Paragon Jiu Jitsu and Kickboxing Blog

Super Bowl Schedule Change!

appy — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 23:09:49 +0000

Hey guys the Sunday Kickboxing class will be held at 12 noon instead of 5pm on Super Bowl Sunday!

Holiday Hours at Paragon!

appy — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 18:59:25 +0000

Hello everyone,

The following schedule will be in place the week of the 26-1:

ALL KIDS AND TEENS CLASS ARE CANCELED THIS WEEK

Monday 26th: Open Mat 12-2pm Kickboxing 5:30pm (all levels) Jiu-Jitsu 6:30pm (all levels)

Tuesday 27th: Jiu-Jitsu (all levels) 5:30pm Kickboxing (all levels) 6:30pm

Wednesday 28th: Open Mat 12-2pm Kickboxing 5:30pm (all levels) Jiu-Jitsu 6:30pm (all levels)

Thursday 29th: Jiu-Jitsu (all levels) 5:30pm Kickboxing (all levels) 6:30pm

Friday 30th: Open Mat 12-2pm Kickboxing 5:30pm (all levels) Jiu-Jitsu 6:30pm (all levels)

Saturday 31st-Sunday 1st: CLOSED

Happy Holidays everyone

Belt Promo List for Santa Barbara club

appy — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 02:41:27 +0000

Hey guys:

This is not the final list we still may add names. Also, everyone should attend the belt ceremony and help support (whip) your fellow teammates! The promotion will be Sat Dec 10 at 4:30pm SHARP

KIDS/TEENS

TBA in class

Blue Belt

John Blanchette

Mike Claytor

Eli Cole

Jefferson Dinh

Nicole Dominguez

Yaskin Solano

Karl Lammer

Shannon McQueary

Andrew Tran

Tyler Westover

Milo Williams

Franky Torres

Purple Belt

Patrick Coombs

Crystal Cooper

Miles Di Peri

Joey Gould

Gerson Hernandez

Jose Chavez

Bo Leyva

Brown/Black

TBA

Paragon Christmas Party and Belt Promo!

appy — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 19:13:22 +0000

Hey guys,

Its that time again for our yearly Xmas party and belt ceremony. On Saturday Dec 10th 4:30-6pm, we will have our belt promotion party at the main gym in Santa Barbara followed by our Holiday party at Union Ale 7pm-10pm. Union Ale is located at 214 State Street Santa Barbara, CA 93101 and the dress code is NICER than your usual board shorts and Tee shirt! We will be updating the site with our promotion list to include all the names being promoted this time. Remember, as always there will be some surprises and some names will be announced at the event. Please show support for all the guys being promoted and show up will your gi ready to send them to the next level paragon style. Remember the fee for the guys being promoted is 50.00 and due prior to the ceremony. Congrats to everyone on another great year.

Sean Apperson

Thanksgiving Schedule

appy — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 02:06:59 +0000

Hello and Happy Turkey Day to everyone,

The following schedule will be in effect the week of November 21-25:

Monday

Normal business hours

Tuesday

Normal business hours

Wednesday

Kickboxing (all levels) 11am

Jiu Jitsu (all levels) 12pm

Thursday

CLOSED

FRIDAY

Kickboxing (all levels) 11am

Jiu Jitsu (all levels) 12pm

WED and FRIDAY (NO KIDS CLASSES)

NEW member Referral program!

appy — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 00:06:09 +0000

UFC at Union ALE this Saturday 6pm!!

appy — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 22:24:13 +0000

Hey guys,

Back by popular demand we are meeting at Union ALE 214 State Street Santa Barbara, CA 93101 at 6pm sharp! We rented out the side bar so bring friends and family should be a good time.

-Sean

3x World Champ Rafael Lovato Jiu Jitsu Seminar at Paragon Santa Barbara

appy — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 20:26:44 +0000

Hey guys,

Just a wrap up from the outstanding seminar Rafael Lovato Jr did last night at the Paragon Headquarters in Santa Barbara. First I would like to say I have attended many seminars and this was one of the best, most organized, well thought out workshops I have been to. We started with two excellent sweeping sequences that transitioned right into slick guard passes. From the sweep Rafael broke down the landing position and a couple of nice options to the mount and cross side position. He finished off with some great details on the Kimura and explained his training philosophy and some mental prep tips for competition. Hope to have him back soon!

-Sean Apperson

Lovato Jr Seminar tonight at 7pm!!

appy — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 16:24:55 +0000

Hey guys,
Tonight at the Paragon Headquarters Rafael Lovato Jr will be conducting a 2 hour seminar from 7pm-9pm. After winning the 2011 No gi worlds this past weekend we are excited to see what techniques he has to offer us. Dont miss this great chance to train and learn with one of the Worlds finest grapplers.

Tempo and styles in Jiu-Jitsu

appy — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 22:04:34 +0000

Paragon Academy
The effects of training tempo and pace in Jiu-Jitsu

Author Bio

Sean Apperson is the head Jiu Jitsu instructor at Paragon Santa Barbara and has been involved with the grappling arts most of his life. Starting out in club wrestling in Northern California Sean found an early love for the grappling arts. In 2001 Sean began his training at the famous Paragon Jiu Jitsu club in Santa Barbara under Ricardo “Franjinha” Miller. Sean spent several years in LA training with Renzo Gracie Black belt Shawn Williams and 1987 NCAA Champ Rico Chiapparelli. In 2004 Sean finished his studies at UCLA and moved back to Santa Barbara to complete his training where it all started. In the winter of 2009 Sean received his black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Sean is currently working on his Black belt in Judo and training under Steve Hoyt at the Santa Barbara Judo club. Sean founded the company Jiu-JitsuPedia in late 2010 and is planning on releasing the beta version of the site in winter 2011.

Quick Links

Paragon Jiu Jitsu and Kickboxing

Tempo and different training styles

The purpose of this blog is to focus on the different styles and tempos used in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. By having an understanding of tempo and pace in training, one can gain a significant advantage over his training partner. Learn to develop your own natural pace, and then learn to adopt different tempos to confuse and frustrate your opponent.

Tempo and Jiu-Jitsu
by Sean Apperson, November 2011

I think an important topic not typically covered is the training tempo or pace one uses during a match. I want to mention first and foremost that having fun and enjoying the training is the most important element. In order to stay open and play the game the right way you need to be relaxed and have a sense of calm. To often do I see guys tense and uptight while training, or even during drilling. The first step to creating the right tempo is relaxing. The idea is to allow your self to feel the position and better understand the critical timing and details. Once you have drilled the position and feel comfortable enough give it a shot in live training. This is where tempo is most critical. A worried player will not attempt a new position for fear of reversal or counter. The essence of the sport is submission and risk taking, so give it a shot and don’t sweat the results. Once you take away the fear and worry of losing you can really experience some quick growth in your game.

Another important element of training tempo is pace. I personally prefer an aggressive offensive pace of quick movements and lots of submission attempts. Remember having fun is the most important element and this is simply the most enjoyable way to train. Another great thing about aggressive styles is you get more attempts to hit moves. For example, if you are constantly pushing the action and attacking sweeps and submissions, you get more out of a particular training session. A round filled with attacks, escapes, submissions, and defeats will teach you a lot more than a tentative round where nothing happens.

Another very common and effective pace is the slow methodical approach. Although this tempo is much slower than the previous it can still be used aggressively. The idea here is to suffocate your opponent with tight pressure much like a snake does to its victims. Typically, the first thing accomplished is positional control then the attacker will look for the submission. This differs from the first example as the attacker is looking to finish at all times and uses quick attacks during transitions instead of established positions. I think eventually one needs to use and understand multiple styles and be able to change pace based on the situation and opponent. However, starting out its easier to find your natural rhythm and feel comfortable with that first.

In conclusion Id like to point out that different styles and paces effect different players in different ways. For example, you may find that certain styles give you a really hard time while others you breeze through. Typically, if you have only one style and pace, you will struggle with similar players who use this same style better than you. For example, an ex wrestler who uses pressure and the scramble will lose big to the better wrestler. The flexible guard guy will struggle with another opponent who uses this style. The big strong player who uses every bit of his strength and body weight will lose to the bigger and stronger. This being said, if you can alter your style based on your opponent and his style, it gives you a significant advantage. So, not only does versatility give you a huge strategic advantage, it’s also more fun and rewarding to continue growing and learning new styles.

Paragon Academy
617 N Salsipuedes St
Santa Barbara, California 93013