Welcome back everyone. It has been a very long time, but I finally have the first steps to the Silverback Academy rolling(no pun intended) We are having BJJ classes, and now we are offering Krav Maga classes through the IKI. Check out the link on the home page for Silverback Academy and check us out. I still have a lot of work and information to put up so check back it's coming along a little bit every day!
I just want to announce today my good friend and training partner Dion has received two more stripes making him a 4 stripe blue belt. He has been training a long time, and started when Carlson Gracie was teaching in Chicago, then later moving to Virginia and training with Asher Willner and New Breed. Dion is an extremely talented and humble guy who has been an inspiration to myself and many many more at the gym. He constantly seeks not only to improve himself but everyone he trains with. He shows everything he knows, holds nothing back and has the true desire to be the best. Dion, your promotion is well deserved and we're all proud of you! Keep rolling, and I can't wait to see you on the mat to help you break in those new stripes! -Sean
First of all let me just say happy new years to everyone. I hope you all had a safe and fun holiday season and got a chance to take a little break from work. I have been a little slow in blogging recently, I've been out of town, visiting family and friends but the beginning of 2008 will get me back on track and we should have some good blogs coming out soon. So for now, just hang loose, train hard, don't get injured and have a great January. I'll be posting hopefully by the end of the week again. Also I have had some requests from people who want to contribute to this blog, I'd love anyone to share their thoughts, and if you are interested in blogging, or submitting a blog to me, just email me at sean@gorillagrapplinggear.com and I will try and get you posted. Thanks!
Results: Yesterday I talked a little about how I felt like I needed to branch out in my ground fighting especially as it related to leg locks and submissions not focusing on the upper body. After I posted I spent a lot of my time that was not filled with work pondering and thinking about leg locks and knee bars. It didn't stop there though, I had to think about my game when I was in someone's closed guard a bit differently also. Normally when I think about leg locks I think about setting them up when I am playing in someone's open guard, and their legs are easily accessible to me. After a couple hours of pondering I had an idea, a new approach to break guard, an explosive movement that relied on distance and technique and slightly different points of control than I would normally use to break and pass guard. I was lucky enough to have the chance to teach this to an advanced jiu-jitsu class and test it out against some of the best players in the school. This process helped me refine what I already knew as well as let me figure the best way to teach and describe the correct types of pressure technique to a variety of people with differing body types and grappling styles. Anyway, what the true point of this post was, to follow up from yesterday. I want you to be aware that in just taking a little time to explore a side of grappling I am not as proficient in, looking as sambo, I was able to not only learn some techniques they have, but I was also able to incorporate and gain a new perspective on techniques that I always use, and refine my main game all the way down to basic skills and basic positioning. So again, I encourage you to take a look around at different styles, don't let you grappling become stagnant, I am a great example of how just taking a little time can completely give you a new perspective and refine your current game and open you up to new and different submissions, and keep advancing your skill level and knowledge of grappling over all. Thanks again for reading, keep supporting Gorilla Gear! -Sean
