I always say that this jiu-jitsu stuff is a marathon, not a sprint.
Partially this is because it takes time to remodel your body so that it can do the things you want it to do. It’s also because you need to find and incorporate hundreds of little tricks, tweaks and techniques that work with your body and your ever-evolving style on the mats.
To find those training methods, tweaks and techniques takes research, which is made much easier by the internet!
In the spirit of sharing some of the new BJJ techniques and body hacks that I’m personally exploring right now, here’s what’s on my reading list this weekend…
A Comparison of Kettlebell Styles: I’ve played around with kettle bells a bit, and found that they’re a very useful tool. For example, the basic kettlebell swing gives you many of the benefits of Olympic lifting with a much lower risk of injury. But there’s so much conflicting and contradictory advice about how to do even the most basic Kettlebell movements that it’s hard to know what correct technique looks like. The article linked to above helps explain the different schools of thought behind KB swings and snatches.
The Berimbolo Sweep in BJJ: At 6’2″ and 215 lbs I don’t really have the classic body type for all that crazy-upside-down-spinning-inverted-guard stuff. That being said it’s hard to ignore the effectiveness of Berimbolo sweep (a crazy-upside-down-spinning-inverted-guard move) in sport BJJ.
I’ve practiced it only a few times and haven’t swept anyone with it yet in sparring. But doing some reps of the Berimbolo gave me the confidence to start using a similar-but-different inverting spinning move to stop my training partners from passing my guard. Maybe it IS possible to teach an old dog new tricks…
Keenan Cornelius Sneak Previews: Keenan and his team just keep on giving away more previews from their upcoming DVD set. Earlier this week I learned a really cool omoplata finish from them that I hadn’t seen before. They ask for your email address, but I was happy to give it because I figured a) it was a good way to find out about new preview clips and b), if I didn’t like what they sent me, I would just click on the unsubscribe link which is on every email. Anyway, I’m very interested to see what techniques they release next…
Cardio for 3 Minutes a Week??!? Some research from McMaster University suggests that just a few minutes of all-out exercise give you the same benefits as spending hours on the stair master or treadmill. I’m dubious, but I’m going to test it on myself. I’ll do a month of these 30 second intervals and then see how I perform on my gold standard cardio workout (a horrendous 40 to 60 minute climb up Grouse Mountain on the North Shore of Vancouver). Other than getting shot off a treadmill or going into cardiac arrest what’s the worst that can happen?
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