Blog 13: Lesson 2 Reflection

Content:
1. Positive Statement (What are you most proud of in your Lesson 2 Presentation and why?)

-Well as a starter, I think that my 30 minute was a positive outcome. I knew all my information and sources but my problem last night was just creating the poster and power point, which, in the end came out well. I am most proud that I was able to show some people how to "Shrimp" and to my surprise even saw Allie using it on Nathan when he tried to tie her shoes together. It was a simple technique but it is necessary in stand up and ground transitions.

2. Questions to Consider
a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 2 Presentation (self-assessment)?
 -I expected a P but thankfully, earned an AE
b.     Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 2 component contract.
-I believed I earned that grade because I, for one, met all grading criteria for P consideration and did go above and beyond by creating an aesthetically pleasing poster, and creating a video not only for my activity but also for background knowledge of what situation my answer was addressing. I taught a simple yet effective activity too.

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 2?
-THAT I GOT AN AE. LOL. But no in all seriousness I was glad that I was able to address most of the answer that I expected to cover. What worked was that I finished everything in one night and fit in practice so that I was prepared to say my answer and sources in correct format. 

4.  (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 2?
-Well I would have spent fewer minutes on my foundation as, looking back at it, was a bit longer and repetitive than I would've planned. Also, what I found difficult was teaching everyone a Jiu-Jitsu technique that not everyone knew how to do. I could have been clearer in my explanation and maybe by doing that, it could have lets me apply my activity to everyone towards the end and maybe even show off my victory from BBQ.

5. Finding Value
What do you think your answer #2 is going to be? 
- From the looks of it, I will have some sort of answer addressing how GJJ allows the fighter to fight against other ground style opponents? I felt that this answer focused more on tackling the problem of a stand up attacker and now I need to focus on the ground...because then again that's what GJJ is all about. I do need to work on the wording though :P

Blog 14: Independent Component 1

Literal:
(a): I, Bryan Posada, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.

(b): Cite your source regarding who or what article or book helped you complete the independent component.
-Since my Independent Component was solely to train and better myself as a Gracie Jiu-Jitsu student, I have to thank my mentors. My head instructor Jorge Balares who teaches me more than I should be learning due to my rank but does so anyways and my other sub-instructors Dave, Paul, Han and Alex, who, during days when Jorge isn't there, take over the class and fulfill the instructor role for us. Another source I would give credit to would be my set of Gracie Combative CD's (As shown in my January Blog Post) performed by Rener and Ryron Gracie, as it is basically my mentorship put in digital form.

(c): Provide a digital spreadsheet (aka log of the 30 hours).
-Click the top right part of the page that says, "Independent Component Log."

(d): Explanation of what you completed.
-So for Independent Component I basically just did what I do. Train. I can't say that I've completed anything product-wise but I can say that though these extra hours of training and learning my art, I've been able to grow with it and develop my own style. I learned what I was capable of and overall I realized what worked and what didn't work through various sparring sessions and breakdowns of techniques through others' perspectives; for example I adapted my style to be a conservative fighter, always observing before reacting and landing the fight in my Guard so I can be in my comfortable spot. These 30 hours have molded me to be able to practice my EQ and maybe even give me the training I needed to tap out Alfredo (ehh kinda but I'll throw that in) and stand a chance against a mini roll James earlier today. The only physical thing I guess have come out from this mixture of Independent component and Mentorship would be my promotions and my now recent work on my application video for my Blue belt to send to the Gracie Academy in Torrance and begin teaching the class myself.

Interpretive:
Defend your work and explain the significant parts of your component and how it demonstrates 30 hours of work. Provide evidence. (photos, transcript, art work, videos, etc) of the 30 hours of work.
-So for my independent component all I ever did was train with my mentors and practice at home with my Combatives DVD's with that being said I have a few pictures of what would happen whenever I would go. I
give some photo credits to my aunt who would try to take pics when she would sit in.

Even though where I go is just in a Parking Lot. Look at iPoly...we came from one too.

These Next few pics are just going to be pics of                                                                                     the training center and what a day in class actually                     feels like.

Applied:

How did the component help you understand the foundation of your topic better? Please include specific examples to illustrate how it helped.

-For me the independent component helped by letting me practice and develop my own style. A lot of my early "foundation" research was based on Theory; how GJJ was meant for the weaker opponent to beat the stronger and even GJJ essentials of leverage and energy conservation, but I never really understood what all that theory meant. It wasn't until I practiced and knew what I was doing that I began to slowly realize "Oh that's what he meant" moments. This component let me mold my EQ from what I had experienced in class and allowed it to be a debacle that I always pondered. "How can Gracie Jiu-Jitsu best train a fighter to win in a spar?" Overall, every experience I have I can make a connection to my experience with GJJ and with Kajukenbo alike it challenges me to mold myself to see what becomes effective and win that spar.

These are pics of my EQ in action. How can GJJ best train a fighter to win in a spar? There ya go..I won with an armbar.

January Post! - Always Finding a Way

Hey guys, I want to say, right off the bat, that this month has been a lazy month for me. I have only trained three times this month at my training center most recently because of a recent surgery I had but also due to bad time management on my part. Regardless, I haven't been completely unproductive this month.

Because my testing for Blue Belt is near, I have to be in better shape and soon. Not only physically in body endurance and conditioning but through knowledge in technique. I've said constantly throughout my project that technique is one of the stronger priorities for a fighter over strength or speed and frankly, most of what my Blue Belt evaluation focuses on is actually on technique. Since the only way to better technique is through repetition and example though perfect execution I simply relied on a souvenir that my brother brought back from the Academy in Torrance. The Entire Curriculum of Gracie Combatives on DVD as shown by the third generation Gracie Brothers Rener and Ryron Gracie.

This whole collection is basically my mentorship on DVD. Every lesson I have learned is perfected in these lessons and breakdowns and for me it is a backup plan when AP Calc or senioritis get me distracted. Right now I am performing lessons I have only one lesson experience with like, "Punch Block Series (1-4) Guard" and "Taking the Back Guard."

It hurts not being able to make training with everyone else but in order to make up for it I choose to learn on my own and be ready the next time I head over. Unfortunately, I still have to sit through next week though class because of my reco
very but after that, I plan to be hitting
the mats and rolling against others.

Blog 12: Third Interview Questions

EQ: "How can Gracie Jiu-Jitsu best train a fighter to "Not Lose" in a sparring session?"

With this EQ being the focus of my interview, my required ten questions would be as follows:

-How can Gracie Jiu-Jitsu best train a fighter to "Not Lose" in a sparring session?
-To you, what should be a practitioner's goal in a spar?
-What are the best ways to increase sparring stamina?
-How can practitioners train by themselves?
-What positional controls give the most opportunity to submission?
-Why is keeping calm or keeping focused more important?
-Why is reflection after a sparring session so important?
-How does "Focused Sparring" help a fighter's knowledge of options?
-How can you build faster ground reflexes?
-What parts would Gracie Combatives need to change in order to be 'controlled sparring' ready?
-Why would GJJ make the difference in a controlled sparring session compared to any other martial art?

Now like last time, all these questions are susceptible to change.

Blog 11: Mentorship 10 Hours

1.   Where are you doing your mentorship?
-My mentorship for Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is at the Gracie Combatives Certified Training Center in La Puente. I train with Jorge Balares who is a 1st stripe Purple Belt in the art and is my mentor for Senior Project.

2.   Who is your contact?
-My contact would be my mentor, Jorge. He is my mentor and also is the head instructor of the La Puente Combatives school.

3.   How many total hours have you done (total hours should be reflected in your mentorship log located on the right hand side of your blog like your WB)?
- In total, I have been able to log in 21ish hours. I did have some dates that I forgot to record so I really have about 30 hours but I just forgot the days. 

4.   Summarize the 10 hours of service you did.
-It feels like cheat being able to call this service xD. Anyways, throughout my mentorship, every training experience can be divided into 3 parts; Observation, execution, and reflection. This is the daily class method of learning for Combatives. Depending on how what lesson we may learn that day, the schedule is divided into "slices" and every slice of class focuses on a different variation of the move/technique we are learning. Observation begins every slice with the instructors demonstrating to us the first variation about 4-5 times all from multiple points of view to fully grasp what position our bodies should be in and clear "most common mistakes" and open the mat for questions. Then comes execution, and this is the part where we partner up and get a physical feel for what the move is like and build muscle memory (eventually). Finally we have reflection which is sort of like "The Pentagon" in a was that we give each other constructive criticism on what we did right, what we can better ourselves on, and can we better it?. Repeat this by 4 slices and you have an average class in Combatives. Repeat this by 3 days a week and you get my service in a nutshell.

Blog 10: Senior Project: The Holiday

1.  It is important to consistently work on your senior project, whether it is break or we are in school.  What did you over the break with your senior project?
-As my extra blog post suggested, I practiced Jiu-Jitsu with my brother. My school closes during the winter break because my teacher wants to give us family time but luckily for me, it reopened this week. My brother, as said in my blog comes down for winter break and summer break and when he comes over, we always try and have brotherly love fights. He learned Jiu-Jitsu from the East Coast and I learned from the West (obviously) but either way, we learned from different mentors and by doing so, we have different fighting styles. We normally sparred and broke down our technique after one of us tapped. It was rare for us to not spar in a day so I continuously gained practice. However now that my school reopened, I can now train there!

2.  What was the most important thing you learned from what you did and why?  What was the source of what you learned?
-Well one technique that I grew fond of was a cross choke from side control. It was a weird technique that I didn't suspect when my brother tapped me out with it. Basically what it is is a arm blade choke that uses both arms; one to grab the opposite side gi and one to perform the neck slice. Because one arm normally grabs your gi in side control, I did not expect the submission as I thought it was normal and so it became a sneaky adversary. He kept on using it on me over break and so now I believe iv'e bettered my defences against it.

3.  If you were going to do a 10 question interview on questions related to answers of your EQ, who would you talk to and why?
-I made it a goal early in the year to get an interview from one of the Gracie descendants since the beginning of this project and better yet they are most knowledgable of the subject and are based in Torrance so why not! The problem is that they're the Gracies and one does not simply go in and ask for an interview. Either way that is my goal.

Brotherly Love

Hey everyone! So I'm doing a post that to everyone might seem like something simple, but every brother sibling knows. Its brother fights and in my family it's a fight on the next level.

Now if you didn't know, my brother and I both learned martial arts when I was around 10, and ever since then our normal brother on brother fights have never been quite...simple. We both learned Kajukenbo, which became my transition art to Jiu-Jitsu, and now our brawls have evolved into body shot and grappling on brotherly love level. Its starts like a regular moment, but then (for example) when my brother asks me for a pen...and I chuck it to him...It's ON!

 So the first picture is a classic example as to what happens when I fail a double leg takedown. He grabs my legs flips me and trows me on the floor. The Second picture shows my back given to him and there he has a figure four leg formation on my waist to constrict my breathing he tried to get a rear naked choke, but he failed...I think. The third picture is of i successful rear naked choke on me. I asked him two things here, is it better to tuck in your chin in that position or is it better to turn left (in my case)(away from the elbow).

These fights aren't serious melees, but to use its a way to show each other what we've learned from the East and West Coast. My Brother trained in his own dojo in New York near Chinatown with his instructor who actually trained with Grandmaster Helio Gracie. From there he's fought blue belts and purple belts and been actively used as an example for his class. Likewise for me, I train in a Gracie Certified training center in which my main instructor, Jorge Balares, goes and trains in Torrance every weekend with now Grandmaster Rorion Gracie.

These brawls are what we long for and its rare for a day to go by without any Jiu-Jitsu practiced in on choke or another. Later on either tonight or tomorrow morning i'll try and post a video of us rolling from some time ago.

Now, I leave you with a pic I found on Pinterest....Get it? :D


Happy New Year Guys : )