More limbs to break! My nightmare is an octopus. Or an alien who's joints all bend the opposite way.

I realized really quick that despite being 215 lbs, and relatively strong, I DO NOT want to get into a fight on the streets (not that I wanted to anyway....never have been in my 42 years). Getting tagged with 16oz gloves in light sparring hurts, bare knuckles or an elbow at full speed has gotta be awful! I'm using all this training to just be prepared I'm cornered and have no choice. We travel to Europe often and of course can't conceal carry there, and I was actually attacked by a gypsy in Budapest once (reason why I started bjj because I had no clue how to fight).

Now having to protect 2 young girls gave me more motivation!

Couple things:

Royler Gracie seminar at my gym, Feburary 8th. White Gi only, but all are welcome. Gracie Humaita Austin, Ben White Location.

Anyone competing in the IBJJF Austin International Feb 22/23?

Lets talk Mouth Guards, please.

I have a "boil and bite" mouth guard that I put in but its seen better days and I am competing in February.

Does anyone here use anything that is more professional grade? I've looked online but I'd rather ask around first.

Thanks.

This is what I use. I have a strong gag reflex so I can't use most of the mouth guards other people use. This one is thin and can be remolded a bunch if necessary. Several of the other guys at my gym now use these as well.

https://www.sisuguard.com/sisu-max-mouth-guard/

Max Power said:

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This is what I use. I have a strong gag reflex so I can't use most of the mouth guards other people use. This one is thin and can be remolded a bunch if necessary. Several of the other guys at my gym now use these as well.

https://www.sisuguard.com/sisu-max-mouth-guard/

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Very cool, thank you sir.

O.G. said:

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Lets talk Mouth Guards, please.

I have a "boil and bite" mouth guard that I put in but its seen better days and I am competing in February.

Does anyone here use anything that is more professional grade? I've looked online but I'd rather ask around first.

Thanks.

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My sister made me one. It's really thin and is for my upper teeth only, but it stays in without biting down, and I can talk/coach clearly without taking it out. I put it in when I walk on the mat and have to peel it off/out when I leave the mat (sometimes forgetting I have it).

Probably worth mentioning that my sister is a dentist.

I used a boil and bite from Impact Mouthguards that I was very happy with, and only stopped using it because I started Invisalign treatment so i just use the retainer trays now as guards. I liked the impact guard better than anything I found at Academy.

I did use a Bite doctor guard similar to the sisu guard linked above- I think it was called the trash talker. I liked it alright however learned the hard way that if you got hit in the lips/mouth just right the small holes in the guard could still bust up the inside of your lip. Thus changed my preference to the smooth finish of the impact guard.

Good luck in your comp!

Intensity in a tournament match is 10x class rolling. I would say it gets easier but it never did when I competed.

edit: congrats btw

Gnome Sayin said:

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Intensity in a tournament match is 10x class rolling. I would say it gets easier but it never did when I competed.

edit: congrats btw

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Thanks & that is for sure. I felt like a run over dog on Monday. Went back to class Wed night & was back at it....slowly.

Congrats on a great tournament! And congrats on getting out there and competing!

Yeah, that intensity is real in tournaments. I think that's one of the many reasons I didn't enjoy competing haha. But I'm too old and too out of shape to be competing at this stage.

Finally getting back to 3x per week No Gi classes. It took about 5-6 weeks in a splint & buddy taped to get mobility back.

In class we're working on using the truck entries to attack turtle & half guard & from top side control. I haven't done much of that before, and it's been cool to go in depth on it. Calf slicers,the twister, banana splits, crotch rippers, etc.

Whoever said that No-Gi is much more simple & pared down from Gi hasn't done much of the 10th planet/Eddie Bravo stuff. It's like a new door has been opened. Fun stuff!

I just moved homes and now live about a mile from a different great gym. I have been there for a few open mats but finally went for my first class there since my gym is closed this week.

I have a big decision coming up on whether to move gyms soon.

• Nearby gym is a 2 minute drive, vs a 15min drive to my current gym. This is tough now with a 2.5yo and a 6mo old, but will become impossible once my son is old enough to join bjj.
• My gym has had awful attendence over the last year, usually around 4-8 students of unmotivated white belts. Great Black Belts teaching at my gym, but every roll is either against them or against newbie white belts. My offense is suffering as a result. Nearby Gym seems to have between 10-25 students consistently, including several purple and brown belts that I need reps against.

Halfway through Purple now, would love to stay at one gym forever, but life is seeming to have other plans.

Quote:

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My gym has had awful attendence over the last year, usually around 4-8 students of unmotivated white belts. Great Black Belts teaching at my gym, but every roll is either against them or against newbie white belts. My offense is suffering as a result. Nearby Gym seems to have between 10-25 students consistently, including several purple and brown belts that I need reps against.

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I'm in sorta the same boat.
My gym's no gi classes have about 4-6, 2 blackbelts, 3 purple belts & 2-3 blue belts occasionally.
It's getting to where we all know each other's game so well... need new blood and more blue belts to whip upon.

There is a ton of competition in the area with Stoic, Gracie Barra & Gracie Southwest Austin all within 9 miles of each other... we have a tough time getting enough white belts to retain and stick.

I'll stick out the year (I paid in advance), but things are going to have to change for me to keep going. Stoic is too far a drive, 10th planet near me closed. Not sure where I'm going to end up, I really only want to do no-gi. Maybe Paragon or 10th planet Ben White.

I've heard there's a few nogi guys over at B-Team BJJ in Austin that are kind of tough. And the best way to try them out is to boldly walk in and tell them to send out their toughest (and then to quickly submit them)!

Kidding.....sounds like a new gym is in order. And there are plenty of good ones in Austin.

Apache said:

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Quote:

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My gym has had awful attendence over the last year, usually around 4-8 students of unmotivated white belts. Great Black Belts teaching at my gym, but every roll is either against them or against newbie white belts. My offense is suffering as a result. Nearby Gym seems to have between 10-25 students consistently, including several purple and brown belts that I need reps against.

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I'm in sorta the same boat.
My gym's no gi classes have about 4-6, 2 blackbelts, 3 purple belts & 2-3 blue belts occasionally.
It's getting to where we all know each other's game so well... need new blood and more blue belts to whip upon.

There is a ton of competition in the area with Stoic, Gracie Barra & Gracie Southwest Austin all within 9 miles of each other... we have a tough time getting enough white belts to retain and stick.

I'll stick out the year (I paid in advance), but things are going to have to change for me to keep going. Stoic is too far a drive, 10th planet near me closed. Not sure where I'm going to end up, I really only want to do no-gi. Maybe Paragon or 10th planet Ben White.

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Come to Gracie Humaita, Ben White. We have some pretty good sized classes.

Yall do no gi?

Apache said:

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Yall do no gi?

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Yes sir. Highlighted yellow is NoGi.

Thanks! The evening class is the only one I could make. Wish they offered more late classes.

Anyone have experience with Paragon Jiu Jitsu in Austin?
10 minutes from my house & have No-Gi classes Tue, Wed & Thursday with an open mat on Friday.
Love the people I train with, but I'm not progressing rolling with the same 2-3 guys twice a week.
https://www.paragonaustin.com/

Apache said:

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Anyone have experience with Paragon Jiu Jitsu in Austin?
10 minutes from my house & have No-Gi classes Tue, Wed & Thursday with an open mat on Friday.
Love the people I train with, but I'm not progressing rolling with the same 2-3 guys twice a week.
https://www.paragonaustin.com/

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I saw a lot of their guys at the tournament last month but don't know any of them personally.

Curious what everyone's gym cancellation policy is.
I paid in advance to get a good rate (a year)
If I cancel, I feel I should be reimbursed. Happy to pay a cancellation fee or something equitable, but doesn't seem right to pay for 1/2 a year of class if I've left for any reason. Am I wrong in this?

AggieChemE09 said:

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Just signed up for JJWL in Rosenberg. Time to start taking my diet and training more seriously!

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Where is this? I'm in needville and just took my 7 year old to his first BJJ class this evening.

Apache said:

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Curious what everyone's gym cancellation policy is.
I paid in advance to get a good rate (a year)
If I cancel, I feel I should be reimbursed. Happy to pay a cancellation fee or something equitable, but doesn't seem right to pay for 1/2 a year of class if I've left for any reason. Am I wrong in this?

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In my travels I've been a paid member of a total of 4 BJJ or MMA gyms.

Typically, if I tell them that I'm leaving on the 15th May, lets say, I'll be charged until the 15th of June, then no more. So, one more month whether I'm there or not. My first BJJ gym was cash only and didn't charge me anything. These Austin area gyms are pretty proud of their prices compared to what I've paid in other places.

What gym did you start him at?

The tournament is at the new Ft Bend County Epicenter
https://www.jjworldleague.com/events/houston-xiv-gi-adults

Awesome, will have to check that out.

He went to a class at Wyant's martial arts. Fairly close by with good reviews. Admittedly I don't really know what makes a good bjj gym.

AggieChemE09 said:

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What gym did you start him at?

The tournament is at the new Ft Bend County Epicenter
https://www.jjworldleague.com/events/houston-xiv-gi-adults

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If you mean me, Revolution Fitness in South Bend, IN. But that was for Muay Thai. I hadn't started BJJ yet.

First BJJ gym was Gracie Humatia, Springfield IL. That was the cash only one. Didn't charge me anything when I told them I was moving.

Next gym was Three Crosses BJJ in Las Cruces, NM. They were former Gracie Barra that had either lost their affiliation, or dropped it, I'm not sure which. It happened just before I got there and I didn't ask. Great place to train if you are ever traveling. Everything from serious Federal Law Enf from El Paso/Border Partrol to guys that you probably shouldn't ask what they do for a living.

Current gym is Gracie Humatia, Austin (there is also a sister gym in Cedar Park, its the one that Tim Kennedy teaches at etc., I show up in Cedar Park usually on Fridays, if I'm back in town.

During the week if I'm in South Texas I drop in to Gracie Humiata Corpus Christi, but I sort of have an arrangement with them. Not a full paid member, but I do pay for drop ins enough that I've learned quite a few names.

Nvm...i see to whom you were speaking now. Except to say that a changing gyms has its positives and negatives.

BQRyno said:

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Awesome, will have to check that out.

He went to a class at Wyant's martial arts. Fairly close by with good reviews. Admittedly I don't really know what makes a good bjj gym.

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Looking at their website it looks like a Taekwondo School that offers BJJ, which I am basing off of the fact that they do not list any of their bjj instructors on their website.

I think the best school is the one that you will actually go to, but if you are willing to drive another few miles, check out FightTX. This is where I train, and while I have my gripes about the Adult Class attendance, their kid's program is great.

Thanks! I checked that one out online when I was looking around, and the one concern I have with that one is that their kids classes look like they're Mondays and Wednesdays, and we go to church on Wednesday evenings. Twice a week seems like it's really what's needed. I'm okay with driving a bit more if it means going to a really good gym. Maybe I'll shoot them an email and see what the scheduling is like.

BQRyno said:

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Thanks! I checked that one out online when I was looking around, and the one concern I have with that one is that their kids classes look like they're Mondays and Wednesdays, and we go to church on Wednesday evenings. Twice a week seems like it's really what's needed. I'm okay with driving a bit more if it means going to a really good gym. Maybe I'll shoot them an email and see what the scheduling is like.

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I'll pass on the feedback directly to the owner for ya. The kid class is growing so fast these days it may be time for them to open up more classes anyways.

BQRyno said:

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Thanks! I checked that one out online when I was looking around, and the one concern I have with that one is that their kids classes look like they're Mondays and Wednesdays, and we go to church on Wednesday evenings. Twice a week seems like it's really what's needed. I'm okay with driving a bit more if it means going to a really good gym. Maybe I'll shoot them an email and see what the scheduling is like.

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Looks like that we have kids classes on Fridays now too at 6pm. They are going to update the website to reflect this.

AggieChemE09 said:

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BQRyno said:

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Thanks! I checked that one out online when I was looking around, and the one concern I have with that one is that their kids classes look like they're Mondays and Wednesdays, and we go to church on Wednesday evenings. Twice a week seems like it's really what's needed. I'm okay with driving a bit more if it means going to a really good gym. Maybe I'll shoot them an email and see what the scheduling is like.

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Looks like that we have kids classes on Fridays now too at 6pm. They are going to update the website to reflect this.

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That's awesome. Thanks so much. I'm going to contact them and check out your gym.

We should make some sort of a roster of who here rolls & which city etc. It would be cool to know how many on TexAgs are regular rollers.