My grappling background is almost as extensive as my injury list. After laying a sound foundation in folk style, freestyle, and Greco-Roman wrestling, I embarked on an intense study of grappling that would last for years and years. I was fortunate to train under a national champion in judo, as well as to defeat many champions from the U.S., Europe, and Russia. I then began a hardcore study of BJJ with Renzo Gracie, and was fortunate to be able to roll with him on many occasions, often doing quite well considering his incredible skill level. I started the first BJJ and MMA club in my city, which turned out a couple of champions. This momentum came to a halt when my injuries caught up with me.

I was already nursing two blown-out knees at 22 years old when I started my club, and then my shoulder injury hit. From years of excessive and very heavy bench pressing, I stretched my shoulder capsule to the point that any slight forward pressure of my arm would cause my shoulder to painfully dislocate. You can see how this would hinder my ability to grapple effectively. I started on a steady decline of increasing the fear-reactivity held first within my knees, and then my shoulder, to the point that I left the mats entirely for several years.

All of this background is leading up to a decision that I made recently and an experience I just had the other day. I had decided that this year I will compete in at least one submission grappling tournament and at one San Da tournament, with the hope of returning to an MMA event by the end of the year.

To this end I began training at a friend's MMA gym, where I ran into an old training partner who was preparing for a NAGA tournament. He asked me if I would roll with him. My friend is highly skilled, very strong, and weighs in at 255-lbs. I'm only 175-lbs and I haven't grappled live in a few years, so needless to say I was a tiny bit hesitant, but I was also anxious to get back in the game.

Every time I tried to come back to competitive grappling in the past, two things happened. First, I became tense and highly guarded around my injured areas. This lead to high levels of anxiety whenever an opponent would lay all of their weight on me, subsequently denying me access to my skills. This affected my confidence so much that I always wound up backing off of grappling. This time things were very, very different.

I have spent the past seven months immersed in the practice of Prasara, and I firmly believe that it has had a profound impact on my grappling ability. It became obvious while rolling with my friend.

My practice of Prasara transformed my grappling in three areas. Firstly, I noted a complete absence of the fear-reactivity associated with my old injuries. The multi-planar joint stability and the joint strength that I had gained worked in such a way that I never once felt any instability. I haven't felt this level of confidence since before I was first injured.

Secondly, my movement capabilities were vastly improved. I have always been agile, but I now have access to strength and power in planes I never dreamed possible. We were putting on such a show that the rest of the people training at the gym stopped to watch us! I was able to do sweeps and throws from such odd angles, and I was doing it with a guy who had 80-lbs on me!

The last area was in my endurance levels. We rolled for 20 minutes nonstop and I didn't once get winded. I was able to allow my opponent’s weight to compress me just as I allow my body to be compressed by my own movement in my Prasara practice. He was breathing heavy but I felt completely relaxed the whole time, even when he was really pressuring me hard.

This last aspect totally surprised me, since my only "cardio" training occurs within my Prasara and Clubbell® practices.

This experience has proven to me without a doubt that the practice of Prasara Body-Flow™ Yoga is one of the best means of training for grappling. I have read Coach Sonnon's advice to grapplers online about this, and now I have my own proof.

Geoff Dixon

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