- Running a Large Martial Arts School vs. a Small OneI’ve had the opportunity to be a student at “small” academies that grew into big ones and also have had the good fortune of watching my own Howard County Martial Arts academy develop into a “big” school as well. One thing that I’ve noticed is how different it is to run a successful big program [...] […]
- Whats Up with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Associations?So what are these benefits? Firstly, joining a reputable associations is a good way for the new member to get the recognition and reputation of the association without necessarily being of the same quality. Imagine a school that does not have any history of producing competitors and also lacks an instructor with solid credentials; the school owner would grea […]
- Five Mistakes BJJ Beginners Make Dealing with LossesAt our Baltimore martial arts school, we like to have an active competition team in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, No-Gi, Thai boxing, and MMA. Of course, if you compete, you will inevitably lose. And like everyone has told you, its what happens after the loss that is important. So let’s look at five common errors beginners make [...] […]
- Founded in 1998 – So What?Customers find comfort in the fact that a business has been in existence for a long time. This is apparently a mark of dependability and continual success and so one feels comfortable developing a relationship with the proprietor with less worry that the business will undergo some bizarre twist of fate that causes it [...] […]
- Go After Titles, Not PeopleSome of the best advice I ever received from Lloyd Irvin was regarding rivalries. To many times, competitors get focused on a single opponent rather than focusing on the big picture. A common situation would be as follows: Adam loses to Bill. Adam then focuses all his efforts on beating Bill. He trains with Bill in [...] […]
- How to Watch Competition FootageSince everyone is snowed in and is supposedly working out at home and watching a lot of film, I thought I could provide some tips on watching competition footage that have helped me out over the years. In the beginning, I could not watch Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competition videos and preferred instructional videos; nowadays, its the other way [...] […]
- One Reason Competition is Important…Competition is important because it helps keep BJJ instructors honest. Every instructor has a different set of criteria from one another and most likely, a different set of criteria for each belt. For example, some instructors use an attendance system for some of the early belts while others focus primarily on competition results. This often causes [...] […]
- Bullfighting & Jiu Jitsu by Brian Neal pt 2Continued from yesterday’s post by one of Children’s Martial Arts coaches, Brian Neal… I think another similar aspect is the preparation required for each. There isn’t any training manual or book you can read that will prepare you for what you will encounter when you get on your first bull or fighting in your first advanced [...] […]
- Bullfighting & Jiu Jitsu by “Rodeo” Brian Neal pt 1In a previous life, I used to ride bulls, in part for fun and in part for many. I think you might find it interesting if I shared my thoughts about how the two are similar. While I am not suggesting to anyone that if you can or are willing to do Jiu Jitsu, you should run out and jump on the first bull you see, but I hope to give you alittle insight into how […]
- Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery…Now I don't know if VW Golfs are good are bad but the point is made - if everyone seems intent on just copying something - there must be something to the original! For an example right from our BJJ school - ever notice how every gi is compared to a Koral (the original "luxury" gi) and every light gi is compared to Vulkan (the original gi sold […]
Archive for January, 2010
What long day…Just got back to the hotel after being at The Abu Dhabi Trials all day. Willie Leonard won his division with 2 fights. After that, I was up and I had 3 matches.
My first opponent was a blue belt and I won by points. My second match was against brown belt, Sofia Amaramte. I had her in a triangle and submitted her with the straight arm lock. Next up was the finals, and I had Hillary Williams who is also a brown belt. I was very nervous to fight her but as soon as we shook hands, all that went away…I ended up taking second place losing to Hillary by points.
About 2 hours later Willie’s absolute division started. He had 6 matches in the absolute division. He stuck to his game plan and won it! First place prize, all expenses paid trip to Abu Dhabi.
All in all it was a awesome day, you win some and you lose some. It was a great experience fighting against the brown belts today. I learned a lot from it, and it’s always hard to travel without your coach. But learning to fight without them is something you have to do, because they can’t always be there.
Tomorrow Willie and I head back to Camp Springs and it’s back to BJJ Training. Next weekend, Master Donnie, Head Instructor of the kids program will be taking the kids and I up to NAGA in Rhode Island. Stay tuned to see what’s going on in Camp Springs at Lloyd Irvin’s Mixed Martial Arts. To see the updates on how the guys did in Portugal, check out LLOYDIRVINFANS.COM
GO TEAM LLOYD IRVIN!!!
Just getting back to the hotel and going to relax for the rest of the evening. The weigh ins went fine other than the fact that we were in line for about 90 minutes! I am on weight, Willie Leonard didn’t have to weigh in for his division. Now it’s time to get some rest and prepare for tomorrow, staying in to focus and think about my game plan.
While I am down in Florida, that doesn’t mean that the push up challenge stops, I did my 40 push ups and today is Day 24! I am almost near the end. Go Team Lloyd Irvin, we are taking over the world, in BJJ, MMA, Muay Thai Kickboxing…
Not to long ago I wrote about women’s MMA and tonight is the fight, will Cyborg defend her title against Coenen? I can’t wait to see! I’m about to head to weigh ins right now and I will keep everyone updated.
The guys are in Portugal resting for the night! They fight early tomorrow and I am excited to hear what happens. Jimmy Harbison took bronze in The European Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championships. He won his first match with a choke form cross side. In his second match, he caught his opponent with a flying triangle in 40 secs!!! In his 3rd match, he lost by a guard pass. Go TEAM LLOYD IRVIN, and we hope to have more medals tomorrow!!!
Check out Willie Leonard and I relaxing and checking out the scene here in Boca Raton.
The current time is 6:02 and I am at the airport in Charlotte, North Carolina. Willie and I were informed at 3 am that our flight was canceled due to the bad weather. So we packed our things, and headed to BWI airport as fast as we could to get on the next possible flight. I was determined to get to Florida to make it to this tournament! Even though all of these tournaments are just preparing me for BJJ Worlds, I need to some gi matches before then.
For all I know we could be stuck here over night, being that when we landed it was snowing! So, I hope that the weather doesn’t get worse, that would be bad. Jon Delbrugge and Roberto compete today in Portugal for the European Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championships and I am waiting to here results and I will keep everyone updated.
Here are my 40 push ups from this morning. I am still in the Push Up Challenge with Marcos Avellan and Jason from Team FFA. I also posted a link, make sure you check out the video! The guys at Team Lloyd Irvin have been working out hard. D’Angelo Kinard has had, them on strength and conditioning and they are almost ready for battle. They fight in Tennessee on Feb. 20! So Stay tuned to hear results!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tp-2vL8xJUA
Also check out the video below, Mike Fowler and some of the guys training!
Is it possible to have too much knowledge for…….?
I personally think that it’s impossible to have too much knowledge for something. We learn new things every day and one should be thankful for that. You can never have enough knowledge for anything, take Mixed Martial Arts for example. There are so many different arts to begin with, Muay Thai Kickboxing, MMA, Judo, BJJ, Sombo….and the list goes on and on. Why don’t we just narrow it down to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Can a person ever know too much?? Are there people that think they know too much? Or maybe they think that they are on a different level than they really are. If you disagree with me, than maybe you are training at the wrong facility. Here at Lloyd Irvin’s Mixed Martial Arts, I learn new things every day.
Well, if you are reading this, pay attention!
You are never too good to learn a new technique or to take a class. Every class that you attend, I can assure you that you will learn something new. In BJJ there are so many angles, submissions, and positions, I could go on and on. And in your lifetime, you will never learn everything. When you have a coach or an instructor who is willing to put time and energy into you, listen and never take it for granted. It’s no good to try and stop your knowledge from moving forward, how will you ever be the best? I have seen people sign up for a program and then act like they are too good to take a class. But when you never want to broaden your knowledge on a specific subject, how do you expect to get better. Keep that in mind because you are simply being ignorant and ignorance is never better than knowledge.
Mike Fowler, Jt “Spider Man” Torres and Jimmy have arrived in Portugal. They are relaxed and focusing for tournament time. Master Lloyd heads out tomorrow to join the guys. Also don’t forget about Phil Davis, he will be making his MMA debut on Feb. 6, 2010! Brandon Vera is also getting ready for his upcoming fight. Like I said before, Team Lloyd Irvin is doing big things this year so don’t miss out!!! If you want to be a part of this team, come and check us out in Camp Springs Maryland. Or for more info, go to www.lloydirvin.com.
