16. March 2010 by Don Ebuen.

Come enjoy an incredible night of Fights! MMA is coming to Oxnard like never before as National Fight Alliance hosts EVOLUTION on March 26 at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center. Come support Team Dojo’s own Jamie “The Ghost” Toney the 805 Pride Welterweight Champion as he defends his title and Jared “The Jackhammer” Papazian as he gets his second shot at Shad Smith.

There will also be some amateur matches featuring fighters from West Coast Jiu Jitsu!

It’s going to be an incredible night of action and music as recording artist and 805’s own El Nene performs his hot hit “Fuego”!

Don’t miss out. Go to www.nationalfightalliance.com or go into West Coast Jiu Jitsu in Oxnard for tickets!!!!

Hope to see you all there!!!

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16. March 2010 by Don Ebuen.

On Hiatus: I apologize for lack of updates on my training but I am back and in full force.

I was in Virginia for a month welcoming the birth of my second daughter Aven. A beautiful 8lb bundle of joy that gives me yet more inspiration to complete my quest successfully.

Prior to leaving for Virginia I noticed a sharp burning pain in my hip everytime I bumped it against something. No bruises, cuts or scrapes but an almost unbareable pain. When I arrived in Virginia, I was greeted by 40 degree weather and snow EVERYWHERE! I looked for a place to train and I came across Hybrid Martial Arts and Mr Dennis Hayes. Dennis is a black belt having studied Gracie Jiu Jitsu under Master Pedro Sauer. Like alot of serious practicioners (I’ve noticed), Dennis does not come off as a “rough neck, beat you down, I’m a bad mother f_cker” kind of guy. In fact he’s the complete opposite. Dennis look like a laid back guy that would avoid any confrontation at all costs. BUT, instantly I could tell Dennis is on that Level. The Level I noticed with Brian. When Jiu Jitsu is just natural movement for them and they have all the options in twisting you up and choking you out.

I showed up on the first Sunday I was in town and practiced a little with Dennis until my hip started acting up again. I had to stop for a few minutes and I described the pain to Dennis. He instantly said “You got a hip pointer”. I asked him what I can do for it and the answer was a disappointing “Nothing”. I went home that day and did some research on hip pointers and sure enough, the only remedy is resting it. I planned on returning to Hybrid on Tuesday but there was a change of plans…

Aven was born on Monday 2/22/10 at 6:57pm. So from that point on I was with her, spending as much time as possible with her until I left Roanoke on Saturday 3/13.

Thank you Dennis for your hospitality and I hope I can come back and visit you when I return to Roanoke again.

Back at West Coast Jiu Jitsu
It felt so good to be back at West Coast and back with the team.

The night’s workout started with a recap and practice on sprawling. I partnered up with Gladstone again. One of the things thats keyed to breaking your opponents grip on your legs during a double leg is the explosion into the sprawl. That initial drop and shooting your legs out makes it very difficult to hold on. Sprawling alone wont break you out of the double, a strong exploding sprawl will.

We move on to sweeping from the Butterfly Guard. The Butterfly Guard if done correctly can be one of the hardest guards to pass. You’re basically in the sitting position and with your knees out and your feet tucked in between your opponents thighs. With your thighs spread, it makes it difficult for your opponent to get around your legs and at the same time the placement of your feet between their legs will help you control and turn them over when you attempt the sweep.

The first sweep we practice from the Butterfly Guard is with wrist control. Step 1: Control your opponent’s wrists and make sure your hands are in the thumbs up position. Step 2: Roll to either shoulder. Be sure not to roll back but to the side. Step 3: Using your outer foot, lift your opponent’s leg and use the momentum to roll them over. Step 4: Mount.

The second sweep is used when your opponent is keeping their elbows in tight and their wrists close to their body. The motions are the same as the first sweep except instead of using their wrists, you control their elbows (thumbs facing up). The key is to proceed directly into the roll immediately after controlling the elbows.

The last sweep is used when your opponent stops the roll by posting his hand down. At this point you will still have control of his opposite elbow but you will have lost control of the arm he is posting. Change it up by controlling their neck now by simply hooking the neck with your free hand. Switch your body positon and use your opposite ‘outside’ leg and sweep them in the opposite direction using the hand on their neck to help with the sweep.

Excellent class tonight. Having missed a month of training, it was a great way to get back into the swing of things.

Day 19 Lesson of the Day: When you have something positive and important in your life, become addicted to it. Crave it. Want it. Need it. And most importantly, when you don’t have it….miss it.

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