Trying my hand at making some Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Videos

It's been about 5 weeks since I injured my knee at training. I've been making good progress: resting enough, doing the correct rehab exercises given to me by the Physio and only doing very light drills.

However, on Wednesday this week, my brain decided, "naahhhh, this is all going too well", and decided to throw my body UP some concrete steps in the garden.

This WAS my good knee. It meant that for Wednesdays nogi class, I was literally useless. I couldn't kneel on either knee so I was forced to watch. Luckily I brought my camera with me. Rather than taking some pictures, I thought I'd try my hand at filming. The result is the following video:

 

 

The following day I was a little less useless, so I managed to film some regaining butterfly techniques, and some super light rolling. I managed to roll myself (thus, the lack of hard rolling footage).

 

 

 

I'm a total nerd when it comes to photography/filming. I don't know all the technical stuff, but I play (trial and error) until I get the results I'm after. I knocked both these up in less than an hour.


I'm planning on making some more of these (over a longer time period, so I can pick and chose the best clips). I'm really after any advice/techniques/general criticisms. So anyone who's more clued up in this stuff, please comment and let me know what you think.

Everyone else- please check out my YouTube channel (click the videos to open in youtube and click the red subscribe button).

.I'll be adding the videos to the channel every time I make a new one. Feel free to comment on those too!

All footage was shot at Fightworx Academy in Torquay.


  

 

Introducing: Flavio

 

In the midst of being injured, I became so bored that I confided in Google to tell me what to do. That's surely a new low..

 

After a few searches, I came across a video which showed you how to make your own grappling dummy.

 

So, wonderful people, here is my step-by-step guide on how to make a

budget grappling dummy

if you ever find yourself really, really bored.

 

 

 

To begin:

 

Here is a picture of all the crap you'll need:

 

Ta-daah (some crap, not included in the picture)

 

• 5m of PVC tube stuff
• 2 x "T" shaped connector bits of PV
• Bendy wire stuff (the red stuff- can be substituted for wire coat-hangers
• 4 x Foam noodles
• Any old spare cloth/pillows
• Plastic bags
• 6 bajillion x rolls of industrial strength duct tape (ok, about 6 rolls)
• A marker pens
• Measuring tape

 

 

I went out and bought the foam noodles. The rest of the stuff I stole from my Dad. He's like a hoarder. Holds onto anything and everything. It's finally come in useful.

 

 

STEP 1- Making the skeleton

 

The video I watched shared the measurements for each body part, which really helped. I followed it exactly (that way I figure if it went wrong, I could take zero blame, whatsoever, I wouldn't feel remotely like a failure):

 

Measurements:

 

2 x hand @ 5.5inches

2 x forearm @ 10.5 inches

2 x upper arm @12 inches

1 x head @10 inches

1 x shoulders @15 inches

1 x torso @17.5 inches

1 x hips @ 11 inches

2 x femur @18 inches

2 x tibia @14.5 inches

2 x feet @10 inches

 

 

I marked out each body part on the PVC tubing, using a marker pen. I then began to violently saw the hell out of it.



 

I was the proud owner of some immense tan lines at the end of this day..

Once I was done, I lay them out like so:

 

 

 

STEP 2- Making him bendy

This is where the bendy wire stuff/hangers come in. I did this in 2 parts:

1) Hips and legs
2) Shoulders and arms

I cut enough wire to go from the hips to the feet (and shoulders to the hands) on each side (I also doubled the thickness of the wire by doing this with 2 wires- if you're using wire hangers, you might want to use 5/6 straightened out wires for thickness). I then duct taped it at the ends of the feet/hands, and in the middle of the hips/shoulder.

I'm not entirely convinced that last paragraph made any sense, but have a look at this picture and see if it helps: 

STEP 3- Tape up his joints

Every elbow, knee, ankle, shoulder and hip was then covered in duct tape to cover any exposed wires.

Ready for his head to go on

 STEP 4- Padding him out

 

From this picture, you can see where I added my foam noodles (after cutting them to size) HOWEVER, I would recommend using something less huuuuge when padding out the lower arms and legs. My guys forearms are the same size as his biceps, and getting a spare gi on him at the end of all of this was a right mission. Alas, hindsight is a wonderful thing..

 

Phase 1 of padding

STEP 5- Duct Tape Time

Once I had added the foam noodles, I used spare cushions and pillows to pad out areas that were still lacking any cushioning. Mainly the torso and thighs (as well as his butt). Duct tape all that on, leaving no gaps.


Phase 2 of padding

Once you've finished that, you should have a...


COMPLETED DUMMY!

Now, you must name him. This stage is not optional. Its name must be Brazilian. This is compulsory. Fernando? Ricardo? I know people with these names, and I'd like them to remain my friends, so I opted for Flavio.

 

At this stage, I'd like to share some valuable feedback from friends on Facebook:

 

FLAVIO THE GRAPPLING DUMMY- TESTIMONIALS:

 

Saz: "Is it some rolling around, friend, thingy?"

 

Dan Strauss: "...That thing is f***ing terrifying"

 

Darren Yeoman (my coach): "It's interesting to see how you interpret human physiology... that thing will definitely kill you when you fall asleep"

 

Mr Scramble, Ben Tong: "That's the stuff of nightmares.."

 

Fellow scrambler, Miha: "Pray nobody has the voodoo powers to make it come alive"

 

Longtime friend, Charlie: "Art"

 

 

I think you'll agree that, overall, the feedback was largely positive (that's what I'll continue to tell myself anyway).

*shivers*

 

I have actually used him a lot recently whilst I am rehabbing my shitty injured knee. He's come in very useful. I've been able to look at techniques online and practise them on him instead of my unwilling brother/mother/partner.

Should you ever feel the need to make a grappling dummy then, you now know how to. I've basically provided you with a service. You should pay me. No? Ok.


The end.














 

AARRGGHHHH

I'm about to moan. Not blog. Mmmmlog. Moaalog. I don't know..

I've acquired what all jiu jitsu enthusiasts dread. A knee injury. A subluxed patella, with a partially torn meniscus to be exact.

Me, for the past 48 hours. Minus so much leg hair. Supposedly..

Worst of all, I wasn't even doing BJJ when it happened.

It was one of the last rounds in MMA sparring. Practising a casual bit of stand up (I'd told my sparring partner that I was working on my takedowns, something he said he was practising too for his upcoming pro MMA fight).

He shot in for a takedown and I sprawled. Only, I sprawled waaaaay too late. Like, super late. So late that my back and hips were already going backwards (if that makes sense). Throwing my legs back so late forced my left knee to lock out and buckle, and then we both landed on it. Urgh.

I yelped like a Alsation puppy. I felt my kneecap pop out, and instantly pop back in again as I hit the mat. It throbbed like crazy for 10mins or so, but I was ok enough get up and walk afterwards.

I was also well enough to drive home. The following morning however. Ohhhh my god. A trip to my GP ended in "no wrestling for 4-6 weeks" and a sick note for 2 weeks from work. Rest and ice and rest and moan and rest and ice. Or something along those lines.

Instead of moping around (too much) I'm spending my time thinking about what sorts of things I'm going to have to adapt to keep myself active. My usual week consists of;

Monday: MMA
Tuesday: Jiu Jitsu
Wednesday: Submission wrestling & MMA
Thursday: Jiu Jitsu
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 3k run, heavy lifting (deadlifts/squats)
Sunday: 1.5k run, Plyometric/supersetting exercises

I'm on day 2 of being a cripple that can juuuust about walk unaided, and I'm bored as hell already. So not doing anything, isn't an option. I'd like to do some kind of workout this weekend. Otherwise, I'm doomed to becoming a super fatty and playing PS2 games with my brother for the rest of my life..

"Smackdown vs Raw, Tony Hawks 3 or Rugby 2008?"

So, I've come across a few different exercises I can do that are fairly generic (chin ups, pull ups, tricep dips, push ups, bench press). Ideally, I want to try to stick to functional exercises for BJJ. I figured 4-6 weeks of pull ups, and I'll essentially have lats the size of wings. Right?

Luckily, my strength/conditioning/diet guru Chris (from Crossfit Westcountry), is amending my current diet to make sure I don't become a super fatty over the next month or so. I've been eating really clean recently and don't want to regress. 

I'm having to pistol squat to sit down and stand back up. At least my right leg is going to be hench as f***. Every cloud and all that. 

I know knee injuries are common in jiu jitsu, so any ideas/advice from anyone who's been in a similar situation would be appreciated.

In the mean time, I'm going to spend more time taking jiu jitsu pictures, blogging, and hopefully helping out with the kids jiu jitsu. I'll keep myself busy.

In other news:

Have you bought any of this stuff yet? If not, WHY not?

1) Scramble have released their 3rd kimono, The Athlete.

Mine arrived today (cheered me up nicely whilst angering me that I can't use it for a while..) It's another gorgeous and solid gi from Scramble. I have a white one. It's sexy. I like white gis more. I discriminate against blue gis. I don't know why. Well, I do. This is my exact thought process:

Blue gi/white belt= Smurf 
Blue gi/blue belt= Invisible belt
Blue gi/purple belt= Kinda lame
Blue gi/brown belt= Meh, alright
Blue gi/black belt= BADASS

Whereas with a white gi..

White gi/white belt= badass
White gi/blue belt= badass
White gi/purple belt= badass
White gi/ brown belt= badass
White gi/black belt= SUPER BADASS

I don't know why. That's just a little insight into my mind for you there. You're welcome.


And Pony Club Grappling Gear have released their most anticipated spats yet- The Jessica's (names after Invicta FC fighter Jessica Penne).

Chhhhhhheck these out:

Another crazy awesome design by Meerkatsu. If a rainbow ever threw up, this is what it would look like.

I haven't seen a pair of these in the flesh yet, but the colours look super bright! If they're anything as comfy as their previous spats (The Baders) I own, then they're going to be immense. My friend G has a pair. What a bitch. I might steal them.


I'll update again soon, on how miserable positive I am despite not training and how I'm losing the will to live plodding along without jiu jitsu until I'm recovered well enough to traaaaiiiiinn. Or to inform you I've developed wings..

Forca Luta Elite Boxing Gloves review

Forca Luta is an up and coming MMA brand, based in the UK. Despite being around for less than 12months, it has already established solid support from some of the top UK fighters such as Paul Daley, Brad Pickett and Ronnie Mann.

I'm going to review their latest gloves, the Forca Luta Elite Boxing gloves. 

STATS:

• 14oz gloves (10oz and 16oz also available)
• Lightweight construction for optimal mobility and performance
• Ergonomically engineered curvature delivers the perfect striking surface
• Premium vent foam complex for maximum protection and enhanced thermo-regulation
• Fullback design and innovative closure system for an ultimate fit
• Perforated neoprene backing ensures full breath-ability.
• RRP: £44.99

Initial thoughts:

The first thing I notice about the glove is the design. The whole Forca Luta range adopts a black white and lime green colourway, something no other brands (that I'm aware of) does. The gloves look really smart. The stitching seems solid, and the design/logos on the back and strap of the glove looks sublimated (so it won't crack or peel off after a few months of using them). Overall, a very smart looking glove.

Ta-dahhh

 

Why am I reviewing them?

I've been training BJJ for almost 4 years. I started MMA at the same time, but stopped because I became obsessed with BJJ. Recently, I've rekindled my love for punching people in the face. Maybe it's being secondary school teacher? Yeah, it's probably the teaching. Regardless, I'm training MMA regularly now, and thus- I needed some gloves.

I believe in supporting UK brands, and with Forca Luta having some top names in UK MMA backing them, I figured they'd be a trusted brand to try out.

Using the gloves at the Ronnie Mann Seminar

Ronnie Mann in the 14oz Forca Luta boxing gloves

Main Features:

Right, to using the gloves. I've been using these gloves (in 14oz) regularly for the past month or so. My previous gloves were a pair of 10oz Sandee Boxing gloves, so the Forca Lutas are more forgiving on peoples faces when punching during MMA class. They're also more forgiving on my wrists when hitting the bag.

The snug fit and double wrist strap really ensure my fists are protected when hitting the pads. I can feel the difference when comparing them to my old Sandees.

Another feature I like about the gloves is the mesh palm.

"Thermo- regulation" aka making-sure-your-palms-don't-get-super-sweaty-and-stink-the-hell-out-of-your-gloves.

After training, my gloves go in my training bag, and they stay there until I train again later in the week. Yes, I know- I'm a skank. Regardless, the gloves don't smell. And it has been HOT for the past few weeks. Like, humid hot. My other kit gets smelly so fast, but these gloves still have that sexy fake leathery plasticy new smell going on. I have to remind myself to get them out the bag at some point to air them out. The mesh palm does a lot of that for you, making sure your sweat can escape from the gloves, so they aren't all damp when putting them on next time you train (yuck..)

Conclusion: (can you tell I'm a science teacher?)

I'm really impressed with these gloves. Plenty of the guys at my gym swear by them and use them at Thai and MMA on a daily basis. Many of them have replaced their top brand gloves (I.e Hayabusas) with the Forca Lutas. So, if you're looking for some new gloves at a great price, but are unsure whether you should commit to a new brand, DO IT. If they're good enough for Brad Pickett, they're probably good enough for you..

Still not convinced:

If I've not convinced you, firstly- screw you. Secondly, check out the following reviews:

                             Ronnie Mann review of the Forca Luta gloves:

                        Pro MMA fighter Josh O'Shea's thoughts on the gloves:

Forca Luta

Website: www.forcaluta.com 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/forcaluta

Add caption

Hello there.

Below is a selection of photos I took at the 1st Plymouth BJJ Open last weekend. 

I'm taking more and more pictures at training, and getting as much experience as I can. Any hints/tips/advice would be greatly received.

The rest of the photos can be found on my SHEBEASTBJJ facebook page.

Big thanks to Tom Barlow for letting me take photos at the comp

ENJOYYY

SWFC 6 shots

Hi again.

Last weekend I was one of the official photographers for the South West Fighting Championships (SWFC 6). It was the first time I had used my new lens, other than messing around with it at training.

Here are some of my favourite shots from the night. I found the best setting around half way through the night. I wish I had found it sooner (especially for Oli's knock out photo).

P.S Finally made a watermark- success!

The Ring Girls

Gracie Barra Plymouth boys.

Luke getting his hands wrapped

On to the fights

Oli getting ready

Oli's knock out

 I loved playing with the colour saturation for some of the photos. Especially for the guys that had lots of colour tattoos. Along with the green and red lights, there was plenty of colour to play with.

Winnerrrr

Ricky, ready to go

Left hook

Cranking on a guillotine

Happy roar 

Tattooed tummy

Colourful

One of the boxing bouts

Phil, ready to fight

 I really like this one. The red/green glare in the bottom left corner, and the focus on Josh's 1987 thigh tattoo. Boom.

Josh, throwing one of 6 bajillion kicks he threw

 I tried to get a mixture of action shots, as well as portrait shots. I also took a handful of these kind of shots- Coaches giving their fighters advice during the end of the rounds/ at the start of the fight

Kris giving Josh advice

Front kick

The second time Josh flawed the guy. Being warned for, being awesome? I don't know.

Focus

Ready for the verdict

The picture below is probably my favourite shot of the night. I was stood in the right place, at the right time. My camera didn't leave my face all evening. The achy hand and squinty eye is worth it for shots like this.

Surpriiiiiise.

Cheese

I like edit my pictures so they are heavily contrasted and saturated. It's my personal taste. Every now and then I'll mess around with black and white. This one worked quite well with Luke's "Only God can judge me" back tattoo.

Again, going against my preferred super saturated look. I dimmed the colour to draw attention to Luke's focussed face.

Aaaand I added back the saturation again..

Kris, giving out more advice.

This next lot of photos were from a K1 fight. There were loads of legs flying everywhere. Awesome fun to photograph.

Punch to face, shin to ribs. Not sure which I'd prefer..

So happy with my timing for this shot. He was setting up kicks like this for a while, and I anticipated it well.

Hiii-YAH

The last lot of photos were from the main event of the evening (the featherweight title bout). The first 3 shots are from Josh O'Shea's entrance. It always makes photography more fun when the fighters put on a good show for the audience (both in terms of their fighting, and in terms of being showman). Josh's entrance was a real crowd pleaser. He hyped up the crowd, and came in singing to his entrance song. Meant I could catch images like this:


 

Note to other fighters- if you want people to take pictures of you, do more of this. You're putting on a show and entertaining people. Not heading to death row..

Proper foccussed

Really like the red and green lighting in this shot. It's in the left corner of the cage again. Lighting was proper sexy over that side.

Confident kick

A lot of wrestling in this fight. Made for some great facials..

Speaking of facials: Fightworx Academy's head Thai, and BJJ coaches, Kris Barras and Darren Yeoman pulled some epic faces during Josh's title fight. This photo was taken towards to end of the final round. Josh had dominated the fight, but had given up his back, and was turtled up and in a lot of trouble at the moment I took this shot.

He managed to get the guy off his back, but he very quickly transitioned to an armbar. Which sucked for Josh, but was good for me. Yayy, jiu jitsu shots.

But, he still won. Happy face. Thanks to the guy next to me who's epic flash went off at the same time as my camera so I got this super bright shot of happy Josh.

Thanks for the photobomb, Luke

Seeing the other photographers gear at the start was kind of intimidated. I thought there was no way I was going to leave with any decent shots. But, to be totally honest, I've seen the other shots taken that night. And mine are up there. Considering their camera bodies and lenses were the size of a small dog, and probably cost the same, I am one happy shebeast.

Hopefully I'll get the chance to take some more at the next SWFC!

Enjoy the pictures, and head over to www.facebook.com/shebeastbjj for the full albums (with the shitty watermark- sorry about that).

End.