Conflict is inevitable and can sometimes escalate tophysical combat. Approximately 4000 years ago, a sys-tem of combat was developed in India’s Buddhist Monasteries. Eventually, the Martial Art was passed along to Japanese Samurai warriors. The Japanese named the art Jiu Jitsu, which means “gentle way”. The idea that a Martial Art is gentle may seem contradictory,but a participatory experience validates this description.

Many years later, in the early 20th century,Japanese ambassadors introduced the art toBrazilian dignitaries and their families. TheBrazilians developed their own adaptation,and soon became the world’s top practition-ers of the ancient art. In the late 20th centu-ry, Brazilian champions introduced Jiu Jitsuto North America. Americans have nowtaken the lead through innovation and hard-earned prowess. My name is RicardoMigliarese, and I am one of thoseAmericans helping to maintain the lead inJiu-Jitsu.I have been training in the art of Jiu Jitsufor 13 years under the guidance of the leg-endary Brazilian champion Relson Gracieand his brothers. Akeen sense of fitness hasguided me to World and Pan-Americanchampionships. I believe that to excel as aJiu Jitsu artist, one must combine muscularstrength, balance, flexibility, and cardio-vascular endurance. Jiu Jitsu in our opinionis the only sport that combines these physi-cal aspects with an enhanced awareness ofone’s self and environment.Through my experiences as a profession-al Jiu Jitsu fighter and personal trainer I amconstantly looking for more ways to chal-lenge my clients and myself. I have beeninvolved in the field of fitness for over 15years. During those years I have used myown body to experiment with differentkinds of exercises, and have developed cer-tain training exercises and conditioningmovements that cooperate with my sport. Irefer to this regimen as the “ABC’s” of fit-ness. “A.B.C.” stands for Athletic, Balanceand Conditioning. Through the ABC’s, Ihave attained a higher level of functionalfitness than I could have imagined as a lessexperienced athlete. The ABC’s filled thevoid in my normal training. The best part ofthis method is that they are suitable forworld-class athletes and normal fitnessenthusiasts.While lifting weights I noticed that mystrength was improving, but my balanceand conditioning were not enhanced.In fact, my flexibility was diminishedby solely lifting heavy weights. Balanceand conditioning are integral to fitness andhealth and should be highlighted for excel-lence in my sport. I first started developingthe ABC’s of fitness by using movementsassociated with the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and incorporated these movementsinto my workouts.Then, as I improved in my Balance andConditioning, I merged the ABC’s withbasic functional exercises such as, push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups and hindu squats.The ABC’s uniqueness is rooted in theutilization of a particular strength move-ment, combined with a balancing act. Bydoing this you force your body to work itscore and stabilizer muscles while still hit-ting that primary muscle group. As youprogress, other skills and equipment can beadded to keep you interested. Ropes, bands,medicine balls, physio-balls and variousbags can be added to increase energyrequirements or emphasize any perform-ance component.Ricardo Migliarese has been training Brazilianjiu-jitsu for 12yrs.his dedication and hard train-ing has earned him 3x Gracie WorldChampionship medals and over 20 world andNational renowned championships.Ricardo hasalso been in the world of fitness for that timeand has incorporated his martial art in his per-sonal training for professional fighters.

Published in PhillyFit Magazine (July/August 2006)
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