Although I'm Brazilian I only fell in love with BJJ 3 years ago. I watched a lot of old UFC fights, Gracie in Action tapes, etc. When I finally began I was extremely disappointed once I noticed they'd only do sport BJJ. I train at the same place Leticia Ribeiro and Xande Ribeiro used to train, so there's a lof of old guys there and sometimes they'll tell us stories of how it used to be. Every Friday they would spar with strikes and the training was much heavier. I love sport BJJ but I wanted to learn how to fight, just like the old BJJ practitioners used to do in Vale Tudo competitions.
I learned how to strike years before I even stepped on the mats. I always had a liking towards striking so I took the liberty of getting comfortable on my feet way before I did on the ground. To my surprise, MANY grapplers I have met do not even know how to throw a punch!!! Even BJJ black belts! I am like "woah, WTF?!". That's scary lol
I learned how to grapple years before I even stepped into the ring. I always had a liking towards grappling so I took the liberty of getting comfortable on the ground before I did on the feet. To my surprise, MANY strikers I have met do not even not how to shoot!!! Even kick/boxing coaches! I am like “woah, WTF?!”. That’s scary lol
What’s worse is that most jiu jitsu practioners can’t execute a takedown. Or comprehend basic sequencing to take it to the floor where they need to be to excel. Just so they can practice useless guards like, spider, lasso, and the likes. But never compete either so makes those guards more useless. hhahaha.
@@CDABXXX it’s up to the practitioner to learn and defend take downs. Some people see no need when they can just pull gaurd or go for some other sort of take down. Open guard is fine, maybe not always for a street fight or self defense purposes but for the art, it has its place. Not utilizing an open guard in the Gi will only handicap your skills and progression. You’re leaving a lot on the table by not learning proper open guard.
At Gracie Torrance we learn how to strike, with elbows and kicks to knees, standing throws like in Judo, strategies to block or deflect punches, use distance management etc.
I train at a Tristar affiliated gym in Ontario. Our coach used to rent space out of a kickboxing gym before the lockdown. Anyway, it was funny to see how many people in the kickboxing classes cancelled their membership to train BJJ upstairs with us. Haha.
Everyon BJJ athelete should learn how to WRESTLE. What's the point of having incredible grappling if you aren't in control of when you get to use it? Charles is what would happen if every other BJJ fighter would stop being stubborn and take some wrestling classes.
Every BJJ school should have a stand up wrestling instructor. You typically only find wrestling in school. After that, there aren't many wrestling schools for adults.
@@truthsouls2003try to treat it like any other technique. UA-cam has great fundamental information that can show the basics of takedowns and really help people who take time to drill them:)
Totally agree. Have starting from boxing/kickboxing, then bjj, then wrestling. And i always feel that i have some kind of athletic advantage over regular bjj practitioners - benefits from another martial arts. And after six months of wrestling sessions my bjj improved so much in both technical and physical aspects. So training in different intensities is very beneficial for bjj and overall athletic performance. Tried myself in amateur mma tourney, and became 2nd on a national level at my weight class. After that suffered two herniated discs in a lower back, that got me off from hard training. Is it even possible to go back with herniated disc or it’s a risk that didn’t cost the price of being injured even worse?
@@TheBardicWolf I did coaching for about 10 years, or probably even more. But parallel with it, i always have that competitive urge to go little bit harder every time i train and this part of my nature didn’t go well with back condition that i have. Now i have started restaurant business that goes pretty well, and i still do training but very light rolling, with almost no standup + some striking just to keep my body and mind in healthy state. Yoga also very useful tool in dealing with back problems it helps me a lot. I guess, I just need to accept the situation, and prioritize my goals more towards to longevity and not mma/bjj competitions, even it’s really hard for me to do
I'm not naturally athletic and I'm a bit clumsy and I took forever to get somewhat ok at BJJ despite training a lot and always seeing training partners overtake me. I never let it discourage me I knew I wasn't going to learn another physical activity any faster anyway and I like this. I will probably get my purple belt soon. I tapped a million times and feel like I often need to drill a move more often than others to get it. My Jiu-Jitsu coach saw me hitting and kicking a bag just goofing around and a kickboxer who was cross training with us saw me and said, wanna try with us? My Jiu-Jitsu coach shook his head worried and said; Please don't 😆
What are your thoughts on gymnastics for mat strength / athleticism? Or at least some of the ring work. The guys who are strong on the rings must be pound for pound some of the strongest guys on the planet for upper body strength.
Firas constantly talks about how gymnastics is nest for martial arts. Look up Firas Zahabi muscle ups. You'll find a video of him reading out muscle ups on rings. Also gsp and Conner McGregor based their strength and conditioning around gymnastics training.
As someone who primarily trains Jiu-jitsu this is what I hate about the modern Jiu-jitsu scene . To me "bjj " isn't a thing it's a rule set . Jiu-jitsu is supposed to be about fighting self defense etc. Traditional Jiu-jitsu is really just mixed martial arts there is striking ,grappling, throws, locks ,strangles etc (and yes weapons ) sorry I just had that in most ppls minds now "Jiu-jitsu " means sitting on your butt rolling around on your back and they think takedowns are wrestling, big throws are judo ,etc. While those things are a part of those sports they're also a part of Jiu-jitsu originally. Anyway rant over great video coach I agree striking needs to be trained its like pulling teeth trying to get other Jiu-jitsu ppl to spar with light strikes sometimes .
if its not hard brazilian sparring - I totally agree. But getting knocked out or knocked down once a month - Im not sure. But learning is a good thing. Yet its great that right now athletes can be just grapplers and get some money to live. I hope Gordon Ryan will reach his goals and it would be even more so.
When I train Muay Thai and we do 5 rounds on the pads to begin and I always switch stances for atleast 2 rounds. So when I spar it's natural to switch stances while others can't comfortably. If they can't get a read on me then it's over before it starts. Work your weaknesses
I did bjj, transitioned to boxing, now i have a issue hitting comrades on the head because of ISLAM. I really liked when we did the partner warm up drill: slap the shoulders, mid and thighs. Its such a great way to introduce skeptical friends to martial arts.
I love grappling but I realized I had to learn how to strike after I got hit for the first time doing mma rounds I was like Jesus i can’t deal with this.
That's the common sense of the. In the same way that everyone rushed to learn bjj, the guy who comes from bjj has to learn to striker has to. Learn to take down and you have to learn to fight without the gi. In fact, if your goal is to go to mma one day, start taking the gi off soon because the gi rules and the vices that the gi brings won't work in mma.
I remember him telling a story about a guy kicking his back seat on a plane one day and about how people don't understand violence. And he's absolutely correct, regular people do not understand the type of violence he is talking about.
They gotta learn takedowns first, or else it's gonna be jab, straight, sit and scoot. The IBJJF, ADCC, etc rulesets allowing buttscooting and other sportified garbage encouraged this. They should be basing points off what works in an actual fight.
Depends I mean I was a wrestler and got into a fight with a boxer who was bigger than me, I took some hits but I was able to get my hands on him and smash his head into a locker several times until it people intervened. But that was long ago
I agree. It's really corny seeing Kade win titles on one and say things like "I knew it was gonna be 10 minutes of war" ...like come on man. Everyone knows there is a large group of bjj dudes who only do strict bjj because they are too soft for striking.
Firas, I started KB at apex martial arts when I was 8-9 , wrestling 11, Sambo, bjj, after that, always learned the moves from jet li, JCVD, more of a control your body thing. Combos don't mean shit, if your technique sucks, twist your punch and bring it home, straight down the pipe, Pull your head off the line, don't push , pull practice that technique, Inches are miles in mma.
Way too many BJJ guys go around thinking they're the same as MMA fighters.
So true
💯
So true
Although I'm Brazilian I only fell in love with BJJ 3 years ago. I watched a lot of old UFC fights, Gracie in Action tapes, etc. When I finally began I was extremely disappointed once I noticed they'd only do sport BJJ.
I train at the same place Leticia Ribeiro and Xande Ribeiro used to train, so there's a lof of old guys there and sometimes they'll tell us stories of how it used to be. Every Friday they would spar with strikes and the training was much heavier.
I love sport BJJ but I wanted to learn how to fight, just like the old BJJ practitioners used to do in Vale Tudo competitions.
Come train my gym
esta treinando na academia errada, aqui no Brasil temos muitas academias focadas na defesa pessoal, mais nessa pegada old school.
Academias diferentes, focos diferentes. Tenta achar uma que tem o que procura ou busca uma aula de MMA pra complementar seu jiu jitsu
I love the orgin story. Thanks for sharing this helps explain your philosophy of grappling so well.
That's why the Gracie's at Torrance have Punch Sparring Tuesday's and Thursdays every week.
I learned how to strike years before I even stepped on the mats. I always had a liking towards striking so I took the liberty of getting comfortable on my feet way before I did on the ground. To my surprise, MANY grapplers I have met do not even know how to throw a punch!!! Even BJJ black belts! I am like "woah, WTF?!". That's scary lol
Because bjj and fighting are two different things
bjj has nothing to do with striking. why should a bjj black belt be expected to know striking? do you expect a boxer to know how to take someone down?
I learned how to grapple years before I even stepped into the ring. I always had a liking towards grappling so I took the liberty of getting comfortable on the ground before I did on the feet. To my surprise, MANY strikers I have met do not even not how to shoot!!! Even kick/boxing coaches! I am like “woah, WTF?!”. That’s scary lol
What’s worse is that most jiu jitsu practioners can’t execute a takedown. Or comprehend basic sequencing to take it to the floor where they need to be to excel. Just so they can practice useless guards like, spider, lasso, and the likes. But never compete either so makes those guards more useless. hhahaha.
@@CDABXXX it’s up to the practitioner to learn and defend take downs. Some people see no need when they can just pull gaurd or go for some other sort of take down. Open guard is fine, maybe not always for a street fight or self defense purposes but for the art, it has its place. Not utilizing an open guard in the Gi will only handicap your skills and progression. You’re leaving a lot on the table by not learning proper open guard.
At Gracie Torrance we learn how to strike, with elbows and kicks to knees, standing throws like in Judo, strategies to block or deflect punches, use distance management etc.
Combat BJJ is interesting because it introduces a grappler to defending ground n pound.
I recently came to this decision myself. 2023 dedicated to striking! 🥊
Getting to a blue belt level in striking is important. Imagine training BJJ for years, then a low grade thug lands a hook on your jaw & that's a wrap.
Kind of good terminology too because white and blue should be experts at defense/escapes. Super valuable in boxing too.
Yup
B..b..but according to reddit BJJ makes you immune to strikes
Facts
Wrestling and striking is important for BJJ fighters. Especially those who train heavily in sport BJJ
People underestimate how dangerous grappling can be especially when it comes to the spine and neck there is no safe martial art
For me it's been my groin.
Strength training can help. You need to find out what exercises are effective for what you want to do in your life.
I train at a Tristar affiliated gym in Ontario. Our coach used to rent space out of a kickboxing gym before the lockdown. Anyway, it was funny to see how many people in the kickboxing classes cancelled their membership to train BJJ upstairs with us.
Haha.
Everyon BJJ athelete should learn how to WRESTLE. What's the point of having incredible grappling if you aren't in control of when you get to use it? Charles is what would happen if every other BJJ fighter would stop being stubborn and take some wrestling classes.
Every BJJ school should have a stand up wrestling instructor. You typically only find wrestling in school. After that, there aren't many wrestling schools for adults.
Finding a place to wrestle is WAYY harder than finding a place to learn bjj ,where i live , wrestling gyms is basically non existent
I have had to learn a lot from fellow students who wrestled in high school and from UA-cam lol
@@truthsouls2003try to treat it like any other technique. UA-cam has great fundamental information that can show the basics of takedowns and really help people who take time to drill them:)
Totally agree. Have starting from boxing/kickboxing, then bjj, then wrestling. And i always feel that i have some kind of athletic advantage over regular bjj practitioners - benefits from another martial arts. And after six months of wrestling sessions my bjj improved so much in both technical and physical aspects. So training in different intensities is very beneficial for bjj and overall athletic performance. Tried myself in amateur mma tourney, and became 2nd on a national level at my weight class. After that suffered two herniated discs in a lower back, that got me off from hard training. Is it even possible to go back with herniated disc or it’s a risk that didn’t cost the price of being injured even worse?
The weighing of risk to reward is done on an individual basis
Never worth it.. your health is forever
Think about coaching
@@TheBardicWolf I did coaching for about 10 years, or probably even more. But parallel with it, i always have that competitive urge to go little bit harder every time i train and this part of my nature didn’t go well with back condition that i have. Now i have started restaurant business that goes pretty well, and i still do training but very light rolling, with almost no standup + some striking just to keep my body and mind in healthy state. Yoga also very useful tool in dealing with back problems it helps me a lot. I guess, I just need to accept the situation, and prioritize my goals more towards to longevity and not mma/bjj competitions, even it’s really hard for me to do
This is so cool to hear. Makes me feel like I’m learning from a prodigy 😉
I'm not naturally athletic and I'm a bit clumsy and I took forever to get somewhat ok at BJJ despite training a lot and always seeing training partners overtake me. I never let it discourage me I knew I wasn't going to learn another physical activity any faster anyway and I like this. I will probably get my purple belt soon. I tapped a million times and feel like I often need to drill a move more often than others to get it. My Jiu-Jitsu coach saw me hitting and kicking a bag just goofing around and a kickboxer who was cross training with us saw me and said, wanna try with us? My Jiu-Jitsu coach shook his head worried and said; Please don't 😆
How long did it take you to get to blue belt?
@@UA-camWatts Like 2,5-3 years. Lost 80 lbs in the process
Dont listen to him, It Will be fun
When Coach speaks I listen
Really enjoy your interviews i learn a lot from you ! Great advice thanks
What are your thoughts on gymnastics for mat strength / athleticism? Or at least some of the ring work. The guys who are strong on the rings must be pound for pound some of the strongest guys on the planet for upper body strength.
Firas constantly talks about how gymnastics is nest for martial arts. Look up Firas Zahabi muscle ups. You'll find a video of him reading out muscle ups on rings. Also gsp and Conner McGregor based their strength and conditioning around gymnastics training.
It's great for upper body but your lower back and glutes are made to pick things up, so having weighted squats and hinges makes it a lot easier
You do realize he got GSP into gymnastics for mma...
Gymnastics will make you insanely strong but I recommend using street workout bars. Not the flexible moving bar they use.
As someone who primarily trains Jiu-jitsu this is what I hate about the modern Jiu-jitsu scene . To me "bjj " isn't a thing it's a rule set . Jiu-jitsu is supposed to be about fighting self defense etc. Traditional Jiu-jitsu is really just mixed martial arts there is striking ,grappling, throws, locks ,strangles etc (and yes weapons ) sorry I just had that in most ppls minds now "Jiu-jitsu " means sitting on your butt rolling around on your back and they think takedowns are wrestling, big throws are judo ,etc. While those things are a part of those sports they're also a part of Jiu-jitsu originally. Anyway rant over great video coach I agree striking needs to be trained its like pulling teeth trying to get other Jiu-jitsu ppl to spar with light strikes sometimes .
Much wisdom here
if its not hard brazilian sparring - I totally agree. But getting knocked out or knocked down once a month - Im not sure.
But learning is a good thing. Yet its great that right now athletes can be just grapplers and get some money to live. I hope Gordon Ryan will reach his goals and it would be even more so.
Thank you for answering coach🙏🏾
@tristargym plz pin my comment coach
Oss!! Tania from TriStar (Purple) and Tek are visiting our gym (Avondale, AZ) from Montreal and Austin.
Fantastic story.
When I train Muay Thai and we do 5 rounds on the pads to begin and I always switch stances for atleast 2 rounds. So when I spar it's natural to switch stances while others can't comfortably. If they can't get a read on me then it's over before it starts. Work your weaknesses
I did bjj, transitioned to boxing, now i have a issue hitting comrades on the head because of ISLAM. I really liked when we did the partner warm up drill: slap the shoulders, mid and thighs. Its such a great way to introduce skeptical friends to martial arts.
Your trainer is Greek!!❤❤❤❤
100 percent agree.
Gracie Jiu-Jitsu has strikes in the curriculum (rudimentary striking)
its rudimentary because strikes and kicks are used as a diversion to get the opponent on the ground.
@@BOBBOB-tx7ox exactly
Some day, I want to travel and train under you for 6 months. That’s my goal إن شاء الله
I love grappling but I realized I had to learn how to strike after I got hit for the first time doing mma rounds I was like Jesus i can’t deal with this.
That's the common sense of the. In the same way that everyone rushed to learn bjj, the guy who comes from bjj has to learn to striker has to. Learn to take down and you have to learn to fight without the gi. In fact, if your goal is to go to mma one day, start taking the gi off soon because the gi rules and the vices that the gi brings won't work in mma.
Lucky for me my gym got both.
Dude. Look at his EYES. That's a man that has been through the fucking fire.
I remember him telling a story about a guy kicking his back seat on a plane one day and about how people don't understand violence. And he's absolutely correct, regular people do not understand the type of violence he is talking about.
Happy 🎉 New Year
Vica versa I been grappling,Stirling since kid I'm 43 yes u should but it's not as necessary as u think
Andre galvao understanding the importance of being able to defend yourself 😂😂😂😂
Angelo your coach where he was from? I mean his origins.
greek
I'm greek also and his name was familiar to me thats why i asked!
A BJJ guys worst nightmare... FISTS
ameen
They gotta learn takedowns first, or else it's gonna be jab, straight, sit and scoot. The IBJJF, ADCC, etc rulesets allowing buttscooting and other sportified garbage encouraged this. They should be basing points off what works in an actual fight.
Should be a no brainier. All grapplers needs to learn striking.
Depends I mean I was a wrestler and got into a fight with a boxer who was bigger than me, I took some hits but I was able to get my hands on him and smash his head into a locker several times until it people intervened. But that was long ago
Muay Thai is king.
But I still suck so much at bjj
Netflix!!!
I agree. It's really corny seeing Kade win titles on one and say things like "I knew it was gonna be 10 minutes of war" ...like come on man. Everyone knows there is a large group of bjj dudes who only do strict bjj because they are too soft for striking.
If you learn striking let’s say two hours a day, you still need to train your core competency for two hours as well. Im trying to help.
Was your trainer Greek or of Greek origin?
Asking because he has a Greek name
Andre Galvao an MMA fighter? Eh... kind of.
He's 5-2
100% it's embarrassing just how bad some of the BJJ guys striking is.
Firas, I started KB at apex martial arts when I was 8-9 , wrestling 11, Sambo, bjj, after that, always learned the moves from jet li, JCVD, more of a control your body thing. Combos don't mean shit, if your technique sucks, twist your punch and bring it home, straight down the pipe, Pull your head off the line, don't push , pull practice that technique, Inches are miles in mma.