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.