Some BJJ questions - Page 2

SNOWBALL · #11 01-28-2007, 04:52 PM

Whitepotato,

Thanks for the help. How long have you done BJJ, and why do you study it? Are you concerned that doing ground fighting IRL might leave you open to getting attacked by a 3rd party?

The dude I train with on saturdays does japanese jiu-jitsu, and he always criticizes if I bend down too much when I'm applying a lock.

BCPVP · #12 01-28-2007, 09:28 PM

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They mostly do Gi stuff at the Rickson Gracie center. Since I live in socal, people don't tend to wear stuff that you can hold onto in the same way you can hold onto a Gi. Should I try to find a different BJJ place in LA instead? I'm primarily interested in self-defense BTW.

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I hear these guys train no-gi a lot. I don't know how close they are to you. Wish I lived near em. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

SNOWBALL · #13 01-28-2007, 10:42 PM

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I hear these guys train no-gi a lot. I don't know how close they are to you. Wish I lived near em.

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SWEET! And they only charge $105 a month!!!
I could train there 3 times a week, and train striking & weapons on the side twice a week. YESSSSSSSS

Thanks for the link
[img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

goodsamaritan · #14 01-28-2007, 11:46 PM

Not sure how close you are to Valencia, but John McCarthy's new place looks sick:

BCPVP · #15 01-29-2007, 12:30 AM

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I hear these guys train no-gi a lot. I don't know how close they are to you. Wish I lived near em.

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SWEET! And they only charge $105 a month!!!
I could train there 3 times a week, and train striking & weapons on the side twice a week. YESSSSSSSS

Thanks for the link
[img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

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And its Eddie Bravo's gym. He beat Royler at Abu Dhabi. He's got a book or two out that you can probably thumb through at a Barnes and Noble.

SNOWBALL · #16 01-29-2007, 12:41 AM

I met a pro that did regional fights and trained at John McCarthy's place. It looks like a great place, but it's probably about 40 miles from me [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

whitepotatoe · #17 01-29-2007, 03:40 AM

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Whitepotato,

Thanks for the help. How long have you done BJJ, and why do you study it? Are you concerned that doing ground fighting IRL might leave you open to getting attacked by a 3rd party?

The dude I train with on saturdays does japanese jiu-jitsu, and he always criticizes if I bend down too much when I'm applying a lock.

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I started in the summer of 2000. I started learning because I just wanted to know how to fight and damn near every fight I ever saw went to the ground. In high school, I was at a party and jui jitsu came up in conversation, and I asked how it worked, and this guy put me in a rear naked and choked me out in about 3 seconds, so I decided to sign up. I went regularly for a while, then I could only go once a week for about a year because of school and work, which sucked. It's hard to get better when you can only go once a week. I've been on and off for several years because I had a few injuries, crazy work and school schedules, family problems, etc. But ultimately, I just love tapping people out, it kicks ass, especially hot shot muscle heads and high school wrestlers, the look on their face after you school them is usually totally hilarious.

I've been in a few fights, one on one and huge barroom brawls. BJJ skills and a little striking has done extremely well for me, even when one guy outweighed me by a solid 40-50 pounds. As far as worring about 3rd parties, yes it is a problem. I have been punched and kicked when I was on the ground by third parites, one time being knocked out, which sucked. But every person I have ever been on the ground with had no chance one on one and I'm not even very talented at bjj. But if I had more time I would have trained stand up more, but since I was on and off, I figured it was better to try to get good at bjj first, and also I just like doing jiu jitsu. I used to be in a rock'n'roll band and we had a song about jiu jitsu, check it out here if you like bad ass rock: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm...iendid=9323685

Hopefully later this year I can start training agin regularly and get some muay thai in the mix so I have a better chance against multiple opponents.

We never did any JJJ, so I couldn't tell you whether he's right or not. Some other nice looking options have been posted, and you should check out any school within reasonable driving distance and pick your favorite one.

wayninho · #18 01-30-2007, 06:34 PM

I don't know LA geography very well, but you might be close enough to Sean Williams school, www.hollywoodbjj.com I trained with Sean for years when he was back in NYC and he's a great instructor. Plus they have gi and no-gi classes for beginners. Good luck training wherever you end up.

dc_publius · #19 02-20-2007, 01:47 AM

1. By 'real life encounter' do you mean a street fight? If so, my answer is never. BJJ is not a streetfighting system. Trying to win a streetfight by taking someone down and trying to apply a triangle/whatever is a recipe for disaster. For streetfight defense, just use your best judgement and stay out of trouble and this will work alot better than anything short of getting conceal carry. If you still want something useful, try Thai Boxing. That will help alot more than BJJ.

2. BJJ is alot like wrestling. Cardio plays a huge role and explosive strenth helps alot. BJJ classes will develop neither of these. Classes are generally warmup, technique and some practice of that move. You will need to work on your cardio and strength outside regular classes, possibly via BJJ grappling/sparring, or just running/lifting.

Also, my friend, who just got his brown belt and competes told me to take BJJ with Gi, at least at first. It will force you to focus on fundamentals.

As far as school advice, pick one that does alot of sparring, has alot of students entering competitions, and is close to you. Commuting 40minutes to class is not a good choice if there is 'almost as good' school right by you.

slickpoppa · #20 02-20-2007, 02:02 AM

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1. By 'real life encounter' do you mean a street fight? If so, my answer is never. BJJ is not a streetfighting system. Trying to win a streetfight by taking someone down and trying to apply a triangle/whatever is a recipe for disaster. For streetfight defense, just use your best judgement and stay out of trouble and this will work alot better than anything short of getting conceal carry. If you still want something useful, try Thai Boxing. That will help alot more than BJJ.

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I agree with some of what you say here. However, I think you are greatly exaggerating BJJ's lack of importance in streetfighting. Just because taking a fight to the ground is not the optimal strategy does not mean that knowledge of grappling is not important. A large percentage of fights end up on the ground whether you want them to or not. And if you get stuck on the ground with someone bigger than you punching you in the face, you better be able to do something. BJJ is better than any other art for being able to defend yourself on the ground. At the very least it will teach you how to escape or sweep from the bottom position so that you can get up and run away.