Checking Your Ego by the Door

I can't seem to stop emphasize how much we need each other in order to progress in BJJ. Many would seem to see BJJ as an individual sport, but the fact that we cannot practice without training partners proves that the team element on this sport is more than what it looks like to the common eye, thus the more need to check our egos at the door.

"Ego is the BJJ demon," says our very own Jedi Master Niko Han. It's something we all struggle with, all of the time, at every stage of BJJ, on and off the mat.

Ego is what makes someone crank a submission.
Ego is what stops someone from tapping when they should.

It can just mean you're afraid of losing, have to "win" every roll (even though it's not a competition), especially with those you perceive to be less skillful or physically weaker. The ego is also what stops you from rolling with certain people for fear of losing. Now, this attitude is what will eventually slow down the learning process for a number of reasons.

First, not throwing down ego will hinder us from taking care of our training partner, as we are very likely not to give our opponent any chance to tap and injure them. Remember that training partner will be the ones pushing you further, and injuring a training partner means everyone, including you, will lose a training partner for at least 6 weeks, thus hindering your learning process.

Secondly, tap early. It's not worth it to get injured in training and lose precious training time just for a bloated ego. Tapping early doesn't mean you suck, or wimpy. It means that you have a lion's heart to admit your weakness, reflect on what happened, train, and close that weakness on the next day as opposed to taking 6 week break from injuries. Even guys like Helio Soneca Morreira was submitted by Synergy's very own Max Metino during a seminar when Max was still a white belt, and Helio didn't mind at all.

Thirdly, always take an extra care when training with the following groups: someone weaker than you, newbies, or women. Throw away your ego when training with this group. There is no shame in losing to a weaker and smaller training partner or a newbie, as the art is designed for the weak to triumph against the strong. Nevertheless, you have to take extra care under these circumstances, as lighter people will take more weight relative to theirs when fighting a heavier and stronger opponents. Newbies, on the other hand, tend to lack the experience to know dangerous positions and sometimes might not tap in time. Finally, women, tend to have lighter bones and weaker pound-per-pound. So, when training with these three groups (even more so if a person is included to more than one of these groups), check your ego at the door, and use it as a chance to train your technique, sensitivity, reflexes, and finesse (detil2 halus). This is what make black belts stand out of the crowd.

Finally, let's not forget that our club is named "Synergy". Having “synergy” means no bloated ego, nor about who's the king of the hill, but about improving and supporting each other during training, so that your training partner can improve and push you even further and able to make you a better fighter.

So, throw away the ego - even the great Royler Gracie during the August 2008 seminar in Bali claimed that the miracle escape to triangle choke is nothing more than a tap. He said that because he checked his ego at the door. And that what makes him what he is now.

Relocation Update 2

Friends,

Good News! With the negotiations with Hotel Bumi Karsa at Bidakara finalised and the mats for training obtained, and we can start training today.

Classes held every Monday and Wednesday on 20:00-22:00

The details for the venue will be as follows:
Oceania Fitness Center
Hotel Bumi Karsa 3rd Floor
Komplek Bidakara
Jl. Jend. Gatot Subroto Kav.71-73
Pancoran, Jakarta 12870
Tel: +6221 8379 3555



Images: bidakara.co.id

For reference, it's the highrise building after Shell Petrol Station at Pancoran.
For those who has concerns on the traffic from Kuningan, there is an entry via "jalan tikus", as we Indonesians call them, near Plaza GRI / Graha GRI (Great River Indonesia), as shown on the map.

So, we're moving down to Bidakara. What about Cityloft and Wisma Bakrie 2?
We're not actually moving. WE ARE EXPANDING. Bidakara is not temporary. It will be a new Synergy BJJ club, and we are opening up new clubs at City Loft and Wisma Bakrie 2. Currently, we are finalising negotiations with the gym management on the pricing, packages, and schedule. We should be able to start training as early as next Monday, 23 February 2009.

BJJ on Domestic Violence

One day, a female acquaintance which has not trained in martial arts asked me during a coffee break, “What’s Brazilian Jiu Jitsu?”

After giving a brief explanation, she asked me one another question, “Well, all martial arts that I saw started from a standing position, but what if someone held you down while you were on the ground?”

Dumbfounded, and praying she’s alright, I asked, “Why?”

Apparently, her best friend had just seen a lawyer to file a Domestic Violence case, and my friend was being told a very graphic description of what had happened - he sneaked into her room while she was sleeping and began by holding her to the bed with one leg between hers, one arm covering her mouth and the other around her pelvis.

While I will not go into details on the outcome of the ordeal, there are a number of points that I'd like to point out on this conflict from a self-defense perspective.

Firstly, based on the description of the incident that I was told, the position is strikingly similar to half guard. With neither of them had any background on the grappling arts, the position was achieved rather “instinctively” by the assailant, showing that the positions that we learn on sparring sessions are very much real and applicable to real situations.

Secondly, the above situation shown that, unlike the common belief, there are situations where fights do start on the ground with absolutely no chance of maintaining stand up position, showing more importance of having groundfighting as part of the self defense arsenal. More importantly, when such situations happen, it is very likely that the situation starts with the assailant positioned on top and the victim on the back, which proves that there is a huge advantage of having knowledge on BJJ. Why? As most probably aware, BJJ syllabus provide wide array of defensive and offensive movements with the practitioner lying on their backs – ranging from a hold to maintain position to reversals and even submissions.

Thirdly, while women should benefit more from BJJ as BJJ is meant to overcome stronger and larger opponents with technique, personally I find it quite ironic that I’ve encountered relatively fewer female practicing BJJ, both in percentage and in number, compared to other martial arts which I had trained in or seen. Most are uncomfortable being in close contact with the opposite sex during training, find it overwhelming to go against the guys, or simply sees no need for martial arts or self-defense training (and join a martial arts class for the aerobic part and being part of a trend).

So, next time you’re wondering if all those hard work drilling the techniques into the back of your head really works in real-life situations, and not only for the tournaments, remember this scenario. When people are wondering why we start sparring on the ground and whether there are self-defense scenarios start on the ground, remember this scenario. When people start question as of why women should learn self defense – especially with having their loved ones to protect them, remember this scenario, where the assailant is the one that supposedly protect the victim.

Change of Location - FAQ + Updates

For some members of the club, the issue might have been known since end of last month, but I believe there should be an explanation to all club members on what is going on.

Are the classes gone?
Yes - there will be no more training in Fit by Beat Setiabudi. But only for the better. Continue reading the FAQ.

With the classes gone, is the club out for good?
Absolutely NOT! We may be out of Setiabudi, but only to become stronger than ever. We might be down for a week or two at most, but we are in the process of venturing out to a bigger and better place. We are even planning of holding more activities, including inter-club matches in March, open mat sessions with other grapplers and wrestlers, and weekend BJJ bootcamps.

Where will we be moving?
We'll keep the place within no more than 2km radius from Setiabudi. Our current options are as follows:
1.) Bumi Karsa Hotel Gym at Bidakara, Jl. Jenderal Gatot Subroto, Pancoran
2.) Gold's Gym City Loft, Jl. K.H. Mas Manysur, near Karet
3.) Wisma Bakrie 2, HR Rasuna Said, a few buildings past Setiabudi building
We'll keep everyone posted on where we are moving ASAP, but our priority is to find everyone a place to train ASAP.

Will there be change on the fees?
We'll notify everyone once the negotiation is finalised. Rest assured that we will keep members on top of our priority list on the negotiation, but as people say, quality comes with price, and we intend to improve our training facilities as well

Why so sudden?
Fit by Beat management decided not to extend our agreement to use their gym room for training. Unfortunately, there were no direct or written formal communication from the Fit by Beat management of their intention, or on the eviction notice.

Why do we have to move?
As explained above, there were no formal or direct communication from the Fit by Beat management on the eviction, and we'd like to leave it at that and move on, rather than wasting energy on something of less importance. Nevertheless, we'd like to thank Fit by Beat management on their generousity and support for all these years.