Live To Fight seminar with Weidman at Renzo’s (part 2)
[Click HERE for part 1]
So after Kristen introduced everyone and told us what Live To Fight, Inc. is all about and how the seminar came together, and Bobby Razak was ready to begin shooting, Chris Weidman started it off by putting us through some of the warmups he does in his own training camp.
We jogged, side-stepped, shuffled, shoulder-rolled, and bear-crawled for the first 15 mins or so. Then Chris grabbed TC and demonstrated a few partner drills using body-weigh resistance…
“Man, this guy’s really strong for a little skinny guy!” was the remark Chris made about TC…which totally made his day (and which he made sure to capture on film later! Haha!)
After everyone finished the partner drills–with various levels of success, I must add–Chris began showing a series of attacks from front headlock.
He gave some really good pointers on how to get your opponent’s head down to the ground if they are posturing up in turtle position, as well as where your hands should be (which he referred to as “alligator arms”, or as it’s sometimes referred to in BJJ “T-Rex arms”) in order to make it easier to transition to their back and sink in the choke…which ends up looking like this…
(Note: I’m proudly wearing my #FranksFight wristband, as he was on my mind a lot that day. See the previous post for why.)
After working a few more variations, UFC Lightweight fighter Jim Miller took over and started teaching some guillotine set ups from front headlock. If you aren’t a fight you may not know that Jim Miller has one of the best guillotine chokes in the UFC. He’s a beast, plain and simple…and also an INCREDIBLY nice and down-to-earth guy!
It was one of the highlights of the day for me when he took time to come over and answer some very specific questions I had in terms of hand positioning and grips…
He also made SURE that TC had it right…repeatedly…with great force…hahah…
One cool connection I was able to make was with Jim’s brother (and UFC Welterweight) Dan Miller. It was really great to meet him because on a previous trip to Renzo’s I’d worn the famous “Chocolat Al” shirt that a UG member created in order to help raise funds for a transplant operation that Dan’s baby boy needed a couple of years ago…
So it was cool to be back on that same mat meeting Dan in person and hearing that the operation was a success and that his son is doing great!
After Jim’s portion of the seminar it was time for the Jiujitsu Jedi himself, John Danaher, to share some stuff. If you’ve read my previous Dojo blogs about training at Renzo’s, you know a bit about the aura that surrounds John (as well as his deadpan sense of humor!). Throughout the entire seminar, John had been in his usual observant position watching with hawk-like gaze from the side of the mat…
But periodically we did in fact get a glimpse of his softer side! 🙂
John spent his part of the seminar showing some details on finishing the armbar from guard. In typical John-Danaher fashion he took a super basic move that every BJJ white belt is at least somewhat familiar with, and broke it down with surgical precision. He pointed out the various components required for it to be successfully applied and how to get your opponent to respond in a way that puts them in the very position you want them in. 
It was like listening to Kasparov discuss a basic chess move…except the “checkmate” results in a broken arm if the opponent refuses to concede defeat.
TC had some very specific questions that he wanted to ask John, and like Jim Miller had done for me, John very patiently came over and gave detailed answers and demonstrated them.
While John was finishing up with his part of the seminar, I heard a loud voice in a thick Portuguese accent stepping on to the mat. I turned to see what was happening and immediately realized that TRUE grappling royalty had just arrived…
27-time world BJJ champion (and undeniable source of all things machismo!) Renato Laranja!
[to be continued!]
ps: The fantastic photos above were taken by CristianBuitron.com and Digistu. Go check ’em out!
Categories: Arts and Culture, Blog, Martial Arts, Random/Funny
[…] HERE for part […]
by Disciple Dojo – JMSmith.org » Live to Fight…with a UFC Champ! on Nov 12, 2013 at 8:11 pm