Okay, so i have to let you know my intentions for today’s post.  This is not a “do I look fat in this dress” post.  I am not looking for hugs or reassurance.

But what I do want to do is touch on something that happens in training.  I have been through this several times, and I have seen many other students struggle with it as well.

There are times when I am on fire.  I feel that I am learning so much.  I feel I am getting so much better.

And then there’s days like today.

My sensei asked me to cover for him and teach a class last night.  Candidly, I didn’t want to.  I didn’t feel up to the task.  I didn’t feel worthy.  I felt like a farce.

I don’t know why.  I look at my technique in class, and even in those areas I was doubting myself as I taught, my technique really was spot on.  It’s not just teaching the class either.  It’s my training in general… I just feel like I suck right now.

I know, it may sound like I’m accepting passengers for the pity train here.  That’s not my intention.  What I really wanted to do was share a little bit.  I have seen others feel this way.  If you ever feel this way, please know you’re not alone.  We all go through it.

Even though I know that’s true, I find it’s not making me feel any better right now   And this may not make you feel any better.  But at least you know you’re not alone.  And I for one, do not intend to give up.

I’ll see you on the mat!

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Okay, so before I start this review I just have to get it out on the table:  I’m fat.

I’m not huge, but I am a large man (6 feet tall, 260 lbs.)  But I’m guessing that there are a fair number of you out there that live the same pains that I do.  I am tired of not being able to buy a shirt at Kohls, the Buckle, or Target because my shoulders are too broad.  I’m tired of Walmart thinking that 3XL means a shirt as wide as a tent that’s made for a person 5’9″.

I am also tired of Gi’s that don’t fit.  It seems like every Gi review I read has a section on “fit”, and the answer seems to always be “just fine.”  Well, I’m not built like a GI Joe action figure, and I am tired of buying gi’s that don’t close good in the front, or that hang down too long in the arms in order to get one big enough in the torso.  For me, most Gi’s don’t score well at all in “fit”.  So, if this is you, read on:

Today I will be reviewing the Beefy Cut Silverback Gi from Gorilla Gi’s (out of Canada.)  This Gi is specifically designed for us big guys, but they have several other models for different body styles which I would assume are of similar quality as what I have experienced with the Silverback.

Experience

I traded several emails with Mike over at Gorilla Gear in arranging to get a Gi for review.  He was great to work with.  Not only was my interaction with them very personable and friendly, but very timely as well.  Any questions I had, Mike would get back to me right away.  Even beyond answering my questions, I found Mike proactively getting ahold of me to update me on the status of things.

I have spoke n to several other Gi companies recently, either about reviews, or about reselling their products, and I have found that this level of responsiveness is unfortunately not the norm for many other companies.  I was very pleased to deal with Gorilla, and would not hesitate to do so again.

Quality

In looking at the Silverback for quality, I found that this product is far superior to other products I have looked at.  Several things jumped out at me immediately:

Taping/piping:

It’s not uncommon to see contrast taping in a Gi.  Generally you’ll see this inside the cuffs of the Gi top, and inside the legs around the ankles.  It adds a nice visual effect, and it can help with comfort as well.

Gorilla took this several steps further than other Gi’s I have seen.  Not only are the cuffs on both pants and top done with a gray taping that contrasts nicely against the black Gi, but this same taping runs along all of the seams inside the Gi top, and throughout the stitching in the seat of the bottoms as well.  The seams are already triple stitched for strength, but this additional taping adds yet another level of strength, as well as comfort.  This type of attention to detail is found all over the Gi.

Unfortunately however, this does give rise to the one and only problem that I did run into with the Gi.  The piping throughout this gi adds nicely to the look, and makes it stronger.  The piping around the inside of the collar however, really isn’t needed for strength… it’s more cosmetic.  That would be fine, but I found that for me the piping tore a little with a hard choke.

I spoke to Mike over at Gorilla about this, and he says that they have only had this problem once before.  But since the piping there really is cosmetic, and they have now had this problem twice, he says they will likely not keep it in the collar on the next batch.  Additionally, he let me know that they replaced the other gi that had this problem, and would happily replace any gi that had such an issue.

If it were not for this one minor issue I would have scored the Gi a perfect 5 stars, which rating I assure you I do not issue lightly.

Double thick knees:

The front of both legs on the Silverback is double thick, and done with rows of gray stitching that contrasts nicely against the black.

Ties:

The Silverback has five loops along the front of the Gi to feed the high quality bungee roping through.  This is a really great design for a Gi in general, and especially for a big guy, the addition loops mean better support, and the thicker roping means a gentler experience that a thin cord.

Unfortunately, although the bungee was super comfortable, after wearing and washing the gi I found that it didn’t hold up as well as I had hoped.  I will likely head over to Lowes and grab another cord to replace it with. 

Comfort patch:

I nice little addition that Gorilla Gear did on this Gi is what I like to call the “comfort patch” ( in reality it’s a gusset, but I prefer comfort patch .  For both comfort, and for long-term durability they took a big patch of the same gold weave material they use in the Gi top and put it right into the crotch area of the pants.  All of the seams around it on the inside are also covered with the cloth taping for strength and comfort as well.  This Gi really is covered with various cool attentions to detail like this.

Stitching:

This gi has gray stitching contrasting against the black all over.  I am stickler on stitching.  I have had some Atama rip stop pants that were coming un-stitched all over the place.  Since then, I really inspect the stitching for any such problems.

I’m pleased to say that I can spot no such issues on my Gorilla gi.  This gi is solid and tough.

Fit:

Okay, now this is where this gi really jumps ahead of the competition.  Gorilla makes Gi’s special cut for us big guys (this Beefy Silverback) but they also make special cuts for the smaller guys as well.  As soon as I slipped these pants on I know I was hooked.  They fit me sooo nice.  They didn’t slip down during practice.  they didn’t feel like a cinched up gunny sack.  They weren’t too long on me.  They just felt good.  I really can’t tell you how much that meant to me.

As for tops, I think it’s important to contract it to a normal fit.  Thus far, I have been forced to wear A5′s in order to fit around me.  I have been working a lot lately in a Gameness, as well as in my Atama Mundial #9.  On both of these other gi’s  I find that they hang far too long on my arms (regardless of how many times I wash them in hot.)  These other gi’s also leave too much slack under my armpits.

Right out of the package the Silverback was a nice change (I would never be able to fit in a normal A4.)  The sleeve length is nice, and the sleeves are a bit roomier than a normal Jiu Jitsu Gi (about halfway between Jiu Jitsu and Judo sleeves.)  It feels nice in the chest, without the extra slack of an A5.

The skirt length however is just long enough out of the package, and a bit on the short side after wearing and washing it.  Some folks in class tried it on, and I find that it fits really great for someone a couple of inches shorter than me (One of them is online ordering one right now.)  I think that the combination of my height, as well as having a big gut in this gi is just a bit more than makes for a great fit.

It appears that although the pants are a DREAM, in the top rather than an A4X I need to find an A4XX-Tall (which breaks my heart, because I LOVE this gi.)

If you’re 5’10″, or maybe closer to 230 rather than 260, my guess is the fit should be amazing.

Pants

Top (As an update (Feb 2011): although the A4X pants fit me superbly, I wasn’t willing to stick with a top this amazing that only fit 3 stars worth… I ordered the top separate as an A5x, and LOVE it.  It fits my body so well, without the arms being too long like they are on other GI’s.  The arms on the A5X are a bit wider at the openings than the A4x, such that they fit more like a Judo sleeve than a Jiu Jitsu one, but Mile at Gorilla Gear says he’s changing that on future batches.  If I scored the top with the A5X I have now I’d give it a 4.5 out of 5.)

Appearance

Again, I tend to get frustrated with this section of most gi reviews.  Appearance is so subjective.  What reviewer is really going to say, “This gi is ugly as hell”?

You can see the pictures.  You decide.  I think this is a good looking Gi.  I tend to like a little more patchwork on a gi, so I will be adding a few patches to this one.

On thing I do really like however, is how the brand sells the look.  There are not too many things you can print on a Gi that says “fat guy gi” but in a flattering way.  I gi that says Gorilla expresses that I am big, that I know it, and that I’m proud of it.  I think that’s important.

I don’t intend to rate any gi on appearance… But you can tell what my opinion is

Would I buy another one?

Okay, so all of this information is nice, but where the rubber really hits the road is this: If I were going to buy another gi, would it be this one?

Unfortunately, this isn’t just a simple yes or no on this one.  Let me start with the first part of my answer: I would absolutely recommend this gi for purchase by someone else.  For someone 5’10″ or shorter I think this A4X is one of the best gi’s I’ve ever seen.  For someone taller I’m sure the A5x would help with the broadness that other A5′s just don’t address.

Would I buy another for myself?  Well, let’s start with the pants: These are my favorite pants I have worn.  I really like the lightweight rip-stop of my Atamas, but the quality and fit of the Gorilla gi pants is just far superior.  I love these pants and will likely be ordering more over time.

The top: Well, if I can manage to lost some weight I might consider ordering another.  If I can convince Make to make me a gi a little longer in the torso, and a tiny bit bigger around, I will order one without hesitation.  At my current height, and current weight however, the fit just isn’t quite right.

I have however, spoken to Mike, and I may well be purchasing an A5 top and having the arms shortened.

Summary: Great gi.  Really impressed with it and the company.  Very nice for broader folks.  Take your measurements and contact them though… I think the sizing chart doesn’t work for everyone.  I plan to customize one if needed to make it fit, since I like it so much.

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In Judo class last night I worked with Sensei Bill Closs, who showed me a nice way to set up Osoto gari, or several other similar throws.

To start of this sequence, we started from our basic Judo stance, with each of us taking a fairl standard grip, and fighting right foot forward.
From there,Bill takes a step back with his right foot, and gives a good tug on the collar in order to really commit my weight to my (now forward stepping) left foot.  With all of the weight over that left foot, Bill reaches out to hit my trailing leg with a sweep.

Here you can see him starting to reach for the Kosoto gari (very similar to a deashi barai).

From this position, Bill sweeps the leg across with his Kosoto Gari (as you can see him beginning to do in the second picture here.)

Now, hopefully the opponent just goes down from the Kosoto Gari.  But, that’s not always the case.  That’s why the next move is set to capitalize on an opponent who has recovered, or is recovering from the Kosoto.

Here, Bill steps out with the left foot, leaning in and creating forward motion to begin to execute on the Osoto Gari.

You’ll also note in this picture that I am doing an excellent job of preparing to fall down.  That is but one of my many Judo talents

Finally, Bill steps in to execute the move.  Here Bill is doing an Osoto Gari, but this setup is just as nice for several other moves (I tend to like an Osoto Makikomi here.)

Bill ran through this several times, and it really is a nice setup.  The initial move of pulling one way, then back the other as you sweep is a nice momentum changing kazushi breaker.  It was also interesting that even if the person recovers really well from the Kosoto/deashi move, they tend to be in a bad spot.  In one case the foot pulled clear back to a point similar to where it was, but the backpedaling had begun, which made attacking very effective.

In addition to the text and pictures, we shot a quick video of the combination.  I hope it’s helpful.  Thanks Bill!

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Back in the beginning of September I wrote an article about how I was suffering from Tennis elbow due to may activities in Judo and Jiu Jitsu.

At the time I was extremely worried and frustrated over the pain that I was in, and really didn’t feel that I was finding good answers to my key questions.  Well, it’s a couple of months later now and I wanted to share my experience with others in the hope that it might be of help, or at least give insight or some hope for recovery to others.

How can Tennis Elbow happen:

I found a lot of information on this front that was confusing to me.  It seemed to indicate that the condition was caused by repetitive movements.  But I specifically hurt mine in a grappling tournament where I was fighting really hard (but not in repetitive ways.)  I have also read some articles that seem to indicate it can be caused by being under hydrated during your workouts.  I can’t say for sure rather it was a hydration problem for me.  But I will say:  The tension on the joints and tendons in various forms of grappling definitely seem to be able to cause this.  In my explorations I found a lot of grapplers asking for insights on this condition.

What are the Symptoms of Tennis Elbow:

The first thing I started to do was understand where exactly tennis elbow should hurt.  Is it on the inside?  On the outside?  I found a lot of people writing about symptoms similar to but not exactly where mine was.  I did however, find that over time mine would hurt in different places (sometimes even in my wrist and should as well.)

Bottom line: If you have pain in your elbow that doesn’t seem to just go away like a sore muscle after a few days, if it especially hurts when your grip (for me the worst pain was gripping my laptop to lift it out of my computer bag), if it is more than just a pain, but actually feels like it makes you weak in the arm with certain actions, then you likely have a tendon condition (note: I’m not a doctor… these are only my opinions and experiences.)

Don’t fool yourself:

I spent a full month not taking this condition seriously enough.  I would take a few days off, and then convince myself I would just go “light.”  Then I took a whole week.  Then a bit more.  I was just getting worse.  I have (stupidly) fought through broken bones that were not fully healed, and in other conditions I should not have fought in.  None of them would punish me for my foolishness like Tennis Elbow.  Don’t shrug it off.  If you make it worse it will just take longer to heal.

How Long does Tennis Elbow take to Heal:

I found a lot of different reports on this front.  I will tell you mine.  By the end of an entire month I was no longer in constant pain.  It was enough better that I considered getting back on the mats.  But I would still do little things (like lifting that stupid laptop) that would remind me that it wasn’t really gone.  It wasn’t fixed.  I needed to give it time.

By the middle of the second month it got even more tempting.  I felt good.  I had strength back.  But still (less frequent) reminders of pain.

A full two months, which was so difficult for me to do that I wasn’t sure my self control was up to the test, was what it took for me to really feel fully healed.  I feel so much better now.  I’m glad I waited.

What can I do in the meantime to help it:

Ice bags were my best friend.  Use them very often.

Exercises.  If you want to find the right exercises, just search for “Tennis Elbow” on Youtube.  You’ll find tons of them.  Candidly, I never felt that they did much for me.  Maybe because I tend to be pretty strong.  Maybe they did help and I just don’t know… But I can’t tell you how much they help… I really don’t know.  I didn’t do them much.

Massage.  Find someone good at massage and have them really, really work that arm and elbow.  Warning: This is going to hurt like hell.  But afterward you’ll be shocked how much better it feels.  I was told by a masseuse that I makes the muscled surrounding the tendons more relaxed so the tendons can move more freely.  I don’t know the truth of why it helps, but I can tell you for sure that it does.

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Last night in Judo we worked on two different aspects of the same, key concept in Judo: Staying Mobile.

Mobility on the feet:

It is very difficult to throw someone who doesn’t move, and who doesn’t want to be thrown.  A bad Uke can make for a frustrating session.  If you look at the differences between beginning Judo students, and more advanced students, the most fundamental piece will be rather they are “accepting” or “taking.”

A beginning student will just attempt whatever throw they want.  They will reach out for that Osoto Gari rather the movement and Kazushi for it are right or not.  A more experienced student of Judo will “accept” the movement of their opponent, and utilize it.

This doesn’t mean you need to be passive, and wait.  But it does mean that you need to create movement in order to have movements to accept.  One of the most fundamental ways to do this is: Ashi Waza.

Ashi Waza is, essentially, foot technique.  This is made up of such moves as Ouchi Gari, Kouchi Gari, Deashi Harai, Hiza Guruma, Sasae Tsurikomi Ashi, and similar foot attacks.  As we step around and move with an opponent, Ashi waza opportunities open up everywhere.  Also, Ashi Waza techniques, even when they fail, create openings for other things.  Just as an example, I love to use Ouchi Gari to get an opponent to pull their leg back, setting up an Osoto Makikomi.

When we stay mobile, we create actions and reactions.  This gives us what we need to have motions and Kazushi changes to accept.

But although this sounds good in concept, in practice it is easy to still get so focused on what we want, rather than what is being given to us.

The exercise we worked with to help feel what is being “offered” was this:  Grab a partner, circle each other, and use your Ashi Waza (gently… we don’t want anyone falling yet.)  But do this with your eyes closed.  Don’t look and think about what you see.  Feel the Kazushi, their’s as well as your own.  Stay mobile.  Create movements, and feel the openings in Kazuhsi.

On the ground:

On the ground, it can be tempting at times to fight like a boa.  A boa grabs it’s prey and holds on.  Then it slowly advances… inch by inch.  There is no surprise.   The snake and the victim both know what the intent is.  The snake counts on its strength to do this.

Too often this can happen on the ground.  We get into a position of control.  It might be side control, mount, or whatever we tend to favor.  We then work slowly without giving up anything.  We might work for Americana, Collar choke, or a variety of things.  But we still hold, like that boa.

The problem is that this is very limiting as far as what we learn, or what our opponent learns.  There are few surprises in this methodical combat.

So what we did instead is this:

One person on bottom, the other on top in side control.  The goal is to submit your opponent.  But the key rule to this game is: You cannot hold any position longer than 10 seconds.  If you have someone in your guard, you must work to change position… sweep them, arm bar, something.  From side control you must submit them, or move… maybe north-south or knee in belly.  Keep mobile.  Keep fluid.  Learn and experience new things.  Keep them guessing.

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Gotta tell ya, I’m so proud of my son.  ty has been doing Judo for about 3 years now (since he was 13) and it has been great from him!  He has learned so much, and our dojo really is like our family (only maybe a little sweatier.)

Recently Ty’s efforts were recognized and he was advanced to the rank of Green Belt in Judo.  Ty did a great job on the test of hitting the various throws and Ashi Waza as well.

Congratulations Ty!

Thank you also to all of those who have helped to teach him, train with him, and put up with him

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For the last couple of months it has been pretty common for my elbow to hurt me after practice.  In particular I think it got a fair amount worse during a submission grappling tournament about 6 weeks ago where I had to face some really, really big opponents.

I’ve iced it.  I’ve done ibuprofen.  It will get feeling good, and then it will start hurting again.  Sometimes it even hurts in the wrist and up toward the shoulder as well… Definitely a tendon.

Well, I just kept hoping it would get better, but finally hurt it pretty good last week (actually, I hurt it gripping the chair in the dentist’s office believe it or not), and decided it was time to go see the doctor.

Doc says it’s Tennis Elbow.  Unfortunately he then proceeded to give me a whole lot of no-quick-fixes.  Apparently it’s an issue with the tendon, but isn’t inflammation.  That means that Ibuprofen may help with pain, but if you think taking it to keep the inflammation down is a good plan, you’re doing yourself no good.

He’s also not a big fan of Cortisone shots.

So, the plan is: several weird “drop-catch” exercises (put your arm on a desk, hold a light weight in your hand with the hand hanging off the edge of the desk.  Lift the weight up with your wrist, then let it “drop” by going limp in the wrist, but tense up again to “catch” it before it goes down all of the way.)  He says this will help to strengthen the tendon, and that doing these is really about all that can be done.

He also felt that Judo and Jiu Jitsu shouldn’t be a problem to continue (although I really don’t think he understood what in the heck they are.)  But that if practice makes it really, really hurt (he says 6 out of 10 on the pain scale… is that like a crotch kick?) that I may want to back off.

I’ll keep you posted on how this progresses.  Kind of a bummer really… was hoping for a magic shot or pill I guess.  Anyone else been through this?  Have any suggestions?

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I’ve been doing Judo and Jiu Jitsu for about three years now, and have been choked more times than I can count.  But up until this week I had never been actually choked all the way out.  I’m sure many or most of you have been through this before me.  But for those of you who have not, I wanted to share my trip down the rabbit hole

Well, for starters, the last week had been rough.  I have been on call for work, and had several issues arise at night to interrupt my sleep.  By Thursday night I was exhausted, and feeling pretty run down.  I don’t use this as an excuse for getting choked.  The choke was a great one.  I just found it interested how this element played into the night, and wanted to share.

That night at Hidden Valley we were working on chokes.  We also had a lot of newer students who have not worked their chokes much.  As I am normally pretty tough to choke, I worked with a lot of people that night to help them perfect their choke skills.

Now, as I said, I am normally pretty tough to choke out.  But when I do almost go out I find that after I tap out and am released my lips will go numb and tingly for a few seconds, my vision will tunnel, and I will be disoriented.  Not unlike a head rush from standing up too quickly, but with the addition of the numb lips.

Normally I might feel this once, or maybe twice in a night when we work chokes.  But it was getting that close literally every time.  I have never run into this before.  I am curious if others have seen this when they are run down and tired?

Things got really interesting when I was working with Little Hermosillo on his cross collar choke.  I asked him if he wanted it easy, or a little resistance.  He said to make it tough.  I resisted, and recall thinking he had it tight and I needed to tap.

- break for a trip down the rabbit hole -

Have you ever had one of those dreams where you go to work or school with no pants?  When you try to fix the problem it seems like you can’t no matter what.

Well, I started to wake up from a deep, deep sleep.  I was convinced I was having a dream about being in Judo class.  I was dreaming that I had fallen asleep in the Dojo, and was asleep for several hours, and that everyone was just standing around me.  Furthermore, I seemed unable to get my limbs to work right.  As I tried to move them they just flipped like fish flippers.

As I became more aware, I was sleep convinced that I had been asleep for quite some time (at least an hour.)  I looked up and asked those looking at me, “What’s going on?”

The response was, “You were unconscious.”

I was baffled… Still convinced that I had been sleeping for some time.  “For that long??” I asked.  Only to find out that I had only been out a few seconds.

Again, this may not be news to anyone else, but just in case you have ever wanted to ask “What’s it like to be choked out?”  I thought I’d share what the trip was like for me.

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My son and I competed in a Grappling tournament last weekend.  It was more like Jiu Jitsu than anything else.  We both did Gi and no-Gi divisions.

After the tournament I started really doing some soul searching on why I didn’t do better…  It reminded me of a scene from the movie Apocalypto.  Our hero attempts to defeat the handsome gentleman pictured here.  It doesn’t go so well.  In the picture, the victor is making the statement, “Almost,” (because the hero almost won,) “Your name is Almost.”  In the movie, “Almost” is translated into the word “Olac.”

Well, If I had to choose a fight name right now, Ifeel like I’d have to go with Olac.  Why is it that I never seem to finish the job??

I sat down and reviewed the videos of my fights.  The are a couple of the fights where I was just out done.  I did what I could, fought hard, but still lost.  I found that these didn’t bother me.

But half of my fights, I seem to tap when I really don’t look like I should.  In those cases, I feel that in a lower stress environment, like just in class rolling around, I could probably take these guys.  But on the mat in a competition these guys are beating me.  Why am I so quick to tap?

I had to painfully admit that they just wanted to win more than I did.

That didn’t taste very good.

But it has given me something to think on.  I always think about what move or position to improve on.  But this is a mental thing.  It’s different than technique.  What I really need is to grab someone better than me, and have them push me into ugly territory.  I need to keep from tapping so soon.  I need to sit, trapped in a position for a while, with no hope of escape; and be okay with that.  I need to hold longer, and fight harder.

This is an element of training that I think can be easy to overlook.  We are so used to tapping as soon as a good hold gets put on, with a brotherly, “nice job.”  But when do we work to fight that extra little bit to not tap.

Well, for me at least it appears that the answer is: Not often enough.

So, I begin my journey toward no longer being Olac.

Wish me luck

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Have you ever worked on something, and asked yourself, “Am I really trying hard enough?  Am I really giving my all?  Or am I slacking off?”

Well, good news folks.  When you’re really trying in Judo and Jiu Jitsu, it means that your opponent needs to get a pretty good grip on your Gi to pass your guard, or get a good throw.  Of course, we don’t want to really rely on strength… The real goal of these arts is to use our speed, technique, and kazushi.  But every once in a while, when you come home looking like this (which I did last night,)  you know you earned all of the sweat in that Gi

Heal well my friends.

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