Beginner Blues by Brian Michelino

I’ve been noticing lately training at D’Arce Jiu Jistu there are a few people training who get upset and discouraged after getting submitted during class. As a Beginner in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu you’re going to get submitted a lot. Even after you’ve been training for a while you’re going to find yourself in bad positions and getting submitted regardless.  The real challenge is staying with it and persevering through tough submissions and positions. The reality is your going to get submitted a lot, but before you know it you’re going to be the one pulling off submissions of your own.

When I started training I was getting submitted all the time.  I was training with people who had much more experience then myself, but one of the reasons I chose to train at D’Arce Jiu Jitsu was the instruction from
my training partners. When the people training with me would beat or submit me and saw something I was doing wrong they would help teach me the proper way to do the technique.  This helped me tremendously
and I can still recall advice I received on my first class.
After training a while with people who had much more experience new students started to join so I would pair up with them during training.  Now it was my turn to help the newer guys learn from their mistakes. 
You really need to put your ego aside and you have to understand that you’re going to lose a lot in this sport, but the more time you put in the better your going to get.  Just like in anything, practice makes perfect.

Picked up some new gear in Bangkok Thailand by Gregg DePasquale

I picked up a pair of 14 oz Thai style kickboxing gloves and a pair of shorts.  The gloves were around 1,000 baht which equals around $31 in the USA.  The shorts were around 750 baht ($23) this should be good enough to get me through my first lesson tomorrow.  So far the Thai people have been really nice although in the street they are constantly trying to hustle me.  They even dress up in security guard outfits equipped with badges and official looking papers looking to make some money. 

First Day In Thailand by Gregg DePasquale

OK so I arrived after a 14 hour flight to Tokyo and another 7 hour flight to Bangkok.  This is my fifth trip to Thailand and as soon as I hit the streets of Bangkok that familiar smell hit me and brought me back to so many awesome memories,  The time difference here is 12 hours so when it is 4PM in Long Island New York it is 4AM over here.  I am pretty jet lagged and run down, the game plan is to go see some sites and then check out some Kickboxing at night.  They sell gear here really cheap so the only training stuff I brought was a mouth piece and a set of hand wraps.  I will buy some gear at the fight shop when I go to the stadium.  Stay tuned for some updates and wish me luck!

Muay Thai Kickboxing in Thailand BLOG 1 by Gregg DePasquale

I will be leaving for my trip to Thailand to work on my Muay Thai in its country of origin.  I will be there for a few weeks and will be updating everyone on my training and experience including pictures and video footage.  I am pretty excited about it and have a bunch of lessons set up as well as gyms mapped out for me to go and train at.  I will also be going to watch a bunch of Thai fights live.  Wish me luck guys!

-Gregg

Cardio for Grappling and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu by Brian Michelino

Yesterday I was having a conversation with one of the newer guys who works out at D’Arce Jiu Jitsu about conditioning for BJJ. He was telling me how tired he was; I didn’t find this very odd even though he physically looked to be in good shape. I explained to him Jiu Jitsu is unlike many other sports. In most other sports such as football and basketball, you can do multiple cardio vascular exercises so you won’t tire as the game goes on. In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu that’s a different case, in fact, the particular type of conditioning you need in BJJ can almost only be achieved by “rolling” or actually physically training BJJ. I found this out first hand when I started training at D'Arce Jiu Jitsu. You find yourself as a newcomer wasting unnecessary energy and over exerting yourself doing the techniques. As you start learning and becoming more confident with the movements you slowly find yourself using less and less energy. The only real way to achieve this is to come to class and train, the more often you train the longer it will take you to gas out...so get to class!

UFC Fight Night

UFC Fight Night Marquardt vs Palhares

The Ultimate Fighting Championship will be having another free Ultimate Fight Night on Spike TV airing this Wednesday night. Headlining the card is MMA veteran Nate "The Great" Marquardt -vs- Dangerous BJJ Black Belt Rousimar Palhares.


Other fights scheduled for Wednesday include;


Escudero vs Oliviera


Miller vs Tibau


Pearson vs Miller


Edwards vs Gunderson


Drywal vs Branch


Both Miller and Dave Branch are part of the Renzo Gracie Jiu Jitsu lineage, as is our school D'Arce Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Dave Branch is also a training partner to our very own Long Island natives and Ring of Combat Champions Ryan LaFlare and Gian Villante. Good luck guys! Also on the card is local Hofstra wrestler and American Top Team MMA fighter Rich Attonito.


Who are your pics to win Wednesday night?

No One is Beyond Defeat by Brian Michelino

Fabricio Werdum became the first man to legitimately beat the pound for pound best fighter in MMA. Fabricio was under attack early when Fedor "The Last Emperor" Emelianenko came charging at him. Fedor even sent Fabricio to the ground due to some pretty serious strikes. However, as soon as the fight hit the ground the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt Fabricio Werdum quickly took the fight out of Fedor’s hands. Fabricio effectively controlled Fedor in his guard, eventually attacking Fedor with a fight ending Triangle choke/Arm-bar combination submitting the Mixed Martial Arts legend and winning the fight.

From training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at D’Arce in Long Island, New York I knew once Fedor followed such a dangerous Black Belt to the ground it might mean the end for “The Last Emperor." Once Fedor realized he was in danger it was too late, as he tried to escape Fabricio's active guard he only wound up in an even worse position. Fabricio took what was a choke and turned it into a combination submission, eventually securing a joint lock forcing Fedor to submit or face serious injury. Watching Werdum handle the so called “Pound for Pound” best fighter on the planet on the ground was like watching Royce Gracie handle fighters during the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) early years.

Fabricio Stayed calm and believed in the techniques he has perfected through years and years of training and drilling. Werdum was able to turn the bad position Fedor put him in into the position he would ultimately use to beat Fedor. Fabricio used Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to Dethrone the WAMMA Champ helping BJJ shine once again in the MMA media and in the process helped make all of us BJJ practitioners proud.

The Power of Wrestling by Brian Michelino

My name is Brian Michelino I am from Suffolk County, Long Island. I train consistantly at D’Arce Jiu Jitsu in Bay Shore, NY.

I learned very quickly the power of wrestling training at D’Arce.  Sometimes in class we will do a round from the feet, meaning you start your training (or sparring) by standing up and working for a takedown (or throw). The first time I trained fom the feet in class I was matched up with a high school wrestler, and was taken down at will.  I was discouraged at first; it was difficult for me to deal with a solid wrestler.  As I progressed in my Brazilian Jiu Jitsu career I learned the little tricks that helped me deal with good wrestlers,  adding certain sweeps and submissions to my game that worked well against them.

I don’t think that I’ll ever be someone who will walk on to the mat and be a dominating wrestler, but training my wrestling often will allow me to not be taken down and controlled as easily.  A few months ago at a Grappling competition I scored one of my first take downs, a single leg trip.  It was a takedown that I had worked on in class; I was excited to achieve one of my goals of taking someone down in a competition.

Many Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioners have a hard time dealing with the strong base of a solid wrestler.  At D’Arce Jiu Jitsu there are always quality wrestlers to train with, and  they often stay after class and help the other non wrestlers.  In Long Island there are not many BJJ/MMA schools that offer wrestling and I believe that it is very important  aspect in both MMA and BJJ.  The bottom line is if you control the Wrestling, you control the fight.

What style of Jiu Jitsu is best for MMA?

As most of us know there are many styles of Jiu Jitsu and grappling.  Those of us who have trained for a long time and developed a specific "game" especially know what I am talking about.  Usually our "game" is developed as a result of many outside factors including but not limited to our Jiu Jitsu lineage, body types, strengths, and weaknesses.  But what makes one style more effective than others specifically geared toward mixed martial arts?  For example, here in long island, New York there are many Jiu Jitsu schools, some legitimate and some not...what separates their success levels in mma?

1. For mma one of the most important aspects is to fight for top position. Although you must have a good guard, you generally don't want it to be your first option.
2. If you are in the guard, it must be an active one.  The guard is not a position that should be held until it is passed.  It is a place where you opponent should not want to be, and if you are attacking, he is defending, and not able to mount any offense of his own.

3. Always be conscious of putting yourself in striking position.  If you are on top make sure you have good posture and control of your opponent.  You have to maximize your leverage and maintain position. 

4. It is not a Jiu Jitsu match and you do not have to "score" points.  In other words you can be in the guard, maintain top position and win due to strikes, you don't have to pass the guard to win.

5. There are many positions in Jiu Jitsu that are effective but if used in MMA would be silly.  For example, a position like the inverted guard would end very, very badly.

These are just a few examples but the point is, if your goal is to fight in Mixed Martial Arts, keep in mind the positions you are putting yourself into even during your Jiu Jitsu training.  This is a constant point that we like to drive home with our fighters at D'Arce Jiu Jitsu and MMA Center.

D'Arce Jiu Jitsu & MMA Training Centers 1st BLOG

Hello, from D'Arce Jiu Jitsu & MMA.  This is the first of many blogs to come.  We will be covering a wide varieties of topics including Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Mixed Martial Arts, news, and general  topics that come up at the academy.