Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and self defense in Woodstock Georgia

If you look at martial arts as a whole, you will see that almost all arts share one or more of 4 basic ranges that they will focus on. Some systems will focus on one area or range of fighting more than others, but each range is in existence because they are a universal truth in combat, meaning that regardless of the art / system, they are a reality that cannot be denied or ignored. You will end up in one or all of them at some time while fighting.

Some examples of the 4 basic ranges are: Long Range Weapons, Kickboxing (striking) range, Pummeling (standing grappling) range and a ground fighting or grappling range. If your goal is to be a complete combat artist, you will want to do some training in each of the 4 basic ranges. This is generally referred to as cross training. Cross training will increase your ability to stay in your element if in a fight and will increase your ability to force your opponent out of his if he is not as well educated or trained in the different ranges.

This is one of the reasons for the choice of systems and the arrangement of the schedule at AMAC, to offer the opportunity for those interested in cross training to do so in an intelligent and safe way.

As always thank you for your support!


If you would like more information on the various programs we offer here at the Atlanta martial arts center. Programs like Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do, Thai boxing, Filipino Kali (stick fighting), judo, submission wrestling and more. Please give us a call at 770-926-3030 or check us out on the web atlantamartialartscenter.com
The Atlanta martial arts center is located in Woodstock Georgia and has been in business for 10 years. So if you are looking for an adult based school with a clean safe environment AMAC is the school for you.

Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and self defense in Woodstock Georgia

Last week in our Gracie Jiu-Jitsu class we were studying how to escape the site control position. This week we have been looking at methods to control someone if you have them in the site control position as well as methods of attack. Most of the basic attacks we look at inside control position are based on joint locking but you must also consider the possibility of striking in the beginning. Even though the fundamental class primarily looks at joint locking it is important to always consider where and when you can strike your opponent or where and when they can strike you. There are many variations in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu that you can learn from the many positions, but once you start considering the possibility of striking it shortens the list of possibilities significantly. This mindset is important especially if you are training for self-defense and not competition.


You have four basic fundamental attacks on the arm inside control position. Two are based on a straight arm position and the other two are based on a bit arm position. One thing I always tell my students to consider is that the arm can only do two basic things and that is to contract or expand. Due to the nature of the joints of the arm they can contract or expand on many different planes but generally it will break down to just that, a straight arm or a bit arm. It is important to initially see the principles like this because it keeps it simple and simple is good if you are attempting to do a technique in a stressful situation.


If you would like more information on the various programs we offer here at the Atlanta martial arts center. Programs like Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do, Thai boxing, Filipino Kali (stick fighting), judo, submission wrestling and more. Please give us a call at 770-926-3030 or check us out on the web atlantamartialartscenter.com
The Atlanta martial arts center is located in Woodstock Georgia and has been in business for 10 years. So if you are looking for an adult based school with a clean safe environment AMAC is the school for you.

Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and self defense in Woodstock Georgia

This week in our Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu program we are studying how to escape from the side control position. If you imagine that you are in a fight, you are on the ground on your back, and your opponent is laying on top of you chest to chest pinning you to the ground so you cannot move. This is the position that we will be taking a look at this week in class. We will be working on how to escape this position and after escaping regain a dominant position on the opponent in order to control the fight. There are many ways to escape this position what makes the techniques from Gracie Jiu-Jitsu above average is that they are based on leverage, body position and good body mechanics. Why is this important because if you can imagine the same scenario that I spoke about above and then imagine that the guy that is pinning you on the ground is 150 pounds heavier than you are and 20 years younger. With this in mind if your technique is based on muscle or strength you might have a problem dealing with this larger opponent. But if your technique is based on leverage and proper structure of the body it is possible to steal escape safely and regain control of your opponent.

This line of thought is also important if you are striving to be a lifetime martial artist. As you age you can become weaker and your athletic ability could slowly start to leave you. With this in mind if you're techniques are based on the former they will be leaving you as well. That is why it is important to base what you learn on proper structure and timing. Currently this mindset is not the standard in martial arts, most schools are based on using Sprint and explosive power to accomplish their goals. This is great if you plan to retire from your martial arts career around the age of 35 which is not uncommon in the sports-based world.


If you would like more information on the various programs we offer here at the Atlanta martial arts center. Programs like Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do, Thai boxing, Filipino Kali (stick fighting), judo, submission wrestling and more. Please give us a call at 770-926-3030 or check us out on the web atlantamartialartscenter.com
The Atlanta martial arts center is located in Woodstock Georgia and has been in business for 10 years. So if you are looking for an adult based school with a clean safe environment AMAC is the school for you.

Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Woodstock Georgia

One of the programs we teach at the Atlanta martial arts center here in Woodstock Georgia is the combat submission wrestling program under Eric Paulson. CSW is one of our primary no-gi training programs. One of the great things about CSW event is specifically designed for fighting without a Gi. This is important because some programs that are designed to learn in a uniform that is just transferred over to a no-gi program will lack some of the controls and mechanics that are important in this type of training. The following is a video showing you some of the moves that are taught in combat submission wrestling.



If you would like more information on the various programs we offer here at the Atlanta martial arts center. Programs like Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do, Thai boxing, Filipino Kali (stick fighting), judo, submission wrestling and more. Please give us a call at 770-926-3030 or check us out on the web atlantamartialartscenter.com
The Atlanta martial arts center is located in Woodstock Georgia and has been in business for 10 years. So if you are looking for an adult based school with a clean safe environment AMAC is the school for you.

Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Woodstock Georgia

We are currently expanding our Gracie Jiu-Jitsu program here at the school in Woodstock Georgia. One of the classes we are adding to our program is a Gracie Jiu-Jitsu takedown and throwing class. This class will focus on the pummeling range. When you see two people standing and they clinch each other trying to control each other our twist each other to the ground this is the pummeling range. This is a common position to end up in even for people who are untrained in fighting methods. You can watch any video on YouTube and it is not uncommon to see the fights start out with strikes and then end up in a standing wrestling match. Since this is a common range in combat it is important to take time and study this area intelligently so that you are prepared if you end up in the situation in a fight.

Personally I look at to possible themes that can happen in this range, one is called Randori. Randori is a training method from judo. In the second I generally refer to as pummeling, I was first introduced the pummeling in a system called combat submission wrestling from my teacher Eric Paulson. Because of my background in judo, Jiu-Jitsu, and combat submission wrestling this class will cover both of these concepts. Our goal with this class is to teach the student the ability to control someone in this range and if they choose to take them to the ground and continue with their Jiu-Jitsu game. Another benefit from this past ability to stop someone who is trying to take you to the ground. It is a common statement around the school that if you want to learn to stop something you would should first learn how to do it well. So if you are not training some sort of pummeling or standing grappling in your game now you should be. The lack of this training will leave a large hole in your overall self-defense or fighting game.


If you would like more information on the various programs we offer here at the Atlanta martial arts center. Programs like Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do, Thai boxing, Filipino Kali (stick fighting), judo, submission wrestling and more. Please give us a call at 770-926-3030 or check us out on the web atlantamartialartscenter.com
The Atlanta martial arts center is located in Woodstock Georgia and has been in business for 10 years. So if you are looking for an adult based school with a clean safe environment AMAC is the school for you.

Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Woodstock Georgia

In this week in a Gracie Jiu-Jitsu class here in Woodstock Georgia we are going over the side control position and how to find various submissions from the side control position. If your opponent is on the ground and on his back facing up and you are chest to chest with him holding him down on the ground this is considered a side control position in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. You have many options from this position to attack the opponent you may also choose to go into a more dominant position which is the full mount position. The mount position is when you are seated on top of your opponent holding them on the ground. One of the first things you should consider when dealing with opponent inside control position is your ability to maintain control of that position. If the opponent escapes you will not have the ability to finish the fight. This is another area that is studied in class is your ability to intelligently control a larger opponent using body position, leverage, and positioning of the body.

Sometimes the ability to control the opponent is more important than the ability to submit to the opponent. For instance I teach a lot of law enforcement and SWAT teams around the state of Georgia, their focus when they reached the side control position is just that of control. They may not seek to do a joint lock unless the situation is forced into that position by the opponent. This is also important for civilian for instance if you had to control someone who is a young adult or close friend and you did not want to hurt them.

If you would like more information on the various programs we offer here at the Atlanta martial arts center. Programs like Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do, Thai boxing, Filipino Kali (stick fighting), judo, submission wrestling and more. Please give us a call at 770-926-3030 or check us out on the web atlantamartialartscenter.com
The Atlanta martial arts center is located in Woodstock Georgia and has been in business for 10 years. So if you are looking for an adult based school with a clean safe environment AMAC is the school for you.