Thoughts on BJJ After Achieving Brown Belt

Ask any black belt, brown belt or even purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu about injuries and you will get an ear full from bruising, rib issues, badly swollen ears, sprains, breaks, tears and swelling.  You will hear about it all.

Over time injuries are a fact of any contact sport.  It's truly a matter of when and how bad your injuries are, not if.  For some, once an injury is sustained their travels in BJJ come to an end, but the vast majority of practitioners who start in any martial art often fall by the way side well before earning even a black belt in their chosen art, so this is not extraordinary.

I have found in my own experience in BJJ which is fast approaching a decade many things in my body have changed, BJJ has changed me mentally and physically.  Now more than ever I strongly believe Jiu Jitsu provides the ultimate litmus test of you, your heart, your mind and your athletic ability.  It's as complete a physical and mental test as I have found in a very active athletic life.

BJJ has changed me, from arthritic knuckles, torn ligaments in tiny and large joints, elbow issues, knee issues and busted up feet, cheek bone etc...  But I still find a passion burning deep inside me to explore, to learn to progress my knowledge.  I love the art of learning BJJ and the creativity I find within this art.

BJJ has taught me patience most of all.  They say, "anything worth while is not easy" this is most true in the case of BJJ.  True you can master a few moves early on and impress your friends and family, perhaps even win some medals in tournaments.  But to truly master all of what Jiu Jitsu is you must take great care and time to develop a feel and knowledge inside the art that only you and others like you can understand.  You could call this the "feel" of the art.

I was taught early in my martial arts career a student learns by his Master's hand.  This is very true within Jiu Jitsu.  But the feel for the art must be learned through tireless repetition and practice.  It cannot be taught directly by lesson.  It is consumed teaspoon upon teaspoon of learning and drilling daily.  To get the feel for Jiu Jitsu one must sped the time studying and practicing Jiu Jitsu.

I guess this blog post is most about my love of jiu jitsu more than anything else.  I will end this post with this.  Although BJJ is an individual sport I have witnessed the greatest connections with team mates i have ever felt in my life.  My team mates are family, brothers and sisters.  We have spent years working, bleeding, screaming, tapping, sweating, achieving and building each other up.  I believe you find out the most about a person by rolling Brazilian Jiu Jitsu with them.  You learn their focus, their patience, their power, their diversity and their sneeky hidden secrets (you know like the half butterfly sweep that guy Nate always catches you with).

Any how.  I now sit firmly in my Brown Belt (1st degree) as of today.  It's a new year, and time to hit the mats once again.  Enjoy your travels.  I hope to post many more thoughts here as time goes on.  You can also connect to me on Twitter @ezpropertyguy and @stupidgameco.

Osss!

KK

2011 Training Season is Underway - 1st Purple Belt Season Coming Up!

It's been a while since my last post and some good things have happened in the past months. In November I successfully tested and received my Purple Belt from John K. Munoz, C-Quence Jiu Jitsu. I enjoyed a fantastic holiday season and finally took a week off during Christmas to rest up and prepare for a fun competition season this year. I also took soem time to get some quality snowboarding in. It was fantastic!

Just this past weekend I had a truly amazing experience... I had the very rare opportunity to meet Grand Master Francisco Mansor. With over 55 years experience in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and creator of the Kioto Brazilian Jiu Jitsu system his knowledge and experience is wide and deep in our art. He is an amazing man with tons of energy. It is by far the high point thus far in my BJJ experience. Grand Master Mansor is only one of seven 9th degree black belts in the world and is one of only a handful of black belts to have trained with and receive his black belt directly from Grand Master Helio Gracie. His stories, details and system are truly one of kind in BJJ.

I've updated my profile picture which shows my lineage in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu from Grand Master Mansor to myself. What a great moment in time.

Our team is excited for some upcoming MMA fights we have including a heavy weight title defense for Nail "Chaos" Cooke Feb 3rd. JB is also on the fight card and will pounding out another win I'm sure the same night. Our competitve BJJ team has a strong and excited energy for this coming season. Looks for us at the big and small tournaments across the West Region. It's going to be a great year for our team and for our students.

Happy training. Stay safe and healthy.

Best Regards,

KK

Weight in check ramping up training and cardio work

It's that time of year once again when we prepare for the largest and most anticipated tournaments in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (wwww.ibjjf.org) the Pan Jiu Jitsu tournament and Mundial (World Championships).

With little less than six weeks to go until Pan Ams I am feeling fantastic. One focused step I took this season was to work early on my weight and get back into fighting shape before the real hard workouts begin. I am happy to report that I am now within 2 lbs of my target weight. I could not be happier about this.

This Pan Ams is to be my last as Blue Belt Senior 1 competitor. The worlds of course I will fighting in the adult category once again, yippeeeee! Anticipation and focus is high for these wonderful events.

For new competitors jumping into large tournaments can be a daunting proposition. But I would profess to anyone that reads this blog, throwing the dice and competing at the highest level of the game as often as possible is critical to development of a solid player strategy and mindset.

Overcoming the mental aspect of taking on a tournament like American Nationals, Pan Ams, or Mundial may be the hardest part for some competitors. Just stepping on the mat can be the greatest of challenges for new BJJ players.

I'd suggest seeking out smaller jiu jitsu gi tournaments that can help prepare the mind, body and spirit for the greater challenges later in the season. One smaller well run tournament is Clebber Luciano's Copa Pacifica. The rules are the same as IBJJF sanctioned events and the referees will be familiar at the larger events.

The best part about competing is testing yourself against the unknown. I believe it's best way to find out how you respond to real pressure and the surprise of a well devised game plan. Many great competitors have noted BJJ is like a chess match with each player launching different tactics thinking well ahead, reacting and countering attacks or forcing their will upon an opponent. It's amazing to watch two finely tuned competitors attack and thwart move upon move in a complex submission flurry or brutally dangerous stalemate.

If your goal is to reach the podium, enjoy your hard work and thank your great coaches and team mates who helped you achieve your goal, then I emplore you to take on the challenge. Step on to the mat and "throw the dice" in competition as my coach always says.

A lot of people train and love Jiu Jitsu but not everyone loves to compete some people have strong skill and can tap their entire team but once they step to the mat in competition they fold. There's no telling why some perform poorly in competition, stress, fear, anxiety, lack of proper mental focus... I don't know. Whatever it is I know one of the things that helped me early in my training was to step on the mat regularly and have fun in competition. No you don't win every match (even the best in the world get tapped) but the endeavor for greatness builds strong character, trust in your skills and provides a nice testing ground for newly acquired lessons. And you never forget the mistakes made in competition. I think this may be one of the greatest rewards to competing, finding your flaws and making improvements.

So enjoy your training but take the challenge and compete when you feel ready. I know you will love the experience and build upon your ever growing knowledge and love for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Happy training to all.

Kenneth Knapp
C-Quence Jiu Jitsu
Norco, CA

End of Year Wrap Up - Another Fun Year of Competition

Well 2009 brought ups and downs for me but it also brought some new accomplishments and great learning opportunities.

The year began with the Pan Ams and World Championships. This year I got to meet three of my heroes of BJJ None other than world championships competitors, Marcelo Garcia and Rafael Lovato Jr. Both wonderful competitors were kind enough to stop for a picture with me and our team. I also got to meet one of the reasons I began studying BJJ, Master Lloyd Irvin and his fantastic team at this year's American National. It was great to finally meet that man that inspired me to begin training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. you never who you are going to meet at your next BJJ tournament.


One of the funnest tournament experiences I had was at OTM's Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Championships. As almost a goof I entered three divisions of competition Master's Middle Weight, Light Heavy Adult and Light Heavy Masters. I came close to going for it and fighting in the Open as well but I had had enough for one day and ended up taking home three medals for my troubles.



All in all this year marked another mile stone in my path to my Black Belt and my goal of winning a gold medal at a IBJJF sanctioned event, the ultimate would be a gold medal at the World championships fighting in an adult category (that's me at 40 fighting 18 and older adult competitors, you gotta love a challenge). I've still got two silvers at the American National and one silver at the American International as my high water mark thus far but hope in 2010 I will have an opportunity to jump on the mat at many more tournaments.

To date I've got just 10 medals hanging on my wall in my office but over time I've realized it's not the tin on your wall that matters, but the memories and lessons learned on the mat during competition that truly endure and teach the most in your career.

A competitor never forgets the sweet sensation of victory, overcoming a nemesis or suffering a loss. Each moment is permanently etched in your mind and memory to be pondered and reviewed time after time. Hopefully to be recalled and used as motivating tools in future battles yet to be fought.

The reality of competition is the vast majority of individuals who walk on to the mat of a studio, gym or dojo will never enter the octagon, mat or field of competition. The lucky few who take up the fight to challenge themselves to be their best and endure the riggers of preparation, perfect practice, endless cardio workouts, drills, cutting weight and finally competition stand to learn more about themselves in a few minutes of battle than years of training can teach.

Each competitor winner or loser is a champion of his cause, a hero to someone in their life and possibly a role model for generations to come. I challenge anyone who reads this post to take up the challenge, sign up for your first tournament and experience the lessons to be learned within and without by stepping onto the competitive mat and hearing the words... "COMBATE"!

So it's almost Christmas, I'm happy, healthy, and fit. I look forward to seeing my friends, challengers and fellow competitors on the mat in 2010. All the best from C-Quence Jiu Jitsu and my family.

Best Regards and Happpy Holidays to You and Yours!

KK

Fourth Blue Belt Stripe Earned Dec 11th 2009!!!!

It's been a long anticipated moment for me to receive my final Blue Belt stripe on my way to testing for my Purple Belt. It came as a surprise on Dec 11th just after our Gi Advanced Class. To say I was excited is an understatement.

I am extremely eager to work even hard on my way to my Purple Belt test and many more years of competition and ever increasing technical understanding of this fantastic martial art.

with any luck I'll be testing for my Purple Belt sometime in Summer 2010 if all goes well.

Best Regards,

Kenneth "JitFU" Knapp
Blue Belt - fourth stripe
C-Quence Jiu Jitsu

Black Belt - children's instructor
Kung Fu San Soo
http://kungfusansooriverside.com

BJJ Seminar - Master Joe Moreira Nov 14th 2009

C-Quence Jiu Jitsu hosted a second fantastic instructional seminar by Master Joe Moreira Nov 14th 2009 at our sister school Knock Out Riverside home of Black Belt Instructor Anthony Del Valle. Over 45 students enjoyed plenty of one on one time with one of the true pioneers of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

One of the most talked about highlights of this seminar was Joe's open Q&A at the end of an outstanding guard passing and submission defense seminar. What was most amazing was to not see and hear from a living legend of BJJ but for the first time get to be an active participant as Joe's demonstration partner. It's amazing how many tiny details are realized simply by feeling the technique of such a high degree instructor inaction. I know I like many others took away powerful new techniques and tiny devastating details to add to our arsenal for competition and for self defense.

My personal technique was Joe's triangle escape. One of which came down to proper posture and hip pressure, amazingly simple yet powerful escape.




For the first time my young son Zachariah came to watch, learn and meet Joe and our entire team. I know in time Zach will feel the draw of the mat and possibly pick up where his old man leaves off in this wonderful art.

As always Joe's visit marks yet another highlight in my path to understanding this wonderful diverse and devastating martial art.

I look forward to his next visit with eager anticipation.

Best Regards,

Kenneth Knapp
Blue Belt - four stripe (we're getting closer!)

Third Stripe Earned - One Step Closer to Purple Belt!

So it's been quite a while since my last rank advancement. I was beginning to think my coach had forgotten about me. ;-) J/K It's been a challenging but fun season thus far with the Pan Ams and World's in the bag. Our team is excited as ever to continue competing in tournaments across CA and beyond.

Last night I got to roll with King of The Cage Super Heavy Weight World Champion Neil "Chaos" Cooke once again. It's always a pleasure to be tossed around by Neil. He's a tough competitor but he's always helpful to everyone on Team C-Quence, even us geezers. Thanks for the roll Neil!

After class, our instructor John Kvenbo Munoz reviewed the team's performance at Worlds and handed out a few rank advancements, well more than a few. One of the lucky students to get a fresh new stripe was yours truly. Yippeee... I'm a Three Stripe Blue Belt!

I've been pretty excited to take this next step closer to my purple belt. As most competitors know Blue Belt can be a sketchy time in your advancement. It's a time where bad habits stand out like "North Star Zits" in your game and it's a time to refine and solidify trusted go to techniques in your winning strategy, all the while trying to learn as much new technique as you can.

As in every martial art BJJ students must face long up-hill climbs in the learning process, long flat plateaus where nothing feels right and enormous leaps forward in sudden explosive advances in skill. I think my Blue Belt experience has been all of this and more for me. It's been a great time for me to focus my game, learn where my bad habits are and reinforce new knowledge and old to become a better more skilled competitor. But man do I have sooooooo long to go. :-)

So it's back to the mat in preparation for the many tournaments that still lay ahead. I'm excited for the rest of the season and am looking forward to some good learning experiences along the way.

Thanks to everyone who has been helping me to become a better Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioner and competitor.

Happy Training,

Kenneth Knapp
Blue Belt, III Stripes
C-Quence Jiu Jitsu
Chief Instructor John Kvenbo Munoz
Norco, CA

2009 IBJJF World Championships - Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

First let me start with our top news! Highlights for Team C-Quence include two World Championship medalists: Johnny Monuz brought home Silver in blue belt juvenile light feather division (only losing by a single advantage point in the gold medal round to a brazilian) and Claudia Martinez Kvenbo brought home Bronze in brown/black belt division female light feather division. Claudia had amazing competition:

Round 1
Kanako Inaba – black belt
ac. Champion JJ

(and)

Round 2
Leticia Ribeiro – black belt
ac. Gracie Humaita

Congratulations to our medalists this year. I know our instructor, John Kvenbo Munoz is proud of his wife and son for their fantastic achievements and for what our team accomplished this year. I know he has high hopes for the coming years as well. Congrats also to Team Lloyd Irvin’s juvenile team for bringing home second place overall this year! Nice work guys and gals. Traveling all the way from MD to compete. That’s pretty cool stuff!

And now on to my results and comments from 2009 World BJJ Championships. This year marks my third world championships (one year as white belt and two as blue belt). To be clear the white belt tournament held at the same time as the world championships is not considered part of the world’s so for the record I have now competed in the world’s twice as a blue belt.

This year I held a simple but realistic goal of winning my first round match up. As a 39 year old competitor in all other tournaments I would normally fight in the Masters or Seniors 1 age brackets (at age 40 Seniors 2 will be my usual age bracket), but lucky me at worlds they host only an adult division (Men 18 years and older, normally capped at age 29). So if you wish to compete in the worlds without traveling to Brazil for the Masters/Seniors Worlds this is your opportunity to fight the best of the best.

My first match is a perfect example of why I think a lot of guys over thirty don’t jump into this particular tournament. I was matched up against a very game Chris Garci. He’s a 19 year old fighter with excellent movement and flow in his game. With a 20 year age difference I figured I had my hands full but I was focused on throwing everything I had at this match to achieve my goal. Here’s how our match was listed June 04, 2009:

Christopher Garci
ac. Brasa USA
(vs.)
Kenneth Knapp
ac. C Quence Jiu-Jitsu



In the end Chris pulled guard and got a sweep. During our exchange I believe he was nearly awarded 4 back points but my defense was strong and held up. Our match up was filled with a lot of him attacking and me defending from turtle. I had an opportunity to level the scoreboard when we ended up standing and I had his back. I dumped him to his right shoulder and rather than rolling into to turtle Chris shot his legs up and out (like a break dancer egg rolls) and he landed in side position (pretty cool move that caught my attention). Chris earned 2 points I believe our entire match. I had a chance or two at take downs but didn’t capitalize. I was bummed but for the first time I made it through my entire first match at the World Championships and kept it close, my game held up. Overall this match allowed me to see many areas where I need to focus on my game so it was very rewarding for me. I enjoyed it and look forward to my next attempt at achieving my ultimate goal of winning gold at the World Championships.

Disappointingly, I didn’t get passed my first match up but I felt that this had been my best performance to date at the Worlds so I felt bad but good at the same time.

As most of my fellow competitors know the one thing on your mind after your tournament day is done is food. So the only solace I was left with was my $6.00 burger/fries and the fact that I was heading home uninjured, accept for my pride perhaps.

The highlight of my day aside from meeting Coach Lloyd Irvin and Ryan Hall face-to-face at this year’s event was the fact I finally got to meet a couple of my heros, Marcelo Garcia & Rafael Lovato Jr.. I think the only thing that can bring you out of a negative funk after losing in the first round of a big tournament is perhaps taking some cool shots with guys you greatly respect in our sport.



So in the end my I showed up, did my thing but was left wanting. Until next year…same time, same place. ;-)

As a final note most people I know do not train or compete in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu so it’s hard for them to understand what we do and why we do it. Today’s event pitted 117 trained competitors in the Adult, Middle Weight, Blue Belt division against each other. In the end four men (1 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze medalists) walk away with a little piece of glory around their necks and a title that exemplifies the pinnacle of achievement in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competition.



The heart wrenching angst of BJJ competition is no matter what happens in a match one man/woman wins and one man/woman loses. It must needs be there is defeat in every victory.

I’m now looking forward to defending my championship at this year’s US Open, California Classic and American National where I will face competitors in my age, weight and belt level. It will be fun to say the least.

A special thank you to the great competitors who I met this year especially Marcelo Garcia, Rafael Lovato Jr., thanks for the pictures gentlemen. A special shout out to coach Lloyd Irvin and his team for traveling from MD to compete and take home a couple of medals and one title thus far, great work coach! I’d also like to say thank you so much to Ryan Hall for the invite to 50/50. I can’t wait to get to the East Coast to roll with that guy. Love that triangle game. ;-)




See you on the mat, train hard and stay healthy.

Kenneth Knapp
Blue Belt
C-Quence Jiu Jitsu

Repost from BJJTraining.com - Neil “Chaos” Cooke wins the King of the Cage super heavyweight title

I know this is a late post but I wanted to include it in my blog. Neil is a personal friend and great guy, my wife also does his hair from time to time in preparation for his fights. Everyone who trains with Neil or knows him is thrilled with his accomplishments in MMA and the fact he is truly a great ambassador to the sport. (Watch for his upcoming interview in MMA Magazine July 2009).

Pinnacle fighter Neil “Chaos” Cooke wins the King of the Cage super heavyweight title

On February 26, 2009, at the San Manual Bingo and Casino in San Bernardino, California, King of the Cage held its Immortal Mixed Martial Arts event. Our very own Pinnacle fighter Neil Cooke was getting his first opportunity to capture a title championship. His opponent was a tough MMA veteran named the “King of the Streets” Chance Williams.

The actual fight did not last long, but provided much excitement to the sold-out crowd. When the bell rang, both fighters Neil and Chance met in the middle of the cage and exchanged a quick 1-2 punch before clinching up. Chance weighing in at over 315 lbs by fight time had little trouble picking up the 268-lb Neil Cooke and driving him to the ground.

Neil quickly scrambled to his feet and both fighters gamely went through several combinations before Chance was able to achieve the clinch and take Neil to the ground for a second time. However, Neil showed no signs of quitting and again got up to his feet. Once on his fee,t a battle ensued with both fighters trying to get dominate clinch position.

Neil fended off several takedown attempts and after a scramble, Neil got a dominate top position on Chance. Neil wasted no time in delivering some devastating ground-n-pound punches which forced Chance to assume a turtle position to protect himself. Neil seized the opportunity to rotate to the side maintaining good hip control and pinning Chance to the ground along the cage. Neil began to deliver some heavy punches to the side of Chance’s face and after a barrage of un-answered punches it appeared that Chance was no longer able to protect himself and the referee stepped in and called a stop to the fight 3 minutes into the match.

Neil “Chaos” Cooke is now the King Of the Cage Super Heavyweight Champion—a well-deserved victory for a well-trained MMA fighter. Neil Cooke appears to have a bright future in MMA and we all look forward to his continued rise into the elite class of heavyweights.