Peak Performance Sports Psychology

Recently I have been looking more into sports psychology to help my tournament performance. Many of us suffer from some kind of performance anxiety before competing or may just not be competing at the level we should be. Jeff Baldwin turned me on to this website http://www.peaksports.com/index1.php There is a ton of good, FREE information to look at. If you are a serious competitor, I suggest you check it out.

CrossFit WOD:

For time:
70 Burpees
60 Sit-ups
50 Kettlebell swings, 1.5 poods
40 Pull-ups
30 Handstand push-ups

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Stability ball training

Here is a new stability ball training video with Abmar Barbosa. A lot of cool new stuff I haven't seen people doing on the ball yet. I am going to start trying it out and incorporating more balance training into our warm ups. Don't worry, we'll start slow!

CrossFit WOD: Rest Day.

Technique of the week: Power Half Nelson

Sorry for the lack of technique updates for the last few weeks! The week we are working on attacking the turtle position from the front using the power half. The power half is an easy way to break your opponent down and take side control or set up an arm lock or choke. I first learned this technique from Jeff Baldwin when I was training for the World Team Trials a few years ago. Hopefully some of you guys will be able to put the technique in play while training!

CrossFit WOD:

Front squat 3-3-3-3-3 reps

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Roy Harris Workshop #2

Mr. Harris will here here again in exactly one week(Tues May 4) for the 7pm class. Last time he gave an EXCELLENT, game changing seminar about the mount. Don't miss this opportunity to train with him! The cost will be only $20 for the two hour workshop.

CrossFit WOD:
For time:
30 Handstand push-ups
40 Pull-ups
50 Kettlebell swings, 1.5 poods
60 Sit-ups
70 Burpees

Zak Maxwell

Here is a video from last years World Championship. Zak Maxwell chokes out Ed Ramos for the brown belt title. Zak is on a tear and also won the Pan BJJ Championship at brown belt this year. He is definitely one to watch in the next few years!

CrossFit WOD:
For time:
50 Wall ball shots, 20 pound ball
10 Muscle-ups
40 Wall ball shots, 20 pound ball
8 Muscle-ups
30 Wall ball shots, 20 pound ball
6 Muscle-ups
20 Wall ball shots, 20 pound ball
4 Muscle-ups
10 Wall ball shots, 20 pound ball
2 Muscle-ups

Turtle Recovery

We spent the week attacking from the turtle by breaking your opponent down. Here is the flip side; defending yourself when someone is trying to break you down. We briefly went over recovering your guard with the Granby roll but Leo Vieira demonstrates a way to recover guard without using an acrobatic move.

CrossFit WOD:

"Paul"

Five rounds for time of:
50 Double unders
35 Knees to elbows
185 pound Overhead walk, 20 yards

Unstoppable Sweep

Here is a cool sweep that Mike Fowler uses, The Unstoppable Sweep. I first heard about this technique a year or so ago but was turned onto it recently by Jeff Baldwin. I have been trying to implement this sweep into my hand in the collar game and have had great results. Hopefully some of you open guard players can use it too!

CrossFit WOD:
Five rounds for load and time of:
Back Squat, 3 reps
20 Ring dips

LOOKS GOOD!

Here is my nutrition tip of the week. Don't eat too much ice cream, but if you do, eat something delicious! Ben & Jerry's has a new line for spring! Check out the details here: http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/03/new-ben-jerrys-ice-cream-flavors-spring-2010.html

CrossFit WOD: Rest Day

Next Level

Bill Cooper, one of the best American BJJ competitors, is dominated at the Pan BJJ Championships by Lucas Lepri. No matter how good you are, there is another level...

CrossFit WOD:
Clean one rep every minute on the minute for 15 minutes.

BJ Penn

BJ Penn was in town over the weekend for a book signing! A bunch of our guys came by to check it out and get pictures. Here's Ric with BJ; the rest of the pictures can be found on our facebook site!

CrossFit WOD:

3 rounds for time of:
Walking lunge, 100 ft
50 Squats
25 Back extensions

Post time to comments.

Freddie and Javen

We had two kids compete No-Gi at Grappling X yesterday and both took gold. Please congratulate Freddie and Javen next time you see them. Great job guys!

CrossFit WOD:
Complete as many rounds in 12 minutes as you can of:
50 pound dumbbell Weighted pull-up, 3 reps
Sprint 50 meters
3 Ring handstand push-ups

Creative Rolling

Here is an old video of Sim Go and Sonny Nohara doing a BJJ demo. They are using creative rolling. No one is trying to win; they are rolling smoothly and flowing into different techniques. This is an excellent way to put your body in new positions and get used to moving fluidly. It is also a FUN way to roll and not have to worry about the tap!

CrossFit WOD: Rest Day

2nd Fabio Santos Open

On May 15th The 2nd Fabio Santos Open will be taking place at Crawford High School in San Diego. We expect a big turnout for our team since it is so close to home! All the tournament information can be found here:http://www.fabiojiujitsu.com/second_santos_open.html

Remember May 10th is the LAST day to register for the tournament. Be ready for some HARD training the next few weeks!

CrossFit WOD:
Four rounds for time of:
Row 500 meters
Rest 3 minutes

Big!

This is Jim's old Judo gi. Just so you realize how big Jim actually is, Jason and Will can fit into Jim's gi top at the same time! So next time Jim runs you over, don't feel bad because he is actually like to people.

CrossFit WOD:

"McGhee"

Complete as many rounds in 30 minutes as you can of:
275 pound Deadlift, 5 reps
13 Push-ups
9 Box jumps, 24 inch box

James Hobart 23 rounds, Eric Magee 22 rounds, Amy Ferro 15 rounds + 5 DL (187lbs). Post rounds and fractions of rounds completed to comments.

Think you have a good deadlift?

I was browsing around youtube and found this video of Andy Bolton deadlifting 1003lbs. That is a ridiculous amount of weight to pick up, I don't think anyone I know can do even half that!

CrossFit WOD:
For time:
50 Box jump, 24 inch box
50 Jumping pull-ups
50 Kettlebell swings, 1 pood
Walking Lunge, 50 steps
50 Knees to elbows
50 Push press, 45 pounds
50 Back extensions
50 Wall ball shots, 20 pound ball
50 Burpees
50 Double unders

The Mendes Brothers

Yesterday I confirmed that Rafael and Guilherme Mendes will be at The Stronghold to conduct a seminar June 12(the Sat. after Worlds). I will figure out all the details later this week. If you have not yet heard of them, they are currently two of the top BJJ players on International stage. Check out their highlight video!

CrossFit WOD: Rest Day

Injuries

Sometimes injuries in BJJ can really get you down, but you don't have to let them! If you are a serious practitioner, you should still be going to class, taking notes and training the moves mentally. With all the information on the internet and on DVD, you should be constantly studying the BJJ game. Also, give your injuries time to heal, there is nothing worse than thinking you are good to go and re-injuring yourself! Jiu Jitsu is a turtle race, stay in it for the long haul and let your body heal up!

CrossFit WOD:
Snatch balance 1-1-1-1-1-1-1

Pan Jiu Jitsu Championships 2010

Today we had 4 competitors at the biggest(size) tournament of the year. Unfortunately no one placed but Ben, Bret, Cory and Jason represented us well and gained invaluable experience. This is just another step in improving their BJJ game and we are proud of them for stepping up! Within the upcoming weeks we will be preparing for the Fabio Santos Open on May 15th. This will be a great warm up for the upcoming IBJJF tournaments this year. Be ready for some hard training!

CrossFit WOD: Rest Day

Marcelo Garcia Highlight

This month we are going over controlling and attacking the back. Check out this highlight of the master of the back, Marcelo Garcia! Here's a cool quote to think about:

Eddie Bravo: if you don't get the choke, whats the next move?
Marcelo Garcia: there is no next move, I'm going to get the choke.

CrossFit WOD:

For time:
Row 500 meters
150 Double-unders
50 Burpees

Post time to comments.

Michelle Nicolini

Here's a video of my favorite female black belt, Michelle Nicolini. She took 2nd at the Worlds in 2009. Check out her slick spider/de la riva-triangle set up at 3:05 of the video. Unfortunately there aren't too many other videos of her up on youtube!

CrossFit WOD:

Overhead Squat 5-5-5-5-5 reps

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Pan Jiu Jitsu Championships

The Pan BJJ championships start this week on Thurs! There are over 2800 competitors this year. Here is a rundown of what happened last year at the Pan. Jason, Ben, Cory, Vince and Bret will all be competing in the biggest tournament in the U.S. Please wish them well!

CrossFit WOD: Rest Day!

Paul putting the finishing touches on the mats!

Sorry I've been out of the loop for a couple of days. This past Thur and Fri Jeremy, Ben, Bret, Big Chris and myself went up to Robert Drysdales Pan Am training camp. Rob is an excellent teacher and the training was very tough! We have some good techniques and training methods to share with everyone. Have a Happy Easter, back to it on Monday.

CrossFit WOD:

For time:
10 Dumbbell Clean & Jerks
1 Weighted pull-up
9 Dumbbell Clean & Jerks
2 Weighted pull-ups
8 Dumbbell Clean & Jerks
3 Weighted pull-ups
7 Dumbbell Clean & Jerks
4 Weighted pull-ups
6 Dumbbell Clean & Jerks
5 Weighted pull-ups
5 Dumbbell Clean & Jerks
6 Weighted pull-ups
4 Dumbbell Clean & Jerks
7 Weighted pull-ups
3 Dumbbell Clean & Jerks
8 Weighted pull-ups
2 Dumbbell Clean & Jerks
9 Weighted pull-ups
1 Dumbbell Clean & Jerks
10 Weighted pull-ups

Use 25, 45, or 65 pound dumbbells. Use one of the C&J dumbbells as the load for the weighted pull-ups. Placing the dumbbell between legs crossed at the ankles works very well.

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