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

training Jan 24-30

A few of us gathered and we had a great time at Jims' house on Sat for the Affliction Party! Thank you Jim and Rene!

Today's training was great (Sun!) we worked on some good stuff from top position of the closed guard. good sparring today! The rest of the week, we will be working on neutralizing the closed guard and escaping and passing.

Congratulations to Andy Atkinson and Maxwell Shepard on their promotion to the Blue Belt!

Andy has been training Jiu Jitsu for a combined (had a little layoff) for two years. Not to mention he's been wrestling since he was 8! He has done everything that I've asked him to do concerning training. His guard game gets better every week and he puts a lot of time into Gi training. He is a great Jiu Jitsu guy with a very bright future! HE IS AN ABSOLUTE BEAST ON THE MAT! Also, really nice guy! (just don't get him mad ;-)

Max has been training for almost 3 years! Some time off here and there...but he also has brought up his gi training. I have seen Max change so much since he started with us that for me, it was a special night because I feel like he is a brother to me! WAY TO GO MAX!!!

CONGRATULATIONS TO BOTH YOU MEN! VERY WELL DESERVED!

Training was great this morning, Fri at The Garage! I went up with Eric B, Ryan and Eric R.

-Michio

training Jan 18-24

We're into our third week of January, already! How are your Resolutions coming along? For me, I'm moving right along. I sustained an injury in practice yesterday to where I thought I was going to be out for a while! I was bummed! but right away, I started moving it, exercising it, and massaging it and refusing to let this overcome me. And today, the pain is A LOT less intense and even though I can't pick up much yet with that arm, I feel that I will be back in the mix within a few days! How's that for mind over matter! (I'm not saying this applies to all injuries) BUT I WILL NOT LET OBSTACLES STOP ME!

This week, we're continuing guard pass instruction along with controlling and attacking from the side mount. Guys are making great gains in their Guard Passing and I'm getting a lot of positive feedback.

We're shooting for a Chris Haueter seminar at the beginning of February. It's just a matter of securing the date. He will bring a good handful of some of his toughest guys! So, do whatever it takes to attend, it'll be a blast!



I hope you enjoy this technique video! It's one of my favorite chokes!

Affliction party at Jims' house this Sat! click comments below for more info...

-Michio