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The Ura Nage is another one of my favorite throws. It is a great takedown when you have your opponents back. It works both in gi and no-gi situations. It is also meant for people of all sizes. The judo versions I have seen a different. They seem to actually take a suplex approach to this technique. They we execute is different, and I think more effective. Demonstrated in the video I show one of the entrances to the ura nage, while Ryan shows another. It just depends on what you are more comfortable with and where you are fast.

If you are unable to see the difference in the steps, I forgot to explain it. I started to, but my stutter got in the way… When I do this technique (attacking left side) I take a step with my left leg, bring my legs together, then step with my left leg again to get his back. Ryan steps with his right leg first and does a drop step. He then pivots and comes up to take the opponents back.

Once your have the person’s back. You eliminate all space and get a tight grip on their waist. From there you can walk forward a couple of steps to off-balance then, and then sit on your right heel while sticking your left foot out right behind their left foot. Hold on to them and sit down. They should fall over your left leg which allows you to come up on top.

If you would like another video clarification and breakdown let me know.

The Osoto Gari is one of the more popular judo and ju-jitsu throws, but also one of the hardest to actually execute during an actual fight or randori session. I think the biggest problem people have with executing this throw is actually setting it up. In this video I, yes the bearded dude with a little extra weight is me, quickly demonstrate one of my favorite ways to execute this throw. My uke is one of our top guys Ryan.
I wrote another post here about Osoto Gari along with some videos I found related to the throw here: Ju-Jitsu Training - Mount Drills, Scissor Sweep, Kneeing People and Osoto Gari
I use a same side sleeve and collar grip. I take a big step with my lead leg to off-balance my opponent, then execute my osoto gari sweep.

Mount Drills - Escape Training and Warmup

Last night we had an interesting training session. We ran around the dojo for a good 15 minutes doing various rolls and basis throws during the run. I heard someone call it the “Central Park Run”. It was a great warmup and actually a lot of fun. After that the class broke up into pairs and did live drilling on escaping from mount. This drill was actually a lot of fun, and a great one to work on for both people. The person on the top needed to work on keeping mount, while the guy on the bottom has to get out. I think for some people they realized its harder to keep mount then excepted, and for others they realized its a pain in the ass getting out of mount…. especially when you have someone who out weighs you a great deal. While thinking about getting out of mount, it reminded of a video I saw. It’s a simple mount escape like most of us do by bringing your elbows to your opponents knees and shrimping. But instead of trying shrimp back a great distance, you use your far leg to trap your opponents leg and transition to half guard. I think Ryan was trying a variation of this technique last night.

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Arm Drags from Standing or Wrestling

Training class was just Oz, Ryan and I. Oz is a professional MMA fighter and amazing grappling, Ryan is a brown belt in Kobukai Ju-Jitsu and is one of the smartest and technical grapplers I know. These two are constant training partners. Last night we decided to focus on arm drags from standing and in guard. We drilled a few arm drag techniques from standing. I found this video showing a good drill which actually sparked a memory from my old days of wrestling. We used to arm drag to take the back or attack a single leg, then we also used it to setup a body lock.


I also liked Marcelo Garcia’s arm drag wrestling series as well.

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Ju-Jitsu Training

Last night was packed at ju-jitsu, we had 10 guys plus a new student. Sempai Steve was there as well. Steve is a Judo blackbelt as well as a Kobukai Ju-Jitsu blackbelt and is EXTREMELY good on the mat. There were 2 brown belts and 2 black belts (myself included) that all worked together to go over our brown belt techniques. It has actually been a long time since I’ve worked on those techniques… And last night it showed. It was a combination of having a shoulder injury / surgery recovery / being overly concerned about shoulder / needing a refresher that all caused my techniques to not be as crisp as I would have liked them and remember them being. I keep telling myself that things will eventually come back, I just need to heal and get back to regular training.

Newaza or sparring

I ended up having a “decent” roll. Obviously I favored my shoulder, but overall it went fairly well. My hardest thing is not reverting back to old fighting methods. During newaza I really want to challenge myself and try new techniques and “positions” or variations of positions… especially guard. I think this is a key point for any grappler or fighter. Its great that you have favorite techniques or having go-to techniques, but challenging yourself and forcing yourself to learn new techniques can only help you improve. We do this a lot by restricting a certain person from going for their favorite technique, or telling them they can only finish using BLANK submission or you can only do BLANK technique. So if you’re a triangle choke guy, you are restricted to only finishing in a knee bar. Or if you sweep a lot from guard, you’re only allowed to go for submissions in guard.
I rolled with Jake (toughest lawyer) and Normal Dave. Jake and I went one and one for footlocks. It was a good roll! I haven’t rolled with him in a long time, and he’s gotten a lot better. I love getting knee on stomach and transitioning to whatever from there. He knows this, and was doing an excellent job last night keeping me from it.
The roll with Normal Dave was more of a play session. I wanted to try some different stuff and I wanted to let Dave try and execute different techniques. Dave is a yellow belt and progressing really nicely. We call him Normal Dave, because we have another Dave in class who is a GIANT. 6′4, 300lbs and not fat. INSANELY strong, yet extremely nice.

Lessons Learned

I learned from this class and the past couple classes that I need to be patient, and I need to realize that I am not where I was 1-2 years ago. It has become mentally taxing to not be able to do certain things, and not execute proper techniques. This is especially true when you are in a room of people underneath you (belt wise) and they look up to you for proper direction. I know that in a few months I will be right back to where I was, but when you think about it, that actually puts me behind. Everyone else as been progressing while I remain “stale”. Very tough to deal with.

10 ways to improve your grappling and jiu-jitsu game

As the UFC and other fighting events grow more popular, people are gravitating towards grappling martials arts, particularly brazilian jiu-jitsu. The biggest problem that new grapplers face is finding a good school and instructor. Most schools are run by a blue or purple belt, or just by some "guy" who’s done some training. If you’re looking to get the most out of training and dedicated to improving your grappling game, here are 10 tips you can apply and use. They apply whether you are a training at a professional BJJ school or a grappling club.

1.) Grappling takes time.

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Rhadi Ferguson Grappling and Fighting background

Rhadi Ferguson is an amazing Judo, Submission Wrestling and Jiu-Jitsu competitor. He is one of the most explosive and powerful grapplers to ever compete. He is the only person to compete at the Olympic Games, the Abu Dhabi Submission Wrestling World Championships and the Brazilian Jiujitsu World Championships. He is an Olympic Judo Gold medalist. He is still a grappling competitor but is also a strength and conditioning coach. He are some of Rhadi’s training videos. His squat workout is sick…. Read the rest of this entry »

Cael Sanderson the Wrestler

Cael Sanderson is a wrestler and current head wrestling coach at Iowa State. A 2004 Olympic champion, he also went undefeated in four years of college wrestling (159-0), including four consecutive NCAA titles (1999-2002) and was the first NCAA wrestler to go undefeated with more than 100 wins. He was also an all great football player. I remember trying to find videos of Cael wrestling back in day, and was always impressed by his athleticism and desire to win. He is one of those rare athletes that has all the natural talents and gifts, but makes great use of them. There are tons of people who posses amazing athletic skills, but its truly rare to find the people that make the best of their abilities. Those people become champions… like Cael Sanderson. I bet if Cael ever transitioned into MMA or submission grappling, he would be a force to be reckoned with.

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Back to Kokuai Ju-Jitsu Training

Saturday was my first day back into full on training at Kobukai Ju-Jitsu. My shoulder held up and I was even able to spar at about 60-75% of my right arm strength. I tried to go full on with the rest of my body though, but it’s tough having limited right arm strength. I had shoulder surgery for a torn labrum and a bone spur. The shoulder held up, but like I said, didn’t have full on strength.

Training the Harai Goshi

During the class I actually got to get back to some of my techniques training. Lately I had been helping others with their techniques I worked with Jake (the toughest, nicest, lawyer you’ll ever meet). We worked on a variety of throws. One was the Harai-goshi, which is actually one of my favorites, that along with Uchi mata.
The Harai Goshi is a sweeping hip throw. It works well for me because I have longer legs and fairly tall. Its one of the original 40 judo throws and one of the 67 Throws of Kodokan Judo. It is a very effective throw and commonly used in Judo matches and I’ve even seen in used by Karo Parisyan in the UFC.
I found this video of Mike Swain doing the Harai Goshi. I was really watching his footwork and how quick he steps and switches his hips. One thing I did not see or notice as much was the off-balancing of his uke. Maybe its just because he is so good, that he is just able to do it very quickly and subtly. It also maybe that since I focusing and trying to improve the off-balancing so much on my throws that I just being over analytical.

So, back to training. I had some good rolls with Sensei Russ, Trey, Ryan and “Normal” Dave. It felt great being on the mat. I was remarking to Sensei after about how much his students had improved. Ryan was one that I saw had improved a great deal. He was very technical and his guard game was on fire. I was very impressed. Ryan even pulled of my favorite submission, the heel hook, on me! Again, very impressive. Ryan’s like our Kobukai encyclopedia. He also helps me with my Monday classes and it has been amazing to have him there

Lifting again

I FINALLY got back to the gym today. 9 weeks off…… fucking killing me. It was actually kinda lame. I really didn’t do much. Mondays I’ll typically work chest and pushing exercises. I didn’t go about 25 lbs at any time. Just really high reps and slow controlling movements. It felt good, but I really get off on moving weight. And when I can’t do that, it was frustrating.

Strong Abs?

One of the things I have always neglected in the gym is my abs. I’m not so bodybuilder, I really don’t care that much about a six pack. I’m sure my wife would love it, but I’m a eater and grower!! I just don’t want to get to “horizontal”. But at the gym today I decided to work on some heavy ab exercises. I got on the decline ab “apparatus” held on to a 45 plate and just did reps and presses. When I went down, I would press the 45 plate up, like a bench, and on the way up, I would bring it to my chest. It was a fun and interesting exercise. I did it for 5 sets with about 12-15 reps. Since I can’t do a lot of heavy lifting right now I think I’m going to spend some more time on my abs and grip.

Sometimes when I drive into work, I just turn off the radio and let my mind wander for those 30 minutes. I think about my goals (far too many to count), finances, the internet, and martial arts. Most of the time my mind wanders towards my “martial arts and strength goals”. Where I would like to be, what I would like to accomplish, and how I am going to get there.

There a few factors which cause my mind to go there a lot….

1. I am completely obsessed with martial arts, particularly jiu-jitsu and strength. I’ve always had this problem where I just want to do it ALL.
2. I am about to turn 31. I had set a lot of goals for 30. And besides one, (I thought I would be an internet millionaire by now), I would say I am right on track. But I also realize I am getting older, and I cannot do it ALL. My wife and I want to start growing our family and I have to be realistic about what I want to accomplish in the next 4-5 years. 35 years old is my next benchmark. So, I have been trying to analyze what goals are truly feasible and most important to me.
3. I am injured right now. 5 weeks after surgery and still a shoulder that is about 40% of where I want to it to be… or let me say it should be. If its where I want it to be, it would probably be around 10%. So, because I am injured it has been causing me to refocus my goals. Its also brought the fire back into me for some things.
4. I have been reading a lot… Strength, Grappling, Martial arts, etc

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