Dear Legion,
We are back with another edition of the newsletter. The main column for the previous two has focused on biomechanical concepts. I've been glad to hear feedback from several avid readers, expressing that they've found those useful and were able to use those concepts in training. That's why, for the third and final time, we'll start with three more concepts that will serve you in gi or no-gi, rolling with white belts or black belts, and everyone in between.
Then we'll jump into matches of the month and other news from around the academy.
Main Column
Biomechanical Concepts
Part 3 of 3 — The Final Chapter
Concept #1
It's impossible to stand up if you can't plant your feet.
In almost every training session, there comes a moment when your opponent tries to stand up or at least rise above you. Most of these situations exist in a gray area—scrambles, fluid positions, or moments of transition. Because of this, you can't memorize a specific answer for every scenario. Instead, you need a guiding principle to shape your reactions in real time.
If you prevent your opponent from planting their feet, they cannot stand up. If you prevent him from planting just one foot, he will be severely impeded. This is true whether he is trying to get up from guard, escape from the bottom, or recover their base in a scramble. A single disrupted post can be the difference between him building up and you keeping control.
Once you internalize this concept, you'll start to see it everywhere. You'll recognize when an opponent is about to build a base and cut him off before he can. You'll break him down more efficiently and maintain top position with greater ease. The difference between a good grappler and a great one often comes down to awareness in these moments of transition—control the feet, control the fight.
Concept #2
It's impossible to bridge if you can't plant your feet.
Just like standing up, bridging requires a solid base. If your opponent can't get his feet to the mat, he can't generate the explosive power needed to lift his hips and escape. Disrupting a bridge can be harder than disrupting a standup because our arms are typically occupied and we're probably using our weight in a specific spot.
Perhaps the best example is mount, where the bridge is the prerequisite to most escapes. A really good approach on top is to get upper body control with the arms and push the hips into the opponent's stomach. Then touch the soles of your feet together beneath the opponent's thighs. Every time he goes to bridge, use the feet to gently kick his shin or ankle out of position and bring the soles back together. If you disrupt the bridge attempts like that you will frustrate and tire the opponent to no end.
This same concept will come in handy when dealing with the opponent while you have a dominant half guard or side control. This time, the bridge will probably be the beginning of a hip escape, so it is also worth disrupting.
Concept #3
Misalign the head to weaken the opponent
Give this a try today: Stand up and extend your arms out to the side, holding them perpendicular to your body. Now, have someone push down on your forearms as you resist. Chances are you'll be able to resist well, possibly even keeping the arms where they are.
For the second part of the experiment, do everything the same way, but touch an ear to your shoulder. Now that the head is out of alignment, you'll be unable to resist, and your arms will come down to the side. You may be sceptical right now, as I was, but give it a try.
In a typical jiu-jitsu round, there are many opportunities to misalign someone's head and weaken their responses. These opportunities start from the standing positions and continue to the ground, often through the front headlock position. When pinning opponents, we can use shoulder pressure, forearm posts or our own head to both weaken them and make them uncomfortable.
Watch & Learn
Matches of the Month
No-Gi Pick
Nick Mataya vs. ‘Little’ Jacob Bornemann
There were a few no-gi events just in the past week. Flograppling's Who's Number One 32, UFC BJJ 7, Professional Grappling Federation, which has an interesting format as a season with teams.
I selected a match from WNO for this month's showcase because it features two young fighters that we'll likely see a lot more of in the next few years. Jacob Borneman won the last ADCC trials, and Nick Mataya has been touted as one of the best prospects coming from Simple Man (formerly B-team). They also both happen to be built like welterweight tanks. The match takes place in pretty much all areas and has some good lessons on how to use pace to cook an opponent. It is also an example of why we need a complete jiu-jitsu game and just wrestling is not enough.
Watch the Match →Gi Pick
Mayram Maquine vs. Ademir Barreto
The biggest event of the past month was the Pan American Championship. However, the matches are behind a paywall, unfortunately, on Flograppling. So we're going back to last year and looking at this first match between Mayram Maquine and his powerful dreadlocks versus Ademir Barreto. One of the key ingredients for a good match is the athletes being evenly matched and it comes down to the wire at the last minute. This one features just that with two dynamic athletes and plenty of lessons.
P.S. If you scroll forward in this video, you'll see our own Paige versus our new kids instructor, Rafaela, in their barnburner match.
Watch the Match →In Memoriam
Matthew Rangel
In twenty-one editions of the newsletter, this is the first time that we have had to include an obituary, and hopefully the last one as well. Early in March, news reached us that, unfortunately one of our very consistent members had passed away.
His name is Matthew Rangel. He was just 24 years old, and many of you have likely trained with him because he not only trained consistently but also did a variety of different classes.
As a Marine, he served right across the street at Miramar. We send our sincere condolences to his wife, parents, and the rest of his family in Porterville, CA.
Academy Updates
Coach Sunshine Is Back from Japan
The early morning class crew noticed the absence of the ring leader. He has just returned from Japan. He celebrated his birthday by eating his way through Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara, before flying late last week, and he'll be back in action soon!
Top Attendance Leaders in March
This is typically where we share the top three people by attendance from the previous month. This month the data is not completely accurate because we have switched over to a new version of the member app. You may have noticed that a class or two did not get properly logged. That issue is now fixed, as long as you update your app, which has our mandatory check-in system.
iOS
Go to the App Store and update the app. You will see a refreshed login screen. The last step is to reset your password. Even if you didn't forget it, the system did.
Update on App Store →Android
We resolved an issue with the Play Store and will upload the app soon. For now, we have a QR code at the front desk and a link we can send you. As an Android loyalist, I apologize for the disrespect.
After updating, you'll be able to log in just as quickly as before, and your preferred class will be saved for quicker access. The video courses now work much better, and we have tons of cool features coming. The app may ask you to sign a waiver again, provide an emergency contact, or enter belt history dates. Then let's see who's the attendance king (or queen) in April.
Schedule Spotlight
Highlighted Classes
Here are some smaller or recently added classes you may not yet know about, but may fit well into your schedule:
Mon • Wed • Fri — 12:00 PM
Lunch Gi Class
Taught by Sunshine and Eric Sainz on Fridays, you get a smaller group of training partners, under the watchful eye of two black cats. The class is open to anyone that has finished the beginner course and is a great way to knock out your jiu-jitsu fix in the middle of the day. Perfect thing to do while everyone else at work is eating Taco Bell and scrolling TikTok.
Tue • Thu — 10:00 AM
Wrestling Class
This class is taught by Jason Lara, who is one of the very best wrestling coaches in town. This class was added fairly recently and I've personally been only able to attend it a few times but within a few seconds of watching and hearing Jason teach, I can tell you he is LEGIT. Take advantage of this resource especially if you are going to already train at 11:00. Stop by a little bit earlier and get some wrestling in.
Sat — 11:00 AM
Weekend No-Gi (Saturday)
I am teaching a no-gi task-based games class every Saturday and have for a little while now. It is perfectly paired with Sunshine's 10:00 AM gi weekend warriors. Or as a prelude before judo for jiu-jitsu.
Sun — 11:00 AM
Weekend No-Gi (Sunday)
This class used to be on Sundays at 11 AM but that spot is now taken over by Michael Diffly, a guest instructor who has trained a ton with John Danaher and is one of the most technical young black belts in town. It is absolutely perfect to get some guided instruction in before Open Mat.
Kids Program
Need to put your kids in a padded room mid-summer?
If you have kids aged 6–12, with any amount of jiu-jitsu experience (including zero), you should know about our two planned summer camps. We'll take your kids off your hands from 8:30am to 3pm and fill those hours with jiu-jitsu games, workshops, and fun activities that kids don't get to do during their regular classes.
Camp 1
June 15 – 19
Mon – Fri
Camp 2
July 13 – 17
Mon – Fri
Drop off will be 8:30–9am and pickup at 3pm or 6pm if your child is an existing student and wants to take the 4 & 5pm classes. Healthy lunches and snacks will be provided along with fun Jiu-Jitsu games and high-level instruction for all levels.
We have big discounts available for Legion members / parents. Contact Will at the front desk for details!
Call (858) 888-1815 →Competition Report
Jiu-Jitsu World League Recap
San Diego XVIII
JJWL returned to San Diego once again for their quarterly-ish event (I like how they use Roman numerals to number events). We didn't promote this competition as much as we did some in the past, so we had the smallest number of competitors out of any event.
But we also had one of the best performances, as far as % of wins versus losses goes, especially in the gi. Here are the results for teens and adults:
Gold
Daniel Cook • Mike Haughey • Ayden Tran • Andrew Nguyen • Jonathan Nakashima • Michael Haughey • Jimmy Wang • Micah Denton
Silver
Matthew Skotnicki
Bronze
Jun Dilmaghanian • Duncan Legget • Ben Thompson
As I was compiling the results, I also noticed that many of our competitors got 4th place after several matches. Congrats to everyone who competed. Legion also won a team trophy of some kind, but I wasn't able to go pick it up as I was coaching one of our brave warriors—we'll collect it next time.
P.S. If you want me to review your match and give you feedback, please send it to me at miha@legionajj.com — I will be happy to do so!
See you on the mats.