Ricardo is a 4th degree black belt under Sergio Penha (Osvaldo Alves). He founded the Las Vegas Combat Club and coached Frank Mir to his first UFC heavyweight title. This piece is on the takedown, which can be such a sticky wicket for ground fighters if they don't have a wrestling or judo background.

In terms of importance for Jiu Jitsu proficiency, be it in practice or competition, the hips are by far the one area that has the greatest impact on performance in the sport. Whether being used in the most fundamental of positions to create space to escape, generate angles for attack or producing speed and power for more advanced sweeps and takedowns, the hips are responsible for bridging the gap between lower and upper body power generation and creating the leverage needed to apply the forces used in Jiu Jitsu techniques. Looking into their function, specifically within the art of Jiu Jitsu, studying the science behind the hips will help give us a better understanding as to how we can maximize their potential for creating energy efficient movements and improve our all around game on the mats.

Hips and Principles of Physics
Going back to science, we know that force is any action that causes a body to undergo a change in velocity, speed or direction, usually from a pushing or pulling force exerted on the body. In attempting sweeps and takedowns, we are applying force to accomplish this goal, by using leverage and technique, coupled with speed and power. Power is the rate that this force is applied and transferred to this body or object. In the case of Jiu Jitsu; we normally are referring to our opponent when we talk about the application of force on an object. When an object, or opponent, is then moved or repositioned such as the case of performing a takedown for example, we can say that work has been done on that object. The amount of work done on an object is in direct proportion to the amount of force that can be generated and applied to the object. The more force applied, the more work that can be accomplished.

In terms of Jiu Jitsu application, we can sweep, pass, defend and perform takedowns with greater speed and efficiency when we apply these principles of physics. The goal of any Jiu Jistu artist is to use the least amount of energy possible to create the greatest impact and movement of your opponent. As the hips are the body part responsible for coordinating our upper and lower bodies, as well as positioning our bodies to take advantage of angles and space, the impact that they have on generating force and power is profound. When the hips are used properly, we can maximize our potential strength and generate more power to ultimately use less energy performing the same amount of work as compared to someone trying to “muscle” their way through the same technique. When one uses just their arms to try and move an opponent or only their legs to complete a movement, they waste energy and have a much more difficult time applying their technique properly. Correct hip positioning will maximize efficiency of movement and conserve energy, time and power as well as decrease the chances of failure in attempted techniques. When this happens, and the hips are used properly, you will see effortless Jiu Jitsu, the kind of jiu jitsu where a person looks as if they are using no strength, yet easily manipulating their opponent.

I remember a while back reading a Rickson Gracie quote where he said that “Once jiu-jitsu is in your blood, you would rather die that go one day without it”. At the time this really hit home for me. It was true. Not having jiu jitsu in my life would be dreadful.   For most of you reading this you have probably gone through a period in your training where you have become ultra-obsessive about BJJ, where you spend the time when you are not training thinking about training, when the thought of not training is too awful to even consider. There are so many positives virtues from training and what I this article will be about is looking at the negatives of not being able to train. What I do want to discuss is the emotional impact when you can’t do the thing you love.

I am currently suffering from a knee injury that has kept me out of action for a couple of months now.  I would say this is the 2nd most serious injury I have suffered, the 1st being a shoulder injury that kept me from training regularly for about 1 year.  Having had two so long lay offs I think has given me a perspective on why I want (maybe even need) to train.

For me the physical pain was something I could cope with. The withdrawal from my drug of choice was what was far less tolerable.

Rafael Lovato Jr was in the UK last week, after competing at the Euros in Lisbon; Rafael visited UK black belt Eddie Kone and gave a seminar on guard passing at Eddie’s club.  I was fortunate enough to grab a few words with Rafael, who kindly took time out of his busy schedule to answer my questions, prior to the seminar.  Thanks to Eddie Kone for allowing the interview to happen and in bringing over Rafael once again to the UK.

Hi Rafael, thanks for taking time out for the interview; you’re in the UK for a few days, after competing at the Euros in Lisbon right?

Thank you Carl and that’s right, I was at the Euros again this year, it’s a great tournament as it’s at the beginning at the year and it’s always full of tough competitors and world champions.  Any mistakes I make at the Europeans I can adjust and go back and fix them up and get better and better throughout the year and get ready for the major comps later in the year.

It’s like a testing ground before the Pan Ams and Mundials?

Exactly right Carl.  The Worlds is all that matters, you can lose at every other tournament but if you win the Worlds you’re the world champion that year.

What brings you to the Euros year after year?

The level of competitor at the start of the year is huge here at the Euros and although I didn’t get the result I wanted, I got bronze in my weight bracket and Absolute, but I felt like I performed fairly well.  I was playing my game that I had been working on you know, so with all that said I felt pretty good.  I beat some pretty tough guys, but I lost to Bernard Faria in the semis in the Absolute, it was 4-2, a really close match and at the end of the match I swept him with a kimura position and if I had picked up the points I would have won, but the time ran out ya know.

Again in the weight class, I competed against Tussa Alencar, we have fought many times and they have been really close matches and this time it was his time win, I lost by takedown and once again at the end of the match I swept him and got to his back and finished the match with both my hooks in and didn’t get the points.  I felt at least I could have the points for the sweep which would have given me the match, as I was ahead on advantages, but it didn’t work out that way but that’s OK, better to lose here at the Euros, so I can go back and correct my mistakes.

An article for Competitive BJJ players.

This article may seem a bit disconnected at times but it will all come together in the end. This is part one. Partly it’s me free-associating things I have experienced or learned, and putting those thoughts down. It’s written for those looking to push their game to the next level and hopefully help with the puzzle we call BJJ.

I've heard many people say "it's all out there", meaning that BJJ is basically free for the taking. That any technique, submission, sweep is readily available and that all you have to do is crack your newest BJJ instructional, hop over to bjjweekly or just do a quick search on YouTube. The thing is, there is so much more than meets the eye. I'm not talking about transformers, but instead the transformation of BJJ you will experience as you grow in the gentle art.

The web is filled with great video content, awesome moves, great matches and high-flying tricks and submissions. There are also plenty of technical basics. How to escape mount, pass the guard and choke your buddy out. And in the abyss there are some real gems, but it's like finding a needle in a haystack. How do you know what to look for? How do you know if it's a high percentage move? How do you plug into your game?

I’d like to discuss breathing and its importance to improving your game. Although you hear it mentioned from time to time on the mat, you may not fully understand the implications or benefits that are available to those who learn how to breathe correctly. Let me try and clear up some of the complexity and mystery that surrounds breathing.

Jiu Jitsu Make You Nervous?

Ever been nervous before a fight? Tight knot in your stomach, sweaty palms, wondering what you are doing and why you are here? Are you ready? Did you train hard enough? Are you out of your league? Are you going to get hurt? Are you going to look foolish?

Warriors living in Feudal Japan often studied Zen as a way to help develop the mindset required to master martial arts. Yagyu Munenori, a swordsman who studied Zen, wrote in his Book of Family Traditions on the Art of War:

Congratulations, you’ve found a location, mats, and people to train with. What now?

Is this you?

Every school has at least one Takes It To The Limit Guy, some schools I’ve been to are filled with them. You know the type, he only has one speed and every roll is like the Mundial finals.