Inverted Gear Blog
Tag: Nelson Puentes
Rebuild Your Jiu-Jitsu Deck
I learned how to play Magic the Gathering in 5th grade. It fascinated me then and almost 20 years later it still does today. Recently I realized the same thing that keeps me going back to Magic the Gathering is the same thing that fascinates me about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.For the uninitiated, Magic The Gathering is a trading card game, the first one ever produced. Yes, it’s similar to Yu Gi Oh or Pokemon (but don’t judge it based on that). Magic has been around since 1993 and as of 2015 it has 20 million players worldwide. Magic can be played different ways, but one of the most popular ways to play involves the players creating a 60-card deck that represents...
The Spaced Repetition Learning Technique
Over the last year, I have become obsessed with language learning and have been studying and reading about language learning science as much as possible. I’ve brushed up on my Portuguese, picked up quite a bit of Italian for our stay in Sardinia, and some basic Japanese for our current trip through Japan. I’m a jiu-jiteiro at heart though, so it wasn’t long before I started drawing parallels between learning a language and learning Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.Learning jiu-jitsu is quite a bit like learning a language. At first you build your basic vocabulary. These are the moves you picked up in fundamentals class: upa escapes, armbars from closed guard, cross choke from mount, etc. Then you start learning common phrases. In...
Tracking Down the Original Creonte
At this point the term “creonte” is almost exclusively the property of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Whether we like it or not, it is now a permanent part of BJJ culture. The term has become synonymous with a traitor, someone that changes allegiances. Creonte was coined by Carlson Gracie Jr. after a character in a soap opera he used to enjoy. This is not a post about loyalty or jiu-jitsu politics.Instead, I want to do more to flesh out this jiu-jitsu term. Have you ever wondered what was the name of the telenovela that Carlson liked so much? Perhaps more important, what did the original Creonte looke like? A few weeks ago I was chatting with my friend Matt Kirtley about the...
The Flashback Episode: My Greatest Hits
A year ago, the awesome guys at Artechoke Media started helping us run social media for Inverted Gear. One of the first things they did when I told them I wanted us to put out more content was tell me “well you should write a weekly blog.” A year later with a few missed weeks due to crazy schedules and the one week I was inspired and wrote two posts, we sit at 50 posts. I want to thank Matt and Marshal for encouraging me to do this, helping me brainstorm, and editing my articles. I am very self-conscious about my writing. English is my second language, but like many things in my life, BJJ has helped me overcome this...
Behind the Scenes: Stocking Gi Sizes
When will my size be in stock? We get this question a lot. Keeping gis in stock has always been a challenge for us, from our first batch to today. As business owners, it’s one of those “good problems to have” scenarios, but we can also see how it can frustrating for our fans. While we continue to work to keep more sizes in stock more consistently, I thought a look under the hood of running a gi company might give you some insights. Part of the challenge is stocking half-sizes. This means that when gis are in stock, you are more likely to find a gi that fits just right, but that also means that we have to stock...
How to Pwn Mat Awareness
If you play video games long enough, especially MOBA games like League of Legends or DOTA 2, you will hear the term map awareness thrown around—Usually in the form of “you freaking noob you have no map awareness.” In these video games, map awareness refers to knowing where the other players in the map are, where you are in relation to them, knowing which ways you may be attacked from and knowing what your best escape routes are. Much like noobs, many grapplers have terrible “map awareness” or a sense of “mat awareness” if you will. Mat awareness is knowing the following: What position you are currently in. This means going beyond the basic positional definitions like guard or half...
White Belt Questions, Black Belt Answers
Our fearless Panda Nation leaders Hillary and Nelson finally completed their relocation to Allentown, PA, placing them just minutes from Zombie BJJ, the school where I teach and train. That means I now get to see them all the time (or at least when they aren't jet setting to another BJJ Globetrotters camp). This gave me the idea for a new series on the Inverted Gear blog. Every week, the /R/BJJ subreddit runs a White Belt Wednesday thread where you can ask any question, no matter how basic or embarrassing, without fear of judgment or criticism. These are always popular and people are very supportive with their replies. The three of us pandas are going to to film answers to WBW questions. Below I've embedded the Q&A from our first...
Watching Sambo Panams and Sipping Terere in Paraguay
My friend Reilly Bodycomb won the Sambo US Nationals a few weeks ago. One of the perks for winning was securing a spot on the US team at the Panamerican and World tournaments. The Panamerican was held in Paraguay this year. Since Reilly doesn't speak much Spanish besides asking for a cold Coca-cola, he asked me to come along to be his translator and guide. I've always been intrigued by the idea of going to a large sambo tournament, and I had never visited Paraguay, so after some planning, I booked two flights out of JFK and we were off in an adventure.After nearly missing our flight (since we were too busy playing Magic: The Gathering to hear that our...
Training Wheels, Leg Locks, and Takedowns
I have been riding a bike everywhere in Copenhagen. I grew up riding a bike, rode around some in college, but I have probably ridden a bike twice in the last 6 years. When I jumped on my bike at the rental store, it was a bit rough at the beginning—figuring out my balance, where to put my weight, finding the exact right spot to sit on that weird seat. After a few minutes, though, I was cruising. Copenhagen bike infrastructure is amazing. They have wide bike lanes and even dedicated street lights and turning lanes solely to bikers. Being back on the pedals got me thinking about bike riding and that classic analogy: X is like riding a bike.Haven’t...
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in the Olympics?
Without fail, every Olympic year the topic of getting Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu into the games comes up. I remember being a white belt in 2008 and hearing that conversation during the Beijing Olympic games—Same thing during London Olympics in 2012, and now again in 2016 with the games being held in Brazil. We get excited seeing judo and wrestling on the world stage, and we wish our beautiful art could be on it too. But after all this time, we are no closer than we were in 2008. BJJ still hasn't crossed any of the major hurdles required to become an Olympic sport. To even be considered for the Olympics, a sport needs to meet specific requirements, such as: 1) having an international...