I’ve recently had the opportunity to cross train with members of various other local jiu-jitsu schools. It has been quite an interesting experience training with students of other styles and understanding their fighting mindset. It allows me to broaden my jiu-jitsu by trying out my techniques on someone who would not react in the same [...]
(by James Smart, co owner and head instructor at Gracie Jiu Jitsu Cape Town) In the Jiu Jitsu world, we know about the changes that Helio Gracie made to Japanese Ju Jitsu. By using leverage he made it more useable by a smaller weaker person and he incorporated live sparring. Some also know that [...]
2009 was a great jiu jitsu year for me. I attended two awesome black belt seminars, one by Ryron Gracie himself, the other by South African black belt Nicolas Gregoriades. I was tested for (and was awarded at the beginning of this year with) my blue belt and I have trained with some great jiu [...]
James has started posting some of his thoughts about the mindset required to train effectively in jiu jitsu. You can read them on the Academy’s Facebook page. I chatted to James about taking these mindset moments and expanding to give us a better understanding of the mindset and how to acheive it. To do this [...]
Something I have always struggled with is this concept of learning to relax while sparring. It is always easy to relax and practice a technique slowly in class, your training partner is usually as focused on the learning of the technique as you are, so you can take your time and make sure you have [...]
Last night I got to roll with one of my instructors, James. This is always a humbling experience and I’m quietly (unless he reads this) convinced that he chooses to spar with me right at the point that I am starting to regularly get submissions on others, just to remind me that I am still [...]
Lately Gary and James have been focusing on some of the more basic elements of jiu-jitsu. Getting back to basics, as it were. Revisiting elements of the Gracie combatives, working on basic things like maintaining position and not being to attached to a technique or submission. Sometimes in the heat of sparring and day to [...]
I am physically bigger than most people and it is often a simple thing to merely power out of a hold than to use pure technique. I try as much as possible to avoid this and therefore if I find someone I am rolling with is putting on a hold and the only way out [...]
Finer Details. A few months ago an issue of GracieMag contained an article of 101 “back-to-basics” type pointers of jiu-jitsu. There were quite a few truths to be learned therein, some which I have incorporated into my jiu-jitsu, others which reminded me of simple details I had forgotten. The point is, there is no limit [...]
It’s good to be back. The feel of the mat, speaking jiu-jitsu with fellow students, the awesomeness of the rolling. The Feastive season is over and I am training jiu-jitsu again, and its great! Something that I spent some time doing in the off time was thinking about the previous years sparring and techniques learned [...]