Aikido is a unique form of martial art. Its emphasis lies on the harmonious fusion of mind and body with the natural laws of Nature. Aikido concentrates on accepting and respecting the energy of life and nature and channeling this harmony onto strategies that expresses this energy in physical forms.
How Did Brazilian Jiu-jitsu Arise?
January 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Brazilian jiu-jitsu ultimately comes from Japan. A man named Mitsuyo Maeda was sent to Brazil to spread the teachings of his master, Kano Jigoro. These teachings were essentially of judo; however, the difference seemed to mean little to the Brazilians and the name jiu-jitsu came about instead. At any rate, Maeda was welcomed in Brazil and he proceeded to teach the skills promoted by his master’s group, the Kodokan.
Among the people that Maeda associated with was a man with the last name Gracie. Brazilian jiu-jitsu is very much linked to the Gracie name and this is where it began. Carlos Gracie began being taught by Maeda and subsequently in 1921, transferred his lessons to his brothers,
The Rise to the Top of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu
December 22, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Brazilian jiu jitsu schools can trace their roots to the early 1920s when the Gracie family began to learn jiu jitsu from a master visiting from Japan. Gracie Jiu-jitsu developed from the teaching Helio Gracie and his brothers received into a discipline that would allow a smaller fighter to best a bigger and stronger one. Helio continued to adapt the martial art techniques so that they became even more efficient and soon he was earning the respect of those around him.
As he grew more competent, Helio launched the origins of Gracie Jiu-jitsu in a succession of high profile competitions. In spite of not always winning these contests, Helio received acclaim for lasting a good deal longer than anybody thought he would be able to against more powerful and
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Requires Commitment and Focus
November 28, 2009 By Leave a Comment
If you decide to get involved in Brazilian jiu jitsu training, you will not be alone. There are a large number of Brazilian jiu-jitsu academies that have opened across North America in order to supply the demand for training in this discipline. Mixed martial arts tournaments have been the perfect platform for showing how Brazilian jiu jitsu can often
Cutting Weight for Mixed Martial Arts and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
May 21, 2009 By Leave a Comment
The issue of short-term weight loss is prevalent in all combat sports. Most combat sports including amateur wrestling, mma, boxing, or kickboxing require their competitors to be at a certain weight limit. Depending on the regulations of each sport, the amount and methods of weight cutting can differ greatly.
The term weight-cutting is often used broadly by athletes to refer to both the long-term process which includes dieting and the short-term process which focuses primarily on shedding water weight shortly prior to the weigh-in.
Mixed Martial Arts events often hold public weigh-ins (much like boxing) up to 24 hours prior to the athletic events. In these cases, it not uncommon to find athletes losing and gaining back in excess of 10% of their body weight. These massive short-term weight cuts often involve
MMA Training: Should I Train when I'm Sick?
May 16, 2009 By Leave a Comment
For the athlete or martial artist, one of the most frustrating situations one can face is when one is slightly injured or sick. Unlike a severe injury, the athlete often faces increased self-doubt about his own toughness. For example, at my Baltimore MMA gym, one of my top Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competitors, had to undergo major shoulder surgery. There was absolutely no possible way he could practice. On the other hand, when my athletes are sick with the flu or a simple cold, they often try to come in and work out.An
How to Get In Shape for MMA Fighting
May 16, 2009 By Leave a Comment
The intense physical demands of Mixed Martial Arts fighting has led to a variety of different strength and conditioning routines. This article is not going to compare and contrast different routines in order to determine which is “the best.” Rather it will focus on what are some of the most popular programs and some of the different philosophies behind them.
Probably the most common conditioning routines are what I call the “home made” routines. Most amateur fighters, without proper guidance, have concocted a unique combination of routines from the internet, movies, and their friends. This is the type of routine I see a lot of college students come in with at my Baltimore Mixed Martial Arts gym.This guy might run 5 miles once a week and also follow a bodybuilding weightlifting routine. Another guy might only use body-weight exercises, doing 100 pushups, 100 situps, 100 squats every morning and every night.
Another popular fitness form is Crossfit. Crossfit focuses on generalized fitness and generally has shorter, higher-intensity workouts than what most people are used to. There is a lot of variability in their workouts – everything from rowing 10k to maximum weight squats.Their belief is that a truly "fit" athlete should be ready for a wide variety of physical tasks, whether the tasks are marathons or bench-pressing. This style of conditioning has exploded in popularity in recent years and can be found in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts schools across the United States.
The other form of conditioning is very sports-specific. Much like the NFL coaches work on making their players better football players (and all other sports be damned), some MMA coaches use routines that make their players better MMA fighters.This type of conditioning routine is intended to produce an athlete that is optimized for 3 5-minute rounds or 5 5-minute rounds, whatever the event requires. These types of workouts will often mix isometric exercises with explosive ones to imitate the grappling and striking demands of UFC-style fighting.
It will be interesting to see where the MMA industry heads in the future. Will it head towards more of a sports-specific routine like most professional sports? Or are the demands of Mixed Martial Arts so variable that no routine can accurately mimic it? Until then, MMA fighters should experiment with different workout regimens and find one that they can maintain and that produces good results.
Adam Delbrugge
Benefits of Combining Youth Wrestling and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training.
May 7, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Submission grappling are two of the fastest growing sports in the United States. These are two grappling sports that allow submission holds – movements that force one’s opponent to ‘tap out’ or give up. Unlike wrestling which is a single-season sport, the competitions for BJJ and Grappling are year round. Because of this, many serious wrestling parents consider placing their child into another grappling sport during the off-season but they have concerns…
Not surprisingly, safety is on the minds of the parents. It sounds dangerous to have a child do techniques that require tapping out to signal defeat. However, most injuries in these types of competitions occur from takedowns, an aspect of grappling that occurs in wrestling as well. Any
Wrestling is the Best Style for MMA
May 6, 2009 By Leave a Comment
The explosion in popularity of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and other Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) events has shined a light on one of America’s most popular and yet ignored sports, folkstyle wrestling. Great MMA fighters with extensive wrestling backgrounds such as Randy Coutore, Matt Hughes, and Matt Lindland has proven that wrestling is an integral part of any realistic Martial Arts training system.