training March 8-13

this week we are working on attacking the turtle position and attacks from the back mount. Pan Ams are approaching in a few weeks! there are a handful of us doing the tournament. make sure you keep track of your weight... and make sure you guys keep up your strength and conditioning outside of class!

-Michio

March 1-6, 2009

Greg took us once again Indoor rock climbing on friday! this was my second time and we had a group of us go, some right after Jiu Jitsu class. We had so much fun!!! I really enjoyed this session! My forearms and fingers were toasted when we were done though! Greg, with all his experience taught us how to be safe, have fun and get a workout in. He passed along some great technique and demonstrated How to kick some butt! thanks Greg! Ryan got there early and one of the last to leave. He said he had a blast and can't wait to go again! Ben is out visiting from the east coast and is a little afraid of heights but he looked great manuevering up those rocks. he kicks butt on the mat...and off the mat! Eric was on tonight! he took on some of the toughest routes and made it look easy! Max had a great time and took to the indoor rock climbing like a natural!
Andy said that it was a tough workout, especially after a Jiu Jitsu class but glad that he went and wants to go again! (sorry for the blurry pic)

Ben, Deb, Eric

...thurs night training! ...after some Hard training on Monday!

-Michio

Feb 22, Undisputed grappling tournament

Another great tournament today! Undisputed put on an in-house tournament that gave us more experiences to learn from and to have fun! We made a lot of friends and showed some good competition! It was me, Andrew, Dave, Andy, and Ben competing. Cool stuff! Ready for battle! I felt great, good energy and a very tough opponent! Arghhh! I was doing great! and with less than a minute left in the match and up on points, I get put in a traingle and tapped! Like I said many times before, Jiu-Jitsu can be very humbling! Congrats to Adam Lynn on his win. Tough guy, Great guy! Andrew started the tournament off with some explosive takedowns! and great TOP GAME! GREAT JOB!!! Andrew, Andrew...what can I say? He was awesome today!!! He beat some monsters for his weight class taking first place in the Intermediate division! Next step, Pan Ams! Dave is a big man! but his opponents were even bigger! Today was not his day but I guarantee, he'll be back!

Andy was a BEAST! taking first place in a very tough division. He dominated, but he earned every point. whew! tough weight class!







Wow! Ben was on FIRE for this tournament! His Jiu Jitsu was incredible! He is very fun to watch and received many compliments from the fans! Good work Ben! Ben was very impressive, armlocking every opponent on his way to first place! Thank you Jim and Renee! they came out and supported the competing grapplers and stayed the whole tournament cheering everyone on! You two are awesome!

-Michio

Feb 21 Grappling X

Great tournament in San Diego today! This was my first experience with Grappling X and I will,
for sure be doing more of their tournaments! *for top notch photography of the tournament, check out Rebecca Lees' web site, http://www.afightgallery.com/ SHE IS A FANTASTIC PHOTOGRAPHER! I had only one guy in my division so we went two out of three but he got the best of me today and beat me twice 5-2, 2-0! Good job to my opponent, Jared Natahanson! Very tough man! As for the rest of the guys, we had Marco, Ryan, Aleah, Eric B represent today and it was a great experience!!!

Marco did two divisions today starting with the Gi division. He was a Machine!!! He ended up with Second Place and was very impressive. Good Job Marco!

Ryan also did two divisions today starting with Gi. First time competing as a Purple Belt and he was nervous! I am so proud of him. The tournament combined weight classes, so he had some heavy, good, opponents! He wasn't able to place in the Gi division this time out. but he'll get 'em next time!

This was Eric's first tournament and I have to say, this man put so much into his preparation and looked fantastic! He wasn't able to place, first time out but I'm telling you again, he looked GREAT!!! Aleah had a tough match with a much larger opponent and she will hardly ever say no to a match! Unfortunately today was not her day but much applause to her for stepping it up. she lost her match but gained invaluable experience for the future! Good Job Aleah!

Marco had the most compliments from the fans...RELENTLESS...he kept at his opponents without stop. This man keeps getting better and better each and every time! He earned top honors in his No-Gi division, besting some very tough opponents and taking First!


Ryan shined in the No-Gi division, taking 1st place with an overtime victory in the finals! Ryan was determined and showed a lot of toughness after a long day.

-Michio

Training Feb 15-20

Christie Philips is our Featured Grappler this month. Read her story when you get a chance. I would definitely say that she is quite inspirational!

This week, we're continuing attacking the Quarter Position (turtle) and escapes and counter attacks...

We had so much fun on Mondays class! We all took turns sharing a little bit of insight why we all love Jiu Jitsu so much! Good training, Great friends, Good times!

Christie and Megan showing textbook technique!

Ryan putting the "hurts" on Dan!

Eric Rivard with some excellent technique! Putting the choke/arm lock on Dave!

-Michio

training Feb 8-15

Greg took Ben and me, indoor rock climbing on Saturday! Greg has been doing it since 2001 and has a lot of experience. His knowledge and patience were outstanding! He has many cool stories to share. Talk about Great Cross-Training for Jiu-Jitsu...my fingers, hands, and forearms were on fire! We finished up with Boulder Climbing and my breathing and heart rate were racing!

I'm working on overcoming my fear of heights and falling!!! but watching Ben, also with Greg coaching and encouraging me along I was able to do a lot more than I thought I would!

Ben looked like Spider-man climbing the rock! He caught on very quick and he's definitely a natural. Very fluid and fast. We all had fun and will be doing it again very soon!

Of course, Greg was on top of it all, with all his experience and his coaching expertise! He guided Ben and me to the top! THANKS GREG!!! YOU ARE THE MAN!

This week, we are working from the bottom and top of the turtle position and tournament strategy. More mat time, and some isolated and positional drills. Make sure you guys keep up with your strength and conditioning outside of class. Pan Ams are about 6 weeks away!

Sundays' training was awesome! It was Conor, Andy, Jesse, Ray, and myself and we rolled the whole class and we were beat up afterwards! Great way to spend a Sunday!

I LOVE JIU JITSU!!!

-Michio

Feb 2-7, Chris Haueter Seminar

Chris Haueter Seminar on Feb 7 Thanks everyone for contributing to a great training session with Chris! We had a Blast!!! Chris gave an outstanding seminar giving some great Jiu Jitsu insight and cool looking pretzel type locks! Oh, I would hate to be on the receiving end of those!!!

everyone had a great time working and increasing their Jiu Jitsu game. Chris started off with a takedown to combinations of Guard passing to an amazing side control attack. Then to wrap it up he gave some cool ideas on choking with T-Shirts for self defense. Chris is real sharp on his technique! Outstanding detail with grips and positioning (above pic)

Congratulations to Ben Blakesly on his Promotion to the Blue Belt on Tues, Feb 3 (above pic)!This man is a hard worker, dedicated and awesome to watch. This is just a stepping stone on his way to the Black Belt someday! Keep it up Ben! You are a Stud!

What a Super Bowl on Sunday! It came down to the end and a lot of people were rooting for the underdog and comeback and it almost happened! Go Steelers!

February 22nd, Sunday there is a no-gi tournament in San Diego that a few of us will be competing in! I'M IN!

This is a great week! we started the week off with side mount control and attacks and will also incorporate attacking quarter position.

-Michio