Charlie From The Plaza

A documentary on my teacher, 8th degree coral belt Marcio Stambowsky, was recently released by David J. Kim and can be watched on YouTube. You get to see a little bit of The Plaza in Bonus Footage 2.
https://youtu.be/G7nwp9osBDc

Macarrao: Marcio Stambowsky - A Jiu Jitsu Life (Part 1) Marcio Stambowsky is one of six black belts promoted by the legendary Rolls Gracie. He is an 8th degree coral belt currently teaching Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in ...

Regardless of my physical abilities, I have attained the level of BJJ where I can tell exactly which DVDs you've been watching.

Not just which set, but which disc within the set.

Old CFTP went to Blackbelts for Butterflies East Coast yesterday and look what happened.

Everyone with their BJJ tattoos. Triangles, pitbulls, apes. Pitbulls in gis triangling apes. It's all been done. Instead, I went with the toughest creature ever: a black belt tardigrade doing a shaka.

The banner says "Survival First".

As always, tattoo by Julio Rodriguez from Hope Gallery Tattoo.

Last year!

And face it, you're only reading this because your jiu-jidiot friend liked or shared it.

My new BJJ tattoo. Hit like when you get it.

I was flow-rolling with my friend Brad Wolfson this morning, and our teacher Master Marcio Stambowsky thought it looked fun. I'd say this was less of a flow and more of a "catch-and-release" type of thing. Real rolling with Master Marcio is a steady stream of crushing pressure, triangles, and wristlocks, so this was a lot more fun.

Flow Rolling With Master Marcio Stambowsky Master Marcio was watching Brad Wolfson and I flow roll and wanted to jump in. Actually, it was more like "catch and release." If you get the chance, look up...

I was recently interviewed on The Grappling Central podcast for my involvement in the Jiu-Jitsu Bards. Check it out if you get a chance, and subscribe to the podcast. Ryan routinely interviews the best names in BJJ (just not in this case).

Episode 080: The Jiu-Jitsu Bards | Grappling Central The Jiu-Jitsu Bards consist of Black Belt Charlie McShane and Brown Belt Greg Wood. Jiu-Jitsu practitioners, instructors and musicians. Their songs are a collection of comical stories and nods to the various Jiu-Jitsu practicioners they have known over time

I can't stop screaming.

http://youtu.be/3M17JjxVXCQ

что тут скажешь , чеченец )) http://youtu.be/3M17JjxVXCQ

"Your jiu-jitsu should be ready to take on the world." - Firas Zahabi, regarding getting too comfortable training with/against other BJJ guys as opposed to anyone else, i.e. wrestlers, athletic freaks, etc.

Guys, Firas Zahabi is KING. Go subscribe to his YouTube channel "Tristar Gym". A lot of his stuff is beyond white belt level BJJ but he's yet to say anything regarding jiu-jitsu philosophy that I don't agree with.

Of course, I'm just some dummy from a plaza in eastern Connecticut, but yeah.

Hey white & blue belts: there are a bunch of BJJ podcasts out there and most of them are focused on the tournament scene and the names at the top of the sport. I like most of them, but my personal favorite is BJJ Brick. They talk a lot about what it takes to make it through the early years of jiu-jitsu practice, and many of their interviews are with high level teachers with advice for beginners. Not that I don't find it interesting to listen to top level athletes talk about their IBJJF standings, but... I don't. So.

Anyway, here are some specific episodes I really like.
Ep 51 Matt Thornton
Ep 69 Henry Akins
Ep 80 Jay Bell
Ep 89 & 90, 188 & 119 Tim Sledd
Ep 95 David Meyer
Ep 107 & 127 John Will

Honestly though, they're all good and never over the head of the BJJ beginner. I like that it's aimed at your average, club-level guy.

BJJBrick http://bjjbrick.com/

I got to have Henry Akins teach a seminar on guard passing last night, plus a private class this morning. If you get a chance to train with him on his east coast tour, do it!

And face it, you're only reading this because your jiu-jidiot friend liked or shared it.

There are some guys writing Irish folk songs about the old days of jiu-jitsu in Connecticut.

The Jiu-Jitsu Bards - "Things Ye Wouldn't Believe" http://jjbards.com The Bards strike again! This time with an ode to east coast Gracie Jiu-Jitsu legend Rob Kahn.

New video ripping off Jason Scully's style!

Don't extend your arms!

White Belt BJJ: 34 Ways To Get Arm Locked In Like 90 Seconds Don't extend your arms when you're playing defense. Thanks to Josh "Russ" Hesser for the arm locks. facebook.com/charliefromtheplaza CharlieFromThePlaza.com ...

The Scissor Sweep is considered "old school", suggesting that it's outdated. For both Steve Austin and I, it was the first sweep we ever learned. But "white belt jiu-jitsu" doesn't mean ineffective! Steve has a strategy he uses to make the technique work on anyone, especially advanced guys who already know how to defend it. Check it out.

Making The Scissor Sweep Work On Advanced Guys - Advanced BJJ Basics with Steve Austin I headed down to Southampton, Pennsylvania this week to do some training with Steve Austin, black belt instructor at Sion Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Got lots of gr...

I'm training down here at Sion BJJ in Pennsylvania and Steve Austin showed me a cool trick to make the scissor sweep more effective against experienced guys. He was good enough to let me film it. I'll upload it tomorrow.

Here's a little song about local BJJ legend Doug Gallant.

http://youtu.be/uNA8DI_hOa0

Charlie From The Plaza - (The Body Of An) Ugly American Ok, so I totally ripped off my friend Greg Wood's idea. He has a music project called The Jiu-Jitsu Bards in which he sings about the heroic deeds of his tra...

Just got my Paul Moran from Open Mat Radio "Just Another Lion To Kill" benefit rash guard! If you haven't gotten yours, check out scramblestuff.com!

So this happened.

Marcio Macarrao Stambowsky promotes Charlie From The Plaza to BJJ Black Belt On November 25th 2015, Master Marcio promoted Charlie McShane to black belt. Without knowing before hand, Charlie passed Marcio's infamous 7 Card test. Novem...

I took part in the Southeast Connecticut Gi Run for charity yesterday. Bunch of us did a forty mile motorcycle run in full gi and raised money for the Black Belts For Butterflies group to benefit autism research.

Next year we're doing it before October.

Couple years ago, I hosted Renato Laranja's first east coast seminar. He posted this picture last night. Check out the comment.

I don't usually use hashtags but .

Something for new white belts to remember. It's always hardest in the beginning.

You might only understand this if you're 13.

Charlie Charlie Are You Here BJJ

This may be an unpopular BJJ opinion but here goes: when I'm rolling with someone and they pull out the bottom of my lapel, or theirs, and start using it to sweep or choke me (aka "Skirt Choke"), it makes me want to be a rashuard & shorts-type jiu-jitsu guy.