Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is by far the most difficult, most challenging, and most intense physical activity I've ever engaged in. In a nutshell, BJJ is "possibly the premier ground-fighting martial art. Made famous by Royce Gracie in the early UFC's in the mid-1990's, it specializes in submission grappling when both fighters are on the ground. Techniques include positional control (especially the "guard" position), and submissions such as chokes and arm locks." To learn about BJJ in depth I would suggest looking over the Gracie family site at BJJ.org. I'm not a complete expert on BJJ, but I'll expound a little on exactly what the art entails. When people ask me about it, I usually tell them that it's a grappling sport, striking disallowed and scored on points in tournament competition, much like wrestling. Unlike wrestling, however, BJJ incorporates moves deemed illegal in wrestling, such as the Kimura (my trademark move). The major difference between the two is that the objective of wrestling is to pin your opponent's shoulders to the mat, while your objective in BJJ is to cause your opponent enough pain/discomfort for them to tap out (either slapping your hand against the mat, your opponent, yourself, etc. or saying "tap"). You can achieve this through a variety of locks (arm bar, knee bar, key lock...), chokes (guillotine, collar choke, triangle...), and cranks (bicept slicer, neck crank...). Since BJJ is a martial art, there are belt progressions as in other martial arts. The belt progression is as follows: white, blue, purple, brown, black; achieving a black belt requires literally decades of training. I am currently a blue belt.

I began training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in the spring of '03. My initial interest had been fueled by watching, with great intent, Ultimate Fighting Championship events. I noticed that many of the fighters, including my personal favorite Vitor Belfort, had some experience with BJJ. I decided to seek out a teacher in Rochester, and was blessed by the presence of Kyle Saunders practicing only minutes from my apartment. Kyle has taught me just about everything I know about BJJ; he's a fantastic teacher, and I would recommend him to anyone interested. In addition, I trained with a great bunch of guys back home in New Hampshire at a place called Dragonfly Jiu-Jitsu. Unfortunately, Dragonfly had to close due to financial problems, but the summer I spent there was one I will never forget. I'm now back in Rochester and training hard with Kyle and the gang.

I just want to send thanks out to those I've trained with; it means so much to me to have the chance to roll with people who share my passion for BJJ.

Dragonfly Thanks: Rob Iodice, Stone, Big Mike, Mike Pierce, Sandy

Saunders BJJ Thanks: Kyle, T.K., Big Jason, Eric, Sensei Bounce, George, Ninja Jason, John, Molly, Hari, Amel, David, Jordan

These are a couple of pictures of me training with Amel from Saunders BJJ (I'm the one without shoes).

Page: Home | News