In order to be the best, you have to train with the best, which is why this past Saturday Crossroads BJJ brought 3x No-Gi world champion and 2019 ADCC North America Trials Champion Josh Hinger to Connecticut to teach a 3 hour seminar at Crossroads Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Waterford, CT. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial […]
In Jiu-Jitsu getting a submission means first you have to secure a dominant position but before you can secure a dominant position you must first win a series of small battles with in whatever position you happen to be fighting from. In Saturdays Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ( BJJ ) class we demonstrated this idea for the […]
Today during team training we continued working from the half guard, discussing how to get the undertook and then understanding the technical options it provides. Today we worked on moving from our back to a seated position which works very well when our training partner is keeping very good posture, or you can create a […]
Tonight during our Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ( BJJ ) class we worked on what to do if your training partner tries to stand up to pass your guard. Since all guard passes in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu can be broken down into two categories, passing from the knees and passing from standing, understanding how to defend both is […]
Today we in our No-Gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class we began studying leg locks. Starting simply with the four most common ways to attack the ankles and knees. Since your legs are almost half of your body not knowing leg locks buts you at a serious disadvantage, and even if you yourself don’t want to be […]
Congratulations to Jim and Joe on earning their blue belts tonight. Both of these men have put in the mat time and it shows!
In the bottom position if we can control our opponents posture by holding the closely to us, we can prevent them from punching or hitting us. The best bottom position in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is called The Guard. The amazing thing about the guard is it is a position where you an use your entire body […]
Today during our Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Team Training class we continued working on our 3 points of pressure loop, this time starting from the turtle. By covering where and when to put pressure on different parts of our training partners body we can successfully keep the advantage during a match. Keeping the advantage and applying continuous […]
Today in our Brazilian Jiu-jitsu class we continued covering how to maintain back control. Back control is the most dominate position to have in a self defense situation, an mama fight, or a jiu-jitsu tournament. Because your training partner can’t see you and has a very limited number of escapes we can easily control their […]
Today in our Brazilian Jiu-jitsu class we went over how to control a person once you achieve back mount. Back mount is the strongest position you can have in a fight because you are secured to your attackers back and they can’t see you. So not only can they not hit you, they also can’t […]
Today in our Brazilian Jiu-jitsu class we went over basic stand up strategies with a focus on head position and grip fighting. In grappling angles make a huge difference in who has the advantage and while our main focus in BJJ is to close the distance and get the fight to the ground any way […]
As always we started out drilling the self defense techniques of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. When BJJ was first modified from its Japanese Jiu-jitsu and Judo Roots it was to make the art more effective in the Street Fights in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. This was before the IBJJF was founded by Carlos Gracie Jr. son of […]
This Saturday was a Promotion day! This meant hard work and high level of training! Circuit training followed by sparring made sure that everybody in the room could use their jiu-jitsu in any situation! Congratulations to Shaun and WuTang for passing their Blue Belt Tests! Earning any Belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu requires a great deal […]
Today we warmed up with stretching to increase our flexibility and get ourselves warmed up for the technical portion of our Brazilian Jiu-jitsu Class. While being flexible isn’t a requirement for learning jiu-jitsu improving our flexibility is an essential portion of any exercise routine. So many people spend their days sitting in offices or repeating […]
Today during our Team Training Brazilian BJJ Class we worked on Pressure from Side Control and how to shut down the most common escapes in Brazilian jiu-jitsu by using pressure to neutralize an explosive elbow escape. As we progress in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu tapping untrained opponent because extremely easy and we begin to focus our training […]
Today during our Brazilian Jiu-jitsu class we started by warming up with a simple action-reaction drill moving between 3 BJJ style submissions, The arm-bar, triangle and omoaplata. As our opponent defends one submission we work to effortlessly to switch to the next submission without using strength. Drilling without using strength allows us to learn these […]
Tonight during BJJ Team Training we continued working from the top of side control. We went over over how to catch your training partner in a loop and then use pressure to force them into making a technical mistake. By allowing our training partner to start an escape and then trapping them in a bad […]
Today during our Brazilian Jiu-jitsu Class at Crossroads BJJ we reviewed the bridge or ump escape from the bottom of the mount position. The mount position is one of the worst position you can be in so understand how to get out when somebody is trying to punch you is essential to having a solid […]
Today in Our Brazilian Jiu-jitsu class we went over how to prevent a sucker punch. We define sucker punch as anytime somebody is close enough to us to through a punch that we are not expecting. The first thing we always discuss when going over dealing with a potentially hostile person is the ranges of […]
Today in our Brazilian jiu-jitsu class at Crossroads BJJ we started class with one of the most fundamental lessons in BJJ, learning how to deal with an aggressive person who may possibly attempt to sucker punch you. Understanding how to manage distance, how to position yourself with regards to your surroundings is extremely important when […]
Today two of our most senior students purple belts Denis and James taught the team training class working how to control from the turtle position and also how to escape to reclaim the top position. Great Class with a lot of great knowledge passed down to the newer students. One of the best things about […]
Today during our Brazilian Jiu-jitsu class we went over how to break the posture of somebody on top of you in-order to prevent them from hitting you by controlling the distance. Once we have control over our training partners we no longer have to worry about being hit and can then move on to either […]
Tonight during the Crossroads BJJ Team Training class we continued to work on shutting down the elbow escape from side control and how to deconstruct the position so everybody understood exactly where to put pressure and where to position there body to ensure they maintain position. One of the most popular sayings in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu […]
With another New England snow storm making the roads nice and slippery tonights BJJ Class turned into a semi private lesson for those brave(crazy) enough to get on the roads and make it to class! Coach Mike held a Q&A session on the half guard, going over what to do when you are stuck flat […]
Everyone knows the belt system in Jiu-Jitsu. White, blue, purple, brown, black. If you want to get technical, black is followed by coral, and then red. When your Jiu-Jitsu journey begins, the higher belts can seem like super heroes, and you’re instructor can seem like Zeus atop Mount Olympus. But what is the one thing […]
Today during our Team Training class we started a new chapter, moving from the butterfly guard position to the top of Side Control. Today we worked advanced Brazilian Jiu-jitsu technique where we provide our training parter with enough space to move into a position that is not ideal for them, using pressure in specific areas […]
Today during our Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class two ways to escape the mount position. The Mount position is one of the most powerful ways to control an attacker in a self defense situation because of the number of BJJ style submissions that are available as well as the number of ways to completely neutralize your attacker […]
Today during our Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ( BJJ ) program we studied the Mount position. Today we dealt with one of the worst possible situations in a self defense scenario, Somebody sitting on top of us trying to hit us. The main strategy taught today was to force the attacker to us his hands to prevent […]
Today during BJJ Team Training we worked take downs. Every self defense situation and every competition starts standing up. At Crossroads Brazilian Jiu-jitsu we work our Judo and Wrestling style takedowns several times a week to ensure our stand up skills are always improving. When the match or fight goes to the ground the person […]
Today we worked one of the most well known series of attacks in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. Working from the guard we were able to work from the arm-bar attack then into a triangle submission followed by the reverse arm-bar. By putting our training partners in a position where we have have 3 attacks we put ourselves […]
Today during Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Team Training we worked some very high level back back takes from the De La Riva Guard. The De La Riva guard is one of the most popular guards today in sport BJJ and can be seen in every International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation tournament you attend. So even if you don’t […]
Today during our Our Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) class we worked a potential self defense scenario. We started from the clinch and then worked a simple yet effective take down. In BJJ or MMA the clinch is how we describe the position where two people are grabbing onto each other while standing up. Understanding the Clinch […]
Carlos Machado never fails to disappoint. This past Saturday Carlos taught at Crossroads BJJ for the 4th year in a row. Carlos made the trip from Dallas, Texas all the way to Waterford, Connecticut to share some extremely high level Jiu-jitsu concepts and strategy. For over 3 hours Carlos taught how to do deal with […]
The UFC is huge these days. Barely a month goes by where there isn’t a UFC pay per view event on tv. This is where my interest in jiu jitsu began. As most fans know, to be a well rounded fighter in any combat sport like the UFC, you need a good ground game. Jiu […]
Constantine stopped by Crossroads BJJ for one of our Sunday open Mats while in town away from his gym. Here is what he had to say about Crossroads Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and our Coaches! “I just came back from Crossroads BJJ while vacationing in Mystic (they’re in Waterford). Dennis, the two Mikes, and John treated me […]
Our BJJ or GJJ(Gracie Jiu-Jitsu) Team Training Class we continue to work the butterfly guard using an overlook to control our training partners posture. Today we added the detail of hooking our opponents arm when they are sitting square in front of us and have neutralized our favorable angle. By hooking the arm we can […]
Today during our Brazilian Jiu-jItsu class we continued working the idea of timing and flow. Timing is a crucial aspect of BJJ, if you don’t understand when to transition after your training partner is defending your techniques you will always be reacting to their movement instead of the other way around. We started working the […]
BJJ is a contact sport! You are in close proximity to the people you train with, so being clean is supremely important. Dirty gis and dirtier people spread bacteria and other nasty infections, so it really is a health issue. We don’t really have this problem at Crossroads bjj but it’s still important to go […]
Today in our Team Training class we continued working working Butterfly Guard, today working an overhook variation similar to what we covered in our No-Gi BJJ class on Tuesday night. Our main focus was moving our hips so that we can keep constant pressure on our training partner in order to break their poster and […]
Today during the Brazilian Jiu-jitsu Class at Crossroads BJJ Coach Doug covered the toronado pass. This is one of the most commonly used passes in BJJ and can be seen in pretty much every tournament you will every see. The toronado pass is a loose style pass that is accomplished by controlling your training partners […]
Today we in No-Gi BJJ we continued to work the Butterfly guard position, modifying the the grips to make the techniques work for No-Gi and MMA. Once we understood the basic control positions we covered several options for when our training partner keeps the far hand out of reach in-order to prevent the sweep. This […]
Today during Team Training We continued working the butterfly guard sweep! This time using an undertook to control our opponents basing hand,and adding a grip readjustment to deal with the situation where our opponent is still able to get a hand on the mat in an attempt to base. Paying special attention to which way […]
Today during class we continued working headlock escapes from the bottom position. While this is not something that will typically happen during a sparring session at Crossroads BJJ because the headlock does not offer a great deal of control over our training partners and there aren’t many submissions from the position it is something that happens […]
Unfortunetly because of the forcasted blizzard all classes will be canceled today. Be safe if you have to drive. See you all in class on Monday.
Today during Team Training we continued our study of the Butterfly guard Hook Sweep introducing the pant grip to slow down your opponents ability to circle pass to your weak side. We then strengthened that concept by adding a push pull to increase the amount of total force. At this point in the class once […]
Today during the Brazilian Jiu-jitsu class at Crossroads BJJ we continued with our theme of escaping the headlock. While Brazilian Jiu-jitsu practitioners will not try to headlock you wether they are in class training or in a tournament because you can’t finish a fight from the position and once you know how to escape it […]
Today during Team Training we continued working Butterfly Guard sweeps, starting with a review of the butterfly Guard Sweep we have been working on for the last week. This gave everybody and opportunity to increase their understanding of the mechanics of the sweep and sharpening up some the skills we already knew from previous classes. […]
Today during the Brazilian Jiu-JItsu class we worked the Gift Wrap position. The gift Wrap is a variation of the side Mount position where you have your training partners arm wrapped around their neck making them vulnerable to several submissions. This position is one of the strongest from a self defense perspective, your opponent is […]
Congratulations Kevin on earning your BJJ Blue Belt! Kevin is one of the most dedicated and hardworking guys in the gym and has he has put a tremendous amount of work into earning his BJJ Blue Belt! It is great to have him in the school always bringing a great attitude and a desire to […]
Today during Team Training we continued working the butterfly guard, working into a counter to our training partners using their leg to replace the arm when we have successfully controlled it from the bottom position. One of the most common counters to the butterfly guard in BJJ is to use your leg as a kickstand […]
Today during our Brazilian Jiu-JItsu we continued working escaping the headlock position from the ground. Last week we started defending the headlock from the standing position and today we continued working how to escape the headlock once your training partner is on the ground. The first details we covered were how to stabilize the position […]
Sunday Morning Jiu-Jitsu started by going over the Gift-wrap position. Coach Denis started by going over how to get into the Gift-Wrap Position and then went into a number of BJJ submissions you can achieve from there. The two submissions taught this past Sunday were the Arm bar and the Reverse Triangle, two of the […]
Today during Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Team Training we continued working from the butterfly guard adding a fourth way to control the arm in order to prevent our training partners from basing out and blocking our sweep attempt. After everybody understood how to control the arm, we continued by adding specific resistance. The people on top were […]
Today in our Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class we continued to work the headlock defense where a Stronger opponent has already Broken our posture. The main points of today were understanding the right time to go for the move. By knowing when to apply the technique we can make our movements much more efficient with allows us […]
Today’s kid class started with Balance Drills. Balance drills are a great way to help the kids enrolled in our Crossroads BJJ Kids Martial Arts program to see the immediate benefit of increasing their focus. One of the methods to increasing how well you balance is to find one spot on the floor and keep […]
Friday Night Open Mat is taught run by Coach Denis and is always a great time. Friday night is always filled with the students who love jiu-jitsu and want to get better! This Friday we had 3 purple belts on the Mat as well as several blue belts and a few white belts all helping […]
Thursday’s Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class started with a good warm up and then went right in to the technical portion of class. We started work from the stand up position working from one of the most common situations in a street fight, the headlock position. There are several different ways to escape the headlock positions, today we […]
Wednesday nights class Began with Coach Doug walking everybody through how to perform the hip bump sweep from the Guard Position. One of the things that separates BJJ from other Martial arts is the range of techniques it has to defend yourself while you are on your back underneath your training partner. The guard is […]
More Butterfly Guard Sweeps! Today in our BJJ Team Training Program we covered more sweeps from the Butterfly Guard and went into detail on how to create momentum from the position as well as how to adjust your angle in order to switch between sweeps. We also covered a sweep directly into a submission. Working […]
Today during our No-Gi Team Training class we held a marathon rolling session, completing 60 minutes of 5 minute rounds! With a mix of Black, Purple, Blue and White belts on the mat everybody put in great work and continued to sharpen up their techniques. Marathon rolling sessions are a great way to develop mental […]
Congratulations to all the members of the Crossroads Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competition Team who traveled from Waterford CT up to Manchester, Ct to compete at the New England Submission only Challenge. The team was able to bring home several medals and we are very proud of everybody who stepped on the mat and took the opportunity […]
Congratulations to Bryan for earning his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Blue Belt! Bryan is a long time Crossroads student and one of the Jiu-Jitsu schools most dedicated members. We are all excited to welcome him into the next phase of his BJJ journey!
Congratulations to Ryan for earning his Blue Belt! Ryan has been working hard and winning competitions at white belt and we are all excited to watch him take home some hardware at the Blue belt level!!!
1)An Improved Level of FitnessOne of the first thing your going to notice within the first month of training is a drastic improvement in your fitness level. There is no workout like grappling! Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is one of the few activities that gives you both an anaerobic and aerobic workout at the same time. What […]
1) Crossroads BJJ is a Fun and Exciting way to get fit. Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is often compared to a game of human chess. If you don’t like to workout at the gym because you get bored, you are not alone. Many of our students were tired of repeating the same exercises at the gym. They […]
We are excited to announce that Crossroads BJJ will be hosting our 3rd Annual Carlos Machado Seminar in less than 3 weeks. On January 24th 8th Degree Coral Belt Carlos Machado will be showing us his latest techniques, concepts and details to help you take your Jiu-Jitsu to a higher level and give you a […]
Crossroads Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Is proud to announce our 3rd Annual Carlos Machado Seminar! Carlos puts on an amazing seminar, teaching great techniques and concepts that are easily added into your game. A Carlos Machado Seminar will increase your understanding of Jiu-Jitsu and allow you to apply the concepts he shows to all areas of your Jiu-Jitsu. Carlos […]
Last week Future UFC standout and current Undefeated Mixed Martial artist Eric Spicely Traveled from Rhode Island to New London County Connecticut to teach an amazing seminar on the 50-50 guard, one of the newest innovations in Modern BJJ. Eric was able to effectively able to teach several entries into the position allowing you to score […]
The first Local tournament of 2015 is coming up fast! The North American Grappling Association will be hosting the New England Championship January 31st, 2015 in Milford Connecticut. This is a great chance for you to get in some competition experience and start the year off with a gold medal around your neck! To help […]
Eric “The Dream Catcher” Spicely will be teaching a 3 hour BJJ seminar in New London County at Crossroads Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu on December 13, 2014. This will be our last BJJ seminar of the year, and all of the proceeds are going to help support Eric during his upcoming MMA fight camp! Eric is doing […]
Mark your Calendars! The last seminar of the year at Crossroads will be none other than Tim Burrill Brown Belt and Undefeated Pro MMA Fighter Eric Spicely! Saturday December 13th, 2014 from 4pm to 7pm. The seminar will be $40 and all proceeds will go to support Eric’s upcoming fight camp and to help Eric reach his goal […]
Last Month a Bunch of the guys got the chance to go to Mohegan Sun to attend UFC 178 to watch 2-time BJJ world Champion Jacare display his Mixed Martial Arts and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu skills in the cage. Jacare fought Mousasi in the Main Event and was able to finish the match in the 3rd round […]
Crossroads BJJ has a new Blue belt! Congratulations to Felipe!!!
Crossroads is proud to announce that we now offer Brazilian / Gracie Jiu-Jitsu classes 7 Days a week! With full schedule of classes for Beginners, Advanced Students as well as those interested in No-Gi Grappling for MMA. We will now offer an Open Mat on Friday evenings starting at 6:00pm and an “All Levels” class […]
This Past June Crossroads Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu had the pleasure of hosting Braulio Estima for a two day seminar. Braulio not only brings 17 years of BJJ experience but also the techniques and mindset of a 5-time World Champion, Multiple time ADCC champion, and 5-Time European Champion. Beyond titles, Braulio was able to demonstrate the mentality […]
Crossroads Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is proud to announce we will be hosting 5 time World Champion and Multiple Time ADCC Champion Braulio Estima for a two day Seminar June 25th and 26th. If you are in the Groton, New London Connecticut area and want to learn Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, come train with us! This seminar is open […]
Crossroads Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is proud to have had its 3 year anniversary this past September. Over the last year we have grown significantly. In the past year Crossroads Brazilian Jiu-jitsu has moved into its own dedicated training facility with roughly 700 square feet of mats, a sitting area for parents and guests and a separate […]
Crossroads Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is proud to announce we have moved, and we are now in our own dedicated facility. We are still Located at 316 Boston Post Rd, Waterford CT, however we will now be conducting classes in Suite 1. Our gym now offers almost 700sqft of mat space, and a new larger changing area. […]
DVD Review: Carlos Machado Unstoppable Hook Flip For those of you familiar with Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, you have probably heard of the butterfly guard. Carlos Machado’s Unstoppable hook flip DVD teaches you how to use the butterfly guard position to sweep and get on top of your opponent. The DVD starts off with Carlos Machado giving […]
Dustin Rhodes BJJ Seminar at Gracie Farmington Valley Crossroads Brazilian Jiu-jitsu Head instructor Dustin Rhodes will be teaching a Brazilian Jiu-jitsu seminar at Gracie Farmington Valley (www.graciefv.com) March 31, 2013. The seminar will be from 11am to 1pm. Gracie Farmington Valley is located in Simsbury Connecticut approximately 30 minutes Northwest of Hartford. This seminar will […]
Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and the Mind Body Connection In the early stages of learning any physical activity whether it be a martial art like Brazilian Jiu-jitsu or a team sport such as football there is often a struggle to make our bodies perform the way our mind envisions. TV and other forms of media show us […]
Carlos Machado Seminar Pictures Earlier this year Crossroads BJJ had the privilege of hosting Carlos Machado for the first of many Seminars to come. Carlos taught an array of techniques and strategies covering Mount Escapes, Spider Guard Passes, and both closed and open Guard sweeps. Carlos has an amazing teaching style, and is phenomenal at […]
Open Source Jiu-JItsu How do humans get things done? How do we work to achieve and exceed our goals? Most people that begin to practice Brazilian Jiu-jitsu (BJJ) are competitive people; both with themselves and with others. As a beginner in the gym, your first several months are spent being tapped by those who know […]
Carlos Machado Seminar Please join us on January 19, 2013 from 4 to 7pm for this 3 hour seminar with 8th Degree Black Belt Carlos Machado. Carlos has been practicing BJJ for over 45 years and is one of the first people to bring Brazilian Jiu-jitsu to the United States. This seminar is open to […]
2 Years of High Quality BJJ in CT Crossroads Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is proud to have brought high level Brazilian Jiu-jitsu instruction to Waterford,CT during 2012. This marks the second full calender year we have served New London County Connecticut and our gym is very excited to continue helping BJJ grow during 2013. 2012 […]
Improve Your Problem Solving abilities with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is an art of problem solving. For example, how can somebody who is small defend themselves against somebody who is big? The smaller person will never punch or kick as hard. A Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner realizes this, so the first thing he will try […]
Flow with the Go Brazilian Jiu-jitsu proved its effectiveness in the early days of the UFC by demonstrating its ability to give those who are small the opportunity to defend themselves against those who are big.With no time limits and no weight categories, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu(BJJ) defeated all challengers. One of the reasons BJJ was […]
Injury Free Jiu-Jitsu One of the reasons Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is such an effective Martial Art is because of the way it is practiced. Unlike striking arts, Jiu-jitsu techniques can be practiced at full speed without risk of injury to you or your training partner. In BJJ, anyone can simply Tap out if they are […]
How to Get Good at Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu After Training martial arts for over 13 years and over 10 years in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, I have realized that there are several factors involved in getting good at Brazilian jiu-jitsu and grappling including who you train with, and how long you have been training. The first part of this […]