Fighting Ambition-Part 1

A few months back an idea was born. I thought wouldn’t it be cool to take an average Joe who loves the sport of MMA and give him six months to train in the sport and put him in a cage to fight. What we (mmasucka.com) thought would be cool is to document it. We found a hungry production team in VanWest Films and a documentary was born. My story is only going to be one part of the film, but I have begun training at West Coast BJJ in Port Coquitlam and putting my body through the ringer.

To say I’m super stoked to be training in the sport that I love is an understatement. It has already brought joy to my life. I’ve bruised up my arms and found out about aches and pains that I didn’t know could exist. The first thing West Coast Head Instructor Don Whitefield told me was to pace myself as my number one enemy could be injury. Don has constantly reminded me that it’s not only the body I need to worry about, but the mind. It’s not enough to come to class and work hard, but it is equally important to make sure that I work on my spirit and soul.

I’ve been introduced to Infrared Yoga. It’s heated yoga that allows the body to detoxify 7 times faster. Far infrared is safe; it is the same system that is used for premature baby cribs. I recommend visiting the Oxygen Yoga website to learn more about it and try it.

The filming began on August 10^th and immediately I had a camera at my work and following me to my first day of training. My first class was No Gi BJJ. I was thrown in with the wolves and started rolling. I immediately got to feel what it was like to try and gain dominant positions. It’s not as easy as it looks. Passing guard is a lot more difficult than spinning the video game toggle button. I found that I was breathing heavily, my heart was pounding and I had no patience. I was submitted numerous times. However, one thing I appreciated was instructor Jason Gagnon who took some time to show me some technique; something that will come as time passes. It is trial by fire and allowing my mind and body to become one.

I have also been training in Muay Thai with instructor Shawn Albrecht. I’ve enjoyed the classes thus far. On Saturdays we spar and I have enjoyed getting in there and throwing down with the 16 oz gloves and working on the leg kicks. Cardio has been my biggest problem and I hope to have that rectified soon.

On Sunday (August 22) I took my first Gi BJJ class. All I can say is frustrating and disheartening. Not only was I owned by a 17 year old Blue Belt, but I just felt stupid and lost. Right now BJJ is a puzzle to me. There is so much to remember and I find myself stalling trying to think about what to do next. I keep getting myself into bad positions and submitted. I don’t have the vision or the feel for it yet. After that class my body started to tighten up and hurt. Monday will be Infrared Yoga day to stretch out the tightness.

Speaking of body, I started this training at 200lbs. I’m 32 years old and about 5’8 in height. I was overweight and out of shape. Don Whitefield informed me that I will be dropping to 155lbs! That’s right you read that properly…155lbs. He feels that it is the proper fighting weight for my frame. I haven’t been 155lbs since I was 18 years old. I use to be a skinny kid. I’ve been on a diet before and the lowest I could get was 165lbs. The first time I dieted a few years back the weight came off fast and easy. Last year I went on the same diet and it was a bit harder but within a couple of months I was able to get to about 175lbs. Of course keeping the weight off has been harder than losing it. I like to eat. However, I like to play sports too, and my weight gain doesn’t allow me to compete at my best. It has been frustrating and discouraging.

Right now I am watching everything I eat. I’m making sure I’m eating six to seven meals a day. When I say meals I don’t mean large scale. Here is an example of my diet.

6:30am Breakfast: Half a grapefruit, and two boiled eggs or a protein shake with a banana.

9:00am Snack: fruit like grapes or watermelon

12:00pm Lunch: Lean Cuisine meal, celery, cucumbers or turkey sandwich and veggies.

2pm Snack: Fruit like an orange

4pm Snack: Something like an apple or granola bar

5pm Training

7pm – Protein heavy dinner like chicken, fish, vegetables and a small amount of carbs like potatoes

Combine a ton of water and this is a diet that has worked for me in the past. However, Jason Gagnon at West Coast provided me with some tweaks that I can make to help the weight come off faster. After two weeks of training I am now 192lbs…I have lost 7lbs in 14 days. I would like a steeper decline so we will see what the next two weeks holds. The quicker I can get to a manageable weight the better my training will be. This is going to require a lot of discipline. I have the motivation to make this happen…everyone is watching.

There are days where I don’t want to train, and wonder what the hell am I doing? Right now I need a breakthrough to restore some confidence. The fight has already begun.

I want to thank Reign Full Contact for providing me with some Reign gear to train with. Seriously, if you are looking for training gear like shin guards, shorts, gloves etc…go to their website and have a gander. Support a Canadian company, more and more amateur fighters and pros like Ryan “The Real Deal” Ford are recognizing and wearing Reign.

I also want to thank DominantGround.com for the help and deals they have given me on gear too…check them out. They have a nice selection of rash guards, hoodies, gloves, t-shirts, shorts and more…all from quality MMA Brands for real fighters and real fans.

My mouth guard is being created at Klench. They make some sick custom mouth pieces.

I was also given some all natural weight loss pills from Fight Caps. They will definitely help with the weight cut. The last thank you goes to all the coaches and team mates at West Coast BJJ. If you are in the Vancouver/lower mainland area and are looking for a place to train, why not join up with one of the best schools in BC. Go to West Coast BJJ’s website, find a location near you and get started. I’m proud and privileged to be training with such great people.

Trevor Dueck

Gogoplata Falls,

Hey guys,

So were getting back to normal after the labor Day long weekend, and what a crap-tastic weekend it was! (Weather wise that is) For the last few years I re-call Labor Day always being nice and warm, although my Birthday is coming up, and that’s always a nice day (first day of fall.) So I keep getting comments about how people like reading my blogs, so I’m gonna really try and make an effort to blog at least once a week. It would be awesome if all the people that tell me they are reading it become followers so I could hopefully get some free shit, ha ha.

So we had a good week of training last week, and I actually took a day off training (Saturday) my first one since Brasil. Sunday was great; BJJ followed by the performance class with Don, I hope as summer winds down, more of you will start to get involved regularly coming to performance classes. After class Vanessa, Morgan, and I took Kate on a nice little hike up to Gogoplata Falls (formerly Crystal Falls.) Monday was good I actually made it out to Maple Ridge to roll, although I was little disappointed as there wasn’t to many guys out.

So some big things going on right now, Chris Fraser ( Fraser’s Kickboxing) is going to be working with us in Maple Ridge, Abby, and Poco to help with our Kickboxing program, and were also going to be trying out a few other instructors in Vancouver and Poco to see how they fit in with the team. I’m also working on getting a Wrestling Coach who can come out a couple days a week and help us continue to improve on that aspect of our game, as well I’m hopeing my Judo friend will start with us in the next couple weeks! Stay tuned on the website and Facebook for info on that.

Almost all classes are back to normal now after the summer including the Tuesday Lunch class in Poco, and the Wednesday Lunch class in Maple Ridge. I’m looking forward to the lunch classes its always great to get a mid morning work out in, you feel great and your nice a ready to rock for the evening classes.

October 15th is gonna be a big day for the team as we have 4 guys fighting on the upcoming Battlefield Fight League card. Morgan Bentley, Jeremy Kennedy, Dave Kennedy (No Relation) and Jacen Brooks (Who is the main event and will be fighting for the vacant Welter Weight title. We are still working on getting Ryan Christopher and Ryan Ince fights on this card (or a card 1 week later) as well, so fingers crossed. All of these guys have been working there bags off, and are all improving tremendously. I cant wait to watch these guys get in the cage, and show everyone why West Coast BJJ is the best team out there, and why we don’t talk a lot of trash, we just let our fighting speak for itself.

I’ll see you all on the mats real soon,

Jason Gagnon

Whats Going on—Literally

Hey All!

So the last week has been crazy busy, on top of training my ass off, (actually hitting the weights–weird concept for me, I know) teaching, and taking care of all my responsibilities as the Student Service department at West Coast I haven’t had much free time. Although I have managed to sneak up to Sasamat lake a few times to swim with my dog, and rock out in the mankini. Its been hard to find time to write up the blog, and I have been working on a big article to kinda of re-cap the entire trip to Rio, because every time someone asks me in person how it was the only response I seem able to muster up is “good,” which I understand to be completely inadequate to explain how things went, haha. I’m going to try and get that finished sometime this week, and have to make sure I get it edited, because I hear good things about my writing, and bad things about my spelling.

So there are a few big things happening at West Coast; Shawn and I have finally gotten off our asses and started the performance team. For those of you who don’t already know, Its a group for the guys in the club that want to compete at high levels for both MMA and BJJ —This group is open to all members and affiliates however class attendance is mandatory if you want to be part of this team. The first few sessions have been going well, and were going to try to continue to take advantage of the nice weather and do outdoor conditioning for the rest of the summer.

Also the Referral program is finally in effect, and again if you don’t know the short of it is, bring a friend/family member/hated co-worker —whatever and if they sign up you get a cool, clean, tax free $100 and they get 15% off any membership…Which is honestly a great deal, when Don first started talking about this I had no idea how good the referral program was actually going to be, and its awesome that you guys are gonna be getting paid to help advertise for the club.

We Also have Jacen Brooks fighting this weekend on the Battlefield (BFL) 2 card at the River Rock this weekend. He is fighting Matt Dywer of Team Havoc in the co-main event on the card…Don’t miss this guys, the production value of this show is second to none, and This is gonna be a wicked fight, and the coming out part for Jay when he takes it to Dwyer.

Battlefield 1 is also airing on the fight network this weekend! This great exposure for Dave and Jay who fought (and won) on the card, as well for our team. Times are:
Thursday – 5pm
Friday – Midnight
Saturday – 3 pm
Don’t miss out on this guys.

There is also a few class time changes, and classes being added coming up for the fall so make sure if your unclear of class times you check!

1 more note guys; I’m working on some new West Coast BJJ shirts, and hoping to have a mock up done soon which I will post online for you all to check out and let me know what you think. If you have any suggestions though I would love to hear them, especially for Slogans because I keep drawing blanks.

Until next time guys.

back in the saddle.

Hey Guys,

So Ive been back home for a week now, and things have been hectic. Ive been working my tail off catching up with paperwork for the club, getting back to teaching, as well as training as much as I possibly can. I wasn’t planning on continuing to blog after the trip but so many people have told me they enjoyed reading this thing (cant imagine why?) and that they hoped I continued to blog (again…?) ha ha, so I decided to keep posting stuff.

Its been great for me as instructor to get back home, and see how much everyone has improved since Ive been away, its always very apparent (especially during the summer) who’s putting in the work and who isn’t. For those of you who aren’t, your gonna have to watch your asses when you get back in the fall, lol. I feel very blessed to have great coach’s, team-mates, and students that were all (seemingly 😉 happy to have me back.

Next few days are going to continue to be crazy, were working on some big things at WCBJJ. First thing for me is taking over the JR program at Poco with Morgans help, this is gonna be a lot of work, but lots of fun. Very near and dear to my heart is getting the serious competition team classes going asap. We have so many talented guys at West Coast, and if there’s 1 thing I learned for sure in Brazil, its that we can compete with anyone in the world, but we need to get buts in gear pushing each other to be the best we can be. We have 1 day narrowed down, and that is Sundays in Poco, directly following the normal adult class ( 12:00-1:30), we will be going 1:30-3:00 lead by our general Don. I will keep you guys updated and let you know about other days and sessions when I know.

That’s about it for now, teaching lots the next 3 days, before going to the States for a night with my family, (although I might sneak in a morning roll Sunday before I go 😉 See you all on the mats soon!

Jason Gagnon

Leave Your Ego Off The Mats

More than any cool sweep, submission, or defensive technique that I have ever been taught during my short time as a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu student, the one tip that has left a lasting impact upon me was “leave your ego off of the mats.” I may not have been training long, but I’ve been to my fair share of BJJ clubs in my area. And though each club gave me a unique experience, my current club is the only one that taught me the proper way to learn in a competitive atmosphere.

Except for my current club, all of the previous BJJ clubs I’ve been to had one thing in common: they were all cut-throat competitive. They were stacked with borderline gigantism roid-heads crushing the skinny 145-pounders, and the socially unwell taking out their issues on innocent victims.

I am not saying our club isn’t competitive. In fact, we do quite well at local tournaments. And it is not competition itself that is the problem. I believe competition is vital to our everyday lives. It pushes us to become better athletes, better students, and better professionals. If you have even a morsel of Capitalism in your blood, you would join in with me and say that competition is what makes the financial world turn. But when the competitiveness gets as fierce as it did in those other Jiu-Jitsu clubs, it evolves into ego.

It is unfortunate when people train with the mentality that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a zero-sum game. So many writers and instructors stress the point that your training partner’s gain is your gain too. Whether we like it or not, the one’s we compete against are the same one’s who are going to help us improve our guard. For me personally, I can attest that the same guys that crush me and tap me out are the same guys that have given me the most useful tips, and taught me the coolest submissions.

This same mentality, leaving one’s ego off of the mats, has been so encouraging and helpful to me so far during law school. Until my first class, I had never been engulfed in so much competitiveness. Everyday started and ended the same; I was locked into a small class of peers who were simultaneously my study mates, and the very competition my grades were measured against. If any of you are unfamiliar with curved grading, think about it this way: if everyone in your Jiu-Jitsu club is passing your guard, sweeping you, and submitting you with ease, chances are you won’t get that first stripe at the next promotions.
(Sidenote: I realize that not all instructor’s base promotions upon performance relative to the rest of class, but I thought it was a fun way to explain the bell curve system.)

It did not take long for me to realize that the law school lecture hall was no different than the Jiu-Jitsu mats. I can either learn everything I can from every roll, or I can look like the biggest idiot trying to injure training partners two-times smaller than me. Analogously, I either can make friends who are willing to give and take ideas about class, or I can rip pages out of the the reserve library books, refuse to share my ideas with others, and eventually have no one to turn to when I really need help.

Sam Suk

West Coast BJJ in Brazil

So were about half way through our trip now, and I thought Id share some of what we’ve seen, some of the differences in how people train here, and some random ramblings of stuff I’ve been learning;

Training has been amazing, we’ve been training twice and sometimes 3 times a day since we got here almost 2 weeks ago. The classes are very different here, almost much more informal. Back home a class starts at say 5:30, that means the class starts at 5:30, and the majority of the class will be there, ready to roll by then. In Brazil if a class starts at 5:30, that’s more like a suggestion (haha) People come in around 5:30, but the class wont fill up with everyone till around 6. People will come in, and during that first half hour, stretch a little, maybe do some light running, followed by 1, maybe 2 techniques, after which its sparring time. Classes also don’t really seem to have a specific time they end, they just kinda slowly sputter out, like a car running out of gas.

The rolls here are very different as well, for example every time you train for the most part it’s a 6 or 7 minute round, as people are getting ready to compete, they do not go over easy meaning you are really working and fighting for every sweep (like rolling with Shawn, lol.) The guys who compete also roll very hard, and are always looking for a finish. They are usually 1 on, 1 off. The serious guys or the smaller guys (That they expect to have more cardio–lucky me) will sometimes double up, but usually its 1 round of, 1 off. The cool part about that is during your time sitting on the edge you really get to watch and observe world-class black belts going at it on a daily basis’–which is great for observing the subtle stuff there doing that makes them so good.

One of the major differences I have seen in my time here is the consistency in which people here train. Sure there are lots of Blues, Purples, Browns and Blacks…But they are no different then the ones we have back home, some are really talented competitors, others are mind-blowing technical, and others are more hobbiest. What separates them from us, is they stick with it. These guys who are the good Blues, have been training solidly for 3-4 years, good purples 4-7 years, good browns 6-9, and all the blacks are 10 years+ for the most part. They don’t come for a little while then quit, they come, stay, and slowly improve to the point were there all awesome. I truly understand now what Don has been preaching to me for the last 2 years “Everyone here will be a black belt, it’s just a matter of time.” My time spent here has allowed me to  see this occurence. Listening to the older black belts (after receiving a generous helping of ass-whoopeing) telling us how terrible they were when they started. It’s an awesome learning experience.

One of the other major things that I expected to happen, and that I’m super stoked is the little details I’m picking up. I didn’t come here expecting to learn some secret technique that would be the answer to all my grappling problems, as people often look for back home. But all the little grips, hand fighting, skirt/Collar  controls, and simple defensive movements I’m picking up are making a world difference. I can feel my game getting sharper day by day.

Our experience training has been nothing short of wonderful, it seems like every time you meet someone and roll with them, you’re getting re-acquinted with an old friend. They laugh, and are so appreciative of a good roll. You wanna talk about leaving your ego at the door? These guys leave it at home, before they even get near the club. It doesn’t matter what your rank is, they treat you the same, if you get a tap, they congratulate you, and move on, and when you get caught (and get caught you will) it’s the same. You can truly feel the love of Jiu Jitsu here, and the bond it builds between 2 people, after a great roll.

Sorry for the inane rambling, Its been such a world wind trip so far, and I wanted to get down as much as I could

See you all on the mats very soon,

Jason Gagnon

UFC 116 Battle of the Brains

According to the Las Vegas Sun Dana White got a little too excited during the last UFC:

“This night almost gave me a heart attack,” White said. “I really went into the back, walked right out of the octagon into my back room, sat down and thought they were going to have to bring a defibrillator back there. I was seriously messed up after the show. I was blown away.”

His excitement was caused apparently by 3 fights in particular during this night: Lesnar’s “comeback” in the main event,  Stephan Bonnar’s win against Krzysztof Soszynski by pummeling him into a TKO victory in the second round after taking a serious beating and Chris Leben and Yoshihiro Akiyama’s battle of the punch drunks. All of these fights featured prolonged exchanges in which fighters would be hitting each other’s heads without taking much evasive action. As exciting  it must have been for Dana and his bottomline as sobering must have been to watch from a different perspective: If it was a record for Dana is was also a record for any neurologist counting punches and kicks to each fighter’s brains.

A classic study carried out with 69 active football players and 37 former members of the Norwegian national football team determined that 30% of the former players complained of permanent problems such as headache, dizziness, irritability, neck pain, and impaired memory. In addition, 35% of the active players and 32% of the former players displayed abnormal EEGs, compared with about 12% of matched control individuals.

When the former players were subjected to cerebral computed tomography (CT) and a neuropsychological examination, a full one-third of the athletes were found to have central cerebral atrophy (wasting of the central region of the brain), and 81% displayed at least some signs of neuropsychological impairment. Many of these problems were believed to be linked to concussions suffered by the players during their football careers.

Since there are no studies regarding longterm brain damage in MMA, this Football study is all we have. There is no reason to believe that a direct kick or punch against the skull will be any less damaging than playing Football and the examples of Leben or Bonar leading with their heads taking shoot after shoot or Lesnar going fetal and using his head as a means to tire out his opponent are pretty graphic. Most people don’t realize that our brains are as soft as butter while the inner skull is lined with sharp ridges and edges. Only because these fighter’s brains are missing the ability to flip the switch does not mean that their brains got battered around any less.

To think that no brain injury occurred that night would be ignorant and I hope that West Coast BJJ & MMA students training towards competing in MMA do NOT take these fights as examples of how to become a champion. These fighters will have to live with the consequences for selling their brain health for a fight purse and may regret this deeply in the future when they discover that a day without dizziness and headaches is a good day and how nice it would be to recognize your own children and grandchildren.

For more information on these topics please visit: http://subtlebraininjury.com/nolossconsciousness.php

Don Whitefield

May 15th Battlefield Fighting Championship

In what the promoters were calling BC’s first high caliber amateur MMA show, Battlefield Fight League’s inaugral show took place last night.

West Coast BJJ was represented on the card by 2 fighters; David “Wolverine” Kennedy, and Jacen “The Juggernaut” Brooks. In our first fight of the evening “Wolverine” showed tremendous heart, and composure to survive Jeremy Peevers early enslaught of strikes and walk away with “Submission of the night” honors for his come from behind Rear Naked Choke victory!

In the 6th fight of the night Jacen entered the Cage against a tough Clay Ayres. In the first minute Jay was able to highlight his great kicks before slamming his opponent with a big high crotch. From there (in typical West Coast BJJ fashion) Jay stayed calm and advanced position, before finally mounting his opponent and putting him away with what is becomeing his signature Ground and Pound!

Congratulations Goes out to both fighters for their hard work and dedication which was evident last night, showcased by their outstanding performances!

Dave improves his record to an impressive 2-1, with Jay remaining undefeated at 2-0!

Jason Gagnon

Training Jiu-Jitsu as an Adult

I don’t consider myself old at age fourty-four, but I know that my Jiu-Jitsu game differs a lot from the game of an eighteen year old. Anyone over thirty is considered either a Master or Senior in BJJ competition, and it is important for these students to understand the special rules that apply to them in order to make it to their black belt and beyond.

1. Rule: Roll Smart

Even if you feel like it don’t take the young spaz by the horns and get tossed around. Give them a little space to protect yourself, even if it means giving up position. Another good strategy is to stay on the top for a while or keep them in your guard (if you can) and tire them out to equalize the playing field a bit.

The most important advice is to avoid unusual positions unless you are positive that you can trust your training partner to look out for you. Often injuries occur when senior students get into unfamiliar position and they and/or their partner make a wrong move in the heat of battle resulting in injury. You have to be able to completely rely on your partner before you can open up your game.

2. Rule: Protect your body

I see teens and kids in my BJJ classes sometimes bend their joints at angles that make me shiver, but after the initial squeal they usually are back on the mat within five minutes. Their tendons and bones are flexible, but we loose this luxury as we age. The problem is that this occurs slowly and unnoticed and we sometimes spar as if we were still teenagers.

We become only aware of our age when we have (painfully) gone beyond the flexibility of our body. Since our recovery time is a lot longer than five minutes try to follow this simple rule we have in my academy: “Tap today, train tomorrow”. It reminds you to tap early even if you are not in a submission but just get caught awkwardly.

3. Rule: Recover smartly

It is sad that as teenagers we got away with 4 hours of sleep, eating only fried foods and sugary carbonated drinks. As you get older these sins will catch up with you, so change these habits if you still live that way. As a senior jiu-jitsu fighter you should get lots of sleep, water, protein, fruits, veggies and supplements; these will help you stay in the game (or get back into it if you get injured).

Be smart and recognize when you are injured: take the week off than have the injury turn chronic. Stretch every day to maintain your body’s flexibility. It protects you while you roll and helps you to overcome injuries much faster. Once you return to the mats don’t hesitate to point out your injury to your training partner so he can look out for you if necessary. Get medical advice early on if you get an unfamiliar injury, read up on it and educate yourself regarding recovery and prevention of these injuries.

Lastly, use your maturity and your ability to keep your cool as an advantage to prevent injuries, recover from them and protect yourself from future injuries. There is one good thing about not being a teenager anymore: You got a lot smarter since.

Don Whitefield

West Coast BJJ Belt Tests

West Coast BJJ Belt Test

I am testing for all belts for a while now and I want to explain to everyone why and how.

As our club is growing and I am getting busier and older I find it hard to simply look at a student , remember all his strengths and weaknesses and award him a belt without any testing. Although I can see it when I roll with him/her and even when I discuss it with the student I soon forget again exactly what it was he has to work on as I train with many student every week.

Since I teach in four location at least twice a week I will see a student two classes a week but I also see many other students as well.  To make things even harder West Coast BJJ & MMA also has 13 affiliate clubs in and outside the  BC Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island. These clubs are mostly run by senior students and instructors that are training under me or club owners that train with me.

I visit these clubs about twice a year for seminars and promotions and several of their students drop into our clubs to train with us as well. While I find that I can roll with a student for 5 minutes and access if he has made enough process in the last six months to warrant a stripe I don’t think it would be sound to award a belt based on this alone. These seminars are usually a busy time and besides a short time of observation of students sparring I really don’t get to know their game enough.

I am hesitant to put my name, De la Riva Jiu-Jitsu and/ or our West Coast BJJ & MMA name on a belt awarded based on a five minute roll and a few minutes of observation. So, I studied several accomplished BJJ coaches that are testing and deicided to test. You can check out our current Blue Belt Exam here:

West Coast Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Blue Belt Exam

Important! Please read the following requirements:

• Bring this test with you on the day of the exam.
• Please make sure you pay the test fee at least one week in advance of your test date.
• If you are not sure about the requirements in this examination, catch up with extra training, private classes or ask for a delay in your belt exam.
• Please show up on time for your examination or you may need to reschedule your test. The exam will take about one hour.

I. Verbal Exam

A. How long have you been training?

B. What’s your reason for studying Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?

C. What is your favourite part of the training and what is your least favourite part?

D. What is your strongest area in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and what is your weakest area?

II. Positional Escapes

A. Perform one mount escape of your choice

B. Perform one side mount escape of your choice

C. Perform one closed guard escape of your choice

D. Perform one rear mount escape of your choice

III. Positional Dominance

A. Hold the mount position

B. Hold the side mount position

C. Hold the closed guard position

D. Hold the rear mount position

IV. Guard Sweeps

A. Perform a sweep of your choice from the open guard

C. Perform a sweep of your choice from the half guard

C. Perform a sweep of your choice from the spider guard

D. Perform a sweep of your choice from the de la Riva guard

V. Submissions

A. Perform a submission of your choice from the guard

B. Perform a submission of your choice from the side mount

C. Perform a submission of your choice from the mount

D. Perform a submission of your choice from the rear mount

VI. Sparring

A. Grapple with another student for one five minute round

B. Grapple with the instructor for one five minute round

VII. Evaluation of sparring sessions

A. Competency in takedowns

1                           2                           3                           4                           5

B. Competency in the closed guard

1                           2                           3                           4                           5

D. Competency in the open guard

1                           2                           3                           4                           5

F. Competency in sweeps and reversals

1                           2                           3                           4                           5

An overall average of 3 is required to pass this part of the examination

VIII. Character

A. Reliability- Student demonstrates trustworthiness in class.

B. Integrity- Student demonstrates responsibility for his/her actions in class.

C. Honesty- Student is forthright with his/her team mates and instructors.

As you can see it is a pretty open format that allows the students to show his strenghts and allows me to follow up on any improvements I would like to see made. I also have to say that I am not awarding the belt automatically after the test. I often see some holes in their game I want the student to fill first before I let them move on. I spend about an hour with the student and as this time becomes more and more as the students come up to their purple, brown and black belt test.

Most students appear to appreciate and profit the process. While they are fretting the test they usually are walking away with lots of things to work on. I just tested yesterday one student for his purple belt that refused to take the test for a long time. His attitude changed dramatically during the test and at the end he expressed his satisfaction and remarked that he was surprised how many small and basic details he was missing in his game confirming my believe that I am doing my student a real service by testing them and give them an hour of undivided attention and the confidence that they actually earned the belt.

Don Whitefield