting in the fabric. It’s awesome! Brandon has been doing this for years and years. He has gis 8 years old that look brand new!"

Sorry, but among many others, I found this hard to swallow. I don't know what Michelle and Brandon do for a living, but I know I'm not an expert in this stuff. So, I found some experts and they say--

HELL NO.

I emailed chemists, microbiologists, textile scientists, experts in "linen and laundry management" and the like. This is what I asked--

* * * *
I train in a martial art called jiu jitsu. We all wear heavy uniforms (called "gi") to train in and they are usually soaked in sweat when we finish a session. Normally we wash in hot water with detergent (some air dry, some machine dry) and count them "clean." But recently someone claimed that the gis would be just as safe if we immediately dried them on hot in the dryer-- on the theory that drying out the sweat at high heat will kill the bacteria, and therefore you could just go a whole week or longer (up to 6-8 weeks!) without "washing" your gi, saving water and wear on the fibers.

See this article here for a discussion: http://www.megjitsu.com/how-to-wash-bjj-gi-without-water/

Please help me find someone who knows whether this would be safe! I would like to provide a scientific point of view for the discussion, not just anecdotal opinion.

* * * *

Please notice I kind of changed the question. Michelle and Brandon advocate drying on the gentle/low-heat cycle. I asked about drying on high heat. I should have left the parameters the same, but I know I wouldn't personally feel comfortable about drying on low heat absent a wash with detergent.

Here are their answers. First, from a PhD chemist and professor of textile science in Austria. (His English is way better than my German. I am so impressed with him and not impressed with my provincial self.)

"Dear Georgette,

we received your email an I will try to answer.
First I had a look on your discussion page [the MegJitsu blog post and comments after] and found the following comments:

"To achieve sterility, a holding time of at least 15 minutes at 121 °C (250 °F) or 3 minutes at 134 °C (273 °F) is required. The standard properly functioning in home dryer runs around 175°C."

The general comment on sterility is right and you see, you will need quite harsh conditions to kill all microorganisms.

There is an error in the temperature of a home dryer, which most probably is 175 °F not 175 °C. Thus you cannot expect that your clothing will be free of microorganisms after a tumble drying.

What you will achieve is a reduction in population due to shorter growth time, effect of temperature and removal of liquid water (sweat), thus development of odor may be reduced, however I expect a considerable population to be alive (e.g. in stasis form) after such treatment. In any case all non-volatile components released during perspiration with sweat will remain in the cloth e.g. salt, grease, ..
Just check the composition of sweat at wickipedia.

So after all you will have to chose between:

Real hygienic conditions e.g. by use of appropriate washing cycle or appearent hygiene, where odor and smell will be the primary quality parameters (not purity of the cloth).

Kind regards

Univ. Prof. Dr. Thomas Bechtold
Research Institute for Textile Chemistry and Textile Physics
University Innsbruck
Hoechsterstrasse 73
A-6850 Dornbirn
Austria
Tel.: +43 5572 28533 579
Fax: +43 5572 28629"

Next answer, from a professor of chemistry and environmental science in New York:

"Hi Georgette,

Laundering your gi with soap and water is a key step in getting rid of the microbes that would be festering on them after a heavy workout session. The mechanical action of machine washing loosens the bacteria, and the soap and surfactants in the detergent bind with them so the water can wash them away. If you just dry the clothes, you may kill a large proportion of the microorganisms, but you would be leaving organic residues on the fabric that would basically provide food for microbes to re-colonize afterwards. And the resulting build-up of crud would probably make the uniforms unusable faster than the effects of regular laundering anyway!

Detergent companies are very interested in the idea of cold-water washing these days, both for the purposes of saving energy and reducing wear and tear on fabric from washing in hot water. In fact, there was an excellent piece on that topic in the NY Times this past week:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/17/business/cold-water-detergents-get-a-chilly-reception.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=laundry&st=cse

Perhaps these cold-water detergents, which cost the same as the conventional kind, could provide an effective solution for washing your gi while reducing wear from hot water.

Also, drying on the line in the sun is a great way to kill microbes while saving energy.

A microbiologist would probably have a better answer for you, but I hope that helps. My specific expertise lies in the chemistry of chlorine bleach in laundry applications--I assume you're not bleaching your uniforms?

Best of luck,
Alessandra

Alessandra Leri

Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Environmental Science
Marymount Manhattan College
221 E 71st St.
New York, NY 10021
(212) 517-0661"

The next is from the president of a company called Aquarecycle .

"The Aqua Recycle^® Laundry Water Recycle System is the only proven system on the market that will reclaim and reuse ALL of your laundry wastewater."

Sounded like they might have some insight, perhaps less thana microbiologist or textile scientist but what the hey. The principals of the company have advanced degrees as varied as Marine Geochemistry, Physical Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Commercial Resort Management, and Mechanical Engineering.

One dude has "24 year laundry industry experience includes Vice President of Consulting overseeing such prestigious clients as Ritz Carlton, Hyatt, Hilton and Marriott. He also held Vice President and Regional Management Positions for two of the largest commercial healthcare and hospitality linen rental corporations. While with these companies, he had responsibility for 12-laundry plants processing in excess of 200 million pounds annually. He entered the laundry business working for the Walt Disney Company in Orlando, Florida. During his 10-year career with Disney, he played a significant part in the development, construction and operation of one of the largest laundry facilities in the United States processing over 100 million pounds of linen and 13 million garments, annually."

So I believe they have some chops in regards to the chemistry of clean laundry. Here's what the company president told me:

"Georgette,

Thanks for the email. Its funny you should email me about this. My 26 yr old son is a huge jiu jitsu competitor. He has his purple belt [under Helio Soneca/Ranieri Paiva in Marietta Georgia, at X3 Sports] and competes nationally so I understand better than most. That being said, he has also come home with Staff infections and those are not something you take lightly.

The wrestling process, the sweat, the co-mingling of fluids between wrestlers and the environment produce a lot more than just bacteria. There are all kinds of human organics and fluids there and words can not describe how important it is to insure proper sanitizing of the uniforms. . . you can never cut corners even though the dryers are a good disinfectant; there is never a 100% guarantee of disinfection. I am not a launderer and not really a scientist either (I do have them in my organization) but when recycling laundry wastewater, we have several different disinfection processes going on (Ozone, UV, Active Alkalinity) and this is after the normal washing process that includes chlorine, hot water, detergents and such. Bacteria lives everywhere and each environment has to be handled differently since some can live in each environment. It’s a continuous battle and the best you can do is keep them at bay.

Please make sure these are washed, and always in HOT WATER. 140 – 160 degree [Fahrenheit] hot water for at least 5 minutes is always the safest and the most sanitary process.

Take care,

Jeff

Jeff Lebedin, President

AquaRecycle

ThermalRecycle

450 Ridgewater Drive

Marietta, GA 30068

(770)565-8488 (Plant)"

I still haven't heard back from Dr. Pourdeyhimi at the College of Textiles at North Carolina State University or Dr. Fairbanks at the Association of Linen Management, but I think I'm satisfied with what I was able to learn already.

I believe it is unsanitary and probably risking some infections to not wash your gi in water and detergent after every single training session. I do not think drying on high heat alone (much less low heat or the gentle cycle!!!) is enough to remove the organic materials and the microbes from the cloth. I love when people smell clean, and when a colored gi doesn't fade-- but even more importantly I want them to BE clean when I roll. After all, if you stood in front of a fan naked after class, evaporated the sweat off your skin and hair, and then sprayed a little cologne or perfume on.... would you be clean???????

I have only been training three years, but I (until recently) was training 7 days a week, sometimes 2 or 3 times a day, so I am well versed in the demands that laundering 1-3 gis a day can put on the water bill and the laundry room, as well as on the fabric. (Now you see why I have 18+ gis in the rotation.) But I'd rather wear the crap out of some gis and frazzle them into uselessness in 2-3 years (though that hasn't happened yet) than have pristine looking/smelling gis with colonies of bacteria and so on in them.

However, to each their own. So it's worth making sure you're clear with your training partners (and sadly, opponents in tournaments) whether they subscribe to the no-water-wash school of thought, so you can assess your level of risk and comfort, etc.

THANK YOU MegJitsu for the very thought-provoking post and thanks Michelle and Brandon for sharing your method with us! Maybe this will encourage a re-evaluation of the cleaning process :)

The Troy Davis execution.

2011-09-23T15:39:00.003-05:00

Because I'm a lawyer I have been asked a few times recently what I think of the Troy Davis execution. People send me links to stories and ask me if I agree with them.

Keep in mind I'm just giving you my average-Jane opinion without knowing anything about the case other than what I read on the internet. It's not a Texas case so it's completely outside my realm of information. I won't repost the links people send me because the articles are usually by these raving lunatics (essentially) screaming about how wrong it is for Davis to be executed. If you pay no attention to this sort of stuff in the news, the short version is, Davis was executed recently in Georgia, for the 1989 murder of a police officer, over the objections of lots of people, who objected because 7 of the 9 eyewitnesses who testified against him at trial have since "recanted." I say "recanted" in quotes because the exceptionally poor reporting in all the articles I could find failed to make it clear exactly what the 7 witnesses now say vs. what they said at the time of the trial in 1991.

Anyway, here's an email I was about to send to my friend, which I wanted to post here as a discussion point/starter with you, my other friends.

* * * * *

First let me say that since it's a Georgia case, I won't know any of the inside scoop. But I agree, at first glance, 7 of 9 sounds scary. In fact I'm going to blog about this after doing a little reading, thanks for motivating me! :)

Couple thoughts.

1. 2 didn't recant. Is 2 eyewitnesses enough? maybe yes maybe no-- what was their testimony? What if it was a crime with only 2 eyewitnesses? But something to consider.

2. Why did the 7 recant? who were they in relationship to the case? who were they as people, what kind of character, and what about the 2 who didn't recant? why didn't they?

I went to a pro-death penalty site to see what they had to say. Not that I want bias, but as you pointed out, some of the more mainstream media has its own bias, so I'm looking for a new point of view. Here's what they said:

"Troy Anthony Davis was sentenced to death for the murder of Savannah police officer Mark Allen MacPhail in 1989.

On August 19, 1989, Troy Anthony Davis was at a Burger King restaurant with friends and struck a homeless man named Larry Young in the head with a pistol when Young refused to give a beer to one of Davis's friends. Officer MacPhail, who was working an off-duty security detail at the Greyhound bus terminal next door, heard Young cry out and responded to the disturbance. Davis fled and, when Officer MacPhail, wearing his full police uniform, ordered him to stop, Davis turned and shot the officer in the right thigh and chest. Although Mark MacPhail was wearing a bullet-proof vest, his sides were not protected and the bullet entered the left side of his chest, penetrating his left lung and his aorta, stopping at the back of his chest cavity. Davis, smiling, walked up to the stricken officer and shot him in the face as he lay dying in the parking lot. The officer's gun was still strapped in his holster and his baton was still on his belt.

Davis fled to Atlanta and a massive manhunt ensued. The next afternoon, Davis told a friend that he had been involved in an argument at the restaurant the previous evening and struck someone with a gun. He told the friend that when a police officer ran up, Davis shot him and that he went to the officer and "finished the job" because he knew the officer got a good look at his face when he shot him the first time. After his arrest, Davis told a cellmate a similar story. He was arrested after surrendering a few days after the murder.

Trial began exactly two years to the day of Officer MacPhail's murder. This resulted in Davis' conviction for murder after less than two hours of deliberation by the jury, and in the imposition of a death sentence after seven hours of deliberation. He was also convicted of obstruction of a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. One of the two counts of aggravated assault arose from an incident where Davis shot into a car that was leaving a party an hour before the murder of Officer MacPhail.

Michael Cooper was struck in the head by a bullet, severely injuring him and leaving the bullet lodged in his jaw. Ballistics tests matched the shells from the murder of the police officer to shells found at a party earlier in the evening where Michael Cooper had been shot. Cooper identified Davis as the shooter.

Even though the US Supreme Court rejected his final appeal without dissent in June of 2007, Davis received a 90-day stay from the state pardons and parole board just one day before his July 17, 2007 execution date. The stay was granted to examine claims by witnesses that they had given erroneous testimony or were no longer certain about their identification of Davis.

Mark MacPhail's son, 18-year-old Mark Allen MacPhail Jr. spoke against the 2007 stay to members of the Board of Pardons and Parole. "I told them how it felt having him ripped away from me at such an early age. Picture having Father's Day and having no one to give anything to," MacPhail said he told the board. Anneliese MacPhail, mother of the slain officer, commented to a reporter after learning that Davis's request for a new trial was denied in March 2008. "I wonder, what do all those witnesses remember after 18 years? There is no new evidence. No mother should go through what I have been through." Mark's wife Joan MacPhail said she has lost her best friend, the father of her two children and now her peace of mind as appeals for Davis have drawn on for almost two decades. "It's like another punch in the stomach," she said. "You have to relive that night over and over. That's so wrong. Why shouldn't we have peace in our lives?"

About the changing witnesses, the Georgia Supreme Court stated that most of the witnesses who recanted "have merely stated they now do not feel able to identify the shooter." The majority could not ignore the trial testimony, "and, in fact, we favor that original testimony over the new."

The son of a U.S. Army Ranger, Mark MacPhail was a graduate of Columbus High School in Georgia. His mother, Anne, still lives in Columbus, Georgia. Davis received another stay of execution before his September 23, 2008 execution date. UPDATE: After a delay of approximately three hours, the U.S. Supreme Court denied without comment a request for a stay of execution for Troy Davis."

So I read that and then dug and dug trying to find out which 7 of the 9 witnesses recanted. All I can find is that "some" say they were "pressured" by police.

What if the ones who didn't recant were a) Michael Cooper, the guy who Davis shot in the head just before killing McPhail, with the recovered bullet that matched the one in McPhail, and b) the friend in Atlanta to whom Davis confessed?

In a general sense, without looking at the facts of this specific case, here's what I think. Most capital murders happen without a bunch of witnesses. Sometimes the only witness(es) are less than stellar characters. What if it's a jailhouse snitch, who, 20 years down the road, changes his tune to get some notoriety, some facetime on TV? can I think of half a dozen reasons even an honorable person with good character would have second thoughts or doubts years later? sure. What if their memory is fuzzy now but wasn't so fuzzy then?

That's all. It's a little disturbing that these journalists are jumping on the bandwagon and not reporting the bare bones facts that would enable an average reader to assess the importance of "those 7" versus "those two." These articles are just glossing over what the 7 said versus the 2 said, both at trial and now. Poor reporting!

Tidbits.

2011-09-23T10:57:00.002-05:00

Today's deal at BJJHQ.com is a navy Vulkan UltraLight gi for $120-- shipping only $5.

I love history, I love old stuff, I love sociology, and I love good journalism. That plus a healthy dose of luck can be found in what I consider a great read-- Slate's 5-part series on the Manhattan Trade School for Girls. The last article in the series came out today and I really enjoyed it.

The New York Times did another cool article about the Gym Jones phenomenon. I'd love to spend a month there. I'd probably hate it while in it, but love the result.

Shoutout to Ryan, another BJJ Newbie :) Let's give him some props for fighting his "cheeseburger and cigarette addiction" as he puts it... nothing like jits to help motivate you on that score.

I am sore... nothing like jumping back into working out and training when you've been a lazy ass all summer to help you realize the error of your ways. I realized it's easily been since spring that I really put time or effort into my training. I had to take time off for my knee, sure, but really it was laziness plus vacation plus work busy time. Blech. One 12 minute roll and I need to take a breather. Some little short sprints in my noontime conditioning class and I'm gasping like a beached fish. It's pretty sad. God I hope it all comes back soon!

Recently a brownbelt told me that they noticed when I go to these women's open mats I tend to "play possum" a bit and not exert myself fully. Although I think it's fine to be mellow and chill, I realized that tendency was partially me protecting myself and my ego-- if I don't try my 100%, then I can't blame my lack of technique or skill when I/if I lose. Which just reveals the flaw in my thinking-- you can't lose in jiu jitsu. Especially when it's not a tournament match. It's just a tap! Who cares! So I told myself I would allow myself to try my best more often and if that wasn't adequate, it would be a better use of my time on the mats-- a more pure diagnostic, in a way.

So what happened? I rolled after class with one of the girls at my academy who just happened to also be thinking she doesn't go hard enough and needs to go harder. She's very cool, recently got her blue belt but probably has been rolling like a blue belt for a while. She's maybe 6" taller than I am and has good technique and instincts. I will admit, in the past I'd never thought she didn't go hard enough-- she's very aggressive and at times I have felt a little afraid. So it was like a perfect storm-- both of us thinking we needed to go harder, and our mutual energies fed upon themselves and each other.

After about 2 minutes, I accidentally scratched her when reaching for a collar grip and she made a comment, which prompted us to spontaneously pause and collect ourselves. We briefly analyzed what was going on and it seemed like we were on a collision course for ever-increasing intensity, not to the benefit of my own technique/execution for sure. That pause and conversation was exactly what we/I needed... because we went on from there much more productively. It was still very energetic grappling, giving no quarter and asking none, and very exciting in moments-- but without the feeling of franticness I'd had. And at the end, I had to confront how difficult it had been for me to pass her guard, which showed me some errors in my movement and directions for future work. All in all, a really good bit of training that left me breathing very hard but smiling.

This weekend is the ADCC! Brackets are up here! DH and I got the pay-per-view so when chores and such allow, I'll be watching. There's also a seminar Saturday morning taught by Royler bb Donald Park, which I am eagerly looking forward to, plus UFC Saturday night.. and then a Girls in Gis here in Austin on Sunday which I plan on attending. And more digging in the garden needs doing... two gis to dye (a friend's, chocolate brown, and my navy Vulkan which got uglified by a bleach accident, which I'm dyeing purple..) And still nutty busy with work.

Hope you have a great weekend and hope you get to watch some Abu Dhabi!

Get your STYLE here!!!

2011-09-20T18:28:00.003-05:00

I have to admit, I'm not a big jiu jitsu reader. Or watcher for that matter. The time that I do have for jiu jitsu I pretty much carve out of other responsibilities and it gets spent on the mat. You know I haven't been blogging as much and that's because work is crazy these days-weeks-months. Well, I make an exception for BJJ Style magazine. I like it way better than GracieMag. I like it because it's like my favorite cooking magazine... it doesn't just give you a recipe, it also tells you why different techniques work, and it covers everything from appetizers to desserts.

They're on Issue Four now and every issue has been quality.

I really enjoy the visual consistency, the typography, the use of white space and color...

Wait a minute... wtf? Seriously! I love the content. It's like a private lesson. On twenty different things. That I can keep and refer to later. (Don't you hate privates where they don't let you videotape?)

Plus, I can access it electronically through the website "pocket mags." Or I can get it in a glossy fabulous paper version. You can even get it on itunes! This is great because I can show a friend something when I'm at their house, or pull it up online at the academy, or (shhh) flip through it on the computer while at work... on lunch break! of course!

So what's in this beauty and is it worth the 4 British pounds per issue price? (Sorry couldn't find the little cursive L symbol!) Or almost 50 pounds for the last 6 issues of this year to be delivered outside of Europe? (For us Yanks, that's $78... but each issue covers two months, so by my calculations, that means a subscription of 10 issues covers 20 months.)

Roger Gracie, the guest editor, shares some personal reflections: "I don't consider myself the best fighter, but I think I am one of the most consistent fighters over the years... Many peoples' lives change and their jiu jitsu may have suffered as a result, but for the past 15 years all I have been focused on is training, competing, and trying to be the best that I can." He notes that if he had to name one 'best,' "Wellington 'Megaton' Dias as he has been going for such a long time, way before I got my black belt. He doesn't always get gold, but he is still there fighting, often in the adult division, showing what he is all about; this guy is a better competitor than me!"

The news room shares the ADCC competitor list, a bit about the Swedish Open 2011, and a September/October tournament schedule (UK only, dammit, but they have a market focus, that's cool. And so many tournaments in the US, the magazine would be a book each month otherwise.)

Big picture: a striking image from the archives-- twins Joao and Paulo Miyao from Sao Paulo, who closed out purple light feather at Worlds.

Ricardo dela Riva- the man behind the guard-- not your typical Carlson bb, only 64kg, "Only so much crushing top game" from this legend. By our own Can Sonmez (Slidey) and photos by Seymour Yang! Interesting insights plus a graphic review of a few guards which lists a master of each. This was very useful for me as I start to catch up on all the amazing jiu jitsu that's come before my first exposure to the scene... will help me decide who to youtube for what, too.

Escapes with Nick Brooks-- Brabo choke escape to modified shoulder or wrist lock. Escaping side control into americana from bottom or reversal. Excellent phography, different color gis, no distracting backgrounds...

ADCC Preview-- listing key contenders, past multiple-champions and competitors discussed.

BJJ Globetrotter-- Christian Graugart's long-awaited article and photos from his trip around the world learning that indeed, we all are one.

Robson Moura-- by Callum Medcraft, head honcho in charge, and photos by Seymour-- red and white letters on blue background is cute but not necessarily the easiest to read. Also photos a little stiff. But good questions posed to one of the little guys I'd like to model and one of the founders of Nova Uniao.

Fluid cutting for weighins, by Stephen McKirgan, a high performance exercise coach, sports therapist and Chek (?) practitioner in London. I'm loving quality advice by someone more experienced than "I used to wrestle." Describes a flushing technique for a week out involving added salt to water-- new twist for me. 3 other methods for 0-36 hrs out, 2-48, and 20-72. Not looking forward to cutting weight but when you gotta, you gotta.

Master Class-- Meo Negao's secret moves. Single leg defense to omoplata and an adapted armlock from half guard. Like it. Like it a lot.

Roberto "Gordo" Correa-- half guard inventor and innovator. He had a serious knee injury but couldn't stay off the mats (shocking!) so, he did what any self-respecting injured jitsuka wishes they could do-- invent a new game to accomodate! He developed meia-guarda and instructor Jean Jacques Machado encouraged him to cultivate this style. "My game was half guard, take the back and make them tap, not just sweep and two points or an advantage." Sweet.

BJJ Doctor-- Doctor in the house Braulio Estima answers your questions. Escaping side control. Is purple belt too soon to teach? and advice for a new instructor. How much time spent on "weak" areas? The doctor prescribes 30-40% plus dedicated positional sparring too. Control for using open guard offensively and not getting passed (transition from spider to DLR). Whitebelt kept getting caught in triangles = open and closed tri defense.

Review corner-- DVD and app reviews-- Roy Dean's White Belt Bible, Brazilian BB app from Felipe Costa, and "Mobile Black Belt" app BJJ Chokes by Aparecido Faria. I didn't even read these because I want to watch mine with fresh eyes.

Caio Terra-- the lightest absolute champion-- the TERRA!

He says: "I rather play top than bottom. The only reason I play bottom most of the times at tournaments is because it's easier to sweep than pass smaller guys' guards. I think nogi has nothing to do with playing bottom or top and also think that it's a different sport than gi BJJ." Man got his bb in less than 3 1/2 years! "If your technique is similar or almost similar to a bigger or stronger opponent, he will win. If you have a much superior understanding than a larger or stronger opponent, you have good chances of beating him. I do not train too hard, I study BJJ." I think it was SUPER cool that the interviewer asked about the beef between Caio and Gabi Garcia (but I'll let you read the issue to hear what he says about it!)

Kit Bag- Bull Terrier New Star gi; Terere limited edition signature gi; Black Eagle Raptor; Break Point limited edition Acai gi. Not full reviews, just blurbs and photos, enough to whet your appetite.

Shedding the Gi- Nogi with Claudio Silva. Damn I need to work on my nogi! And Nogi Pans and Worlds are right around the corner!

Steve Martin-- Brazil's top Brit- 1st brit to win gold at the Brasileiros!

History 101-- Alliance Academy by Can Sonmez. Geez, I love this. So much history and politics and who went where when in the BJJ world... this column will help you sort it out.

Your connection to Rio-- live the dream by training a week or a year in Rio. (I didn't read this either, it made me sad. But I emailed it to my husband with 'hint hint' in the subject line. Ahem.)

Fit to Fight- AWESOME! Great instructions and explicit step by step pictures show you how to make a homemade sandbag and then how to make your life hell... I mean, do exercises with it-- sandbag half mile, sandbag burpees, waiter's walk, suicide shuttle etc.

Top BJJ Lists-- Seymour Yang on how to write a BJJ blog-- snark! Love it! "Better still, stamp your authority by creating your own moves and variations then video them to ensure EVERYONE knows how awesome you are. Because with one year and 4 months of BJJ behind you, there is plenty of very valuable wisdom you can dispense." DOH!

So, run out and drop a few bones on these issues, or subscribe to the whole deal . I dig this magazine and I will be subscribing to it. I really liked the personal element to the pieces, the focus on every experience level of the potential audience, and the fact that I can get it in paper version or electronic is nice, too.

Running off to class! Have a lovely evening!

Reviews coming shortly!

2011-09-19T11:08:00.000-05:00

After the big work project got finished, I literally couldn't sit down in front of a computer. So I will be reviewing BJJ Style's 4th issue tonight, as well as the Predator gi by Black Eagle.

I spent the weekend digging some serious clay/caliche in my garden-- at least 4 hours every day-- so I'm quite tired and happy to be back in front of a computer now.

Please check out this fascinating article on Slate this morning-- about a collection of "report cards" and other historical ephemera from the 1910's-30's in a women's trade school in Manhattan. Even if you don't really dig history, this is cool stuff.

Yo.

2011-09-13T09:49:00.002-05:00

I'm still coughing though less than before. I will go to the doctor as soon as work lets up (this project is finished on Thursday, hooray!) I have been working some 12 hour days so I think I'm taking Friday off. Haircut, work on the blog, and dig in the garden. :)

On Friday evening, I will be reviewing Issue #4 of BJJ Style magazine... gotta tell you I was reading it last night before bed and I loved it! I'll also be posting the review of Black Eagle's Predator MK II gi, with input also from my husband since I got him one for his birthday. We're a Black Eagle family now ;)

Hilarious snarky comments on T-Lo today, regarding the National Costumes event of the 2011 Miss Universe contest. Really... Bird women??

In the meantime, enjoy some grappling. George pointed out this good women's purple belt match from the 2011 Euros to me a while ago and I just hadn't had time to watch it.

Another match from the same comp, featuring Sijara Eubanks (Team Lloyd Irvin).

Which leads right into the absolute purple belt women's finals from that tourney... Sijara v. Mackenzie Dern.

And last, some beautiful thoughts from a good friend and trusted mentor....
* * * * *
Dear Georgette,

I was thinking last night about your evolving goals with regard to Jiu-jitsu. Then I imagined someone (like a respected blackbelt, for example) asking me that question -- and wondered what my goals were. Almost without thinking it occurred to me that I don't have any goals, it's more like, "what are jiu-jitsu's goals for me?". That seems a little weird, I thought. But with more consideration I realized that jiu-jitsu made clear to me when I needed to be stronger, or to become more flexible, and to have faith in others. I've learned that although I am sometimes afraid that there's no real need to be.

This time period in jiu jitsu is exciting, for all the reasons we've mentioned over the weeks, but also because it offers a wonderful opportunity to listen and learn, to be patient and respectful, and to discover -- always remaining safe and relaxed and alert! Jiu-jitsu's goals for me!!!!! :-)

P.S. If I also happen to become a world champion I will be very happy with that, too.
* * * * *
Great way to move forward into the week :)