Skip to content
The BJJ Story
Two training partners meeting on the mat.Drawn in cream, forest green, and muted terracotta. People and objects are symbolic illustrations.
Portrait unavailable. General BJJ illustration; not a likeness of this person.Illustration: The BJJ Story

Alvis Solis

A former track athlete, Alvis "Hound Dog" Solis went from Dog Brothers stick fights to a black belt under Carlos Machado and his own academy north of Houston.

Biography

Alvis W. Solis reached Brazilian jiu-jitsu by way of the running track and Filipino stick fighting. Born in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1964, he was a track athlete until an injury ended his running in college, and he later fought with the Dog Brothers, a stick-fighting group. Its members knew him as "Hound Dog", and it was at one of the group's gatherings that he first came across jiu-jitsu. He opened Solis Martial Arts Academy in the Humble area north of Houston in 1997, received his black belt from Carlos Machado in 2005, and at 46 set himself the goal of competing in 50 tournaments before he turned 50. From the track to the sticks Solis said he competed in track and field from the age of five until he was 22, and that in 1980, at 16, he was invited to the Olympic trials in the 400 meters, in the year the United States boycotted the Games. He ran on a full college scholarship for two and a half seasons before a severe hamstring injury stopped him. On his blog he later wrote that he was hurt three days before a national championship and lost the scholarship. He regained full use of the leg after rehabilitation and graduated with a degree in psychology, but by his own account it took him a long time to find something that could take the place of running. He found martial arts in 1989. As he told it, after he was mugged in Corpus Christi he walked into a taekwondo school and noticed a Filipino man hitting a heavy bag with two sticks. He asked to become the man's student. The man was Reno Lumampao, a teacher of arnis, a Filipino martial art that trains with sticks, and under him Solis reached purple belt in Simplified Modern Arnis. Before he moved to Kingwood, near Houston, in 1993, Solis worked as program administrator of a children's psychiatric unit at Charter Hospital of Corpus Christi. Once in the Houston area he persuaded Lumampao's own teacher, Grandmaster Alfonso Seneres of Iloilo City, who was visiting from the Philippines, to take him on as a private student. For a year he trained with Seneres four hours a day, four days a week, and under him he went on to reach instructor rank in Arnis de Mano. The Dog Brothers In Dog Brothers fights, as Solis's academy biography described them, the fighters wore fencing masks and street hockey gloves and used heavy rattan sticks. Strikes, throws, grappling and chokes were all allowed. A bout ran until someone tapped out or was knocked out, or until 90 seconds had passed, and no judges named a winner. Marc "Crafty Dog" Denny and Eric "Top Dog" Knaus, both listed by the Dog Brothers Martial Arts Association among the Original Dog Brothers, took Solis under their wing, and in the mid-1990s he became a full member under the name "Hound Dog". The association lists him among the members of its tribe under that name, and by 2010 his academy's website called him Texas's only certified Dog Brother apprentice instructor. What the group taught him, he said, was to put what he learned to the test and hold on only to what worked. It was also through the Dog Brothers, Solis said, that he met the Machado brothers. At one gathering he was taken down and fought from his back. Rigan Machado, who watched one of his fights, told him that ground fighting would make him a better stick fighter and invited him to the Machado academy. To keep his jiu-jitsu skills up, Solis also joined Moussel's Self-Defense Academy, where he trained with Eric Williams in its combat grappling program. Carlos Machado awarded him his blue belt in December 1997. The academy Kevin Purtee, who met Solis in 1997, the year the academy opened, and was later listed among its instructors, wrote that Solis described it as a school for the practical use of weapons, stand-up fighting and grappling, and signed him up after showing him a video of a Dog Brothers gathering. The academy's biography of Solis listed five styles: Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Arnis de Mano, kickboxing, Dog Brother Martial Arts and Jeet Kune Do Concepts, the last of which he studied under Ron Balicki. On August 31, 2000, according to Solis, his school was the first to become a Machado Network Representative School. The academy also claimed to be the first in Texas to offer jiu-jitsu classes for children, beginning that year. Solis tied the family side of the school to his own experience: jiu-jitsu let him train with and teach his daughters, he said, and that was one reason he encouraged families to train together and kept a family-friendly atmosphere at the academy. A change of game In November 1998 Solis suffered a serious concussion while teaching private lessons. Writing on his blog in 2010, he said that the concussion and its aftermath forced him to change how he taught. He could no longer spar with his students in boxing, kickboxing or stick fighting, and jiu-jitsu became the art he could still teach in full and compete in. It was also, he explained, the reason he pulled guard, choosing to start on his back, about 95 percent of the time: it was a safe way to reach the ground. The same blog shows him using half guard, a bottom position in which one of the opponent's legs is trapped. He wrote that he pulled half guard against Megaton Dias, a black belt he had long admired, in the open division of a masters and seniors international tournament held in Brazil in 2006, and lost. The blog also advertised an instructional DVD on half guard featuring Solis, with more than 25 techniques. Belts and medals Solis earned his later belts while running his own school. According to his academy biography, Carlos Machado promoted him to purple belt on March 11, 2001, together with two of Solis's own students, and to brown belt in January 2003. Solis received the black belt from Machado in January 2005, at Winter Wars, a tournament in Dallas, and the following month TXMMA reported him as Carlos Machado's newest black belt. In a 2011 interview Solis said Machado had promoted him to second degree that January. At the IBJJF Pan championships, in the masters divisions that group competitors by age, he won the purple-belt heavyweight division in 2001 and, in 2003, both the brown-belt medium-heavyweight division and the brown-belt open class. He took third place in the purple-belt open class in 2001, at purple belt again in 2002 and at brown belt in 2004, and then at black belt in 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009. A 2005 interview profile quoted by TXMMA added that he had placed at many Texas state championships and coached a team within Carlos Machado's Texas network. 50 by 50 Solis started the blog, called 50 by 50, in February 2010 to record that attempt, which gave him until 2014, the year he would turn 50. He wrote that after years of concentrating on his students and his school, he wanted a personal challenge and the feeling of competition he had missed since college. By October 2010 the blog's running tally listed seven events since March, among them the Pan championship in Irvine, California, several tournaments around Houston and Austin, and a superfight at the Battle of H-Town that he recorded as a loss to Jeff Messina. By February 2011 he had competed in nine tournaments under the project, and TXMMA described him as still competing regularly in local and national events at 47. Students The school produced black belts in two systems. In Solis's Filipino martial arts curriculum, Kevin Purtee was promoted to Isang Guro, a first-degree black belt, in October 2001, which, Purtee wrote, made him one of three black belts under Solis at the time. Robert Soliz wrote that he met Solis at a Dan Inosanto seminar in 1995, became his private student in Filipino martial arts, was promoted by him to Isa Guro in Arnis de Mano in 2003, and on April 21, 2006 received his jiu-jitsu black belt from Carlos Machado and Solis. Siggi Schoen, who joined the academy in 1997 and worked in its children's program, was also a black belt under Machado and Solis. In 2009 the academy listed Soliz, Schoen and Anthony Bernabeo as black-belt instructors. Spenser Gilliam started training with Solis in October 2004, at 16. He was at Kingwood High School, which had no wrestling team, and a classmate told him about the academy. In an interview after earning his black belt early in 2012, he named Solis as the person who had helped him most and said Solis had taught him everything he knew about jiu-jitsu. As a beginner, he recalled, he could do nothing against the senior students Soliz and Bernabeo. Paul Erickson, the founder of TXMMA.com, wrote in 2011 that meeting and training under Solis more than a decade earlier had given him the enthusiasm for jiu-jitsu and mixed martial arts that led him to start the site. By then, TXMMA reported, Solis had produced a handful of black belts as well as affiliate schools. Asked that year what he still wanted from the sport, Solis said he hoped to be remembered through generations of students passing on what he had taught them, and that his students learned to show respect and sportsmanship whether they won or lost. In November 2012 the Solis Martial Arts team won the team standings at the Fight to Win / World Grappling Circuit Texas Open in Spring, Texas, ahead of Gracie Barra and BJJ Revolution. TXMMA reported that it was the team's second Fight to Win / World Grappling Circuit title of the year, after the Austin Open.

Sources for this profile

  • TXMMA.com, "Texas Spotlight – Alvis Solis on his Dog Brother Beginnings and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Future", February 26, 2011.(opens in a new tab)

    • In February 2011 TXMMA profiled Alvis Solis as head instructor and owner of Solis Martial Arts and a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Carlos Machado, and said Solis had then been teaching in the North Houston area for almost fourteen years.

      Where in the source: Introduction, the two paragraphs after the author's note — "Known primarily"

      Accessed:

    • Solis said he competed in track and field from age 5 to 22 and that in 1980, at 16, he received an invitation to the Olympic trials in the 400 metres, the year the United States boycotted the Olympics.

      Where in the source: Interview, first answer (life before martial arts) — "Olympic trials"

      Accessed:

    • Solis said he ran for Texas A&I University on a full scholarship for two and a half seasons until a severe hamstring injury, recovered full use of the leg after rehabilitation, and graduated with a degree in psychology.

      Where in the source: Interview, first answer, middle — "Texas A&I"

      Accessed:

    • Before moving to the Humble, Kingwood and Atascocita area near Houston in 1993, Solis worked as program administrator of a children's psychiatric unit at Charter Hospital of Corpus Christi, by his own account.

      Where in the source: Interview, first answer, last sentence (work before moving near Houston in 1993)

      Accessed:

    • Solis said he began martial arts in 1989 in Corpus Christi: after being mugged he walked into a taekwondo school, noticed a Filipino man striking a heavy bag with two sticks, and asked to become his student; the man was the arnis teacher Reno Lumampao.

      Where in the source: Interview, answer to how long he has trained, opening lines — "Reno Lumumpao"

      Accessed:

    • After moving to Kingwood in 1993, Solis persuaded Grandmaster Alfonso Seneres, Lumampao's own teacher, who was visiting Houston from the Philippines, to teach him, and trained privately with him four days a week, four hours a day, for a year.

      Where in the source: Interview, same answer, sentences on the 1993 move to Kingwood and Grandmaster Seneres

      Accessed:

    • Solis said he first met Brazilian jiu-jitsu at a Dog Brothers gathering, where he was taken down and fought from his back; Rigan Machado watched one of his fights, told him ground fighting would improve his stick fighting, and invited him to the Machado academy.

      Where in the source: Interview, same answer, last paragraph — "DB Gathering"

      Accessed:

    • Solis said that, to keep his jiu-jitsu skills up, he joined Moussel's Self-Defense Academy and trained with Eric Williams in its combat grappling program.

      Where in the source: Interview, same answer, final sentence — "Eric Williams"

      Accessed:

    • Solis said Marc "Crafty Dog" Denny and Eric "Top Dog" Knaus of the Dog Brothers took him under their wing, that the experience taught him to test what he learned and keep only what worked, and that it was through the Dog Brothers that he met the Machado brothers.

      Where in the source: Interview, answer to the Dog Brothers question — "Hound Dog"

      Accessed:

    • Solis said he started a blog called 50 by 50 as he approached 46 to push himself to compete far more often, and that by February 2011, having just turned 47, he had competed in nine tournaments under the project.

      Where in the source: Interview, answer on the 50/50 blog, last sentences — "9th tournament"

      Accessed:

    • Solis said in February 2011 that he had just turned 47, which places his birth in 1964; the same interview has him aged 16 in 1980.

      Where in the source: Interview, answer on the 50/50 blog, last sentences — "just turned 47"

      Accessed:

    • Solis said Carlos Machado had promoted him to second-degree black belt in January 2011.

      Where in the source: Interview, answer on what is left to accomplish, first sentence — "second-degree"

      Accessed:

    • Solis said jiu-jitsu let him train with and teach his daughters, and that this was one reason he encouraged families to train together and built a family-friendly atmosphere at his school.

      Where in the source: Interview, answer on what jiu-jitsu has done for his life, second half (his daughters and family classes)

      Accessed:

    • Asked what he still wanted from the sport, Solis said his aim was to be remembered through generations of students passing on what he taught, and that his students were taught to be respectful and show sportsmanship whether they won or lost.

      Where in the source: Interview, answer on what is left to accomplish, middle — "live forever"

      Accessed:

    • TXMMA founder Paul Erickson wrote that meeting and training under Solis more than a decade earlier was what gave him the enthusiasm for BJJ and MMA to start TXMMA.com.

      Where in the source: Boxed quote signed by Paul Erickson, before the interview heading

      Accessed:

    • By 2011, according to TXMMA, Solis had produced a handful of black belts and affiliate schools and was still competing regularly in local and national tournaments at 47.

      Where in the source: Introduction, second paragraph, second sentence (black belts and affiliate schools)

      Accessed:

  • TXMMA.com (Arclight), "Black Belt Interview: Alvis Solis", February 19, 2005.(opens in a new tab)

    • In February 2005 TXMMA reported that Vandry BJJ had interviewed Carlos Machado's newest black belt, Alvis Solis of Humble, Texas.

      Where in the source: Opening line of the post — "Carlos Machado's newest black belt"

      Accessed:

    • The 2005 Vandry BJJ excerpt quoted by TXMMA said Solis had placed in many Texas state championships, had won divisions at the Pan American championships at purple and brown belt, and coached a team within Carlos Machado's Texas network.

      Where in the source: Quoted Vandry excerpt, second half — "Purple and Brown belt divisions"

      Accessed:

  • Solis Martial Arts Academy, "About Us", solismartialarts.com, archived by the Internet Archive on 1 December 2010.(opens in a new tab)

    • Solis Martial Arts Academy (SMAA) was founded by Alvis W. Solis in 1997 in the Humble, Texas area, according to the academy's own website.

      Where in the source: About us, first line — "Founded in 1997"

      Accessed:

    • The academy's website stated that SMAA was the first school in Texas to develop and teach a children's Brazilian jiu-jitsu class, starting in 2000.

      Where in the source: About us, first paragraph, second sentence — "Children's Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu"

      Accessed:

    • The academy biography gave Solis's birthplace as Corpus Christi, Texas, and his residence in 2010 as Humble, Texas.

      Where in the source: Profile table under the owner and head instructor heading, Born and Resides rows — "Corpus Christi"

      Accessed:

    • The academy biography listed Solis's nicknames as "Hound Dog" and "King".

      Where in the source: Profile table, Nicknames row — "Hound Dog"

      Accessed:

    • In his academy biography Solis wrote that he first trained formally under Reno Lumampao in Simplified Modern Arnis, reaching purple belt, and then, in Houston, became a private student of Grandmaster Alfonso Seneres of Iloilo City, under whom he reached instructor rank in Arnis de Mano.

      Where in the source: Training history, first paragraph (Lumampao, then Grandmaster Seneres) — "instructors ranking"

      Accessed:

    • Conflicting accounts

      Solis wrote that he was given the name "Hound Dog" and became a full member of the Dog Brothers on 13 November 1994, that head instructor Marc Denny promoted him on 13 August 1995 in Kingwood, Texas, and that he was the only certified Dog Brother Apprentice Instructor in Texas.

      Where in the source: Training history, Dog Brothers paragraph, last two sentences — "November 13, 1994"

      Accessed:

    • The academy biography described Dog Brothers fights as stick fights with fencing masks, street hockey gloves and heavy unpadded rattan sticks, in which strikes, throws, grappling and chokes were allowed, each bout lasting until a tap-out, a knockout or 90 seconds, with no judges declaring a winner.

      Where in the source: Training history, Dog Brothers paragraph, middle (equipment and rules) — "90 seconds"

      Accessed:

    • Solis wrote that Carlos Machado awarded him his blue belt in December 1997 and that on 31 August 2000 his school became the first Machado Network Representative School.

      Where in the source: Training history, Carlos Machado paragraph, first dates — "Representative School"

      Accessed:

    • Solis wrote that Carlos Machado promoted him to purple belt on 11 March 2001 together with two of his own students, to brown belt on 11 January 2003, and presented him with his black belt in January 2005 at the Winter Wars tournament in Dallas.

      Where in the source: Training history, Carlos Machado paragraph, purple, brown and black belt dates — "Winter Wars"

      Accessed:

    • Solis's academy biography listed his styles as Arnis de Mano, Jeet Kune Do Concepts, Dog Brother Martial Arts, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and kickboxing, and named Ron Balicki as his teacher in Jeet Kune Do Concepts.

      Where in the source: Profile table (Martial Art Styles row) and last training paragraph on Jeet Kune Do Concepts

      Accessed:

  • Solis Martial Arts Academy, "Instructors", solismartialarts.com, archived by the Internet Archive on 8 April 2009.(opens in a new tab)

    • SMAA instructor Robert Soliz wrote that he met Solis at a 1995 Dan Inosanto seminar, became his private student in Filipino martial arts, was promoted by Solis to Isa Guro in Arnis de Mano in 2003, and received his BJJ black belt from Carlos Machado and Alvis Solis on 21 April 2006.

      Where in the source: Robert Soliz, Instructor, second and third paragraphs — "April 21, 2006"

      Accessed:

    • In 2009 the academy's instructor page listed Robert Soliz, Siggi Schoen and Anthony Bernabeo as black-belt instructors under head instructor Solis, with Schoen described as a black belt under Carlos Machado and Alvis Solis who had joined SMAA in 1997 and worked in its children's program.

      Where in the source: Instructor list at top, and Siggi Schoen, Instructor, second and third paragraphs — "BLACK belt"

      Accessed:

  • TXMMA.com, "Interview – New Alvis Solis Black Belt Spenser Gilliam on his BJJ Journey and Earning his Faixa Preta", dated Houston, January 13, 2012.(opens in a new tab)

    • Spenser Gilliam, who received his black belt in early 2012, said he began training with Alvis Solis in October 2004 at the age of 16, after a classmate at Kingwood High School, which had no wrestling team, told him about Solis Martial Arts Academy.

      Where in the source: Interview, first two answers — "October of 2004"

      Accessed:

    • Gilliam named Solis as the person who had helped him most, saying Solis had taught him everything he knew about jiu-jitsu, and recalled that as a beginner he could do nothing against the academy's senior students Robert Soliz and Anthony Bernabeo.

      Where in the source: Interview, answers on staying motivated and on who helped most — "everything I know"

      Accessed:

  • Dog Brothers Martial Arts Association, "DBMA Instructors, Schools, Training Groups, & Tribe Members", dogbrothers.com.(opens in a new tab)

    • The Dog Brothers Martial Arts Association lists Alvis Solis, "Hound Dog", among the members of the Dog Brothers tribe; the same page lists Marc "Crafty Dog" Denny and Eric "Top Dog" Knaus among the Original Dog Brothers.

      Where in the source: Section "The Tribe", list "Dog Brothers" — "Alvis Solis – Hound Dog"; list "Original Dog Brothers"

      Accessed:

  • TXMMA.com, "2012 Texas Open Results, Recap, Photos, and a Ton of Match Video", November 26, 2012.(opens in a new tab)

    • Solis Martial Arts won the team standings at the Fight to Win / World Grappling Circuit Texas Open in Spring, Texas, on 17 November 2012, ahead of Gracie Barra and BJJ Revolution; TXMMA reported it was the team's second Fight to Win / World Grappling Circuit tournament title of the year, after the Austin Open.

      Where in the source: Section "2012 Texas Open Team Results", places 1-5 — "1st Place – Solis Martial Arts"

      Accessed:

  • Solis Martial Arts Academy, "Instructors" (bio.htm), solismartialarts.com, archived by the Internet Archive on 5 December 2004.(opens in a new tab)

    • SMAA instructor Kevin Purtee wrote that when he met Solis in 1997, Solis described his school as focused on the practical use of weapons, stand-up and grappling skills, and signed him up after showing him a video of a Dog Brothers gathering.

      Where in the source: Kevin Purtee, Instructor, second and third paragraphs — "practical application"

      Accessed:

    • Purtee wrote that Solis promoted him to Isang Guro, first-degree black belt in Solis's Filipino martial arts curriculum, in October 2001, making him one of three black belts under Solis at that time.

      Where in the source: Kevin Purtee, Instructor, fifth paragraph — "Isang Guro"

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, "Pan Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2001", official results.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2001 IBJJF Pan championship, Alvis Solis (Machado Dallas) is listed first in the Master 2 purple belt heavy division and third in the Master 2 purple belt open class.

      Where in the source: Division headings "Master 2 / Purple / Male / Heavy" (place 1) and "Master 2 / Purple / Male / Open Class" (place 3)

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, "Pan Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2002", official results.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2002 IBJJF Pan championship, Alvis Solis (Machado JJ) is listed third in the Master 2 purple belt medium-heavy division, behind Brad Adams and Peter Blackwell.

      Where in the source: Division heading "Master 2 / Purple / Male / Medium Heavy", place 3

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, "Pan Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2003", official results.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2003 IBJJF Pan championship, Alvis Solis (Machado JJ) is listed first in both the Master 2 brown belt medium-heavy division and the Master 2 brown belt open class.

      Where in the source: Division headings "Master 2 / Brown / Male / Medium Heavy" and "Master 2 / Brown / Male / Open Class", place 1 in each

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, "Pan Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2004", official results.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2004 IBJJF Pan championship, Alvis Solis (Machado JJ) is listed third in the Master 1 brown belt medium-heavy division.

      Where in the source: Division heading "Master 1 / Brown / Male / Medium Heavy", place 3

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, "Pan Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2005", official results.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2005 IBJJF Pan championship, Alvis Solis (Machado Dallas) is listed third in the Master 2 black belt heavy division.

      Where in the source: Division heading "Master 2 / Black / Male / Heavy", place 3

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, "Pan Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2006", official results.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2006 IBJJF Pan championship, Alvis Solis, now entered under Solis Martial Arts, is listed third in the Master 2 black belt heavy division.

      Where in the source: Division heading "Master 2 / Black / Male / Heavy", place 3

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, "Pan Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2008", official results.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2008 IBJJF Pan championship, Alvis Solis (Solis Martial Arts) is listed third in the Master 3 black belt heavy division.

      Where in the source: Division heading "Master 3 / Black / Male / Heavy", place 3

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, "Pan Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2009", official results.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2009 IBJJF Pan championship, Alvis Solis (entered as RCJ Machado) is listed third in the Master 3 black belt medium-heavy division.

      Where in the source: Division heading "Master 3 / Black / Male / Medium Heavy", place 3

      Accessed:

  • Alvis Solis, "Why??", 50 by 50: A Personal Challenge (50by50blog.com), February 17, 2010, archived by the Internet Archive on 11 October 2010.(opens in a new tab)

    • In February 2010, aged 46, Solis started his 50 by 50 blog to chronicle a goal of competing in 50 tournaments by the time he turned 50 in 2014, writing that after years focused on his students and school he wanted a personal challenge and the competitive feeling he had missed since college.

      Where in the source: Blog header — "TURN 50 IN 2014"; post "Why??" of February 17, 2010, first and third paragraphs

      Accessed:

    • Solis wrote that his track career ended when he was injured three days before a national championship and lost his scholarship, and that he searched a long time for something to replace track before finding martial arts, which he then chose as his career.

      Where in the source: Post "Why??", second and third paragraphs — "3 days before Nationals"

      Accessed:

    • The blog's running tally in October 2010 listed seven events since March 2010, among them the Pan championship in Irvine, California, several Houston-area and Austin tournaments where he recorded golds, silvers and bronzes, and a superfight at the Battle of H-Town that he recorded as a loss to Jeff Messina.

      Where in the source: Sidebar "COUNTING DOWN", items 1-7 — "Jeff Messina"

      Accessed:

  • Alvis Solis, "Why I Pull Guard", 50 by 50: A Personal Challenge (50by50blog.com), March 31, 2010, archived by the Internet Archive on 11 October 2010.(opens in a new tab)

    • Solis wrote that a serious concussion he suffered while teaching private lessons in November 1998, and its aftermath, forced him to change how he taught: he could no longer spar with students in boxing, kickboxing or stick fighting, and jiu-jitsu became the art he could still teach fully and compete in, which is why in jiu-jitsu he pulled guard about 95 percent of the time, to reach the ground safely.

      Where in the source: Post "Why I Pull Guard", March 31, 2010, third and fourth paragraphs — "readjust the whole way"

      Accessed:

    • Solis wrote that at the 2006 masters and seniors international tournament in Brazil he pulled half guard against Megaton Dias in the open division and lost, and described Dias as a black belt he had long admired; the blog sidebar also advertised a half-guard instructional DVD featuring Solis with more than 25 techniques.

      Where in the source: Post "Why I Pull Guard", paragraph under the photo — "half guard"; sidebar — "1/2 GUARD DVD"

      Accessed: