Grandmaster Ted Gambordella describes his experience attending a seminar by Royce Gracie, highlighting the legendary martial artist's mastery of technique over brute strength in MMA. Gambordella outlines ten key lessons learned, emphasizing the mental aspect of fighting, the importance of being prepared to fight at any time, and how smaller, weaker individuals can defeat larger opponents through superior skills. Overall, Gracie's approach combines grace and ease, which Gambordella intends to incorporate into his own teachings.

1. 10 Things I learned from Royce Gracie
By Grandmaster Ted Gambordella
Average:
Your rating: None
I had the privilege of attending a seminar by Master Royce Gracie last night at Master Guy Mezger's
Lions Den Sports Club in Dallas, Texas. The event was extremely well run and over 55 people of all
ages worked out with Master Gracie for 2 hours. I can assure you they learned some significant
techniques that they will use the rest of their Martial Arts lives.
Royce Gracie is a Living Legend in the World of MMA and is the person who is directly responsible
for the incredible growth of the UFC and Ultimate Fighting. His complete dominance of men twice
his size and strength in the first 4 UFC competitions, propelled the UFC into the public eye and
created the enormous following that MMA has today.
It was truly an amazing when the people of America and the World saw the first UFC competition.
No gloves, no weight limits, no time limits, NO JUDGE. You fought until someone was the Winner,
and there was never a doubt of who the winner was, since the loser was usually unconscious, or
disabled. It was violent, bloody and incredibly exciting because of the first time on TV you saw a
"real fight" with very few rules and a decisive winner. For the first time you saw smaller men
fighting other men who were much bigger, stronger and "meaner looking" than them. Master Gracie
defeated people you wouldn't want to meet in an alley, even with a gun, and he did it with relative
ease and simplicity. Not overpowering his opponents, but by using superior technique from a
superior street fighting style Gracie Jiu Jitsu.
Last night I got to meet Master Gracie for the first time in person and watch him teach a seminar. It
was an amazing thing. Here is a man who is now 42 years old, looks like he weighs about 170
pounds and doesn't have any real noticeable muscle bulging from his body. Yet this man has beaten
people who outweighed him by 300 pounds, Akibono the great Sumo Champion, and men who were
huge muscled up, tattooed, black belts and street fighters with ease and grace, or should I say
"Gracie". And last night at the seminar I learned why.
I have been training in Martial Arts for 46 years now and am a Grandmaster, author of 38 books, 24
DVD's, and for the first time in my life I saw why and how a man who is "smaller and weaker" can
easily beat a man twice his size. I learned 10 things and 10 Techniques from Master Gracie I want to
share with you over the next few weeks and 10 techniques that you can use to overpower your
opponents with Grace and Ease
The first thing I learned from Royce Gracie. You can control any fight with Grace and Ease.
The First thing I learned from Master Gracie is that he can control a room with gracie, and ease.
From now on I will use the word "gracease" I mean, the "gracie" way of doing Martial Arts, with ease
and technique, not power, and force. He controlled he room with "gracease", just as easily as he
controlled his fights with grace and ease. Please let me explain.

2. When you have a room full of people who are training in MMA, you usually have a room full of noise,
disruptions and violence. Master Gracie immediately took control of the room by making it clear that
if you wanted to hear him, you had to shut up and listen, because he wasn't going to talk any louder
and wasn't going to scream to get you to stop your training noise and movement to continue the
class. If you wanted to learn, you had to be quiet, listen and pay attention.
When the room started getting a little "rough", Master Gracie took control by pointing out that he
was not from here, didn't have a car, wasn't going to take anyone to the hospital if they got hurt, and
wasn't going to feel bad about it, because he didn't know them. He suggested that this was
"training" not a fight and that they should "slow down" and work the technique, and not try to
overpower, or overcome their partners with power, speed and strength, but with "gracease". It was a
great lesson and one that Martial Arts teachers and students should learn and follow in at schools.
Too many times I have been to a Martial Arts Class or school where students were too noisy,
disruptive and going much too hard with their partners. Almost immediately someone would get
hurt, or the class would break down into little groups of noisy, inattentive students. Controlling a
class with Grace and Ease (gracease) is the first thing I learned from Royce Gracie.
The 2nd thing I learned is you have to be ready to fight anyone, anytime, anywhere.
Master Gracie was showing a technique to a student who asked to see how to escape the mount.
During the demonstration of the technique the student struggled very hard with Master Gracie, who
did the escapes anyway. But after he had done so, he asked the student, if he wanted to learn the
technique or if he wanted to fight, and he was very serious. He repeated it again and made it very
clear that if he wanted to fight he was ready, willing and able.
He also told stories to illustrate his point, about how when he was training with another black belt,
the other black belt told him he was going to stop teaching techniques because he wasnâEUR(TM)t
sure if they worked. So he was going to go into the streets and try the techniques out. I remember
The Golden Greek Demetrius Havanus telling me the same thing. When he was training with Allen
Steen in the 1970âEUR(TM)s he and a few other students would learn a technique and then go into
the streets that night to see if it would actually work in a fight. If it did, they continued to practice
the technique, if it did not, they didnâEUR(TM)t practice it anymore.
The point Master Gracie was teaching and the point that probably escaped most of the people in
attendance is that you must be prepared to âEURoeprove itâEUR anytime. You donâEUR(TM)t
get mugged and then set up a date 90 days from now to fight. You donâEUR(TM)t get into an
argument at a bar and then step outside to arrange a date to âEURoefightâEUR(TM) 120 days
from now, after you get your training in. If you have to get ready o fight, if you have to be in shape to
fight, if winning the fight requires that you train for 90 days, then the system you are learning is
bad. It wonâEUR(TM)t work in the real World because you donâEUR(TM)t get to âEURoeset
upâEUR fights in the real World. You get into fights, and you either win or lose with what you have
and what you bring to the fight during the actual fight. Techniques you used to know but have
forgot, techniques you canâEUR(TM)t do correctly, techniques that donâEUR(TM)t work,
wonâEUR(TM)t win any fights. You have to be practicing and learned techniques that will work in a
real fight that might actually happen when you walk out of the dojo. And if you are practicing
Martial Arts to learn to fight, then you better be prepared to fight, anytime, anywhere against
anyone.
Goggle âEURoegracie fightsâEUR and you will see dozens of instances where
âEURoechallengersâEUR from other schools, styles, or systems came into Gracie schools and
challenged a Gracie to a fight. There was no time for preparation. No time to go train with your

3. coaches, no time to get into shape. There was a challenge and then there was a fight. And the
GracieâEUR(TM)s always won. Why? Because the style they practiced taught them how to win a
street fight against bigger, stronger, faster opponents without having to prepare for weeks for the
fight.
If you are taking a Martial Arts and if one of reasons you are taking the Art is to learn to defend
yourself. Then you have to actually try using the techniques you are learning in a fight. You can do
this in Class, you donâEUR(TM)t have to go into the streets, and I certainly donâEUR(TM)t
recommend that you get into street fights, but I certainly do recommend you practice your style in
such a way that you will actually Know if what you are learning Works.
So the 2nd thing I learned from Royce Gracie was to be ready, willing and able to fight anywhere,
anyone at anytime and prove your system of training works.
The 3rd thing I learned is that Fighting and the Martial
Arts are very mental.
I asked Master Gracie who was his toughest fight and he
said it was his âEURoemindâEUR. Then he asked me
who was my toughest opponent, and I hesitated until he
pointed out that my opponent was in my mind. He
suggested that if he were to tell me that he intended to
fight me tomorrow I would not sleep that night due to the mental anxiety. And I couldnâEUR(TM)t
agree more. How could you sleep if you know that Royce Gracie was going to whip your butt the
next day? And that was the entire point.
ItâEUR(TM)s the mental aspect of âEURoefear, anxiety, apprehension, worry, concern,
confusionâEUR that is the real fight. With all the anxietyâEUR(TM)s associated with the
possibility of being in an imminent fight, you canâEUR(TM)t relax, you canâEUR(TM)t train right,
you donâEUR(TM)t eat right, you canâEUR(TM)t sleep right. Your entire training and preparation
program is confused, diffused, and destroyed by your âEURoemindâEUR. It is only when you
overcome the mental anxiety associated with being in the fight that you can control the actual fight.
You fight with your body and your mind. Your body works by âEURoemind controlâEUR. Your
hands and feet canâEUR(TM)t do what they are trained to do if they are not getting the correct
signals from your mind, and you mind canâEUR(TM)t send the correct signals if it is
âEURoeconfused, excited, anxious, neuroticâEUR. You must have a calm relaxed mind to fight
well and your mental conditioning is just as important as your physical conditioning.
My son Teddy is a Champion Wrestler and he worked very hard mentally and physically to become a
Champion. He trained 5 to 6 days a week, 2 to 4 hours a day for 10 years to become a Champion. He
didnâEUR(TM)t just train 1 hour 2 or 3 times a week, like so many Martial Arts Students do. He
trained 10 times as much as the average Martial Arts Student for 10 times as long, and he trained
his mind to enable him to achieve his full potential. When he first started wrestling, he was much too
nervous and anxious to do his techniques right. He went too fast, too hard and was out of breath,
and exhausted if the fight went pas the 2nd period. It was only when his âEURoemind got
rightâEUR that his âEURoewrestling got rightâEUR. Once he learned to control his mind he
learned to control his opponents.

4. Many of the guys he wrestled never learned that. One in particular comes to mind. He was probably
the best âEURoepractice wrestlerâEUR I had ever seen. No one took him down in practice, and
he dominated almost all of the other wrestlers at the elite camps, even those who outweighed him by
20 to 30 pounds. He was calm, cool, and efficient. He never got tired and never made stupid moves.
But when it came time take the fight to the mat, he was a different person. He became confused,
nervous, anxious and soon lost control of his mind which lead to loss of control of his breathing and
then control of his muscles and finally control of the match.
One particular example comes to mind. He was wrestling in the Greco Roman Wrestling State
Champions and so was my son. In Greco wrestling you can earn a lot of points with a few moves and
if you get up by 12 you win the match. My son got trapped after a bad shot and his opponent began a
series of rolls and switches that got him up 11 to 0. Teddy held on the last 10 seconds, only because
of his strong mind and refusal to lose. At the break, he turned to his opponent and said that
âEURoehe was in trouble nowâEUR. Think about it. This is a wrestler 1 point from losing the
State Championship and he is telling his opponent he was in trouble. And he was. When the 2nd
period started this time TeddyâEUR~s shot was perfect. He took the guy down and immediately
pinned him for the match.
At the same tournament the other wrestler I have been talking about was also in trouble do to a poor
shot and was soon down 8 to 0. At the break, he turned to the coach with a look that basically said,
âEURoeI quitâEUR. And in the second period he did just that. He quit trying and was pinned
almost immediately, by a guy who he beat daily in practice with ease. How and why did he lose? He
lost in his mind. He became confused, anxious and lost control of his mind which in turn caused him
to lose control of his techniques and then lose control of the match. When you canâEUR(TM)t
control your mind, you canâEUR(TM)t control the fight and you almost always will lose.
Master Gracie was exactly right he said the toughest opponent was in his mind, and it is true for you
too. Learn to control your mind and you will learn to control the fight. You canâEUR(TM) win with
a âEURoeweak, confused, nervous mindâEUR. You will win with a âEURoecalm, determined,
powerful mindâEUR.
The 4th thing I learned is You donâEUR(TM)t have to be stronger to beat a stronger opponent.
Now everyone has heard that before many times at their Martial Arts school, but until you have
actually done it in a real fight, you donâEUR(TM)t really believe it. Think about it. The UFC has
weight classes, professional boxing has weight classes, real wrestling has weight classes. Why?
Because they donâEUR(TM)t think a âEURoesmaller, weakerâEUR man can usually beat a
âEURoebigger, strongerâEUR man, and they are usually right.
But that is exactly why Helio Gracie started Gracie Jiu Jitsu. Helio was a very small, rather weak
man. I think he was about 5âEUR(TM) 6âEUR, and about 150 pounds, yet he fought and defeated
men that outweighed him by 50 to 150 pounds. He even challenged the World Heavyweight
Champion of Boxing to a fight. In his last interview shortly before his death he told the reporter that
he was unhappy that people think that if a man is bigger and stronger, he was going to beat you in a
fight. He said he âEURoeinventedâEUR the techniques of Gracie Jiu Jitsu to allow smaller, weaker
men to be able to defeat larger stronger men, and he, his sons and 1,000âEUR(TM)s of students
were proof it worked.
In the first 3 UFC Championships, there we no weight classes and no time limits. You fought anyone
of any size until someone won. And that was the opportunity for the World to proof that Gracie Jiu
Jitsu needed to prove that a smaller man could beat a stronger, larger man. Royce defeated men

5. much much bigger and stronger than him and he as subsequently even defeated Akibono, who is
6âEUR(TM)8âEUR, 450 pounds. You canâEUR(TM)t get much bigger and stronger than that.
Yet Master Gracie was able to defeat him. How, and why?
Techniques, confidence and years and years of actual fighting experience proved to Royce that what
he was learning worked and if he simply remained calm and did the techniques right. He would
defeat anyone in front of him, no matter their size and strength. It is really a remarkable thing to see
someone defeat someone who is larger and stronger than them, but it is an altogether different thing
to actually do it.
You can talk about smaller weaker men defeating bigger stronger men all day with your teacher, but
until you actually start fighting bigger stronger men and defeating them you wonâEUR(TM)t
believe it. I have done that 100âEUR(TM)s of times in class teaching ground jiu jitsu techniques
and in some fights and it never stops amazing me when I do it. How I do it is with technique.
Technique that doesnâEUR(TM)t rely on being bigger and stronger, but being better trained and
doing moves that actually work to stop the bigger stronger opponent. It doesnâEUR(TM)t do you
any good to practice techniques that look great, but donâEUR(TM)t work. It doesnâEUR(TM)t do
you any good to work on moves that are flashy and donâEUR(TM)t work. It doesnâEUR(TM)t help
if you can punch 10 times and kick 10 times in 20 seconds. It does matter if you kick the man in the
groin. Break his arm, or destroy his knee.
What makes you defeat a bigger stronger opponent without using size and strength are techniques
that go against his balance, coordination, joints, vital organs (like the eyes, ears, throat, groin). You
can only weigh 100 pounds but if you kick him in the groin, he will not continue fighting. You can
only weigh 100 pounds but if you bend his 20 inch arm over your leg and snap the elbow, he will quit
fighting. You can only weigh 100 pounds but your finger will go deep into his eye and he will stop
fighting. And my friend that is the secret of beating a bigger stronger opponent. You fight to win.
Not to impress.
The reason we have weight classes are several. One it makes the fight legal and if they fighters are
trained equally, it makes the fight competitive. But the most important is that it makes the fight
Legal. And by that I mean it has rules. You canâEUR(TM)t punch him in the eyes, snap his fingers,
kick groin, and break his neck. If you could, you could easily beat him, but the beating would result
in permanent damage. You canâEUR(TM)t have a competitive fight league if you have rules and
regulations. You wonâEUR(TM)t have any fighters left after a few months if you do.
Master Gracie knows he can defeat a larger and stronger opponent because has done it many times
in fights with no rules, no weight limits and no size limits. If he has rules, regulations, time limits he
is really limiting his ability to win the fight. In the street he doesnâEUR(TM)t have to abide by
these rules, regulations and time limits and he will win.
The techniques of Gracie Jiu Jitsu are specifically made to work against bigger stronger men because
they attack the joints and use balance, movement, coordination, angles, and leverage to destroy the
opponents ability and will to fight. They can break his elbow and he will quit, or they can
âEURoeproveâEUR to him that they can easily break his elbow and he will quit because he knows
you will do it. They donâEUR(TM)t attack the eyes, groin, throat, but they do attack the joints,
neck, and breathing. And they rely on stamina and technique to allow them to totally wear the
opponent out and make him easy to defeat. If you make your opponent totally exhausted they have
no chance to win the fight. You can do that easily with proper use of jiu jitsu techniques.
The 5th thing I learned is: The best way to escape a dangerous situation is to not get in it.

6. Master Gracie was asked several times by different people at the seminar, âEURoeHow do you get
out of arm bar?âEUR âEURoeHow do you escape from a rear naked choke?âEUR
âEURoeWhatâEUR(TM)s the best escape from a kumara?âEUR And his answers were rather
profound, but perhaps not understood and thus overlooked by many of the students at the seminar.
One of his replies was, âEURoeHow do you let Mike Tyson hit you in the jawâEUR? They
didnâEUR(TM)t seem to understand and asked again âEURoebut how do you escape from an arm
bar?âEUR, and he once again replied. âEURoeHow do you get ready to let Mike Tyson hit you in
the head?âEUR He went on to explain. There are a lot of things you can train for. You can train for
speed, endurance, techniques, specific attacks and escapes, but you really canâEUR(TM)t do
training that would allow you to let Mike Tyson hit you in the jaw. There is no realistic way for you to
let Tyson hit you and for your to survive.
And that is the point. When you are âEURoein an arm barâEUR, when you are âEURoein a rear
naked chokeâEUR, when you are in a âEURoekumaraâEUR there is not realistic way to escape.
When these moves are applied correctly and you are trapped in them, your arm will break, you will
go to sleep. It is that simple. There is no practical escape from a properly applied finishing
technique.
I learned his the hard way about 30 years ago when I was doing a âEURoehard KIâEUR
demonstration to a group at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO. One of the parts
of my demo was to allow someone from the audience to come up and hit me full power in the ribs,
the stomach and the throat. I picked a 250 pound man to come up and he proceeded to pound away
with great abandon. I felt no pain, because there was no injury due to my âEURoeki flowingâEUR.
Then I asked him to choke me with both hands viciously around my throat. Again no matter how
hard he tried, he could not choke me. Then he asked if I could be choked with a deep Judo rear
choke, applied with the GI? I said âEURoeof course notâEUR and proceeded to let him apply a
deep rear naked choke with the GI. This did not go as planned. You see I can not be choked with
hands due to the fact that I use my KI and I make my AdamâEUR(TM)s apple float backwards into
my neck muscles, protecting it. This has very little to do with protecting yourself from a GI choke,
which is a âEURoeblood chokeâEUR. It cuts off the blood to the head and you go to sleep, which I
was about to do when I asked him to stop, and start again. This time, when he started, I escaped the
choke.
This is a great example of Master GracieâEUR(TM)s maxim. The best way o avoid a dangerous
situation is to not get in it. If you let someone apply a âEURoeblood chokeâEUR, if you let
someone sink in a âEURoedeep arm barâEUR. If get caught in a kumara and they are applying
the pressure. You are out of luck and out of the fight. The thing you want to do is not get into this
situation, and by proper training you can learn dozens of ways to escape the situation that would put
you in the arm bar, the chokes, the kumara, etc.
When I first started training with Master Carlos Machado, the first 6 months of daily 2 hour a day
practice was literally nothing but Escapes. We didnâEUR(TM)t learn any finishes, we
didnâEUR(TM)t learn any moves. We didnâEUR(TM)t learn any attacks. We learned to Escape.
And when we finally began to learn some move, attacks and finishes, we found they were much
easier to do if you could escape any attack from your opponent. Master Machado is Master
GracieâEUR(TM)s cousin, and they grew up training together, so they both learned the lesson of
âEURoenot getting into the dangerous situationâEUR as the best way to avoid the dangerous
situation.
Too many Martial Arts Schools start teaching there studentâEUR(TM)s attacks and finishes from

7. the first day, and these students are usually easily defeated by a good jiu jitsu player who knows the
escapes as well as the finishes.
ItâEUR(TM)s the same thing your parents have told you since you were little. DonâEUR(TM)t go
there. DonâEUR(TM)t hang with the bad crowd. DonâEUR(TM)t go to that drinking party. They
know all too well that the best way for you to not get in trouble is to not go to places where this is
trouble. The same thing applies in the Martial Arts. The best way to avoid a dangerous situation is to
not get in the dangerous situation.
The 6th thing I learned is: Martial Arts Mastery is a life long program.
Master Gracie is only 42 years old, but has been practicing Gracie Jiu Jitsu daily for 40 years. From
the time he could walk, and maybe before, he was on the mat learning techniques, practicing and
perfecting. He has not stopped his training for 40 years. I am 61 years old and started my daily
Martial Arts Training when I was 15. So I have been practicing for 46 years. If you were to ask me or
Master Gracie if we âEURoeknew it allâEUR or âEURoehad learned all there was to
knowâEUR, we would both immediately say No!
Martial Arts Mastery is a life long program of continual learning, training and perfection. In the
modern times, you can become a Black Belt at some schools in 2 year, 3 years max. And these
âEURoeblack beltsâEUR are some of the worst Martial Artists I have ever seen. It took me 6
years to become a Black Belt and in Gracie Jiu Jitsu it takes 7 to 10 years to become a Black Belt.
They keep their standards incredibly high, even though it is definitely costing them
$1,000âEUR(TM)s of dollars in promotional tests and fees if they would only promote these
students in 2 to 3 years. They simply refused to promote unless you earn it. I believe in that kind of
promotional system too and have made a lot of students and parents mad when I refused to
âEURoepassâEUR their children to a higher rank, due to the fact that they did not know the
techniques âEURoeperfectlyâEUR. I donâEUR(TM)t believe you can make but 1 or 2 mistakes
on a Black Belt Test. If you do, you donâEUR(TM)t pass. Why? Because in a real fight, if you make
1 or 2 mistakes you will get hurt or killed, and so I donâEUR(TM)t believe in promoting someone
who in a real life situation would get hurt or killed.
Martial Arts Mastery is a life long program of learning, practice and perfecting your techniques. You
can learn new techniques for a life time, but that doesnâEUR(TM)tâEUR(TM) mean you need to
keep adding more and more techniques to your program. You donâEUR(TM)t need to. You can in
reality never perfect the 1,000âEUR(TM)s of techniques you have already learned.
So many students think that Martial Arts is just being able to beat someone up and when you are too
old to beat up someone you are too old to be a teacher, or you are too old for students to actually pay
attention to you.
I believe that this way of thinking is caused by simple ignorance and the modern trend to only know
what is âEURoecurrentâEUR and âEURoehappening nowâEUR. Whatever someone did 10
years ago doesnâEUR(TM)t mean anything. Because they canâEUR(TM)t fight in the UFC now,
they donâEUR(TM)t deserve the respect that the current UFC fighters get. And when they
âEURoeloseâEUR they donâEUR(TM)t deserve that respect any more. This is the âEURoepop
cultureâEUR definition of respect that so many students seem to have or give to their
âEURoeteachersâEUR.
When Royce fought Matt Hughes a few years ago, Hughes was very disrespectful of Maser Gracie.
Saying that the sport had passed him by, and he didnâEUR(TM)t have any respect for someone

8. who didnâEUR(TM)t know all the things he knew and couldnâEUR(TM)t win fights anymore.
After the fight Matt apologized, saying it was only for âEURoeratingsâEUR that he had said that,
and I believe that is true. Matt Hughes is a gentleman who knows and understands the tradition of
Martial Arts and realizes full well that Royce Gracie is directly responsible for the entire UFC being
in existence today. If Royce had lost the first 3 UFCâEUR(TM)s to some back street fighting punk
puncher, then there would be No UFC. The UFC exists today because Master Gracie defeated street
fighters with technique and precision. Not because he out punched, kicked and beat them with
âEURoemade up systemâEUR of street fighting techniques (Kimbo Slice is a prime example of
that. He was famous as a street fighter, but when he had to fight people who actually Knew
something, he got his butt kicked. And because he got his butt kicked so fast and decisively, he
actually destroyed the Only Prime Time MMA show on TV. The same thing would have happened to
the UFC if Royce had lost).
I can tell you that as you get older and you are still practicing Martial Arts you literally will have
forgotten more than 90% of your students will ever learn. Grandmaster Pat Burleson was teaching a
rather smart mouthed student some technique and the student appeared to be acting like he
didnâEUR(TM)t really want to learn his technique from this âEURoeold manâEUR who just
happened to be the First International Karate Champion in the World. Grandmaster Burleson told
him in no uncertain terms, âEURoeSon, I have forgotten more techniques that you will ever learn,
and you better pay attention if you donâEUR(TM)t want to see some of the more deadly ones on
your head right now.âEUR The student began paying strict attention and so did the class.
Now the point isnâEUR(TM)t that Grandmaster Burleson, Master Gracie, or I Grandmaster
Gambordella can beat you up. The point is that we have been practicing 40+ years and are still
learning and teaching and if you want to become a Master you need to continue your learning,
practicing and perfecting for the rest of your life too! Like the old Zen saying âEURoea cup can be
filled up a single drop at a timeâEUR. You can become a Master a little at a time. A little more each
year. Martial Arts Mastery is not a âEURoesprintâEUR but a âEURoelifelong marathonâEUR.
The 7th thing I learned is: Confidence is created by proper training.
Everyone knows the importance of training, but most people do not train properly. Please let me
explain. The average Martial Arts Student goes to class 2 times a week for 1 hour, sometimes they
might even go 3 times a week. During a typical class they might spend 10 minutes doing warm ups,
20 minutes doing basics, stances, blocks, kicks, counters. 15 minutes doing new techniques and 10
to 15 minutes sparring or doing kata. These times may vary by teachers and students, but this is
about the usual. A 1 hour workout is typical and it actually is effective in making most students get
better....to a point. Please let me explain.
I mentioned before that when my Son Teddy Gambordella was training for his wrestling team, he
trained 5 to 6 days a week, 2 to 3 hours a day, at least 250 days a year. His high school team won
State all 4 years he was in high school, and he went to State all 4 years. When I went to the Olympic
Training facility in CO to do a seminar on injury prevention, way back in 1980 the wrestlers there
trained 4 to 6 hours a day, 6 days a week, 360 days a year. They won several Gold medals and had
lots of wrestlers win World Champions. My friend Brandon Slay, and Olympic Gold Medalist is now
the new coach of the USA Wrestling Team, and he intends to go back to this vigorous training
schedule for the team, after some rather disappointing recent Olympics.
A friend of mine, a great Martial Arts Teacher and an Olympic Diving Coach Grandmaster Bryan
Robbins of SMU, trained his diving team 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the evening 5 to 6
days a week, 300 days a year (or whatever the school year was, including summer school), and he

9. produced Olympic Champions. Another friend of mine and the only person ever to be a World Boxing
Champion and a World Full Contact Karate Champion. Master Troy Dorsey trained 4 to 6 hours a
day, 360 days a year to get ready for his World Championship fights. Master Gracie when growing
up spent 8 or more hours a day on the mat and still spend 4 to 6 hours a day on the mat.
All these great champions and great teachers train hard and train very long. They also train very
"properly". And by that I mean that they trained techniques that worked, in situations that they
would actually have in a real fight, or competition. So many schools spend their 1 hour training their
students in techniques that have no practical value in the real World. Their students would get
beaten in a real street fight and usually get beaten in the tournaments they go to. Why? Because
their training was not "proper". Proper training involves intensive training. Proper training involves
intensive workouts. Proper training involves intensive real World scenarios. Proper training involves
working harder than your ever have and pushing yourself to the limits on a daily bases.
When you train properly you get "confidence". You Know you won't get tired, in a short fight, or tired
in a long fight. You know you will be in better condition than your opponent. When you train
properly you will know what to do in 90% of all situations you will find yourself in during a fight.
There will be no surprises. You will know all the techniques you need to know to stay out of trouble
and to take control of the fight. Master Gracie said he knew a "million techniques", and while that
may be an exaggeration of an actual number, what he does know is a "million" times more than his
opponents do. His proper training has taught him 100's of techniques for every possible scenario
that might come up in a real fight. There will be No surprises for him in the ring or in the street. He
has been there, done that. Seen that and overcome that, and this "proper" training has given him a
confidence that is justified. He knows he can do it in the ring, because he has done it 1,000's of
times in class under realistic fighting conditions.
Proper training in your Martial Arts School will produce the same confidence for you. I don't believe
you can become a Great Martial Artist if you only train 1 hour a day, 2 to 3 times a week. You have
to work harder than that if you want to be great in anything. You have to practice at home, you have
to do 2 classes a day, or help with another class. You have to get a training partner and practice
before and after class. You have to go to other schools and practice with other people. You have to
buy, or rent, or watch online training video's from great teachers and practice the moves they are
teaching. You have to have a library of books and videos at home you study on a daily bases. You
have to keep a record of your training and what you learned and write it down, or video it for future
reference. Remember in my last article where Grandmaster Burleson said "I have forgotten more
than you will ever learn". Well that is true. Grandmaster Burleson did not have the use of video
cameras to record all his training and classes on a daily bases. You do. You can record all your
lessons, or record what you learned in your lessons and keep them on file in your computer. If you
can't record, then you can take photo's of new techniques you learn and keep them on file.
I am the author of 38 books and 24 DVD's and I honestly see things in the books every time I look at
them I forgot I knew. But because they are in the book or in one of my DVD's I remember them again
and can start practicing or teaching them again. You can do the same thing. With Proper training
your confidence will grow and you can become a Martial Arts Master.
The 8th thing I learned is: Don't be in a hurry to start or finish your class or fight.
I arrived at Master Mezger's school about 45 minutes before the seminar and found Master Gracie
and Master Mezger standing and talking in the middle of the mat. They were relaxed and joking and
walking around the room shaking hands and taking photos. Master Gracie was kind enough to take
photos and take time with everyone who asked, and he even went up to students who were just

10. looking in "awe" and said hello and shook their hands. He was kind, considerate, relaxed and
appeared to be in no hurry to get started and more importantly after the started the class he appears
just a calm, relaxed and considerate and did not appear in any hurry to finish his seminar, and that is
a great thing I learned from Master Gracie. Don't be in a hurry to start of finish your class or a fight.
Please let me explain.
Several times when I have been at a seminar the teacher seems rushed, worried, harried and
anxious. It often seems that he can't wait to get started and get finished and get out of there and on
to the next seminar or class. If you will start noticing these things I am sure you will agree. The next
time you watch a MMA fight on TV or in person. Notice the fighters are any of them anxious.
nervous, worried and when the fight starts do they seem to be in a hurry to start and finish the fight.
Rushing around, punching and hitting wilding and without precision. These fighters will invariably
be worn out in a few minutes and 9 out of 10 times they will become exhausted and lose the fight or
be knocked out. Why? Because they were in a hurry to start and finish the fight and so their worried
condition reflected in their techniques and they did not perform at their best.
It is the same in the real World. Do you run around in nervous, excited and in an anxious condition?
Always trying to get the class over, the job over, the situation over as quickly as possible. If you are
always in a hurry to get started, so you can get finished and get out of the job, the school, or the
situation, you will not do your best. You will not be your best and you will never achieve you full
potential in Martial Arts or the real World.
You will see this "relaxed, confident, no hurry" look and approach when you see any great Jiu Jitsu
fighter. Master Carlos Machado is my friend and teaches in Dallas, TX, where I live. I have been
training with him for the last 12 years and never once during that time have I ever seen him in a
hurry to get the class started, or finished. And more importantly I have never seen him in a hurry in
a fight to get the fight started or finished. When he is "rolling", if you look at his face, he is calm and
relaxed. There is No tension in his face or in apprehension in his eyes. He is in no hurry to finish the
fight. He takes his time setting things up and moving very precisely to the next move to set up the
next finish.
One day I was at Master Machado's class when a 300 pound guy, wearing fighting shorts, no shirt
and sporting a tattoo that said "pain" across his entire stomach walked in obviously looking for
trouble. He stalked around the floor for a few minutes telling everyone who would listen "I am
looking for Carlos Machado and I am going to whip his ass". Master Machado calmly walked up and
said, "you found him", and just stood there calmly waiting to see what was next. The guy proceeded
to tell Master Machado about how he was this great fighter and had heard about him and was going
to whip his butt to see prove that he was better than him and everyone else. Master Machado never
go nervous, not got in a hurry and calmly said, "let's go over here and we can roll". He took the guy
up to the corner of the mat and proceeded to teach him a severe lesson in jiu jistu. After only a few
minutes the guy was tapping and almost crying. He was afraid and was trapped and he had no way
out unless Master Machado decided to give it to him. Now Master Machado is a gentleman and a
Great Martial Artist and would not hurt someone just to prove a point, so he did not break the guys
elbow, but he did teach him a severe lesson in humility. And he did it not being in a hurry to start of
finish the fight. He was confident he could beat the guy and there simply was no need to be in a
rush.
Master Gracie told the people at the seminar that his longest fight was 1 hour 30 minutes and
Master Mezger was actually on the same card and told everyone how incredible it was to see 2 great
Martial Arts Masters rolling hard for almost 2 hours. Master Gracie said the fight was 6 rounds of 15
minutes and after the first 30 minutes he was thinking to himself, "come on, let's get going. I am

11. ready to go the distance". He was not nervous, and in no hurry to try stupid techniques or take
stupid chances to finish the fight. He really fights the same way in all his fights. He is never in a
hurry to start or finish the fight. He takes his time, sets his opponent up, tries the finish, and if it
does not work, rolls to the next set up and the next finish. Cool, calm and collected. Never in a hurry,
never rushing around, never trying stupid moves. Relaxing, taking his time and getting the job done.
Master Gracie is never in a hurry when fighting, or when teaching and his relaxed confident style is
very comforting and assuring to his students. He appears relaxed and confident because he is
relaxed and confident and he wants you to feel and act the same way. Relaxed and confident. In no
hurry to start of finish your class or a fight.
You can do well to remember that in your training and in your life. Relax, take your time. Don't be in
a hurry to start of finish the class or the technique. Take you time, do it right. Take your time, learn
it right. Take your time, practice right and you will become a great Martial Arts Master.
The 9th thing I learned is: When the technique is done right it works.
It is an amazing thing to watch so many fighters trying to make a bad technique work They will wear
themselves out with incorrect techniques done improperly and wonder why they lose the fight or the
match. A technique that is done wrong will simply not work. You can wear yourself out trying to
make it work and your opponent can wear themselves out using poor technique to defend you poor
technique. It is like watching a train wreck. Nothing good is going to come from it.
The UFC is incredible to watch, when the techniques are done right, by fighters who know and
execute proper techniques. It is boring and ridiculous when the technique is done wrong by fighters
who don't know what they are doing. I am sure you will agree that too many times recently the UFC
fights are really example of "bad boxing" rather than good MMA. They don't throw any good
punches, kicks and never go to the ground, and if they do go to the ground their technique is worse
there. They roll around trying insane moves and missing obvious opportunities to finish because
their techniques are so poor and so poorly done. And these are the "best MMA fighters in the
World". It is much worse at the local fights where you see even more ridiculous crappy techniques
done by people who don't appear to know anything but "brawling" and have won most of their fights
because their opponents knew even less than them.
Master Gracie during his seminar made it a point that the technique is done right. He also explained
when and how the technique is done wrong and how to avoid making these mistakes when you are
training. I went to a seminar with John Smith 2 times Olympic Wrestling Gold Medalist and as in all
seminars he demonstrated a technique and asked some students to come up and do the technique he
just taught. Now in 90% of all the other seminars I have ever been to, when the students come up,
they try the technique, the instructor corrects the a little, lets them try again, and corrects them and
then let's them go sit, and moves on to the next technique, The students never really demonstrate
the technique properly but they try and that seems enough for the teacher.
It was not allowed by John Smith to the students in his wrestling seminar. When he called up 2 high
school students to demonstrate the technique and they got it wrong. He said in a firm voice, "do it
again". He told them what they did wrong and told them to do it again. When they did not do it right,
he said in a firm voice, "do it again". This went on for 2 minutes until the students did the technique
right. Not almost right, but right. He would not let them practice wrong and he would not accept
them doing the technique wrong. He is the same way teaching his Wrestlers at OSU, and that is why
OSU has won 5 US National Championships in the last 8 years. He expects and demand that all
techniques are done Right at all times during practice. He will not allow or tolerate techniques being
done wrong. He teaches and expects perfection and his wrestlers seldom if ever get beat because

12. they are doing techniques wrong. They do all their techniques correctly. Practice all their techniques
correctly and when the fight in on, they do the exact same thing. All their techniques are done right
and when done right a technique will work.
Too many Martial Arts teachers allow their students to practice techniques that are done wrong, and
then they wonder why their students don not win in local tournaments. They don't seem to realize
that if your allow your students to practice technique that is almost right, you will not get the same
results as when you only allow your students to practice each and every technique done right.
Master Gracie knows that if a technique is done right it works, and if it is done wrong it won't work.
He has real World experience in real fights that prove the technique done right works, an that
assure him that the technique done wrong doesn't work. When you do a jiu jitsu technique right, the
size and strength of your opponent do not matter. When you do the technique half right, the size and
strength do matter and when you do the technique wrong, the size and strength matter completely.
Do the technique right and the elbow will break, or he will tap out. Do the technique wrong you will
spend a lot of time and energy to try to muscle the finish. Do the technique completely wrong, and
he will escape, reverse you and beat you.
The 10th think I learned is: You don't plan a fight, you win a fight.
One of students in the seminar asked Master Gracie what was his favorite technique to win a fight?
And he replied, "the one that wins the fight". He went on to explain that he did not plan a fight. He
did study film, if he had it and had the time, and he did have specific moves for certain times that he
intended to use and to try at various times during the fight, but he did not make a plan of attack in
his head and try moves that were not working or techniques that would not work against a particular
opponent and try to do them anyway.
I asked him how St. Pierre beat BJ Penn last week and he said that St.Pierre took BJ out of his game
plan. Every time BJ tried a certain move or expected to be able to try a certain move or implement a
plan of attack for the fight. St. Pierre did something to take him out of his game plan and nullify the
response that BJ intended to do. I remarked that I was surprised that BJ, who is so great on his back
and on the ground was in fact on his back and on the ground almost the entire fight and was beaten
so badly by a man who in no way can be considered the "ground jiu jitsu master" that BJ Penn was.
And Master Gracie said, that was because every time BJ tried to do a move or a technique that he
had planned, St. Pierre stopped it, countered it and proceeded to beat BJ to a pulp.
Master Gracie went on to explain to the class that you don't "plan" a fight, you win a fight. You do
practice and work on techniques that you think might be good for a particular opponent, but when
the actual fight starts you have to use techniques that your opponent is giving you, not techniques
that you are determined to try anyway, even though your opponent is fully prepared for them and
will stop them. Master Gracie said that you adapt the techniques you know to the particular fight
and the fighter you are fighting.
He also went on to point out that most of the times in the real World you do not have a video of your
opponents old fights. You do not have 6 months to get ready for the fight and so 6 months to learn
and practice techniques that you fell will work on that particular opponent. In all the street fights
Master Gracie had been in, and he had been in 100's, he only a few seconds of a few minutes to get
ready for the fight and did not have any time to prepare a fight plan. And if you ever find yourself in
a street fight you won't have but a few seconds to a few minutes to get your mind and body ready for
the fight.

13. What you have to do is "go with the flow". Take what your opponent gives and you and use the
techniques that you know that will stop what your opponent is doing, nullify his attack and allow you
to control the fight, control the events in the fight and win the fight. You might be a great kicker, but
if you are on your back, you won't be able to use your kicks. You might be a great puncher and hard
jabber, but if you are held against the wall, you won't be able to jab and use your punches. You
might be great on your right side, but find your opponent has held you from your left side. You might
have a great guard, but find yourself caught in the mount. You might have some great chokes, but
find yourself being choked. So all your "plans" and all the techniques you think you are good at or
even great at, might not be able to be used because your opponent is not allowing you to do them.
You have to be able to change your techniques to techniques that will work against that particular
opponent at that particular time in the fight. I can tell you from experience that you have to be
prepared for anything. Master Guy Mezger is one of the greatest fighters to come out of Texas in the
last 30 years was a UFC Champion, Pride Champion, Kick Boxing Champion and even wrestling
champion. Master Mezger has some of the strongest and best kicking techniques in the World and
has used his viscous kicks to win many fights, but if he can't kick and winds up on his back, he is
also a great jiu jitsu fighter and can beat you on his back. When I ask him about what technique he
used to defeat a certain opponent in a certain fight, he will go into great detail about what and how
he did it. Some of his fights he won with a side kick, some with a round house, some with a right
cross, come with a rear naked choke, some with a knee bar, some with a arm bar. The more we
talked about the fights the more and different ways he told me about the fights he won. He always
adapted the techniques he used to that particular fight and changed whatever he needed to do to
allow him to win that specific fight. He was constantly adapting the the changing conditions in the
fight and using and changing his techniques that will is using in the fight to win that particular fight.
You can and do the same thing.
You must learn to practice all aspects of your fight game. You must become great in punching,
kicking, throws, chokes, hold downs, wrist locks, joint locks, combinations, strength training, diet,
mental training, etc. You can not just be a good boxer and win all your fights with punching. You can
not be just a good kicker and win all you fights with kicks. You can't just be a great ground jiu jitsu
player and win all your fights on the ground. You have to be good at everything. You have to train in
all aspects of the fight game and be prepared to make adaptations to any particular fight at any time
during the fight with easy and confidence. If you don't adapt and change as the fight progresses. If
you just keep trying the same punches, kicks, take downs and attacks you did in round 1, into round
2 a you probably wont' make it to round 3. You have to be prepared to change the way you are
fighting and defending to what your opponent is giving you. When you learn that, and when you have
practiced enough to know what to do in any particular situation, you will become a great fighter and
a Great Martial Artist.
1.
For more info: Grandmaster Ted Gambordella is the author of 38 books and 24 DVD's. For more info:
http://www.blackbeltinabox.com
For the best MMA training in Texas try Guy Mezger's Sports Club, Dallas, TX
http://www.guymezger.com
Author's Bio:Â
9th Degree Black Belt

14. 41 Years teaching experience
World Martial Arts Hall of Fame 1998
Grandmaster Instructor of the Year 2000
International Weapons Master Instructor of Year 2001
Martial Arts Weapons Hall of Fame 2001
World Head of Family Sokeship Council 1999
Martial Art Legends Hall of Fame 2001
Martial Arts Masters Hall of Fame 2002
World Black Belt Hall of Fame 2003
3 Times US Karate Sparring Champion
2 Times US Karate Weapons Champion