Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) Blog

I absolutely love Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I hold the rank of black belt and have been training for over a decade. I also teach the sport, so for me to call myself a BJJ contrarian is rather odd. I know this, but that doesn’t stop me from asking questions that are difficult to answer as well as critiquing our sport. What I found when I first began training was a set of rules and statements that almost everyone accepted as gospel. I accepted them as well, but as time went on, I began thinking more deeply about them and finding them to be not as acceptable as I once found. In this post, I delve into the fascinating topic of comparing BJJ to the game of chess. As I think you’ll soon discover, things don’t turn out very well for those who repeat catchy sayings without giving them due consideration. Continue reading…

There’s a heck of a lot more a person can get out of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu than mere exercise. When I first joined a club, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. My plan was to learn some self defense and then move on. What ended up happening was very different. Yes, I learned self defense, but I also made many great friends and learned a lot about myself in the process. Learning and practicing BJJ is an all-encompassing adventure. Ask anyone who’s been training for more than a few years. On any given day, you’ll likely find them wearing a Jitsu t-shirt or hooded sweatshirt. Most of their friends are from class. Jiu-Jitsu has become an enormous part of their life. This isn’t uncommon. In this post, I write about training and many of the relationships that are formed because of that training. Click through to read all about it. Continue reading…

Since I began training all those years ago, I’ve had my share of demoralizing nights pondering what I did wrong. Overall, I’m a very confident and positive player, but to be blunt, there have been occasions when I’ve had my ass handed to me. And it’s usually after these occasions that I think, think, and then get better. If my experience learning Jiu-Jitsu were plotted on a graph, it would go something like this: level, big bump up, level again, another big bump up. And on and on like that. Still to this day, I think about what I’m doing wrong and what I can be doing better. The only problem is, I’m getting older and my body doesn’t want to cooperate nearly as much as it used to. In this post, I discuss an experience I had with an old friend during one of our matches. He taught me a few things. Click through to learn what they were. Continue reading…

The teaching of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has been going on for ages. I’ve been involved with the sport since 2008 and I’ve seen my share of how instructors go about their business. I’ve seen both bad and good teachers, but to be honest, I’ve never seen great. In this post, I discuss this entire topic and I offer ideas for improvement. I’m not saying that my ideas are the greatest, but I’m convinced they’d help the situation of taken advantage of by some fellow instructors out there. Continue reading…

Flow rolling in Jiu-Jitsu has many more benefits than being simple exercise. It helps students learn how to keep the body moving and how to look for position and submission chains. Beyond that, flow rolling helps students work out of tough positions. Instead of having a competitor pin another down for minutes on end, only to eventually submit, flow rolling discourages stalemates and encourages escape attempts. And when these escape attempts are made, they’ll likely be made more technically and successfully because much of the traditional pressure won’t exist. In this post, I write about flow rolling in Jiu-Jitsu and I offer tips that may help engaging in it result in success. Give it a read. Continue reading…

Can you make a living with Jiu-Jitsu? Can you engage in something that has to do with the sport every single day? Can you make it the center of your life? I have a feeling that more than a few people are asking themselves these very questions. Jiu-Jitsu is growing fast and there are more people than ever getting involved with it. In this post, I touch upon this topic and talk about a few of the greats who have taken advantage of what they love so much – BJJ. Continue reading…