Helio Gracie 1913 - 2009

Helio Gracie, who founded Brazilian Jiu Jitsu with his older brother, died recently. The influence that he had on martial arts can't be overstated. He lived into his 90s and still practiced constantly. In his book Jiu Jitsu University, legendary 6x world champion Saulo Ribeiro tells about how he rolled against Helio, but couldn't defeat the old man because Helio's defense was so strong. His defenses were so well honed that Saulo couldn't find an opening to attack and submit him.

He was small in stature, but well known in his youth for taking all challengers and routinely defeating opponents much larger than him. Here is a tribute video that was done for him.

UpComing Virginia and Maryland Tournaments

Tournament Season has started, so for those of you who missed Copa Nova recently, there is good news and bad news.

The Good news is that there are two tournaments within driving distance in march: One in Maryland and one in Virginia.

The Bad news is that they are both on the same day.

1) The folks at Mike Moses' school will be host another MISSION SUBMISSION on March 14, 2009 in Frostburg MD. This is a traditional BJJ tournament with both Gi and No Gi divisions. It's only $50 for one event and $10 for each additional event. Very reasonable compared to some other tournaments.

2) The folks at US Grappling are putting on the DOMINION GRAPPLING CHAMPSHIONSHIP 3 event on March 14, 2009 in Ashland VA. This is $50 for one event and $75 for unlimited events. Unlike their previous Submission Only tournament (with no time limits), this event will use time limits and be set up like a traditional BJJ tournament.

Funny Video

If you've ever wondered how effective martial arts are against multiple attackers. Check out this video.

NPR Mention

This week NPR did a feature on Stefan Templeton and his humanitarian work in the Sudan. His work plotting an evacuation corridor for refugees when fighting broke out in the Sudan saved thousands of lives. As you know, when Stefan isn't busy saving the world, he drops in and teaches classes at the club. We are honored to have him here since he embodies the true spirit of jiu jitsu and helping others.

No Time To Workout?

"But I don't have time to workout" is one of the lamest excuses out there. Wade Schalles, the legendary wrestler said that it's better to do a short workout and give it 100% than to be in the gym for a long time half-a55ing it.

You should devote at least a couple of days of week when you are not training to doing some exercises on your own. If you are giving it 100%, then you don't need to work out for 2 hours. Just look at what you can do in 60 seconds.





FYI, this is legendary MMA fighter "The Gracie Hunter" Kazushi Sakuraba.

Class Cancelled on Tuesday January 27

There will be no class tonight due to snow/icy roads in DC. Class will resume at the regular time on Thursday, weather permitting. Check the blog for further updates. thanks.

Washington Post Mention

The Washington Post did an article this weekend on Stefan, who has been teaching the striking class on Mondays while Val is away at training for his new job with the Feds. As you can see from the article, Stefan has been busy lately so we really appreciate his instruction and support of the school.

In other news, Everyone did really well at the Copa Nova Tournament this past weekend. I will post the results as soon as they are available.

Move Reviews

Dave Kang put together a summary of the guard passing and re-guarding techniques from monday's class. We will post it on the Capitol Combat Sports Facebook page for you to review. I will also post a summary of the syllabus from the overhook series from last week on Facebook as soon as I can. If you don't have Facebook, let me remind you that it's 2009 so get with the program. Also, don't share these summaries with people outside the club.

Also, if you haven't signed up for the email list, send an email to Aaron and he will add you to the listserv so we can keep you in the loop about what is going on at the club. We plan on meeting up somewhere this weekend to watch the UFC fight. If you don't sign up for the email list, then you will probably be drinking alone. Nuff' said.

Tournaments 2009--NAGA Virginia

Just a quick reminder that now that the holidays are over, we are returning to the regular class schedule. For those of you interested in tournaments, in addition tot he Copa Nova event in January mentioned in the previous post, NAGA will be hosting an event in Virginia on Saturday, February 28, 2009. You can get info on the event, including the rules, fees and weight classes HERE.

Tournaments in 2009--Copa Nova

Competing in tournaments is good for several reasons. If you're rolling with the same people in class everyday, you may be getting better, but it's also possible that you just recognize their set ups and know how to avoid them. By going to tourmaments you will learn quickly if there are any holes in your game, especially from schools with different fighting styles. For example, if your school drills a lot of techniques with the rubber guard, how will you adapt when faced with someone who has been training mostly with the spider guard? Or butterfly guard? Or X guard? How about a former wrestler?

It looks like the first local tournament will be in a few weeks. The Copa Nova BJJ Tournament will be on Saturday January 24, 2009 in Ashburn VA. I wasn't able to make it to last year's event, but a few people in our club made it out there and reported that it was well run with good judging. It's not as big as NAGA or Grappler's Quest (but then again, what is?), but a good local tournament to go to and sharpen your skills. Put it on your calendars!

For those of you getting ready to compete, check out the SCHOOL CLASS SCHEDULE and see if you can fit in at least one extra day a week of training.

New Basics Class

From now on, Tuesday night will be devoted to learning and drilling basics. This will help new students get up to speed on the fundamentals, and help more experienced students review and improve their techniques.

Here is a basic kimura armlock drill that we normally do in every class during warmups. You should do 20 of these to get you started.

Easy New Solo Stretch

The only thing worse than losing a match because of your technique is losing one because you are inflexible. Like it or not, if you are going to get better at jiu jitsu, you are going to have to work on all aspects of your game, including flexibility. Luckilly, it's easier to see improvement in your flexibility than it is to improve your strength or get better at your other skills, like keeping your weight on someone.



While we do work on stretching during warmups, it's important for you to practice that on your own as well. Here is a helpful trick for stretching out your hips with some old belts from your judo gi. It was submitted by the guys at Submissions 101.








Keep an eye out for changes in the schedule. Most of the people at our jiu jitsu club found out about us by word of mouth (i.e. from a friend), so as new people joined we worked with them to get them up to speed and let them participate in the class. Since we have recently gotten several new students, we may be changing one of the classes to focus specifically on basics. This will help the new students with their foundations and will be a good review for more advanced students.



Also, I will be adding a link on the side to let people know about upcoming jiu jitsu tournaments or seminars in the DC area. If you know of one, send the info to info@capitolcombatsports.com



-Pete Law

Rear Naked Choke Tutorial

I came accross this tutorial on the Rear Naked Choke on YouTube. Drew told me about it after he got done choking me. It's put out by Stephan Kesting from Grapplearts. It's got a lot a lot of useful tips about applying the technique and about common mistakes to avoid. It's about 10 minutes long and it's got some details you can incorporate into your game right away. Good luck out there!

-Pete Law

Happy Holidays

Just a reminder that now that Thanksgiving is over, we have returned to the regular class schedule:

Mondays:

• 7 - 8:15pm Striking
• 8:15-10pm Jujitsu

Tuesdays:

• 8:30 - 10:30 Jiu Jitsu

Thursdays:

• 8:15-10pm Jujitsu

Fridays:

• 6 - 8pm Jiujitsu

Saturdays:

• 9:00-10am No Gi Grappling

Also, for the white belts testing for their next stripe or for their blue belt, the testing requirements are as follows:

3rd stripe: Should know at least 15 submissions or techniques, as well as shoulder, and hip throws, and major outer reap.

4th stripe:Should know at least 20 submissions or techniques, as well as shoulder, and hip throws, and major outer reap. Should have competed at least once.

Blue Belt: 25-30 techniques, good stand up, knowledge of Judo throws. Should be a Positive Representative of the club.