This past weekend, Nova União traveled with 27 competitors (7 kids, 20 adults) to Carson, CA to compete at the 2012 All Americas Jiu-Jitsu Tournament promoted by the NABJJF. Despite having a smaller team than those with the home field advantage, Nova União was able to secure the 1st place trophy in the adult divison with 20 competitors and 18 medals. Every single point counted as Nova União won with just a one point lead over 2nd place. This accomplishment was the product of a great over-all team effort which includes all the coaches, assistant coaches, training partners, and all the hard work and preparation put forward by all the competitors.

The stand-outs of the Team include Josh Rodriguez who had 7 matches throught the day to place 2nd in his weight and 3rd in the Open, John Owning who won his division and was able to rack up over 50 points within 3 matches and land 2 submissions, and David Larson who even though had a rough day at his weight, was able to come back ready and composed to make it all the way to the finals of the Open Class and secure important points for the Team. Special thanks go to ALL the competitors who competed in the Open Class to try to help win the Team those extra points necessary: Mark Thrun, Heath Flicker, Brain Wade, Jon Wagner, David Larson, Josh Rodriguez, and Jennifer Bann.

Here is a breakdown of the Team’s results:

Coree Thrun – 1st place Jr Teen/Medium Heavy

Sierrah Thrun – 2nd place Jr Teen/Rooster

Isabella Romero – 3rd place Jr Teen/Light

Sebastian Janik – 2nd place Jr Teen/Medium Heavy

Jon Wagner – 2nd place Adult/Heavy, 2nd place Adult/Open

Issa Able – 1st place Adult/Light

Heath Flicker – 2nd place Senior/Feather, 2nd place Senior/Open

John Owning – 1st place Adult/Medium Heavy

Alex Centner – 1st place Adult/Super Super Heavy

Josh Rodriguez – 2nd place Adult/Feather, 3rd place Adult/Open

David Larson – 2nd place Adult/Open

Robbie Stahl – 1st place Adult/Heavy

Matt Grier – 3rd place Adult/Super Feather

Tynysha Thrun – 3rd place Female/Rooster

Mark Thrun – 1st place Senior/Heavy, 3rd place Senior/Open

Charles Bann – 1st place Senior/Light

Brian Wade – 1st place Senior/Rooster

Daniel Parks IV – 3rd place Senior/Medium Heavy

 

This article from optimumperformancenow.com , written by Team GD Jiu-Jitsu Nutritionist, Joseph Sale, discusses whole food nutrition for the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Practitioner as well as the Mixed Martial Artist.

More specifically, I will discuss the three macronutrients, proteins, fats, and carbohydrates and their functions for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Practitioners and Mixed Martial Artists.

Let’s start with proteins. Proteins are made up of chains of individual amino acids. Different foods have different distributions and ratios of amino acids.

Amino acids can be categorized primarily as essential amino acids and non essential amino acids. The topic of amino acids is somewhat complex and will be covered in more detail in an upcoming article.

As an example eggs are known to have the highest Biological Value / BV as a source of protein. In essence egg protein becomes the yardstick by which other proteins are measured. Another marker used to measure the quality of a protein is known as the Protein Efficiency Ratio / PER. More specifically Protein Efficiency Ratio / PER represents to what degree a given protein is a catalyst for muscle growth. In the case of eggs this simply means that the unique make up of amino acids found in eggs is highly recognizable and usable by the human body.

Is egg protein great for everybody?

No.

As I mentioned in an earlier article, people are, to varying degrees, biochemically unique. So, it’s not cookie cutter, one size fits all.

Protein and their corresponding amino acids are the major constituents involved in muscle tissue repair. For the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Practitioner, Mixed Martial Artist, or any athlete that trains at an intense level, high quality protein used correctly is extremely important.

The delayed onset muscle soreness / DOMS that athletes experience about 36 hours after workouts is due to high intensity training.

It’s generally accepted in sports nutrition circles that the consumption of varying amounts carbohydrate with protein increases the release of insulin from the pancreas which acts to drive nutrients, such as amino acids into cells where they can do their work.

Next on the list is carbohydrates. Carbohydrates provide nourishment for the physical body as well as the brain. Carbohydrates range from simple to complex. They are an ultimate source of glycogen which is stored in both your muscles and liver and functions to meet energy needs, an obvious concern for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Practitioners and Mixed Martial Artists.

Last but not least are fats. Fats have important functions as a macronutrient. Some fats are good while some do not support human performance. Monounsaturated fats, like olive oil are an example of healthy fats while trans fats / hydrogenated fats are now recognized as less than desirable.

An often overlooked function of dietary fats is its role of metabolizing the fat soluble vitamins. These include vitamin A, D, E, K.

A more well known function of fats is as a back up energy system. It’s also important to note that from a caloric standpoint fats are a more dense form of calories at 9 calories per gram as opposed to proteins and carbs which weigh in at about 4 calories per gram each.

Another overlooked benefit of healthy dietary fats is their influence on satiation. So for guys working to make weight for competition dietary fats are important which can be considered counterintuitive. As I mentioned earlier at 9 calories per gram, fats pack more calories per gram than protein and carbs but in very controlled volume, dietary fat will allow your brain to minimize the desire for more calories.

Another role of scientifically managed macronutrient consumption is it’s role in inflammation. As a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Practitioner or Mixed Martial Artist preparing for competition, getting dinged up is par for the course. Most times it’s more than dinged up. At times guys go into fights already banged up. That’s rough. However, there are ways to manage macronutrient consumption to at least lessen the inflammatory load from wear and tear, and acute injuries during training.

Many Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Practitioners, Mixed Martial Artists, and athletes in general train hard but don’t pay attention to their nutrition.

I usually say, “If I can control it and if it’s a known influencer or cofactor in the success equation, then I pay attention to it.”

I met with Gustavo Dantas recently. He is a well known and well respected 3rd Degree Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and President of Nova Uniao, USA. In our conversation I referred to well managed nutrition as a high percentage move for the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Practitioner.

Gustavo Dantas Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is opening a new Academy in February of this year. Gustavo is known for producing many high end Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Medalists and he also enjoys helping people improve their lives through the practice of Jiu Jitsu. Gustavos programs also include Kids Jiu Jitsu and Womens Jiu Jitsu instruction.

It’s the finer nuances and finer distinctions of managing nutrition that can make a significant difference when it comes to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts competition and in managing your body and mind as a human resource in both the short and long term.

Joe Sale, CNS, CSCS

Call Optimum Performance / Human Performance Systems today at 480-241-2621 and mention this article by Joe Sale, CNS, CSCS, Managing Whole Food Nutrition for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts, and receive a free consultation with Joe.

This article discusses the anatomical functional components of the human shoulder and their relationship to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

A greater understanding of the shoulder and its components and complexities will help you to manage your shoulders better in both the short and long term. Since the shoulders take substantial wear and tear in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu as well as in other sports, the human shoulder becomes a resource that needs to be intelligently managed. The shoulder can become a rate limiting factor in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu meaning that it’s involved in almost everything you do on the mat, so maintaining shoulder health is important.

Most people think of the shoulder as one unit when it actuality it’s far from that.

The shoulder is often called the shoulder complex and that is an accurate descriptive term. Complex.

To start off, the shoulder has the largest range of motion of any joint in the human body. However with that large range of motion comes a greater capacity for shoulder problems.

The shoulder is made up of four joints, not one as is commonly assumed. They work in a synergistic manner in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and also in everyday life.

A dysfunctional state in one of these joints can lead to a dysfunctional compensation in the other joints of the shoulder complex.

For example, limited range of motion in the scapulothoracic joint of the shoulder due to injury etc is many times compensated for in the glenohumeral joint of the shoulder.

The four joints that make up the shoulder are the glenohumeral joint, acromioclavicular joint, scapulothoracic joint, and the sternoclavicular joint.

The 2 joints most commonly injured in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and other sports are the glenohumeral joint and acromioclavicular joint along with corresponding tissues and structures, for example tendons, ligaments, bursae, hyaline cartilage etc.

Injuries to each of these joints is explained or categorized with different verbage.

Sprains and strains can occur in the shoulder. Sprains involve ligaments, which attach bone to bone. Strains involve muscle or tendon. Tendons attach muscle to bone.

The rotator cuff of the shoulder is made up of 4 relatively small muscles and their corresponding tendon attachments. The rotator cuff muscles have a variety of functions and also provide stability to the shoulder.

The glenohumeral joint is known to dislocate. The acromioclaviclar joint doesn’t dislocate in the absolute sense of the word. First of all the acromoiclavicular joint is not a ball and socket joint like the glenohumeral joint. The acromoiclavicular joint is known to separate not dislocate and there’s a big difference.

The glenohumeral joint is like a golf ball on a tee with the tee being the socket and the ball being the head of the humerus. It’s  a very shallow joint unlike the hip joint / the acetabulum which has a deeper socket creating more stability.

In the sports world a well known case of shoulder dislocation occurred during the 2005 football season. Although not Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, it’s a great story of coming back from a significant shoulder injury. Drew Brees was the quarterback with the San Diego Chargers at the time. Tackled on a  play, his throwing shoulder was dislocated and his glenoid labrum was also torn. In addition he sustained rotator cuff damage. As I mentioned earlier, since the glenohumeral joint is an extremely shallow ball and socket joint  it derives some extra stability from the labrum, a fibrocartilagenous ring, similar to a washer.

Drew Brees made one of the more remarkable shoulder rehab comebacks out there regardless of the sport. First of all it was more than a dislocation. There was also damage to the rotator cuff, severe damage to the labrum, and the more obvious ligament damage that goes along with dislocation. Many people in the sports world didn’t think he could come back from such a severe shoulder injury, especially since it was his throwing shoulder and he was a quarterback. His work ethic during rehab was reported as outstanding. He exceeded expectations. We know the rest of the story. San Diego traded him to the New Orleans Saints and the Saints and Drew Brees eventually go to win the Superbowl.

The acromioclavicular joint is known to separate. The separation severity is usually graded anywhere from 1-5. This is concluded based on the space created between the acromium and the clavicle due to the injury as well as the degree of ligament damage. At the extreme level there is a complete rupture of the coracoclavicular ligament and the acromioclavicular ligament.

Intelligently applied strength and conditioning, fine tuned functional human movement exercise and high quality nutrition will go a long way in keeping you on the matts with healthy shoulders and in avoiding unnecessary and premature wear and tear problems.

In closing, one of the best and easiest things you can do to maintain healthy shoulders and healthy joints in general is to warm up thoroughly. One of the benefits of warming up is an increase of the movement and circulation of synovial fluid within the joint which reduces friction. Synovial fluid also acts as a transport medium for nutrients making their way to articular cartilage.

I addition, high quality Brazilian Jiu Jitsu coaching will pay dividends in the short term and long term. Gustavo Dantas Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Tempe, Arizona has an excellent reputation. I’ve had numerous conversations with Gustavo as well as interviewing him. He is a 3rd degree Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and President of Nova Uniao, USA. Gustavo Dantas knows Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and he knows the human body.

Call Optimum Performance / Human Performance Systems today at 480-241-2621 and mention this article on Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and the Shoulder and receive 10% off your customized sports nutrition program or functional conditioning program

Joe Sale, CNS, CSCS

About Joseph Sale

Joseph Sale, CNS, CSCS, is a board certified nutrition specialist and a nationally accredited conditioning specialist. His educational credentials include a Bachelor of Science and a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine. Joe has been an adjunct faculty instructor and guest lecturer at numerous colleges, universities, and corporations. He’s been a guest expert on radio and TV and is the author of the Optimum Human Performance Course.