What's With the Sudden Mary Jane Fascination?
July 31, 2009
That was a question we were asked on Twitter, so here’s a response 
So by now most folks have seen our most recent BJJ Poll, which asked How Much, If At All, Do You Mix Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Marijuana?. We will talk about this poll in Sunday’s episode of our humble BJJ radio show, The FightWorks Podcast, but I wanted to put something here on the website as well about the matter.
Luckily, I received this email this afternoon from an anonymous member of the Mighty 600,000 that serves as a great starting point:
Hey Caleb! This may be too late, I don’t know what your schedule is like putting the shows together. I saw your last tweet about cannabis use statistics and I just wanted to drop a quick line and urge you to approach how you report these next poll results carefully. I thought I heard you mention how you didn’t want to risk casting the sport in a bad light in your debate over the topic with Dan. Maybe I’m just putting unrelated actions together and I’m way off base, but just in case you’re planning on taking this angle I think it would be a bad idea to report something like “X% of BJJ athletes smoke, which is lower than the national average of Y%” in hopes that this would avoid casting a bad light on BJJ.
Basically I think you could run the risk of alienating a lot of listeners if they feel like they’re somehow getting accused of dragging jiu jitsu “down” somehow. I don’t want to get into some rant about my own feelings on cannabis use, but in this case I don’t really think that the poll really reveals anything one way or another that would say much about jiu jitsu.
For one thing, jiu jitsu is an almost an entirely amateur sport. There are pros, but with only a couple of exceptions they’re fighting in the same promotions that amateurs are fighting in. Even if there was good data on the number NBA players or other pros who’ve used cannabis, and of course there isn’t for obvious reasons, BJJ can’t really be compared in that sense since the vast majority of fighters are amateurs. A poll of the NBA wouldn’t be a poll of everyone who plays basketball in their spare time, and the people who play basketball in their spare time would never be accused of casting basketball in a bad light because of what they do off the court.
Also, this isn’t a poll of all BJJ fighters, it’s a poll of FightWorks podcast listeners. I don’t want to act like I know the exact demographic makeup of the Mighty 600,000 but it seems pretty reasonable to assume that it’s probably not a perfect cross section of jiu jitsu fighters. Plenty of other factors like someones income bracket or how much they tend to use the Internet and other technology affect who goes around downloading podcasts and voting on the web polls.
All I’m saying is that on this poll in particular I think it would be a good approach to just report the numbers and avoid any kind of statements that might give people the impression that the jiu jitsu community is “doing better” than the rest. This is just my opinion, and you’ve probably already through of most if not all of what I’ve said here. I just figured it made more sense to write than not.
That being said, I am glad you ran the poll. I think that more dialog is always a good thing. You can probably guess from the email that my vote on one of the “yes” categories. (Never before training though. As much as I love both of those things the idea of combining them seems pretty terrible.) There are just a lot of us out here who are hard working responsible people who choose something other than alcohol when we want to relax. No one is going to be happy to turn on their favorite podcast and feel like they’re getting blamed for ruining their favorite sport.
Anyway, thanks for running the poll and putting the show together. It’s a blast to listen to. I hope I haven’t assumed anything off base here or made you think that I expect you to get on a soapbox and judge everyone. This poll just stood out as one with a much higher potential to alienate listeners than most.
Cohost Dan and I actually recorded a segment discussing this topic for this Sunday’s show early this morning and although I can’t remember everything I said, I am pretty sure I do not make any value judgements on marijuana use. I do remember saying that the poll is no where near methodologically rigorous enough to call “scientifically sound” by any definition, so that’s certainly something we acknowledge. I definitely agree that the demographics of those who took the poll are probably different than the entire BJJ community.
Despite requests from listeners in the past to post a poll on jiu-jitsu and mary jane, I was against doing so because I wanted to avoid the possibility that some would regard our community negatively based on the numbers. In any case I want to thank Cohost Dan for prodding me into posting the poll. People seem happy to have a data point that, despite its shortcomings as an internet poll, is a data point.
And for what it’s worth, the numbers in our poll suggest 28% of respondents use marijuana. That is not far off from the numbers reported by NORML, a marijuana legalization organization. Is that good? Is that bad? I don’t know! And I certainly believe in “to each his own”, or as I once heard it said when I was living in Spain, “a cada cual su leche pascual“.
Anyhow, make sure you download this Sunday’s edition of The FightWorks Podcast to hear Dan and I go over this subject and as always, let us know in the comments below if you have any thoughts on the way we have covered it!
Tournament Review Tuesday: Buckeye Border Grappling Championship
July 28, 2009
by Dan Smith
I competed in the Buckeye Border Grappling Championships this past Saturday in Toledo, Ohio. The tourney director Deon Thompson was a recent guest on The FightWorks Podcast. I’ve competed in all 3 events Mr. Thompson has run and each year it improves. He puts a lot of work into running a first class event. I believe there was somewhere in the neighborhood of 250 competitors. The venue was very nice, with more than enough room for competitors and spectators alike. The event ran more or less on time. There were no incidents that I’m aware of regarding any blatant mis-calls on the referees’ parts. I was really impressed with the levels of the lesser-experienced fighters. One of the kids matches (and please forgive me I cannot remember the names of the 2 boys) had my jaw dropping with the way one of them was able to spin out of a tight armbar. I also saw blue belts submitting high-level purple belts on a number of occasions.
The highlight of the show for me was the 4 man Black Belt Grand Prix featuring Sean Bansfield (Saulo Ribeiro), Robin Geisler (Relson Gracie), Don Richard (Caique), and Rodrigo Botti (Brasa). All four men put on phenominal performances. I think the presence of local television really had everyone wanting to put on a good show. A televised BJJ tourney is something you very seldom see in this part of the country. TV coverage will go a long way towards exposing our sport to a much wider audience.
Overall I had a great time and I wish Mr. Thompson nothing but success in his future endevours!
Dan Smith is a purple belt from Focus Jiu-Jitsu in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
This is an installment in our Tournament Review Tuesdays column, where FightWorks Podcast listeners submit reports about Brazilian jiu-jitsu and grappling competitions that happened the weekend prior. Through the rest of 2009, if you submit a Tournament Review Tuesday piece, you might win an Isami gi!
The opinions expressed in Tournament Review Tuesday pieces do not necessarily represent those of The FightWorks Podcast.
- Caleb
#175: Ryan Hall, Andrew Smith
July 26, 2009
Brasa Jiu-Jitsu’s Ryan Hall sinks a triangle.
Ever wonder how instructors manage to improve their own Brazilian jiu-jitsu while keeping up with their students’ progress? How about a run-down of the upcoming Abu Dhabis submission grappling championship that will take place in Barcelona, Spain at the end of September? And what about that contentious 50/50 position that everyone is talking about these days? If those are the sort of things you’re into, our humble Brazilian jiu-jitsu internet radio delivers again for you this week.
FightWorks Podcast contributor Bruce Hoyer was able to jump on the line with Ryan Hall and Andrew Smith, two well-known personalities from a long list of characters in the Mid-Atlantic BJJ scene. The trio go over a huge range of topics on the minds of every BJJ fan these days.
Also, after this episode formally ends, we have included a argument conversation that cohost Dan and I had about yesterday’s decision to post our BJJ Poll about marijuana and jiu-jitsu.
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (recommended)
[mp3] Download the show
BJJ Poll: How Much, If At All, Do You Mix Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Marijuana?
July 25, 2009
This poll is one that I do not post without some trepidation. As I imagine The Mighty 600,000 are aware, one of our goals and hopes is to see Brazilian jiu-jitsu grow so that as many people as possible can experience jiu-jitsu and all its benefits. To that end we hope to show BJJ in its well-deserved positive light.
In fact, I was outright against posting this poll originally. However when co-host Dan and I were preparing to record tomorrow’s episode we had a “discussion” about whether this poll should be posted, and he convinced me that it was worthwhile. (If you would like to hear our “discussion”, don’t miss tomorrow’s show.)
I am guessing that this poll is going to evoke a little more discussion than normal, so as always, after you vote in the poll, please let us know your thoughts on the matter by calling our toll free number 877-247-4662 and leaving us a message which we can integrate into an upcoming episode of our humble BJJ internet radio show! You can also leave a note in the comments below.
Brock Lesnar and Roger Gracie: A Tale of Two Champions
July 22, 2009
Gracie Barra’s Roger Gracie and UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar.
Over the weekend I got to thinking about UFC heavyweight Brock Lesnar‘s comments after soundly defeating Frank Mir at UFC 100. When he was presented the microphone, Lesnar made a string of remarks which spanned the gamut from being disrespectful to fans, sponsors, and his opponent. Now that I think about it, I am pretty sure the only person he did not insult was UFC president Dana White which would have probably been a really bad idea.
Lesnar now has apologized for his statements. Knowingly or not, the things Lesnar said will sell many pay-per-views for the UFC, as everyone likes to see the bad guy get what is coming to him. I get that. It’s apparent at first glance and has been explained in a gazillion places online like this nice writeup from MMAPayout.
But come on… seriously? Did Lesnar need to share that he feels he pulled a horseshoe out of Frank Mir’s backside? Did he need to flip off the crowd? Even in the heat of the moment, how many of us would think to behave that way?
Let’s compare the 2009 Brazilian jiu-jitsu absolute champion Roger Gracie with Brock Lesnar, who actually have a lot in common. Both are huge men who are really good at what they do. Facing Roger Gracie in competition is a question of not whether you will survive, but how long you can avoid being tapped. An octagon fight against Brock Lesnar means another countdown to an inevitable bloody defeat for his opponent. When you look at either you ask yourself, “who in the world can beat this guy?!”
At the same time, the two could not be any different.
In the multiple occasions we have interviewed Roger Gracie for The FightWorks Podcast, his soft-spoken manner usually leaves me trying to push my audio recorder closer to his face for fear of not catching what he is saying. (My respect for his ability to mount and choke every human he feels like prevents me from invading his space too much.) He is calm and completely respectful when you ask him about the throngs of very, very tough guys who have tried to end his streak of invincibility.
Call me old fashioned, but I prefer the behavior of the 2009 Brazilian jiu-jitsu absolute champion Roger Gracie. I’m not posting this to say Roger Gracie is a better champion than Brock Lesnar, or that he is a better sportsman than Lesnar. What I am saying is that for me, I prefer a champion that is easy to admire for his ridiculous athletic ability and how he carries himself.
Yes, it’s probably true that Roger Gracie will never generate the revenues that Brock Lesnar has and will in his career. But I could care less.
(In some subconscious way, am I suggesting that the culture in the Brazilian jiu-jitsu community is superior to that to that of the MMA world? Am I a BJJ elitist? I don’t know. Shred me in the comments below if you think I deserve it.)
Tournament Review Tuesday: Joe Moreira's Friendship Tournament
July 21, 2009
by Andrew Kuiland
The 2009 Friendship Tournament was meant to be a small tournament from the beginning. Perhaps though, it was a bit smaller than anybody anticipated. There seemed to be no more than maybe 60 competitors all together. These were mostly white belts along with a dozen or so blue belts. I arrived about 10:30 to watch some of the white belts that I train with fight. For most of them this was their first tournament.
When I arrived I found that things were running a bit off schedule and the kids were still wrapping up. They were only working off of one of the three available mats. This tournament is run using about a third of the available space in a large facility that is all at ground level, so no bleachers but plenty of room for spectators and competitors to warm up. The parents and coaches were shouting from the edge of the mat, rooting on the kids and teens that were fighting. The kids all did a great job and gave it there all. I was genuinely impressed with some of the technique and skill I saw in a few of the matches.
The kids were cleared out and the white belts began their matches by about 11:30 or so. You could see the nerves and intensity in peoples faces as this was a really big deal for them. Things were already over an hour behind schedule so the spectators were getting a bit restless and the fact that the temperature was climbing by the minute didn’t help. Due to the lack of enrollment, there did turn out to be a lot of mixed brackets. Weight classes were mixed, as were ages adult/master/senior in order to build 4-8 man brackets. Nobody seemed to mind too much though.
The white belts ended with an open division bracket and I do believe that over three quarters of the participants entered into that as well. The blue belts finally got up to fight by about 2pm, about an hour and a half behind schedule. Again there were just a couple of mixed brackets made and that wrapped up the day. The few purple belts that signed up didn’t compete and there no brown or black belt entries.
As things drew to a conclusion, I spoke with different people in attendance. There were academies represented from Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego all with the black belt instructors there to coach them. If anybody came looking for an IBJJF tournament, they would be sadly disappointed. Everybody seemed to agree it was a fun day of jiu-jitsu. You couldn’t ask for a more relaxed and friendly atmosphere to spend the day in. I did know ahead of time what to expect and can honestly say, I loved every minute of it. When I asked Joe Moreira how he thought everything went, he seemed pleased. He told me that we needed to have these small tournaments for people to cut their teeth on.
Joe Moreira does host tournaments a few times a year of varying sizes. If you plan on a full day of jiu-jitsu with your team it can be a fun time. I would recommend to anybody to compete in future events, but forewarn any loving supporters and unknowing spectators of what the day will hold.
Andrew Kuiland is a blue belt and trains at The Global Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Costa Mesa, California.
This is an installment in our Tournament Review Tuesdays column, where FightWorks Podcast listeners submit reports about Brazilian jiu-jitsu and grappling competitions that happened the weekend prior. Through the rest of 2009, if you submit a Tournament Review Tuesday piece, you might win an Isami gi!
The opinions expressed in Tournament Review Tuesday pieces do not necessarily represent those of The FightWorks Podcast.
- Caleb
#174: The FightWorks Podcast Roundtable and Flavio Almeida
July 19, 2009
Gracie Barra’s Flavio Almeida
This week on The FightWorks Podcast we bring you a bit of a new format. Contributor Bruce Hoyer jumped on the phone with a few members of the Brazilian jiu-jitsu community to discuss some of the pressing topics that are on folks’ minds these days! Panelists this time around include:
- Deon Thompson, brown belt from Ohio under Rodrigo “Comprido” Medeiros
- Danny Ives, a black belt under Lloyd Irvin in Maryland who runs Ivey League MMA.
- Mike Pesh of BJJEdge.com
Finally, we will wrap up the show with an installment of the Black Belt Corner, this time around with advice from Gracie Barra’s Flavio Almeida.
Please let us know what you think of the Roundtable format good, bad, or otherwise in the comments below or by calling our toll-free number 877-247-4662!
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (recommended)
[mp3] Download the show
BJJ Poll: Do You Take Paid Private Classes with Advanced BJJ Belts?
July 18, 2009
“Privates” in the Brazilian jiu-jitsu community is when a BJJ student pays an instructor (who is normally a black belt) for an hour of their time for one-on-one instruction. The student gets the full, personalized attention of a highly knowledgeable jiu-jitsu professor, which presumably allows for accelerated learning and understanding of jiu-jitsu techniques. In a conversation we had on The FightWorks Podcast, red and black belt Pedro Sauer highly recommended privates as a way to advance in jiu-jitsu.
Privates are often available when a noteworthy jiu-jitsu instructor is on seminar tour. You can normally schedule a private during these times if your schedule is flexible and, of course, if you can afford it.
So how about you? Do you take private one-on-one jiu-jitsu classes? What is your opinion on them? Do you feel they are worth the price? Let us know in the poll above, and be sure to leave a comment below!
Tournament Review Tuesday: The Good Fight's Cherry Hill Challenge
July 14, 2009
by Jim McCormick
With less than a minute left and winning by two points, I decide to “posture up” from the guard. It turns out this is an awful decision as my opponent reverses his guard and slickly mounts me. I lose by two points, 4-2.
Exhausted, I sit in the chair next to the scorer’s table and reflect upon my first foray into Brazilian Jiu-jitsu competition. The sport, even at the white belt level, is much faster than I’d imagined; my opponent’s pressure much more constant than I’d considered.
This was last weekend, July 11th, at The Cherry Hill Challenge Brazilian Jiu-jitsu tournament run by The Good Fight. As it was my first competition, this may be as much a review of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu tournaments in general as it is to this tournament.
My experience didn’t start well. I was unable to register online. After filling out all my information, I got a pop-up warning telling me that my age was outside the limits of this tournament. There was no bracket for me to fight in.
The tournament flyer announced an “Executive Division, 35 and over.” I’m 45-years-old.
I called the Tournament Director who was friendly and very helpful. After sheepishly telling me that I was too old, we decided to lie about my age and say that I was born five years earlier.
But even that didn’t work out as there were not enough fighters that age to fill out a division. I, without being notified, was lumped into a bracket of a couple dozen 160 to 170 pound 20-somethings. Which I don’t mind; I spar with these guys every day in class—I’d just have liked to have been told or even given the option of a refund as they didn’t have what I signed up for.
Signing in and weighing in was quick and efficient. After weighing in, I was lead into the “Sport Court” of The Cherry Hill Health and Racquet Club.
The “Sport Court” is little more than a basketball court with padding along the walls. (You can see it here) The room was bright and clean but small for an event like this:
There was no seating for spectators—my wife stood on the hardwood floor for over four hours. Spectators had to jockey for position to find a spot where they could watch the fights. Even then, much of the time they had to stand three or four deep and had obscured views of the matches. At between $10 and $15 for tickets, I expected much better accommodations for them.
There was also no warm-up area for the participants (though some of us found an unused calisthenics room that we quietly stretched); and no place for fighters to put their stuff–gi bags were strewn all over the event room’s floors.
The matted competition area was tighter than I expected. Each fight square directly abutted the next with no buffer room. The “Sport Court” just wasn’t long enough. Many competitors crossed into the other fight squares.
That said, the referees did a wonderful job making sure that the wrestlers were safe and did not interfere with adjacent fights.
I got there early enough to watch the children compete. The fast actions of one of the referees saved a 12-year-old from injury. The little boy was caught in a vicious straight armlock that came on quicker than the young man could tap. The referee jumped in and put pressure on the arm so that it couldn’t be hyper-extended .
Later, that same referee came under fire from several competitors as not giving points that they thought were deserved. Being a rookie, I had no opinion on the matter other than, in answering their questions, the referee was professional, unwavering, and direct.
Prior to the actual competition, announcements were made via loudspeaker. They were clear and direct. Brackets were posted on a wall—though fighters only found that out by word-of-mouth—an announcement would have been nice.
Prizes were samurai swords and awarded for all three places. Everyone with a sword left with smiles on their faces.
The competition at the white belt level was very deep – but there were few advanced belts beyond the blue belt level. I’d have liked to have seen the tournament draw more advanced practitioners.
The other nice thing that I understand is different from other competitions is that The Good Fight there is a consolation round. Therefore, each competitor is guaranteed to fight at least two fights. This alone is enough to get me back next year.
All-in-all, I thought the people at The Good Fight ran a nice competition. My biggest complaint was that there really wasn’t much room for the spectators and nowhere for them to sit. As a fighter, I’d have like a place to store my gear, a warm-up area, and little more mat room during the match.
I had a good time and look forward to trying this again. Even if I have to fight 20-year-olds again.
Jim McCormick trains at the Madama Jiu-jitsu in Toms River, New Jersey.
This is an installment in our Tournament Review Tuesdays column, where FightWorks Podcast listeners submit reports about Brazilian jiu-jitsu and grappling competitions that happened the weekend prior. Through the rest of 2009, if you submit a Tournament Review Tuesday piece, you might win an Isami gi!
The opinions expressed in Tournament Review Tuesday pieces do not necessarily represent those of The FightWorks Podcast.
- Caleb
Tournament Review Tuesday: The South Bay Open
July 14, 2009
by Jordan Blanchard
I am a brown belt, senior 2, medium weight. I signed up for the South Bay Open put on by Caique. Kids, blues, and browns grappled on Saturday. White, purple and black are on Sunday.
I am always hesitant attending a tournament where kids are on the same day. In my experience, having kids will put things well behind. I was heartened to see that the blue belts started exactly on time, after the kids, at 2:00. That gave me hope that browns would start on time at 4:00.
Alas, it turned out to be wishful thinking. Blues ran late and browns did not start until 5:30 or so. My suggestion to the tournament organizers is to consolidate the remaining blues on 4 or 5 mats, and get the 14 brown belt competitors started on 1 or 2. After a while they did this, but way too late in my opinion.
The tournament overall was run pretty well. Good referring. One somewhat aggravating aspect is that advantages were not scored. Too many fights ended up in overtime, and after overtime, referee decision.
My biggest complaint is simply the lack of attendance. I was not surprised by this fact, most tournaments outside of IBJJF are like that. But unfortunately, this tournament was so lightly attended by brown belts that I grappled two age groups down, and two weight classes up. Not the end of the world, after all, it would be similar for an Open competition. But I personally will not attend again simply because at my age, I would like similar aged opponents, or if I am classified with younger age groups, at least similar weights. I don’t believe that this tournament will ever be well attended by browns, so I will probably not go again.
That said, I would recommend the tournament for kids, whites, blues, and purples depending on Sunday’s attendance. Caique runs a good tournament, he just can’t control how many people show up.
This is an installment in our Tournament Review Tuesdays column, where FightWorks Podcast listeners submit reports about Brazilian jiu-jitsu and grappling competitions that happened the weekend prior. Through the rest of 2009, if you submit a Tournament Review Tuesday piece, you might win an Isami gi!
The opinions expressed in Tournament Review Tuesday pieces do not necessarily represent those of The FightWorks Podcast.
- Caleb
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