I believe the “Unified Rules” of MMA generally favor the stand-up fighter. I also believe the UFC prefers the stand-up fighter. This makes it ironic that Rorion Gracie (along with some others) started the UFC in 1993 to showcase the effectiveness of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, which Royce Gracie did wonderfully. In this video Stephan Kesting [...]
I’m not a medical professional. But when I’m foolish enough not to wear my headgear when grappling and my ears get sore, I’ll almost always ice my ears when I get home. It seems to help. The few times my ears have taken a beating I’ll take an anti-inflammatory, put some ice in a bag, [...]
A video about the “core” of Jiu Jitsu. Thanks to Brad for showing me the video.
I would guess that headgears for martial arts have been around a long time; Wikipedia only had so much to say about the topic. Wikipedia did not have an extensive history of the martial-arts headgear. Yet. I am often surprised by how many people don’t wear headgear when training Jiu Jitsu. I would think that [...]
I was recently thinking about the different people I have rolled with at this point in my Jiu Jitsu career and the characteristics of a good rolling partner. On the one hand, the answer I came up with is “it depends” – it depends on (your) mood, what you and your partner are looking to [...]
For my first six or seven months of Jiu Jitsu I was convinced it was smart to wear a cup when training. This was confirmed when I racked my training partner with my knee – on accident, of course – and when my cup protected me from various impairments to my reproductive compacity when people [...]
Yesterday I was forwarded this great video demonstrating Gracie Jiu Jitsu with Rickson and Royler Gracie. I don’t know the context of the video or where it is from, although the announcers reference Pride Fighting Championships. It demonstrates some Gracie self defense techniques followed by sparring. I like this video for showing what clean, expert [...]
Sambo is an up-and-coming grappling-focused martial art with Russian roots. Like Jiu Jitsu, Sambo has a lot of appeal and is experiencing impressive growth since its gain in popularity in the US in the early 2000s. Wikipedia describes Sambo as a “modern martial art, combat sport and self-defense system” and broadly categorizes it as a [...]
I am a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) enthusiast and blogger. A blue belt under Relson Gracie, this is where I share insights, stories and reviews related to BJJ. I train in Colorado at Boulder Grappling Academy. Contact me at ryanpeterson DOT me **AT** gmail DOT com. Legal info.