NoGi Gear Review: Fight Culture Rashguard & Shorts
“Established in 2012, Fight Culture Clothing is a brand that makes athletic wear designed for the warrior that lives among our civilized society. Our brand realizes that all fighters carry certain qualities inside their hearts that separate us from everyone else.
We understand that in fight culture we are willing and eager to embrace hardships, whether on the mat, in the ring or inside the cage in order to be the best we can be. Therefore Fight Culture Clothing is committed to providing high quality apparel that will meet our need for intense training and competition.
Most of us recognize that we will never be a World Champion or achieve Gold, but as fighters we are all linked by our desire to succeed – in our lives, at our jobs, for our families and to make a difference in the world.”
The Art of Motivation & Inspiration with Andre Galvao
It’s no surprise that someone as decorated as Andre Galvao has an absolutely insane work ethic. The man has taken home countless medals, world titles and has ventured into many different weight classes in the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu world.
On top of his talents on the mat, Galvao has also displayed his skills inside of the cage for top promotions such as the defunct Strikeforce.
However, to get to where he is now, it took more than just hard work and dedication for Andre. Anyone can have the drive to succeed, but being able to maintain that mind frame is so important for a world class, top flight athlete.
For Andre Galvao, he looks to various outside resources to help conjure up the motivation and determination to be the best.
Ricardo Almeida: Leg Locks for BJJ Beginners
If you’re a newbie to the world of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, then do I have the video for you! It’s easy to go on YouTube and find videos of some of the top guys in the game and be amazed, but when you attempt the stuff that they’re able to do, it’s almost impossible to do it correctly. Luckily there’s a video that makes some lethal leg locks easy as “one, two, three” for all of you just starting out.
Ricard Almeida is a name that is well known in both the MMA and BJJ worlds. A former fighter with experience in PRIDE & the UFC, Almeida also coaches reputable fighters such as Frankie Edgar. But you’re here for BJJ, right? Of course you are! Ricardo is a 3rd degree black belt under Renzo Gracie; Almeida has vast experience in the grappling world having competed in the IBJFF, CBJJ and the ADCC. Long story short; he’s been there and done that.
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Study Guide: Dan Fagella's Heel Hook Secrets
Dan Fagella, of The Science of Skill, has recently begun to offer what he calls Micro BJJ videos and articles. If you're not familiar with Dan he's a brown belt in the Rooster/under 130lb division. Dan has been competing at the highest levels most recently winning the NoGi Pans as a brown belt in 2011. Outside of BJJ he is working on his PhD at Univ of Penn with a focus in psychology.
In the MicroBJJ series Dan takes a fairly specific technique or situation and breaks it down to a very high level of detail. Many of these articles and videos focus on leg locks, an area of intense interest to him. Dan was kind enough to provide a copy of his Heel Hook Secrets video and as part of the review I'll be breaking it down into a handy-dandy map for your easy reference.
Crippling Jiu-Jitsu: a Leglock Article Roundup
On November 4, 2012, my Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach, Adam Ryan, took gold in the senior 2 black belt category of the IBJJF 2012 World No-Gi Championships, submitting his opponent with a pretty brutal ankle lock. The Dynamic MMA team were all pretty excited to watch this, and in honour of Adam’s leglock finish, I figured I’d put together a quick compilation of leglock-related articles that I’ve written over the years. These articles were published in different places under different sets of publication guidelines, so there’s some repetition, but they give a good overview. The flow is: introduction, examples of leglocks in action, learning resources, and dealing with knee or ankle injuries.
[Editor's Note: This article originally appeared here at Jeff's Blog Jiu Jitsu Vortex.]
Gear Review: Berserkur Rashguard & Muninn Fight Shorts by Odin Fightwear
“The company was founded in 2011 by Kári Gunnarsson, an avid grappling/BJJ practitioner and competitor. Kári has competetive experience in both MMA and Muay Thai. The main goal of the company is to provide MMA/Grappling/BJJ gear of the highest quality, and just as importantly, with crisp/fresh designs.
We don’t feel that the majority of MMA brands out there appeal to us, as we are not attracted to the “in your face” style that most companies seem to cultivate, so we aim to create crisp cool designs (though not necesarily minimalistic). We take our inspiration more from surf clothing than from other MMA brands, and try to incorporate that design feeling into clothing that is meant to withstand MMA/Grappling rather than surfing.” Odin Fightwear
Odin Fightwear’s no gi offerings include rashguards (blue and brown) as well as board shorts. The rashguards are 40€ and board shorts are 45€. This price includes the EU tax. Those outside the EU will pay ~25% LESS (~$30 usd & ~$44 usd respectively). The gear has fully sublimated graphics, distinctive styling and a few features that you don’t typically find in rashguard.
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Nogi Gear Review: Origin Spats
Intro:
“In my opinion there was no BJJ brand that represented the beauty and elegance we all experience when participating in the gentle art. I was looking to create a brand that had meaning, that word that came to me was ORIGIN.” Pete Roberts
Origin BJJ has been getting a lot of press lately because of their move to have all of their gi manufacturing at their Maine headquarters. Origin is the product of Pete Roberts and his desire to get out of the corporate word and to pursue his passion for BJJ as a career (for a little more on Pete check here). Their products are designed from his experience as a student, competitor and teacher. To that end Origin’s products include gis, nogi apparel and training accessories. With a reputation for service and quality I was very excited to use Origin spats for my initiation into the world of spats.
Gear Review: Sprawl Gi-Flex 2 Pant (Large)
Intro:
Sprawl has been around forever. They’re one of the oldest names in fight shorts that I can remember and introduced their first pair over 10 years ago. Since then Sprawl’s line has expanded to include rashguards, clothing and most recently gi pants. Sprawls original Gi-Flex pants were released about 2 years ago and just last month the Gi-Flex 2 pants were released.
If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if your fight shorts were 2 feet longer, look no further than the Gi-Flex 2 pants. The waist and upper portion of the pants are almost identical to a pair of high-end fight shorts and instead of ending at your knees the ripstop material extends down to your ankles.
Breaking Down the Grappler's Manifesto
The Grappler’s Manifesto is a 347 page treatise on nogi grappling for MMA written by Lance Freimuth with the help of some of the biggest names in mixed martial arts. The book is intended for fighters and includes techniques from luminaries such as: Big Nog, Dave Camarillo, Jon Fitch, Forrest Griffin, Greg Jackson, Randy Couture and Neil Melanson. The book is divided into 10 sections covering the major positions from the top and the bottom. The book is also unique because it gives a sample gameplan based on the fighter’s strength: striker, wrestler, jiu-jitsu or generalist. The pictures look great, the explanations of the techniques are in sufficient detail, and you’ve find a wide range of techniques covered.
Superfight - Cyborg Abreu vs Rolls Gracie
Superfight - Cyborg Abreu vs Rolls Gracie, check out this match up fromthe UFC Fan Expo in Boston this past August, 2010.
Thanks Grappler's Quest for sharing the video and helping to promote submission grappling and BJJ.