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 […]
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 […]
Congratulations to Jim and Joe on earning their blue belts tonight. Both of these men have put in the mat time and it shows!
Today in team training we continued focusing on how to control somebody who is actively trying to escape from side control, specifically trying to get to the turtle, by applying pressure in the right spots of our training partners body we can force them to use additional strength to get to the position and create […]
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 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 […]
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 […]
Another fantastic kids class filled with FUN! At Crossroads BJJ one of the things we really try to make sure is that our kids students fall in love with jiu-jitsu and always leave class smiling. At an age when attention spans are short and kids lose interest fast our coaching staff makes sure that every […]
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 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 […]
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 […]
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 Kids BJJ Class was a lot of Fun! Class started off my running around the gym playing with Giant Ball and Hula Hoops! Then everybody lined up and we started focusing on the underlying lesson of the day, the ability to follow instructions both in Jiu-Jitsu class but also in school and at home […]
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 […]
Today during our Kids BJJ class we continued working the idea of keeping your child safe. In Brazilian Jiu-jitsu the main strategy is to put yourself in a position where you can not be hurt. This idea of safety goes beyond a physical altercation, making sure that every student is treating people how they would […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 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 […]
Lucas is an amazing student and you can tell just by talking with him that he will go far in whatever he decides to pursue in life. He has an amazing ability to pick up BJJ moves ridiculously quick, is always asking Coach James about moves after class, and at the age of 9 is […]
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 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 […]
Today during team training we went right into 5 minute sparring rounds! With a black belt, a purple belt and several purple belts on the mat everybody had to be on point with both offense and defense. Hard work is the key to success in BJJ and everybody tonight was working hard and having a […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Everybody has been training hard and it shows. In the past two weeks we’ve had 3 students earn well-deserved promotions. Denis made it through a super-tough, top-secret (Shhhhhhh ;-)) test to receive the second Purple Belt ever awarded at Crossroads BJJ! Denis has been training with Dustin for almost 4 years and has been an […]
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!
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 […]
Crossroads BJJ is now running Competition and Fitness classes 3 Days a week to help students get in the best shape of their lives. With Several Crossroads BJJ students looking to Compete in Tournaments in CT and in New England being in great shape is a one of the best ways to be prepared for […]
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 […]
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 […]
This past weekend several Crossroads Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu students traveled to Manchester, Connecticut to compete at the New England Submission Only Challenge. With a Total of 3 competitors Crossroads was able to bring 3 Medals home to Waterford, two Golds and one Bronze. Long Time student Tyrae was able to take home gold medals in both […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
When people think of martial artists they envision people who are in amazing shape capable of performing things they would only dream of doing. Martial artists like Bruce Lee, and UFC fighters are in phenomenal shape, it is one of the things that they are known for. A common saying among martial artists is “there […]