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Jiu-jitsu Sensei
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This blog is to record my many training and teaching experiences in the martial arts. I run my own Can-ryu Jiu-jitsu dojo, but I also do extra curricular training in other martial arts to keep my skills sharp and to add to my knowledge of the arts. M
Recent Posts Tagged With 'mma'
Increasing Your Cardio Workout When Skipping
When you start skipping as a cardio workout, at first even a few short minutes can seem hard to do. But then as you become more coordinated and your fitness improves, you can go for longer without fe...
The Benefits of a Non-Macho Martial Arts School
Yesterday I taught an impromptu grappling class for my students. Submission grappling doesn't make an appearance in my curriculum until the senior belt levels, focusing more on 'no rules' ground defe...
Learning From Other Martial Arts
Over the weekend, I went to Salmon Arm to teach at a Can-Ryu Jiu-jitsu seminar series. The topic I taught was "Defending Against a Skilled Grappler on the Street." The seminar was well-received and ...
Choosing an MMA Style to Follow
In MMA there are certain basics that everyone should know: boxing punches, practical kicks (i.e. leg kicks, push kicks, etc.), taking and defending the clinch, being on the giving and receiving end of...
"The Last Emperor" Reigns Supreme
*WARNING!: If you haven't watched July 19th's Affliction fight between Fedor Emelianenko and Tim Silvia, the blog post gives away how the fight ends.After watching UFC and Affliction back to back on S...
How to Do Shrimping Drills and Why
Shrimping was originally introduced in Japan where it was known as "ebi aruki" or in English, shrimp walking. Judo and Jiu-jitsu schools use it to develop the lateral hip movement that is used to esc...
Is 500 Squats Too Many?
It isn't according to my MMA coach. Last night, Mark had me do an extensive leg workout including: 500 squats, 5 minutes of stepping up and down from the ring, 5 minutes of shrimp walking, 5 minutes ...
More Throwing in MMA
In my style of Jiu-jitsu, we do more throwing than is practiced in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. While it can take awhile to develop the skill and timing to execute throws effectively, I think throwing is a v...
Dealing with Toe Injuries
Due to the slightly flexible puzzle mats that are laid out at the school where I run my Jiu-jitsu classes and do my MMA training, I and many others keep spraining our toes. What happens is that the b...
Message to Dana White: MMA Women Deserve Some Attention
Last night, CBS featured an MMA fight between Gina Carano and Kaitlin Young brought to us by Elite XC. The two YouTube clips below show the fight.This was a pretty cracking fight, both fighters with ...
Running is Better than No Running
Yesterday, I bought an expensive new pair of running shoes. My MMA coach had told me that I would need to add running to my regular workout pattern and that he would eventually want me to run with a ...
'Redbelt' Movie Review
Ok, so I went to see this movie with a few of my students last night thinking it might be pretty cool since David Mamet, an award-winning writer and director that I like, wrote and directed it. I wou...
Practicing the Spiderweb with Eddie Bravo
Yesterday's seminar was great fun. Tasia, one of my MMA training partners, and I drove out to Victoria to train for 4 hours under Jiu-jitsu legend, Eddie Bravo. I had always considered him the "rock...
Tip: Don't Overstretch Before a Seminar
Tomorrow, I'm heading to Victoria to attend a 4-hour seminar with Eddie Bravo. In preparation for this event, I did some extra stretching yesterday, focusing on my groin. Some of Eddie's classic mov...
'Red Belt' - A New Movie about Jiu-Jitsu
I got wind of a new movie about a self-defense oriented Jiu-jitsu instructor who gets involved in the world of mixed martial arts. It's a film written and directed by David Mamet, the man that brough...
The Importance of Breathing in the Martial Arts
Over a year ago, I had an argument with Slan, a guy I used to work with who had once been a Kempo instructor. The argument was about when to breathe when striking or being struck.I had argued that yo...
Bewareof Patterned Bobbing and Weaving
I was recently told to move my head more while I spar. I've always taught ducking and slipping specifically to get the head out of the line of fire of a strike. That being said, by bobbing and weavi...
MMA Gloves for Sparring
When students are first introduced to sparring, we have them use 16-oz boxing gloves. These gloves are more protective and, because they're bigger, punches are easier see coming plus there is more su...
Let Us Not Forget Our Roots
Yesterday I participated in the Jiu-jitsu BC Society's quarterly technical seminar, led by Shihan Michael Seamark from Sadhana Dojo in Vancouver and Sensei Ari Bolden from the Victoria Jiu-jitsu Acade...
30-Second Blitz Conditioning
My coach gave me quite a work-out last night. After warming up, he had me and my training partner Gina doing 30-second blitz training.As far as conditioning goes, this is one of the training styles I...
Throwing to Defend Against Kicks
This video shows a Kung fu sparring competition in which the guy in yellow very effectively defends against kicks simply by snatching his opponent from underside while he's on one foot, attempting to ...
The Hypnotic Powers of Ki Masters
For the record, I do believe in the concept of ki energy and think that it does have an effect on the effectiveness of martial arts. That being said, I do believe it has limitations. I also believe ...
Revisiting the Turtle Block
The other night I was training with my coach and was made to do several rounds of boxing sparring with him. Going into the ring, one of the other coaches told me to keep my hands up and against my he...
Fighting the Flinch
I was doing some MMA training with a student of mine today who is still finding his feet (and fists!) in his stand-up game. One trouble most people encounter when they're new to sparring is dealing w...
When Knee Meets Groin
This is image shows the back of my dojo's club t-shirt. It is tongue in cheek, but I feel it is pretty relevant for pretty much all martial arts training. Last night, I failed to adhere to one of th...
Laid Off but Not Laid Up
Yesterday, ten minutes before the end of my work day, I was called into my boss's office and informed that it was my last day. I was being laid off. It was sudden and painful. I was assured that it...
My Grocery List of Injuries from MMA Training
In the last week and a half, I’ve gone through a number of injuries. Far more than I ever had in such a short period in my entire martial arts career. Here is the grocery list:2 black eyes (yes, I...
Another MMA-Related Injury
This last week has been a bad one for injuries. A typical astrology-following Vancouverite might say it was due to Mars being in retrograde or something. But really, every so often, shit just happen...
My First Black Eye from MMA Training
I fully expected to get a few bumps and bruises on the road toward becoming a pro MMA fighter. Yesterday I received one such bruise, but not the way I would have expected.I was training with Tasia, t...
Mixing Martial Arts in Movie Fights
A student of mine sent me this video saying it was an awesome fight sequence that incorporated Jiu-jitsu. Needless to say, I was keen to give it a watch.At first I thought, "This isn't Jiu-jitsu," as...