Anybody here practice Brazilian/Gracie Jiu-Jitsu?

[Die Hard]

I registered for the Gracie University Combative series (blue belt) about a month ago.... and been hooked ever since. Through their member database... I found a fellow about the same age/weight as myself within 45 minutes where I live who was also looking to train. He has a blue belt but took a year off and was looking to resume his training -- he has mats and an entire setup in his basement. We've begun practicing each Sunday for a few hours for the past 3 weeks. Mostly, he's just training me He teaches me all kinds of warm-ups and drills... we learn 1-3 techniques and then we grapple. He also has a buddy who comes out too.... he has a few lessons on me but he's a little smaller in weight. And I'm quickly catching up

However, just like anything I do, I'm all in and grappling 1/day a week isn't enough for me. So I joined a really cool BJJ club right by my work.... where I train 2 nights/week. I've learned some great chokes.... but some of the submissions are a little over my head.

My last 2 sparring sessions... I've been having a lot of success with submissions/passes against white belts. It's been a lot of fun. Of course, when I start going against blue belts... I get my butt handed to me

Besides the website and training.... I recently purchased a few books.

(1) "Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: Theory and Technique" -- Renzo and Royler Gracie

(2) "BJ Penn: The Closed Guard"

I've just been enjoying the hell of out of this experience. I can't help but LAUGH at the brutal efficiency of this sport. It typically takes about 3-4 moves to break and arm or render someone unconscious And it's a helluva work out -- which is also important for me as I'm trying to lose weight.

I also enrolled my 4-year old son in BJJ classes. Hopefully, we can continue to grow and learn together.

Essentially, I'm just looking to talk some shop with others who are in the sport.... and ask a whole lotta questions

I'm been working on passing the guard... and submissions. But I'll be damned... it's hard to get people to teach you how to DEFEND!!

And I'm a HUGE fan of the closed guard. What a beautiful and lethal position. I think that's going to be my bread-and-butter.

[PokerPacker]

I've always been interested in BJJ. May take a class some time before I graduate.

[Die Hard]

I've always been interested in BJJ. May take a class some time before I graduate.

I just jumped right in. No history of martial arts or UFC, etc.

I just like the idea of sparring without striking I'm 35 years old with a full-time job.... I don't feel like getting kicked/punched 3x/week. And the cardio warm-ups are too intense for a guy in my shape.

BJJ is fun.... moreso if you find the right people to train with... that want to learn without the testosterone/ego. But generally, I've found anywhere I've gone... the guys have been pretty cool and helpful. There's a mutual respect amongst grapplers.

With that being said.... there's certainly a competitive spirit

[TheGoodBits]

I've always been interested in BJJ. May take a class some time before I graduate.

I took the class at Mason my freshman year, and my friend is taking it this coming semester. So. Much. Fun. You definitely need to before you graduate, especially if you have some credits to burn.

[PokerPacker]

I took the class at Mason my freshman year, and my friend is taking it this coming semester. So. Much. Fun. You definitely need to before you graduate, especially if you have some credits to burn.

Its good to hear that the class is good at Mason, because I had really been looking into taking it. It was closed by the time I registered for next semester's classes, though

[SnyderShrugged]

Awesome DH! Sounds like you have found a great mis of entertainment/recreation/ and fitness!

I trained in BJJ and JJJ for a few years too. It changed my life a bunch.

[pez]

I always thought Capoeira was pretty cool...

[KDawg]

I train MMA... Or I trained MMA. Having a hard time getting to the dojo due to the fact I run football workouts and the school won't allow me any other time other than the days that the dojo I train at is open... At the exact same times I have football.

So I haven't been there.

Love every second of it. Had two faux fights where we went about 75%.

First one the guy was much better than me at BJJ, tried to stay standing with an occasional take down. Went three rounds. No clear winner.

Second one the kid I went against has a VICIOUS kick. My whole goal in that one was to avoid his feet... PS: His feet don't know what 75% is. He hit me with one kick that made it tough to walk for a week and a half.

Anyways, that fight only lasted about a minute and a half. He kicked me a few times... I timed it up and waited for him to throw another one... I shot on him, drove him to the mat. He attempted a triangle choke from that position, I blocked it, punched him in the face and went for an arm bar... he rolled out of it, but he had too much momentum... I rolled with him and wound up in the full mount and I went to town. He tapped not too long after that. I love the sport. I have to get back into it again.

It's a necessity.

[Forehead]

DH, I took BJJ for about 2 years during college, both in school and then at an actual place. Maybe I'm misreading what you typed, but how are you already a blue belt after only a month? Where I went, I was told that generally takes an average of 3 years to progress in rank. Since there are only 5 ranks till Black Belt (I think karate has something like 12) getting to blue is actually a pretty solid achievement.

Anyway, definitely work on your conditioning, especially your legs. The school I went to required you to do 100 squats at the beginning of class (in addition to other conditioning) before you could start training/grappling. And the Gi you wear in BJJ gets really freaking heavy after you've been sweating for awhile.

I had to give it up, mostly because of cost and because it was difficult to go from a structured BJJ environment back to college, where the martial arts club was more about teaching parts of different arts (I learned some Karate, TKD, etc.) and was not nearly as rigorous. Once I graduated and started working full time, I gave it up completely.

I always thought Capoeira was pretty cool...

It's fun to watch, and "Only the Strong" was a classically bad movie, but from what I've seen in early MMA, Capoeira is pretty useless against other trained fighters.

[KDawg]

And the Gi you wear in BJJ gets really freaking heavy after you've been sweating for awhile.

No Gi is the way to go

[Forehead]

No Gi is the way to go

I think it's a requirement to spar in same BJJ places. At least, it was in mine. Keep in mind that my time was back in 2001-2003 before MMA became really popular and mainstream, so the concept of well rounded fighters in multiple disciplines didn't exist. We had to wear the Gi.

[KDawg]

I think it's a requirement to spar in same BJJ places. At least, it was in mine. Keep in mind that my time was back in 2001-2003 before MMA became really popular and mainstream, so the concept of well rounded fighters in multiple disciplines didn't exist. We had to wear the Gi.

That stinks. And yes, some places are Gi only. I prefer the places that aren't.

I'm not a fan of the Gi at all. But I can see why some people love the thing. Really gives you a ton of opportunities.

[Forehead]

That stinks. And yes, some places are Gi only. I prefer the places that aren't.

I'm not a fan of the Gi at all. But I can see why some people love the thing. Really gives you a ton of opportunities.

Well, not at the place I went to. They usually matched up the new guys with the blue belts. Not a malicious thing...basically the blue belts would let us attempt to get chokes, holds, whatever, would block them, and we'd move on to the next thing. Made us sweat a ton, but it was probably smarter than matching two white belts up and having someone get hurt. Eventually, we'd (the white belts) get through our limited repetoire of moves, they'd (blue belts) decide to stop humoring us, and they'd pull something on us.

The most humbling was when a guy somehow choked me out using my Gi sleeves. Years later, I'm still trying to figure out how that one worked.

[KDawg]

The most humbling was when a guy somehow choked me out using my Gi sleeves. Years later, I'm still trying to figure out how that one worked.

This is what I meant by tons of opportunities. The Gi is a weapon in and of itself.

[StillUnknown]

No Gi is the way to go

i dont know about that one. there's something strangely thrilling about choking someone out with their own Gi

[Tweedr01]

I like both, you can still choke out people with their own arms. Gi is definitely the way to go while training though, definitely better cardio. That thing really starts to weigh on you after 1 1/2 hours.

Forehead your right for the most part, most BJJ places emphasize you know what you are doing before you go up a belt. Usually 1 - 3 years for that first belt, I almost have my blue right now. Some places work differently though, all depends on the trainer. I was talking about my BJJ training with a few people I know, and a girl piped up that she had her yellow belt....I didn't say anything at the time but its White, Blue, Purple, Brown, Black. This yellow belt must have been something they handed her to make her feel special, I dunno.

[SkinzFoLife]

A Gracie Barra just opened up a few blocks from my house and due to my arthritic knee I was looking at BJJ since most striking TMA's aren't good for my knee. I was thinking about Judo as well, since I think its more pratical self defense as it preaches more throws than single and double leg takedowns. I know BJJ uses some Judo throws and trips but I think judo has more and since Jiu Jitsu came from Judo... why not right? Sure is hard to find Judo Dojos' nowadays though.

[Forehead]

Forehead your right for the most part, most BJJ places emphasize you know what you are doing before you go up a belt. Usually 1 - 3 years for that first belt, I almost have my blue right now. Some places work differently though, all depends on the trainer. I was talking about my BJJ training with a few people I know, and a girl piped up that she had her yellow belt....I didn't say anything at the time but its White, Blue, Purple, Brown, Black. This yellow belt must have been something they handed her to make her feel special, I dunno.

Was she talking about BJJ? According to Wikipedia, BJJ techincally has 7 belts, after black there is a red and black, then a red one, but they were never discussed where I trained.

None of them were yellow though. I know forms of Karate, Taw Kwon Do, etc. have something like 12 belt colors, and then another 10 levels of Black Belt. Maybe she meant she was a yellow belt in Karate or something.

[SkinzFoLife]

Red Belts in BJJ are almost unheard of. I thought Red Belts were grand master level? Like Grandpa Gracie who just passed was a Red Belt.

[GibbsFactor]

There's a Gracie gym in Alexandria.

What should I know if I wanted to get into it? I've got a slightly bum knee due to a partially torn meniscus. I do have some greco skills from high school.

Should I be in pretty good shape first?

[SkinzFoLife]

I would say your joints would need to be in good shapre, especially in the shoulders. Good flexibilty in your hips and legs but as all know who have taken some sort of Martial Arts class, you can learn to be flexible by stretching. I took tae kwon do, and whithin 1 month I could do the splits. Brutal stretching. With a wrestling base you should be good. Just know that Wrestlers don't do well off their backs and thats the basis of BJJ, working off your back to beat a bigger and stronger opponent.

[Forehead]

There's a Gracie gym in Alexandria.

What should I know if I wanted to get into it? I've got a slightly bum knee due to a partially torn meniscus. I do have some greco skills from high school.

Should I be in pretty good shape first?

Depends on how much they emphasize conditioning at first. As I said earlier, the place I trained at used to require that you do 100 squats (the kind where you brush the ground with your fingers, Hindu squats or whatever they're called) before moving on to other conditioning. They didn't force you to do them all at once, but you had to finish them, breaks or not, before you could start everything else.

This wasn't a place that catered to kids/families though, so it could be different. BJJ should be alright for your knee, you aren't kicking or being kicked. But you do need to use your legs a lot for control and for a few holds, so make sure it's sound before you start.

EDIT* What SkinsfoLife said. I had a small bit of wrestling in my background, nothing substantial, but recognizing that being on my back was okay, and sometimes a superior position, was one of the mental blocks I had to overcome.

[Mooney]

Instead of playing basketball this year, my 10 year old son is taking this with some of his buddies. He loves it.

[GibbsFactor]

I would say your joints would need to be in good shapre, especially in the shoulders. Good flexibilty in your hips and legs but as all know who have taken some sort of Martial Arts class, you can learn to be flexible by stretching. I took tae kwon do, and whithin 1 month I could do the splits. Brutal stretching. With a wrestling base you should be good. Just know that Wrestlers don't do well off their backs and thats the basis of BJJ, working off your back to beat a bigger and stronger opponent.

My knee is usually good to go but get some pain during cold weather. I play flag football, basketball and softball pretty regularly and was able to do workouts like P90x without any issues.

But one thing I'm worried about is I also have some sort of shoulder problem. Like a rotator cuff injury or something. I guess I should get that checked out first.

[Destino]

Diehard are you gaining any more interest in UFC fights and the like now that you understand the ground game a lot more? I've found that understanding the ground game is the biggest barrier for fans. Anyone can understand the stand up if they've seen a boxing match or a fist fight... the ground and the clinch is where the real technical aspect come into play IMO.

BTW - Congrats on finding something you can really get into. BJJ is a great sport. I'd do more of it but my lower back doesn't like it. I'm working on improving my flexibility and overall core strength before I join a gym. I like you have done a bunch of workouts with people that understood it.