At Crossroads BJJ CT we are always working in developing a strong foundation for your long term growth in Jiu-Jitsu, this means developing the most basic techniques to a very high level. In last night class our primary focus was on maintaining Back Control. Back control is one of Jiu-Jitsu’s strongest position. The back control […]
Yesterday during the Fundamentals class at Crossroads Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu we covered three techniques, a double leg take down to side control, how to move from side control to the mount and from the bottom position how to keep your arms in a safe and defensive position. When performing a double leg takedown it is […]
In Lesson 6 of the Crossroads Martial Arts Curriculum we continue our study of the headlock and the different different variations you may find yourself in if you are even actually put in a headlock. Of course we always hope that we will never need to use our jiu-jitsu for self defense […]
This past Saturday Crossroads BJJ had its first Q & A class and there was a fantastic showing. The class focused on trouble shooting the knee slice pass and what to do when two common counters are implemented as you attempt to complete the pass. The two methods of attempting to shut down the pass […]
One of reasons Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is so effective as a self defense art is you learn how to protect yourself in the most common street fight / self defense situations. Carlos Gracie Sr. and his Brothers spent over 60 years refining and developing techniques that actually work effectively in real street fights before Brazilian Jiu-jitsu […]
Open mat or free training is an essential part of learning Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or BJJ, it is a time where you can ask questions or simply gain some extra sparring time with your training partners. Brazilian Jiu-jitsu has a seemingly infinite level of depth to it and in order to learn as much as you […]
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 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 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 […]
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 […]
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 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 our Crossroads BJJ Kids Class we continued working on balance and movement drills. Our Children are growing at a rapid rate, which can cause them to become uncoordinated, and this lack of coordination can lead to problems with their self confidence, which can lead to them being bullied in school and all of […]
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 […]
Being so close to both the Coast Guard Academy in New London Connecticut and the Navy Base in Groton Connecticut, Crossroads BJJ gets to train with a large number Active members of the Military. These guys and girls have had the oppertunity to train at several gyms both in the Unitied States and around the […]
Kia has been training at Crossroads for about two months, here’s what his mom has to say about the Crossroads Kids Martial Arts Program! “Kids martial arts — if your kids are interested in martial arts, there is no better place to learn than Crossroads Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. My 6-year old son started attending the children’s […]
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 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 […]
Is there a better endorsement as a teacher of the martial arts, than to have Chuck Norris as a student? If there is, I can’t think of one. Now imagine the very same teacher wants to teach you (yes, I’m talking to you reader) the same things he’s taught Mr. Spinning Roundhouse! Not possible you […]
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 […]
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 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Today we warmed up for team training with Bear crawls and “Crocodiles” , Jacare Souza style, we finished off the warm up with arm drag drills and practicing our double legs takedowns. The fight starts from the feet, so just like in our BJJ class we start drills from the standing position. Once we started […]
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 […]
Learning the art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was never a goal of mine. It was never on a checklist of things to accomplish nor did I know much about it. Prior to being dragged to the gym by a good friend, I had studied Muay Thai for a few years and that was good enough […]
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 […]
When the voice of experience speaks, it’s usually a good idea to listen. When that voice is talking about jiu-jitsu and has an undefeated professional MMA career as backup evidence, you pay close attention to what it’s saying, because it works! On Saturday, December 5th, Crossroads BJJ was proud to host one such distinguished voice, […]
It’s promotion season at Crossroads, and James is the latest to pass his test and reach the rank of purple belt! James was a strong folkstyle wrestler when he got to Crossroads three years ago and has grown into a formidable, multi-faceted grappler in his time training here. Known for his excellent cardio, fitness, and […]
The last 2 weeks have been busy ones at Crossroads BJJ! The hours of training put in on the mats has collectively raised the caliber of jiu-jitsu being practiced by everyone, and nowhere is that more evident than with Nils and Mike, two longtime students of martial arts, who both achieved new belt ranks- blue […]
The following is an entry made by Jeremy, one of Crossroads’ dedicated students, to help other students know what to expect when it comes time to test themselves for the first time in a grappling tournament. Enjoy! Tournament Time Over the summer I competed in 3 different BJJ tournaments. I lost my first and went […]
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 […]
What you should you expect your child to learn at a Crossroads Kids Class? At Crossroads Brazilian Jiu-jitsu our Children’s program has 3 main goals, giving your child the tools to prevent an abduction, teaching your child how to deal with bullies at school, and teaching your child how to move and feel comfortable and […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
There are lots of Tournaments coming up in the Near Future! If your thinking about competing here is a list of events you may be interested in. Massachusetts Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation(MASSBJJF) Saturday November 9th, 2014 Click here for Details North American Grappling Association (NAGA) New York – Saturday November 15th, 2014 Click here for Details International […]
Just as expected Rodrigo Gracie Grandson of Carlos Gracie Sr. put on an amazing seminar last week at Crossroads Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Connecticut. Rodrigo has been learning Brazilian since he could crawl from his family. The Gracie’s are the most famous Martial Arts Family in the world having displayed there technical prowess both in self […]
This past September Crossroads Brazilian Jiu-jitsu Celebrated its 4 year anniversary. It doesn’t seem that long ago that we were sharing space with the local batting cage. When we first opened in Waterford, CT we would put down the mats at the beginning of every practice, train, and then wash the mats, wait for them […]
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 […]