Our Schedule has changed! We’ve added a Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Fundamentals and Self Defense class on Mondays. This class is perfect for the beginner to the advanced student, a great way to get started on your path in BJJ or for the experienced student – you can never practice the fundamentals enough.
This class runs from 7:00pm to 8:15pm followed up by an open mat from 8:15pm to 8:45pm. For more information about the Rosendo Diaz Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy please call us at 267-476-1858 or visit the academy at 27 N. Butler Avenue, Chalfont, PA. We are on the corner of Rt. 202 and Rt. 152N, minutes from Doylestown and Lansdale.
We are happy to announce that the Bucks County Kettlebells program will begin on Monday, March 7. The BCKB program will run on Mondays; 9:30am – 10:15am, Wednesdays; 6:00pm – 6:45pm, Thursday; 3:00pm – 3:45pm, Sundays; 1:30pm – 2:15pm.
For more information please visit Bucks County Kettlebells.
2010 has been the year for newly promoted 3rd Generation Jiu-Jitsu black belt, Fadi Khouri. With some outstanding showings at both local and national tournaments culminating to his 1st place, no points scored against him, finish at the US Open in October. We caught up with Fadi to get his take on training and his future plans.
You have a background in both Judo and BJJ. How do you feel the two arts complement each other?
This is an interesting question and the generic answer would be, Judo is the missing piece of the puzzle since it’s the “Throwing” part of the game……While that is true, the actual take downs under a BJJ setting can get a bit hairy if you rely purely on Judo. In a Jiu Jitsu tournament if you go in for a big throw and Miss, you can easily get penalized for missing (I have missed a few throws and my opponent was awarded the take down for doing nothing except falling on me). I rely heavily on foot sweeps to avoid exposing myself…..
From my point of view, the true value of Judo comes in from the balance and aggressive grip fighting that you learn from playing Judo! I hear it all the time “I competed against a wrestler and he had great BASE”. The same theory applies to Judoka’s, they have great base that will help tremendously when they are playing on top, the trick is to mold it with the BJJ style so they flow together well.
Do you view BJJ more as a sport or as a form of self-defense?
My main focus right now is Sport Jiu Jitsu, but it’s impossible to separate the sports aspect of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu from the self defense aspect! I would say that 60% of the sport Jiu Jitsu techniques would not be ideal in a self defense setting, but at the same time sport jiu jitsu has a built in safety mechanism to prepare one to defend himself when needed. I would attribute three important factors developed from Sports Jiu Jitsu that will be valuble in a self defense setting.
a. Basic Tech.
b. Instinct
c. Cardio
Who have been some of the biggest influences on your game?
This is a more complicated question than it appears . The first response is always my instructor, I started my training at Modern Combat Academy in PA (Which since then has developed into its own association 3rd Generation Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) under the tutelage of Rosendo Diaz. His style of BJJ is a very technical one and even though I was a big guy I learned to focus on the technical part of BJJ vs. becoming a power player. The second response to this question is my training partners…..a player is only as good as his training partners decide to push him! I was fortunate enough to have very motivated training partners in the gym with me pushing me over the years and I would say that it’s a huge factor in influencing the way your BJJ is developed (I’d like to mention William Alford, David Harris, Alex Gotay, Evert Guetterez and Jeff Messina ).
You’ve competed in both small local tournaments and large scale such as the Pan Ams and the Worlds. Can you tell us the differences in how you prepare for these types of events?
For small tournaments I don’t really prepare, I just enter them as they come along for experience. Big tournaments are totally different though, there are a lot of factors that come into play when I start my preparation. I train 2 x a day , 5 x a week for 8 to 10 weeks prior to the tournament date. Here is a sample of my training schedule for the US Open (which is the same for all other major tournaments)
i. Sat: BJJ in the AM and Conditioning in the PM
ii. Sun: BJJ in the AM and Conditions in the PM
iii. Mon: Rest
iv. Tues: Weight training in the AM and Judo in the PM
v. Wed: Conditioning in the AM and BJJ in the PM
vi. Thur: Weight training in the AM Judo in the PM.
You teach in Houston at Bam Bam’s Martial Arts, tell us a little bit about the academy.
BamBam is a great training facility located in the West U area inside the loop in Houston. It’s a full training facility that provides its students with a full BJJ, MT, Boxing and MMA program. (the BJJ program has 3 black belts from 3 different lineages so come in and pick your style ) we are located at 4007 Bellaire blvd. Houston TX.
Any future plans for opening your own academy?
Not sure yet …..I think I have a few things to learn first before I can venture into that world LOL! But everything is possible, I am just happy that I can contribute back to the sport now, and would love to have an academy one day, when though I am not sure.
Tell us what your plans are for the upcoming competition season in 2011.
In 2011 I am hoping to do 4 to 5 big tournaments, my plan is to start in the Masters division first and test the waters! Gaining some experience as a black belt will be crucial for me, as it is shark infested waters…..I will probably start at the Pan American games in March and hope to compete at the Nationals, US OPEN and hopefully the Rio Masters tournament in Brazil.
For more information about Fadi and training in the Houston area please visit www.bambammartialarts.com or contact Fadi directly for information on private lessons and seminars fadihkhouri@gmail.com
Help the 3rd Generation Jiu-Jitsu Team take 1st place in Philly’s Hot Spot. Each vote counts towards us making our goal. Thanks for your support!
Rosendo Diaz BJJ Academy
Keith Neff, Lancaster BJJ, will be at Harrisburg BJJ Academy on Saturday, July 31, 2010. The seminar will run from 11:30am. For more information about this Team 3rd Generation event, please visit www.harrisburgbjj.com
See you on the mats!
Schedule for the Rupture NE Jiu-Jitsu Championships
Friday, July 23, 2010
Early weigh ins and pre-registration
From 5pm to 9pm at
RDBJJ Academy
27 W. Butler Avenue
Chalfont, PA
www.graciepa.com
Saturday, July 24, 2010
weigh ins and registration
from 8am to 9:30am at
Colonial Elementary School
230 Flourtown Road
Plymouth Meeting, PA
10:15am – rules meeting
10:30am – tournament start
Hope to see you there!
Cardio – Conditioning Class
Join us at the Rosendo Diaz Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy for the ultimate weight loss, fitness and body shaping class for men and women.
We are excited to announce the start of our newest program, Cardio and Conditioning class on Wednesday’s from 6:30pm to 7:30pm.
This class will bring different disciplines of fitness including Yoga, kettle bells, weight training, anaerobic exercise and plyometrics, just the right combination to get you in top shape.
This class is open to men and women and membership in our BJJ program is not required.
For more information or to stop by and try out a class for free call us at 267.476.1858.
Rosendo Diaz Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
27 W. Butler Avenue
Chalfont, PA
www.graciepa.com
Tournament Wrap Up
Members of the 3rd Generation Jiu-Jitsu Competition Team competed in two events this past weekend.
The Maxercise In-House Tournament held in Marlton, NJ. Thanks to John Disimone from Team Maxercise for extending the invitation.
Zack Hockman – 2nd place pre-teen division.
Eric Grover – 3rd place pre-teen division.
Bill Mann – 2nd place blue belt division.
Jessy Ringquist – 1st place blue belt division & 3rd place absolute no-gi division.
Chrissy Foster – 1st place female blue belt absolute and awarded most technical female trophy.
Ocean city classic 2 was held on Saturday, May 22, 2010.
Rick Royce – 1st in the advanced 150-159lbs. no-gi division
Rick Royce – 1st in the take down tournament
Dylan Royce – 1st in 150-159lbs. blue belt division
Dylan Royce – 1st in the blue belt absolute division
Dylan Royce – 1st in 150-159lbs. no-gi intermediate division.
Special congrats to Colin, Kevin Shannon’s son, who placed 2nd, in his first submission grappling event, in the 83-113lb 11-13y/o division
Again, a great showing by all of our members.
Lunch Class
We’ve added another daytime class. Mondays from 12pm to 1pm, come prepared for a great workout and jiu-jitsu training.
So now we are running Monday and Thursday lunch time class. If you can only come to our day classes, please contact the academy for special rates.
Rosendo Diaz Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy
3rd Generation Jiu-Jitsu Team
27 W. Butler Avenue
Chalfont, PA
267.476.1858
News from 3rd Generation Jiu-Jitsu affiliate, Submission Factory in Hummelstown, PA
The Submission Factory is proud to announce its first 2 children’s promotions to second yellow stripe. Alex Ortiz and Adrian Ortiz, congratulations you’re both half way to your first belt. Keep up the good work!
Kid’s Wrestling class has been added to the Submission Factory schedule. This class will be held on Thursday’s from 6pm to 7pm. For more information please visit www.submissionfactorypa.com
Recently I was on the phone with someone and they asked me who I learned my Jiu-Jitsu from, my immediate answer was to give the names of my instructors. But that got me thinking, did I really learn everything I know from my instructors… or is there more to it than that?
So after spending way to much time thinking about it, I came up with what I think is involved in the process of really learning the art. For me, I think it comes in thirds…
One-third I learned from my instructors for sure. They taught me the techniques, helped me understand the mechanics of movement and helped me find crucial errors in my game. They also gave me the skills I needed to be able to pass on the art to my students.
The second-third I learned was two phase. First and most importantly was mat time. I have spent more time rolling/sparring with my training partners than I ever have or will drilling moves. You need to roll with people better than you. They will exploit your weaknesses and give you a sense of where your game needs to go. You need to roll with people of equal level to your own. They will assist you in developing strategy and timing. And you need to roll with partners that have less skill than you, they will allow you to improvise and fine tune new techniques you are working on.
The second phase was exploration…whether its YouTube, instructional videos, training with other black belts, or just coming up with my own sweeps, attacks, and defenses. Watching videos, training with others outside your academy and just spending time coming up with your own stuff, whether it works or not opens your mind and often gives your game that much needed spark. But don’t go out and buy every instructional or spend your day watching YouTube, that can lead to information overload. Be specific in your exploration, if you want a better guard, find a good series on the X-guard or butterfly guard. Don’t be lulled into buying or watching every position. If you have a target in front of you and you want to hit the bulls-eye, don’t throw a basket ball at it because it’s guaranteed to bounce back, you want to hit that bulls-eye with the point of a dart.
The third-third, was teaching. Regardless of whether you have your own academy, teach a class, or are just helping your training partner during class, nothing cements the information than passing it on. Teaching forces your mind to truly understand the details of a technique.
To this day, after 16+ years of training and teaching jiu-jitsu I will find myself learning a new detail or find new understanding of a technique while I’m actually showing it to the rest of the class. As often happens to me, during the lulls in my training, when I feel like I’m not getting better I will focus on my teaching to help me find new ways and cement what I already know.
So, learn from your teachers, roll as much as you can win or lose, explore and pass on the knowledge, those are the keys to learning the art of Jiu-Jitsu.
LancasterBJJ.com is up and running. Check it out!!!
Congratulations to our newest blue belts, Anthony Caruso and Dean Lewis. Both have been training for a little over a year and half, overcoming many hurtles to reach this point. Well done guys!
Rosendo Diaz will be holding workshops on Saturday, February 27, 2010.
Harrisburg Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy
Saturday, February 27, 2010 – 10:00am to 12:00pm
www.HarrisburgBJJ.com
Berks County Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Saturday, February 27, 2010 – 2:00pm to 4:00pm
www.BCBJJ.org
We got a great bit of news on Fadi Khouri this weekend. Fadi competed at the American National Jiu-Jitsu Championships this weekend and swept his brown belt division having no points scored against him and submitting all his oponents.
The RDBJJ Acacdemy would like to congratulate Fadi on this amazing accomplishment. Fadi has been training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for sometime and has been on the competition scene for the past couple years. He has been really making a splash and we wish him all the best and continued success.
Rosendo Diaz Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy
27 W. Butler Avenue
Chalfont, PA
www.GraciePA.com
The Benefits of Private Lessons
Private lessons, while not typical in most styles of martial arts, has become a major part of training and development of the overall jiu-jitsu game. For the beginner, the private lesson provides the student with a strong base from which to expand his/her training. Your instructor will focus on the specifics of the basics and will give you the tools to enable you to self correct your game.
For the intermediate or advanced student, private lessons give them a chance to work on developing a specific game. It can also be beneficial for working on problem areas. Overall private lessons with your instructor, regardless of your training level, will give the tools to super charge your training!
Our instructors are available for lessons Monday through Saturday at our Chalfont location. For more information on one on one lessons, Click Here!
