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Back to Pan Am Preview Lightweight(up to 167.5 lbs) This is another fairly strong field, with a ton of talented guys and only two of the top guys missing(Gilbert Burns who's moved up to middleweight and last years runner up at the worlds Celso Venicius who isn't competing). I think there are three guys with a strong chance to take gold, and another 3 or 4 guys capable of taking home a medal. Michael Langhi(Alliance) is the favorite in his field. Michael's only two losses in the last three years came in 2008 to the previously mentioned Celso Venicius. Since then he's won everything he's entered(or bowed out in the finals to teammate Lucas Lepri) including the World Championships, Pan Ams, Brazilian Nationals, European Open and Abu Dhabi World Pro. Michael is known for a ridiculous spider guard, a strong omoplata game and excellent finishes from the back. To the best of my knowledge he's undefeated against the rest of this field and he's beaten quite a few of them. Michael Langhi vs Jorge Patino Macaco http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHRv3F6eZoA Michael Langhi vs Michel Maia http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEX9v5INwWE Michael Langhi vs Daisuke Sugie http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XILcBLAEO Lucas Lepri(Alliance) has multiple medals(including golds) from the Worlds, Pan Ams, No Gi worlds, No gi Pan Ams, European Open and Brazilian Nationals. Lucas hasn't been quite as dominant as his teammate Michael Langhi, losing to Gilbert Burns, JT Torres and Celso Venicius over the last few years. However with Burns and Venicius not competing, and Lucas having beaten Torres in all but one of there matches(albeit all of them close) there's no reason not to think Lucas won't make it back to the finals here. Lucas has some of the best takedowns in this division and a really good half guard to go along with excellent passing and a good open guard. Lucas Lepri vs Cyborg Abreu http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJlyQZztYos Lucas Lepri vs Gregor Gracie http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBICG1Tskj Lucas Lepri highlight http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scTAH0EVM6M JT Torres(Lloyd Irvin) Unlike Lepri and Langhi JT Torres isn't a world champion(nor does he have any black belt medals from the worlds or pan ams) however since receiving his blackblet JT has only lost to the very best guys in his division(Langhi, Lepri, Gilbert Burns) and all of those losses have been extremely close(a bunch of referees decisions, matches decided by 1 point or advantage). JT has run over everyone else in his division, and as close as his matches with the top guys have been I think it's only a matter of time until he breaks through. For those of you who care about such things, JT is one of the few Americans(along with Rafael Lovato and maybe Ryan Hall) who I think has a serious shot to medal at this years world championships. JT is really good at turning his guard passing into taking his opponents back and he has a very strong de la riva guard game. JT Torres vs Dustin Hazelett http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GhuoFU-WIE JT Torres vs Jonatas Gurgel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kKPA-yQWXI JT Torres vs Agusto Mendes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QC4V6pPX-2o I need to get back to my homework, so I'm not going to write these guys up, but these are the other guys I think can make it to the medal rounds(depending on the bracket): Rodrigo Caporal, Agusto Mendes, and Philipe Della Monica.
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Mar 21, 2011 06:42
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dokomoy posted:There are a couple of options for watching bjj tournaments(I have no idea about wrestling). For wrestling the Big 10 network regularly shows matches, and they occasionally end up on ESPNU as well. In Iowa at least, Iowa Public Television also broadcasts a handful of meets each year. Also a lot of schools webcast their events (though that ussually costs some money). http://www.flowrestling.org/ also does a lot of broadcasting of events live on the web as well. Then at the end of the season ESPN ussually broadcasts the finals live.
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Mar 21, 2011 14:46
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I'm a little sick at the moment, sniffly and some coughs. Would I be a big rear end in a top hat going to class tonight?
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Mar 21, 2011 17:11
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fawker posted:I'm a little sick at the moment, sniffly and some coughs. Would I be a big rear end in a top hat going to class tonight? Yes
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Mar 21, 2011 18:12
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fawker posted:I'm a little sick at the moment, sniffly and some coughs. Would I be a big rear end in a top hat going to class tonight? Yes. Don't be that guy.
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Mar 21, 2011 18:19
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When do you know you're too sick to roll? Because I almost always have congestion and intermittent coughing fits. I only know not to go to jits right now because my snot is neon yellow instead of clear. But that's a pretty crappy way to judge how ill you are.
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Mar 21, 2011 18:30
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Angora posted:When do you know you're too sick to roll? Because I almost always have congestion and intermittent coughing fits. It's not how sick you are, it's how contagious you are. If you have allergies and are all stuffed up then roll to your heart's content, or if you're sick but have been antibiotics long enough to not have to worry about spreading. If you have a cold or the flu then stay home.
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Mar 21, 2011 18:38
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Gracie Barra or no? I trained BJJ at a Gracie school for a little while, but not an official gracie barra school. It was much more personal, no contracts, you get promoted when you actually deserve it, etc... So moved to LA, and the closest school to me is a Gracie Barra academy. I took the free class, nice students, good teachers... but the way it operates seems so backwards to me. Ignoring the contract, they charge you 100 dollars "enrollment fee" so that "master carlos can track your progress"... yeah i'm sure he's updating 'JohnBlastersBeltProgress.xls' every week. Also, they promote you based on how much time you've put into their school, and from what I gather pay no mind to how much training you've already had. In addition to this, they don't even let you do live rolling until you have three stripes.. Oh yeah, I guess they give out stripes on their belts here, too... All this stuff doesn't sit well with me. It feels like it's the McDonald's of BJJ. I feel like I should be staying far away... Thoughts?
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Mar 21, 2011 18:50
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Thoguh posted:Yes. Don't be that guy. 
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Mar 21, 2011 18:51
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John Blaster posted:Gracie Barra or no? There's a Gracie BJJ school here that is doing a 30 day free trial, and they'll provide the gi. I'll start today, who knows how it'll go.
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Mar 21, 2011 18:58
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is it a school belonging to one of the gracies or is it a gracie barra school?
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Mar 21, 2011 19:04
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It's a Gracie Barra (that's buried inside a boxing gym).
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Mar 21, 2011 19:21
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John Blaster posted:In addition to this, they don't even let you do live rolling until you have three stripes.. This strikes me as being pretty stupid, one of the best ways to learn is sparring with guys who are better than you. I'm guessing they had problems with guys who are new spazzing out and hurting themselves (or others), but not letting new guys roll at all is really extreme.
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Mar 21, 2011 19:27
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That's what they said, it's to make sure you can fight safely at a reduced speed and strength level. But I'm way beyond that ability, and I hate that they will still keep me from rolling for 4 months because of this rule. I guess it's for insurance reasons, too. You'd think finding a good jiujitsu school in any given area of Los Angeles would be easy...
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Mar 21, 2011 19:42
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colonel_korn posted:This strikes me as being pretty stupid, one of the best ways to learn is sparring with guys who are better than you. I'm guessing they had problems with guys who are new spazzing out and hurting themselves (or others), but not letting new guys roll at all is really extreme. I worked out a Gracie Barra school in LA for a while and what that means is they don't do free rolling in the begginer class (and you generally weren't allowed in the advanced class until you got your third stripe). The beginer class did roll out of positions, and you would stop the roll and switch places whenever anybody scored or got a sub. So it's not zero rolling, and while I did have some issues with how Gracie Barra operates, that wasn't one of them. It's a legit way to deal with newcomers in that type of setting. They let me go to the advanced class without three stripes because of my background in Judo though. Just had me come to a saturday free sparring class the first week I was there to make sure I actually knew what I was doing, and after that I had an open invitation to the advanced class. If Gracie Barra is your only option I say go for it. They are overpriced and focused on the business (contracts, a very strict curriculum, etc...) but the instructors do know what they are talking about and you will learn good BJJ. However, if you have other options in your area check them out first. John Blaster posted:It feels like it's the McDonald's of BJJ. I feel like I should be staying far away... Thoughts? I wouldn't put Gracie Barra on the level of a McDojo. They do teach you real BJJ. It's just really expensive and the individual instructors have to follow the specific curriculum handed down from above. It's commercial like a McDojo, but not Bullshido. Thoguh fucked around with this message at 22:28 on Mar 21, 2011 |
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Mar 21, 2011 22:23
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John Blaster posted:Gracie Barra or no? Gracie Barra is too big an organization to just say yes/no. There are some guys who teach for Barra who are incredible instructors and or competitors, and some guys who are junk. Unless your worried about being internet detective'd you should post which school it is specifically. Also, does no rolling until 3 stripes mean no rolling at all, or just no free rolling(but still doing positional sparring)?
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Mar 21, 2011 22:25
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Trip report from my first Gracie Barra class (never had formal instruction before, but I've rolled no-gi with some of my friends who wrestled in high school/college): -Class starts with a short warmup session where you do jumping jacks, pushups, and just general hip and core workouts. -Class then moves onto a self-defense technique; I learned how to escape a dude trying to choke me while standing, frankenstein-style. -Learned how to pull guard and retain control to set up a tripod sweep -Then everyone started to alternate in guard top or bottom, with the goal to pass if you're on top and either lock the other guy down or submit him if you're on bottom. The first guy I rolled with I was able to pass his guard pretty easily and I caught him in a triangle once. The second guy I rolled with was much better and had stronger grip - he pretty much passed to side control every time as I was still getting used to not being able to scramble as easily. I almost caught him in an omoplata. One time I was able to take his back when he tried to sweep. One thing I noticed was that everyone around me was gassed to hell. I don't know if this is just a problem with their experience or fitness, but I definitely did much better after people started to get tired and wheezy. At the pace we were going I definitely could've gone another 2 hours. I have a 30 day trial so I'm going to go as much as I possibly can. I like this format of teaching, though I would have liked a little more specific technique instruction - but I'm sure that is something that comes with time and practice, as I can barely execute the one sweep that I did learn today. 1st AD fucked around with this message at 05:21 on Mar 22, 2011 |
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Mar 22, 2011 05:19
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So I competed in my first BJJ competition on Saturday, I took second out of four in my tiny-man division (140 and under). My first fight was with a pretty young kid (didn't look any older than 16), and I was able to pull guard, sweep, pass and control him from side for the majority of the match before landing an arm-bar that presented itself. Him being so young kind of took some of the fun out of the win, but I was pleased that I was able to keep my basics down and pull off a sub. The guy I faced in the finals trains at my club, and he's a beast as far as our fellow white belts go. He gi-choked his first opponent (who was also pretty young; I suspect that may be the nature of this light a division?) and dominated me by points. It was still a fun match, I was able to tie him up a few times and even sweep him, so that was good (he later went on to place second in no-gi 155 and under, despite weighing 140). But yeah, the whole experience was awesome and I can't wait to do it again. Thanks for the advice beforehand guys, I knew I could count on the internet. Biafraid fucked around with this message at 07:35 on Mar 22, 2011 |
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Mar 22, 2011 06:15
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Cool posts about starting to train gi/competing in gi make me curious, will anyone here be at the Naga Northeast in June? Will be comp #2 after competing in the Renzo Gracie Invitational in NY last year at Pearly-White Belt (6 months or under).
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Mar 22, 2011 06:38
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1st AD posted:as I can barely execute the one sweep that I did learn today. Which brings up my big problem with the Gracie Barra way of doing things (and the reason other than cost I reccomend checking out other places if they are available) - you'll work on that sweep this week, and then move on to another set of techniques next week. Never speak of that sweep again until the next time it comes up in the weekly rotation (either 10 or 12 weeks, don't remember for sure). Thoguh fucked around with this message at 14:39 on Mar 22, 2011 |
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Mar 22, 2011 14:32
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Thoguh posted:Which brings upmy big problem with the Gracie Barra way of doing things (and the reason other than cost I reccomend checking out other places if they are available) - you'll work on that sweep this week, and then move on to another set of techniques next week. This is like every bjj place on the face of the planet, not just Gracie Barra. Nothing prevents you from continuing to work on that sweep next week.
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Mar 22, 2011 14:35
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fatherdog posted:This is like every bjj place on the face of the planet, not just Gracie Barra. Nothing prevents you from continuing to work on that sweep next week. Actually their format does prevent you from working on the sweep next week. Since you do all your rolls out of positions and every moment of class is structured, unless you are buying privates (at like $120 an hour), you won't have any chances to work on it for another few months.
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Mar 22, 2011 14:41
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Thoguh posted:Actually their format does prevent you from working on the sweep next week. Since you do all your rolls out of positions and every moment of class is structured What? No. That other guy just said they were rolling with one top one bottom starting from guard. What the hell are you talking about?
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Mar 22, 2011 14:45
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Angora posted:What? No. This is how it works at a Gracie Barra Academy beginner class: For positional rolling at the end of class, you start in whatever it was you were working on that day. In this case it was a sweep so you would start from guard. For the roll, you go until someone scores (in this case with a sweep by the guy on bottom or a guard pass by the guy on top) or gets a sub. Then you stop immediatly. You switch places, and repeat for 5-10 minutes until the instructor calls an end and you do your end of practice cool down. In the advanced class you do actual rolls so you could continue to try to hit stuff if you wanted to (but would have no chance to drill it unless you were buying privates), but not in the beginner class. Thoguh fucked around with this message at 14:59 on Mar 22, 2011 |
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Mar 22, 2011 14:48
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Thoguh posted:This is how it works at a Gracie Barra Academy beginner class: None of which would prevent you from working the guard sweep you did last time in the next session where you started from guard.
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Mar 22, 2011 15:43
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fatherdog posted:None of which would prevent you from working the guard sweep you did last time in the next session where you started from guard. Well, because both my opponent and I have been training the sweep for the last half-hour, I'm hesitant to perform it immediately because I know my opponent is expecting it. But I CAN do it, and often feign as though I am going to
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Mar 22, 2011 16:15
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As 1st AD posted, this is how a Gracie Barra Academy beginner class goes: Bow in *10 minute stretching/sit-ups/push-ups *15 minutes on a standing self defense technique *20-25 minutes learning a set sequence of moves *5-10 minutes of positional rolls where you are directed to use the sequence you just learned *5 minute cool-down Bow out There is no open mat before or after the class, since there is a class before and after you. There is a set syllabus that the instructor must follow that is a 10 or 12 week rotation of techniques. Every week you switch techniques and don't come abck to them until they come back up in the rotation. The very tight format is set up to keep it very easy and keep beginners interested. It does not allow a single minute of free time or chance to try stuff out on your own, including going back to try stuff you had learned before. This is intentional because it pushes students towards expensive private lessons if they want to work on something in particular. In the vast majority of circumstances, you are not allowed to show up to the advanced class until you have three stripes. Stripes are 100% based on attendance at this level. You get a new stripe every X number of classes (I don't remember what the number was, but if you came regularly it was around every 2-3 months) The advanced class goes like this: Bow in *10 minute stretching/sit-ups/push-ups *10 minutes on a takedown *20-25 minutes learning three related techniques *10-15 minutes of free rolling. The instructor pairs you up with somebody and you do two or three minutes, then you get paired up with somebody else *5 minute cool-down Bow out The advanced class follows a related syllabus that cycles every 10-12 weeks, but the free rolling does allow you to continue working on stuff you'd learned before. You also are probably the first or last class of the evening, so there is probably some time before or after class to do some extra drilling if the instructor doesn't mind sticking around to keep the place open. Once you hit the advanced class most places also ussually have some open mat times where you can come and do free rolling for an hour or two. Also, to recruit females, they occasionaly hold self defense seminars that they call "Rape Safe" classes. These are really just a beginner class and includes learning things like how to do a double leg takedown on someone trying to rape you... Thoguh fucked around with this message at 16:41 on Mar 22, 2011 |
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Mar 22, 2011 16:28
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My gym appears to run in a similar way, with the set curriculum. Each week we learn 2-3 new techniques and then drill them during the class. However, after the class theres time to free roll. Its optional and you dont have to stay. Its awesome because in my begginer class, out of maybe 15 people, only 3-4 people stay so we get a lot of attention/action from the instructor. God drat... am I an idiot in thinking that teaching a women that the best way to "defend" a rape is to double leg her assailant is absolutely stupid? I would thinking screaming loud as hell RAPE RAPE while running away would work best... Thats what I would do anyways.
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Mar 22, 2011 16:36
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I would think that not having the option ot free roll after class would be the biggest detriment to a gym. I'm actually a little shocked that they run their gym that way. At my gym when we teach there is usually a half hour between jits classes or at the very least one of the two mats we have is open afterwards. When I teach a class I want the students to have an opportunity after class to roll with each other, have me maybe watch, or ask questions about what I just taught. To me as sometimes wrestling/bjj instructor, not having the ability to free roll after class would be a red flag.
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Mar 22, 2011 16:57
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Open rolling was probably the biggest component of class in the gym I went to. We would learn and drill a new technique for 20 minutes, and then it was open rolling split up by weight for 30+ minutes. The coaches would wander around watching, giving advice, and sometimes jumping in to instruct someone on a technique they were trying. That class structure sounds like the BJJ equivalent of cardio kickboxing.
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Mar 22, 2011 17:29
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Thoguh posted:Also, to recruit females, they occasionaly hold self defense seminars that they call "Rape Safe" classes. These are really just a beginner class and includes learning things like how to do a double leg takedown on someone trying to rape you... wrestling ruins everything I actually don't have a problem with the way the class is set up, because it's a beginners class and a lot of people just don't have the experience or the conditioning to really get any benefit out of more open mat time. I think the 15 or so minutes you spend on positional sparring is more than enough for anyone new. Maybe after a week or so my tune will change, but at this point I don't know where and how to grip lapels and sleeves, so it's not like I want to be rolling with other guys quite yet. 1st AD fucked around with this message at 17:55 on Mar 22, 2011 |
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Mar 22, 2011 17:51
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Warm up is drilling wrestling techniques. Doubles, singles, high crotch singles, knee picks, arm drags, snap downs, shoot doubles and singles to your knees (I suck at these). Then doubles, arm drags, and snap downs from sitting guard. Then triangles, arm bars, kimuras, chest sweeps, and elevator sweeps. I think I'm missing some things, but that's the warm up. Then we do things from different positions. One day we might do everything from side control (shoulder pressure, kimura/american lock/armbar/arm triangle), the next class we'll do stuff from guard or back control. After that we'll go live from guard or side control, then free rolling wherever. It's a 2 hour class so we can fit a bunch of things in. e: the warmup is usually 30-45 minutes, so I'm definitely missing some things.
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Mar 22, 2011 17:54
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1st AD posted:wrestling ruins everything Well, like I said, you do learn real BJJ. If somebody has a purple belt or something from Gracie Barra they are just as deserving as any other purple. It's just a really commercialized and structured program that makes sure everything is very easy and safe for beginners. If you are enjoying it and can afford the tuition, there is no reason not to go for it, especially if there aren't other options in your area. Thoguh fucked around with this message at 18:02 on Mar 22, 2011 |
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Mar 22, 2011 17:57
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Thoguh posted:Well, like I said, you do learn real BJJ. If somebody has a purple belt or something from Gracie Barra they are just as deserving as any other purple. It's just a really commercialized and structured program that makes sure everything is very easy and safe for beginners. If you are enjoying it and can afford the tuition, there is no reason not to go for it, especially if there aren't other options in your area. I've seen a chart detailing how many classes you need for each promotion, is that a minimum number of classes or once you reach x classes you get y belt/stripe?
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Mar 22, 2011 18:10
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dokomoy posted:I've seen a chart detailing how many classes you need for each promotion, is that a minimum number of classes or once you reach x classes you get y belt/stripe? At least until you get your blue belt it's the latter. I am not sure about blue belt and higher. I do know that anybody I worked with who was a two stripe blue belt or higher seemed to deserve the rank, and all their purple belts were legit purples. Thoguh fucked around with this message at 18:18 on Mar 22, 2011 |
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Mar 22, 2011 18:15
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henkman posted:Warm up is drilling wrestling techniques. Doubles, singles, high crotch singles, knee picks, arm drags, snap downs, shoot doubles and singles to your knees (I suck at these). Then doubles, arm drags, and snap downs from sitting guard. Then triangles, arm bars, kimuras, chest sweeps, and elevator sweeps. I think I'm missing some things, but that's the warm up. Then we do things from different positions. One day we might do everything from side control (shoulder pressure, kimura/american lock/armbar/arm triangle), the next class we'll do stuff from guard or back control. After that we'll go live from guard or side control, then free rolling wherever. It's a 2 hour class so we can fit a bunch of things in. That's a pretty intense class, sounds awesome.
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Mar 22, 2011 18:29
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Mardragon posted:That's a pretty intense class, sounds awesome. It actually is really awesome. The main instructor wrestled in High school (and I think worked out with the wrestling team in college) so there's a lot of emphasis on wrestling. Another guy who trains there did Judo for 10 years before BJJ, so he can show people awesome trips and throws. He's also 270 or so pounds so it sucks to have him throw you and land on top.
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Mar 22, 2011 18:34
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The place I go is pretty laid back. Its an hour open mat, followed by an hour of the advanced class, followed by an hour of the beginner class (this is how is goes most days anyway). We usually do a couple moves a week, with gi and no gi alternating weeks. I know we have something like a program but I've never asked what it is. I've been told we have a reputation for doing a lot rolling. I know at my bjj place, its usually about a month until they let new white belts roll. They basically want to make sure they're not going to freak out and accidentally hurt someone. It sounds like the places you guys go are a lot more traditionally styled. We don't bow in or anything like that, and you're responsible for getting stretched and warmed up yourself. I kind of like it more that way.
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Mar 22, 2011 18:37
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My school we usually have two hour practice. 20 minute warmup of shrimping and those really annoying ground excercises. 30-45 minutes of technique usually with an emphasis on takedowns and a sequence based off that. 15 minutes of positional drills 15 minutes of free rolling followed by as much as want. I find it really weird that they don't let beginners roll on the first day. They may freak out but if you want to learn some self-defence or real world applications you should be acquainted with people freaking out and trying to do weird poo poo. If freaking out is such a big problem what other schools I've been to do is run an intense calisthenic warm up for the beginners to sap their energy so they are forced to use technique and to get in proper shape.
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Mar 22, 2011 18:46
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Yeah the whole not rolling as a beginner is kind of weird. You ask if they know how to tap out and know what a submission is. They usually do which is why they came anyway. Then an instructor watches and if they're in a jointlock they're not tapping to and it's on there pretty good they'll stop the match for them and tell them to go again. After a couple classes you can trust most new guys to know when they're in something enough to submit before something bad happens.
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Mar 22, 2011 18:49
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