Swine Flu and You

We disinfect the mats before every class, but no matter how careful you are, if you are in close proximity to others you should take steps to minimize your chances of getting sick from anything on the mats (inlcuding staph, flu and other bad things). Here are some simple things you can do to protect yourself:

1) wear a long sleeve rashguard and your gi pants. In the summer people tend to want to roll no-gi, but rolling in shorts and a t-shirt puts more of your skin in direct contact with the mat.

2) if you are sick, stay home. No one wants your flu! you might feel well enough to go to work, but don't roll with people unless you are completely well. Some people in class have babies at home, so be considerate. If you are sick, feel free to watch class and take notes if you want, or ask someone to go over what you missed when you get back.

3) take a shower as soon as you get home. Simple soap and water will kill the staph virus, and it takes a couple of hours for it to take hold, so you have plenty of time to wash your hands/take a shower.

4) care for the mats. we disinfect the mats before each class, but if you walk off the mats barefoot and then walk back on, you will track germs on it. Have some flip flop sandals that you can put on when you leave the mat so your bare feet don't touch the floor in other parts of the gym.

5) bandage up your cuts. staph infections usually happen when you have a cut and it comes in contact with something that is not sterile. keep your cuts bandaged when you are rolling. If you don't have bandages or tape, ask someone in class for it (usually several people have some).

A Picture is worth 1000 words

Since you probably don't like reading blogs without pictures, here's a shot of the jiu jitsu club from Capitol Combat Sports at US Grappling's Dominion Grappling Championship.

It's  impossible for you to train at a small club like ours without developing a strong sense of camaraderie with your training partners.  If you're not sure if you want to compete or not, going to the tournament is a great way for you to support your gym friends and see what the competition is like at tournaments.   When you see your training partners competing and winning, it will take away any concerns you have about whether your ready or not to test your skills against people from other schools.  And you may just walk home with some medals to show your wife or girlfriend.  Or both, if you're lucky. 

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If you want to make an appointment to see the school or take a free class, drop us a line at info@capitolcombatsports.com

You Gotta Be In It To Win It

Congratulations to everyone who put it on the line at the US Grappling tournament last Saturday. We have a small club, so our team was much smaller than some of the other schools, but we sent out 5 members and came back home with some hardware. Thanks to everyone who wasn't competing, but still came out to support the team.


Men's No Gi Intermediate under 149.9 lbs
Andrew Elwell - Bronze

Men's Gi Beginner under 129.9 lbs
Benjamin Saunders - Silver

30+ No Gi Division: Intermediate under 199.9 lbs
Peter Sanchez - Silver

30+ Gi Division: Intermediate Under 180 lbs.
Peter Sanchez - Bronze

More Upcoming Tournaments: 2009

Whether you're interested in competing or watching some up and coming jiu jitsu fighters do their thing, you are in luck. There are another two events coming up within an hour's drive of DC.

US GRAPPLING: SUBMISSION ONLY III April 25th, 2009. This is a non-traditional tournament that doesn't features points. All wins are by submission. Fights can be anywhere from less than a minute, to an hour. You can get information on registering by clicking here.


COPA NOVA: SATURDAY MAY 9Th: The Folks at Copa Nova have just announced that they are hosting another tournament on May 9th in Ashburn Virginia. You can get information on it by clicking here.

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If you're interested in coming down to our club for a free introductory lesson, or just to watch a class, send an email to info@capitolcombatsports.com to set up an appointment.

Live MMA Fights in the Metro DC Area: Chantilly VA

Saturday March 14, at 7:30pm there will be a live MMA event in Chantilly VA. It's a good chance to see some live mma, for a decent price. (Tickets for a live UFC can run you several hundred dollars).

General admission tickets are only $25 at the door, seating in the general admission area is first come, first served. You can buy tickets in advance online for a few bucks more, but that doesn't guarentee you a good seat, just a seat. You can get better seats for about $45.

Here's the website and the fight card:
http://operationoctagon.com/index.php?page=fight-card

Google maps page for the place:
http://www.google.com/maps

FYI, we are not getting anything from the promoters of this or any other event that we have mentioned on here. The reason we plug this stuff for free is so that these events do well and hopefully more promoters will decide to put on events in the area. We also know that sometimes it's hard for you to find about local tournaments or MMA fights because they are not widely advertised, so please check back here periodically (or subscribe to the RSS Feed) and we will keep you informed about future events in the area.

If you know of an event that we haven't menitoned on here, send us the details at info@capitolcombatsports.com and we will post it for you.

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.