Alicia Sixtos of Gracie Barra Stars in East Los High 

Jiu-Jitsu is universally appealing. Aside from the great workout on the mats, the lifestyle that it promotes (as well as the discipline and the philosophy) has been proven to change lives.

Alicia Sixtos (her screen name) is a Hollywood actress training in Gracie Barra Santa Barbara. Her new found love for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu makes grind it out on the mats 2-3 times a week. Her acting resume stretches from minor roles in CSI and Entourage.

Landing a major role in the new series East Los High, Ms. Alicia honored us with a short interview about her newly started out journey with Gracie Barra

“3 months ago, I started training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. My sister started before me and I sat in and for a while before I joined,” Alicia says.

Her acting career started out when she was 15 as she explains, “I started acting when I was 15. I had my first role in a film called ‘Quinceanera’ (2006) did small gigs up until a couple years ago when I started booking gigs that were a little more popular with a little more dialogue.

East Los High is the first lead in a series I’ve ever had. I’ve had representation forever but i actually submitted myself for this project. There was a long auditioning process. I booked and shot the pilot in October 2011. Then they had me audition again for the show when they got a bunch of producers to support the 26 episode series. I had to audition like 5 more times until finally they decided I was Maya. We shot all summer last year and we just got news that it will now be exclusively shown on Hulu starting June 3rd,” she concludes.

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Look and Feel Like a Champ by Knowing How to Tie Your Belt

So do you know how to tie your belt?

In this video, Prof. Flavio Almeida of Dana Point explains how.

Your belt defines your rank and your drive in the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Knowing how to tie that “honor belt” around your waist is important as the appreciation to the art. Professor Flavio Almeida of Gracie Barra Dana Point shows you how to look like a champion by looking great in your gi.

Here’s the video!

Enjoy!

© GRACIE BARRA – www.graciebarra.com

GB WTP  Week 12

This week all of our 300+ Gracie Barra schools in 5 continents will be teaching the lessons of week number 12 of our annual schedule from Monday May 20th to Sunday May 26th.

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Gracie Barra Edmonds On Board! 

There is an ever expanding and expansive appeal of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu much like the universe in theoretical physics thinking. A couple of years back, there were men who took the love for martial arts to a whole new level. They are now our instructors, professors, and mentors. A story about two friends who jokingly thought of getting their own school one day. Finally, that day became a reality. Where hard work and uncanny love for the sport was embraced wholeheartedly.

A Griff-Ter’s Story

Griff Sombke is an example of what that phrase really means. He may have been the least likely person EVER to achieve a Gracie Barra Black Belt. He started in 2005, as an overweight 30 year old, with a two-pack a day cigarette habit. He didn’t make it through warmups his first day. His instructor, Professor Rodrigo Lopes, didn’t expect to ever see him again. Two days later, he showed up again, and made it a little farther into class. Progress was slow for him, but he kept training two to three times a week, swallowing Ibuprofen like candy, and gradually, it got a little easier. He got through warmups, and was able to start training and learning some Jiu-Jitsu.

In December of 2005, he competed for the first time. He lost on points, but ended up hooked on the sport. At the beginning of 2006, he quit smoking, and made a decision that he was going to do Jiu-Jitsu for the rest of his life. He started training harder and more frequently, always trying to learn more technique and get just a little better each day. In April of 2006, he started a new job with a schedule that ruled out almost all the classes at the academy. That didn’t stop him, however. He began cross training in Judo, as there was a late class at Seattle Dojo, which is the oldest Judo school in the United States. He also began training with a Purple Belt who lived in the area and had mats at his house.

That Purple Belt was John Sylvester, who could relate, as he was a guy who had struggled with some of the same challenges Griff was facing. Griff and John jokingly called the living room training sessions “Brier Top Team”, after the town John lives in. They joked about one day opening a school, and what a ridiculous idea it seemed like at the time…

Silver Lining for Sylvester

Professor Sylvester is a first degree black belt. He started his training back in 1995, at that time Jiu Jitsu was still in its infancy in the Northwest.  A good friend of his is training with the Machado brothers in California, and told him  about an affiliate running a couple classes a week in an Aikido school. He walked in and saw people rolling…

With a little wrestling background in high school he had an instant inkling to the sport. For Prof Sylvester, that was the day that eventually changed his life in BJJ.

Our partnership is more of a brotherhood. That is evident when you see us together. Funny thing is, we are like oil and water. He is super analytical, I tend to flow with the go, he likes pushing the action, I like to let things come together organically. A true Yin and Yang. – Prof. Sylvester

He received his blue belt from Bob Bass (Machado Black Belt and member of the “Dirty Dozen”) in 1997. A year later, he moved to the Lotus Black Belts with, Juliano Prado, Giva Santana and then Cia Paulista brown belt, Alex Candido Puertas. He also trained with Ralph Gracie Brown Belt, Sergio Silva during his time in the Northwest. He received his purple and brown belts from Mamazinho, under the watchful eyes of Professors Rodrigo Lopes and Micah Reyes. And in February 2009, the black belt was finally tied around his waist by Professor Marcio Feitosa

© GRACIE BARRA – www.graciebarra.com

Battling Cancer Through Jiu-Jitsu

Gracie Barra believes in paying it forward. Helping cancer patients all through out the United States is www.Tapcancerout.org. So what does Gracie Barra have to do with this? On June the 6th, as Master Carlos holds a seminar and a belting ceremony, the proceeds will all go to tapcancerout.org. The money will eventually be used to help the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

The seminar is only for $100. A small cost compared to the number of people that it will help in the long run.

To find out more, click on the photo:

© GRACIE BARRA – www.graciebarra.com

Getting into Sports Photography is Great!

Sports photography is one of the most exciting types of photography. It’s action packed, emotional, and eye-catching. Jiu-Jitsu is no different from this as well. Being in Gracie Barra, you will have near-limitless number subjects during training sessions and even in competitions.

You have seen great Gracie Barra photos, but you just can’t put your finger on what makes it good. In Gracie Barra, we believe in sharing knowledge to all of our members. Photography is no different from it. It may be completely unrelated to Jiu-Jitsu, but we’d like to have everyone learn something different from Gracie Barra once in a while. After all, every photo you upload, tag, and hare to your friends will help everyone in Gracie Barra make “Jiu-Jitsu for Everyone” a reality.

Let’s Start With the Basics.

Know Your Gear

Cameras out in the market today function differently. You have myriads of choices to go with. You may go for entry-level cameras, professional cameras, or even your nifty camera phone. It really depends, but knowing your gear can spell the difference between missing that great Jiu-Jitsu moment and getting it right between the eyes.

My suggestion: the digital single lens reflex or DSLR.

The DSLR stands for Digital Single Lens Reflex. USually bulky and has interchangeable lenses to boot.

I am not about to discriminate smartphones, but DSLRs works best in low light conditions. It is a bit pricey, but it will be worth your money. DSLRs works best since you will have the best choice in lenses for different shooting conditions. A well-prepared photographer will have 3 basic lenses, but, I’d like to add one more to the list, which is a prime lens.

The Price

Camera bodies range from 400 USD, to 1,500 USD depending on the brand and how good the sensors are. The lenses can be as cheap as 50 USDs to a whopping 5,000 USD. Again, it all depends on the make and the quality of those.

3 Great Lenses are known as the Trinity. These lenses costs between 1,000 USDs to 1,500 USDs. They perform best even in difficult shooting conditions, thus the price.

• Ultra wide angle lenses ranging from 10-20mm in its focal length – this is great for group shots and landscape photography, but can be the most trickiest lens to use.
  

  The “Trinity,” It may cost an arm and a leg, but it’s worth it.

• Medium Telephoto Lenses – Ranging from 24-70mm  - great for portraits.
• Telephoto lens, ranging from 70-200mm (to even 500m) – great for far subjects.
• Prime lenses – characterized by its single focal length. Always great to have one around. Typically, prime lenses are the fastest types of lenses.

Composition

Composition is a broad subject in photography. There are rules in composition. However, these rules are not absolute, but these rules do work. Composing your photos properly will help you convey the message . Here are some of my favorite composition rules that have worked for me in my years of being a professional photographer.

Rule of Thirds.

This is placing your subject, or point of interest not in the middle of the frame. Imagine that you dividing your frame into 9 even sections. Place your subject either on the 1st column of the imaginary frame, or on the 3rd imaginary column. Here’s a great sample:

The Rule of Thirds

Do you think that this follows the rule of thirds?

Remember that placing your subject in the middle may not always work. But placing them anywhere in the imaginary grid can do wonders in your photos. Also take note that by using the rule of thirds, you are also letting your viewers know about the environment your subject is in.

Shapes

Imagining shapes can get you great results in photography. This coincides with patterns as well. A triangle works best when it comes to taking shapes, because it follows along the clockwise path of the eyes’ gaze. Here’s a great sample:

Notice the Triangle Pattern Between the head of the fighters and the leg of the one standing up

Imagine a choke hold. What pattern does it have? Go take a photo of a choke hold now and post it in Facebook!

Patterns

Patterns are basically repetitive elements in a photo that follows an imaginary line. This  connotes a certain feel of wholeness in a photo with the message being conveyed by the repeating shapes and sizes. Here’s my favorite Gracie Barra Photo that does exactly that. In this photo, you’ll see a pattern of while black belts and the Gracie Barra Logo in a file.

This is a very strong example of what patterns can do.

TIPS:

• If it’s not good enough, you’re not close enough – get closer to your subject by taking another step forward.
• Mind the lighting – nothing ruins a great photo than bad lighting. Compensate by increasing the sensitivity of your camera (ISO) for different lighting conditions. Also avoid taking photos against the lighting (unless you’re gunning for a dramatic silhouette).
• Tone down on the retouch – this is common among new photographers. Heavily retouched photos may appeal to some, but for those who can appreciate photos, heavily retouched photos are unappealing.
• Crop properly – when cropping photos and portraits, avoid cropping limbs from the joints. It appears that the subject is has lost their limbs. I’ve seen potentially great Gracie Barra photos that were improperly cropped. A good trick would be taking the photo with the entire subject in it. Deal with the cropping of the Photo during post process instead
• Candid shots (or what some would call ‘stolen’) tell more stories than posed photos. The principle goes back to street and journalistic photography. Wait for the right moment in taking candid shots. Use lenses with long focal lengths.
• Tone down on the watermarks. Keep your watermarks at a minimum size of less than 5% of the photo.
• In sports photography, use fast shutter speeds. This will help you capture that great Jiu-Jitsu moment such as the take down, or the sweep.
• Use a caption. Tell a great story. Say something about the photo. You cannot expect your viewers to understand what happened in the photo.
• For Indoor photography, set your ISO to 400-800. This is a standard for most.
• Hold still by using a tripod. In dimly lit environments, having a tripod handy will work. Nothing is worse than blurred action shots (in special cases, there is aesthetics added into it).
• Do some test shots before the event. Make sure that your shutter speed, your ISO setting, is perfect for the event.

© GRACIE BARRA – www.graciebarra.com

Rocambole Sweep Breakdown from Z-Guard 

This sweep is demonstrated by Professor Marco Joca at Grace Barra HQ in Irvine California. A rather intelligent sweep coming from a Z-guard defensive position. In this position, the defending opponent is thinking about 3 things: keeping his opponent from putting his entire weight on him, controlling the arm, and going for the sweep. Keep in mind that a successful sweep is done by manipulating the opponent’s center of gravity causing him to lose balance.

Step 1: Start with an Z guard and keep your opponent’s weight off of you using your knee and controlling his posture through the arm

Step 2: Stay underneath. Minding where his balance and weight is and roll him over.

Step 3: In for the kill. Going for the sweep

Step 4: Establish control.

© GRACIE BARRA – www.graciebarra.com

What Makes Your BJJ Style Unique?

Different fighting styles for different fighters. One discipline, but the diversity of the game differs on the fighters themselves. I am talking about different styles that fighters utilize as their own.

I enjoy hanging out with fighters. My natural curiosity has always led me to ask what their game is all about. What their favorite submission is.

A few years back, when I was relatively new to the gentle art, a tough question comes to mind: what is my fighting style? What do I prefer as a way for me to succeed in my jiu-jitsu? It took a couple of months of practice and countless hours of grinding in the mats to have it all figured out.

Being blessed with a stocky big frame, and relatively big and stumpy calves and thighs, I proceeded to work on a guard-based game. Unfortunately, my short legs keep me from utilizing the triangle. I am still trying until now.

I am a big fan of the guard. I have to love the guard. The guard makes me feel more dominant in the mats. Being able to control my opponent’s movement helps me win 3 out of 5 sparring matches. The guard helps me wear my opponent down during marathon-like matches. I have to learn how to submit opponents off my back, execute sweeps, and eventually mount. Win by points through sweeps, or by submission from the guard position. Either way, it works for me.

Knowing Your Style

No pressure, but determining your fighting style as early as now can boost your growth in the sport. Are you the type who immediately goes for the submission early in the match? Do you prefer collar chokes over the rear naked’s? Do you like leg locks? Or are you like me who is patient?

Practice Your Style

To capitalize on one’s strength, you have to practice, and practice hard. There is just no other way to become good at using that omaplata but to practice.

UFC’s women’s champion. Ronda Rousey has practiced the armlock thousands of time. Her strength has helped her climb the upper echelon of the sport. Her armbar is close to perfect that it has always worked for her. It has worked 10 times in her career. 7 in pro, 3 in the amateurs.

Appreciate Your Uniqueness

I don’t mean to go all mush on the subject. Or bank on the cliché, but every Jiu-Jitsu fighter that I have met is a unique individual which makes them interesting. Appreciate your physique and use it to your advantage. A powerful upper body with a good base can help you win by points or keep your opponents from shrimping out of your mount.

This is just another reason why Brazilian jiu-jitsu definitely becomes for everyone. Every fighter is unique in their own right.

So what makes you unique?

© GRACIE BARRA – www.graciebarra.com

GB WTP  Week 11

This week all of our 300+ Gracie Barra schools in 5 continents will be teaching the lessons of week number 11 of our annual schedule from Monday May 13th to Sunday May 19th.

To stay connected to Gracie Barra please make sure and visit us on our social media channels:

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© GRACIE BARRA – www.graciebarra.com

Jiu-Jitsu Helps Kids Achieve their Goals and Develop Great Habits 

Jiu-Jitsu Safety Is 99% , The Remaining 1% Is All About the School

Safety is what we initially require when we are putting our kids into something relatively new to us (and especially to them). Getting them to train Jiu-Jitsu is perfectly safe. There are hundreds of schools out there with qualified instructors that will supervise your kids while in their classes. There is practically a 0% incident rate when kids get into Jiu-Jitsu. For one thing, good Jiu-Jitsu schools carry an honest, well thought out system that is designed to instruct kids and pair kids to practice with other kids.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art form that is very safe. In Gracie Barra, the ICP4 program ensures that all instructors are well-versed with the safety guidelines of martial art instruction. Each child enrolling at every Gracie Barra school is sure to be safe from injuries.

Kids Need Role Models Outside the Household

It is typical for kids to find role models outside the household. There is a difference between having parents as role models, and having another person as one. Children often identify themselves with role models outside of the household. Typically these are individuals whom they may share common interests with.

“Kids need heroes,” as I’d like to quote Prof. Flavio Almeida of Gracie Barra San Clemente

Kids Need Tangible Goals

Kids today have goals. But are these goals fruitful? Are the goals of gaining a higher level in online video games, or becoming the most popular in school, goals that will help them in the future?

Kids who get into martial arts will have tangible goals. Something that they can measure and be proud of. Getting them into the Gracie Barra Little Champions program will surely give them the boost and the goals that they need to be better individuals. When a kid gains a stripe, the entire Gracie Barra family celebrates!

Jiu-Jitsu Teaches Children Great Habits

Young kids need do develop good habits. It can be anything from being early for martial arts class, to being polite and courteous in their Dojos, to preparing their Gis, to even being conscious of their hygiene. Gracie Barra is known to have a strong kids program that propagates and promote these things.

Research also suggests that physically active children grow up to be less prone to stress and have a higher than most emotional quotient.

Karate for Kids is Great, But Jiu-Jitsu is a Lifestyle

I love karate. Personally, I grew up watching all of the Karate Kid sagas between  1984 to 1989, but my preference towards Jiu-Jitsu is more on its practical use (both self-defense wise) and the lifestyle that it promotes. Stepping into a Gracie Barra school will mean a change in lifestyle. Kids should start early in changing their lifestyle. During the formative years of 6 until 12, children start developing their personal habits and preferences. These are eating habits, play, work, and disposition. Getting them into Jiu-Jitsu will help them follow a great lifestyle through the teachings of Master Carlos Gracie Jr.

A Jiu-Jitsu School is the Best Place to Make New Friends

Is your child a bit shy? Is your child having a hard time meeting new people and making new friends? Getting them into Jiu-Jitsu can help bring out the inner tiger in them. Think of Gracie Barra as a place where your kids can develop great habits and goals with lots of martial arts and a lot of other kids wearing a good-looking uniform!

© GRACIE BARRA – www.graciebarra.com