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TGC Tech Vids

TGC Tech Vids 2

Tech from Various Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belts

More to come …

The TGC curriculum has been developed from my experience over the past 10 years.  I have divided the game into logical parts which can be easily learned and quickly applied.

I expect my students to answer all of the following questions after they have been with me for one year.  If you are able to answer these questions then it means you have grasped the TGC BJJ/SW basic curriculum.  If you are able to apply these answers in sparring situations, it means you can effectively defend yourself and control your opponent in a grappling situation.

Ask yourself the following questions to see how well your understand TGC Brazilian Jiu Jitsu …

1. Why do you want to practice bjj and what benefits do you want to gain from practicing it?

(The answer to this question is unique to everyone.  There is no right answer, yet it is the most important question.  Knowing this answer allows you to push yourself and keeps you from wasting both our times.  This is an empowering question you must ask yourself before every training session.)

2. What is the Main Goal of BJJ/SW?

3. After the Main Goal, what are the 3 non-submission general games types played?

4. What basic games are played from the Standing position?

5. What are the 3 general phases of the Guard and what basic games are played from these positions?

6. What are the 3 basic Control variants and what basic games are played in each of these positions?

7. What are 3 different ways to hold Side Control? Top Control? Back Control?

8. What are Level 1, 2, and 3 submissions? Describe basic subs for each.

9. What is the 10-step escape philospohy?

10. Describe our philosphy of: 1) The positional battle 2) The set-up 3) The finish.

11. You should know one technique each for:

- takedowns
- open guard passing
- open guard sweeping
- half guard passing
- half guard sweeping
- closed guard passing
- closed guard sweeping
- basic Side, Top and Back escapes
- switching between Side, Top and Back control variants
- Properly apply Level 1 submissions

If you are able to correctly answer all of these questions, then it means you have successfully grasped the basics of TGC Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Submission Wrestling.  This will be the foundation in which we will build your ultimate grappling game.

In this post we’ll be covering armbar techniques.

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Armbar set up from mount by COBRINHA …

slick setup from mount that I like using. Rubens Charles is one of the quickest grapplers from the guard you’ll ever see … Ideal person to study if you are smaller and super athletic

The first person I really came to admire in BJJ was Marcelo Garcia. I wasn’t as familiar with the earlier greats at the time such as Sperry, Royler, Margarida etc.

But his performance at the 2003 ADCC epitomized everything I thought bjj was. He was small and not very athletic looking, but he was dominating everyone he fought.

This video is a great way to study playing and defending an open guard. Marcelo eventually gains control and takes his back. It’s awesome to watch.

Read the first few comments for the fight review …

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My interest in bjj was sparked by Royce Gracie. Most guys who took up the sport around that time (1995-2000) saw him dominate brawlers and men twice his size.  The power that he wielded and offered was definitely something most of us stupid kids wanted to have … or at least study and understand.

After watching Royce armbar Jason Delucia at UFC 2, my friends and I immediate tried to recreate the submission on each other.  We didn’t understand what just happened so we got into arguements and eventually WWF-style fights.  Druken teens attempting something they knew nothing about was not the best way to learn the delicate art of leverage and timing.

My informal practice started with instructional video tapes and the coaxing of unwilling friends to be practice dummies at thier house or in open fields or just about anywhere there was space.  Finding people of similar interest was not easy at this time.

My first lesson came in university, where praticioners who were equal to or only slightly better than me gathered for a class. It was taught by someone who probably spent more time watching the same video tapes I watched.  It was a good time. Also, I was referred to my first formal bjj club.  One of the students told me to visit a place in close to where I lived, stating it was one of the best places to learn bjj.

There I received my first REAL experience of bjj.  I stepped onto the mat and was defeated handily and frequenly by someone half my size.  Frustration set in, and what was once curiousity, then turned into an obsession.  I kept wondering how he was able to control me and submit me.   Over the next few days I was in a daze trying to figure out what he did.  I continued to go to the club, with similar results.

I finally tapped him two months in to my training.  A dirty ankle lock thrown on in desperation.  But the feeling of accomplishment was great.  I think it was this moment where I subconsciously decided that I would practice this art forever.  Most people look for something extra in their life … a forum where they can express themselves on another level.  Some choose music, their career, family etc.  I chose jiu jitsu …

The years passed and I continued to study this great game.  It was a real distraction during a very formative time in life.  Girlfriends and work became white noise behind the ever important question of “how to crush someone on the mat?”.  The majority of free time was spent training or watching fights.  My social circle narrowed to those who shared this interest and girlfriends who could tolerate it.

Volumes of notes were taken and theories put to the test.  Many of these theories failed and had to be reworked.  This continued for quite some time. I spent much time learning as much as I could from other masters of this game.  Their direction was integral. But I realized that, in addition their thoughts, I must make my own interpretation of the game.  Only then can you exel and get to the next level.

The culmination of my “Introductory Study” of the sport lies here at TGC.  BJJ is a continual learning process but I have structured the game into a basic framework which works for me.  I find that it also resonates with the students who are under my care.  Everyone who studies a subject has their own take on it … the way they express it and understand it.  I have seen this phenomenon in all bjjs practicioners.  I also see it in every other kind of artform.

The TORONTO GRAPPLING CLUB is a place where the idea of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Submission Wrestling will continue it’s evolution.  A game which will never cease in its growth but will have defining points in all who practice it.  There is no such thing as a song which defines music, or a picture which defines art … but there are songs which define musicians and pictures which defines artists.  The TORONTO GRAPPLING CLUB is the definition of “My Jiu Jitsu”.

I am proud to share TGC with anyone who asks.  I understand that TGC is a post that other bjjers will pass on their own journeys to define their bjj.  I look forward to meeting these great martial artists.  I look for to the evolution of bjj.

Welcome to the TORONTO GRAPPLING CLUB … enjoy.