Lucas Lepri Seminar Notes

I attended a fantastic 2 day seminar last weekend of Oct. 25th and 26th with Lucas Lepri at Brentwood Brazillian Jiu Jitsu in Nashville. I'm not going to try and breakdown the details of all the different techniques we learned as much as hit some high points and share some of my impressions.

First bit of coolness: After teaching each day, Lucas made it a point to hang out and roll - and not just roll a couple of guys, he rolled everyone there from white belts to black belts both days. I was especially impressed with the time and energy he spent on the white belts, letting them work and feeding them opportunities and gently correcting their position/technique - without a trace of ego or condescension.

Second bit of coolness: While rolling Lucas had a big smile on his face almost the entire time. You can tell he loves Jiu Jitsu and he just can't keep it all inside.

One thing I noticed immediately when rolling with Lucas is that he moves aggressively with pressure but he is light on his feet and can change direction at any moment - his base and balance is exceptional and he is cat quick. There were several times when I was on the bottom I felt like I was being "surfed" (almost like balance ball drills); and that was with him taking it easy on me and probably going about a quarter speed. (If you watched Lucas in the highlight video of my last post, you can see how quickly he can move and capitalize on the slightest mis-step of an opponent.)

On day one we covered a variety of sweeps and submissions.

We worked a basic Butterfly Sweep - one grip on their sleeve the other grip on their belt. Lucas emphasized having both feet/butterfly hooks in before gripping so you don't telegraph which side/hook you are going to use. Then as you grip, pull the arm across, pull in and up on belt, drop one leg back and down so you can roll to your shoulder (going to trapped arm side). Roll to the side on your shoulder - not to your back (head should go to the outside of their knee) and lift with your hook. Keep the arm and secure side control.

We also did a series of back takes from a Flower Sweep setup (p.114 in Saulo's book for reference) covering a range of "what-ifs": Attempt the Flower Sweep and they post with their free arm. Change your grip to the outside sleeve of their posting arm and use it to help you scoot out and up to take the back. Over the series of back takes we worked with a common theme of finishes - setups for Bow and Arrow, Arm and Collar, and Ezequiel Chokes.

Playing "what-if" from the same set up - they trap your leg as you try to come up to the back. Use your trapped foot as a hook on their hip, spin and post your hand on the mat and push across their hips using your hook to break him down onto his side with you in top side mount. Finish with your choke of choice.

Next "what-if" from the same setup - they trap your knee hard with their arm and thigh and you can't free your hips/leg at all. Shoot back down onto your shoulder and reach under his posted arm and around his neck for an Ezequiel. (Ezequiel note - reach deep into your sleeve and make a clenched fist - don't bend your wrist to follow your other arm or let your fingers loosen as your bring your other hand around for the choke.)

Then we worked similar back takes from a De la Riva Rollover Sweep (p.167 in Saulo's book) - they post their free arm, you trade grips to their posting arm and reach up and take the back. Then De la Riva to sit up guard into a Classic Sweep (p.172 in Saulo's book) variation. As you reach your arm through to wrap around their leg, grip their lapel or belt instead of trading grips to their arm, push their arm down and back between their leg, as they post their opposite arm, trade your grip to their posting arm and take the back.

We continued with back takes from an opponents Knee Cross/Cut Through pass. As they attempt to drive the knee across you use your inside leg to hook tightly behind their knee stopping the cut through, grab their opposite sleeve and push it back between their legs while lifting with your hook for a sweep. If they post with their free hand you sit up, change grips to their posting arm and then use it to help you swing your hips out and reach up with your opposite hand for the back and go for a choke.

The second day of the Lucas Lepri seminar was similarly full of jiu jitsu goodness. We worked passing the open guard (Spider, De La Riva, and reverse De La Riva). 

Against Spider Guard Lucas showed a method of clearing one hook from the arm and maintaining control of the leg, then pushing their opposite leg (that still has your bicep hooked) to the mat and stepping over and sitting through to break that hook and take side control.

 He also showed a cool way to clear a "lasso" hook by stepping back and then bringing your knee back in to clear the hook.



Against De la Riva you turn your trapped foot to the inside (eliminating the control of the DLR hook) and use pressure on the hip with one hand and knee with the other hand to cut your hips out and around his legs and then hip switch back into side control. Other passes against De la Riva and reverse De la Riva used similar knee and hip controls.

Another pass had you step with your knees together and cut your opposite knee under their legs while using a lapel grip and controlling their legs (and thus their hips) with your forearm/elbow on top in a variation of a smash pass. Sorry for the poor verbal imagery but I could write a book and still just be scratching the surface of the details.

Some last cool observations from chatting with Lucas before and after the seminar: Lucas is one of the most pleasant people you could ever meet. His competition schedule is grueling with an event almost every month. While he could drop weight into a lighter division he prefers to compete at his (very fit) walking around weight about 170 lbs. (which makes sense considering his schedule). Off the mat training he emphasizes stretching, recommends lifting, and doing additional cardio (he likes spinning). Finally, as much as we tried to convince him that Nashville was a great place to live, he loves being based in New York.

 (you can check out more pics at the Brentwood BJJ Facebook page)

THE ULTIMATE BJJ TRAINING LOG (Part 2)

NOT ALL TIME IS THE SAME TIME

What you put in your training log and how you go about it might vary considerably over time. I wouldn't expect a white belt's log to look like a purple belt's log.

If you are just starting (<6 months of training) don't make taking notes hard on yourself. Just stick to the very basic ideas - terminology, position and gross movements, and just getting comfortable. Most people who start a training log early on quit because it becomes a chore or they get frustrated because they can't remember the details of a move or even what to call it. Early on in your training just jot down a few of the things you CAN remember when you get home, when you see the move again (and you will) update your notes.

After about 6 months in is a good time to start developing goals and documenting how you are expanding your game, such as working toward two or three moves from each basic position (closed guard, side control, mount, and half-guard) and beginning your understanding of more complicated open guards (Spider, De La Riva, X-guard, etc).  Your log is a great tool to track progress in those areas. You can certainly start setting goals earlier, but you may find that what you thought was high on your goal list moves down a few places as you understand more about Jiu Jitsu (and this will probably continue to happen every few months to a year).

As you progress the scope or your goals, plans, strategies,  and the details of your techniques expands. In your goals you start to add plans and strategies, on your techniques you start pulling out principles, going deeper into the details, and chaining techniques together (flow with the go). You've probably had an "A Game" for awhile, now is the time to think about why it works for you and where you have holes. When you roll work on analyzing your favorite techniques/positions and options (you will find that your "favorites" also change over time). Write down where your training partners stop your progress in the technique or shut your game down. Analyze this info and come up with a few possible solutions to try next time on the mat. Keep the solutions that have the most success and repeat the process.

At some point in your "old age" you will probably get bored with trying to write stuff down and your log will slowly start to fade. Don't get down on yourself if you miss taking notes for a few days, weeks, or even months. Instead of kicking yourself and giving up, break out your old notes for review and see if they "inspire" you to start again. Remember, you're in this for the long haul. I'm pretty hit or miss, but I try to be consistent over time. One thing I do kick myself for is if I don't do it for seminars or working with someone that is visiting (or when I'm visiting) because I may not consistently see these techniques again presented in that way.

THE ULTIMATE BJJ TRAINING LOG (Part 1)

I recently lost 2 of my training notebooks. While they were a jumbled mish-mash of technique descriptions, training ideas, strength and conditioning exercises, and random thoughts there were probably some gems in there that will be missed. This loss has given me the opportunity to reexamine what I want to do with a training log and the best way to go about it. I thought I would share some of my thoughts here in a series over the next few weeks, so without further fanfare here is installment 1 of ? on:

CREATING THE ULTIMATE BJJ TRAINING LOG
It appears to be a generally accepted idea that a training log is "a good thing." If you ask "Why is it a good thing?" you will often get the standard answer of "it will help you track your progress." However, BJJ is not like running or weight lifting where you write down your distance/time or weight/reps and hope to see evidence of continual improvement - farther/faster heavier/more. Other than logging our Strength and Conditioning training in this standard way, a BJJ form of this could be documenting all your rolls and describe what was attempted, what worked, and what got shut down. But there is still more I think. Another aspect of a BJJ training log or notebook is about capturing details on techniques taught in class so you don't forget. Finally, there is the aspect of wanting to journal or chronicle the "adventure" of training.

Hmmm, this gives us a "training log," a "technique notebook," and an "adventure journal." Should these be the same "document" or multiple documents. Do we capture and display the information the same way or are different formats better for each dimension. This is already starting to make my head hurt.

So I say to myself, "Self, my head hurts and I haven't even started" and myself answers back, "Well why don't we start at the beginning, why don't you tell me why you think a training log is a good thing and go from there. And by the way you have ketchup on your shirt." ...


MONITORING/ACHIEVING GOALS

A training log can help you keep motivated if you have a section where you record your goals. Over time you can track your progress against those goals. A detailed log of your training allows you to see the steps that you have taken towards your goal, where you currently stand, and how much further you have to go. Your goals can be multi-leveled and broken down into short and long(er) term. For example, short term - work on technical details of kimuras from multiple positions and try to work at least 3 attempts per rolling session for the next month. Long term - I want to achieve my black belt.

Periodically reviewing your goals is great for both motivation and accountability. Even if you don't specifically state your goals it is motivating to see how far you have come since your days as a naive young white belt.

MAKING THE COMPLEX A LITTLE MORE SIMPLE

A training log is very useful in helping to break down a technique. Trying to "grok" everything at once can make things more complicated than they need to be. We have grips, underhooks, kozushi, movements, and a million other details that we are trying to keep up with in training. By carving out a little time to capture some of the main things you are remembering you start to see similarities and principles that your brain will start to automatically organize around. Recognizing those principles leaves more of your brainpower free for the details.

Additionally, as we see techniques for the second, third, and fourth times we have a starting point, a frame, for hanging newly discovered/remembered details on.

VENTING (AND THEN EXAMINING) YOUR FRUSTRATIONS

When we are frustrated, venting that frustration in a log is probably good for your spirit. You let it out and let it go. But when we consciously document some of the technical details along with our feelings we have a new tool. When we periodically examine our rants and the details of our frustrations we can start to see areas of our game that we really need to work on and take corrective action.

GAINING CLARITY AND COMMUNICATING EFFECTIVELY

Taking notes allows you to examine what you think are the key points of a technique and express it more clearly. If anybody ever asks you about that technique or you teach/instruct, you will be able to easily offer a clear and detailed explanation of the technique. The other side of this coin is that if you can't produce a clear description of a technique then you have a good set of structured questions to ask your instructor.

DISCOVERING DEVELOPMENTS/TRENDS OVER TIME

A training log is helpful to analyze what training worked and what might not have worked so well.  We can pinpoint potential areas of weakness and possible problems with recovery and injuries. For example, when reviewing your notes on rolling you see that certain positions/submissions bring success and others might not or you recognize that when you were ramping up to 2-a-day practices you were prone to injury (was there a positive trade off?).

There may be more, but that's all I've got for now.

Example Training Log (humor)

Dear Diary...

For my thirtieth birthday this year, my wife (such a sweetheart) signed me up for a fantastic "one week special" offer at the new Brazilian Jiu Jitsu school downtown. She knows how much I love the UFC and Joe Rogan always says you have to know Jiu Jitsu to have a good "ground game."

Although I am still in great shape, since after all, I was a high school athlete, I know it is going to be tough. My wife seemed pleased with my enthusiasm to get started. I called the school and got some basic information from someone called Hoffi who identified himself as a 26 year old assistant instructor. "Hoffi" said to just wear some workout clothes and that they would get me a "kimono" (whatever that is) and to bring a notebook to keep a "training log" to chart my progress and help remember things.

This is going to be so much fun!

My Training Log
Monday:
Arrived at 6:00 pm. Tough to make it on time from work, but found it was well worth it when I arrived at the school to find Hoffi waiting for me. He gave me a tour and showed me the changing rooms. He gave me a "kimono" to change into with a white belt and said he would see me on the mats.

When I come out I see about 10 other guys with white belts, 2 blue belts, and a girl in a pink "kimono" with a purple belt. The people with colored belts all come over and say hello and seem very friendly. The girl, Kyra, is really cute with dark brown hair, dancing eyes, a dazzling white smile, and a cool accent like Hoffi's. Woo Hoo!!

Hoffi started the class with a warm-up. We did a lot of something he called "shrimping" where you lay on the floor and push yourself around with your feet,

some push-ups, sit-ups, and a few other exercises. It took about 10 minutes and I was alarmed that my pulse was so fast, but I attribute it watching Kyra in the line in front of me. I enjoyed watching the skillful way she seemed to do everything. Very inspiring.

Hoffi broke the class into two groups and I was in a group with 2 other apparently new whitebelts. First he showed us how to tie our belts (how could something so simple be so complicated?), then he showed us how to do an armbar from closed guard (my favorite UFC move!) and an "upa" from mount.

Hoffi was encouraging as I did my armbar and upa. The rest of the class Hoffi explained some details of the guard and mount positions.

This is going to be a FANTASTIC week!!

Tuesday:
Tonight Hoffi did the basic warm-up but at the end he had us do something called a "burpee" for what seemed like forever. My legs were a little wobbly and I felt light-headed, but I didn't stop. I looked across the circle and Kyra smiled at me making it all worthwhile. I found out "Hoffi" is really Raffi, but (R)s are pronounced (H) in Brazil. How cool is that?

Kyra was in charge of my group tonight and I found out that a purple belt is pretty high up there. I knew Kyra was good! She went over the armbar and upa again using me as her partner (I think she likes me!). It felt a little strange working with a girl and I tried to make sure I didn't hurt her. Then she showed us something called a "technical stand up." Basically, you're sitting down and you just stand up. I don't know what the big deal is, but Kyra said it is very important.

I feel GREAT!! It's a whole new life for me.

Wednesday:
The only way I could brush my teeth this morning was by laying the toothbrush on the counter and moving my mouth back and forth over it. I think I have a hernia in both pectorals and my abs and back are on fire. I could barely type on my computer at work today. Driving to class tonight was OK as long as I didn't try to steer or stop. I think I parked on top of a Prius in the school parking lot.

Hoffi was impatient with me during warm-ups, insisting that my screams bothered the rest of the class. His voice was a little too perky when he announced we were going to do some more burpees. I didn't notice it before (maybe it was the accent), but when he scolds, he gets this nasally whine that is VERY annoying.

My chest really hurt and I couldn't stand up straight so Hoffi had me be the bottom person all night. He told me if I kept working I would get in great shape and enjoy life. He said some other sh!t too.

Thursday:
Kyra was waiting for me with her vampire-like teeth exposed as her thin, cruel lips were pulled back in a full snarl when I came out to the mat. I got to class on time but I couldn't help being a half an hour late coming out of the locker room, it took me that long to untie my shoes.

Kyra gave me a list of things to warm-up with on my own and of course there were more burpees at the end. When she wasn't looking, I ran and hid in the men's room. She sent one of the blue belts to find me, then, as punishment, used me as her demonstration partner for some sort of choke. At some point I woke up with the entire class snickering at me. Apparently I forgot to tap and had been drooling on the mat for the last ten minutes.

Friday:
I hate that b@stard Hoffi more than any human being has ever hated any other human being in the history of the world. And that stupid,skinny, anemic little cheerleader wanna-be Kyra too. If there was a part of my body I could move without unbearable pain, I would beat them with it.

Hoffi wanted me to work some more on armbars. But I can't even move my arms (which I am sure you learned in the sadist Jiu Jitsu school you attended and graduated magna cum laude from, you Nazi b@stard). My training partner flung me off and I landed on some bony guy. Why couldn't it have been someone softer, like the big guy in the corner?

Saturday:
Hoffi left a message on my voice mail in his grating, shrilly accent wondering why I did not show up today. Just hearing him made me want to hurl my phone across the room. However, I lacked the strength to even reach the TV remote and ended up catching eleven straight hours of the *$@#&& Weather Channel.

Sunday:
I'm just thanking GOD that this week is over. I am also praying that next year my wife (the BLACK WIDOW) will just kill me herself instead of trying to get someone else to do it for her!