How can Students help your Academy grow?

I ran across a posting yesterday and thought it was great! Of course having a legit instructor is a huge key to an academy growing, but there are many other factors as well. I fell in love with Gracie Barra Texas not only because Professor Draculino is the best in my eyes, but also because everyone that is part of the team.

There are so many different walks of life and professions that come through those doors and none of it makes a bit a difference when they step on the mats together. Working at GBTX for over 6 years I've seen Police officers training together with ex convicts, Doctors training with mechanics, the list could go on and on. BJJ really is for everyone. When everyone steps off the mat some people go their separate ways, but others hang around and start forming that special bond that build that family environment within the academy. When I say family, I don't mean you hang out outside of the academy only. I'm talking about people willing to help each other in the time of need. I personally have had teammates help me fix my cars, help plumbing issues in my house, bought cars from, and probably the most important improved my career by giving me a better full time job. Its not only your instructors job to make everyone feel welcome, its also the other employees within the academy, and also you the student. Lets be honest, the owner of the academy can do all the marketing in the world to reach people and those people will come, but the team won't grow if there are a bunch of egotistical jerks that train there and these new students don't feel welcome. The one thing all upper belts should remember, is you were all once a white belt. Remember the first day you showed up? How nervous were you? Everyone training regardless of belt color or experience deserves respect, if you do this as well as the write up below you should have your mats packed!

Words by Kyle Hand at http://grapplersplanet.com/jiujitsu-etiquette/.

Just like all other sports, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Etiquette needs to be observed. Here is what you need to keep in mind. I’ll do this in order of ‘good advice’ to ‘essential’.


Greet every partner with a smile & handshake

If you don’t know your training partner, take a quick second to introduce yourself and get their name. If this the second or third time someone has gotten your name and not remembered it, don’t worry about it. A Jiu Jitsu mat is a terrible place to play the name game. You have probably forgotten a name or two as well.

Use the proper title for your instructor

Watch what the other students do. Most places I have been to don’t require that you refer to instructor as sifu, or teacher but use some tact and see what the others do. Most schools have Brazilian roots and Brazilians are a pretty informal group of people. On special occasions, the higher ups may call each other ‘Professor’ or ‘Maestro’.

Clean Gi & Clean body

Come to class with the gi totally clean. Jiu-Jitsu mats are not always the cleanest places. They are often home to pathogens and bacteria. Gis can pick up mat diseases. So do your part and clean your gi directly after every practice. Same goes for your body. This shouldn’t have to be said but shower after every BJJ class. Trim your nails as well. Nails can slice and cut your training partners. Pretty standard stuff here.

Mind the Rule book

This is a big one. If you are a white belt, don’t go into practice matches and start slamming and striking. If you’re new to BJJ and it is still not clear on the rules start here

Don’t strike
Don’t slam
No eye gouges
No hair pulling
Don’t grab and bend the individual fingers

Never take your opponents actions as personal

This is the big one. Never take your training partners moves as personal. Even if they are offending this rule, do not play into this downward spiral. This is a difficult point as we are in a very close quarters martial art. There is a very fine point to clarify here, so pay close attention. I am not fighting another human being. I am in contest against my practice partners ‘game’. Jiu Jitsu is a series of offensive or defensive moves against an opponent taking similar action against me. I may like or not like this person. But during the Jiu Jitsu live training session, it is not relevant what my personal feelings are about that person. Master this distinction and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu will be a lot more manageable.

Show Respect

One of the best things about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is the show of respect. There is an air of mutual reverence that is infectious. You don’t see this level of good behavior in other areas of life. This shocked me when I first joined. One would think that a BJJ gym consists of a bunch of anti social, maladjusted men giving each other the stink eye. We watch people use disrespect as a tool to harvest respect. This only works in situations where people cannot measure others. In the BJJ school the hierarchy is clear. Black belts have the rank and the ability to back it up. The senior belts show respect to everyone regardless of belt and rank. They do this because their journey has been stained with hardship and humility. Anyone can make a claim that he/she is the best, but they will be expected to back it up. The best route to take is smile and be friendly with all of your practice partners. Thank them for the roll they just participated in with you and always remember that if you are disrespectful on the mat you are not getting the essence of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Leave the ego at the door

You cannot develop your Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu game and maintain a bloated ego at the same time. Big egos in the dojo just read like mental problems. Don’t be that guy. One would think big egos would be super useful in a thing like Jiu JItsu but they aren’t. In fact, after a couple minutes of live mat time the people in the class will have a great understanding of who you are and your abilities. If you walk into a new mat room with an air of superiority they will throw their Alphas at you and quietly celebrate when you get tapped. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is very revealing that way. So again, leave the ego at the door.

Conclusion

At Brazilian Jiu Jitsu’s center is a martial arts system for dealing with larger, stronger opponents. All the other stuff like the ‘tough guy’ acts, disrespect, big egos and bad hygiene have nothing to do with BJJ. They are distractions. Do your best to stay away from the above examples and you should do great.

See you on the mat & Keep it Gentlemen.

From the mind of Babalu... What to eat for dinner after training.

A couple days ago I ran across a post on Facebook by a friend of mine asking people where he could get so menudo in our area of town. First of all, me being a current fat body and knowing the restaurants in the area I gave him an option where he could probably get some. Secondly, menudo is terrible! If you don't know what it is google it... basically its a traditional Mexican soup that has cow stomach or tripe in it. The texture of the tripe... yuck... gives me goosebumps just typing about it. If you take the tripe completely out of the equation, the broth and the hominy that's in it is actually pretty good. This turned into an idea from him, what are some things that we should could eat after training. If you are like me, I don't eat dinner until after training. Sometimes training can run kind of late, so he needed some ideas of some healthy meals to eat when he is done. Well Eddie this is for you!

In a perfect world you would have spent a few hours on Sunday prepping your meals for the week. When I wasn't fat this is exactly what I did. I would grill or bake a couple of packages of chicken breast each Sunday. Now I know that plain chicken breast doesn't really taste that great, so I would buy marinades. I personally like the KC Masterpiece 30 minute marinades, Honey Teriyaki and Classic Steakhouse. Now these may have some sugar and sodium in it, but it makes the chicken taste great and its better for you than eating pizza. Another thing I would make on Sundays would be a pan of Lean Turkey Meatloaf and the only thing I would put in there would be a packet of Lipton Onion soup mix. So those would be my proteins for the week, lunches and dinners. The sides are easy you can buy the single cups Uncle Bens brown rice, some sweet potatoes, for your carbs. I would also have plenty of veggies like green beans, broccoli, or whatever you like. So I would eat 6-8 oz. of protein, either a cup of rice or a small sweet potato, and 4 oz. of veggies. I wanted to mix it up a little I would just make a salad with the chicken breast. So that is a perfect world. It worked for me for a very long time, guess what I got away from it and was inactive for quite some time so I became obese lol!

Now what to eat if you don't meal prep? You still have some options. They all won't taste as great as an A1 Thick and Hearty meal from Whataburger, but they will work in a pinch. A lot of major grocery stores will carry Rotisserie Chicken. The chicken is usually quite tasty, since you are at the store already get you a cup a of brown rice and a can of green beans and you're set. If you don't feel like Rotisserie Chicken, most of these stores have a deli with a salad bar. You can make your very own salad. You really have to be careful here, salads are not always healthy. If you are adding bacon, fried chicken, and tons of ranch you are doing it wrong. Add as much greens as you like, add a protein to it like chicken breast or turkey breast. I also like to add some hard boiled egg whites to it. For dressing use a vinaigrette of some sort or my favorite fat free Honey Mustard.

Now if you must eat out here a few options to consider. As always you have the Subway or sandwich shop option, Chicken or Turkey breast on wheat, no mayo (mustard is fine) filled with greens and no chips. Any restaurant that has salads, but always keep in mind what is on the salads. Another option you have if you must east out is a Mexican restaurant. You can always choose the chicken fajitas with the onions and peppers. You are going to have to stay away from the beans, rice, and tortillas. You could possibly have 1 flour tortilla or 2 corn. Some of the large chains offer black beans which would probably be fine. If its beef you want, you can find you steak house that has a lean cut of steak and eat 8 oz. just choose your sides wisely. Seafood? Usually anything that is grilled fish or shrimp would be good. I am not a fish person at all so you are on your own for that one.

In most towns or cities you should be able to find a restaurant that serves something somewhat healthy that you can eat. A lot of these big chain restaurants will probably even have a portion of the menu that has healthier options for you. You just have to make the right decision. Trust me I know, it's not always easy making the right decision! That's why its just easier to not put yourself in that situation and have your food prepped already. Don't forget you can always have one or cheat meals per week, just don't blow it out of the water and not get back on track. In closing don't forget PIZZA IS DELICIOUS!!! #teamweightloss

Did you say leg locks?!?!?!?

This week in our academy has been leg lock week! Remember when I said in a previous posts that I am still learning, well this is something that I am DEFINITELY still learning on. Ever since I started training BJJ, I've known that leg locks were there and to be cautious of them. Sure I've learned some set ups for straight ankle locks, toe holds, etc... and also how to defend them properly, but today's BJJ foot locks has become all the rage! Its so crazy right now that there is even an Instagram profile based solely on foot lock set ups and finishes. There are so many different set ups and variations that I personally don't know where to start and sometimes what to look for. This is a serious problem for me. Being a former basketball player for most of my life, I have suffered broken feet, fractured ankles, and terrible sprains. You name it and it has probably happened to me. So I've always had an issue when someone has come even remotely close to touching my feet. To say the least these next couple of weeks should be very interesting for me. I am nervously excited to learn more about them, and more than likely I will be tapping regularly hahaha! Share some of your thoughts on leg attacks and some of your favorite techniques you use. If you didn't know there is a comment section below, please use it!

Here is a video with only 105 Leg lock variations! 105 WTF!!!




On another note, today was probably the most comfortable I have felt on the mat in long time, except for that one roll with Professor Marcelo today, lol he likes to play with my emotions and toys with me! It has been no secret that I have struggled this year, coming back from injury and getting back to where I know I should be with timing, cardio, etc... Today was just a step in the right direction. Things seemed to flow better then they had in a long time, my timing felt good, I wasn't forcing anything just taking what was given to me and capitalizing on others mistakes. I am very hopeful!

Good Article on Bloddy Elbow about Tom DeBlass

If you are a student of BJJ and love learning new things about the art, one of the best follows on social media is Tom DeBlass. He is not only a beast on the mats, he is constantly showing techniques, workout ideas, and his opinions on BJJ and life. He is a great follow for sure! Check out this link and learn a little bit more about him! This interview was done by Roy Billington on Bloodyelbow.com

When it comes to grappling, there are few people more influential than Tom DeBlass. DeBlass, a former World No-Gi champion, two-time ADCC trials winner, and a two-weight Ring of Combat champion, has been at the forefront in popularizing jiu jitsu in the New Jersey area. And after an illustrious competitive career, he is about to try his hand at promoting.

DeBlass' martial arts journey began through pain. Following a highly successful high school athletic career as a long jumper, he was recruited to compete at a collegiate level. DeBlass' dreams of achieving greatness in the long jump were pulled from beneath him when he suffered a devastating ankle ligament injury, which forced him to retire from the sport. While recovering from injury, De Blass' competitive fire still continued to burn and it was at that point that he decided to give submission grappling a try.

Following a stint training under Eric Colon, DeBlass, then a white belt, elected to join UFC veteran Ricardo Almeida's academy. Under the tutelage of Almeida, DeBlass began to rapidly ascend through the jiu jitsu ranks. On the surface everything seemed to be going well for DeBlass - he had a good job and was a college graduate, but he wanted more from life:

"I was 23 years old, I was a school teacher. I thought to myself, I love teaching but I'm teaching the wrong subject. Jiu-jitsu is the subject i need to teach."

At that moment DeBlass decided to dedicate his life to jiu jitsu, leaving behind his comfortable job as a teacher to embark on a journey of passion. In 2006, DeBlass, then a 24-year-old brown belt, opened up his own academy in Ocean County, New Jersey.

The following few years were very successful for DeBlass. As a brown belt, DeBlass won the Pan Ams and the No- Gi worlds. Once the New Jersey native earned his black belt, he began to have success at the highest level, earning medals at a number of illustrious events - most notably winning the ADCC North American trials in 2009. The ADCC trials acted as a litmus test for DeBlass, and while he didn't take home a medal, he showed he could hang with the best after putting on a very competitive match with Andre Galvao.

After ADCC 2009, DeBlass chose to follow in the footsteps of his grappling fathers, Ricardo Almeida and Renzo Gracie. In 2010 DeBlass choose to swap the gi for the gloves and began a career mixed martial arts.

"Fighting felt like the natural next step for me. I wanted to face my fears and fight to prove to my students that it was it is imperative to be comfortable in uncomfortable situations."

DeBlass' aptitude for MMA was natural. Over the course of 18 months, Tom DeBlass would rack up seven straight wins inside the cage, winning the Ring of Combat title in both the light-heavyweight and heavyweight divisions. DeBlass' winning streak didn't go unnoticed - he was pegged as a highly-touted prospect and following an injury pull-out, UFC matchmaker Joe Silva offered him the opportunity to take on Cyrille Diabate in Sweden on 10 days notice.

DeBlass would taste defeat for the first time on that night in Stockholm, but despite being injured he saw the fight as an important lesson:

"I don't regret taking the fight against Diabate. I learned so much about myself in that fight. Most people don't know this, but I had a broken ankle when I took that fight. Despite the defeat, that fight was a great learning experience for me."

DeBlass would go on to make the move to middleweight to fight Riki Fukuda, in the UFC's inaugural trip to China, but following a 30lbs weight cut he again came up short. His loss to Fukuda signaled the end of his UFC tenure, but in the background his academy was growing from strength-to-strength.

Back at Ocean County Jiu Jitsu, the future of grappling was taking its first steps. Alongside top women's competitor Jen Russell, a young Garry Tonon was learning his trade. While juggling his MMA career, DeBlass was ushering on the next generation of grapplers.

Months removed from his UFC stint, DeBlass signed with Bellator in a bid to continue on with his MMA career, but unbeknownst to him, he was soon to become disillusioned with the sport he once loved. After a stoppage victory against Carlos Brooks, DeBlass took on UFC vet Jason Lambert in what would be a one-sided domination. In the first round DeBlass knocked out Lambert and it was that fight that made him reconsider his fighting career:

"In my heart I always missed jiu jitsu. I wanted martial arts to be fun again. I didn't find pleasure after knocking out Lambert or stopping Carlos. To me jiu jitsu is always so much fun and I couldn't find joy in MMA anymore."

Despite being given the opportunity for big-name fights in the Bellator cage, DeBlass hung up his gloves for the final time in 2013 and made his return to grappling. Just weeks into his return to grappling, DeBlass won the No-Gi Pan Ams in the Ultra Heavyweight division, which would act as a springboard into a successful 2014 for the Ocean County Jiu Jitsu family.

2014 is the year that jiu jitsu began to permeate its typical niche and this was partly due to the success of DeBlass' first black belt. Garry Tonon would illuminate the world of grappling in 2014 with his victory at the inaugural Eddie Bravo Invitational, while his professor would begin to reassert himself as one of the most impressive heavyweight grapplers in America. 2014 would see DeBlass defeat Babalu Sobral, win the Professional Grappling League's super-fight and most importantly, win the ADCC North American trials for a second time, booking himself a place at ADCC 2015.

2015 would bring DeBlass mixed results; while he failed to medal at ADCC, DeBlass took home gold in the Masters absolute at the No-Gi World Championships, without dropping a single point. On-mat successes aside, 2015 would be the year that acted as a springboard for DeBlass to move to the promotional side of the sport.

After becoming somewhat of an online celebrity within the jiu jitsu world for his Facebook videos, which receive hundreds of thousands views per month, the team behind the Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission World Champions approached DeBlass to be the promoter of their North American trials. DeBlass, a two-time trials winner, duly accepted and sees the trials as an opportunity to move his career to the next step:

"It's a huge honor to work with ADCC. I won the trials two times and I always thought of ADCC as the pinnacle of grappling. I take the responsibility very seriously and hope to bring the competitors a smoothly-run amazing tournament. They already have registration open seven months early and I am looking forward to a good tournament."

As DeBlass moves into his grappling prime, his goals remain simple:

"My primary goal is to continue to inspire as many people as possible and of course win every competition I compete in. I have been very lucky and blessed to have achieved all that I have at 33 years old."

Sensible Portions Weight Loss Meals Begins!

So today marked the beginning of my journey with Sensible Portions Weight Loss Meals. Let me tell you to start, everyone knows dieting is no fun. Everyone knows that there is an adjustment period, where your body has to adjust to eating less food and your mind to stop having those cravings! Its especially hard to stay on track when you're eating same stuff all the time. I did this for such a long time, eating 6-8 ounces of chicken breast, 4 oz of veggies, and cup of brown rice for most of my meals and it worked. There is no secret to it, it worked, but no matter how many different ways you try to cook the chicken eating it all the time gets old really quick! Sure there are other things you can make, but throwing a bunch of chicken breast on the grill or in the oven was just easy.

What is great about this company is they do it all for you! Not only that, they change up the what they ship to you every week so you don't get tired of the same meals. I received my first week of meals on Thursday of last week when I did the video and like I said they were packaged awesome. There was only one issue and it was no fault of theirs, but the box clearly stated how it should be facing. I guess fedex didn't take the time to read it and place the box on the side. So some of the meals may not look as pretty as they intend, but let me tell you right now this first day I was pleasantly surprised. I had 3 meals today and they were all delicious! Now I will admit that, forgot to take a picture of my lunch, because well I was starving! I never realized just how much I really eat per meal, so I am having to adjust to this. I was hungry all day, but I fought temptation so far... YAY!!! I had to drink water to keep the cravings down and had to stay busy. I went to BJJ this evening and that is another adjustment. With eating so few calories and carbs your energy level is low and you get winded quicker. It happens and you adjust, I'm too heavy right now so this needs to happen and I need to stay on track to help with not only my BJJ, but also everyday life.

So my breakfast today was a cheese omelette, 2 slices of bacon, and some colorful potatoes. Everything was delicious! Here is a photo.

I didn't get a picture of my lunch, but it also tasted great! It was pot roast, that was shredded up, some steamed carrots, and some more potatoes. The pot roast had some really great flavor and wasn't dry at all. Carrots were crisp and flavorful as well.

My dinner was probably the largest meal of the day and it was meat loaf, green beans, and potatoes. I really enjoyed the meat loaf. Since I'm a meat and potatoes guy this was a perfect meal for me. Again, the meat loaf had awesome flavor! I am really excited to try everything else I have received and the other weeks to come.

Photo of My meat loaf:

If you're interested here is this weeks menu:

Please follow along as I try to I go through this. Your support means a lot and I need it. I love, pizza, burgers, mexican food! You name I love it, but this needs to happen and there is no better time than the present. If you are interested in you starting your own journey give it shot. At $80 for a weeks worth of food (15 meals) you can't beat that! #teamweightloss

Ouch! Shots Fired!

I am looking forward to this fight. Eddie looks like he starting to take things very personal! I think guys like Eddie Alvarez and Frankie Edgar would give Conor a real tough time. What are your thoughts? What are some of the other fights on this card that you are excited about?

Bag Drills

Here are some of the bag drills that I like to do. I do it in my garage with the door closed and my gi on. In Houston you can imagine the heat and the sweat. You can get a really good workout depending on how hard you go. Of course you can do these with a partner, but who has those around all the time. I also like this guys videos he posts all good stuff! Spreading the knowledge is what its all about.

Its all in the hips

As we all know your hips are one of the most important parts of your bjj game. If you feel like your hips just aren't working then you should try some of these moves. I'm not saying they are an instant fix, but they do help. I've used these, as well as, some bag work to try and get mine back, its a still a work in progress but I'm getting there. I will post some bag drills you can do at a later today.

From the mind of Babalu... Back at it!

Woah!! It has been over 4 years since I last made a post. I've been slacking, life has been busy and let's just say my time has been very limited. June 1st 2012 was my last post and a lot has happened since then. Lets see on that date:

1. I was still a 4 stripe purple belt!
2. I was about to make a career change
3. I was preparing for IBJJF Worlds Masters (I placed 3rd)

Lets speed this up a bit, I was awarded my Black Belt in July of this year by my Instructor and mentor Professor Draculino. One of the best instructors in world and one of the best human beings I have had the pleasure to meet. You know my story is like a lot of other peoples. I grew up an athlete, got injured, got fat, and BJJ brought me back to life. When I started I was 270lbs, I was obese! I trained hard, learned as much as I could, and was fortunate to win my share of tournaments. I learned early as a blue that the Ultra Heavyweight division just wasn't for me. So I set out to lose more weight. I dieted down and at one point in time I had gotten down to 202 lbs which for me it was a bit to small. So I usually hung around 220 and was comfortable with that. I love pizza, well who the hell doesn't! Fast forward to February of 2015 and my back put me out of commission. When I say out of commission I couldn't do anything, no BJJ, no weights, nothing! During that time I was dumb, real dumb and ate like it was nobody's business. So I'm fat again! I got back on the mats regularly in January of 2016 and haven't looked back. Let's get one thing straight though, missing so much time sucks! You lose all timing, your technique is sloppy, your cardio sucks, your hips don't move correctly, and its all so DAMN FRUSTRATING! When you're used to training a certain way and doing many different techniques with ease and now you can't, really makes you have to reevaluate everything and question your BJJ. So that's where I'm at now. I am working on improving and soaking everything up again. Even though I am a black belt, I am still a student and always learning. By keeping an open mind and trying new things your game will always continue to grow. I listen to everyone, doesn't matter if they are instructors or not could be a random blue belt. People who share the same passion as you always have good things to share.

As I set out from the beginning, this blog is something I will use to keep me accountable for my training and the Sensible Portions Weight loss meals journey. Also, like before, I will post videos of techniques, training, workouts (circuit training and weights), MMA, and just have some damn fun! Who knows maybe I will get back to interviewing random students, White belts to black belts, if you have an interesting story I may share it. Follow along, and enjoy the Babalu Experience for some good clean family fun! See you on the mats!

Combat Jiu Jitsu... What do you think??

Rolled Up Episode 32: Draculino – Where the old school meets the new school

Rolled Up Episode 32: Draculino – Where the old school meets the new school

Budo Videos was in the house!!  Check it out!

Justgipants.com!!!

Kron Gracie Speaks!

The Rise of “Toquinho”

The Rise of Toquinho from stuart cooper Films on Vimeo.

Roger Gracie Interview

Great interview by one the greatest BJJ players in the world.