An Interview with Stephen Hall, Alliance Dallas

Name:

Stephen “Pesadelo” Hall

Age:

38

Place of Birth:

Donaldsonville, Louisiana (Geaux Saints!)

Belt:

Faixa Preta

What was your first academy, and what was the atmosphere like?

It was under Allen Mohler at Mohler Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. It was really inviting and comfortable, but tough. I felt welcome the moment I walked in. Even though I really didn’t know what I was getting into, it just felt right, and I signed up on the spot without even trying a class.

Who was your first jiu-jitsu teacher?

Allen Mohler was my first Jiu-Jitsu teacher. I also owe a lot of my success to Marcus Hicks who is a Black Belt under Professor Mohler, as he helped develop my effectiveness in technique and mental toughness.

What can you tell us about your personal history?

Louisiana born and bred. I have a long standing work history in the Network Engineering field. I have lived here in Dallas, TX since 2000. I am now the owner/head instructor of Pesadelo Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ( http://www.pbjj.net )

What is your academic history?

I started out at Louisiana State University, and ultimately graduated from Southern University in Physics.

What is your jiu-jitsu/martial arts history?

My jiu-jitsu studies encompass the last several years. Before BJJ, I studied Tae Kwon Do from age 7 to age 27 attaining the rank of 2^nd degree Black Belt.

What is your family like?

I have a very loving and caring family. My daughter is my entire world.

Where you an athlete before you got into Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?

I played basketball in college as well as ran track. I was a high jumper. In HS I was national champion in my SR. year with a jump of 7’ 2”. I had an all time best jump of 7’ 5 ¾”. I still play semi-professional basketball in leagues here in TX when time allows.

What is your competition history?

I have tried to stay active as much as possible, averaging about 18 tournaments per year. I make certain to dispute as many of the “major” tournaments as I possibly can.

What is your proudest Jiu-Jitsu accomplishment?

It would have to be a tie between winning the championship at the International Masters/Seniors Worlds as a Black Belt, and actually getting my Black Belt. Both were realizations of dreams I have had for quite some time!

What are some of your tournament wins?

- 2009 INTERNATIONAL MASTERS & SENIORS WORLD CHAMIONSHIPS - NO-GI

WORLD CHAMPION

SENIOR 1 - BLACK BELT - ULTRA-HEAVYWEIGHT

-2009 Miami International Open

Silver - Black Belt - Adult - Pessadissimo

-2009 NO-GI PAN AMERICAN BJJ CHAMPIONSHIPS-NYC

CHAMPION - BLACK- Sr. 1 - ABSOLUTE

CHAMPION - BLACK- Sr. 1 – SUPER HEAVYWEIGHT

- 2009 INTERNATIONAL MASTERS & SENIORS WORLD CHAMIONSHIPS - GI

WORLD CHAMPION

SENIOR 1 - BLACK BELT - SUPER-HEAVYWEIGHT

- 2009 RIO OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS - GI

BRONZE - ADULT - BLACK BELT - SUPER-HEAVYWEIGHT

- PROMOTED TO BLACK BELT! - Friday, 12 JUNE 2009

-2009 (MUNDIALS) WORLD BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU CHAMPIONSHIPS

Bronze - Brown - ADULT! - Super Heavyweight

-2009 BRAZILIAN NATIONAL JIU-JITSU CHAMPIONSHIPS

Silver - Brown - ADULT! - Super Heavyweight

-2009 PAN AMERICAN BJJ CHAMPIONSHIPS

Champion – Brown – Sr. 1 – Absolute

Champion – Brown – Sr. 1 – Super Heavyweight

-2009 EUROPEAN BJJ CHAMPIONSHIPS

Champion – Brown – Sr. 1 – Absolute

Champion – Brown – Sr. 1 – Super Heavyweight

-2008 Copa Alliance
Champion - Brown Belt - Pessadissimo

-2008 U.S. OPEN BJJ CHAMPIONSHIPS XIII
Champion - Brown Belt - Masters/Seniors - Absolute
Bronze - Brown Belt - Masters - SuperHeavyweight

-2008 NO-GI PAN AMERICAN BJJ CHAMPIONSHIPS-NYC

Champion - Brown - Sr. 1 - Absolute

Champion - Brown - Sr. 1 – Super Heavyweight

-2008 AMERICAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Champion - Brown - Sr. 1 - Absolute
Champion - Brown - Sr. 1 – Super Heavyweight

-2008 AMERICAN NATIONAL NO-GI CHAMPIONSHIPS
Silver Medal - Brown - Sr. 1 - Absolute
Champion - Brown - Sr. 1 – Super Heavyweight

- 2008 Europa World Grappling Championships

Silver Medal

Men's - Black & Brown Belt - Super Heavyweight

- 2008 WORLD CHAMIONSHIPS - NO-GI

WORLD CHAMPION

ADULT - BROWN BELT - SUPER-HEAVYWEIGHT

- 2008 INTERNATIONAL MASTERS & SENIORS WORLD CHAMIONSHIPS - NO-GI

WORLD CHAMPION

SENIOR 1 - BROWN BELT - SUPER-HEAVYWEIGHT

- 2008 INTERNATIONAL MASTERS & SENIORS WORLD CHAMIONSHIPS - GI

WORLD CHAMPION

SENIOR 1 - BROWN BELT - SUPER-HEAVYWEIGHT

- 2008 RIO OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS - GI

SILVER - ADULT - BROWN BELT - SUPER-HEAVYWEIGHT

- 2008 WORLD BJJ CHAMPIONSHIPS (MUNDIALS) - GI

Competitor - Brown Belt Super-Heavyweight (1-1)

Member of World Champion Alliance Team

- 2008 NAGA/Dollamur Grappling Championships

Silver - Black/Brown - Adult - Super Heavyweight

-PROMOTED TO BROWN BELT - 11 April 2008

-2008 PAN AMERICAN BJJ CHAMPIONSHIPS

Champion - Purple - Sr. 1 - Super Heavyweight

Bronze - Purple - Sr. 1 – Absolute

-2008 Louisiana State Championships

Champion - Purple - GI - Super Heavyweight

-2008 Machado Winter Wars

Champion – Purple - GI - Super Heavyweight

-2008 EUROPEAN BJJ CHAMPIONSHIPS

Champion – Purple – Sr. 1 – Absolute

Champion – Purple – Sr. 1 – Super Heavyweight

-2007 - 1st WORLD NO-GI BJJ CHAMPIONSHIPS
Bronze - Purple - Sr. 1 - Absolute
Silver - Purple - Sr. 1 – Heavyweight

-2007 GrapplersQuest West XII
Silver - Advanced - No-Gi - Masters - Absolute
Bronze - Advanced - No-Gi - Masters – Cruiserweight

-2007 - 1st Louisiana Open
Silver - Purple - GI - Absolute
Champion - Purple - GI - Heavyweight
Silver - Advanced - No-Gi – Heavyweight

-2007 U.S. OPEN XII BJJ CHAMPIONSHIPS
Silver - Purple - Master/Sr. - Absolute
Silver - Purple - Master – Heavyweight

-2007 Machado BJJ Invitational
Champion - Purple - Adult – Heavyweight

-2007 Battle Of H-Town
Champion - Advanced(Brown/Purple Combined) Gi - Adult – Heavyweight

-2007 AMERICAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Champion - Purple - Sr. 1 - Absolute
Champion - Purple - Sr. 1 – Heavyweight

-2007 Texas No-Gi Championships
Champion - Advanced - Masters - Heavyweight
Bronze - Advanced - Adult – Heavyweight

-2007 U.S. NO-GI CHALLENGE
Silver - Advanced - Adult – Middleweight

-2007 WORLD BJJ CHAMPIONSHIPS (MUNDIALS) - GI
Made it to round of 8 in Purple Belt Open Division out of 16 page bracket

-Got Picked up by the greatest equipment sponsor out there - GOMGI...visit em at http://www.gomgi.com for any BJJ/MMA/Training gear needs!

-2007 PAN AMERICAN BJJ CHAMPIONSHIPS

Bronze - Blue - Sr. 1 – Absolute

What is your training regime like, in preparation for worlds?

Seven days of BJJ training. 2 of those days are devoted to drilling positions, 2 days devoted to situational and timed training, with the remaining days devoted to sparring while concentrating on my game plan. Also there are other training sessions with cardio, strength work, and yoga.

What is your training regime like when there is not a major tournament on the horizon?

It is scaled back to 5 days of training just as in a regular setting with the training time devoted to 1/3 drills, 1/3 technique and positions, and 1/3 rolling.

What are your overall goals in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?
To teach and develop champions, to develop a fully well-rounded game, to place at the Mundials at black belt, to give the gift that jiu-jitsu has been in my life to others, and to make my instructors, and their instructors proud of what I have become both as a BJJ player, and as a man.

What are your favorite techniques?

Do Pesadelo Triangulo! That is what I am known for. I also really enjoy knee-bars, and wheel throws.

Who do you look up to in Jiu-Jitsu?

Marcus Hicks, Fabio Gurgel, Jacare’, Allen Mohler, Saulo Ribeiro, Xande Ribeiro, Batista, too many of my Alliance teammates to name among others. All of these have taken time to make me feel like family, as well as given me lessons not only to broaden my jiu-jitsu, but to improve my life.

What are you tips for people who are new to Jiu-Jitsu?

Keep walking through the door. If you do, you will get to where you are going. Jiu-Jitsu really does reward the patient and perseverant person.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu saved my life. I hope to make those who have put so much into my development, proud of who I have become. I am honored, blessed, and humbled to have had you wish to interview me. Thank you and God Bless!

Wed Lunch Class and Promotion

Today we covered sweeps from the X-Guard:

Next we have some happy news, Big Red got his purple belt! Congratulations!

Lucky Friday the 13th

We received news from Felipe Neto, the Head Instructor at Alliance Tallahassee. On Friday Felipe had a round of belt promotions and 30 of his students passed to the the next level.
Congrats to everyone that tested, you are obviously in good hands!

Tuesday Lunch Class

Today we worked on single leg takedowns:

And if your first option doesn't work here is the second:

Finally, we have Professor Cobrinha showing Alliances second coolest manager the proper way to finish a choke:

Baking!

Professor Cobrinha made us some "special bread" today. Not only a world champion, an amazing chef:

Gracie Mag Article Number 2

Another article from Gracie Mag, this time in BJJ's mother tongue:

Romero Jacaré: “Foi o ano mais difícil da minha vida”

Jacaré gradua Fabio Gurgel, há 20 anos. Foto: Acervo Pessoal.

Líder da Alliance revê 2009 e brinda o leitor com relato precioso sobre os tempos românticos do Jiu-Jitsu

“Quando recebi o telefonema do Luca Atalla para me dar os parabéns pelo meu aniversário de 57 anos, me bateu um flashback desses cerca de 30 anos de estrada – desde quando comecei nos anos 70 na famosa academia Carlson Gracie, em cima da Casa Gebara, em Copacabana, com professor Tuninho, instrutor até os dias de hoje.

“Foi ali que comecei de verdade a me apaixonar pelo Jiu-Jitsu, e a ter certeza de era o que faria pelo resto da minha vida. O Jiu Jitsu não era tão badalado como hoje, não tinha campeonato brasileiro, Pan ou Mundial. O Jiu-Jitsu no Rio se dividia entre zona sul e zona norte.

“No nosso lado da cidade, as melhores de longe eram as academias Gracie, João Alberto e Álvaro Barreto, e Osvaldo Alves, enquanto no outro lado da cidade destacavam-se a Kioto do Mansor, o Monir, e a Oriente de Niterói do prof. Amélio Arruda, uma figura doce e educada que sempre trazia adversários ferozes nas competições,

“Pelas regras da época, valia chave de calcanhar e bate-estaca – sim, era complicado, um erro nosso na defesa e a luta estava perdida, revanche só no outro ano, pois não tinha competição toda hora como é hoje.

“Lembro que uma vez tomei um bate-estaca numa final de Carioca e passei uns bons meses sem poder treinar, Ah, vacilo! Cresci o olho no braço da guarda e tome! – fui acordar depois.

“Nesses 30 anos pude presenciar o desenvolvimento da nossa arte, talvez o esporte de luta que mais cresceu no mundo. Hoje é uma epidemia mundial, com academias presentes nos quatro cantos do mundo.

“Formei muitos professores e alunos bons, participei de todas as competições desde a década de 70, e me orgulho de ter participado dessa história, primeiro com a academia Jacaré, depois Master e agora a Alliance.

“Sei que minha missão está sendo cumprida, sempre converso com o meu saudoso Mestre Rolls e pergunto a ele: ‘Está satisfeito agora? Você saiu cedo da festa mas estamos aqui até hoje para fazê-lo feliz.’

“E ele me responde: ‘Caro Jacaré, isso não é nem o começo, ainda chegaremos muito mais longe’. E vou dormir contente, por saber que estamos fazendo um bom serviço e continuando o que ele começou.

“Foi em 1989 que graduei o meu primeiro faixa-preta, o Fabio Gurgel, em Ipanema, onde tive a minha primeira academia.

“Ele sem dúvidas vem fazendo um trabalho extraordinário e se hoje temos filiais na América do Sul e Norte, Europa e Ásia, e continuamos unidos, devo muito a ele, que sempre acreditou que poderíamos nos reerguer depois de tudo que passamos. Hoje estamos onde estamos graças a ele, ao Gigi Paiva e a outros que mantém a Alliance como uma força do Jiu-Jitsu mundial.


Jacaré e Fabio vibram no Mundial. Foto de Alicia Anthony.

“Este ano de 2009 está sendo o mais difícil da minha vida, pois passei por momentos dos quais pensei que não sairia. Depois de um treino na academia senti uma dor danada no peito, fui ao hospital e acordei com quatro pontes de safena. Mas, sempre pensava, não está na hora de partir, ainda tenho muito a fazer.

“Quando Renzo Gracie me ligou um dia, e eu estava fraco até pra falar, ele me dizia do outro lado da linha, com seu humor e positividade caracteríscos: ‘Campeão, força! Você vai sair dessa, já passamos por sufocos maiores, isso não é nada. E eu o imaginava na minha frente com aquele sorriso de vencedor, de que não tem tempo ruim, e pensava que claro, eu ia sair dessa.

“Saí, e pude presenciar um grande 2009 para a equipe, que depois de alguns anos com resultados modestos voltou ao topo, conquistando por dois anos seguidos os principais torneios Grand Slam do Jiu-Jitsu – mais uma prova de que sem hierarquia, união e comando não se vai a lugar nenhum.

“As expectativas pra 2010 são as melhores possíveis, tentaremos ganhar todos os principais campeonatos: o Europeu, Pan, Mundial e Brasileiro. Se vamos conseguir não sei, mas seremos os principais protagonistas, sempre respeitando as outras equipes.

Em 2009, tivemos nos campeonatos muitas alegrias e algumas tristezas, com nossa principais estrelas brilhando muito: Cobrinha ganhou o tetra mundial e o tri no Pan, o Marcelinho voltou em grande estilo ganhando o Mundial pela terceira vez, Langhi se consagrou, nossas meninas Luanna e Gabi colecionaram medalhas e tantos outros, de todas as faixas, que não caberiam todos aqui.

E esperávamos ganhar mais, como em Abu Dhabi, mas paciência: do outro lado também há grandes atletas. Cobrinha e Marcelinho perderam duas delas mas não têm nada por que se abater. Somos muitos orgulhosos deles e temos certeza de que todo bom guerreiro sabe dar a volta por cima. Ganhar e perder faz parte da vida do atleta – e eles já estão trabalhando pensando nisso.

Para encerrar, sucesso a todos e a comunidade do Jiu-Jitsu continue fazendo sua parte em prol deste esporte maravilhoso, para quando, um dia, reencontrarmos nossos eternos mestres, Carlos, Helio, Rolls e Carlson, possamos perguntar: onde fica a academia?”

Romero “Jacaré” Cavalcanti

South Carolina Seminar

A seminar was held at Alliance Greenville SC on Sat Nov 14th. Approximately 50 students from SC and NC attended. 7 students tested for blue belt and 2 for purple belt; all were successful. Finally Billy Fletcher became the latest Alliance black belt. Congratulations!

Gracie Mag Article

Below is the article about Professor Jacare from Gracie Mag:

Look back and move forth

In an emotion-filled report, the leader of Alliance Atlanta sums up a year replete with joy and hardship

Alliance founder Romero “Jacaré” Cavalcanti lived out a year 2009 full of highs and lows. His team won its fourth Jiu-Jitsu World Championship, but the master had some close calls where his health was concerned. “After training with Cobrinha, I felt this horrible pain in my chest. I went to the hospital and woke up with a quadruple bypass, along with some other things,” recalls Jacaré, who had another scare early in the year, when a kidney problem kept him out of combat for a few weeks.

It was in Jiu-Jitsu that Romero sought support: “The whole time at the hospital I was thinking it wasn’t time to go, that I still have much to do.” A phone call from a friend helped in his recovery: “Renzo called me one day and I was too weak even to speak. He told me from the other end of the line, in his characteristic cheerful and positive way: ‘Champ, be strong because you’ll get past this, we’ve been through rougher patches before, this is nothing.’ And I imagined him standing before me, with that winning smile that shrugs off hard times, and thought to myself: ‘Of course I’ll make it past this.’”

Jacaré (in the black gi in the middle) and the Alliance black belts during training in 2008

After the scare, Jacaré turned 57 on October 22 and the date made him reminisce about the beginning: “I had a flashback of these past nearly 30 years, ever since I started, back in the ‘70s, at the famous Carlson Gracie academy, above Casa Gebara, in Copacabana. I trained with Professor Tuninho. That was where I fell in love with Jiu-Jitsu, a sport that wasn’t as hyped as it is today. There were no World Championships, no Pan-Americans, etc… It was the north zone versus the south zone, in Rio.” Competing was a lot different too: “Heel-hooks and slams were allowed; it was rough, a mistake in defense would cost you the match. You would only get a rematch the following year, since it wasn’t like now with competitions all the time. I once took a slam at the Rio Championship and spent a few months unable to train. I got greedy about the arm from the guard and only woke up a while later.”

Since then Jacaré witnessed the growth of his passion and the transformation of a sport into a global industry, as he himself recounts: “Our art is perhaps the fighting style growing most in the world, reaching epidemic proportions worldwide. Wherever you go, at all four corners of the globe, there is Jiu-Jitsu.” And, without feigned modesty, Jacaré knows he played an important role in this growth: “I’m happy to have helped, along with the others, to get Jiu-Jitsu to where it is. I produced good teachers and students, participated in all the competitions since the ‘70s. Alliance, which was first Jacaré and then Master, is around to this day and even the best in the world these past two years. From it others arose, like Brasa and Check Mat. My mission is being accomplished.”

Gurgel and Jacare

The inspiration for this tireless work comes from the example bestowed on Romero by his great master: “I always converse with my late master Rolls Gracie. I ask him: ‘Now are you satisfied? You left the party early, but we’re here till now to make you happy.’ He answers: ‘Dear Jacaré, this isn’t even the beginning. We still have a long way to go.’”

With the words of Rolls echoing, Jacaré finishes: “In 1989 I promoted my first black belt, Fabio Gurgel. He is without a doubt doing an extraordinary job and if today we have branches in South and North America, Europe and Asia and still remain united, I owe a lot of it to him, who always believed we could stand tall again after all we went through with the split. With work and perseverance, we shall always have the hope of better days to come. I wish the entire Jiu-Jitsu community a 2010 loaded with success and everyone doing their part for this marvelous sport to become even greater so when the day comes that we meet our eternal masters, Carlos, Helio, Rolls and Carlson, once again we may ask them: “Where do we go to train?”

Saturday Teens and Ladies Class

Today in the class Professor Cobrinha covered the finer points of executing a proper double leg takedown:

Jacare in Graciemag

Check out this great article in the Graciemag about Jacare

Friday No-Gi Class

Today we covered getting a 2 on 1 from standing. This is a a key set-up component of many takedowns. The key points being to grab the opponent's wrist with your far hand, and then shuck hard with your shoulder/arm; remembering to turn your entire upper body. Below is a picture of Jacare demonstrating and a video of Cobrinha and Vlad executing the move.

This was followed by Professor Jacare teaching a low outside single leg:

Thursday Night Class

We had a packed Thursday night class. We worked some stand up to warm up then Jacare and Cobrinha showed veriations of the Toriando Pass

New Merchandise in Stock

We just received a new shipment of hoodies and t-shirts. They are going fast so please let Bart or Clinton know if you'd like one.

Just in time for winter, these zip-up hoddies are fleece lined and will keep you warm!

They were desigen with "ALLIANCE" written down the left chest and the logo on the back

Due to the loads of requests we received the t-shirt was restocked in a variety of colors. In addition to the traditional black we now carry grey, dark blue, green and orange t-shirts

No Gi World Championships

Alliance wants to say congratulations to Stephen "Pesadelo" Hall for his wins at the tournament. He sent me this short email:

"I won the Black Belt, Sr. 1, Pessadissimo Category at the World No-Gi Championships and placed third int he Black Belt, Sr. 1 Absolute."

It's a Boy!

Congratz to our good friend Riccardo Ammendolia who just became a father!

Training your grip

Came across a cool article in Gracie Mag that had some great advice about increasing your grip strength.
Thought I'd share:

How to Develop a Bone Crushing Grip

For years, I was never able to beat him, but he was always there to help with advice on how I could someday win. A one time Olympic caliber rower, my father would brag of how thick the calluses once were across his hands and he would always impress me with feats of hand strength like driving a single finger through the lids of jars of peanuts and coffee.

I also had an Uncle that was a three-star general in the Air Force who would crush my hand with his grip at every family reunion. No matter how hard or long you held his grip for, he would always wait until you released first. It was an impressive show of dominance of one man over another.

These two men had powerful influence over me when it came to training my hands. I remember with joy seeing my first callus forming in my palm when I started lifting weights around 13 years old. As the years went on, my dad’s advice paid off and one Sunday evening our grips were locked in a battle and I almost beat him. Interestingly, we never arm wrestled again. Not only was he strong, he was smart too.

There were many years of training that went by following that time of my life when I was convinced that grip training was essential not just to being an athlete, but to being a man. When I began training jiu jitsu in 1998, I was again reminded not only that grip training was important, but also that my grip was not as strong as I thought.

Training with the gi was tough on my hands at first, and although I had strong hands in the gym, I quickly learned that there was more work to be done before my hands could be considered battle tested. In addition to this, I started training and working with ADCC medalist and UFC veteran Sean Alvarez around this time.

Sean was helping me with no gi takedowns one training session and he clamped down with both hands on my left wrist like a bear trap. Not only did I know I wasn’t getting my hand back, but I was also worried he was actually going to break my arm with the sheer power of his hands.

This event was the final straw that made sure that grip work became a staple in my training with fighters. Since that time, many of the fighters (Renzo, Ricardo Almeida, Roger Gracie) may have cursed me for what we have done to our hands, but their grips have never let them down in competition.

Simply put, if you have a strong grip, you have an advantage. If you have a weak grip, you have a liability. Regardless of what you might like to believe if you fear training the hands hard, a vice-like grip can be the difference between getting the takedown or not, finishing the submission or not, or ultimately winning or losing. Without a strong grip, your hands become the weak link in the chain of the entire body.

The deadlift is a great example of this statement. Imagine that you are trying to deadlift 450 pounds from the floor and you have the arms, back and legs that are strong enough to do it. The only problem is that your hands can only hold 300 pounds. Do you see that the heavy lift is now impossible and that the entire body will be limited in how much it can perform? Now take that same concept and apply it to your fight game. The last thing that you want is holes like this in your game holding you back.

Now that I have your attention, this article is designed to show you new ways for training the grip that you may never have either seen or tried before. The great news is that training the grip does not require expensive equipment. Most of the training we do is with simple pieces that you already probably have, or can get rather easily.

Below is a short list of 5 exercises I like to use with my fighters to develop a bonecrushing grip. Over 300 more full color exercises for all parts of the body can be found in my new book, Training for Warriors: The Ultimate Mixed Martial Arts Workout.

Bar Grip Exercises

1. Band Deadlifts

This exercise is a real challenge for the grip. By using elastic bands connected to the bar, as the athlete lifts up the bar gets heavier and tries to rip from the athlete’s hands. We do sets of 5 reps and hold the first 4 reps for 5 seconds at the top and the last rep for 10. This way we are building leg and back strength in addition to a powerful isometric grip.

2. Fat Bar Holds

We use a fat bar to challenge the grip. If you don’t have a fat bar, you can place tape or clothes around the bar to make it thicker. At that point, each athlete lifts a certain amount of weight (we usually use 225-275) and see who can hold it the longest. This is a killer on the forearms.

Gi or Canvas Bag Grip Exercises

1. Gi Chin Ups

In addition to bar work, I have found that you must still replicate the demands on the hands of the gi to truly train the grip for competition. The first place we started was with the gi looped over the chin up bar. We do sets of 6 and add weight if we can do more. We use grips on both the lapel and the gi material to toughen the hands correctly and work different angles of grips.

2. Sandbag Lifts

A sandbag is an easy tool to make and a great tool to challenge the grip and the rest of the body. All you need is a big canvas duffel bag or two, some sand and some duct tape and you are ready to rock. I fill one duffel bag with a certain amount of sand, tape the bag shut and then place that bag inside another bag and tape that one shut. This way, there is no mess and you have a great training tool. We use a 120 pound bag for bag lifts. During this lift you grab the bag with the grip and lift with the legs and place it up on a high box.

Rope Exercises

1. Rope Climbs

If you have somewhere safe to hang the ropes, rope climbs are also a great exercise for the fighter. Although I like standing more for function and safety, this is another demanding exercise that is a must if you want a strong grip. Depending on the height of the rope, that will determine how many sets and climbs you do.

The grip is an area of the body that is often overlooked and under-trained. When I hear talk of some legendary fighters like Mark Kerr and current stars like Minotauro, I hear a common thread that athletes that have competed against them say: they had an iron grip! Until you have appreciated a competitor’s grip that could not be broken, you may not take this article as serious as it is, but I hope this article is a wake up call. Now get to work on that grip!

No-Gi World Championships

Right now the only results I have are from Tracy. He earned bronze, I will post more as they become available.