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DVD Review: Josh Barnett Attacking the Guard DVD and Catch Wrestling Vol. I Punishing Rides 2 DVDS that will change the way you Grapple

9/4/2014

2 Comments

 
Attacking the Guard
I watched about 5 minutes of this video and thought to myself, “Do people understand what this guy is showing? Because if they did EVERYONE that participates in today’s MMA, Grappling and BJJ competitions would own this DVD!”

That is how good I thought the concepts and techniques coming out of this DVD were, and that was just the first 5 minutes! 

Josh delves into concepts of posture and breaking grips in addition to punishing and breaking guard players wide open. He isn’t nice about it either. Josh shows you techniques and approaches that are generally frowned upon in most BJJ dojos because of their meanness, aggression and effectiveness against even the most dominant guard players. 

If that wasn’t enough I got just as much if not more out of the Catch Wrestling Vol. I Punishing Rides DVD also starring Josh Barnett. 

Punishing Rides DVD
Barnett shares great rides for Wrestling, Grappling and MMA. These are not just your typical Folkstyle wrestling rides either. These rides have teeth big enough to sink into any grappling situation. These are offensive rides and hold down positions not just lay-and-wait positions. 

One of the most poignant speeches is about BJJ and the lack of rides and pressures. His words seem almost prophetic looking back on it now. He talked quite emphatically about the usefulness and possibilities of a certain Head and Arm ride. It is this same ride that he defeated Dean Lister with during their Metamoris 4 bout. Their match was the first time Lister has been submitted in 16 years.

On top of showing some great technique and insights Josh gets more loose and entertaining as the DVD progresses. He is very funny. Just about everything in this DVD is unconventional from a BJJ standpoint and that is what is so great about it. This tuff works!

As a competitor Josh Barnett has done and won everything there is to be won in the sport; UFC champion, Pancrase Champion, IBJJF No Gi World Champion and Metamoris Super Heavyweight World Champion. 

You would think at some point the BJJ and Grappling community in general would begin to take notice and listen to what this guy has to say. However I am willing to bet that they won’t to their own detriment. Too often Brazilian Jiu Jitsu’s downfall is its own popularity and perceived value. 

BJJ for whatever reason both proclaims to be “the new revelation” yet at the same time holds to “tradition” and shuns anything that is not BJJ. I can’t tell you how many times BJJ guys will sit and tell me how BJJ guys can beat wrestlers and go on and on. I think to myself that they must be complete BJJ tools if they still believe that BJJ is invincible. In grappling situations they certainly thrive but let’s be honest, it has been a long time since a BJJ purist has held any of the major MMA titles.

If there is any one thing that real practitioners of the grappling arts should come to accept is that no one single art has the lock on effectiveness. Both of the Josh Barnett DVD’s show exactly why Catch-as-Catch-Can Wrestling is one of the best sources for powerful grappling techniques. I was extremely happy when Barnett submitted Lister using tried and true CACC techniques because it once again proved the effectiveness of one of the oldest and best forms of grappling around. I found so many gems in this DVD that it is currently at the top of my “must watch” list for grappling. 

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Get Better at Grappling Through Competition

10/19/2013

1 Comment

 
Over the years I’ve followed many a Facebook thread and forum
topic that talk about who is tougher in grappling, Jiu Jitsu and wrestling. Many
times these are interesting threads but most of them very one sided and written
by folks that think they know more than they do about the grappling arts.
Sometimes I laugh, sometimes I get frustrated, but mostly they make me
think.

I often wonder why it is that so many guys out there blatantly
pass over opportunities to get better. I wonder why in the world a grappler or
BJJ fighter wouldn’t want a fully developed takedown game. I wonder why a
wrestler crossing over to grappling and MMA wouldn’t want a fully developed
ground game. Sometimes it just boggles my mind. 

On top of that there are countless people who will only compete
in X organization or Y organization. As for me I want to compete in all of them
and win in all of them. At many events I’ve heard athletes complain about their
loss and how they would never fight in that org again. I can only assume had
they won they would decry the amazing benefits and awesome potential of that
same org. 
 
I must confess at one point I used to hate a certain grappling
organization. I felt they were completely unorganized and their capacity to run
an event was questionable. For years I didn’t compete there. I chose to find
other events that were better organized. 
 
Not participating because of losing was not part of that equation
even though I had both won and lost in that organization. In fact my general
mantra has been to compete under as many grappling flags as possible. I wanted
to find the groups that would best test my abilities and allow me the chance to
fight tough fighters and develop myself as an athlete. 
 
I loved the now defunct FILA grappling organization because there
were so many countries represented. I also loved the fact that I could fight
against international level wrestlers, judoka, MMA and BJJ fighters all in one
tournament. I also loved that as a heavyweight I finally had more guys to
compete with. Being a heavyweight sometimes means there are fewer opponents
available to compete against, this is generally true in wrestling as well. 
 
Usually at Grappler’s Quest and NAGA there aren’t a lot of
heavyweight guys so the brackets are smaller. Although I have to approach those
events with more of a ‘dual meet’ mentality I am grateful for the opportunity to
compete in them although they are often not as fulfilling as having a full
bracket of opponents. In the event that there are fewer opponents at my weight I
compete in the Absolute division which also gives another dimension. 
 
For me the whole point of competing is gaining more exposure to
the sport of grappling and allowing oneself the opportunity to see, do and
experience more grappling. The opportunity to test oneself is the real benefit.
 
I struggle with the way that many schools and athletes approach
competition. They hide themselves from risk and they fear losing more than they
desire true development. Many instructors won’t allow their students to compete
unless they know their student(s) will win. This is often solely fueled by the
instructor’s fear of losing business more than the concern about whether his
athlete(s) are prepared to compete. In every single grappling and BJJ tournament
I can think of there are multiple age, weight and skill divisions that allow
each competitor the opportunity to compete against someone of their own skill
level. If an instructor is holding you back from that what is he really teaching
you and more importantly what is he not teaching that he’s so afraid of you
competing?
 
Contrast that with wrestling tournaments where an athlete can go
up against a state or national champion in the first round whether they are
ready or not. When I began competing at the Open or Senior division at the US
Nationals at the age of 18 I didn’t have the luxury of competing against people
of my own age, weight and skill. I drew Mike VanArsdale, NCAA champion, US
National Team in Freestyle and former MMA fighter, the first round! That would
be the BJJ equivalent of being a high level blue belt and drawing Jeff Glover
for your first match!
 
I had absolutely no chance of winning but that wasn’t the point.
The point was that I was laying the foundation for future wins by losing then. I
was making that first step of confronting one of the best guys in the country
and learning that there was a higher level that I needed to
reach.
 
One of the things that I love most about grappling is that
athletes can have a chance to develop and grow on a much more conservative pace
if they need or want to. I hope more athletes will take advantage of the great
opportunities to compete. There are so many now that you can start at just
about any level for which you are ready.

Competition after all is merely a source of feedback about your
training and preparations. It shows you how you handle real time pressures and
stresses. It shows you where your technical strengths and weaknesses are
residing. It shows you your strategic strengths and weaknesses. 
 
Most athletes and coaches get so worked up over the winning and
losing part of competition that they miss the forest for the trees. Take a more
holistic look at your grappling experience and start giving tournaments and
yourself a chance.  


 
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How Will You Live Your Life Differently Now?

9/6/2013

1 Comment

 
How Will You Live Your Life Differently Now?

My brother in law Chad Isaksen recently lost his battle with Leukemia. He
died Sunday September 1, 2013 at about 10:30 AM MST at his home in Saratoga
Springs, Utah. Chad was a military man having served two tours in Afghanistan as
an US Army helicopter pilot. He also served as a US Army helicopter flight
instructor in Tennessee. Chad is survived by his lovely wife Tara and his four
children; Caleb, Tanner, Kinley and Ainsley. Chad was only 31 years old when his
body gave up the fight that his spirit would never surrender. 

His courage in the face of death was outstanding and very becoming of a US
Soldier. Not that he would define himself that way. He was much more than that.
He was a loving husband and father, a great son and brother, a faithful Mormon
missionary and so much more. 

Chad’s death was preceded by that of his younger brother Seth on July 4th
2005. Seth passed very quickly and suddenly from an accident that caused him to
slip into a coma, he died within 24 hours. 

The Isaksen’s have now suffered the loss of their two youngest children. What
a change of events from most families in which the youngest typically bury the
oldest. 

At the 2013 FILA Grappling World Team Trials I dedicated my win to Chad. I
have never done that and I had never planned on doing that. It just seemed like
the right thing to say at that time. (Watch the interview here)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GLsCj8R-7s&list=FLdoGBjCZ2khlJLDqHm6Tihw&index=1 

As I prepared for the 2013 FILA Grappling World Championships in London,
Ontario, Canada I wanted to win for Chad. Just as my training was hitting a
higher gear I sustained an injury that sidelined my training and which could
have kept me from competing at all. This was in the beginning of May. The
tournament was in the middle of June. Some nights in training I couldn’t move
without being in pain. I had no strength. I couldn’t lift weights like I wanted
to. I couldn’t drill or do much of anything like I had planned. 

I fought the best I could throughout the world tournament winning matches
against tough and seasoned opponents. In the finals match my injury was a major
factor which kept me from being fully competitive against my finals opponent. I
was fortunate to even have gotten into the finals under the circumstances.
However good fortune gave way to a superior force and I lost a close 2-0
match.

After the finals match I sprawled out on the arena floor and wept for my
brother in law and his affliction. I think on some level I hoped that maybe if I
could win that world championship in Chad’s honor it would help his chances of
winning his battle with leukemia. Of course I knew there was no direct
correlation but it made me feel like on some small level I could give a piece of
me to Chad. I couldn’t help but feel guilty for not being able to pull off that
win for him. 

During Chad’s battle with leukemia I couldn’t help but think; “How happy
am I with the life I’m currently living? Is this really what I want to
experience out of life? If Chad dies from this how will it affect my wife and
how will I live my life differently because of it?” 

I think we all ask ourselves these questions at some point in our lives but
for me these are questions that are worth answering now. I’ve come to see very
vividly how fleeting life can be. Chad was a strong vibrant soldier capable of
taking on the world and within less than a few weeks he was reduced to a
struggling chemotherapy patient. All of his previous physical powers swiftly
left him. There was nothing he could do to stop that. It was hard for us to
watch him decline like that.

Luckily the US Army enabled Chad and his family to move back to Utah to
pursue treatments at the LDS hospital in Salt Lake City. This at least gave
those of us who loved him the opportunity to be with him and support him and his
family in their fight for Chad’s life. We had many great times with Chad while
he was here. We shared campouts, family dinners, and more time to visit with
Chad and his family. 

We hear a lot about ‘quality time’ these days but I’m not so sure that
quality makes up for quantity in some cases. Just being in the presence of those
you love can make such a difference even if there is little ‘quality’ about it.
Being together means so much more when that option is no longer a possibility. 

Tonight (September 7, 2013) was Chad’s viewing. He looked so unlike himself;
he laid there a spiritless shell surrounded by loved ones. Even though it was
another moment in saying goodbye it was one of peace and hope. Tomorrow morning
will be our final goodbye as we lay Chad in the earth. 

I already miss him. My wife misses him greatly. Our children miss him. We
will always remember him as wildly vibrant and full of life, always ready for
new adventure and challenges. We hold a strong faith and hope that one day we
will all return to live with Chad and God again in our heavenly home. 

This hope notwithstanding I can’t help but feel a screaming drive inside to
reach higher in my own life. There is no time to waste sitting on the fence in
life. There is no time to waste in not pursuing your greater purpose and your
higher goals in life. I keep asking myself “How will I live my life differently?
How can I better strive to attain my goals?” I keep thinking to myself “I want
more! I want to do more and be more in my life than what I’m doing and being
now!”

I will always remember the faces of Seth and Chad as they lay in their
coffins and I will always hear the screaming drive in my head and my heart to
live more now, if not for myself then for those whose time was cut short. I hope
to live the rest of my life in such a way that it pleases God and those who have
gone before and that I can become a man of great renown and become someone who
does great things and helps others do great things. I hope to live in such a way
that my family feels compelled to honor the Ruiz name. Be it long or short this
is the road I must follow.


 
 
 
 

1 Comment

Hard Times

12/25/2012

4 Comments

 
Picture
Brandon Ruiz working for a pin at the 2007 Greco Roman Wrestling U.S. World Team Trials
I was looking back through some of my old competition and training journals the other day and it took me back to a few years ago. It made me think about all the struggles and tough times that I experienced over that period. I kept records of my performances with wins and losses and I also remember exactly the type of experiences that my little family was going through over that time. 


At the time I was wrestling in the Greco Roman style and also doing some
submission tournaments as they came up. We just had our first child and had
moved back to Utah. Up to that point my wife and I had been living in Colorado
Springs, Colorado so that I could train in Greco Roman wrestling at the Olympic
Training Center. I had done rather well during the time we were there. I had
arrived as a nationally unranked athlete and quickly moved up to All American
finishes at the national tournament. I had moved up to a 4th place national
championships finish the year we had to make the difficult decision to leave the
OTC. 

It was tough. I had been steadily improving and moving up the ranks, with a
couple more years I feel that I could have possibly made some major
breakthroughs in Greco. However we felt like our place was home closer to our
families in Utah. It was nerve racking for many reasons. I had felt that I was
so close to getting to where I wanted to go in Greco but at the same time I was
still so far. All I knew was that I had a little family to take care of and that
it meant change for my athletic pursuits. I didn’t know how to digest it all
exactly. 

When we made it back to Utah I was fortunate enough to find work as a
landscape architect consultant working on a per-job contract basis with the
landscape architecture firm that I now work for full time. It was tough
financially and it was tough for me as an athlete. I was trying to support a
family, plus work, plus train as much as I could and continue to pursue Greco
Roman wrestling success. I had just left the best training situation I could
have possibly had and added tons of additional responsibilities to my plate. 
 
The transition was tough. I had a limited number of training partners most of
which I had to teach how to wrestle Greco. The steady improvements that I had
been making as an athlete were beginning to stagnate and I was feeling like my
dream was slipping further and further out of my reach. Despite intense
fluctuations in performance and training I was able to repeat my 4th place
nationals finish the first year being back in Utah. It was enough to keep me
going in Greco but at the same time I could feel that unless I could get back to
the OTC my chances were decreasing day by day. 

Financially we were a mess. My contract jobs were up and down and I wasn’t
making full time money. It was enough to keep us afloat but not much more than
that. I was incurring thousands in personal debt on credit cards not only for
competition expenses but for day to day living expenses. It was a brutal and
doubt filled time.

To supplement my Greco training the following year I increased my training in
grappling. There were just more opportunities to grapple, yet I was still
pushing as hard as I could to get to where I wanted to go in Greco. I was at a
crossroads in my athletic career. I really wanted to have success as a Greco
Roman wrestler. I had reached a respectable level and I wanted more. I could
also see that my potential may be greater in grappling. It was a time of
confusion and soul searching. 

During this time my wife had become pregnant and we were excited to welcome
in a second child into our family. My wife and family were the ones that kept me
going forward. We began thinking more about the future and what another child
would mean. Working as a contract employee meant that we did not have health
insurance and that we would be faced with the costs of everything related to
child birth. My credit was running out and so was time to train like I wanted
to. 

Still we felt blessed that we would be having another child despite our
financial situation. We kept a positive outlook and hope in our coming baby.
Then just as things looked the darkest, they got darker. After about 3 months of
pregnancy my wife had a miscarriage and we lost the baby. We were both
devastated. It felt like we had slid into a pit and couldn’t find the way out.
Our hopes had been dashed and our spirits sunken.

Despite my lack of quality training and family hardship I competed at the
Greco nationals that year and finished in the top eight but not high enough to
get to the Olympic trials. It was very disappointing as I knew that I could have
punched my ticket at the nationals if I hadn’t lost a match that I should have
won. After I was unable to qualify for the trials I decided to leave Greco
behind and focus on grappling and family. 

I was able to get picked up full time at the landscape architecture firm and
my attitude changed. I was able to see great potential in grappling and
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for myself. I was in great shape and took all of my training
knowledge and applied it to a serious study of grappling. Within a few months I
was competitive with the higher ranked students and instructors. My belt
promotions came relatively fast. I was promoted from a purple belt level to
brown belt within my first year of serious training. At that point the snowball
got rolling. I had success after success in grappling and BJJ and enjoyed every
second of it. 

In spring I won the Pancrase world championships along with the title “King
of Combat Grappling”. I finished 3rd at the IBJJF Brazilian Jiu Jitsu world
championships that summer as a brown belt. That December I attained black belt
rank and then the week later I placed 2nd at the FILA Grappling world
championships. My wife had a successful full term pregnancy that brought happy,
healthy fraternal twins (a boy and a girl) to our family. We were so happy to
have their bright new lives become part of ours. What a year!

It was like the success I had always wanted was just on the other side of a
few critical decisions. I had to endure trying situations. I had to seek for my
own ideals of success and happiness. I had to let go of some previously very
powerful goals and embrace new ones. There were days where my own identity as an
athlete and a person were in question. This time in my life was like a refiner’s
fire that shaped and changed me into the athlete and person that I am today.

I was fortunate in finding the best sport for my personal abilities and
makeup. I was blessed to have a supportive wife who held on right along with me
and kept on believing that our lives would get better. We held onto hope for the
things we wanted out of life. Many days that was all we could do. 

There are no guarantees that success will come. My wife and I could have just
as easily fallen on more disappointment and hard times. We could have given up
called it quits. We could have done any number of things that would have caused
different results. Now years later we are moving forward in life. It’s not
perfect. We still have struggles but we understand what it takes to get through
them. 

We all will go through hard times in this life. The secret to getting through
them is keeping a bigger perspective and a big hope in the future. We understood
exactly what we were going through and why we were going through it. We never
tried to hide or mask our situation into something that it wasn’t. We accepted
the reality of those hard times and pressed on anyway. 

When you’re going through tough times keep going. Don’t stop in the middle of
it. Giving up reduces ability to trust yourself and will only add to your
disappointment. 

Some days little steps are all you will be able to take.  Other days you
might not feel like you’re taking any. Just keep going. Keep seeking for
solutions. Keep believing that life has great things in store for you. Be brave
and be willing to take the hits. Roll with the punches and keep your faith in
your future. As you endure the struggles life will see your efforts and will
start to open up to you. It may take some different turns and twists to get to
success but you will get it if you stick with it.

You can achieve greatness. You can reach your goals. Be strong. Believe.
Hope.



Picture
Justin Ruiz, Carrie Ruiz (Mom) and Brandon Ruiz contemplating the competition at the 2007 US Greco Roman Wrestling National Championships.
4 Comments

The 7 Finishing Holds of Grappling

12/20/2012

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Grappling is extremely variable. There are so many different
ways to win. There are literally thousands of variations for any number of
sweeps or positions. With all of the possibilities you may feel overwhelmed at
times when it comes to trying to finish off an opponent. 

The constant among all these variables is your body. Your body
will only allow you to move so many ways. With that in mind you can start to
hone in and isolate variables. Fortunately this can open up your game
offensively while at the same time giving you great defensive
options.

Understand that for all technique there are only 12 main
points on the body that will lead to submission holds. These are areas that can
be submitted on a regular basis of patterned attack.

1. Neck
2 & 3. Shoulders
4 & 5. Elbows
6 & 7. Wrists
8. Spine/Hips
9 & 10. Knees
11 & 12. Ankles

Now that we have established the areas that can be 'locked'
let’s take a look at the 7 most common finishing holds of grappling. There are
several names that define the position of submission. These are often techniques
that define specific application angles and body positions. Even though there
are several techniques to getting to the finishing hold there are surprisingly
few actual finishes. Here they are:

1. Neck/Spine Crank: Application of pressure at acute angles to the vertebrae.
2. Choke: Closing off the wind pipe or closing off blood flow to the brain.
3. Should Lock: Hyperextension of the shoulder tendons/girdle as applied through bent arm as in Kimura, Americana and Omoplata.
4. Arm Lock: Hyperextension of the elbow joint.
5. Wrist Lock: Compression/hyper flexion or extension of the wrist)
6. Knee Lock: Hyperextension or application of pressure at acute angles to the knee joint.
7. Ankle/Foot Lock: Application of pressure at acute angles to the ankle joint through manipulation of the ankle and/or foot.

For all the various techniques available to submit an opponent
there are really only seven finishing holds that can be applied. As you are
training I invite you to study this further. Take a deeper look at your training
and determine which of these finishes applies to the technique you are
practicing. Use this information to build a solid understanding of the principle
underlying the submission you are attempting.

It will open up your game in new and exciting ways and it will
lead you to more fun and more success in your training.




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Status Update

11/22/2012

1 Comment

 
To all my loyal followers I apologize for the absence over the past few months. Where have I been? Well to be honest I've been working on a project that I have kept hush hush until now. I'm pretty close to finishing up my first actual book, making some polishes and a few edits.

This book will absolutely change your game! I'm jamming it full of solutions to problems that guys and gals like you face on a day to day basis in their pursuit of grappling greatness.

If you've ever dealt with pre-match anxiety, stress, doubt or fear then this book is for you. If you have ever wanted to konw what the secret to getting into the 'zone' state of mind for grappling then you will want to get a hold of this.

I'm super excited about it and I've got a goal to make it available asap! I'm hoping before Christmas so that you can hit the ground running in 2013!
 
Stay tuned for more info coming soon! Also stay tuned as there are going to be some more youtube goodies coming up the end of this year too!

Hope you have a great Thanksgiving weekend!
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Brabo Set Up From Side Control

4/7/2012

0 Comments

 
Here is a video that I made a couple years ago. This is still one of my all time favorite set ups to the brabo choke. This is available a lot in matches!
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Quick Tip: Takedown to Submission

3/7/2012

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Picture
Brandon Ruiz locks up a Kimura vs Mikael Knutsson
Quick Tip -Takedown to Submission
March 7,2012
Here is a little tidbit that I thought might be helpful to you.

Capitalizing on Takedowns from both offense and defense. Whenever there is a takedown there is a possibility for submission both for the attacker (the one doing the takedown) and the defender (the one defending the takedown).


The takedown more than any other position lends itself to big openings. The
fact that both fighters go from their feet to hip, side or back leaves a lot of
wiggle room. Look for the openings available for your submissions the next time
someone takes you down. Look for openings the next time you take someone down. 

My short list: (From my takedowns)
• Achilles Lock (Standing and
Downed)
• Step Over to Boston Crab
• Step Around Arm Bar

 My short list: (From being taken down)
• Triangle Choke
• Arm Bar
• Straight Arm Bar (you push yourself off to the side and arm lock with his thumb pointed down)
• Kimura

Look for these opportunities more often and you’ll start finding more
submissions!


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