Author: Tom

While BlackBeltMag.com is certainly the central hub of Black Belt magazine’s online presence, don’t forget that the world’s leading martial arts magazine is plugged into the world’s largest social media and video outlets: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube! If you haven’t found Black Belt magazine on these online communities yet, this easy guide is your chance to get connected!

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• Multiple updates daily from Black Belt staff
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martial arts topics are just a click away!
Black Belt Magazine’s Exclusive Free Guides Collection — Series 1
Black Belt Magazine’s Exclusive Free Guides Collection — Series 2

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• Why Black Belt magazine on Twitter matters: It offers a forum for anonymously calling out the World’s Most Dangerous Man, Tim Kennedy, without getting beaten down — to the best of our knowledge, of course:

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Source: Black Belt Magazine

If you’re into real grappling techniques, only a few names should come to mind — and one of them should definitely be Gokor Chivichyan.

Gokor Chivichyan — who was inducted into the 1997 Black Belt Hall of Fame as the Judo Instructor of the Year — is an iron-clad resource for submissions techniques … leg locks in particular.

Gokor Chivichyan’s curriculum vitae, however, extends far beyond just judo. In addition to his ninth-degree black belt in the Japanese martial art, Gokor Chivichyan holds a sixth degree in sambo as well as a sixth degree in jujitsu.

Prior to earning those those black belts, Gokor Chivichyan entered — and emerged victorious from — his first competition in 1971. Since then, he really hasn’t stopped winning. This icon in the Armenian martial arts community now oversees nearly 30 affiliate schools in the United States and more than 40 across the Atlantic in Europe. In addition, he organizes 10 Hayastan Grappling Challenge tournaments a year in the United States, as well as another seven in Europe.

In this exclusive video shot at the Hayastan MMA Academy in North Hollywood, California, Gokor Chivichyan demonstrates how to execute a takedown and heel hook.

GRAPPLING/MMA VIDEO
Gokor Chivichyan Demonstrates a Takedown and Heel Hook

Go inside the mind of a modern judo champion in this FREE download!
Ronda Rousey: An Exclusive Interview With the Gene LeBell Protégé,
Olympic Judo Medalist and MMA Fighter

At a location tucked away in a nondescript industrial section of North Hollywood, CA, Gokor Chivichyan opened up the Hayastan MMA Academy in North Hollywood, CA, on March 7, 2010. Since then, the school has gained a reputation as one of the premier mixed-martial arts training centers in the state. Running the show at the Hayastan MMA Academy are Black Belt Hall of Fame members Gokor Chivichyan and “Judo” Gene LeBell.

They oversee a state-of-the-art 12,000-square-foot gym, the grand opening of which attracted such luminaries as Kathy Long, Richard Bustillo, Bas Rutten, Stephen Quadros and kickboxing legend Benny “The Jet” Urquidez.

Click here to go behind the scenes of the school’s opening day in an exclusive video!

Related Martial Arts Books, E-Books,
DVDs and Video Downloads

The Grappler’s Handbook: Gi and No-Gi Techniques	Winning on the Ground: Training and Techniques for Judo and MMA Fighters	Training for Competition: Judo — Coaching, Strategy and the Science for Success

Source: Black Belt Magazine

Your jujitsu training should consist of commitment and the realization that the techniques you use won’t always work. These concepts are interrelated.

On the street, there are no second chances. If you realize you did a technique wrong and it’s not working, you can’t ask the attacker to stop and start over again.

So, on one hand, you have to commit to defending yourself and finishing the technique if it’s workable. This goes back to training in your dojo. You don’t practice hitting a target — you practice hitting through the target.

Up your weapons training with jujitsu moves from
expert George Kirby in this FREE download!
Basic Jujitsu Techniques: 4 Budoshin Moves to
Improve Your Jujitsu Weapons Training

Likewise, you don’t stop going through the movements of a throw just because your opponent starts to move; you finish the technique. Why? Because you’re training your ki (energy) to flow in a direction that will cause your opponent’s ki to be used against him, thus allowing your technique to succeed.

If you have positioned your respective xyz-axes correctly, trained your ki and trained yourself to complete the move, technique, kata, etc., you have commitment. You will be more successful in the execution of techniques because your axes and origin points are aligned in a manner to maximize the use of you and your attacker’s ki. Success is inevitable!

The visualization of the three axes — X, Y and Z — going through your saiki tanden (center of gravity) is absolutely essential in understanding the concepts of advanced jujitsu training. Knowing where the three axes cross will give you an awareness of where ki originates and how your head, shoulders, arms, hands, torso, legs and feet must be aligned for the most effective execution of jujitsu techniques.

Commitment is also essential because you might inadvertently start a technique backward. Rather than turning a wrist to your left, you might turn it to your right. What do you do now?

Again, you cannot start over, and it may not be wise to reverse direction to execute the technique you wanted. Instead, you’ve got to continue with what you’ve got. As my sensei said to his students (and as I say to mine), “Go! Go! Go! Keep going! Keep going!”

Related Martial Arts Books, E-Books,
DVDs and Video Downloads

Small-Circle Jujitsu — Volume 4: Tendon Tricep Armbars and Armlocks	Advanced Jujitsu: The Science Behind the Gentle Art	Jujitsu Figure-4 Locks: Submission Holds of the Gentle Art

Jujitsu is a very forgiving art. If you start a move backward and keep going, guess what? You will inevitably end up with another technique.

If you want to execute a hand throw (te nage) but go the wrong way and instead apply a wrist lock (tekubi shimi waza), you have to continue with that. If, while trying to do a corkscrew (ude guruma), you turn the arm counterclockwise instead of clockwise, you’ll end up with a shoulder-lock rear takedown (ude guruma ushiro). And that’s OK. Just continue and flow.

An awareness of this concept is an essential element in learning the art. On the street, you have to keep moving. It’s part of your commitment.

Axis alignment is far more critical on the ground, where the fast execution of submission holds is an essential part of effective self-defense.

There are times, however, when you commit to a technique and realize that it isn’t working the way you want. Maybe your and your opponent’s axes aren’t lined up. Maybe his ki is resisting yours.

Whatever the reason, you still don’t get a second chance. What you do get, however, is the ability to change what you are doing to make your defense successful. This is called mushin (“no mind”) — a concept that works only if you have a good technical background and sufficient practice.

A good technical background provides you with a variety of techniques that can be used against a particular attack, and sufficient practice allows you to be competent in the execution of those techniques and no conscious effort is required to use them or switch between them. Practice also creates awareness of your and your opponent’s xyz-axis, their relationship, and how to modify techniques appropriately to execute a workable defense.

About the Author:
George Kirby has been practicing and teaching the art of jujitsu since the 1960s. He was inducted into the Black Belt Hall of Fame as the 2007 Instructor of the Year and is the author of several acclaimed and sought-after instructional books, including Jujitsu: Basic Techniques of the Gentle Art — Expanded Edition, Jujitsu Figure-4 Locks: Submission Holds of the Gentle Art and Advanced Jujitsu: The Science Behind the Gentle Art.

Source: Black Belt Magazine

The June/July 2014 issue of Black Belt magazine will feature a cover story on aikido’s Haruo Matsuoka, a student of Seiseki Abe and the former chief instructor at Steven Seagal’s Tenshin Dojo.

In the story, titled “Synergy, Strength & Simplicity,” Haruo Matsuoka is shown executing a number of empty-hand aikido moves, as well as aikido moves for defense against weapons, in a profile wherein he discusses what makes aikido applicable for everybody as a traditional design for modern living.

Still photos, however, don’t do his elegant yet powerful aikido moves justice.

So we proudly present this bonus video of Haruo Matsuoka’s aikido moves in action from that shoot — along with a breakdown of the feature stories for the June/July 2014 issue!

AIKIDO MOVES VIDEO
Haruo Matsuoka Behind the Scenes at a Black Belt Magazine Cover Shoot

Learn how to use samurai swords safely with this FREE e-book!
Samurai Weapons: Sword Master James Williams Shows You How to
Start Training With Japanese Samurai Swords

Also Featured in the
June/July 2014 Issue of Black Belt Magazine

Martial Arts vs. Monsters
In martial arts movies, the harder the antagonists are to defeat, the more fun the flick, right? These six films — in which the good guys take on vampires, ghosts and other assorted monsters — are guaranteed to entertain.

JKD Lessons From Joe Lewis
A university professor analyzed the career of the greatest karate fighter of all time and came up with an intriguing interpretation of jeet kune do.

War of Sri Lanka
You may not have heard of angampora, but in South Asia, this ancient martial way has had a fierce reputation for centuries. Even better, it’s making a comeback.

Keys to Better Kicks
In “18 Things You Can Do Now to Become a More Effective Kicker!” a second-degree black belt gives big-picture guidance that will get your whole body in sync with your intentions.

Stephen K. Hayes Exclusive Interview
Now 65, the American ninjutsu authority shares his mature perspective on martial arts training, self-defense preparation and the ills of modern society.

Angles of Attack
If you’re bewildered by angles of attack, take heart. Black Belt Hall of Famer Leon D. Wright wrote this beginner’s guide so you can start using the concept in the dojo right away.

Related Martial Arts Books, E-Books,
DVDs and Video Downloads

An Introduction to Keijutsukai Aikido: Japanese Art of Self-Defense	Dynamic Kicks: Essentials for Free Fighting	The Complete Ninja Collection by Stephen K. Hayes

Source: Black Belt Magazine

“Training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and feeling comfortable on the ground will allow you to see things that your opponent may not even imagine,” says Brazilian jiu-jitsu expert Jean Jacques Machado in this preview from the Mixed Martial Arts section of DVD 3 in his three-disc martial arts DVD set The Grappler’s Handbook: Gi and No-Gi Techniques. These martial arts DVDs, which feature a total of more than 60 Brazilian jiu-jitsu techniques, submission grappling techniques and MMA techniques, serve as a martial arts multimedia companion to the acclaimed Brazilian jiu-jitsu/submission grappling/mixed-martial arts book (also titled The Grappler’s Handbook: Gi and No-Gi Techniques) written by Jean Jacques Machado and Jay Zeballos.

BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU/SUBMISSION GRAPPLING/MIXED-MARTIAL ARTS DVD PREVIEW
Jean Jacques Machado and Jay Zeballos Show You How to Execute an MMA Shoulder Lock From Inside the Closed Guard

Turn the tables on your opponent with this FREE e-book!
4 Submission Escapes From Jean Jacques Machado

In this free preview for the three-DVD set The Grappler’s Handbook: Gi and No-Gi Techniques, Jean Jacques Machado explains how to do a shoulder lock from inside the closed guard. “When you are on top,” Jean Jacques Machado says, “your first object is to escape from your opponent’s legs. And sometimes one aggressive way to submit your opponent might be the best way out from his legs because, technically, he’s the one that will be in charge.”

As the video switches to the overhead view to clearly depict Jean Jacques Machado’s BJJ technique demonstration in action, the grappling expert continues: “But here, in that position, I will reverse that by trying to apply a technique on [my opponent]. If I cannot escape from his legs, it’s very difficult for me to improve [my position] or even submit him. I’ve really limited myself to strikes only. [And] now he can strike and do a lot of joint locks [and reversals].”

Continuing his ground-fighting demonstration, Jean Jacques Machado explains, “I’m basing myself and right away [I] control his wrists and push against the ground. I will turn my body sideways to be able to slide through his leg, and I’m shooting my elbow as far as I can.”

The elegant counterattack puts Jean Jacques Machado in position to go after his opponent’s arm with enough physical leverage to improve his own situation. “I’m going around his arm and I’m pushing my hip to the side,” Jean Jacques Machado explains. “As [my opponent] tries to push me or do anything with his legs, I’m able now to retreat here and be on his side. Not only that, now I have his arm in a submission position here.”

Not only does the Brazilian jiu-jitsu red belt hold his opponent’s arm in a submission position, but he also can bring his leg over the opponent’s head for maximum domination. And the entire process started with a very simple idea. “By attacking him instead of him attacking me,” Jean Jacques Machado explains, “I put [my opponent] in a defensive situation [in which there’s] not much he can do. [There will] be a surprise element there. And it will succeed with a submission — and, for sure, passing his guard.”

Related Martial Arts Books, E-Books,
DVDs and Video Downloads

The Grappler’s Handbook: Gi and No-Gi Techniques (3-DVD set)	The Grappler’s Handbook: Gi and No-Gi Techniques (book)	The Grappler’s Handbook Vol. 2: Tactics for Defense

Source: Black Belt Magazine

The secret to winning on the ground is connections.

In fact, we were going to call this book Mat-Work Connections, but our editors suggested Winning on the Ground: Training and Techniques for Judo and MMA Fighters because, they pointed out, no one would know what we meant by mat-work connections unless they read the book, and people usually don’t buy books when they don’t understand what they are about.

Everyone knows what winning on the ground means, and most people want to do it.

Mat-work connections are the secret to winning on the ground. You connect several techniques that you do very well, linking them in ways that are a little different each time.

So if your opponent blocks your half nelson by putting a hand out, you grab the wrist and do the wrist-control series. If he or she is on top of you, you can “collect the arm,” go into the mount (either pin in judo or start punching in mixed martial arts) and then execute the armbar. If your opponent rolls to his or her stomach to escape the armbar, go for the half nelson.

Get inside the mind of MMA fighter and Olympic judoka
Ronda Rousey in this FREE e-book!
Ronda Rousey: An Exclusive Interview With the Gene LeBell Protégé,
Olympic Judo Medalist and MMA Fighter

The diagram illustrates why it is not as easy to avoid an armbar as some people think. This is an example of three different techniques and the end being an armbar.

Let’s say you only know three moves to set up an armbar: throwing your opponent to her back and then doing an armbar; being on top of your opponent in the mount to an armbar or a turnover from your back; and throwing your leg over to an armbar. Five different options are shown in the diagram, but there are actually many more.

Options

In Option 1 (shown in the photos below), you could throw your opponent, then do the mount, and if your opponent managed to roll you over to the bottom, you could do the turnover to armbar. You could do the throw, and if that misses, try the turnover.

If that misses, go into the mount and try the armbar from there. That’s Option 2. You could start out in the turnover — maybe your opponent missed a throw and ended up on the bottom, so you went for the turnover. Then you tried the mount, couldn’t get that, gave up, went back to standing, threw your opponent and then transitioned to the armbar. That’s Option 3.

Practice Both Sides

One thing we hope Winning on the Ground: Training and Techniques for Judo and MMA Fighters teaches you is that you should always learn every technique on both sides. So you don’t have just those possibilities because you should be able to do them to the right side as well as to the left. And you don’t have to always do the three options together. You could throw and jump into the armbar — that’s another possible option. That is, performing each move individually (throw, mount, turnover) gives you three more options. Or you could do combinations of any two of them. That is why we said there were many more than five possibilities. In fact, because you can do the same move in a sequence more than once, there is an infinite number. (For example, you can throw, go to the mount, roll over, try the armbar and then roll back on top in the mount.)

To illustrate further, an interviewer once asked Ronda Rousey, “You’ve won eight matches in a row in the first round using an armbar, including the world title. What are you going to do if one day you can’t get that armbar in the first round?”

She shrugged and answered, “I guess I’d probably try it again in the second round.”

There are two points here:

1. When you train, your mat techniques should be connected.

2. If you do train the connections between techniques, you can vary those paths so that no matter which way your opponent turns, it all ends up with you winning.

Related Martial Arts Books, E-Books,
DVDs and Video Downloads

Ultimate Conditioning — Volume 2: Ground Fighters	Winning on the Ground: Training and Techniques for Judo and MMA Fighters	The Ultimate Guide to Grappling

Source: Black Belt Magazine

Perhaps more than any other martial art on the planet, taekwondo is renowned for its kicks.

Before I continue, let me insert this: If you think taekwondo’s kicks are primarily weak techniques designed only to score points in tournaments, you haven’t seen Hee Il Cho in action. Although he’s practiced the art for nearly 60 years, he never jumped on the Olympic TKD bandwagon, which means his kicks hearken back to an era when they were pure self-defense. They pack power, they penetrate and they punish.

Follow the advice he offers here, and yours will do the same.

TAEKWONDO KICKS VIDEO
Hee Il Cho Shows You How to Fix Your Ax Kick

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Taekwondo Forms: Uncovering the Self-Defense Moves Within
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Taekwondo Kicks: Breaking Down the Ax Kick

DON’T: “Many people try to use only their leg for this kick,” Hee Il Cho says. “They try to pick it up without putting their hips into the motion. They drop both their hands, which may be OK in a tournament where they don’t use a lot of punches, but if they do it on the street, they can get knocked out.”

DO: “Lean your upper body slightly backward as you jerk your leg down after raising it,” he says. That will enable you to activate opposing muscles in your back. “It also will let you reach a few inches higher and farther out with the kick because you’ll be pushing your hip forward at the last minute. Your other hip will go backward at the same time.”

HIT: The striking surface depends on how far away your opponent is, Hee Il Cho says. “You can use the bottom of your foot to hit his face. You can use your heel — or your calf, if he’s really close — to hit his collarbone. The important thing is to not be locked in to one way of doing it and thinking you have to hit with a certain body part.”

Related Martial Arts Books, E-Books,
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Taekwondo — Volume 3	Chon-Ji of Tae Kwon Do Hyung	Taeguk: The New Forms of Tae Kwon Do

Source: Black Belt Magazine