The Mystery of 1337

1 Comments, Posted by: Roy Dean in: Personal

I watched this clip, and many of the comments on YouTube were to the effect of, “Oh!  1337, so cool!”  I felt left out.  What are they talking about? 1337?  Am I that old to not understand the whippersnappers in this younger generation?

So I checked it out on wikipedia, and 1331 is an argot, or slang, for leet (short for elite) as a kind of shorthand.  I was familiar with a few common terms, including n00b (for newbie), LOL (Laugh Out Loud), and of course, pwned (owned, as in total domination). 

But it goes farther than that.  Check it out for yourself here, and feel old with me, or a few years younger with your inside knowledge.  Woot!

Hiroshi Ikeda- Irimi

2 Comments, Posted by: Roy Dean in:

I’ve had the pleasure of attending many of of Hiroshi Ikeda’s classes in my Aikido training.  A true master. He has discovered how to make Aikido work for him.  As we all must.  What ever our Aikido may be.

Snowdays in Bend

4 Comments, Posted by: Roy Dean in: Media

Big snowstorm yesterday.  I loved it.  I’m feeling inspired to write, now that “A Year with the Master” is live and downloadable on Amazon.  I have most of the chapters already outlined, it’s just a matter of getting in the daily writing groove.  My daily groove has been starting with a double bagged green tea and yoga routine straight from Yoga Journal.  Its really helped my back and neck, no doubt, which has in turn loosed up my shoulders.  Everything affects everything.

Doing my best to start this year off right. New dojo music.  CD at the RFI Mastering right now.  Rebalanced the books to the penny.  Learning to use my Palm Pilot. Looking for a new dojo space, after negotiations were halted for a previous option.  Every choice is carefully weighed in the warrior’s way.  Timing is everything, and movements must have purpose.  Study on this. And don’t miss December’s update.

My Teacher’s Teacher

1 Comments, Posted by: Roy Dean in: Media

Above is a recent match with Joe Moreira, my instructor’s instructor.  Note how he baits the triangle, passes, mounts, then chokes his opponent into submission. No wasted motion or energy. This is how the master does it.

It’s important to know where you come from, and what your lineage is.  Everyone training at the Academy continues the lineage of Professor Moreira and Mr. Harris, and everyone awarded a colored rank is now included on the promotions list of Harris International.  Who knows, some of the current Academy members may continue the lineage years down the line, and award a few belts of their own.  That’s the goal.

 

 

Vision 08

6 Comments, Posted by: Roy Dean in: Academy

2008 Goals

1.  Relocation to an independent space.

2. Complete 3 additional DVD’s: 

                              Connections: Aikido and BJJ

                              Combinations and Strategy

                              Earning the Blue: BJJ Fundamentals

3. Mastering and distribution of “The Sound of the Way: Music for Martial Arts.”

4. Establishment of the Martial Youth program.

5. Completion of the “Black Belt Chronicles.”  A Year with the Master is the first half of the book.  SoCal Jiu Jitsu Days will be the second.

6. Workout with the Summit High Wrestling Team 2x a week to improve my takedowns and conditioning.

7.  2 tournaments for the RDA Competition Team.

8.  Get my Girl up here to Bend!

 

 

 

No Gi New Year’s Special

3 Comments, Posted by: Roy Dean in:

Yes, there is class tonight, New Year’s Eve.  No gi.  Ring in the new year on the mat. 

Got in late last night from Chicago.  Wonderful trip, but it’s good to be home and back in the groove.

I’m very inspired for 2008.  More to come.

 

Yuletide Blog

3 Comments, Posted by: Roy Dean in: News

Merry Christmas to all!  This blog will cover the essentials for the month of December.  It has not been a good blogging month, but other forms of media publishing are going quite well.

Holiday class schedule is as follows.  Wednesday class with Jimmy.  Open mat with Rick and TJ on Thursday night.  No Friday day class, but Anthony will be taking care of Saturday afternoon.  I won’t return from Chicago until the 30th.  In the meantime, go GSP!

Big up to Rick Ellis for helping me assemble a DVD description page.  They’ve been selling on Amazon and I’ve also incorporated Google AdWords to draw traffic. 

I also completed some video editing for an upcoming DVD on Aikido and BJJ.  I’ve posted a teaser clip above, and it has already begun generating discussion.

I also published my first Kindle book, changing the title of An Uchideshi Experience to A Year with the Master.  Amazon is still working on debugging the Kindle revolution, but a revolution it is!

2008 will soon be upon us.  Get ready for an amazing year!

Yosokan No Gi Trailer

3 Comments, Posted by: Roy Dean in: Seminars

As I finish up my San Diego Recap, please enjoy the no gi clinic I did for the students of Margarita Jimenez of Seikishin Dojo, who is also my partner in the video.  Of course, a higher quality version can be found here. Big thanks to Paul Pedrazzi for his cinematic eye and filming the astute angles.

BJJReview.net receives BJJ Seminars: Year One

5 Comments, Posted by: Roy Dean in: Media

Originally posted at bjjreviews.blogspot.com

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Seminars: Year One DVD Review
   
Recently I received a copy of BJJ Black Belt Roy Dean’s newest DVD titled, “Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Seminars: Year One”. For those who don’t know who Roy is, he is a black belt under BJJ Black Belt Roy Harris and runs his academy in Bend, Oregon. You can learn more about Roy and his academy at http://www.roydeanacademy.com.

The DVD itself runs about 85 minutes in length and is broken up into the following chapters:

1. Alaska Seminar – 30 min
2. Summer 2007 – 6 min
3. Purple Belt Test – 6 min
4. Roy Harris Seminar – 37 min
5. Westside Submission – 5 min
6. What Jiu Jitsu Looks Like – 1 min

To help avoid any confusion with the two Roy’s on this DVD. I will refer to them as either Mr. Dean or Mr. Harris. The first title, the Alaska Seminar, is a collection of moves taught by Mr. Dean at Gracie Barra Alaska. The techniques taught in this section are as follows:

1. Kimura Entry
2. Kimura Finish
3. Kimura with Leg
4. Guillotine Choke
5. Choke to Triangle
6. Triangle Kimura
7. Hip Bump
8. Sidemount Kimura
9. Compression Kimura
10. Bent Armlock Flow
11. Knee Push Kimura
12. Rolling 1 thru 4

Over the years I have seen countless ways on how to do some of the following techniques above, especially the Kimura, Guillotine Choke, and Hip Bump. What separates this DVD from a lot of the other instructional set out on the market are the details. Mr. Dean has a way of teaching that is very methodical and fluid. Even though I’ve done these techniques hundreds of times, the little details he shows were new to me. He starts out with a very fundamental way of entering the Kimura, but he breaks that down so you use minimal effort. He continues on how to finish the Kimura and breaks it down even further by using your leg to break down your opponent’s posture leading to the submission. The little details he shows really makes a difference. Another good example is how Mr. Dean breaks down one of the first sweeps I’ve learned and that is the Hip Bump. We’ve all done this move many times I’m sure, but the details he teaches helps you deal with people of different sizes.

I should also mention that this section of the DVD has a menu so you can go to any of the techniques listed above.

The next section of the DVD is called “Summer 2007”. This 6 minute clip is a highlight of a morning session of a BJJ gathering at Mr. Dean’s academy. You get to witness Roy demonstrate various moves from that session. You won’t receive any actual verbal instruction, but just watching alone, the experienced BJJ practitioner should be able to pick out some moves to practice and possibly add to their arsenal.

Next we move onto a very interesting portion of the DVD. Here you will get to watch highlights of Mr. Dean’s student test for his purple belt. Countless of times I have seen people ask what it takes to be a purple belt or what does a test consist of. We all know that every instructor has his own criteria and methods, but this section gives you a really good perspective to what a purple belt should know. The student was a testament to Mr. Dean’s teaching as he demonstrated technique after technique, not only in front of Mr. Dean, but also in front of Roy Harris and many other students. Jimmy DaSilva, who was taking the test, finished off by rolling with his fellow students and finally with Mr. Harris himself. It was a pleasure to watch this test and I myself want to use it as a standard for myself when I eventually reach purple belt level.

The next section on the DVD is the Roy Harris Seminar. Mr. Harris is a 3rd degree black belt under Joe Moreira. Roy is widely known for his detailed teaching method and has some of the more popular instructional DVD’s on the market. In this section Mr. Harris covers the Open Guard. The techniques shown are as follows:

1. 3 Pushes: Arms
2. 3 Pushes: Legs
3. Hands and Feet
4. 3 Pushes Knees
5. 3 Grips
6. Push and Pull
7. 3 Places to Hook
8. Open Guard Review
9. Guard Pass Counters
10. Counter with Roll
11. Counter Sweep
12. Counter with Elbow
13. Double Under Hook
14. One Arm Under Counter
15. How did it feel?

As is in the Alaska Seminar section, you will not learn any advanced moves here, but you will learn a wealth of details covering the Open Guard. Mr. Harris teaches you how to control your opponent in your open guard using a very methodical system. If you haven’t guessed by now, he teaches in three’s. For me personally this was a very helpful section that I will be reviewing for quite a while. It’s the simplest details that can make a difference in your game. As you can see from the list above sections 1 through 7 are all about controlling your opponent and creating distance. You will learn how to use your arms at first and three spots in which to push, you will move onto your legs and three different areas to place your feet and push, finally you put it all together to counter your opponents movements. The rest of this section is like this as well. Now I’m sure you are wondering what section 15, “How did it feel?”, is all about. Mr. Harris quantifies what he has taught in a sense and helps the students understand what they should be feeling when practicing these techniques and this philosophy he talks about can really apply to the rest of your training in general. Mr. Harris truly has a great way to put things into perspective.

Finally we move onto the last two sections of the DVD. The Westside Submission is a tournament Mr. Dean competed in hosted by Chris Brennan. You will see Mr. Dean compete in a series of no-gi matches. The last sections is called “What does Jiu Jitsu Look Like” and is a one minute commercial shot with Mr. Harris and his students.

In conclusion, this is definitely not your ordinary BJJ DVD instructional. The variety, the details, and those who teach on it, make it worth your time to watch and learn. If you read the blog on http://www.roydeanacacademy.com you w,ill notice that Marcelo Garcia also gave a review of this DVD. Marcelo also made note of the detailed instruction as well. This is one DVD I would definitely recommend to my friends.

Thanks again to my friend Keith Owen of http://www.bjjmoves.com for passing this DVD along to me for review!

What’s Been Going On…

2 Comments, Posted by: Roy Dean in: Media

Here’s the monthly training log, with Rick and TJ in another epic battle.  Josh and Derek got into the mix as well.  Of course, a higher quality version exists here.

This video features new music, a piece called “Ichikawa.”  Ichikawa means One River, and is also the name of my high school Judo team captain.  Ichikawa is the final song for my new project “The Sound of the Way:  Music for Martial Arts.”  All the songs used on this website to accompany videos have been scored against martial arts action, whether that’s BJJ, submission wrestling, or Aikido.  There is one collaborative song, “Darkness,” which TJ wrote and I merely remixed.  10 songs in total, with a nice flow, and clocking in around 48 minutes.  I will send it to mastering in Seattle to put the finishing audio touches on to smooth out the sound, then present it to the public.  Just one more thing on the To Do List, and there’s many more exciting projects in the works, to be revealed in the near future.