Posted on

How to Roll During BJJ Sparring: Five Principles

Mat time is the best time. You should — and almost always will — feel better about everything after a solid night of training. In order to get the most out of mat time, it helps to think about your approach.

One of the rarest but smartest questions I get from newer people is, phrased one way or another, “How do I roll?” Sometimes people are looking for a technique to start a sparring session with, just to get the game going. Sometimes people don’t want to be jerk people complain about having to roll with. Often, people want to know how to maximize the value they get from rolling sessions.

All of these are great reasons, and they hint at an important meta-principle about jiujitsu: don’t be afraid to ask questions! People want to help you progress. Besides, we’ve all seen problems created when someone erroneously assumes they know the rolling culture of their gym without having to ask.

Here are five principles that should help, especially for newer people.

Continue reading “How to Roll During BJJ Sparring: Five Principles”

Posted on

Toro Cup 7: the Finishes

Posted on

A Few More First Round Matches to Watch Today at IBJJF Worlds

I’ve already listed the local North Carolina and surrounding areas competitors to follow, and FloGrappling has their own list of 10 first-round matches to watch. But looking through the brackets, I found a few more first-round clashes that I think are worth seeking out.

Ana Carolina Vieira vs. Ida Floisvik, Mat 12, 8:40 p.m. Eastern Time.: Ana Carolina has a crushing top game and great movement; Ida is the absolute champion at the New York Open for this year (and a former podcast guest). This is a tough first-round match, but that’s to be expected in the stacked women’s black belt middleweight division. And speaking of which …

Monique Elias vs. Leanna Dittrich, Mat 12, 7:52 Eastern Time. Leanna Dittrich is an accomplished Fight Sports black belt under Roberto Cyborg Abreu. Monique Elias is the defending world champion and the favorite to win this division, a division with no soft spots. This won’t be an easy first-round match, and the winner gets the victor of Caitlin Huggins vs. Amanda Loewen.

Tayane Porfirio vs. Venla Luukkonen is also a first-round match worth matching, and not just because it’s the final of the super-heavyweight division. That’s on Mat 2 at 7:08 Eastern Time. If Luiza Monteiro and Tammi Musumeci win their first-round matches, they meet in the second round of the lightweight division, and that should be a fun one, too.

Posted on

PODCAST: Pedro Sauer and Murilo Bustamante

Some photos from the Pedro Sauer headquarters that are referenced in this show. This is Grandmaster Helio Gracie’s choking log:

Here is one of Grandmaster Helio’s gis, made with sail cloth: 

Here is the wall that every black belt who visits the academy is invited to sign: