Are we doing it wrong? The Antibacterial edition

I went to the dermatologist the other day and received a prescription for a topical anti-inflammatory and an antibiotic to treat what was believed to be either adult acne or folliculitis. Rather than trying one medication for 6 weeks and then switch to the other if I saw no results, the doc wanted to give both a try simultaneously.  While reading the warning label for the antibiotic I was alarmed by the following:

If you experience any of the following symptoms, call your doctor immediately:

Changes in your skin or nails that may be signs of infection with a fungus

For the past year that I have been practicing Jiu Jitsu, I have been using antibacterial soaps, thinking it was essential to prevent the exchange of micro-organisms like bacteria and fungus. As it turns out, I may have been doing myself a grave injustice. After searching the National Library of Medicine and reading studies performed at the University College Cork in Ireland on Science Daily, I was pretty convinced.

First I believe I should clarify that there is a difference between antibiotic and antibacterial. Antibacterials kill various forms of bacteria while antibiotics typically inhibit the growth of various micro-organisms, including bacteria and fungi. Antibiotics are administered to treat bacterial infections by making their environment inhospitable, resulting in the eventual demise of the bacteria strand.  Bacteria and fungi have an interesting dichotomy on our bodies. They both tend to be prevalent in warm moist areas of our bodies. In many circumstances, healthy bacteria can prevent the spread of fungus infections by fighting for the same real estate as the yeast. Therefore they are constantly in a population war. The faster bacteria multiply, the slower fungus can grow. Look at the warning label for any antibiotic, like Clindamycin, and it will probably state to discontinue use if you encounter a fungus infection.  It is a safe assumption that if inhibiting the growth of bacteria can cause fungus to thrive, then killing bacteria with an antibacterial soap could make your feet seem like an all inclusive vacation resort for fungus.

Soaps like Defense, that specialize in using natural ingredients like Tee Tree Oil to fight fungus are great but are not typically readily available in your local market. Instead of paying the premium for these specialty soaps online, I usually find myself  trolling forums and seeing recommendations for antibacterial soaps like Dial and Safeguard. I know tons of fellow Jiu Jitsu enthusiasts use these same antibacterial soaps, so I just wanted to make sure that you do the research before buying a soap that may effectively cause the same think you are trying to prevent.

Nice no-gi choke video

Great video

Guard passes and friction burns

Yesterday's class was full of promise. My rib injury did not appear to be hindering me so I was determined to roll. Also I had spent a lot of time studying the white and blue belt sections of Ribeiro's Jiu Jitsu University book. I was anxious to try out my new defensive techniques. 

We practiced 3 double underhook open guard passes. This first of which involved grabbing a hold of the back of your opponent's gi top, hopping up to your feet then flipping them onto their shoulder. I then plant my shoulder and head against their inverted lower back and guide them over to a turtle position where I take the back.

The next variation involved my opponent grasping my wrists. I extend one leg at a 90 degree angle parallel to me opponents bicep. I then rotate my leg inward, putting pressure on the bicep as I rip my wrist free. The free hand then traps my opponent's leg to the group for the pass to side control.

The last variation also starts with my wrist grasped. I extend one arm out to create space and then use my foot to disengage my arm. I then trap the leg on the same side and transition to side control.

I rolled for the first time in probably 6 weeks. After 6 rounds I was not gassed at all but I was a bit frustrated with my performance. I did alright against the blue I rolled with for 2 rounds. Other than 2 armlocks after being mounted, I held my own. After class I asked him about what I did to put myself in those positions and he told me that when he transitioned to mount, I kept my underhooks, giving him the opportunity to trap my arm. From there he figure-foured the trapped arm and locked in the modified armbar. 

I wasnt really upset about the armlocks because he was an advanced blue who too advantage of every one of my mistakes, which is what he is expected to do. However, my next 2 opponents were white belts who managed to control my posture from the full guard every time. I was never able to get into a strong enough base to even attempt a pass. I always thought of my guard passing within the closed guard to be one of my strong suits. It seemed like every time I found myself in their close guard, I was a second too late from posturing up and ended up on their chest from their collar grips. In one instance, I found myself on the wrong end of an Ezekiel Choke 5 seconds after getting into his guard. 

I came home with a scab on my right hand, elbow, and knee, and the kind of muscle aches that let me know I put some work in. I haven't felt that good pain in a while and look forward to doing t again today. 

Back from injury

In the last 3 months, I have missed time due to needing a steroid injection in my wrist, a 2 week vacation, a badly bruised rib, and a week long business trip. Even though my rib is still a little sore, it's good enough to go over techniques without rolling.

After taking so much time off, I feel like I am starting all over. I did have the opportunity to test the more cerebral aspects of Jiu Jitsu. I spent 20 minutes everyday (well most days) visualizing previously reviewed techniques. After reading many articles on visualization techniques, I was admittedly skeptical. After my 2nd visualization session, I was convinced it worked. I could see myself from the outside looking in work armbars from the closed guard, and had a better grasp of the fluidity of the movements. In class, or while rolling, I would always look at each step as a sequence. First grab wrist, then place foot on hip, then hip escape, etc. When trying to execute the technique it always looked rehearsed. Now I am able to make the armbar look like one fluid movement instead of a series of steps I am going over in my head. It also changed the way I look at the technique. I can see past the steps and see a process, as well as contingencies and escapes.

While I was out, I managed to lose my Vulkan Gi top (still not sure how that happened) and purchased a geeky CTRL Jiu Jitsu tee shirt.

In class today we kept it simple with standing guard passes using a wrist grip. I also spent some time practicing the Galvao windmill sweep (slightly different than the standard windmill). I like the added options of switching to an armbar if your opponent posts up, or even take the back. 

The Galvao sweep to mount can be found here. 

Armbar/Choke combo

In Fundamentals class today, we worked on more guard armbars and gi chokes. However, we also worked on a cool combo armbar/gi choke. To perform it, I have my opponent in my full guard. I trap their right wrist with my left hand. I then get a cross collar grip with my right, as if I am going for a gi choke. You use this to break their posture. They will probably tuck their chin to prevent the choke. Hip out towards their untrapped arm, using your left foot on their hip. Bring your right left up their back and dig your heels into it. If their chin is still tucket, bring the left leg over and lock in the arm bar. If they try to get tall and defend the armbar, grab their left shoulder with your left hand, hip out in the opposite direction (bring your left shoulder towards your left ankle) and lock in the choke. If their chin is tucked again, don't abandon it. Shake their head like a rag doll and you will get it locked everytime.

In this video, he does not do the choke, but he does do the armbar from the lapel grip

I did not roll today since I bruised my ribs in no-gi earlier in the week. I spent that free time working with a new guy on full guard posture and a guard pass. If feels good to no longer be the "new guy" in class.

Double leg take-downs and half guard defense pass defense

My first day training in over a month after receiving a steroid injection in my wrist and tweaking my back. We went over 2 variations of a double leg takedown in no-gi as well as a half-guard pass defense.

For the first double leg, I step in with my lead leg, then as I grab my opponent just below the knees, my shoulder makes contact with my opponent's sternum. To gain maximum force with the least amount of energy expended, make sure that the lead leg does not touch the ground until  contact is made with your shoulder. When your opponent falls, use your hands to guide them to either side control or half guard. Be careful not to follow them down into a guillotine choke.

In the 2nd variation, the same procedure is followed as above but your lead leg is actually wrapped around your opponents ankle after making contact, and has hit the ground. Make sure that foot never lands flat on the floor. Aim for it to lie against or on top of your other leg. When your opponent falls, you will begin in half-guard.

For the half-guard defense, we used a simple technique of pushing my opponents head in the opposite direction that they are trying to pass, using both arms extended against the side of their face. In the event that your opponent achieves the pass, use your extended arms to create space and hip escape into half or full guard again.

First tournament is in the books

Well I lost my first match via an arm triangle with 30 seconds left. My hat goes off to my opponent who showed what 3 additional years of experience will do for you. I pulled guard and controlled him for about 1.5 minutes before he passed to half then eventually to side control then mount. I trapped and rolled and passed to half guard then got swept into an arm triangle.

The day before my tournament I tweaked my back on some spider throws (which had no affect on the outcome of the match) but I have taken a week off to recover. Today was my first class in exactly 1 week. We practiced bottom guard armbars.

Basically, arm drag your Publish Postopponents right arm across your body and place your left foot on their hips. Use your foot to rotate your body towards your opponent's free arm while climbing your right leg up your opponent's back. Now push your opponent's head out of the way while bringing your left leg over their head. DO NOT CROSS YOUR LEGS.  Grasp their hand with your right hand, make sure their thumb is pointed up, lift your hips, push your knees together and drive your heels into their body.