“I hope martial artists are more interested in the root of martial arts and not the different decorative branches, flowers, or leaves. It is futile to argue as to which single leaf, which design of branches or which attractive flower you like; when you understand the root, you understand all its blossoming.” – Bruce Lee, Tao of Jeet Kune Do

This week I received a message from one of our Brazilian Jiu Jitsu students at PMA, concerning Kung Fu. Check it out –

“Sempai David,
My wife and I watched the new karate kid last weekend. I really enjoyed watching the form and technique of kung fu, but it made wonder why no one uses kung fu in mma? Is it not an efficient martial art? Just thought I would pick your brain.”

This is a great question. Is what we see labeled as “Kung Fu” really effective? First off, I would like to send you to a blog post from earlier this year in which I addressed the question – “What is Kung Fu?”
on the PMA Blog. This is a quick read and may really clear up some confusion around Kung Fu – http://blog.pmaoakridge.com/training/what-is-kung-fu/.

You have to understand that there are many different “branches” of Kung Fu. Some would be more applicable in MMA, others would be more applicable in the street, and still others may not have very much application to a fight at all! Can we not say the same for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu? There are some BJJ schools that train BJJ that is very applicable to MMA, others that are more applicable to the street, and still some that are not applicable to either! I can personally think of a handful of GREAT BJJ competitors that could not fight their way out of a box, but would kill the average fighter in a BJJ tournament!

I want you, after reading this blog post, to think about your primary objectives in training. Do not concern yourself with the “soft” schools versus the “hard” schools, kicking vs. punching, grappling vs. striking, or kung-fu vs. muay thai. What is more important is that we not lose focus of our objective in training. By trying to be partial to one martial art over another (different branches, flowers, or leaves), we might completely lose the root. I want you to imagine a large tree and now pick off one, individual leaf. In my opinion, by singling out one martial art over the other, we are picking leaves off of the tree – they will never survive. Study the root (your objective in training) and make sure you are training accordingly.

Are you training to become the next UFC champion? To learn to defend yourself? To get in shape? To improve your quality of life? It may be a mixture, but make sure your training is meeting your needs…

Now, check out this style of Kung Fu (San Shou). Probably not what you expect –

I guess P90X has a section of the workout that is based on Kenpo, so he decided to look into the martial arts. He had seen our academy in Oak Ridge, TN but wanted to research more on the internet so he looked up martial arts knoxville and there we were. He came in and was immediately hooked by the atmosphere at PMA.

Back to the question. How many times per week should you train? I told him that in my opinion the best formula for training is what he does right now. Rick trains twice per week in our group martial arts class and once per week in a private lesson. Group classes are an amazing workout, you meet new people and get to train with such a variety of different bodies. Private classes give you the personal attention to address in particular areas in the martial arts that you are interested and totally customize the curriculum to fit your needs. Rick gets the best of both worlds.

After P90X though, Rick feels like he needs to have some exercise 5-6 days per week and so he wants to know what to do. The best solution is to take the techniques that you learn in class and apply them to your own workout at home. For example, here is a sample workout that I gave Rick to do when he is on his own at home:

1. Jump Rope – 2-5 Minutes: This can be done at different paces to control the intensity level of your workout.

2. Shadow Box – 2-5 Minutes: Dynamic movement and execution of mostly Kickboxing skills.

3. Arms, Legs, and Abdominal Body Weight Exercises (Squats, Push Ups, Sit Ups, etc.): In class Rick has learned many different martial arts specific strength training exercises. 2-5 Minutes

3. Regimentation 5-10 Minutes: Stationary practice of offensive and defensive maneuvers from different stances.

4. Technique Execution (Full Speed) 2-5 Minutes: This can be techniques from any martial art: Kenpo, Kali, Jiu Jitsu, etc. These techniques can be practiced solo at varying intensity levels.

5. Cool Down – slow movement through some basic techniques such as blocking to wind down, followed by stretching to focus on breath and increase flexibility. Depending on how much time you have allotted for your workout, you may even want to finish here with a meditation.

This workout can be anywhere from 15 – 45 Minutes, so that no matter what you can find time during your day to not only workout but practice your martial arts skills. This workout will help relieve stress, lose weight, build strength, increase flexibility and clear your mind, all while practicing something you love and a valuable skill. Much better than running in my opinion!

At PMA Oak Ridge, we have a frame hanging up above the Mook Jong (Wooden Training Dummy) on our private training side with some words of wisdom from Bruce Lee:

THE TRUTH IN COMBAT IS DIFFERENT FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL

1. Research your own experiences for the truth.

2. Absorb what is useful.

3. Reject what is useless.

4. Add that which is specifically your own.

I think these 4 principals hold a tremendous amount of value today and always. This principle starts to break down the barrier of having a “way.”

In the beginning it is important to have a structured, systematic way of learning new techniques and following the exact curriculum that your instructor has designed for you to follow. The problem is that students tend to overanalyze in the beginning, and this actually hinders their learning ability.  Helio Gracie did an interview with Playboy Magazine (Brazilian Edition) back in 2001 and provides some excellent insight into this subject, check out this sample:

PLAYBOY: What kind of student is the most work to train?

HELIO: Without any question, intelligent students [are most difficult].

PLAYBOY: Why?

HELIO: Because the intelligent student tends to get lost if thought before executing the technique. With this preoccupation, he ends up lost in thought and can’t function.  I want to give the student good reflexes. The method that the crafty person wants to know is that which hinders his reflexes. When he thinks that he understands, he is going to want to do it the way he thinks it is supposed to be, not the way that I taught. I mean, he will do everything wrong. A baby, a young girl, an idiot are going to learn more quickly than an intelligent person. A baby will just do it, not ask questions.

PLAYBOY: The, to be a good jiu-jitsu fighter, you need to be stupid?

HELIO: It isn’t that! [Angry]. Learning jiu-jitsu is something for the subconscious, not for the consciousness. I don’t teach so that the student can know jiu-jitsu, I teach so that he can execute jiu-jitsu. There is a difference. If I teach something to an intelligent person, she will learn quickly because she puts it in memory. But the good student can execute his jiu-jitsu without thinking.. If he stops to look for what I knows in his memory, he is lost. It doesn’t deal with decorative movements, but rather with exact reflexes when an aggression occurs. And aggression always occurs by surprise.

PLAYBOY: How do you resolve this kind of impasse. I mean, how do you teach an intelligent student?

HELIO: I show them in practice that the power of their intelligence won’t serve them for nothing. I put them quickly on the ground to let them know that the best way is to execute without  stopping to think.

How does this interview tie into the Bruce Lee quote above and the problem of teachers teaching different variations of the same technique? When students first start training, they should take what their teacher gives them as the “gospel.” It should not be changed or modified. Do not ask questions – no “what if” of “why.” These questions can all come later.

If another instructor gives you the same technique with a small variation, do not ask questions, do not compare the two techniques – just practice it. Later that night, sit back and analyze the two techniques. Most likely, both techniques are correct but one will work better for you. Remember that the truth in combat is different for each individual. There will be some techniques that work very well for you and others that you cannot stand! But it is important to be “stupid” when training, do not ask questions – just train the techniques. Analyze later and you will reap the benefits.

Today happens to be Helio Gracie Day (October 1st). If the man that is famous for adapting, changing and modifying techniques was under the assumption that a good student is one that does the techniques without thinking or analyzing, than it is advice worth taking in my opinion. I also think that Helio Gracie may have demonstrated the importance of Bruce Lee’s advice given above better than any other martial artist in the world. Without Helio researching, absorbing, rejecting and modifying we would not have the Jiu Jitsu that is now taught all over the world.

You can read the entire interview with Playboy magazine here.

See you on the mat!

As I was watching the story unfold, I saw and then heard something that in my opinion explains a lot. I saw Art Jimmerson in theexact same position that James Toney found himself in vs. Randy Couture a few weeks back in the same Octagon – the Mount. In both situations, the boxer had absolutely no idea what to do. In the James Toney fight, you could see the legs flat to the mat, which is an obvious sign that the person has no experience escaping the mount. So the question arises, if the world was introduced to BJJ back in 1993 when Royce mounted a boxer and won a fight without a single punch being thrown by the boxer, why are there still people, more specifically fighters, that do not train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu?

Then Art answered the question for me. “It was a sort of phobia.” He tapped out because there was a 170 pound kid on top of him that he could not get off. It was just scary. Panic sets in and there is nothing left to do. Luckily, his life did not depend on it and he had the ability to tap out! Despite MMA and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu becoming vastly popular around the world, there are still millions of people that have no idea how to handle themselves in a fight, and even more so on the ground. I firmly believe that one of the primary reasons is this phobia that was mentioned tonight on Spike TV.

I have witnessed in my time teaching Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, grown men submit because of this panic that sets in when one realizes that they cannot escape, even when no one is punching them! I will always remember my teacher, Pedro Brandao Lacerda, telling me that he was going to think heavy and all of a sudden his Side Control literally felt like 100 kilos! I have tried my hardest to pass this on to our students at PMA, because I think this sort of claustrophobia is a very important obstacle to overcome in your jiu jitsu training. My students luckily have recognized the benefits of continuing to train and overcoming this panic by learning to relax and escape.

Hopefully with time, more people will take the plunge and start training martial arts. If someone can overcome the phobia and fear of stepping out onto the mat, they will experience one of the most rewarding journeys of a lifetime. Have you started your journey yet?

By doing this, the public knows when they see this sign that it is a martial arts academy. When they come in because they are interested, then they learn about the different martial arts that we teach. As they train longer and longer, they start to learn what each martial art is and the differences between them all, but from the outside looking in, it is just KARATE.

When you are confronted with the situation of someone referring to your martial art as KARATE, do not let it irritate you. Let it go, and know that they are only doing this because they do not know the difference or are insecure of themselves. It is a hard thing to let go because what you do is very personal to you and they will never understand how much it means to you. So just nod your head acceptingly and say “Yes, I still train that Karate stuff.”

In the world of Jiu Jitsu, Pedro had accomplished much, he was a champion at many levels of Jiu Jitsu competitions (Brazilian Nationals and Pan Americans, to name a couple!) with wins over some of the sports greats such as BJ Penn, Baret Yoshida, and Danial Moraes. More importantly, he had a love for the art and was able to express that love to his students. Both on and off the mat, you could always find a smile on Pedro’s face. In 2010, Pedro led the first Army Rangers Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Team to the Pan Americans.

I met Pedro when I was 13 years old and consider myself one of the luckiest men in the world for being able to spend hours a day training and learning from Pedro, both on and off the mat. My daily routine normally consisted of waking up and going to school, getting picked up from school and going straight to the academy. We (Pedro, my family, and any visitors we had at the time) would train for a couple of hours and then I would stick around and help teach class at night. At the time, I had a blast and these were some of the best years of my life but I may not have realized quite how good I had it!

Some of my fondest memories with Pedro include:

• Rolling (Obviously!)
• Eating McDonald’s
• Eating McDonald’s and training
• Eating McDonald’s before a competition
• Eating Miojo (Ramen Noodles) and Chicken McNuggets
• Eating Brazilian Barbeque (Steak, Farofa, Mulio A Companha (spelling?))
• Snowboarding at Ober Gatlinburg
• Playing Chess
• Playing Jiu Jitsu Chess
• Playing Paintball
• Playing Pool at the Mountain House
• Learning to Drive
• and building out martial arts academies (3 over the course of the few years he lived in Knoxville!)

In 2005, Pedro decided to join the United States Military. The U.S. had provided his family a way to make a living, doing what he loves, and after being around a military family for a few years, he decided that that is where he wanted to go next with his life. Pedro went through Basic Training, Airborne School, Ranger Indoc Training, U.S. Army Ranger Training, Warrior Leader Training and Army Combatives Levels 1-3. He became a member of the elite United States Army Rangers and served 3 tours in the Middle East. Pedro was recognized by the Rangers as the most deadly unarmed soldier in the United States Army.

On February 21, 2009 I received my Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu from Pedro and it is one of the proudest moments of my life!

Pedro continues to live through his wife Marina, daughter Yasmin, son Pepe, brother Marcelo, sister Tatiana, father Pedro and all of the lives he has touched in the Army, on the mats and everywhere in between. We will always miss him…

It is a rare occasion that one can see this applied in mixed martial arts competition (not losing, as opposed to trying to win). The reason for this is that the nature of the sport, demands that the competitors train themselves to the best and push the pace from the very beginning to try to win. There is a limited amount of time to win the fight, therefore every second counts. However, in tonight’s fight, the Championship Rounds provided fans the opportunity to witness this fundamental principle of Jiu Jitsu - Patience. Anderson was taking a beating, but surviving the fight. Though he was continuously put on his back, Anderson neutralized many of the strikes that were being thrown by Chael. Through many of the rounds, Anderson was in the position to execute the triangle, he had wrist control on the right arm of Chael close to his legs and the left arm of Chael was extended inside the Guard. In this position it was a matter of slipping his leg over Chael’s right arm and…Game Over.

So why didn’t Anderson pull this off quicker? Nobody can answer this but Anderson. It seemed to me as though he was not sure if the timing was quite right. Without the proper timing, Chael could defend the Triangle, possibly advance his position, or at the very least have a read on what Anderson would be trying to do. Chael Sonnen did an outstanding job of putting Anderson Silva where he does not like to be, but we had seen this finish once before vs. Travis Lutter. When, he finally thought he had Chael distracted enough and the timing was right, the Spider’s legs locked down the submission.

In my opinion, Anderson represented Jiu Jitsu very well tonight, as did Fabricio Werdum a few weeks ago who pulled off a Triangle Choke finish vs. Fedor Emelianenko. Helio Gracie time and time again demonstrated that he could use his Jiu Jitsu to neutralize bigger, stronger, dominating opponents and look for a finish later in the fight. Mixed Martial Arts and Sport Jiu Jitsu competitions many times take away this possibility and thus change the nature of the art in most cases. Same techniques, different philosophies. This is probably necessary for the growth of the two sports but should always be noted by spectators.

As Rorion Gracie (eldest son of Helio) mentioned in a recent interview with Master’s Magazine, only a few young, very conditioned athletes can perform at the highest level MMA competitions. However, people from all ages and fitness levels can train the arts that these competitions come from with a holistic approach and take away the benefits such as confidence, fitness, stress relief, flexibility,  endurance, and overall well-being – the Martial Arts Way of Life.

Congratulations Anderson! He received a lot of criticism after his disappointing performance vs Demian Maia,  but tonight he showed a Champion’s heart and the patience of a Jiu Jitsu Black Belt. I am not sure if Anderson has anything left to prove in the UFC. He has demonstrated his superior striking skills and backed up his BJJ Black Belt. From this point forward, it will be hard to criticize this UFC legend.

Let’s imagine for a second that football has been around since the beginning of time but all anyone ever did was a passing game. Then, all of a sudden in 1993 a team came out with a running game and went undefeated and won the super bowl. For the next few years, other teams started implementing running games into their arsenal and before you knew it – EVERY team had at least some running game in their playbook. Now, this year in the playoffs all of the matches were running teams versus passing teams. All of the passing teams won. After so much success, should we stop using the running game? It seems ridiculous to even ask such a question. Of course not, on this night the passing teams had the running teams numbers and nobody could do anything about it. They just came out with a better strategy and implementation.

Jiu Jitsu is not dead, not by any means. In fact, there were some aspects of those fights last night that proved how alive it truly is. Anderson Silva and Matt Hughes, arguably two of the best fighters in the history of the sport said that there was no way they were going to the ground. They trained and trained to keep that fight on the feet, just as the jiu jitsu players trained and trained to get it to the ground, they just couldn’t pull it off. If anything is to be taken from these fights, it is the evolution of all martial artists. Jiu Jitsu in the United States has evolved tremendously. Fighters are really taking the words of Bruce Lee and using no way as way. Matt Hughes Jiu Jitsu includes more aspects of fighting than Royce Gracie’s. His wrestling skills combined with the training he has in Jiu Jitsu enabled him to take out some of the best of the Gracie Family.

So what will I train? I will continue to train my jiu jitsu skills, both the sportive aspect as well as the street. I will continue to train my standup skills but I will not limit myself to boxing or muay thai, my standup will include Kenpo, Kali, Wing Chun, Muay Thai, Western Boxing, Wrestling, Jiu Jitsu, Judo, and other martial arts that my father has incorporated into what we teach.

Where the Gracie family messes up, is in their desire to name Jiu Jitsu as “THE WAY.” Their is no way, and once someone starts to tell you that this is the way, and no other martial arts are worth learning, be wary. However, don’t be fooled by the hype of the outcomes of these fights, on any night anything can happen. Watch them, appreciate their place as a competitive sport in which some aspects of the martial arts can be proven on the battle ground, and continue to train a very well-rounded program. Jiu Jitsu is not dead!

Mostly, what he has heard is right! It is usually just taken the wrong way. I am going to quote Bruce Lee, though it is not exact, from one interview he stated that before he learned martial arts, a punch was a punch. Then, he started training and realized a punch is so much more than a punch. After training for a while, he realized that he was wrong, a punch is just a punch. This is where most people get lost! Let’s apply this to jiu jitsu.

When you watch a jiu jitsu match without training, it just looks like a couple of guys rolling around. Then you start to train and you are lost in this sea of amazing techniques, positions, transitions and submissions! There are so many! You can hardly even start to grasp it. For example, look at all of these different types of Guard! Then, once you have made it to black belt, jiu jitsu is just as it was before you trained – “rolling.” You have an understanding of the techniques and when you train you are not thinking about all of the little details, “Ok, in side control I have to control his head this way, sprawl my leg this way, and if he shrimps I switch my base this way…” None of that has to happen. You just do it, without mind. If you have to think “oh I better switch my base,” It is too late!

All of these different types of guard get developed and do not have to be learned and perfected to progress in Jiu jitsu. The basic techniques are what the focus should be on. Make those work and you will not have to worry about these different types of guard. When you do get to the point that you have to worry about them, you will have the solid foundation to do so. When Dwayne Wade is running down the basketball court, I can guarantee he is not thinking “right lead, left lead, right lead, left lead, dribble, dribble, in between the legs, fake left, go right, pump, spin, give and go,” but he does them. His basketball skills are to the point of “mushin.”

What does this have to do with the 50/50 guard? It is the newest on the list of guards. I have had the chance to train this position some with Professor Felipe Costa. Felipe just promoted Ryan Hall, one of the innovators of the 50/50 guard, to Black belt. This position is very effective for those that know how to apply it, and those that refuse to progress their jiu jitsu and learn about it, usually get stuck in it! It should not be illegal, but if someone uses it to stall then they should be penalized, just like any other type of guard.

Stick to your basics, this will give you the ability to train without mind, then progressing your game with different variations is easy and enjoyable. If done too early, you may end up on a plateau.

Good luck to all those competing in the Pan Americans this weekend!

“If you’re training with time limits and weight classes in mind, you’re not training for reality.”
-Helio Gracie

This is a great statement made by one of the creators of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I would take it even further. One of the things my father and many of the other great martial artists that I have been around my entire life would emphasize is the inability to train reality. The difference is in training for reality and training reality.

Training reality is possible in sports. It is not possible in martial arts. What is the difference? In sports we can make rules to play by, and have a competitive match in which no one is hurt. A student cannot intercept an attack, straight blast an opponent’s face with punches, muay thai clinch to headbutts, knees and elbows, takedown and break their opponent’s arm. We cannot practice the art of Kino Mutai (Filipino biting and eye gouging) to enhance our upa escapes (many good dirty ground game secrets in “Jeet Kune Do Ground Game” by Sifu Paul Vunak and my father, Bruce Corrigan, featured in Black Belt magazine August 2003). There are many very effective ways of preparing a student for this, but there are not any ways to do this.

So, the next time you are reading Black Belt magazine, read the multiple articles about “reality” training cautiously. Don’t let anyone fool you into believing what they do is REAL! Train hard and train smart!