Team:

Let's all wish instructor Scott Smith a very happy birthday. He's still quite spry at his age, which gives hope to us all! Be sure to shake his hand tomorrow and wish him well!

Below you'll find some rare footage of Mr. Smith in action. Please excuse the video quality, as this was back in his "younger" days. :)



See you all on the mat -- tomorrow night!

Team:

Not only has Scott Smith trained with one of the Machado Brothers in recent weeks, but one Machado crew. They have brought back some incredible techniques and continue to increase the knowledge base of the Academy.

Here are some photos, as well as a video of Jean Jacques Machado. In case you don't know who the brothers are, they're cousins of the Gracie family who are highly skilled and fierce competitors.













See you all on the mat -- tonight!

Team:

Great work on the mats Monday night! We'd like to first thank Allan Manganello for joining us in class. He's the one who brought jiu-jitsu to Louisville and is the primary reason all of us are able to train today. If you didn't have a chance to work with him seek him out next time. You'll learn so much from working with him.

Scott began class with several warm-ups, then transitioned into some walking judo throws. Remember, once you've established your grips, you first take a step back with your left foot. At the same time, your partner steps forward with his right foot. You'll then take a step back with your right foot as your partner steps forward with this left foot.

Then, take one more step back with your left foot as you pivot on your right foot and throw. It's a 1-2-3 count, where you pivot and throw on 3. We worked the ippon seionage and morote seionage for this initial series.

Butterfly Guard Pass

After throws, Scott covered a simple and effective butterfly guard pass. When your opponent transitions to butterfly, it's important that you first block with your head by putting it on your opponent's chest. Your right hand will grab on his back and you'll use your elbow to isolate your opponent's left arm. Keep your elbow in tight at all times.

Your left hand will grab at the bottom of your opponent's gi bottoms on his right leg and keep constant pressure down towards the floor. From here, step away with your left foot and sit out towards your opponent's head. You'll end in cross-side.

Arm Drag Defense

Let's assume you're inside your opponent's butterfly guard when he attempts to arm drag and transition to your back. He'll take his right hand and cross-grip your right tricep. As he grabs your right tricep, you'll also grab his tricep (essentially a mirror image). As he trys to go to your back, you'll go to his back by pulling on his arm, basing out with your left hand as you work your left leg around to his back.

Immediately grab under his left arm with your left arm to keep him from moveing away from you.

Again, excellent job everyone. Keep up the great work and we'll see you all on the mats tomorrow night!

All of us at Spencer County Martial Arts would like to thank Professor Bruce Shepherd for conducting such a phenomenal seminar today. We appreciate him taking time out of his Sunday to travel several hours and instruct us. He covered some excellent techniques that are sure to make our games excel.

For those of you who couldn't make today's seminar, don't fret. We plan to have Professor Shepherd back again soon. In addition, we'll soon post photos and a sample video to give you guys just a small taste of what the day consisted of.

Please also don't forget to mark your calendars for Nov. 7, 8, and 9. Master Sauer's winter training camp is headed to Louisville Martial Arts. For just $195, you get to also train with Relson Gracie and Luis Heredia. There are four, three-hour sessions that will be conducted. Individual sessions will only cost $70.

To register, visit http://www.pedrosauer.com/.

Thanks again to all of those who attended today's seminar. We sincerely appreciate your dedication and support of our program. There are only great things ahead.

Until next time, we'll see you all on the mat!