10th Planet Watch – 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu Van Nuys Blog

We just got ourselves a new Dollamur Swain landing pad! These things are wonderful for practicing high impact slams, throws or flying attacks on. No more knocking the wind out of ourselves when trying out that flying triangle or armbar! Students can be tentative trying out these moves sometimes because of the the fear of landing hard, and possibly injuring themselves. Not anymore! These things feel like your landing on a nice cushy cloud. Not only are they good big huge double leg slams, but we can now practice our pro-wrestling moves on each other as well. Look for more fun things to come from this essential piece of training equipment!

10th Planet Van Nuys’s New Dollamur Swain Landing Pad

The arm drag is a versitile move, both on the ground and from standing. It can be used to set up finishes, or set up takedowns. Ever since learning it after Marcello Garcia crushed everybody with it, it has been a staple of my game. Below is one of my favorite ways to get the RNC.

I don’t talke too much about it in this article, but hand fighting is a huge part of getting the armdrag. Without winner the hand fight, it’ll be very difficult to be able to just grab the arm straight forward. Now days, the set up to the armdrag is just as important as the armdrag itself.

If you’re in the area, and you’re looking to train with us, give us a call today (818) 925-JITS (5487)

10th Planet Jiu Jitsu Van Nuys‘ standout Danny Pena wins tonight @ Normandie Casino in dominant fashion! Scoring a unanimous decision victory Pena, an outstanding wrestler, took down and pounded is opponent round after round stealing the judges score cards. Although Danny is also a very technical boxer and not afraid to stay in the pocket and duke it out, he was able to dictate where the fight went, letting his skills shine. “D boy” is definitely an up and coming prospect in MMA who looks forward to making his pro debut this year and destroying all in his weight class!
We commend you Danny! Great job!

Yet another useful technique in the Jack Brocksmith series.

Posted by: Mike Frausto

(10th Planet Van Nuys)

10th Planet Van Nuys is proud to welcome coach Chad Solano to the team as the wrestling instructor.

With this new addition in the mix, Van Nuys has simply become a laboratory, producing aggressively technical machines to take over the grappling scene. With Chad’s hard work ethic and heavily stacked credentials, 10^th Planet Van Nuys is the place to be to improve your wrestling and overall MMA game.

With a track record adding up to over 16 years of competitive wrestling and coaching, Chad is no stranger to what it takes to compete as well as develop a competitor. He attended Northglenn High School where he was coached by two Colorado State Champions including Lance Oviatt, Terry Trujillo (3x Colorado State Champ) and Leonard Solano (Colorado State Champ). He has coached for 7 years at the High School, Junior High, and kids level as well as competed at the International level in Freestyle and Greco Roman for 2 years.

Specializing in three styles of wrestling including Folk style or collegiate wrestling, Freestyle and Greco-Roman, Chad has put many young wrestlers at the tops of their game. Currently coaching out of San Fernando High School he has taken their team to the City Championships and won 5 years consecutively, as well as sending three young students to the State Championships. (Two of which took first)

Chad is teaching the 7 basics of wrestling at 10^th Planet Van Nuys every Sunday at 11am before Jiu Jitsu at 12pm. Come down and improve you wrestling as well as your overall MMA game.

10^th Planet Van Nuys

16838 W Saticoy St
Van Nuys, CA 91406

Posted By Mike Frausto (10th Planet Van Nuys: Team Alder)

I’d love to see Conor do more grappling tournaments. He’s an amazing competitor.

“Here is my first match back in competition since my knee surgery. It was at the Grapplers X tournament in Long Beach on Feb 14, 2010. I set up my takedowns off of the Russian 2-on-1 or the baseball grip 2-on-1. The first take down is a Japanese Double when he stands up too straight, anticipating the tie up. The second is a submarine throw of of the Russian with the “Hurricane Grip”. If you are interested in learning these techniques I am available for Private Lessons. Please e-mail me or comment for info.”

Taken from www.mixedmartialarts.com. Big ups to Alaina Hardie for brining this to my attention. Link to thread.

“When all the greco roman Olympians striving for the gold in the Olympics
train both then I will bring back the gi for my students sake.

Marcelo is very good with the gi, but he doesn’t separate from the pack in
the gi like he does no-gi. In no-gi he is the supreme god. Think about the
gi gods in the game over the last 10 years. Think of their names. Think of
the ones that were KIngs in the gi but for some reason it never translated
to ADCC. Forget about the few that did make the transition beautifully like
Roger, Jacare, and of course the no-gi Jesus, Marcelo. Forget about them for
just one second. Think about all the other amazing multiple time Mundial
champions out there that never did much no-gi.

Why is that? Why is there so many?

Why does Marcelo do so much better no-gi than gi? Again, I know he has won
the mundials a few times but I can think of a few guys that had unbelievable
dominating reigns that eclipse what Marcelo has done with the gi.
But when it comes to no-gi, Marcelo is light years ahead of them. Why?

The answer is that, like all greco roman wrestlers, Marcelo understands that
the clinch must be mastered. The clinch in every position must be mastered.
Just like the plum clinch in Muay Thai, he who has the most polished plum
clinch lands more knees.

Marcelo works on his clinch on a daily basis, clinching medicine balls, and
clinching the over/under control while riding on dudes backs. He clinches
and rides and works on his clinching endurance without even going for the
choke. He’ll ride and clinch for a few minutes working on his squeezing
endurance before securing the choke. He understands that every different no
gi position requires a different clinch to be mastered there. I know
Marcelo, I am not talking out of my ass.

Marcelo is the no-gi god because he has a stronger, tighter, harder clinch
than any other bjj player on the planet. Clinching and squeezing while
moving into scoring position and clincing and squeezing while choking
someone out. In no-gi grappling, it’s all about how powerful your squeeze
is.

To be super offensive no-gi you must develope your clinches AND master all
clinches. Every second you train with the gi you are not training your
clinch. You are training your yank and pull. Totally different. Totally
different muscles, totally different base. If you want to get offensive in
no-gi like Marcelo, then when are you working on your clinch? Unless you
train no-gi grips with the gi on like some do, you are not working your
clinch if you are grabbing the gi.

But you don’t need to develope your clinch for defense. You need to develope
pushing explosion for defense, which you can get from gi training but you
also get that from no-gi training as well. That’s why gi guys with no clinch
are still very hard to finish in no-gi competition. Explosiveness, posture
and core strength are more important for defense than developing a clinch.

Every time you train in the gi and set up a submission while yanking on
collars and sleeves you are not working on your clinch, it’s that simple.

When I get into these gi/no-gi debates, it always ends up with the gi people
never giving me specific explanations of how the gi makes your nogi game
“tighter”. All they end up saying is, “Roger, Marcelo and Jacare train in
the gi so I’m gonna train in the gi”, no break downs like the ones I’m
giving. I am giving you detailed explanations and anaolgies, but all I get
in return is,”But you trained in the gi!” and stuff like that.

Machida, Anderson, and GSP all have black belts in Karate or TKD, does that
mean that all mma fighters should start training Karate? Most submission
fiends all came from the gi, that’s all there was in the 90’s. If you were
fascinated by chokes and breaking limbs, you had to put a gi on. Even now,
most schools that specialize in submissions make you wear a gi.

And the “What about defense?” arguement. Well, yes , it’s harder to explode
out of submissions with a gi, so you are working your defensive
explosiveness but how do you defend leg locks with a gi? The answer is hold
on to your opponent’s collar. How does that make your no-gi game “tighter?”

How do you defend kimura’s in the gi? The answer is grab on to your pants.
How does that make your no-gi game “tighter?”

How do you defend against arm bars? The answer is hold on to your own
collar. How does that make your no-gi game “tighter?”

How do you defend against rear naked chokes? The answer is cross your wrists
under your chin and hold on to both your collars. How does that make your
no-gi game “tighter?”

Even when you’re on top caught in a triangle, a very popular escape is to
grab your opponent’s collar and push it down across his neck while stacking
him. How does that make your no-gi defense better again?

Judo and Greco have the same goal, throw your opponent. Judo with yanking
and pulling the gi, Greco with clinching and squeezing overhooks and
underhooks.

Bjj and sub grappling have the same goal, pass guard and submit. BJJ with
yanking and pulling the gi, sub grappling with clinching and squeezing
overhooks and underhooks. That’s it, I can’t put it into simpler terms.

I am not saying only train no-gi, and that the gi sucks. The gi is fun for
many people. If you like both train both, it’s all sooo good.

All I’m saying is that the gi does not make you no-gi “tighter”, it makes
you better in the gi, that’s it. The fact that a dude who has trained in a
gi for years and one day decides to take it off and it turns out he’s got
game no-gi does not prove that the gi makes your no-gi game tighter. A
tennis champion can hop over to raquetball and be pretty damn good from day
1, but that doesn’t mean that all aspiring raquetball players should play
tennis first to tighten up their game?

Most kickboxers in the 70’s came from TKD, Karate, and Kung fu, does that
mean that if you want to be a kickboxing champion you have to take TKD
first? That’s what they thought back then, but now we know that theory is no
longer relavent.

Gi training does not make your no-gi tighter, it actually makes it looser.
Watch ADCC 2003 and count how many times top bjj legends lost back control.
It’s like 40 times. It’s quite incredible how many times these bjj
superstars couldn’t stay on anyone’s back.

Then check how many times Marcelo has lost back control in his entire ADCC
career, I think it’s like twice. Diego Sanchez is the only dude I can
remember escaping from Marcelo’s back clinch, but it could’ve happend one or
2 more times. And that was before Diego decided to train in the gi, he was a
pure no-gi guy. Imagine that. One of the only guys to ever escape Marcelo’s
back control DIDN’T come from a gi back ground. Hmmm.

If all this clinch talk is confusing you and you’re not even sure what to
make of it or if you should believe me, ask your instructor what he thinks
about developing no-gi clinches. You never know, he might have a clinch
developing system just like Marcelo’s :)”

This is from last nights episode of “The Ultimate Fighter.” Gracie Barra Royler Gracie black belt, Vinnie “Pezao” Magalhaes, used rubber guard to absolutely destroy a more than game opponent. A work of art IMHO.

10th Planet/Legends MMA fighter Conor Heun is fighting Edson BertoTonight on Elite XC’s Kimbo vs. Shamrock card!
Conor Heun
Nickname: The Hurricane
Age: 29
Location: UNITED STATES
City: N/A
Gender: Male
Hometown: Boulder, CO
Story: Conor Heun is a former Division III National Qualifier wrestler at the University of Ithaca. In spite of his wrestling credentials, Heun did not jump into mixed martial arts immediately after graduation. Instead, Heun went into the corporate world and even owned his own clothing apparel line. He would later leave Colorado and move to California where he began to work as a dental assistant.

Despite being gainfully employed, something was still missing from Heun’s life and that was the thrill of competition. Already a fan of the sport, Heun was encouraged by friends to give MMA a shot.

Before making the jump, Heun was stuck with an ordinary life in the corporate world and worked in a cubicle. When talking about making the career change, Heun said “I’ll take the cage over the cube any day!”
MMA Record: 7-2
Hide My Full Profile »
User type: Fighter
Height: 5ft 10in
Weight: 160 lbs
Marital status: Unspecified
I smoke: No
I drink: No
Favorite Food: Ice Cream
Favorite TV show: Californication
Style: Boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Capoeira, Combat Submission Wrestling, Freestyle, Jeet Kune Do, Judo, Jujitsu, Kickboxing, Mixed Martial Arts, Muay Thai, Street Fighting, Wrestling
Weight Class: Lightweight
Team: 10th Planet
Biggest strength: Heart
Who are my heroes: My Father, Dan Gable, Tyler Durdin

10th Planet and Legends MMA fighter Conor Huen makes his much anticipated return to the octagon October 4th on Elite XC’s HEAT on primetime CBS featuring Kimbo Slice and Gina Carrano. Conor will fight the highly regarded Edson Berto in a 3 round match. This will be Conor’s first fight back after a six month lay off due to injury. March 21, 2008 Conor suffered a broken jaw in the first round of his action pack fight with Marlon Mathias of Chute Boxe. Conor fought through his injury scoring an impressive unanimous decision victory, winning every round on all judges card.

Also look for Jorge Oliveira to defend his PFC light-heavyweight title in November.

Other Upcoming Fights:

Chris Brady
135lbs – Oct 17th – Tuff Nuff MMA – Las Vegas NV

Christian Palencia
155lbs – Oct 17th – Tuff Nuff MMA – Las Vegas NV

I’ve been getting a lot of interest recently about my pro wrestling back ground. Let me just give you a quick bio. I started to watch pro wrasslin’ as early as I can remember. Coming from hippy, pacifist parents, violence was frowned upon in my household. So, many times I would go my friend’s house or Grandma’s house to watch my favorite sports entertainers engage in the art of combat in the squared circle. After the show was over, it was off to practice the moves I’d learned from that installment of WWE’s Superstars of Wrestling. Underclass mates and little brothers of the neighborhood would feel the power as I applied such moves as The Camel Clutch, The Figure Four and The Abdominal Stretch. This was real world application at its finest. I was practicing the art of Jeet Kune Do as it applied to Wrestling. I would use the moves that worked, and throw out the ones that didn’t.

Fast forward 20 some odd years to now. I feel it is my duty to legitimize Sports Entertainment. My quest is to come up with a series highlighting the effectiveness of pro wrestling moves in Jiu Jitsu. I will bring back life into what has become a mundane world of sub grappling. No more boring Twisters, no more sleepy double bagger set ups. No, from now on it will be crowd pleasing “Sharp Shooters” and the power of “The Claw”

I’m going to start training 3 times a week at the Dark Planet Catch Wrestling facilities.