James Clingerman and The Von Flue Choke

I want to endorse a new video I saw from a young black belt named James Clingerman.  It’s entitled "Mastering The Von Flue Choke."   

In the series James is able to get the Von Flue Choke from so many positions that it’s hard for me to fathom.  I was blown away from all the sheer awesomeness that this video series had to offer!  I think this is such an important position (especially for self-defense) that I thought I must highlight it on my blog. 

I’m afraid that a video of this significance will merely disappear in the heap of all the other countless videos have gone away because of non exposure.  I think it’s changed my game and added a bunch of new options especially when someone tries to wrap my neck (hint hint) for any reason.  

 I don’t endorse anything that isn’t awesome.  I am not making any money off of this video.  Check it out if you want to get better



 This is not the video but an intro.  It gets so much deeper.

The Von Flue Choke with James Clingerman


You can download "Mastering the Von Flue Choke"  at 
The Fight Hub 

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How I treat my Blue Belts.

Being a blue belt is a rough time, both in learning grappling fundamentals and putting up with loss and disappointment.  Injury is prevalent and good technique is scarce. This is the time where many students quit because it’s difficult and because it takes so freakin long to get to purple belt, in many cases up to five years.  I would also like to add that I’m  an advocate for adding another belt in their somewhere but that is a blog for another time. 

I love my blue belts dearly.  They represent all the potential that the school has to offer.  This is the belt that I’m the toughest on concerning defense and choosing when and how you use strength as well as getting the fundamental building blocks of correct technique laid out so they use more angles.  

I let my blue belt students know that the goal is purple belt.  It’s the longest belt to get to.  It’s the hardest belt to get and I judge them severely on how they grapple in order to achieve it.  

Getting through blue belt can mean the difference between getting a black belt and not getting a black belt.  The reason you ask?  Once you get the coveted purple belt then it’s all downhill from there. It’s only a matter of time.  It’s polish, polish, polish instead of prove, prove, prove. 

Remember this (as a blue belt) is where you PROVE yourself to your instructor.  If you feel you deserve it just because you show up and are friendly, you would be wrong.  In my school it’s proving that you understand the fundamentals of all positions and you are a very difficult opponent to grapple with on an intermediate level.  You are also an amazingly tough person on the inside and the outside. 

Is this you?

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