This review is for Spats (Black) from SCRAMBLE. Personally, I’ve never worn Spats or Compression gear of any kind before. (Rash Guards don’t count, people. Those are different.) This is the first time I’ve worn this kind of stuff… and I like it. A lot.

No more small talk. Let’s get down to what you guys are really interested in, the actual review. I’ve broken it down like this:

STYLE

Fancy. Aoki fancy. No shame in wearing these by themselves, although I prefer wearing something over them. (They still look pretty sweet under a pair of Shorts.) These Spats are Black with White stitching. They are printed with Japanese-styled designs on the Front Left Hip, Lower Right Leg, Waist Band, and Right Butt Cheek.

COMFORT

If you’ve never worn Spats before, once you get used to the “compression” aspect, they are very comfortable. I wear these every training session. They do not hinder my performance on the Mats.

PERFORMANCE

They do what a good pair of Spats should do. They definitely help keep me warm during these Winter months (the time of this review). The grip they offer during No-Gi made from some interesting Rolling. (My training partners who were getting caught didn’t think so.) They wash well, dry fast, keep things nice and protect my Legs. Oh, you know.

MISCELLANY

They might not be allowed under your Gi during competition, but during training sessions, they can be used as a layer of protection for your Legs. (Those of you who have ever had their Leg hair pulled during Rolling know what I mean.) Like I said before, these SCRAMBLE Spats were the first time I’ve ever worn any kind of Compression anything and I like them a lot. I’m now a fan of Compression gear and look forward to trying out other kinds.

Check out the SCRAMBLE Spats here:

http://www.martialartssupplies.com/scramble-black-spats.html

Score (out of 5 stars: 1 = POOR, 5 = AWESOME)

Style: *****
If you don’t mind just wearing the Spats, they look Aoki-like badass. They look pretty good under Shorts, too.

Comfort: *****
If you’ve never worn Spats/Compression anything, once you get used to it, you hardly realize it’s there.

Performance: *****
Washes & dries wonderfully. Does what a good pair of Spats should do.

Cost: ****
If Spats are your thing and you’ve got the money to spend, these are worth checking out.

Final Verdict: RECOMMENDED.

“In Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, we either live or die by the Gi. We sweat and bleed in the Gi. If used properly, a Gi becomes an extra set of limbs. It becomes a deadly weapon.”

- Dan Yun (That’s me.)

This review is for the Carioca Gi (Blue), Ipanema Edition, from CTRL Industries. If this Gi is any indication, CTRL Industries produces top quality products. Period. After doing this product review, they are one of my of favorite brands now, if not THE favorite brand for me.

“Now, anybody in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu will tell you that there is nothing like putting on a brand new Gi and wearing it down through hard training on the Mats. It’s what we do. It’s how we live. The Gi is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.”

- Dan Yun (Me, again.)

No more small talk. Let’s get down to what you guys are really interested in, the actual review. I’ve broken it down like this:

STYLE

It’s pretty. Comes in the standard White & Blue colors. Embroidered CTRL Industries logo on the Top & Pants, along with some fancy trim, looks good. The Pants use a Cord Drawstring to secure it on your waist, but they also send you a Fabric Drawstring in case something happens to the Cord or if you prefer Fabric. (That’s really cool of CTRL Industries to do that.) You’ll never be embarrassed to wear this Gi on the Mats.

COMFORT

Fits like a Gi should fit: in all the right places. Honestly, you could probably fall asleep in the Carioca I.E. if you wanted to or if you were really that tired after training. Your opponents will appreciate how nice it is to grip or when you’re putting some Top Pressure on them from Side Mount.

PERFORMANCE

By now, you should know how to take care of a Gi. Follow those guidelines and the Carioca I.E. will stay awesome. Offers the right amount of room for mobility. If you like performing those fancy moves, you’ll have no trouble pulling them off in this Gi. Takes a hell of a beating and keeps on going.

MISCELLANY

I. Love. This. Gi. I really do. The Carioca I.E. (in Blue) is the first lightweight Gi (and colored Gi) that I have ever worn, and it is awesome.

Check out the Carioca I.E. and other CTRL Industries products at:

www.CTRLIndustries.com

Score (out of 5 stars: 1 = POOR, 5 = AWESOME)

Style: *****

Don‘t know about your skills, but at least you‘ll look good on the Mats.

Comfort: *****

Fits like a Gi should fit. So comfortable. Light. Soft. Even your opponents will enjoy it.

Performance: *****

Washes & dries wonderfully. If done PROPERLY, does not shrink. DURABLE.

Cost: ****

Considering the quality of the overall product, it’s worth it if you have the money.

Final Verdict: RECOMMENDED.

Saturday night’s finale of The Ultimate Fighter 16 was another fight card that did not disappoint. There were exciting fights, great submissions, and some highlight reel knockouts.

The night started out with a featherweight matchup between Dustin Poirier and TUF season 12 winner, Jonathan Brookins. I had to pick Brookins, because frankly, he is one of the most likeable guys the UFC has ever seen. From the moment the bell rang, these two were just teeing off on eachother. It slowed down a little with some grappling against the cage, but then Poirier rocked Brookins with a straight right. They went to the ground and Poirier sank in a deep d’arce choke. Unfotunately, that was the end of Mr. Brookins.
Winner by submission – D’arce choke – Dustin Poirier

Dustin-Poirier

The second fight of the evening was a lightweight match between Vinc Pichel and Rustam Khabilov. This fight can be summed up in one word. Crazy. Khabilov is an absolute beast. They was a little feeling out for the first minute or so, then it was all Khabilov. He grabbed Pichel and gave him a suplex, then another and another. I almost thought I was watching Zangief from Street Fighter. On the third one, Pichel was rocked, and Khabilov proceeded to ground and pound until the ref finally stopped it.
Winner by KO Rustam Khabilov

Next up was a heavyweight match between Pat Barry and Shane Del Rosario. There has been a lot of talk leading up to this fight about people wanting Pat Barry to drop down to light heavy weight. He is a little smaller than an average heavyweight. But I’m pretty sure after his performance against Del Rosario, who is a muay thai world champion, a lot of the talk has been silenced. The first round was looking a little bad for Barry. He was taken down, gave up his back, and almost fell to a rear naked choke. For someone who is a known striker, Del Rosario was putting on a Jiu Jitsu clinic, trying rear naked chokes, even oma plata (a very complex shoulder lock). The round somehow ended with Barry on top of Del Rosario. Round two was over almost as quick as it started. Pat Barry landed a gigantic left hook. He followed it up with a few more punches and topped it off with a big right hand, and Shane Del Rosario was out.
Winner by KO Pat Barry

At this point in my night, I really just can’t wait for the next fight. It’s been a great card and I was just hoping it would keep going. AND IT DID!!!! We move on to the welterweights now with a fight between Mike Pyle and James Head. Head comes out just looking huge compared to Pyle, and was overpowering him right out of the gate. Pyle did a great job creating space where he could and attempting to clinch. At about two minutes in, he finally was able to sink in the clinch and lands a straight knee to the face of Head. He tops it off with some punches and that’s another fight down.
Winner Mike Pyle via KO

Now we get to what I always consider the true main event of any TUF finale. The fight where the TUF champion is crowned. I’m particularly excited about this contest because I really liked both fighters throughout the season. Mike Ricci a Canadian fighter that trains in Montreal with Georges St. Pierre and Rory MacDonald. Colton Smith is an active-duty Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army. Both are incredible physical specimens and both seem to be really likeable guys. This fight started off fast with Ricci throwing a head kick, only to miss and be taken down by Smith. They grapple briefly and get back to their feet. They are both smiling ear to ear and they high five each other. Smith then really turns it on and takes Ricci down again and proceeds to control him for the remainder of the round.

Round two sees more of the same, as Smith continues to basically manhandle Ricci.
Round three is no different. Colton executes his gameplan to perfection. He neutralizes Ricci’s striking and keeps him on the ground. Late in the round Ricci made an attempt to gain ground, but it was really too little too late. Smith was just too dominant.
Winner via unanimous decision Colton Smith

The “main event” of the evening was between heavyweights Roy Nelson and Matt Mitrione. Nelson and Mitrione were actually teammates on season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter, which would see Roy Nelson become the season winner. Mitrione, who served a short stint in the NFL with the New York Giants and the Minnesota Vikings, was a stand in for TUF coach Shane Carwin, who suffered an injury during training. Both guys are known for having a good chin and heavy hands, but Nelson is also a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Renzo Gracie. The fight starts out a little on the slow side. Both fighters seemed to be feeling each other out, but that all changed a couple minutes in. These two just start throwing heavy hands at each other. Mitrione threw a few hard body kicks, leaving Nelson welted, but Nelson answered with punches. Nelson’s punches proved to be too much for the former defensive tackle , as he knocked him out with two minutes remaining in the first round.
Winner via KO Roy Nelson

The preliminary card results were:
Johnny Bedford def Marcos Vinicius via KO
TJ Waldburger def Nick Catone via Triangle Choke
Hugo Viana def Reuben Duran via KO
Mike Rio def John Cofer via Armbar
Tim Elliot def Jared Papazian via unanimous decision

Fight of the Night honors went to Tim Elliot and Jared Papazian
Knockout of the Night went to Pat Barry
Submission of the night went to TJ Waldburger
Mullet of the Night went to Roy Nelson with Mike Pyle running a close second

No matter what anyone says, at some point or another, we are all driven by our ego. The desire to be better and stay better than everyone around you because you think you’re better than them instead of just wanting to improve yourself. That’s ego. To do something, not because it will benefit others but only because you’ll be remembered for it. That’s ego.

Ego has been the cause of many great discoveries and achievements in human history. Some even lasting to this day and will continue to last forever. Ego has also been the cause of death, destruction, and the fall of great civilizations. Unfortunately, this too will continue. Of course, when it comes to the Grappling World, Ego does more harm than good.

Our world is not like the world of other Martial Arts. It is not stale, rigid, and uncompromising. It is a living, breathing, and constantly evolving organism. We can either win or lose by the slightest, most subtle movement of either our opponent’s body or our own. So, if it takes so much concentration, awareness of your senses & physical being, then where is there room for any ego? Answer: THERE IS NO ROOM.

Here’s a couple examples:
(If you’ve been training long enough, you’ve seen this happen.)

(This has happened a few times with different people, but it goes down exactly the same way. So, here’s a generalized version of what usually goes down.) A guy, with experience from a few different schools, shows up and decides he wants to train at our school. (At this point, I’ll refer to him as Traveler.) We welcome new people regardless of their experience levels, so he had no trouble fitting in. During Rolling, Traveler would hold his own but something would be off. He just doesn’t seem to Roll with the level of knowledge he should have at the level of experience he claims to have. After a little time passes, it becomes noticeable that Traveler’s Game has kind of stagnated while everyone else is steadily improving in one area or another. Due to this, Traveler isn’t Rolling as well as before. He starts coming in less and less until, finally, he stops showing up at all. Reason: ego would not let him continue to stay in a place where he started losing any sort of ground. Traveler seemed to enjoy it when he was doing well, but once the lower ranks started to give him a harder time or even start to keep up with him, he bails because he feels threatened. His place in the hierarchy is challenged and he can’t cope with the idea. So, it’s easier for his ego to leave and reestablish himself elsewhere until his ego is threatened again. Thus, repeating a vicious cycle where his Game will never truly improve to the next level.

(This next example has also happened a few times, so again, I’m going to generalize it. At this point, I’m going to refer to him as Quitter.) Quitter started their BJJ path at our school. He worked his ass off by bleeding & sweating on the mats like everyone else. He would always ask the higher ranks questions and paid attention to everything he could in order to improve his Game. Dedicated and consistent, he eventually earned his Blue Belt and feels accomplished. Our school gets an influx of new students. The newbies are now starting out just like Quitter did in the beginning of his path. Instead of helping them like the higher ranks helped him, Quitter just shuts the newbies down. He doesn’t offer advice or tries to help them improve their Game. Instead, he tries to assert his dominance over the newbies, especially while Rolling. However, as time passes and the newbies get better, Quitter’s Game starts going from dominance to trying very hard not to lose. He starts getting frustrated that newbies are getting good enough to challenge him. A few of them eventually start to surpass him. Quitter starts getting really frustrated and wonders how it’s even possible. This starts to effect his attendance and his attitude during training sessions. Eventually, like the namesake I gave him, he quits our school. Reason: his ego was so self-inflated that he couldn’t even comprehend the notion of someone with less experience becoming better than him. Instead of focusing on correcting his mistakes and improving his Game, all he is concerned with is not losing. So much so that Quitter doesn’t offer the same kind of help and advice that he himself received. Yet, he’ll complain night & day if someone doesn’t help him. Funny thing is, they never see the irony in that.

Personally, an ego on the mats is a concept that I just don’t understand. Why would you let it exist if all it does is hinder your growth and development as a Grappler? I’ve been very lucky to have found/surrounded myself with people who love what they do and are willing to share all of it’s glory. Why wouldn’t I offer the same kind of help that I was given? Without ego, it’s easy to understand that helping your training partners to improve their Game just makes you better. How? Because now you have to improve your Game in order to compensate for the help that you gave them. Were you forced to tap during your Rolling sessions? There’s nothing wrong with that. It happens. Get over it. Without ego, you can focus on correcting your mistake so it never happens again, instead of complaining and doing nothing about it. Besides, it’s only training. You can’t improve without first making some mistakes. Besides, it’s not like it happened at a competition.

In conclusion:

NO EGO ON THE MATS.

Bonus lesson:

NEVER TOUCH ANOTHER MAN’S WAFFLES.

Seriously. That foolishness will get you killed.

Happy Training~!!!

In this video, from Submissions 101, we’re shown the basic Darce Choke.

The Darce Choke is a blood choke in Nogi grappling often hit from side control, turtle, or even the Half Guard position. This is an extremely effective choke for Nogi Competition, MMA, and Submission Wrestling.

I  personally love this move and all of the attacks off of it (Ninja Choke, Guillotine, etc.).

This month at 10th Planet Van Nuys, we’ll be covering the Darce Choke, Anaconda Choke, Japanese Necktie, and plenty of other variations! Come down to 10th Planet Van Nuys and check out a class! See you on the mats!

I love this set up and will definitely be repping this technique as part of my 10,000 reps. (Article coming soon. Check out 10thPlanetwatch.com)

And remember everyone, if you’re interested in learning techniques like the Darce choke shown in this video, come down to 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu Van Nuys! Or shoot me an email at gabe_calvento@10thplanetvannuys.com

Till next time, Happy Rollin everyone!

The Korean Zombie Chan Sung Jung is badass. I just got round to watching the UFC on Fuel fights last night and it was so worth going a whole day without the internet to avoid reading the results!

I have been a fan of his since the first Garcia fight. Probably because I felt he won the controversial decision which ended up going Garcia’s way in an epic slug fest. However, it was only when he entered the UFC and got revenge against Garcia by contorting his spine and neck in a gorgeous twister that I, like many others, started to think of him as less of a mid to lower tier gatekeeper and more of a developing fighter who has the potential to shake up a comparatively  shallow weight division.

The fight had a little bit of back and forth due to the amount of shots that Jung took. However he lived up to his moniker and methodically walked through the explosiveness of Poirier by countering with great techniques, both on the ground and standing. He countered well, but it was when he stalked down Poirier that he was able to land most damage with great clinch work or trip take downs into dominant positions. DAMN I ENJOYED THAT FIGHT! It was made even better for me as I had predicted a fourth round submission for the Korean Zombie.

He was an underdog against Hominick and Poirier and finished them both in devastating fashion. He will be underdog against Aldo. Could he pull off what could end up being one of the biggest upsets of the year? I hope so.

Here are some highlights from the fight:

Gifs taken from Iron Forges Iron.

Robot BJJ instructors David Telfer & Tim Peterson demonstrate how to perform a Brabo (or d’arce) choke when your opponent is turtled. Unlike some other variations of this choke, this one leaves you in a good position whether you are able to finish or not.

For more information on Robot BJJ, please visit their website.  http://robotbjj.com/

Alberto went through a variety of submissions (no gi) including unorthodox armbars, an arm triangle choke, d’arce chokes and a guillotine choke. Some of these moves were pretty technical but Alberto provided good instruction so that everyone was able to pull them off.

After this photo’s were taken and a short Q&A session held.

The best part of this seminar was that it was free! Even if I had paid it would have been worth it and I would definately recommend training with Alberto if you get the chance.

Wrestling record:
3x National Collegiate Wrestling Association National Champion

MMA record: 6 – 1 – 1 (50% of victories by submission)

A Massachusetts native now making his home in Orlando, Tom Lawlor was a three-time National Collegiate Wrestling Association National Champion for the University of Central Florida. After taking jiu-jitsu classes back home in Fall River, he began in MMA. His favourite grappling technique is the d’arce choke. Tom turned pro in 2007. After winning four of his next five fights, he earned a spot in the house for the 8th season of The Ultimate Fighter. He currently have a BS in Social Studies Education from the University of Central Florida. Lawlor have also taken classes towards a MA in Sports & Fitness. He used his college degree as a High School History teacher for almost 2 years.

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