Professor Elias and Coach Danny Arroyo demonstrate the principles of using the Jello Guard to off-balance your opponent while you hook, lace, scoot, and get behind them. With a sense of urgency and an insistence on constantly pushing and pulling using your lower body this can work even without a gi.
November 9th Professor Elias’ Coach Robert Drysdale is coming back to teach another great intimate seminar for the Foundation Chicago crew and our friends! The seminar will take place from 12pm-2pm on Saturday, November 9th, at Foundation HQ - at the side entrance of 1530 W. 21st Street Chicago, IL, 60608, and the dress code is Gi.
Athletes from all affiliations and teams are welcome to attend, though space is limited for this intimate seminar, and Foundation Chicago members receive an extra discount! The sponsor is being put on by our 501(c)(3) partner charitable organization, Pilsen Defense & Access, and ticket purchases are tax-deductible donations that go to support our kids scholarship fund.
Go here to make your donation and register for the seminar and you’ll immediately receive a digital receipt for tax purposes. Professor Drysdale last visited Chicago in April of 2023, teaching a fantastic no-gi seminar on the butterfly guard.
This time we’re throwing on the Kimonos as the weather gets cooler, to learn once more directly from the all-time great. Drysdale is a four-time world champion in Jiu-Jitsu, winning world titles in the IBJJF multiple times as well as winning the vaunted Open Weight ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship in 2007.
After wrapping up his incredible sport grappling career Drysdale went on to fight in Mixed Martial Arts, ultimately going undefeated in his professional MMA career, including his fights in the UFC.
Foundation is Professor Drysdale’s only affiliate academy in the city of Chicago, and Elias received his rank of first degree black belt from the Zenith BJJ head. Professor Drysdale has been supportive of Foundation Chicago’s unique mission here in beautiful Pilsen, Chicago, and is once again generously donating a significant amount himself to help our families out.
One of the most common questions Jiu-Jitsu Professors get from beginner students is “what do I need to do in order to get a blue belt?” This question can, of course, be asked in different ways.
It could be asked with a sense of genuine curiosity from a student who has learned that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu often uses a colored belt ranking system and whose learning is such that clear objectives help them focus their hard work. The question could also be asked with a sense of entitlement from a student already feeling jilted for not having received rank recognition commensurate with where they themselves feel they are at.
When a Professor perceives the question is asked in the latter’s manner they may not give much credence or effort to the question and answering it for the student. When the coach feels the former is the case then they may very well receive the question warmly.
In either case, however, students often get a stock answer of “just keep showing up to class and working hard.” While this is not an untrue answer or even unhelpful if the academy is a good one where teachers recognize progress and are willing to give recognition, it still may leave students wondering what they should be doing, exactly, to optimize their learning and progress.
“Keep showing up” is a simplistic if true answer. Any answer more in-depth and detailed is going to be a very long one, but students still deserve the right to know expectations of their coach.
For that reason we’ve decided to give our very subjective answer for what Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu students should be thinking of and working on if they want to move towards becoming a legitimate, knowledgeable, and proven blue belt in Jiu-Jitsu in the form of a three-part digital video instructional. Foundation Chicago’s head Coach Elias Cepeda will soon release through the non-profit charitable organization Pilsen Defense & Access The Path to Blue Belt Video Instructional for our students here in Pilsen as well as good people all over the world who want to structure their training a bit more.
The instructional will be divided into there parts: Technique, Concepts, & Praxis. Part of advancing as a Jiu-Jitsu practitioner is developing a kinetic vocabulary, so to speak, and The Path to Blue Belt will give a full and demonstrated listing of moves all blue belts in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu should be comfortable practicing. A key component of advancing past white belt in Jiu-Jitsu, however, is also understanding a bit more of the ‘why’ behind each move, and how it starts to connect to other positions and techniques in a fight, and that’s where the Concepts portion of The Path to Blue Belt instructional will come in to assist with explication.
A large part of Foundation Chicago’s philosophy has to do with much less tangible things than techniques performed in a vacuum and our Praxis section will help students understand what we expect from them in terms of how they prove that their knowledge is being put to good use. Reciting and even running through a list of techniques is one level of knowledge, but it is essential in any non-theoretical field such as fighting that we also be able to demonstrate that we’re able to physically apply that knowledge in the gym during sparring and in competition.
That is one part of taking technique out of a vacuum. Another crucial part is showing that you’re using the gained knowledge responsibly by being a selfless teammate, helping and not hurting those around you, and seeing your technical knowledge as a responsibility to help those who cannot help themselves. This last section will discuss our standards for demonstrated knowledge and responsible wielding of it and also give you helpful ways to prepare to do all of that as a growing martial artist and competitor.
The Path to Blue Belt course will be taught by Professor Elias Cepeda, a first degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under four-time BJJ world champion and undefeated UFC veteran Robert Drysdale. Elias began his BJJ training in 1999 and has not stopped training and competing, since.
An active Jiu-Jitsu participant to this day in his 40’s, and a veteran of MMA, Elias has coached many local competitors to grappling and MMA and Kickboxing victories, including a national amateur MMA championship. In addition to his martial arts experience, Elias is a university lecturer of American Literature, Journalism, and Critical Theory, and a journalist with 18 years of publishing experience.
In the coming days and weeks we’ll share more of what is to come in The Path to Blue Belt series so stay tuned! The pre-sale price of the digital video series is only $12. After its release the price will be $25.
You can pre-order your digital copy, here. All purchases are contributions to the charitable organization Pilsen Defense & Access, which provides support to the Foundation Chicago academy and its youth Jiu-Jitsu program, 100% of whose families receive some type of scholarship to train and compete. You will receive a tax receipt immediately upon purchase.
Thanks for the support, and see you on the mats!
Yesterday Coach Trip showed an entry into the Spider Guard from the Closed Guard, along with a bit of the reasoning of why and when we may choose to do so. In today’s video he demonstrates an effective sweep from the Spider Guard that utilizes pressure on the biceps and some chopping connection on one of our opponent’s knees.
Good news for all you Scissor Sweep fans out there - Today’s sweep from the Spider Guard utilizes some of those same mechanics, just from a slightly adjusted position. Check out today’s Spider Guard Biceps & Knee Scissor Sweep, demonstrated here by Coach Trip, then get to class and drill it!
Monday and Wednesday gi Jiu-Jitsu classes are focused for a bit on the Spider Guard - an open guard that utilizes manual wrist controls along with angles on our back and our feet and legs engaged with the upper and lower body of our opponents. In this short technique video Coach Trip demonstrates the when, why, and how he enters into the Spider Guard.
He begins in the closed guard because, as he says, “this is probably where you’ll learn the ins and outs of the Spider Guard.” From there, Coach Trip says that a common scenario for entering into the Spider Guard is when we feel a loss of control of the posture of our opponent on top and that they may soon force open our closed guard if we don’t react, fast.
Coach Trip’s approach is to turn a reactive situation into a proactive and offense one, soon, by opening our closed guard on our own terms, before our opponent can force it open, and then getting our feet on the hips of our opponent with complementing sleeve/wrist grips, and a bowed knee position to exert push/pull pressure on the hips and arms of our opponent.
“I really feel like my guard is about to open. I, in general, don’t want him to force me to open my guard. If I feel like he’s threatening that guard-opening…I want to be offensive on this, here,” he continues.
Watch the full video to study and then get into classes! Also, stay tuned to the team Youtube page and blog, here, for more videos forthcoming!
Sunday 1:15pm no-gi class will focus on putting it all together (aka. Mixed Martial Arts) this summer! This class is open to all levels of experience and the training is tailored to wherever you’re at.
In the class you’ll learn how to connect your Muay Thai and grappling in a practical and useful manner to make you a better martial artist and more equipped to defend yourself whether it’s out in the world or as a competitor in the ring or cage. Sign up, get to classes, and get your drilling and sparring in!
This month we’re working on taking the back after snapping opponents down to the mat, face-down. Once we have them there one of our best options can be taking their back.
Study the above video for some great options for doing just that, and then let coaches know what questions you have. Then, get to class and drill!
We’re making some tweaks and improvements to our Jiu-Jitsu classes this year. If you’re a member you may have already noticed more positional sparring and the dreaded guard sit-ups!
Professor Elias recently sat down with the Foundation coaching staff over video to discuss the changes and reasons for them. Now, we’re sharing with the team so you all are plugged-in to what the staff is up to and why.
In short, we want to help offer every student, even those that only train once or twice a week, as much consistency in curricula and challenging physical conditioning work as possible to help facilitate retention. In the video you’ll also learn why Elias thinks being tough is more important than being good, and what “tough” really means for the every day student.
Check it out, let us know if you have questions, and get to class!
Watch the below video to prepare for class wrestling work, this month! This month we’re spending a lot of time working to establish our own positive head position and escape that of our partner’s from a Russian tie and high under hook position.
We’re also continuing to work on single-leg takedown escapes. Study up, bring questions to classes, and train hard!
Prof. Elias discusses with Foundation Chicago’s Coaching team the adjustments we’re making this year to help support our wonderful students and their goals even more. Give this video a watch to help you prepare yourself for what’s coming in classes, soon, and then get to class with your friends!
The Foundation Chicago crew after competing at Grappling Industries, Jan 13, 2024, in Oak Lawn, IL
A week ago eight awesome Foundation Chicago members competed in a Jiu-Jitsu tournament together, testing their skills and enjoying a great bonding experience! A few other members got injured during training camp and couldn’t make it, unfortunately, but some of them (like Stephen!) still came to support and help root on their teammates.
Congrats to everyone who competed - Braeden, Enrique, Victor, Heidi, Rashad, Evan, Kyle, and Wes -and thank you to all those who helped them prepare for and enjoy the day! Competing is such an important part of training.
A number of last week’s competitors were first-timers or competing for just the second or third time. The wins are nice and the losses are always tough but the real value from the intense training exercise that is competition is 1. setting a goal and working towards it in disciplined fashion, 2. assessing what you need to work on both before and after competing, 3. giving yourself an opportunity to be brave in a direct, kinetic way, and 4. doing something hard and rewarding with your teammates.
We’re proud of every one of you and can’t wait until the next one!
This winter we’re working a lot on single-leg takedowns, and we can’t finish what we don't start. So, review video instruction for the entries we’re working this month from our team YouTube page, and get to class to practice!
Our official Iowa City affiliate academy Arroyo Grappling has just announced the date of their great beginner-tailored no-gi Jiu-Jitsu tournament! This March 2 Arroyo Grappling will host White Belt Warriors V!
The tournament will be held at the Arroyo Grappling Academy, located at 1604 Sycamore St. Iowa City, IA 52240. Participation has only increased in numbers and quality over the previous four editions, and Arroyo Grappling has announced that this next event will feature custom medals and cash prizes for some divisions.
Foundation Chicago association members can participate for a discounted rate. To register for the event, click here, and then let your coaches know you plan to compete so we can put your name on the board and get your training camp planned!
Take a look back at some highlights from White Belt Warriors IV, and get ready for March 2!