Tuesday, December 31, 2013
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Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Fat Guy in a Little Gi, Entry #2 Part 4
Fat Guy in a Little Gi
One big man’s journey of self-discovery through combat sports
Entry 2- Of Mentors and Teachers
Experience
Experience is slightly different than applicable knowledge. For me, it’s the stage between theory and truly applicable skills. It is important that a mentor has the experience of trying what they teach, out in the real world (or in our case the ring or mat). It is imperative. One of the reasons traditional martial arts lose public interest, is their combat applications have become obsolete: without real world experience, it is hard to equate the techniques to a modern populace. It is no different when talking about theoretical techniques. A flying triangle is great, but if your mentor doesn't have experience throwing it in competition, the chance of you being successful with it is going to be very slim. My good friend and corner man Harrison Bevins shares his experience with me. He helps me with transitioning my striking game to my ground game, helps me with when to throw certain combos or how to maneuver in the clinch. My MMA game improves tremendously every time we work, because he is able to explain why certain things work and how they work. His experience has helped me tremendously.
These traits ring true for most mentors. I am sure you all have a few traits that are more important to you or you feel I am neglecting, but in my world, these four traits are the most important. There are two mentors that have just joined my life that I would like to make mention of, Professor Marcelo Alonso and Professor Travis Reich. While I haven’t been a part of the MABJJ family that long, these two have given me the same attention and support they give all of their students.
Just one last quick thought!
Like I said before, training partners are also mentors, and I have some of the best in the world. JD, Jared, Ollie, Boom, Alex, Big Steve, Big Tom, JDog, Lemke, De-wreck, Ryder…just to name a few (in reality, pretty much all of AOBJ, MABJJ, and GCA). Training partners are just as important as dedicated coaches.-Till next time! Ken
Monday, December 16, 2013
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Fat Guy in a Little Gi: Entry 2- Of Mentors and Teachers Part 2 and 3 "Investment and Knowledge"
Read Part 1: Here
Fat Guy in a Little Gi
One big man’s journey of self-discovery through combat sports
Entry 2- Of Mentors and Teachers
Part 2 and 3 "Investment and Knowledge"
Personal Investment
Personal investment is the defining point between your every day instructor, and a true coach and mentor. The willingness to sacrifice ones time and energy to help someone else reach their goals is paramount. Unlike the other traits, this one is easier to explain by using examples. Kano Melvin, my grappling/BJJ instructor, truly is selfless with the amount of time he dedicates to his students. Every Sunday, we meet up and work for 2-3 hours on whatever we want. After our grappling classes during the week, he stays after to work with any student who wants more time. Throughout the week we talk off the mats about things I can be doing to better my game, or engage in philosophical discussion regarding different grappling ideologies. However, his interest in his students doesn't stop with the game. He is genuinely interested in his students well being. He offers advice and a listening ear to whatever problem that they may have. If it wasn't for Kano, I would never have been able to progress as fast as I have, and if I am honest I probably would be more of a mental case than I am.
True Applicable Knowledge
McDojo’s are a dime a dozen. I have had the unfortunate experience of being a victim of one of these ‘schools.’ I don’t want to drop names (for legal reasons) but the biggest issue I had was the instructors lack of knowledge. It wasn't long before I was contradicting the instructors when it came to technique and competition rules. I left shortly after that. I learned how important it was to make sure those you turn to for guidance actually know what the hell they are talking about. You have to do your research and find their credentials. That’s when I turned to Brian Johnson. Brian has an amazing striking gym and his knowledge is why that gym is widely recognized by so many. He is a businessman, and knows how to turn a profit, but he does so without sacrificing the integrity of his gym.
Make sure to stay tuned for part 4 "Experience" and my conclusion to FGLG entry #2 on mentors-Ken
Friday, December 13, 2013
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Fat Guy in a Little Gi: Entry 2- Of Mentors and Teachers Part 1: Honesty
Editors note: "This is a four part series from Ken on mentors and coaches. Ken a BJJ Blue Belt who also trains MMA, writes for SOTG, documenting his progression and thoughts on the martial arts and his journey, giving you the beginners perspective. Enjoy!" Gregrooski
One big man’s journey of self-discovery through combat sports
Entry 2- Of Mentors and Teachers
We all struggle in our paths and we need perspective and guidance. Mentors and teachers, good and bad, help us grow and develop into better versions of ourselves. In martial arts, we often think of these as being our Sensei, coach, or head instructor. We often forget that there are others who help us along our path. Senior belts, training partners, family, even fans of the sport have helped us grow just as much, if not more so, than those who guide our training.
I would love to list every single mentor and teacher I have ever had; but that would take an exorbitant amount of time and, let’s face it, be extremely boring for you guys. Rather than just list the people who have impacted me in these roles, I’m going to go over what I feel makes a good mentor; those intangible qualities that must be present to truly define a mentor/student relationship. At the end of each trait, I will give a quick shout out to those coaches I feel best embody the listed trait. For the sake of this blog, I will only be mentioning mentors within the combat sports community (sorry Autumn).Honesty
Some pros make the mistake of hiring coaches and training partners who feed their ego, rather than feed their technique. Coaches who say stuff like “that’s it, good, perfect” when you are crossing your feet, dropping your hands, or shooting from WAY outside; do not help you. Worse it can get you seriously hurt when you do compete. Luckily, most of us don’t have that problem. We have our Mick who yelled at us for the little things we did wrong (Rocky reference for those too young. Go watch it… now…(don’t worry we’ll wait) Done? Good…moving on). While we wish they weren't so nit-picky, they helped us. Honesty is the most important aspect to being a good mentor. Having someone who is able to effectively communicate errors, successes, and oddities in your life is paramount to being good at whatever you do. When it comes to my striking game, Julien Martin (The Academy of Brian Johnson in Lacey, WA) is that man. He is honest with every fighter and member when it comes to his chosen vocation. The man gives it to me straight every time (tactfully… most times). When I am doing well and hitting my angles, he lets me know. When I am sucking, dropping my hands, turning away, or any other multitude of errors…he lets me know. While I often annoy him I’m sure, the man is dedicated to making everyone in the gym a better striker. He has no qualms about being straight with us, but with his honesty comes the knowledge to fix out mistakes or capitalize on what we are doing right (more on that later).-Ken
*** The Polar Bear aka " The Fat Guy in a Little Gi" was just promoted to Blue Belt! Congrats Ken!***
Monday, December 9, 2013
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Saturday, December 7, 2013
Thursday, December 5, 2013
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