The Slow and the Fast Way to Get Better in Jiu-Jitsu!

There are two ways to get Jiu-Jitsu knowledge... 

For instance, you can stay in bottom side control and keep getting choked over and over and over again until you "accidentally"  stumble on the right defense or you can do what very few people will do and simply ASK the instructor or another high ranking belt how to get out or how to fix their  errors and save themselves ALOT of trouble and heartache.  I know...that sounds obviously easy doesn't it?

The problem I see with the vast majority of students is they don't ask enough questions or even ANY at all. They might feel stupid...or intimidated...or they think they are bugging their instructor...OR they just don't think about it at the time.  All of which can cause a longer learning process and the diminished chance to become better...quicker.

I promise you that if you will get a reputation for the person who is always asking sincere questions in class, your reputation will one day change to the person who is always kicking everyone's azz.

Video: Keith Owen vs. Ryron Gracie.

This past week-end I attended two Ryron Gracie Seminars.  Ryron is a 5^th degree black belt, the Grand Son of Helio Gracie and Co- owner of the Gracie Academy.    My friend Greg Gordon and I hosted Ryron at my school in Boise and I and several friends spent a 6 hour car ride with him for his second seminar at Pedro Sauer Black Belt Jared Emfield’s School in Idaho Falls Idaho.

It was quite an honor to spend the time with Ryron and get a better sense of his Jiu-Jitsu philosophy.  We had a ton of questions for him ranging from what Grand Master Helio was like to the Metamoris Tournament  to rolling with many famous people.  It was a great time! 

The one thing that I got out of these seminars besides some great moves was some validation of my Professor, Pedro Sauer’s brand of Jiu-Jitsu.   Ryron uses the term “Keep it Playful” to describe his style of rolling.  Professor Sauer has said the same thing many times to his students including feeling free to liberally tap when you want to and not having a death match or prove anything every time you roll.  He also pointed out that you don’t have to always attack and you can merely defend until your opponent literally forces you to take a pass or a submission.  Ryron and I are very similar in philosophy in that aspect.  When I mentioned that to him he seemed a bit shocked like “Wow, not very many people are like that.”  

Ryron likes to roll with people at his seminar and made it clear that he didn’t really care what your belt color was.  I decided to step up and try my hand at rolling with a Gracie (Roy Dean did as well).  The cool thing about Ryron was that he wasn’t afraid to tap  to show case his skill at Keeping it Playful.  He didn't really care.

I however, came out on the tapping end of this deal but watching us roll you can tell that we were trying our best to use the technique and the attitude of ” Keeping it Playful.” He and I could have turned it up another 50%, but really, why?  We wanted to use the purest of technique we could and there is no way I’m going to insult a Gracie by using brute force to “try” to overcome technique.  My only regret is that we didn’t train for another hour, it was so much fun!

The last thing I would like to say about Ryron is he is such a trash talker!   I say that in a light -hearted way because he is trying to get into my head the whole time…that didn’t work…but I can see how it could for others.  I‘ve been around the block a time or two and tried to verbally turn it around on him…Good Times! 

Keith Owen vs. Ryron Gracie-Keepin it Playful! 

At around the one minute mark you hear him say “take it” on my submission attempt. I say “I don’t want to”..lol

Click Here: Keith Owen vs. Ryron Gracie- Survival Skills 101

Keith Owen  on Playing Jiu-Jitsu.  Listen around the 8:15 mark to hear me talk about playing in Jiu-Jitsu from a seminar I did in June 2009.  This is what Professor Sauer taught us and mirrors Ryron's philosophy. 

  

Tapping 10,000 Times from a June 2009 Seminar


Ryron Gracie's Blog  keepitplayful.com 
  
Keepitplayful.com 

Video: How to Get More Women into Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu!

Here is my new video "reacting" to all the reaction from certain women concerning my recent blog post.

 My Previous Blog Post that caused all the fuss.

"Can Women Really Handle Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?" 

I got a lot of comments from this, a LOT of positives and a LOT of negatives including a couple death threats. Good thing I am pro gun and can defend myself(another reason to hate me)…Check it out if you dare.

My New Video about all the criticism. 

Keith Owen: How to Get More Women Into Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu!

  

Can Women Really Handle Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?

Keith Owen: How to Get More Women Into Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

The Science of Skill

This weeks blog is someone else s blog interviewing me.  Check it out!

Science of Skill Article on Keith Owen.


Here is my new video from Submissions 101 on how to improve your cross choke as well!

The Cobra Cross Collar Choke!

CREONTE!!

This is a very difficult topic for me to blog on especially from an American Jiu-Jitsu instructor perspective.  In America team loyalty is important BUT students leave their instructors for various reasons all the time.  Are they wrong?  Not necessarily. 

 

I have thought long and hard about this issue before giving my thoughts because I'm torn…but here goes.

 A “Creonte” is a Brazilian term that derived its meaning from a Brazilian soap opera where one of the main characters would constantly switch allegiances with the other characters. This term carried over to BJJ to mean that a “high level” student leaves a school he or she is training at to go train with a rival team, in essence becoming a  “traitor”.  

Before the popularity of the internet training academies would literally have secret moves that they used against rival schools. In many cases the instructor took a poor kid off the street and trained them for free as a future champion, only to see that student go into the hands of the “Enemy.”   To lose a top level student to another academy was a disastrous proposition. I would personally say that this is a moral character defect on the part of the student and I would hope that Karma would pay him back one day.

In America things seem to be a bit different in the sense that most students pay a fee to train at a specific academy.  This is mostly a business transaction here in America and thus as customers they are free to go and train at whatever school they desire.   

Many do so because they live closer to the other school, or want to pay a cheaper fee or they don't like the other students, they might be getting hurt too much, the instructor could be a dishonest person or they don’t do tournament training or they DO do tournament training or heaven forbid, the school might just be better than the one they were at.  Does that make them a traitor?  If you’re the instructor I’m sure it would be “Yes”, in my mind, again, not necessarily.   

This is especially true if the student is a LOWER level student who might have just found his first school by accident. He knew nothing about BJJ and he decided that the schools logo was cool and that’s why he decided to train there.   Does he have a right to go somewhere else if he wants?  You bet.

What I don’t accept is a medium to high level student who has been training for years, proclaiming to love his school, the people, the instructor and the training who for one reason or another decides to leave to better himself  through another instructor’s promises of quick belt promotions, teaching opportunities or promises of free tuition.  I refer to this kind of student as “a piece of crap”, in other words a Creonte.   It’s happened to me before including taking some of my students with him! What are you to do?

 If you are an instructor who has experienced this as I have you need to turn the focus back on you and ask yourself (as I did) some fundamental questions, Am I really giving the VERY best classes I can? Am I up on the latest techniques of Jiu-Jitsu? Do I really want my students better than me?  Am I doing my best to make my students succeed?  Am I fair in my promotions? Am I NOT playing favorites with some students at the expense of others?   

If you can answer all of these questions in the affirmative then the fault probably lies in the student and not you.  It still hurts though.

Take a good hard look at your students.  If they are people with low morals, long criminal records and bad attitudes then what are you expecting from these types of people?  Loyalty? Really?  If they are good,honest people, are you giving them opportunities to shine, to teach, help the school and consequently themselves? It’s only right.

If you’re a student you need to show loyalty to your instructor!  Look very hard at your motives before deciding to leave your current instructor. Talk to your instructor first! In many cases, the grass is not always greener on the other side.  If you do leave an excellent instructor because of selfish and disloyal motives (in your heart you know) then be prepared to wear the moniker of “Creonte.” You deserve it. 

I heard a saying that goes like this “If your best friend borrows 20 bucks, promises to pay you back and then skips town…Wasn’t that a cheap price to get rid of a bad friend?”   Better to not have given that disloyal student a black belt from your linage because he will be your black belt for life.  I promise you that you will be better off with that student gone.  I know I was.

P.S. If you are a student who trains at two different BJJ academies without the knowledge of both instructors then you are a "Creonte." Pick a school and be loyal.

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“I’d like to punch you in the Face”! Why strikes are important in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu!

For this article I’m narrowing my focus to ground punching for a "grappling/BJJ" school, nothing stand-up oriented.  So, don’t go emailing me about how I should be standing or this is how MMA does it. I got it.

There is a funny saying about BJJ Black Belts that goes, “If you want to turn a bjj black belt into a brown belt, punch him in the face.  If you want to turn him into a purple belt, punch him again.” I don’t believe this is quite true but there can be a shred of truth none the less.  I, personally, have a couple stand up martial arts black belts along with my BJJ black belt and I have been punched in the face quite a few times over the years. I have also done a lot of grappling and punching in my time as well. So punching is nothing new to me.  But it has traditionally not been explored by many of my students and many in the Gracie community. 

I was recently training with one of my students Tren Long getting him ready for an MMA fight he wanted to do.  Tren is a brown belt and one of my best students.  I was helping him with some of his grappling and striking.  We trained for a while, both of us taking care not to hurt each other’s feelings or faces.  We both know each other’s games pretty well so it made for a very interesting time. I have never had such a great sparring session in all my life and to be honest I got the worst end of the deal that day.

It made me make a decision on something I had been thinking about for a long time.  What good is saying you teach “Gracie Jiu-Jitsu” if you never throw punches?  How realistic is that?  It’s one thing to train in the gi which I find to be a very realistic self-defense training tool.  People wear coats and pants on the street all the time. I also teach the Gracie Stand-up Self Defense.  But you need to take it a step further and don the gloves while you spar!

Here are some problems with never punching during your rolls.  One thing about doing straight gi Jiu-Jitsu is that you tend to not worry about your head and face.  If a guy can look at your head then he can probably tag it.  Checking his arms is vital.  In this kind of scenario you will need to modify your game to take this into account.   

The second concern is that you have no time to be hanging out when you are on the bottom especially if you get mounted.  Mount escaping while you are being punched is paramount. Get out of there!   

Third, disrupting your opponent’s base from the bottom is amazingly important so he can’t get off clean shots at you!  Finally, punching while grappling shows you to get your ass on top during a real fight!  

I’m sure your sitting there saying, “What’s the big deal, we have been doing this all along?”  I commend you for it.  The only problem is that I have been to a lot of BJJ schools that don’t but they should.  They will get a real eye-opening experience If they did.

Let me end by saying that punch throwing should be a once in a while kind of thing...using MMA Gloves of course.   Solid fundamentals are developed by practicing non- punching  free rolling.  Those fundamentals are tested and enhanced by the anvil of the fist though.  Remember that punching doesn’t have to be hard with your partner.  A simple tap lets him know that “I just punched you in the face.” So don’t go knocking teeth out. 

 I’m incorporating more punching with my students from now on so they can become better Gracie Jiu-Jitsu practitioners.  I think this will be the deciding factor when people ask, “What’s the difference between Sport and Self-Defense BJJ.” 

Good luck with that X-Guard.



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