I began my series of BJJ experiments last month, when I decided to go on a 4-week YouTube fast and reported the results. For the second round of BJJ experiments, I chose to go to a boatload of seminars.

It wasn’t exactly intentional. There just happened to be 3 amazing grapplers giving seminars at 3 different gyms, all in a one-month period. How to choose? Of course, how much I’d want to spend was also an issue, but I justified the expense to myself by remembering that attending an out-of-state grappling camp is far more spendy, when factoring airfare, hotel fees, and meals.

The first seminar on my roster was at my own gym–the amazing Lucas Lepri would not only be teaching a seminar, but would also be teaching classes at my gym, Alliance Jiu-Jitsu MN, twice a day for a week and a half. The first time I ever saw tournament footage of Lepri, I was absolutely blown away at watching him demolish his competition at such a high level. In addition to being a multi-time world champion, Lucas Lepri is also a fabulous instructor. His attention to detail is absolutely phenomenal, and he is incredibly humble and down-to-earth.

I always breathe a deep sigh of relief at seminars when this is the case, because let’s be honest: there’s something a bit intimidating about learning from the masters and knowing you’ll be butchering their world-class jiu jitsu in front of them, especially as a white belt. But my experience with Alliance has been second-to-none, and I remember how moved I was at a Fabio Gurgel seminar to see him spend the same level of time and detail helping a high school student improve her cartwheel during a warm-up as he did helping the highest level players in the room perfect the nuances of a complex technique. I’ve always been impressed with how professional everyone I’ve met from Alliance is, and Lepri is as classy as they come.

Training in the mornings and evenings is hard for me. Even though I’m self-employed, finding time to complete my work can be an issue, as is recovery. I’ve been pretty much blown away by the fundamentals curriculum taught at Alliance, and didn’t want to miss any of those classes, either, which were still being taught 4X a week at my academy, in addition to Lucas teaching 2X/day. And then there’s the logistical problem of washing gis. In any case, I managed to attend about 7 of the 15 classes Lucas taught at our gym, in addition to the seminar.

The warmups were no joke; 30 minutes of drills. I tried my very best to replicate the smooth, flowing movements I saw all around me, at times coming close and at times knowing I couldn’t do anything resembling anything like that. I kind of look at warm-ups as initiation sometimes, though–the price you have to pay to receive the knowledge coming at you next.

Lepri would only show 2-3 techniques per class, giving us plenty of time to drill as he corrected our mistakes with a stunning attention to detail. I’d rush home and take notes on everything I could remember, like I do after every class. And although I can’t say I’ve seamlessly incorporated some of the more complex material into my game yet (De La Riva and deep half guard passes, some multi-step sweeps, an innovative set-up for Ezekiel), he did teach a butterfly guard pass which has become my new favorite, and rolled with just about everyone over the course of the week and I’ve definitely thought about the pointers he’s given me. Lucas was also gracious enough to let me interview him for an article, and I learned so much from hearing about his background and  training philosophy, in addition to my own observation of how he coaches and trains: smart and balanced, incredibly patient, and as attentive as they come. It really was an honor.

But my seminar experiment wasn’t over yet. Next up was Bill “the Grill” Cooper from Paragon, a 27-time Grappler’s Quest champion and current Strikeforce fighter who was originally set to teach a 2-hour seminar at McCune’s Martial Arts, but then elected to stay to teach an additional 3 classes before heading back to Santa Barbara.

Training at a gym I don’t normally attend always gives me pause, as there’s always a high percentage chance of being the only female present which can be awkward for people who have never trained with women, which often leads to me not having anyone to partner with and having to con my way into the inevitable group of 3, or sometimes being paired with the only other woman present despite a significant size mismatch which makes it nearly impossible to drill a technique, etc. All the things I think about when trying to decide whether to attend a seminar. But I was on a mission, and none of these scenarios came into play as I found nice and helpful training partners right away, and even compared guard passes for little guys with my new buddies from Fargo after class.

Bill Cooper is incredibly laid back, but he wasted no time in getting the seminar started. No warm-up, just straight to technique. He just grabbed the toughest guy in the room and demonstrated a technique and it was time to go get started! At one point, he just rolled for a bit and taught random techniques as they came up. Some highlights from the seminar: BJ Penn’s dope mount, which is actually a pass to mount), some bow and arrow choke variations, a couple lapel chokes from side control (one with your lapel and one with your opponents), and a kimura crucifix sweep. We also worked on a mounted triangle, a hook sweep variation, and a couple deep half guard passes I can’t remember.

It was a ton of information packed into just a couple of hours, and the way Bill Cooper teaches is just like how he competes: loaded with energy, incredibly playful, somewhat experimental, and I bet he has the best parties, too! Aside from fun and games, though, he was very good at correcting any errors in technique almost instantaneously. Plus he had this uncanny ability to notice the most minute of details on what you were working on and commenting on them without skipping a beat. Like, at one point I was only doing a drill from one side because it was easier, and was unable to try it from the other side, but then after he left to help other people, I started drilling the other side and having more success, and the eyes on the back of his head noticed. The Grill is strangely psychic. Plus he called me sweetie, which made me blush, and made me less self-conscious about screwing up all of his competition-tested techniques in front of him. The guy also answered a lot of questions about competing and rolled with as many people as he could.

In the classes he taught at McCune’s the following days, we worked on backtakes from butterfly guard, half guard passes from standing, armbar variations, an omo plata setup, and a couple sweeps. Warm-ups would help us get ready for the moves we were about to learn, with similar muscle recruitment patterns.

I also got a private session, which was way more informal than others I’ve had but was exactly what I needed at the time. We just rolled and we’d pause periodically and I’d get some great pointers, work on them, and then reset. And I think being told my guard needs serious work by one of my favorite grapplers was exactly what I needed to get me really thinking about ways to improve it–which I’ve been diligently doing ever since. Anyway, I’d say this seminar experience was a win.

My last seminar was Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu, who was teaching at Next Level in Woodbury. Although I was the only female in attendance, I knew I’d have no problems finding training partners because the 10th Planet affiliate is jam packed with really nice students, who are mostly white and blue belts and mostly my size. Plus I’ve trained there before as a drop-in.

We started with some warmups, including going upside down, and I’d expect nothing less from the creator of the tornado guard. I can’t say I’m anywhere near proficient at this, but it’s nice to get a little taste of it.

We worked on multiple half-guard sweep variations, including one from Z-guard and some type of hook sweep. I was getting some of the techniques by the end of class, but am definitely looking forward to reviewing them at some point. Maybe that’s another challenge with attending seminars as a beginner…unlike a regular class, having an off day is a bigger deal.

Instead of just teaching techniques, Cyborg really wanted to get across some of his coaching philosophy and stories. He spoke a lot about not relying on instructors but taking responsibility for your own training, and working to understand BJJ conceptually. He asked a student to walk towards the heavybag in the back of the room and then had a lot of people stand and asked him to do the same thing. I believe he was attempting to make a point about not being distracted by things you don’t expect, and just to make your own way. Unfortunately, making up moves to mess with my friends, as Cyborg describes himself as doing, is beyond my ability level as a grappler at this point.

He also shared another story about setting things up–how it’s easier to kill a bird by putting seeds on the ground and hiding behind the bush behind where you know the bird will land than it is to randomly shoot at birds in the air. When you’re a white belt, you just have one seed and one bullet, Cyborg said, but as a black belt you have a roomful of birds and tons of dynamite. Something to look forward to.

It was also really cool watching Cyborg roll; his creativity and skill on display right before our eyes.

Experiment Debriefing

Compliance was high. I attended all 3 seminars, 10 additional classes and a private session over the course of the month.

Challenges were primarily in my head and involved stepping out of my comfort zone and taking the risk of looking clueless in front of world champions, not getting a move down and frustrating my training partner (and myself), not having anyone to work with or dealing with gym drama. None of this really came up. Other challenges were logistical (making time for the events, doing tons of laundry, taking steps for adequate recovery.)

Observations: As a relative beginner, I don’t know if I get quite as much out of a seminar as I do from classes technique-wise, but seminars are a whole lot of fun. It is unrealistic to expect myself to instantly memorize and incorporate every move I learn, but if I can pick up a couple moves, improve a few things in my own game due to feedback in real time and get jazzed and inspired, it is worth it.

Benefits: A change of pace, seeing new and interesting things, being in the presence of some really amazing people, being able to ask questions.

What I Learned: Go s-l-o-w-l-y when applying shoulder locks. Some fun new variations from rear mount. 2-3 guard passes. Oh and apparently, my guard sucks.

Going Forward: I may not ever attend 3 seminars a month again, but I’ll definitely catch some.

Next up: Experiment #3 will be the opposite of #1, so stay tuned. I’ll post it on March 13th or so.