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Sensei Says "Get In Shape (Or Else)" - Part Five

Anyone who has been at the Kobukai hombu for a while knows how physically challenging summer is. We run - alot - streets, hills, forest trails. There is no AC in our dojo - so 80 degrees outside is 90 degrees inside. Many of you have 'visited the bushes' to relieve your stomach of the extra food your body didn't really need anyway. Overheated heads are soaked under garden hoses. Even the pool is no relief - just more physical torture. So...it is my advice that you join me in getting shape for the summer with this very simple plan - starting now. I offer (and highly suggest) my 12-week plan of fitness preparation. Each week, I will suggest a change. These changes are cumulative over the twelve weeks. Eat or do whatever you wish on one day of the week. Come May, it will be obvious who has taken the suggestion - and who hasn't.

Week Five - March 1st - March 7th

• No beer. 
• No soda. 
• No pasta. 
• Red meat only two times per week. 
• All other flesh foods only the size of a deck of cards.   
• No white bread including croissants, cake, cupcakes, white bread, muffins and rolls.  
• No elevators. 
• Park your car as far away in your work parking lot as reasonably possible.
• Weight train three times per week. 10-15 repetitions per set.  
• Before 9 AM, three 20-minute cardio sessions of non-martial arts class-related cardio per week.

Hajime...

A Belt Only Covers...

"A belt only covers two inches of your ass. You have to cover the rest." - Royce Gracie (via Sherdog.com)

Some Kron Gracie Awesomeness

Via TheFightworksPodcast.com

Dojo Life

My recollection of my teenage years isn't pretty. I was just a bundle of nerves and shyness with a lack of self-confidence thrown in. Lots of this had to do with being a pipsqueak and part of it was spending a fair amount of time having to fight or evade the dirt biker crowd. They didn't much care for a munchkin-sized, four-eyed sports nut with a smart mouth. Some guile and a few good friends allowed me to make it through Manchester High School with little physical harm and just a couple decades of emotional scars to heal. 

Not long after high school ended, I was at the U.S. Army jump school in Fort Benning, GA. This began a journey of maturation that continues to this day. There's nothing like edging your way toward the door of an ariplane in flight to segue from a largely docile teenager to an adventurous young man. There have been many milestones along the way to test my willingness to engage in life but I've become more accepting of myself and also have a variety of supporters. Some like my parents will provide encouragement via a hug and kind word. Others like Mega Chris will be supportive but also directly challenging. This is another aspect of dojo life. We walk that fine line between being combatants and the very best of allies. 

I was a bit early for class and had a chance to talk with Special Ed. He spoke about being a new father with diaper duties and many more vital responsibilities outside of class. He felt that he didn't have anything to prove to anyone but he was spending a couple nights a week challenging himself with the rigors of Kobukai Jujitsu. He was spot on in this regard. Sensei is often asked for the secret of advancing in skills and rank. It most often comes back to this: Come to class. It sounds easy but you are often trekking to class after a long day at work versus heading home to a couch, children and a warm meal. Instead you drive with an often aching body through busy streets to enter a cold dojo for an evening of physical challenges. 

Special Ed is accepting this challenge. He's already lasted far longer than many of his predecessors. You can almost see the attitude and fighting spirit beginning to bubble up inside him with each passing class. For someone like myself the challenge is now different. The new challenge is to endure. 

The class tonight was fairly small on a cold February night. Special Ed spent the night working with Mega Chris while Joelbow and I worked with Sempai Jake on a variety of blue belt techniques. With Sensei swinging by to provide remedial instruction, it was an extremely useful class. One of those nights where it seems like lots of the mysteries to various techniques become a lot clearer. Some throws felt good (e.g., Seoi Nage, Uke Waza) while others required lots of tweaking (e.g., my hip position on Uchi Mata, taking the proper fall as uke on an Uke Waza). 

I'm going to be feeling it in a morning as I took a few falls squarely on my back and was the beneficiary of Sensei demoing how a Sankajo can be done without the hand by just torquing the lower forearm. Yet I expect I'll be back for more on Thursday. 

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Special oEDipus Complex

One of the 'pleasures' of being a more senior student is watching a newer student experience a new technique for the first time. You were in their place a couple years ago and know that a particular joint lock is going to be surprisingly and quickly painful. All you can really do to help them is to suggest the following: 'Be ready to tap.' 

I still recall the first times that I felt my elbow lock out on Arm Grab-Ude Tori, the intense pain of Handshake/Sakajo and the result of fighting an arm bar instead of tapping. On all these occasions, I yelled loud enough to startle the other guys in the dojo and to learn a lesson about staying focused and being smart about fighting submissions. 

During last Thursday's class, I had a chance look on as Sensei was giving an initial demonstation of an Ashi Gatame (foot lock) to white belts Mikey Boy and Special Ed. Sensei was talking them through the set-up and positioning but hadn't yet applied any pressure on the lock. Special Ed was the uke and Mikey Boy stood by taking in the instruction. Typically there's a look of concerned expectation on any belt level when attempting something unknown for the first time. Most of us make some effort to mask this 'Are you serious?-level' of concern but one of the things that makes Special Ed truly special is that he doesn't yet have this filter. We all feel this sense of dread about how our tendons, ligaments and bones are going to react to an unnatural torque applied by a sixth degree black belt. As for Special Ed, he appeared to be suffering wildly from just the anticipation. As Sensei spoke about the mechanics of the technique, Mikey Boy calmly looked on with an occasional nod of understanding. Meanwhile, Special Ed was sweating profusely, his breathing was quick like a birth contraction was imminent, his eyes were wide as though he saw a guillotine primed to slide toward his neck and all the muscles in his body appeared tensed to the point of ripping free of the bone. When Sensei finally applied the foot lock, Special Ed tapped furiously and with the speed of an expert bongo player.  

The bottomline is that Special Ed has been coming back for more despite these displays. I have to give him all the credit and I have to think there's not much difference between what he's experiencing and what I did accept for the fact that I kept those anxieties buried inside and Special Ed is an open book of expression. All and all, he's fun to have around because of this unique feature. 

Saturday's class was 50% black belts and they went to one side of the dojo to practice a variety of insane throws. I was paired with fellow blue belt Joelbow who was just getting over the flu. We took it relatively easy by working on Hiza Hara (a.ka., knee on stomach) and Kamishiho (a.k.a., north/south) positions. It's not typical to spend this much time on these techniques in a single class but it actually felt good to really work lots of repetitions. We eventually did Kamshiho transitions so many times that we began fiddling with escape ideas. 

We ended class with Randori and I had a chance to go with both Sempai Matt and Sempai Ryan. Going with these black belts meant that I was playing defense much of the time. Sempai Matt has recently dropped thirty pounds in preparation for a fight. The good news was that he's now moveable and I was able to surprise him with an Uke Waza takedown. The bad news is that he's now wickedly agile and fast while remaining as strong as ever. His knee on stomach wasn't quite as brutal with the weight loss but he was zipping around and largely uncontrollable. I fended him off for a few moments before he grabbed one of my legs. 

I attempted a Tomoe Nage versus Sempai Ryan but didn't quite pull it off. First, I didn't slide myself under enough and, second, he's a bit like a cat. I again spent lots of time escaping from mount and knee on stomach positions. I was even fending him off when I was in his guard. I get the sense that Sempai Ryan goes into a roll with the idea of trying out a new submission versus simply getting a win. He focuses on learning and getting better versus just putting me down for the count. 

Lastly, the animated graphic above is from Saturday's UFC event. I included it because it shows the Mount/Sankaku Jime version that Big Dave and I spent time working on last Tuesday. It's always cool to see these techniques put to use in the octagon. In this case, Damian Maia picks up a submission-of-the-night bonus with a pretty triangle. 

Sensei Says "Get In Shape (Or Else)" - Part Four

Anyone who has been at the Kobukai hombu for a while knows how physically challenging summer is. We run - alot - streets, hills, forest trails. There is no AC in our dojo - so 80 degrees outside is 90 degrees inside. Many of you have 'visited the bushes' to relieve your stomach of the extra food your body didn't really need anyway. Overheated heads are soaked under garden hoses. Even the pool is no relief - just more physical torture. So...it is my advice that you join me in getting shape for the summer with this very simple plan - starting now. I offer (and highly suggest) my 12-week plan of fitness preparation. Each week, I will suggest a change. These changes are cumulative over the twelve weeks. Eat or do whatever you wish on one day of the week. Come May, it will be obvious who has taken the suggestion - and who hasn't.

Week Four - February 22nd - February 28th

• No beer.
• Red meat only two times per week. 
• All other flesh foods only the size of a deck of cards.  
• Before 9 AM, three 20-minute cardio sessions of non-martial arts class-related cardio per week. 
• No soda. 
• No white bread including croissants, cake, cupcakes, white bread, muffins and rolls.  
• Weight train three times per week. 10-15 repetitions per set.  

Hajime...

Sensei Russ St. Hilaire

Training Partner Roulette

Big Dave. We call him that for a reason. The name isn't ironic in any sense. He's tall. He's wide. He's strong. The only saving grace is that he's typically restrained unless you happen to catch him with a stray elbow or heel to the head and aren't apologetic or, at least, increasingly safe. At Tuesday's class, I was paired up with our version of Brock Lesnar for the entire night. One thing was going to be for certain - I wasn't going to be locking my guard the entire evening. The dude is just too big and my legs way too short. 

The night's training focused on four triangle choke (Sankaku Jime) variations. We started with the defensive version when your opponent attempts to pass your guard and you catch them with one arm out and one in. We then did two offensive versions. The first typical to the Guard/Yoko Juji Gatame set-up where you use knee pressure on the inside of the opponent's arm to drive them to their side. Instead of looking for an arm lock (Juji Gatame), you free your leg on the floor side and bring it up and around to set-up the triangle. The third begins from a spider guard position where you shoot one leg over the opponent's shoulder to transition into the submission. The last was a triangle from the mount. While in a high mount, the opponent reaches under one of your legs and you grab both of their gi sleeves. Bringing your knees tightly together, you roll toward the side where the opponent's arm is trapped. This will put you into a position for the triangle submission. Working these submissions with Big Dave really ensures that you get proper leg, hig and arm position. Being the giant's partner ensures that you're going to really feel the pain due to his amazing strength. 

Sensei then paired Big Dave and me up for Randori. Unfortunately, he worked through my guard too quickly and I was soon buried under nearly 300 pounds of mount. I was frustrating his attempts for a submission and Big Dave decided to begin grinding his huge forearms across my face to motivate me into some movement. I eventually did give into these tactics and had to tap out to an arm bar. The second time around was a slatemate. I was in trouble again but escaped. The third time didn't look great for me but I was eventually able to reverse, pass his guard and work a choke. 

The good news from the night is that I'll be properly prepared should I ever be attacked by a bear while hiking in the woods. 

At yesterday's class, I was paired up with Mega Chris and Sempai Steve. We worked on yellow and blue belt jujutsu. I think that jujutsu is really at the heart of our schools techniques. I feel this way because our jujutsu typical includes 1) an attack, 2) an escape, 3) a throw and 4) a submission. This integration makes it the most complex and difficult of items but also the most satisfying to execute correctly. 

Mega Chris is a brown belt and beginning his journey toward black belt. He suffered a serious knee injury along the way but endured to earn his new belt last summer. He's a very competent and safe partner but he'll also work hard enough as an uke to ensure you get the technique correct. Sempai Steve is so fluid that he'll complete throws in ways that you can only dream of. There's no feeling of him setting up the throw. One minute your standing and the next your prone across the mat. 

We worked dozens of reps and I left the dojo dripping in sweat despite the fact that my Gatorade outside was slushy from the cold air. Millions of people sat on their couch and watched 'Survivor' on TV last night. I did a version of 'Survivor' at a dojo in frigid New England.

Sensei Says "Get In Shape (Or Else)" - Part Three

Anyone who has been at the Kobukai hombu for a while knows how physically challenging summer is. We run - alot - streets, hills, forest trails. There is no AC in our dojo - so 80 degrees outside is 90 degrees inside. Many of you have 'visited the bushes' to relieve your stomach of the extra food your body didn't really need anyway. Overheated heads are soaked under garden hoses. Even the pool is no relief - just more physical torture. So...it is my advice that you join me in getting shape for the summer with this very simple plan - starting now. I offer (and highly suggest) my 12-week plan of fitness preparation. Each week, I will suggest a change. These changes are cumulative over the twelve weeks. Eat or do whatever you wish on one day of the week. Come May, it will be obvious who has taken the suggestion - and who hasn't.

Week Three - February 15th - 21st

• No beer.
• Red meat only two times per week. 
• All other flesh foods only the size of a deck of cards.  
• Before 9 AM, three 20-minute cardio sessions of non-martial arts class-related cardio per week. 
• No soda. 
• No white bread including croissants, cake, cupcakes, white bread, muffins and rolls.  

Hajime...

Sensei Russ St. Hilaire

Return To The Hombu

After flying back from Florida on Wednesday, I was back to class on Thursday at the Kobukai hombu on Thursday evening. As I looked around at the other students, I thought I knew what was in store for me on this first night back. I guess this is something that I do most nights. With the student mix, I figured that I'd spend half the class working with the white and yellow belts on their charts and the other half with Sempai Jake on some of my blue belt techniques. I was so wrong. 

As we lined up to begin class, Sempai Jake asked me, 'Did you learn anything while you were training in Florida?'. Before I could reply, Sensei said, 'I guess we'll find out soon enough.' After a short warm-up, we spent the better part of the next hour doing randori before finishing up with about 20 minutes of guard passing practice. I rolled with Little Greg, Sensei, Mikey Boy (twice) and Sempai Jake (twice). I was truly gassed before we began the final part of class. Overall, I did fine during the newaza. My Achille's heel continues to be defending leg attacks versus the black belts. I'm going to need to work on better recognizing these transitions and how to fend them off. 

Today's class was pretty packed for a Valentine's Day morning. A slew of black belts were in attendance along with the typical mix of other belts. On one side of the dojo, the white belts got instruction from Mega Chris (who was nursing an achy back). On the other side of the dojo gathered the black belts for a high level of craziness. Sandwiched between them, Joelbow and I worked on mostly blue belt techniques. We worked through more than a dozen nage (i.e., Harai Goshi) and jujutsu (i.e., Rear Choke - Tai Otoshi) techniques. A couple months ago, this would have been a very perilous hour of training since Joelbow and I were then both fairly weak on these techniques and a clear danger to each other. We're still far from perfect but we're getting better and far less dangerous to each other. 

We ended class with some randori. I drew Joelbow (as if we hadn't seen enough of each other already) and then Sempai Jake. Joelbow and I battled to a stalemate. I had the early advantage and but spent much of the rest of the roll vending off his attacks. I was able to get Sempai Jake to the ground with an Uke Waza and our roll was back and forth throughout. I had a series of submission attempts but the Kata Gatame, Kata Juji Jime and Juji Gatame all came up short before I tapped on (guess what?) a leg attack. 

One question that Sensei asked me about when I returned was the intensity of the training that I experienced while traveling. The sessions I received at the BJJ Center and American Top Team were tame in comparison to a typical Kobukai class. I'm sure that these folks treated me with kid gloves since they could have no idea about what we do in our dojo. If they did, I'm guessing they would have turned up the volume on the training. I was reminded of a class we held at the hombu when Shihan Kunzman visited us. I understand that he mentioned to our Sensei that he'd never seen more intense training. 

As I sit here on a Saturday night after five classes in the past week, I feel great about what I've learned between Florida and Connecticut but also tired and sore in a very good way.