Hello and welcome to Grapplawyer.com. My name is DAVID ZWANETZ. I am a criminal defense lawyer at the Law Firm of Shapiro & Mack in Howard County, Maryland, and a Purple Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Julius Park and Master Lloyd Irvin. I train out of Baltimore’s premier BJJ, Muay Thai, and MMA Academy – Team Lloyd Irvin affiliate Crazy 88 Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
I have devoted my life to the pursuit of mastering both the legal profession and my one true passion – Brazilian Jiu Jitsu/submission grappling. I am committed to educating the public about how basic Bill of Rights and Constitutional protections apply during encounters with law enforcement, and I am equally devoted to my love for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. My hope is that, through this blog, I will have a platform to discuss my priceless experiences in both areas of my life. When not pacing the hallways and courtrooms of the Maryland District & Circuit courts, I can be found grappling on the mats at Crazy 88 and at BJJ tournaments nationwide. Please follow along with my blog for daily updates on all things LAW & BJJ as I am “fighting hard in both arenas!”
In the game Rock, Paper, Scissors, two opponents randomly toss out hand gestures, and each one wins, loses or draws with equal probability. It’s supposed to be a game of pure luck, not skill — and indeed, if humans were able to be perfectly random, no one could gain an upper hand over anyone else.
There’s one problem with that reasoning: Humans are terrible at being random.
Our pathetic attempts to appear uncalculating are, in fact, highly predictable. A couple of recent studies have provided insights into the patterns by which people tend to play Rock, Paper, Scissors (and why). Abide by them, and you’ll be riding shotgun and eating the bigger half of the cookie for the rest of your life.
According to Graham Walker, veteran player and five time organizer of the Rock, Paper Scissors World Championships, there are two paths to victory in RPS: Eliminating one of your opponent’s options — for example, influencing her not to play Paper — and forcing her to make a predictable move. In both cases, Walker wrote on the website of the World RPS Society, “the key is that it has to be done without them realizing that you are manipulating them.”
Rookies rock
Those two overarching strategies can be translated into executable moves, starting with the opening one. Expert players have observed that inexperienced ones tend to lead with Rock. Walker speculates that this may be because they view the move as strong and forceful. Either way, remember the mantra “Rock is for rookies,” and simply throw Paper at the outset of a game to earn an easy first victory.
“Rock is for rookies” should be kept in mind against more experienced players, too. They won’t lead with Rock — it’s too obvious — so use Scissors against them. This throw will either beat Paper or tie with itself.
Double trouble
If your opponent makes the same move twice in a row, they almost certainly won’t make that move a third time. “People hate being predictable and the perceived hallmark of predictability is to come out with the same throw three times in row,” Walker wrote. [Why Aren't We Smarter?]
With that option eliminated, you’re guaranteed either a victory or a stalemate in the next round. If you see a “two-Scissor run,” for example, your opponent’s next move will be either Rock or Paper. If you throw Paper, then, you’ll either beat Rock or play to a draw.
Mind tricks
Like a Jedi, you can use the power of suggestion to influence your opponent’s next move. When discussing a game, for example, gesture over and over again with the move that you want your opponent to play next. “Believe it or not, when people are not paying attention their subconscious mind will often accept your ‘suggestion,’” Walker wrote.
This trick may work because of humans’ tendency to imitate one another’s actions. A recent study on decision-making in Rock, Paper, Scissors, published in the July 2011 issue of the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, found that players often imitate their opponents’ last moves. Human mimicry seems to be involuntary.
Announcing your next move before a round starts also seems to be an effective mind trick, though it’ll only work once. If you say you’re going with Paper, for example, your opponent thinks you won’t, Walker explained. Subconsciously, they’ll shy away from Scissors (which beats Paper), and choose Rock or Paper instead. When you do end up throwing Paper, you’ll score a victory or a tie.
Don’t call it a come back
According to Walker, your opponent will often try to come back from a loss or tie by throwing the move that would have beaten his last one. If he lost using Rock, for example, he’ll likely follow up by throwing Paper. Knowing this, you can decide what move to follow with yourself.
Interestingly, monkeys show the same behavioral pattern. In a study detailed in the May 2011 issue of the journal Neuron, researchers at Yale found that rhesus monkeys trained to play Rock, Paper, Scissors tended to react to a loss by playing the move that would have won in the previous round. This suggests monkeys, like humans, are capable of analyzing past results and imagining a different outcome, the researchers said. [The 6 Craziest Animal Experiments]
Humans can take the logic one step further, by imagining what their opponents might be imagining.
Low blow
There’s one more ploy to fall back on — that is, if you’re willing to sacrifice your honor and integrity for a victory. “When you suggest a game with someone, make no mention of the number of rounds you are going to play. Play the first match and if you win, take it is as a win. If you lose, without missing a beat start playing the ‘next’ round on the assumption that it was a best two out of three. No doubt you will hear protests from your opponent but stay firm and remind them that ‘no one plays best of one,’” Walker wrote. A low blow, but a smart one.
Had no idea so much strategy was possible in Rock, Paper, Scissors? The rules of the game itself may be simple, but the human mind is not.
This article was provided by Life’s Little Mysteries, a sister site to SPACE.com.
– Before you ever see one of Dominick Cruz’s workouts, you hear it.
More to the point, you hear Mike Easton, who is a little like MMA’s version of the magical talking mirror in “Snow White.” Only instead of telling you who’s the fairest in the kingdom, Easton tells Cruz — and anyone else within earshot — who the baddest 135-pound man in the entire world is.
Better yet, Cruz never even has to ask in order to get the answer he wants to hear.
“Yeah, that’s right!” Easton shouted as Cruz shadow-boxed himself into a sweat inside the MGM Grand on Wednesday afternoon. “He can’t take you down! He ain’t faster than you! He ain’t ready for this!”
The way Cruz floats across the mat during these sessions, you can hardly tell if he’s listening. But Easton — a short, stocky bulldog of a man who looks a little like a fire hydrant that someone slapped a t-shirt on — knows that he is. He also knows the value of what he provides the champ during the tough times.
“I’m his hype man,” Easton explained. “Also his training partner, but his hype man too. Just like how Muhammad Ali always had somebody talking to him, that’s what it is. You always need somebody in your corner that’s going to talk you up. It makes you feel good.”
It also, according to Cruz, makes you feel not quite so horrible during the necessary evil of the weight cut. That’s why as he works to slim down to 135 pounds to defend his UFC bantamweight title against Urijah Faber at UFC 132 this Saturday night, he likes to have Easton right there, reminding him that this particular pain is only temporary.
“When you feel the weakest is when you’re cutting weight,” said Cruz. “It’s very important to have someone in your ear, telling you how strong you are when you’re feeling the weakest.”
But even though it looks like the easiest job in any champion’s entourage, it takes more than a big mouth to be a good hype man. You don’t just walk in off the street, tell a guy how great he is, then get a free plane ticket to Vegas out of it.
First, you have to make your hype mean something. And the best way to do that, according to both Cruz and Easton, is to have a personal role in beating down the champ before you build him up. That’s where Easton — who is 10-1 as a pro himself — really excels, said Cruz.
“Mike Easton’s my hype man, but on top of that, he’s a sick fighter. The reason he can be my hype man is because I have respect for his fighting abilities. He understands the game. He understands what it takes to win.”
A good hype man can even help you off the mats. As Cruz prepared to defend his WEC title against Scott Jorgensen last winter, it was Easton who stood off to the side during Cruz’s pre-fight interviews and added a little emphasis behind each one of his answers.
Was Jorgensen ready for Cruz’s speed and rhythm? Cruz shrugged at first. No, probably not, he told reporters.
“That’s right he’s not!” Easton shouted out from behind the media scrum. The effect it had on Cruz was visible and immediate.
Had Jorgensen really figured out his style, or was he just talking himself into thinking so? This time Cruz fired right back. Ofcourse he was talking himself into it, said the champ.
“Yeah, he is!” shouted Easton. “He’s got no idea!”
Suddenly, everyone in the room was feeling motivated. You could almost see reporters looking at one another and thinking, where can I get one of these hype men? Does he do parties?
But to hear Easton tell it, having a motivator in your corner isn’t just a nice little perk — it’s downright necessary.
“You remind somebody what’s going on in their life, what all the blood, sweat and tears are for,” he said. “You do that, you’ll have them ready to bite the back of a chair. I learned it from my father, actually. He’s the same way. That’s my hype man.”
And even though Cruz gives no outward indication that he’s enjoying it, he’s come to rely on it, he said.
“The point of it is that, a lot of it, you’re not even paying attention to it. But it’s still there. It’s still entering your subconscious. You can never overdo that. There’s times when I’m focused on other things and not really paying attention to it, but it’s still getting in there and jumbling around a little bit before it leaves.”
Maybe the most amazing thing is that, no matter how much he hears the constant barrage of positivity coming out of Easton’s mouth — and, oh yes, it is constant and it is loud — he never gets sick of it. He never feels like telling his hype man to take five and just sit quietly for a little while.
“I think everybody around me probably wants to say that sometimes,” said Cruz. “That’s without a doubt. But they’re not the ones going in there and fighting. Until they are, they’re going to have to deal with Mike Easton yelling.”
Which is just fine by Easton. Whatever he can do to get the champ in fighting mode, he said, it’s his pleasure. Even he has to shout himself hoarse before the weekend is over.
“That’s my brother. My brother from another mother. He helps me out, so I help him out. He knows I can talk to him, so that’s what I do. That’s my job. That, and to beat the sh-t out of him.”
I have had the honor and pleasure of being on the receiving end of a number of Mike Easton sermons. In fact, on Monday night during JIMMY’S promotion MIKE’S words belted across the mats leaving us all inspired for the year to come. There are so many talents at TLI and it’s quite nice to see The Hulk be recognized for his special gift.
The results are in from the No Gi Finals in Abu Dhabi. Check the list of winners below and of course as soon as I can track down all the footage I will try to post it!
RAFAEL MENDES MADE IT TO THE FINAL OF THE ABSOLUTE DIVISION. WIN OR LOSE, RAFA IS A BEAST!!! RAFA V. GUILHERME WAS INCREDIBLE! CHECK IT OUT BELOW!
MALE- BROWN/BLACK UNDER 65KG
Rafael Mendes defeats Guilherme Mendes on points – 6-4
MALE- BROWN/BLACK UNDER 74KG
Rodrigo Caporal defeats Davi Ramos on points – 5-2
MALE- BROWN/BLACK UNDER 83KG
Vinicius Corrales wins by referee decision
MALE- BROWN/BLACK UNDER 92KG
Rafael Lovato defeats Rodolfo Vieira on points – 4-2
MALE- BROWN/BLACK OVER 92KG
Xande Ribeiro defeats José Junior by advantages
ABSOLUTE
Rodolfo Vieira defeats Rafael Mendes by referee decision. I know that the decision usually goes to the guy on top, but in this case I would have given it to Rafael. Vieira disengaged in the end. Tough call – what do you think??
RODOLFO V. RAFAEL -
HERE IS MENDES V. MENDES! TAKE NOTES CHRIS TRAN!
one of my idols in bjj in action – MALFICINE V. MEGATON
FARIAS V. FERNANDO
THIS MAY HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH ALLIANCE’S SUCCESS – SNORKEL WILL BE PURCHASED ASAP!
