Many of you who have been around the BjJ game for some time are probably aware of this wonderful internet resource, but maybe it has evaded you. And, if you’re new to the game, or somebody who is interested in BJJ, then this resource will be a great place for you to start.
The Fightworks Podcast is a website whereby a couple of BjJ players post a weekly podcast that is posted every Sunday, and these downloads are chock full of great interviews as well as the latest BJJ news and happenings. There’s a very solid interview with Royler Gracie on the November 23,2008 download discussing his relocation to the U.S., which is a great thing for those of us who train with RGDA. I strongly encourage you, if you have not subscribed to these podcasts and e-mail news alerts to DO IT, for it’s definitely worth your time. If nothing else, this past Sunday’s podcast made my hour run at the gym go a lot quicker the other day—LOL!
Speaking of the January 18 download, the Fightworks team interviewed Ryan Hall, a brown belt who used to train with Lloyd Irvine’s team, but is opening up his own academy in Arlington, VA. Hall has the distinction of having over 200 triangle submissions in competitions, and sounds like a very knowledgeable guy. He talked about a concept which really hit home for me. He equated the Art of grappling to the discipline of learning a language. This was particularly interesting for me, for I have a background in educational and of Master of Arts in English. He continues by musing that words in and of themselves mean nothing, and a string of words mean nothing—much like a string of moves that don’t really flow don’t really mean anything on the mat, and will generally lead to one getting smashed.
He continues by illustrating this by putting words that don’t adhere to the rules of English together as a string of words, and then goes into greater detail as to how some moves might or might not work in a particular series. Team RGDA focuses a great deal on learning principles of BJJ in conjunction with the moves that comprise these principles, and hearing Mr. Hall articulate this philosophy using something as basic as human language really hit home for me. Now, if I could just make my body always do what my head wants me to do…
He also had some good tips for stretching and improving one’s flexibility. He can even supposedly put himself in a triangle, which I’m sure goes over very well at parties! The interview in its entirety is definitely worth a listen.
With Much Respect
LTrain
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