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Chewjitsu : Squash the pasta

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I personally love pasta dishes. The only problem is, they don’t love me. It never fails, after eating a plate of pasta I feel very full and ready for a nap. This is one reason I don’t eat them very often. Firstly, with my job I can’t afford to be groggy and lethargic, and second, I generally dislike eating food that makes me feel lethargic. That being said I still eat pasta from time to time. But, if you’re like me and like pasta but don’t want to be down for the count the rest of the day then this recipe is for you.
Also, some people have allergies to wheat products. If you are one of these people, this recipe might be beneficial for you as well.

What you’ll need. . .
• 1 Large spaghetti squash
• 1 lb of lean ground beef
• 1 small red onion
• 2-4 cloves of fresh garlic
• Peppers, mushrooms or anything else you’d like to add into it. I used red peppers and mushrooms myself.
• Pasta sauce. If you buy it premade, try and find one that doesn’t have sugar added.
• Herbs and spices depending on your tastes (I personally like a lot of basil, thyme and rosemary).
• 1lb Brussels sprouts
• Balsamic vinegar
• Coconut oil

Prep
1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Slice squash in even halves, then scoop out the seeds in the middle.

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3. While you wait for the oven to heat up. Chop and dice your veggies.
– Dice onions and garlic.
– Slice peppers and mushrooms.
– Cut brussels sprouts in even halves

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Squash
1. Once the oven is heated to 400, place the squash on a roasting pan with the meat of the plant facing down. Bake for about 40-45 minutes.

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2. Once baked take the squash from the oven and scoop out the insides with a spoon or fork and place into a large bowl. The meat should be soft and stringy.

Meat Sauce
1. Place ground beef on a hot pan with onions and garlic and begin browning the meat.

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2. Once the meat is browned add in extra ingredients like mushrooms and peppers you’d like, as well as the pasta sauce.

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3. While warming up the pasta sauce add herbs and seasoning to taste.

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Brussels sprouts
1. Bring a pan of water to boil. Once boiling, place sprouts into the water and remove heat and let them sit for about 5 minutes

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2. After 5 minutes place a tablespoon of coconut oil into a hot pan along with 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. Begin to add sprouts to the pan with the oil and vinegar.(you can either drain the water or pull them out with a slotted spoon).
3. Add salt and pepper to taste and begin stirring the sprouts around on medium heat until they have a sort of blackened look to them. It will only take a few minutes.

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Once everything is done place the stringy squash down on a plate and put the desired amount of sauce. The brussels sprouts are a side dish.

You now have a delicious, less carb heavy pasta style dish. The biggest benefit for me though is that I don’t feel terrible after eating the dish. Also, if you haven’t tried sprouts in a while (which seems to be the case for many adults) I urge you to give them a try. Their way better as an adult than a kid, and this recipe is super easy and delicious.

Enjoy!

Beard pictures and Beard Video

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This post has nothing to do with BJJ but I am hoping it might make you laugh a little.

Here is the video and below are the pictures. The video doesn’t work on mobile because of the music so you can either add me to facebook and watch it on my page, or just watch it on your computer. Have fun. 🙂

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKNta5wOLVM&w=560&h=315]

 

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As always, thanks for reading, or in this case, watching.

Review of our custom gi done by Da Firma

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This is a video review of the custom gi that I had done for my students. Da Firma BJJ Kimono Company is the maker of the gi and I am incredibly pleased with the result. I was able to give my students a high quality gi with three patches for less than the price of the average high end kimono. The customer service was excellent as well! P.S I am terrible in front of the camera, so I apologize. But if you are looking for a top notch custom kimono, Da Firma is worth looking into.

www.dafirmabjj.com

10 years in BJJ and 10 lessons I’ve learned (Part 5)

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“Fortune favors the bold.” – Virgil

 

 

“Swift and resolute action leads to success; self-doubt is a prelude to disaster.” Joseph Addison

 

 

“Never mind about maneuvers, go straight at them” -Admiral Horatio Nelson

 

 

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There is more to Brazilian Jiu-jitsu than winning or losing; don’t be fearful of losing – Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is an amazing sport with a very competitive community. More and more tournaments and competitions pop up all the time. Even in the gym, practitioners roll hard to submit or out position their teammates. This healthy competition keeps BJJ an ever evolving and increasingly effective martial art. Despite it being labeled the “soft art”, in my eyes, true BJJ is rough. But its real and it’s honest. Without this competitive nature it would surely go the way of McDojo TMA’s where everything is linked to a hypothetical scenario that the instructor has never experienced (i.e stopping an armed gunman with a death blow to some pressure point).

This competitive streak is a double edged sword though. It can cause BJJ players to develop a fear of losing and make them shy away from opening up their game. Made a prisoner on the mat because of a faulty mindset and restricted to a select few techniques. I’ve personally been a victim of it and I’ve seen plenty of my students experience the same irrational fear. People will build up their opponent, and by the time the match comes around they are no longer focused on winning. Rather they are now concentrated on not losing. This misplaced fear and anxiety is detrimental to performance on the mats both in the gym and in competition. This post will focus on how it has personally affected me with some take away points at the end.

Unable to open up on the mat

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There are certain matches I can look back at where I was unable to open up with my game. These matches usually came as a result of a poor mindset walking out on the mat. The guy may have been a well-known competitor and I let it get to my head or maybe he had submitted me previously and I felt afraid of getting caught again. These matches, win or lose, are the worst. No matter the outcome I feel like I didn’t show my true self on the mat and that I didn’t perform to the best of my abilities.

Then there are those matches where I felt perfect. A strange sense of calmness took over my mind even if the match was going at a furious pace. I wasn’t worried about who my opponent was or the outcome of the match. Instead my concentration was completely centered on the moves I was trying to execute and the game I was trying to play. These matches are the best because, win or lose, I was able to display my game to the best of my ability because I wasn’t consumed by any inhibiting worry.

A few personal examples (I have so many more)

1. A few weeks ago was a match where I felt satisfied with the way the match played out even though I lost. Don’t get me wrong, I would have loved to come out with my arm raised, and I was close to doing so, but we can’t win them all. When the match started I was not worried about my opponent. I was just focused on engaging him and going after the win. The match between us was fantastic and at the end we were both exhausted. I was also able to see some of the things I need to work on leading up to bigger tournaments next year. It’s also worth mentioning that I received a sizable amount of recognition and admiration for this match even though it was a loss. People enjoyed that my opponent and I were moving and attacking the whole match instead of playing it safe. Granted I don’t think I could have played it safe against him even if I wanted! 

2. Last year I faced an opponent who had submitted me years ago as a purple belt. When we stepped on the mat I would be lying if I said the thought of being choked out years ago wasn’t running through my head. The match wasn’t anything to write home about. It was ugly, in the sense that neither of us really “went for it.” I ended up winning in overtime and I felt very disappointed with my performance. I knew I had more in me but I was being cautious because I didn’t want to lose again. Nothing worse than walking off the mat feeling like you lost, even though you had your hand raised. As luck would have it I had another match against the same opponent later on that day. This time I was not worried about the match that happened in 2008, instead I was solely focused on opening up my game to the best of my abilities. I didn’t want to feel disappointed after the match again. During this 2nd engagement I pulled guard, swept my opponent and secured a rear naked choke in less than 2 minutes. Nothing really changed between the two encounters that day except my mindset and my focus.  

3. When I was a white belt of 6 months I competed in the 2004 Arnolds. Relson Gracie ran the tournament back then and it was an incredible display of BJJ. Minus the fact that was poorly ran and you had no idea when you were going to compete. It was a two day tournament with gi and no gi running on different days. The no gi day was done in a way where white-purple belts made up the “amateur” division and brown/blacks made up the “pro” division. I was stuck in a mixture of guys who had been training from 6 months to 8 years. I know this because I talked with many of the guys in the warm up area and casually threw out the question, “how long have you been training?” When I walked out to the mat I was greeted with the face of a grappler who had been training for over 6 years. I remember smiling, shaking my head a little and laughing while I was walking out onto the mat. When we shook hands before the match I grinned a bit and told him, “don’t rough me up too bad.” Again the lack of fear came over me. I whole heartedly expected to lose this match and so I went into it with the mindset of “if I am going to lose, I am going to make him work for it.” During the match I was able to score several takedowns and managed to escape a few leg lock attacks. For some reason my opponent kept trying to wrestle with me for the takedown. I was clearly the superior wrestler in this match so I was more than happy to trade takedowns. If he would have played more of a ground based game I’m sure I would have been in trouble. The match ended with the points being 6-2 in my favor. This was probably the best moment I experienced as a white belt, beating a purple belt.  I was able to execute a great performance in this match because I had nothing to lose. I believed in my mind that I was going to be beaten and so my goal was simply to perform my best. This clear-headedness gave me the ability to get myself out of some nasty spots during the match and out position my technical superior for the win.

 

If you are reading this I would like you to understand that the idea of this post is to illustrate how harmful the fear of losing can be to a grappler. How so many of us get so wrapped up with the idea of just winning or losing, that it hinders our abilities. This can even happen in the gym sometimes as well. A little anxiety and nervousness before a tournament is necessary, it keeps us on our toes and gives our gives our minds an ultra-focused state. The problem arises when we worry about all the things that aren’t in our control. Our opponent’s abilities, how our students will look at us if we lose, the way our instructor will view us if we lose, how our teammates will look at the match if we lose, etc. I speak from experience when I say I’ve experienced all of these. I also speak from experience when I say that if you lose the probability of any of these things being affected in a negative way is almost nonexistent.  Instead we should focus on the things we can control such as our training leading up to the tournament, our skills and abilities and how we plan to win the match. We train hard and we do ourselves a disservice if we allow worry to make us hesitant on the mat, because I believe that the best way to put your true abilities on display in a tournament is to be aggressive with your techniques.

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Lose the fear

– Worrying about winning and losing too much leads to hesitation.

-Don’t build your opponents up. Before tournaments matches, be sure to focus on your strengths and abilities. Go into the match focused on using your game to the best of your abilities rather than worrying about simply winning or losing.

-Never be ashamed of a loss. But you should be disappointed if you were not able to engage your opponent to the best of your abilities because you felt worried or nervous.

-If you lose, learn from it. Figure out the mistakes you made and correct them. BJJ is about learning and self-improvement.

-Set up mock tournaments in the gym with teammates. Adding tournament style rules and points can make for highly competitive situations in the gym and can help prepare you for future tournaments. You’ll get a more mild version of that adrenaline dump you experience in actual tournaments.   

-Compete more often! The more you get out there the easier it will be to deal with the pressure of competing.  Just like any other game.

 

 

 

P.S. I’m sorry this post was so damn long.

 

New episode of the Matwind Podcast

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My podcast project is still going strong. I recently did an interview with Saulo Black belt Ben Eaton.

In this episode I talk with Saulo Ribeiro black belt, Ben Eaton, and get some of his insights and experiences in BJJ such as. . .

– Starting his training in the midwest without highly skilled instructors.

– Leaving his job as a full time police officer to pursue BJJ.

– Dealing with acl tear that put him on the shelf for nearly 7 months at a time when he felt like he was at the top of his game.

– Tips on how to deal with our egos and frustrations during training.

and a lot more.

Click here! to listen to the episode

Check out the podcast website at www.matwind.com

Also if you are interested in buying a Keiko gi, head over to www.KeikoUSA.com. Use the coupon code “MatWind” and save yourself %15 off your purchase.

I received a great response from the first episode of the podcast so I hope everyone enjoys this one!

As always, thanks for thanks for reading and thanks for listening!

Chewy

 

 

10 years in BJJ and 10 lessons I’ve learned (Part 1)

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I feel like it was yesterday that I took my first BJJ class. Sadly, that was over 10 years ago. That’s right; I’ve been training Brazilian Jiu-jitsu for over 10 years! Just being able to say this makes me feel proud and super old. In honor of my landmark I came up with 10 solid lessons and experiences I’ve personally learned and share them. Each lesson will have a personal story to accompany it and then I’ll give a take-away. I will share highs and lows as well as some embarrassing moments in my BJJ career. I hope that you get something out of the stories and the lessons that go with them.

“Humility does not mean thinking less of yourself than of other people, nor does it mean having a low opinion of your own gifts. It means freedom from thinking about yourself at all.” – William Temple

“There is no respect for others without humility in one’s self.” – Henri-Frederic Amiel

“Self-praise is for losers. Be a winner. Stand for something. Always have class, and be humble.” – John Madden

“Arrogance invites ruin; humility receives benefits.” – Chinese Proverb

1.Be a humble person to those around you  – When I started training BJJ I was 18 years old. After about 6 months of constant training and competing I received my blue belt. At the time of receiving the belt, there were not many high ranking belts in the area. Most of the “higher” belts were purple belts. My streak of tournament wins combined with how quickly I acquired my blue belt as well as my 19 year old immaturity made me feel like a total “bad ass”. In addition to this, my instructor at the time wasn’t the best for putting a lid on this disrespectful attitude, instead he encouraged it. When I competed, especially at local tournaments, I felt like I was some sort of fighting animal that he could brag about after a win. Sadly, I kind of enjoyed it when I was in my “bad ass” phase. I was still a nice person, but I definitely had an obnoxious streak especially when it came down to winning, losing and competing.

3 examples of my antics

1. After being submitted I would smack the mat and drop the F Bomb.

2. I would gloat about winning constantly.

3. I would talk down about others and their BJJ.

Fast forward to early 2007 I had a conversation with my friend who would eventually become one of my BJJ coaches. He and I met up for lunch and he informed me that I could no longer train at his gym because of the negative associations that came along with my current instructor. At this point I had trained with Colin here and there for a while and considered him a friend. I didn’t want to be unable to hang out and train with my buddy! That moment made me realize the path I was on, and if I continued my path I would end up being like my instructor. He was someone who was isolated in the local BJJ community because of their brashness and poor attitude towards others. I knew deep down that I was not that kind of person, so soon after I separated from my instructor and began the “humblization” process under my new coaches. I am a confident person but I’ve done my best to rid myself of that my previous cocky, egotistical edge. I don’t think I would be a successful instructor, competitor or even liked in the community if I hadn’t done that.  This was one of the best lessons I ever learned through BJJ and has definitely carried over into other aspects in my life.

 

The take away

No one wants to be around a cocky jerk that is full of him or herself. One of the best parts about this sport is the amazing communities, and you cannot be a part of these communities if you don’t lose your ego! If you do not lose these negative traits you will find yourself more and more isolated. People will shy away from training with you. You won’t fit in with your academy because you will be “that guy” everyone loves to tap because he has a big ego. If you somehow manage to retain this nasty quality into your higher ranks you will most certainly be shunned by many of your peers and will have a hard time finding people to cross train with and share knowledge. To top it off, it will severely hinder your ability to learn and grow in skill. Trust me, you don’t want this. Take it from someone who was once “that guy” in the gym.  Just be humble to the people around you.

Tips For Recovering In BJJ!

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Here is a video of me showing a few pieces of equipment I use to help fight off my sore body after hard training sessions. Recovering in BJJ is important to keep training hard and making progress.

Training with a purpose

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Just finished another interview for the podcast project I have coming up. I’m having so much fun and learning so much about these awesome people. I hope everyone has as much fun listening to these podcast episodes as I’m having making them. The launch date for the podcast is September 1st, 2013 in case you’re interested. Even though the podcast is still a little over a month out, I figured I would take a minute and share 1 little chunk of advice that seems to keep coming up during these interviews, and its something I’ve blogged about before. The reoccurring tip that these black belts talk about when it comes to improving at BJJ is . . .

“to train with a purpose”

I know sometimes its fun to roll and not focus on anything, but If you feel like you’re not growing on the mat or that you are hitting a plateau. Then take some advice from some high level guys and train with a purpose! Give yourself a goal to achieve during your training session, try to hit a new move you’re working on or try and improve the weak areas of your game. If you’re a good bottom guy, try and work your top game. If you’re a good sweeper, try and submit from the bottom. You get the idea. Hitting those goals will build some positive momentum mentally and improve your game by focusing on improving in a particular area.

Hope everyone’s training goes well and I hope you hit whatever goals you set for yourself!

Video highlight of the training in Palma.

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This is a small highlight of the teaching and training while I was in Palma De Mallorca. I had the privileged of meeting and training with some great people.

Prepare for a BJJ Tournament

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So thinking about competing? That’s fantastic! I am a competitor and encourage everyone who does BJJ to at least try a tournament or two. If you’ve never competed before, it can seem like a pretty nerve rattling thing. I know that I was absolutely terrified before my first wrestling match in high school.  Then after that I was hooked on the thrill and the challenge of competing. Many of my students report the same nervous feelings before their matches and some of these guys are Pan Am and World champions. So don’t feel bad if you are a bit nervous leading up to your competition.

Being prepared is everything and being prepared removes a lot of the stress associated with a tournament. I have prepared a relatively short post about how to ready yourself for a tournament.  This post is primarily for tournament newcomers but if you have competed before I hope that you find something helpful. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

Also depending on how much time you have leading up to the event your options can change a bit. For this post I am going to target people who are around 6-8 weeks out from their competition.

Choosing a tournament

So you’ve decided to compete soon.  Time to find a competition!

Things to consider when looking at competitions. . .

  • Your current weight and the weight you wish to compete. Will you be able to get to this weight in time for the tournament?
  • Are you in good shape now and are you able to be in proper condition when the tournament rolls around?
  • Check and make sure that there are no other plans or events for that same day. (I have a bad habit of deciding to do a tournament on a weekend I’ve already agreed to other engagements.)

Techniques and game plan

Next, what are the techniques you plan to use?  You need to come up with some sort of game plan for the tournament. In this game plan you will cover the techniques you plan to use in different situations. Keep it simple and cover the basics. You typically want to come up with a plan A and a plan B and outline your best escapes.

Remember also, that with 6-8 weeks or less to prepare, avoid adding in new sets of moves. Instead, stick to techniques that you are comfortable using and are able to execute well in training.

Below are the basics I would focus on when putting together your game plans. Essentially you want a plan for the top, a plan for the bottom and have your escapes ready to go. You can get more elaborate with it, but I would advise to keep things simple for newcomers.

Plan A = Your takedowns or person pulls guard on you, your guard breaks & passes, how you plan to get to a dominant position, the submission series you plan to use.

Plan B = You were taken down or pulled guard, how will you get to your preferred guard, your sweeping series, your submission series.

Misc = Outline all of your escapes and any other movements that aren’t covered above.

Leading up to the tournament

Your approach to the tournament is the MOST important part of your success come day of the competition. Every day that you waste or “take it easy” is one less day of preparation. Keep this in mind and stay focused.

Things to consider. . .

  • Are you close to weight, if not it’s time to diet and lose a few for the tournament.
  • Are there any gaps in your game plan or do you feel ill prepared in any aspect of your game? (i.e not having a proper mount escape or sweep to use).
  • DRILL! With a game plan in place be sure to drill reps of your game plan techniques every day you train. You want to put a good amount of your focus on things like guard passing, sweeps and submissions. After drilling a move just 500-1000 times you will notice a sharp increase in its effectiveness.
  • Don’t neglect your escapes and be sure to focus on any areas that you feel especially weak from.
  • Give yourself at least 2 days of rest prior to the tournament. Some flow rolling or drilling is fine but nothing heavy. You need to let your body heal up.
  • Consult your instructor with any questions or weaknesses you have.

Night before the competition

You want to make sure you have all your gear ready for tomorrow and relax.

Here are the things I would be sure to include. . .

  • Gi and/or no gi gear. Don’t forget your belt! (True story. I forgot my belt for my first black belt tournament)
  • Sweat pants or athletic pants and a hoodie to stay warm before and between matches.
  • Headphones and mp3 player . . .Walkman if you’re really old.
  • Snacks (fruits, protein shakes, or anything you can eat that doesn’t sit heavy on your stomach)
  • Water and Coconut water (coconut water is a great hydrator, way better sports drinks)
  • A camera if you have someone to take video and/or pictures

After your things are packed you need to get your mind off everything. To a first timer, someone still new to the tournament scene or someone with a big match. The night before can be filled with racing thoughts and anxiousness that keep you awake all night. Just remember you put the hard work in and are adequately prepared.  Also, keep in mind that it is just a competition and the main thing is to have fun and enjoy the experience. Life will go on regardless of how you do.

If you are still having trouble settling down then go do something to take your mind off the ordeal. Go see a movie, read, hang out with friends/family, etc. Just something that is not necessarily related to the tournament and will allow your mind to chill out so you can get a good sleep.

Day of the competition

It’s the competition day! First things first. . .  eat a good size / healthy breakfast. Make sure not to skip breakfast on this day, not that you ever should. Tournaments last all day so this may be your only full sized meal till after the tournament is over. Plus you will need the fuel for your matches.

Relax

Once you arrive at the venue just try and relax till it’s time to warm up. Headphones and music can help you relax by drowning out all the noise and allow you to think and focus on your match. Just be sure listen for your division to be called.

Visualize 

While you are waiting around be sure to think about your techniques and moves. Visualize the matches in your mind and see yourself hitting the techniques that you outlined in your game plan.  Be sure not to let your nerves bombard your psyche with negative thoughts like “what if my first match is against that super muscular guy I saw at weigh ins”, “I hurt my big toe last week and its still a little sore” , “I know lucky charms isn’t a healthy breakfast but it was in the kitchen and its all I had and and” . . . you get the idea. Erase the negative thoughts you might have stirring around in your head otherwise they can consume your thoughts. You’re here to put your skills on display. This depends on your ability to execute your moves, just focus on yourself and not your opponent so much. Unless you saw something he did and have a plan to use one of your techniques to beat him. (i.e you see a wrestler with great takedowns. You then plan to pull guard to deny him the takedown points and finish him with a triangle)

Warm up: Get Sweaty!

Once you’re within about 15-20 minutes from having your division called, it would be a good idea to get a warm up roll in with one of your gym mates. If you do not have a partner then simply do some calisthenics and movement drills till you get warm and loose.  You want to make sure you get a nice sweat going. YOU NEVER WANT TO HIT THE MAT COLD!!!!!!!!!!! . . . . wait for it YOU NEVER WANT TO HIT THE MAT COLD!!!!!!!!!!!  I know this is kind of overkill with the exclamation points but this is so important. I’ve had so many students perform poorly because they failed to warm up sufficiently.  Just think about trying to roll in the gym without a good warm up.

During the matches

This is the moment you have prepared for and it’s time to do what you trained to do. My last advice is to open up and “play your game”. This sounds so simple doesn’t it? Yet during the match when we fear losing a position or giving up points. We hold ourselves back and fail to execute our games properly. I know I have been guilty of this. Not opening up and going after my moves because I was too hesitant and gave my opponent too much respect.  You cannot be this way. Remember you trained incredibly hard for this and it’s all about you and your ability to execute your techniques on this person. Throw your hesitations aside and go after it. If it doesn’t work and you come up short when trying to execute, it’s far better than realizing you didn’t do anything you trained.Image

I wish you the best of luck on your tournament and remember  . . . it’s just a tournament! Have fun!