JiujitsuGeeks Year One

Wow, what a fun year this has been for us at JiujitsuGeeks. The podcast and blog was not even a thing when we rang in 2012. The whole idea to do a podcast came from a conversation Aaron and I had in a parking lot after a jiu-jitsu class. Both of us are huge podcast listeners and were discussing the growing medium when Aaron proposed we start one ourselves. Then, and now, the idea sounds totally crazy. Two guys who are not personal bloggers or overly tech savvy starting their own blog and internet program? It took a lot of figuring out for the both of us. Although it remains a work in progress, I am pretty proud and impressed with what we have accomplished. Not only do we have a good product but the number of downloads and page views is a testament that we are on the right track.

After a few months it became clear that the JiujitsuGeeks had to expand its ranks. We choose to recruit our friend and training partner, Brian. Being young with zero attachments in this world, Brian brought forward a crazy enthusiasm for hearing his own voice as well as unique insights into how to expand our brand.  He is also a talented photographer which is always handy to have on staff. Brian is similar to one of those armless Bob punching bags…he may mean mug but he takes a lot of abuse.

The JiujitsuGeeks are also very fortunate to have a good support network in our inner BJJ circle. We would not have grown the way we have if we were not allowed access to the talented friends of our mentor, Gustavo Machado. Gustavo has been very supportive of us since the beginning and has helped arrange many of our best interviews.  If you are reading this, Gustavo, thank you VERY much.

Also, I have to thank Chris Mahan. Chris is our primary instructor and is gracious enough to lend us his mat space to record many of our episodes. He is also the best go-to guest we could ask for.  His knowledge and understanding of jiu-jitsu makes for some interesting conversations. Thanks, Chris!  

I am pretty excited for what we have planned for the future. We are lining up a few interesting interviews and are formulating ideas for some good articles. We have figured out a way to do distance interviews and have already begun scheduling time with some leading figures in the BJJ world.  Our goal is not just to produce a podcast for the sake of putting out a product but to deliver something interesting and entertaining.  Weather it is talking to the world renowned Renzo Gracie or the owner of a local yoga chain who happens to love BJJ, we aim to showcase the spectrum of the arte suave. Enjoy…the best is yet to come.

E.T.   

Review of Scramble Spats

If I could travel back in time 5 years there would be a list of a few things that I would guess I would never have in my future.  That list would include:

A child

Health Insurance

A Freddy Mercury style mustache

Grappling spats

Here in the present day, I have all of those except for the mustache. It’s not that I don’t want to look like the lead singer of Queen…it is just that I don’t have that type of facial hair growth ability hardwired in my DNA.

Owning the grappling spats takes even me by surprise. I have seen them advertised and worn by the BJJ and MMA elite but could never see me wearing a pair. At first glance they look like just a pair of tights. If you readers are anything like me then you got your fill of wearing tights when you unsuccessfully tried to become a super hero in your mid-teen years. Our buddy Aaron at www.martialartssupplies.com asked the Jiu-jitsu Geeks to review a pair for his website and I am the one that got the assignment.

Vital Stats:

Brand:  Scramble

Style:  Basic

Color:  Black / White

Retail Price:  $59.99 (www.martialartssupplies.com)

Size:  XL – This is at least a size 36inch pants.

Number of times worn:  14

Number of times washed:  14

Review:

It is pretty obvious to state, but the Scramble grappling spats are a rashguard for your legs. They are thin enough to be worn with grappling shorts or even under your gi. I used them in both nogi and gi classes. The best use was in nogi. Wearing them under a gi can get pretty heat intensive. After an intense warm up, I had to hit the changing room to take the off from under my gi pants.

Nogi, however, was a different story. They breathed nicely and did not bunch up at all. Usually, with a long sleeve rashguard, after a few washes the sleeve area becomes loose. It would only make sense that the same would happen to the ankle part of the Scramble spats, right? It didn’t. The material help its elasticity after several warm ups, drilling and sparring sessions, and washes. That is the highest compliment I can give the Scramble spats. Because we are in such a physically demanding activity, durability or our attire is always a concern. I can safely say the Scramble spats will last a long time and many washes.

The designs on the Scramble spats are minimal at best. Scramble makes a rainbow or multicolored spats but the pair I reviewed had minimal art design. The famous Scramble logo is on the lower right leg and the “Original and Best Ganso” logo is on the right hip. The pants are black and the seams are white. For someone like myself who never considered owning a pair, minimal design is much preferred. After repeated use and washes, the artwork has not faded or chipped a bit.

Conclusion:

The Scramble spats are great product. They are made of the highest quality and were designed with great attention to detail. I have taken to keeping them in my gym bag for days when unwashed newbies come to class or when I am rolling on foreign mats. When I do finally wear through the Scramble spats, I will be ordering another pair. Of course, from www.martialartssupplies.com

Final Grade - A

Where to order? www.martialartssupplies.com

E.T.

JiujitsuGeeks Podcast / Mauricio Tinguinha Mariano

In this episode of the podcast, JiujitsuGeek Aaron and Brian talk to Mauricio "Tinguinha" Mariano. Tinguinha is a living legend of BJJ and close friend to our own Gustavo Machado. Whenever Tinguinha comes into VA he always makes a stop in Va. Beach to teach a seminar at Gustavo's academy. How could we miss the opportunity to talk BJJ royalty? Enjoy!

JiujitsuGeeks Podcast / Mauricio "Tinguinha" Mariano Interview V.2

E.T.

Tinguina's Bio at BJJ Heros

www.tinguinha.com

Tinguinha

L to R - Gustavo Machado, Tinguinha, Aaron, Brian

The last thing you want to see on your opponent gi at a competition. 

The nicest bad dudes you will ever meet. 

JiujitsuGeeks Podcast / Renzo Gracie

I really don't need to tell you who Renzo Gracie is or what he contributed to MMA or BJJ. If you don't know who he is then today must be your first day studying the art of jiujitsu so congratulations!
I also don't need to mention what a huge honor it was to be able to get a few minutes of Master Renzo's  attention for the podcast. We just finished up a seminar he conducted at Team Mannon BJJ in Blacksburg, Va (http://teammannonbjj.com) and we already on cloud 9 because of the cool stuff we just learned.
This podcast was recorded in two parts. The first part is a post seminar review with Brian, Aaron, and myself. The second part is the actual interview with Renzo.

A big thanks to Tim Mannon for hosting the Renzo seminar and being very hospitable to all of his guests. Tim treats everybody like family..no matter if he has met you before or not. If you are in Blacksburg and are looking for a place to train, be sure to check him out!

 Enjoy!

E.T.

JiujitsuGeeks Podcast / Renzo Gracie

You can find Renzo on the web here.. www.renzogracie.com

Brian being very cool! 

Renzo teaching Aaron some finer points of side control

Renzo corrected Chris on something. I think. 

Renzo and his Tim Mannon

Renzo signing E.T.'s poster. We are nerds. 

Renzo and E.T

One last photo with the master.

Is Jiu-Jitsu Really For Everybody?

If you’ve been training for any length of time you’ve undoubtedly heard “jiu-jitsu is for everybody”, “anybody can do jiu-jitsu” or something similar.  And we’d like to believe it.  After all, this fighting system was revised from its Japanese predecessor to utilize body position and leverage to allow a smaller person trained in the art to overcome a stronger, larger opponent.  But is that really the case?  Can anybody really do jiu-jitsu?  At the most basic level, yes.  Pretty much anybody can do it to one degree or another.  The question that instead needs to be asked is:  Can anybody really be successful at jiu-jitsu?  The answer to that isn’t so cut and dry.

To be successful in this sport a combination of mental and physical attributes are needed, arguably the most important of which is resilience.  Let’s face it… if you give up easily at stuff, jiu-jitsu isn’t for you.  It takes years (for most people) to even get decent at jiu-jitsu and much longer than that to earn a black belt.  This doesn’t just apply to long-term jiu-jitsu goals like earning the next belt; we’re faced with tough situations every class where it might be easier to slack off during the last few reps of an exercise or give up on a position during a tough roll.  Hanging in there is what will inevitably separate the person who gets their black belt from the one that made it to a four-stripe blue belt and then faded out.

Another characteristic that goes hand-in-hand with resilience is resolve.  Being able to grit your teeth and bear it when the going gets tough.  It’s what gets you through those times when somebody catches a choke that’s almost all the way on and is squeezing 100%, or when you get mounted 30 seconds into a round against an upper belt or when you’re in bottom side control against somebody way bigger and you’d rather die than keep going.  If you aren’t able to gut through those types of situations you might see some success in bjj, but not as much as you could. 

For the most part Jiu-jitsu is an individual sport, but it requires that you train with a team.  So a good, humble attitude will get you a long way.  This point is pretty simple, don’t be a douche to the people you train with.  If you’re new, know that just because you watch The Ultimate Fighter doesn’t mean that you know jiu-jitsu.  There’s more to it than grabbing on to somebody’s head and squeezing, and frankly if you come in with a bad attitude you will be dealt with.

So far we’ve only discussed mental attributes, but jiu-jitsu is obviously extremely physical so some physical attributes are needed to be successful.  Athletes that train on a high level are never 100% and when you’re training hard in a sport specifically designed to attack your body’s weak spots, you will get injured eventually.  More often than not you’ll just suffer from bumps, bruises, muscle soreness, etc.  To be able to train hard, often, and improve consistently you need to be able take a little discomfort.  If you take two weeks off for a bit of gi burn or one of your ears getting a little puffy than your jiu-jitsu progress will be significantly slower.  So, know your limits and know when to suck it up and train.

Another thing you need is some physical potential.  You don’t have to have “potential” on par with BJ Penn or Andre Galvao.  But the bottom line is that jiu-jitsu is uber-physical and a certain minimum level of strength, speed, flexibility, physical dexterity, coordination and cardiovascular capacity are necessary to make it past white belt.  And even if you don’t meet those minimum requirements when you first come to the academy, you need to have the potential to eventually get to that point.  “That point” isn’t necessarily where you are an exact physical equal with your teammates, but where you can at least hang with them.

This isn’t meant to be an all-inclusive list, it’s intended merely as a deeper look inside one of Brazilian jiu-jitsu’s biggest selling points.  What we’ve seen here is that to enjoy success in jiu-jitsu there are certain requirements that a person must have.  The good part is that all you need is a modicum of these and jiu-jitsu will expand on what you’ve got and give you what you need.  So get on the mats and keep getting better!

Train hard,

-Brian

JiujitsuGeeks Episode 13 / Eddie Bravo Seminar Review

On this episode of the podcast Aaron, Brian, and I discuss a recent seminar we attended with Eddie Bravo. Eddie is a legend in the BJJ and MMA world so getting to spend some time learning his 10th Planet system was worth the 2 hour drive to Woodbridge, Va. You can hear all about it in the podcast below. Enjoy!

Oh, this was also Brian's first time introducing an podcast. Feel free to tell us (being as harsh as you like) at @TheJiujitsuGeek or e-mail jiujitsugeeks@gmail.com

E.T.

Click below!!


The JiujitsuGeeks Podcast Episode 13 / Eddie Bravo Seminar Review

The legend Eddie Bravo

E.T. getting some stuff signed by Eddie. I am one of those idiot fanboys.  

Not sure what I am trying to express to Eddie but I am just glad he did not choke me to shut me up.

JiujitsuGeeks Episode 12 / The Pork Sandwich Conundrum

After a long hiatus the JiujitsuGeeks return with a new podcast. This week we talk about Carol Gracie, his early life, and the 12 principles he lived by. We touch on a few upcoming things in the BJJ world also. Enjoy!

E.T.

JiujitsuGeeks Episode 12 / The Pork Sandwich Conundrum

Carlos Gracie - Creator Of A Dynasty

Martial Arts Pioneer and Philosopher