Thinking About Taking Up BJJ

[Unlikely.Me]

Hey everyone. I haven't been doing martial arts very long, i've been taking Kung Fu for about 5 months, but I just got into a new college so I will be too far from my school. I've always told myself that if I took up another art it would be BJJ, and there are two schools in my area.

The one I'm interested in is http://www.gracietampa.com/

This school looks to be pretty good. I just want to know if any of you have any knowledge of this school.

Also, are there any workout methods that I should emphasize in order to prepare myself for BJJ? (Any advice in general would be nice)

Anyway, thanks in advance.

Cheers

[Cliff Hargrave]

Rob Kahn is one of only five black belts Royce Gracie has ever promoted. I highly recommend his school. (My instructor, Pat Hardy, was also one of the five)

As far as workouts, a general cardio and strength training routine will help a lot. Once you start training you will better be able to focus on sport specific stuff.

[moogong]

Christian, the instructor is a black belt under Royce, that speaks volumes. I have never been to that school but I am sure most people will agree that is impressive.
The only thing I would tell you to do to prepare would be some form of cardio. Enjoy and I am sure you will love it.

[Jeff C.]

You definitely can't go wrong there; I too train in Sarasota at a Royce affiliate, under the first black belt that Royce promoted - Charles dos Anjos. But you also have Eduardo de Lima available in Clearwater too; another really good instructor and a great guy also (ugly as sin, though!).

His school is a Gracie Barra affiliate, www.tampabjj.com. Tell Eduardo I said hello if you drop by; it's been a few years since I've seen him. I have seen his boys on the mat, and they are excellent. Of course the guys in our network are excellent too!

Jeff Cook

[Antares33]

Rob Kahn is one of only five black belts Royce Gracie has ever promoted. I highly recommend his school. (My instructor, Pat Hardy, was also one of the five)

As far as workouts, a general cardio and strength training routine will help a lot. Once you start training you will better be able to focus on sport specific stuff.

http://www.bjj.org/a/people/gracie-royce.html

I count 8, but no point in splitting hairs :P John Crouch is one of my old instructors, he got his black from Royce a few months ago.

The opportunity to learn from a BJJ black belt is rare in itself, but a Royce Black belt is probably more special. Royce makes a point to travel around giving seminars at his affiliate schools once a year or more as well.

[Cliff Hargrave]

Sorry, September 2004 he promoted the first five:

John Burke
Rob Khan
Buddy Clinton
Pat 'Hawk' Hardy
Greg Thompson

Then in October 2005 he promoted three more:

Mark Baumeister
John Crouch
Kendall Goo

So now there are 8.

Charles Dos Anjos is actually a Barra black belt that joined Royces Network.

[Unlikely.Me]

Are there any certain stretches I should emphasize in my routine to get better prepared for BJJ?

Thanks for all the great information btw, you guys are a limitless knowlege, I wish I knew as much.

I'm really excited about attending my first lesson, can't wait to move.

Cheers

[Jeff C.]

Sorry, September 2004 he promoted the first five:

John Burke
Rob Khan
Buddy Clinton
Pat 'Hawk' Hardy
Greg Thompson

Then in October 2005 he promoted three more:

Mark Baumeister
John Crouch
Kendall Goo

So now there are 8.

Charles Dos Anjos is actually a Barra black belt that joined Royces Network.

For some reason Charles and Royce disagree with that. Maybe it's the language barrier, and he got his second degree from Royce?

No worries, and sorry for the misinformation, if it is indeed that.

Christian, stretch everything. I pay special attention to my entire spine and hips while stretching.

Jeff Cook

[Cliff Hargrave]

Oh well, those Brazilian's are a strange lot. I was just going off bjj.org.

http://bjj.org/a/people/anjos-charles-dos.html

[Jeff C.]

No Cliff, you may be right about where he got his black belt. I will ask him about it next time I see him; what's REALLY cool is I think he is moving the class into the same storefront I teach classical jujitsu out of!

They are a strange bunch, like you said. That combined with my inability to understand at times could have led to this misunderstanding.

I told Charles to give me the updates to everyone's ranks so I can get BJJ.org fixed (Erik's friend is the webmaster), as it is WAY out of date regarding his students. He of course said he would, and in typical Brazilian fashion he has failed to do so.

Jeff Cook

[Archimedes]

Are there any certain stretches I should emphasize in my routine to get better prepared for BJJ?

Lie on your back and then bring your knees back and extend your legs out past your head. It's kind of like rolling over backwards, but you don't go all the way over; you just hang there, balanced on your shoulder blades and upper back. Straighten your legs and try to touch the tip of your toes to the floor. Tuck your head to one side to take some of the torque off your neck. If you can breathe okay doing this, you're more likely to be able to breathe when someone doubles you up and scrunches you down on the mat (i.e., when you get "stacked").

Observe a class if you can to note what might be expected in the warmup and then practice the warmup exercises before you actually participate in a class.