Every man for himself?

Most people will admit that they start jiu-jitsu out of self-interest (they need to lose weight, want to protect themselves, find something new to do). This is not a bad thing, as most of us walk in the gym with no technical know how and lack solid relationships with our teammates. However, as time goes on the gym begins to sort itself out and you start to see individuals who are skilled, but have no interest in helping their fellow teammates.

In my time on the mats, I have realized that jiu-jitsu is a collective effort, and that the responsibility to raise the technical level of the gym is not just up to the instructor, but up to everyone with even an inkling of knowledge. Now this can somehow be hindered by egotistical individuals who feel as if you need to be training for 30 yrs to be able to teach someone, but that is another post. In my opinion, everyone has something to give in the gym, and just handing out ass whippings for free every day/night does not count.

If you really think about it, nobody is in the gym trying to get worse at jiu-jitsu. We all want to be technically solid, or else we would not be training. Yet, what most people don't realize is that iron sharpens iron (not really, but you get it). A lot of us complain about how our gyms are this and that, but we are the main reason why. It is impossible to get better at jiu-jitsu without the help of someone else and how you interact with your training partners can ultimately determine your skill level in the end.

I have seen good guys/gals who have the potential to be world champions, but their selfishness and inability to help others keeps them from developing and growing. It's simple: The more you give, the better you will get because everyone around you will benefit. You may be able to get away with the "every man for himself" attitude for a little bit, but eventually it will come back to bite you.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said "It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life, that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.”

Thanks for reading, 

Jei 

http://www.facebook.com/JourneyBJJ

Abandoned.

After several months of drilling, you are finally ready to unleash the pain on your fellow rollers. You come to school smiling because you know you have a money sweep that is going to finally have everyone asking, "do you teach privates?" You're in the changing room tying your belt extra tight, making sure your gi is crisp. You can barely sit through class, biting your nails and picking at your toes...waiting for your professor to finally say its time for sparring.

Finally, class ends and you are paired with your nemesis, Charlie Chokem, the sick purple belt that kills you all the time. Game time. You slap hands, get to your move...then WHAM! Charlie down. This happens for a whole month and you are on cloud nine. You have managed to sweep everyone and their mama, and you even got a few submissions off of it to. Can't tell you nuttin.

Few months later...not only is Charlie countering your guard, but so is everyone within a 10 mile radius. Frustrated and heartbroken, you do what many of us do when the fish ain't biting, you pack up the rods and tackle...and leave.

This is a huge mistake that we all have made at least once in our jiu-jitsu lifetime. Rather than adapt and figure out new ways to counter the counters, we just up and give up; abandoning a possible money move, for something new. Back to the drawing board.

Let's take a deeper look into that by using one example from Lloyd Irvin.

In one of Lloyd's old email newsletters he stated that one day while hanging out at his instructors house he had the privilege to watch some old competition footage. In the videos he recognized some top level competitors at the time, not only by their faces but also their games. The only thing though, the tapes were old, so old that most of top level guys were blue belts still. After watching about 20 or so of these tapes Lloyd came to the conclusion that these guys had the same games as blue belts that they have at black belt.These were not just natural jiu-jitsu savants, magically coming up with moves on the spot; they had been developing their games ever since they were snot nosed rascals.

So what does this have to do with us?

A lot. Allowing yourself to abandon a technique that has been proven, and moving on to the next move is MURDER! You are literally killing your game and in 6 yrs, you will pay heavily for it when you realize that you are a jack of all trades, master of none.

Why is a blue belt who has only been training for two years telling you this? 

Because for some of us, like me, there is still hope. That sweep you stopped using two weeks ago...the one you shelved in the back of your mind, get it back out and start experimenting and making it better. Patience is a virtue. Good things come to those who wait. He that can have patience, can have what he will. Patience and fortitude can conquer all things. See where I am going?

There is a reason why you chose that sweep or position, because it works for you. Just because it does not work in school, does not mean it won't work in a tournament or on someone who doesn't know you from Adam. Take the time to develop your bread and butter, don't let ego get in the way of your growth! Lloyd said to let the move take you to black belt level, in that time period who knows how much you can do! Your dinky little de la riva hook, could blossom into the new Reverse Pterodactyl guard...

Bruce Lee once said "I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but the man that has practiced one kick 10,000 times" Truer words have never been spoken. Jei, out.

A little birdie...

So lately I have been doing a lot of drilling and positional sparring. In the process of all this training, I have realized that in order for these techniques to work...the smallest details have to be perfect! Sadly, they are the first thing that go out the window when I am sparring.

Why is this?

Most of us train quite a bit during the week, and in any given training session we may learn 3-4 techniques. Included with those techniques are minute concepts and details, that if not perfected result in sloppy execution, as mentioned earlier.You see it all the time, as if we think the technique will eventually present itself once we hit the higher belts. Unfortunately, it won't. Which is why we must remain diligent on perfecting our technique.

But how do we remember it all though, Jei?

Good question! After constantly being frustrated day in and day out, I had to find a solution. I'm a very silly guy, so I started to imagine a little bird on my shoulder constantly whispering in my ear. If the image of a little bird sitting on your shoulder while rolling, doesn't at least make you smirk...you need a hug. I keep this little imaginary birdie on my shoulder at all times. His only job is to tell me to do whatever goal I set for myself that day/week.

This prevents me from going to the gym in zombie mode, and making the same mistakes day in and day out. One thing that I think most newer practitioners don't realize is, that if you are not drilling, your muscle memory is going to come from how you roll. If you roll like a spaz, not paying attention to the placement of your grips, hips, etc...you will find yourself in a world of hurt later on.

It is important to have at least one concept of the day or week every time we make it to the gym. If you are a little more advanced, maybe you can have multiple, but my birdie can only handle one thing now. For instance, this week I am going to try to work on breaking grips, last week it was remaining calm when people are overly aggressive and just moving on to another position (I realized in competition I was holding on to people like my life depended on it and I was wearing myself out). Trust me it has helped.

Sometimes you may find that your goal is the same every week for a month, it doesn't matter, as long as you are making the adjustments and improving your game. If you don't like the bird idea, wear a rubber band. If you have a good memory, maybe you don't need anything. Just find that one detail, and stick with it. Eventually it will become second nature, and then on to the next! Thanks for reading!

5 Phases of Drilling

Today folks I will be sharing the knowledge that I have gained over the last few months regarding drilling. Drilling is something that all black belt world champions say that people do not do enough, yet so many people think they are. The 6-7 reps you knock out during class is not drilling, no matter how you look at it. Let me stop before I get on my soapbox, because this post is simply meant to be informative, and not preachy. I will be breaking down drilling into phases, but first we should understand exactly what drilling is before we get to that point.

So what is drilling?

When we look at a drill and what purpose it serves, we see that it is a tool or piece of machinery that, by way of repetitious movement, digs deep into something (whether it is a hole in the ground or a wall) until it reaches its intended target. In our little jiu-jitsu world, drilling would be the act of studying a move, digging deep to the roots, until you reach the target (which is proficiency).

Now that we got that out of the way, let me simply tell you in a couple of sentences why drilling is so important. Going to class is cool because over time, about 7-10yrs, you eventually accumulate enough knowledge to say that you actually know a little sum'n sum'n. This is perfect for the guy who doesn't have time to sit down and develop his game. For the casual trainer, the holes in your game will eventually be roads that you just don't travel down, but your game will still be decent. If you have a hard time getting triangles, you would just simply avoid doing them. For the driller...all roads, paths, trails, and routes are open, and it takes half the time...just 100x more effort.

Now the nitty gritty! This is by no means the be all and end all method of drilling, and some of you may have another way (please share), but this is just a helpful guide to those of you that are lost like I was a few months ago. One thing I realized after asking questions and watching video, was that the process of drilling is very difficult and complex.This is the number one reason why nobody drills. It is also the number one reason why it takes your game to a whole new level, because it gets the mind thinking and creating. Sure we could be mindless robots and just drill what our instructor shows, but where is the fun in that? So I took all of these complex ideas and simplified them into 5 phases, which I appropriately named the 5 phases of drilling, here they go:

Phase One: Discovery
Isn't it amazing when you're rolling in class and your body does something cool and you end up on your opponents back? It may not be a new concept to the BJJ world, but it is too you. This is the discovery part and it can apply to just about anytime you learn something new, whether it be from your instructor, the Marcelo Garcia blue belt visiting your town, or a seminar. It is important during this time you go over the move, write it down, or even videotape it to make sure you don't lose it. You will see why later.

Phase Two: Brainstorm
This is the phase where you study the move and just think! During this time you may want to research by watching videos of competitions or instructionals to get a better grasp of the position and everyrthing that is available. You also may want to take a private with your instructor or pull him/her aside after class and discuss this move with them in grave detail to see what he/she has to say. The goal of the brainstorming process is getting the details (this means figuring out possible counters, escapes, grips, submissions, etc). You need to make sure all your ducks are lined up, or it could be detrimental to your drilling later on.

Phase Three: Trial
Phase three is important because this is the point in your drilling when you can figure out if the position works, whether or not you have to go back to phase two, or if the move doesn't fit you and needs to be dropped altogether. Sometimes you figure a few of these out while brainstorming, but I'm stubborn and need to try everything out myself. Often times we get paired with people smaller than us or a much lower level, this is the perfect opportunity to try out your position to insure every detail is correct and that it is ready to be drilled. You will probably be going back and forth between phase two and three.

Phase Four: Slow/Fast Repetition

“Repetition of the same thought or physical action develops into a habit which, repeated frequently enough, becomes an automatic reflex.”-Norman Vincent Peale

 This is the phase where all of your studying comes together and you can now break your move down into several different sections and begin to drill each and every section slowly until you get the flow. Once you think you have it, maybe after 1000x you can move on to drilling it at a faster pace, usually until you are exhausted. I personally like to do 2-5 minute rounds of back and forth drilling. If you can find someone who will be a dummy for an hour or two, JACKPOT! This helps to build the one thing that we all hear about in jiu-jitsu, and that is muscle memory. Without it, you will only hit your move on new guys and even then you will probably be surprised. Minimal talking during this phase.

Phase Five: Positional Sparring

This is actually where you will spend a lot of time perfecting your move and building muscle memory. It would definitely be a bad thing to go from phase three or four right into a competition...you need to drill with a resisting partner so that you build your timing and can polish up some of those minor details. With a willing partner this is where you call the shots and can direct them to posture this way, defend that way, move over here,etc etc. Make sure also that they are going somewhere around 50-70% intensity...then eventually once you get it down, raise it up. One thing my professor said to do was during live training/sparring get extra reps in by repeating a position over and over. If you know you can pass someone's guard like butter, then try out your new guard pass for however many minutes the rounds are. This is an excellent way to kill two birds with one stone.

Here are some little tips to help you along the way:

1. Play music while drilling. Classical and Jazz are best.
2. Bring a timer.
3. Find someone close to your size to drill with.
4. Don't worry about number of reps, take your time.
5. Try to pick one position per session. It is ok to couple things that flow into each other.
6. Don't talk, do.
7. Always refer back to your instructor if you have issues.
8. Utilize white belts. They are always eager to see what the cool higher belt is developing.
9. Drilling takes time, but if you only have 15 minutes a day...its better than nothing!
10. Work on your cardio. Huffing and puffing while drilling is so 1998.
11. Important! Advanced moves will take you longer to become proficient at, spend your time drilling basics. Basics eventually become advanced.
12. Drilling is about effort and hard work. Don't sit around drinking tea with your pinky out, talking about being the first to create the reverse berimbolo octopus guard. Get in the gym and drill!!!

Grow your game

I recently had a discussion with a world champ the other day that went a little something like this:

WC: How long you been training?

Me: Almost two years. Trying to get to the level where I can win some majors.

WC: Absolutely you can. Just have to train intelligently. Lots of positional training. Most guys just go to the gym and only practice what instructor shows you. You really have to to take it upon your self to grow your game.

Those three words sat with me something serious, as I had this conversation a little over a week ago. Often times, we know exactly what to do in order to excel at something, but yet we are absolute idiots when it comes to applying it to that something we are currently doing. EUREKA!

We read biographies and interviews, watch documentaries, and even hang out with extraordinary/successful people on a daily basis. Yet we still walk around clueless, albeit having the answers at our fingertips, about how to improve ourselves in life, relationships, business, and in my case, jiu-jitsu. I hear people complain on a daily basis about how they can't do this, and how this opportunity isn't available for them...bull. The reason I am saying this is because just about a month ago...I was that guy!!!! Until I had this conversation, I was always moping about blaming everyone for my suckage. Hell I was even blaming mother nature on the reason why I couldn't get in great shape (I live in the PNW). Damn, now that's taking complaining to a whole new level.

Often times we talk about our school, instructor, training partners, and family being the reason why we aren't on the podium. Yet in reality, we are the reason. You can't blame your instructor if you're not drilling or studying what he teaches you. You can't blame your "garbage" training partners if Joe Armbar can armbar you just by looking at you still. And you can't blame your three yr old for the reason why you still eat a box of cookies and watch TV after training.

Just like World Champ said, "take it upon yourself to grow your game!"

This means doing everything in your power to improve yourself, despite the setbacks. Sure you may have issues, sure everything may not go your way, but there is always something you can do to improve a certain aspect of your game. If one thing comes up short, make sure you pick up the slack in another area. If you can't drill or attend class, run sprints in your neighborhood park to improve your cardio. There is nothing that a little effort cannot fix. Remember these things.

1. Drilling will increase your game exponentially.
2. Your instructor knows more than you think he does. So ask questions.
3. Classes keep the doors of your school open. They are not a blueprint for success. At best, they will allow you to embarrass your friends.
4. You can always be doing something to improve your game. Watch video, instructionals, working out, eating healthy, drilling, etc.
5. Compete in even the smallest tournaments. Sure it isn't the Worlds, but its better than nothing.
6. Don't turn down opportunities to train.
7. If you really cared, you would make a way. Jus sayin.

"Everyday you are either moving closer or further away from your goal. Make it count."-Lloyd Irvin

Mat Fear

Face it, some people are just going to have your number at the gym. There will always be that one guy you roll with who just cleans your clock. After training he will usually spray the mats with the cleaning solution, and use your mangled body to mop up the mess. That's how the cookie crumbles sometimes. Aside from being the thorn in your side, this guy is usually super friendly so you can't hate him and he almost always has not been training much longer than you. One thing that I have observed and experienced in this particular situation is that we tend to develop a little mat fear when this happens to us on a regular basis.

What do I mean by mat fear?

Mat fear is when you are fearful of rolling with someone who you think is better than you. Symptoms of mat fear are: avoiding the days your nemesis comes in the gym, always making sure you look like you're doing something when that person walks on the mat (my favorite, picking at my toes), cruising the parking lot looking for that person's car, always wanting to roll light with said person, and friendly talking before the roll ("be nice to me, you're so good man"). Jokes aside, this is a very serious issue and can really hinder how you perform in class and in the competition ring.

Mat fear does a couple of things to our psyche. It can cause one to question their skill level and abilities, wreak havoc on their mental toughness, and the number one thing...prevent that person from thinking, meaning making the necessary adjustments to their game that could skyrocket them out of their "mono-plateau" (I know I am making up words, but I can do that!) and dissipate the fear.

The mental aspect of this problem affects you at a time where you need to be mentally solid, either at a competition or in the streets. In the local tournament circuit, you are bound to meet guys that have beaten you before multiple times and I know it sucks, but if you allow that fear to creep inside your head, well, you already lost. Not only are you questioning your own talents, but you are letting what happened yesterday affect your today...which I learned in this sport is NEVER good to allow. Believe in your hard work on the mats, and let your moil and toil do the talking.

How do we get better at jiu-jitsu? We have to disassemble our game, and what better time to do this than after a good ol' fashioned beating! That's what most of us don't understand, and in order to benefit from getting your ass kicked you have to look at it from this angle and this angle only. You won't believe how long it took me to figure this out, so listen up. Here it goes:

The guy/girl handing out ass whippings to you like a Jehovah Witness handing out pamphlets (no offense), is capitalizing on an obvious weakness of yours and usually utilizing a strength of his/hers.

Once you realize this, you will start to evolve. It is important that we have people like this in the gym and I will explain why. Jiu-jitsu is a sport of a million techniques, and as you develop and progress in the sport it is imperative that you do not remain stagnant. If you do so, you will have 6-7 of these mat monsters to worry about, and you will probably end up quitting or getting your belt through the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu's online academy. You probably don't want that. So we must adapt and respond to the stimulus.

This adaptation is one of the biggest game boosters, and to me is the reason why we advance up the ranks. Because we all know, once you get past one mat monster, there will be another lurking around the corner...and then its back to the drawing board. Use these opportunities (butt beatings) as a learning experience and a chance to get out of your comfort zone and try something new. When I was stuck in these little ruts, I found that sometimes all I needed to do was switch from a exclusively guard heavy game to a top game. Or maybe I have to go in a different direction when turtling because the other way exposed my back. Think of it this way, if you were beating everyone in the gym you would think you had a perfect jiu-jitsu game...only to find out later at the BBQ that you're not the hot shot you thought you were. Not saying you should actively go searching for beatings, but when they do come...cherish them.

Avoiding and dealing with mat fear sometimes involves careful self-examination. Sometimes the issue can be completely ego based or a intrinsic fear or anxiety that you didn't even know you had. Maybe you don't like sweaty people or you're claustrophobic? Maybe you don't want to show weakness so rather than say, "hey man, you're going to rough I can't handle you at 100%", you get your face crushed...while simultaneously deepening your fear. Either way, there are a number of different steps you can take to alleviate and even prevent mat fear.

1. Put away your ego. Know when to tap, speak up, and/or stop.
2. Check with your psychiatrist. You might have moderate to severe anxiety (like me) or some other issue.
3. Ask questions. The mat monster probably knows exactly what you are doing wrong. If you don't want to ask him, talk to your professor.
4. Know your skill level. If the mat monster is a brown belt, and you are a white belt............I shouldn't even have to say anything. Roll hard with your own level, leave the higher belts for questions and flow rolls.
5. Make adjustments. If you notice the mat monster passing to your left, taking your back, or knee barring your left leg only. Figure out a way to adjust so that it doesn't happen. Best when paired with #3.

I hope I shined some light on a dark corner for some of you. I dealt with this problem for the longest time, and even threw a fit in class one day because a few higher belts were actually coaching my mat monster (gives me the shivers just thinking about it). Don't let it get that far, going home frustrated is the worse thing that can happen in this sport, because you only end up bringing it to class the next day. Remember, when someone is better than you they will always bring out the best in you because you know you have to either adapt, raise the intensity, or both! I hope you enjoyed the read and as always, Happy Training!

Vegetables before dessert!

We have probably all heard at one time or another from our parents to eat your vegetables first, then dessert. This is a common way to reward children on doing something pertinent to their growth and development. Most children do not like this, and often try to find ways to get around eating them. When we look at it from a kid's point of view though, it's not really hard to understand. Vegetables, no matter how you cook them are not really all that tasty. Yet, a donut could be left under a sofa cushion for 4 months and still taste delicious. The facts: A kid isn't worried about diabetes or heart attacks when they are 40, they just want what is good.

This same concept can be applied to jiu-jitsu when talking about drilling. Nobody wants to do it, and will often find ways to avoid it (show up to class late, turn drilling time into a sparring match). I know I am not lying when I say that majority of people come to training everyday just to spar. Don't kid yourself naysayer, be real.

It's an epidemic, just like the little fat kids running around these days who don't eat their vegetables. People need to drill, and if you don't, you shouldn't be surprised why you have not been improving in jiu-jitsu all these years. Drilling, just like eating your vegetables, is crucial to your development in BJJ and will often times deliver faster results in a shorter amount of time than just sparring. If you don't think I am telling the truth ask all the medalist in major competitions.

We all hear the word muscle memory thrown around a lot, but looking at the state the average gym is in, it is obvious nobody has gotten it yet. I have probably only been asked to drill a handful of times, but everyone always asks to roll. Let me tell you what rolling does for your bjj when you don't couple it with drilling.......nothing. It makes you hesitant, sloppy, and you eventually develop bad habits. Most of the time I see people rolling with no direction, they get something kinda cool and can never duplicate it again. What's the point in that? Aren't you trying to improve your game?

The benefits of drilling are endless, and can save you a lot of heartache when you reach the higher belts. People who get this concept early, excel! I don't need an extra paragraph for you to know that. So do yourself a favor and eat your veggies before dessert. Thirty minutes to an hour of drilling a night before sparring will go a long way in helping you develop a more technical and confident game. Thanks for reading. Shout out to Georgette for inspiring this post!

Explore BJJ

Imagine BJJ as a unexplored galaxy and you are a brand new scientist out on your very first expedition. It will take you more than a decade to travel across this vast space, and you are equipped with some of the best technology and surrounded by some of the best in the field. You are given free reign to travel where you please and explore every nook and cranny and leave no stone unturned. The question I want to ask today is, will you waste your time on one planet that you think is really cool looking and has some pretty neat aliens on it? Or, will you try to explore as much as possible to have a complete understanding of the galaxy as a whole?


Where are you going Jei? Well let me tell you...


Lately, especially after this last tournament defeat, I have been contemplating a lot about "my game" and it has driven me to embark on this journey that hopefully will birth a new and improved me (meanwhile, maybe I can write on the subject and help a few people out as well). The journey starts with going back and looking at how I initially started the journey in the first place. I am still a baby blue belt, sometimes I feel like a fetus...not even a recognizable BJJ practitioner! Yet, I have started on this path of prematurely developing a game without even gaining a basic understanding of BJJ as a whole.
Specializing is not a bad thing, hell at the top levels of jiu-jitsu you see guys who specialize in specific positions all the time! But those guys are black belts, and one thing we can't do as lower level belts (white and blue) is fall into the trap of thinking we are capable of doing that. since most of us lack the mat time. I don't know how many times I have told myself I am a open guard player, and that I don't like passing guard and playing closed guard, so I don't (don't think I'm letting you off the hook either reader, lol). I have also seen many people forsake a certain aspect of jiu-jitsu, to focus primarily on one or two things. As we develop in the art, we should be mindful that the longer we allow for a certain aspect of jiu-jitsu to be uncharted territory, the longer it will take to fix because it has developed into a habit. 


I had a pretty high ranking guy say to me one day, "I feel like I should still be a purple belt, because all these blues and purples are taking my back and choking me out!" Now how long do you think it is going to take this poor fella to correct the issue, compared to someone who hasn't developed the habit yet of giving up his back and just does it out of inexperience? Don't answer that. Eventually your flaws will come out, and you don't want to be a black or brown belt going back to square one, figuring out why you get your back taken 10x a night. 


Pause for a little introspection: This is why my "game" doesn't translate well to competition, because there are people from "other planets" out there, and I decided to stay on the one that I was most comfortable with. Not only am I not use to responding to other positions, submissions, etc. I am not training efficiently and using my mat time wisely. If you go in the gym and do the same thing all the time, you will probably win matches...but never consistently win tournaments.
 
Experimentation, exploration and trial and error is the only way to get a complete look and comprehension of the BJJ Galaxy as a whole. Asking questions from more experienced grapplers and doing what the pros do also expands your knowledge of maybe the darkest corners of jiu-jitsu. The best advice I can give myself and all you other noobs out there is to explore all areas of jiu-jitsu and don't settle in a place where you feel comfortable. Thanks for reading!

The Art of Frugality

You are up on points in a match...you pass your opponents guard for the third time racking up another 3 points. As you land in side control you very hastily (without your opponent even giving it to you) attempt an armbar. You watch in slow motion as your opponent escapes the armbar with ease, reverses you and before you know it you are being choked out...the score was 15 you 0 him. What in the fuck just happened?

My mom used to tell me growing up when I would spend my allowance that "that money burned a hole in your pocket!"...for those of you that don't understand this, it means that as soon as she gave me a little cash I spent it immediately, most of the time on nonsense. I never saved it for something bigger and better, nor did I care to think that far ahead. Usually the things I purchased were not of quality, but hey at least it was something, and something is better than nothing...right? Wrong! I see this same thing happen in jiu-jitsu all the time, only rather than actual currency its a position or submission that's burning a hole in your pocket.

Just like the moms in the grocery stores penny pinching, cutting coupons, and bargain hunting...as practitioners of the gentle art we should practice the same principle, I call this the "art of frugality".

Often times we get too excited when we are rolling and we hunt for submission after submission after submission. It is instinctual, and sometimes we can't help it...I know I sure as hell can't. In the animal kingdom it is called going for the kill, but if it is not timed correctly and executed with precision then the only thing that ends up happening is you blowing your load and your opponent wiping the sweat from his brow. I call these "phew" moments, because that's exactly what your opponent said in his head as he narrowly escaped a submission.

The goal as I said earlier is to practice the art of frugality. Do not be wasteful in your movements, and do not give your opponent anything for free. Be methodical in your rolling and wait till you find that bargain you were looking for. Majority of submissions come from successfully blocking and shutting down all your opponents reasonable options, until finally they do something terribly idiotic...then you move. Think about it, comments are welcome. Thanks for reading!

Less is more, when more is less

Jiu-Jitsu is tiring on the body, everyone and their mom who trains knows this...yet, as grapplers we seem to make it 100x harder on ourselves by pushing it to the limit every time we step foot in the gym. What many of us new to the game, and even some of the old schoolers don't realize is that if your body can't stand up to the day in and day out harsh routine that is jiu-jitsu, then your game is  good as dead.

The gym that I attend is very competition oriented, and although there are barely any meatheads there...we go hard. From the little 115lb girl in the pink gi to the 270lb ex-wrestler...that's just how we do it. But after a good class with specifics, nobody but a few have enough gas in them to roll more than 2 rounds (myself included). This is pretty standard at all the gyms I have attended.

So I started to think about what the problem could possibly be and I realized that its not that we train too much, its that we train too hard and never have the chance to recover. The true jiu-jitsu lifestyle does not exist for many Americans, so we end up with a sort of pseudo lifestyle that does not work well for the sport. The average guy/gal in the gym puts in a 40+ hour work week, goes straight to the gym and trains for two hours. Add in kids, weightlifting, wife/girlfriend, and other things and you can see why recovery is so difficult when you're rolling at 100% a few nights a week.

If you have this typical American life, then you should take what I am about to say very seriously "less is more, when more is less!" For some odd reason, this makes sense to me and if it doesn't to you then you will get the gist of it in a few. We all know that more mat time equals better technique right? We also know that jiu-jitsu is based on leverage, and not really strength and speed (although it helps) right? So why in the world do we continue to go in the gym and train at 100%, only to have to take days off because we are burned out????? Let go my ego.

Your goal in jiu-jitsu should be to get your technique solid and that's it. Not to go in the gym and destroy all humans for two hours and then sit at home for two days because your legs and arms feel like noodles and your neck is stuck at 45 degree angle. How will you get better doing that? The solution and best case is to train everyday at 70%. The keyword in there is everyday, because you will be able to do just that. Not only will your technique improve because you are on the mats everyday (remember 10,000 hours), but you are also giving your body a feasible load to recover from. Advice: Training hard does not mean going really fast and abandoning all technique.

The Gist: Training at a lower intensity, consistently will not only make you more resistant to burn outs and fatigue, but also improve your technique.

Don't forget to condition!
Thanks for reading

The Blurple Belt Dilemma

So maybe this won't be every blue/purple belts problem, but it sure as hell is mine....just a little warning before. Lately, I have been having a terrible time with prioritizing and organizing techniques (along with their little details) in my head. After asking a few people and listening to conversations on the subject, I decided to write about "OUR" struggles....the blurple belts, bka blue and purple belts. I find these belts to be the two that make or break a jiu-jitsu practitioner, the two belts where you have either huge gains or huge losses and I think it all boils down to how you organize, prioritize, and utilize the techniques you learn.

So why isn't this everyone's dilemma? Well it could be, but let me tell you why I personally don't think it is. At white belt, you are new to almost everything related to BJJ...concepts, techniques, positions pretty much all blow over your head. Your main goal is just to survive and live another day out on the mats. Your encyclopedia of moves remains limited because you lack the mat time needed to learn more. Now the two belts I know the least about, but this is what I observe. At brown and black belt I feel as though you have gained enough experience (mat time) to pretty much know the gist of many techniques. There are not many brown and black belts that have let me down as far as questions go for various techniques. They are a rolodex of information. They have seen it all, and have perfected their own individual filing system.

At blue and purple you can execute the basics, purple even more than blue...but the issue comes down to choosing which techniques are going to help your personal game, and which ones to use for future reference. At this stage in the belts, the blurple belts should be creating their own game to become a more complete practitioner...but what are you supposed to do with all the shiet you learn??? John Bernard Will a very famous black belt from the "Dirty Dozen", the first 12 non-brazilian black belts said that the first thing you have to do is organize the techniques in two categories, what you will use in your personal game and what you will use as a reference. This may sound obvious, but I can guarantee you that you are probably not thinking this way. To me JBW's strategy involves a little bit of analysis of one's game in order to figure out your strengths as a jitsplayer and where you want to go with your game. Once you do this, then organizing them based on position and preference should become easier.

After that, JBW says to prioritize the moves based on your strengths. If you like to submit from the guard then you should think about your favorite submissions and work from there making those moves sharper adding to them as you get better making your solid go-to into a powerful combination of attacks. I think this is a good time to add that you should be careful not to give in to the "cool factor" of new techniques, because not everything will work for you. New stuff should go in the reference file in your head, and saved for later unless it can be used in your arsenal and can be picked up rather quickly. Sticking to your "bread and butter"personal game will only make the introduction of those "cool" moves easier in the future. Carefully adding techniques over a period of time to your personal game seems to be the best way to not get flustered and frustrated. Thinking of 200 ways to sweep someone in spiderguard will only get you passed, so just stick to the few things you know and get skilled at those. Thanks for reading.

Take your own advice...

I intend for this post to go two ways so bear with me, it should be a good one. I spent all night trying to wrap my head around this idea and I think I came to a reasonable explanation that I would like to share with you folks today. It is about not only taking your own advice to others, but also knowing when to not ask others for it and think yourself out of the situation.

There are times when I have foolishly sputtered out some amazing advice to white belts and even blue belts when they have asked me questions, and then a week later I noticed that I don't even do the thing that I told them to do. This is what I mean by taking your advice. It is fantastic to have people come ask you questions. It may make you feel that you are getting somewhere or that you have finally come into your own. However, if you find yourself in an armbar and you're doing everything but what you told that one white belt to do...see where I am going here. Take your own advice. Sometimes when someone ask you a question, it is a good time to drill positions and evaluate not only that person's game but yours also. You may know a ton of different positions, submissions, and escapes...but I wholeheartedly believe that giving advice also means that you must lead by example. You can easily tell someone something you saw your professor do, or a variation you watched on Youtube...but without proper experience (the move being apart of your arsenal or muscle memory) you might not be the right person to ask. Sometimes taking a step back and assessing what you really know is the best thing to do.

My next point will be a short one, but ties in to what I was saying earlier. Sometimes asking questions should not be your first option. (Not for white belts, ask as many questions as you want) Sounds weird I know, but let me explain. When you look in the mirror who do you see? Yourself. You recognize that familiar face that you see because you have lived with it along with that body for x amount of years. When you roll at night and get caught in that armbar 20 times by 20 different people, who goes home with the sore elbow? You. Nobody is more acutely aware of your situation. Nobody is more familiar with every particular scenario and potential outcome than you. So why do we go to others so often in BJJ for help/advice? Because its easy. If someone tells us what to do all the time, we rarely have to think. I said this was going to be short...psssht. And when we don't think it severely hinders our growth in the sport. Thinking for yourself means that whatever option you come up with for your particular problem will be perfectly suited for you. I have a way to clamp on a armbar, that is traditionally said to be a wrong way of doing it (but it works for me), if I had listened to people I probably wouldn't get as many armbars. I have a way of escaping them too, due to my athleticism. Thinking your way through a problem, makes you better and sometimes asking for advice could have made it worse. It's okay to ask for advice, another set of eyes never hurt nobody, but at the end of the day whose BJJ game is going to suffer the damage? Yours. So think before you ask. Take your own advice!

A state of play

Monday we had a open mat session due to the holiday, and I went in with the mind state that I was going to play. I rolled with fun guys who have great attitudes and always seem to have a smile on their face despite how many times they end up tapping during training (don't get me wrong, even though I am playing I never roll with slouches). The session went well, and I can tell you now that I had a lot of fun on top of learning a lot. What made this training day (no Denzel) so different from the other days was all based on my approach/attitude to training.

Often times as adults we move forward in our endeavors with a very serious attitude. Sure there are things that you have to take serious or else you will end up without a job, in debt, or lonely, but for the most part it is safe to say that hobbies and extracurricular attitudes have a little wiggle room. When it comes to jiu-jitsu, when you are too serious about it all, it hinders your growth. Now I guess I should explain exactly what "too serious" is. I personally love jiu-jitsu with all my heart, it has changed my life tremendously and I would be heart broken if I ever had to stop doing it for some reason (knock on wood), this to me is the good kind of serious that will eventually lead to a black belt. On the other hand, too serious is when you go in the gym and all you can think about is how many people you are going to submit today because your boss pissed you off (or you leave with a count of how many people or who you submitted), or you go in day in and day out and you never smile or talk to anyone you just train, or maybe you get mad when you hear people laughing in the corner and you say to yourself "that's why I'm better than them, they don't take it seriously!". Let me be honest for a sec, I used to be that guy. When I was that guy I was getting better, no doubt, but that was only because I was training 8x a week.

When I started to look at jiu-jitsu as playtime (for lack of better words) that's when I noticed exponential growth. If you are too serious, you go in and you say "I will not tap today!". Someone can be choking you so bad that it feels like you are being beheaded, and you still won't tap. Not because you are trying to escape, but because you're serious. If you do end up tapping, now it's time to go ape shiet. Wrong mentality.

If you're not tapping, you're not learning. If you never end up in a bad position, how will you ever learn to escape? And so on. This is why kids learn so well, they don't give a shiet, like the honey badger! They are always having fun and slowly gaining skills at the same time. You learn jiu-jitsu by exploring and gaining experience through trial and error, not by being close minded and serious. Next time you roll just play around with different positions and create scenarios and see if you can think your way out of them. This is how I started to look at training now that I can't train as much as I did as a white belt, and I can say that despite a 3-4x a week training schedule, I still learn just as much as I did at 8x a week. Its all about attitude and your mentality. Think like a child, minus the tantrums. If you stay in a state of play, you will learn more each day. Ciao!

Plateau.Mesa.Butte.Whatever

You slap hands, fist pound, and get your grips...the fight has started. Next thing you know you're being tapped in a crazy guillotine your opponent has been working on. Fluke. You slap hands again and this time you go for your famous open guard technique that sets up the triangle beautifully. Stuffed and passed. Baseball choke. You find yourself not only tapping but gasping for air. Your training partner is all smiles, because it was the first time he has ever tapped you. Standing up you realize that you've hit it, you try to lie to yourself as you walk back to the changing room, but it just isn't working because you can't lie to yourself for 2 months straight. You turn to get one more glance at the mats and see Sammy Submission getting high fives from everyone, because they were impressed with his performance and were hoping for an encore. You are devastated.

You are garbage.

As a white belt, I thought that plateaus were a myth. Of course this was me being naive, but its good to be optimistic right? Plateaus happen to everyone for a multitude of reasons, but its important not to mistake it for a "funk". Being in a funk comes from temporary issues and situations that are affecting you mentally and keeping you from performing at your best. Perhaps you are nursing a nagging injury, lost your job, your cat died, or you're just not feeling BJJ right now...in any case, funks are different (and waaaay better). You know you are on a plateau when no matter what you do, the only person you can tap is that one pale and sickly looking white belt who always has to stop to cough or scratch something while rolling...sad. Or the choke that you can get on anybody (yeah the one you got on Roger Gracie back in 2009) doesn't even work on Mallory, the 13 yr old orange belt. This my friend is a plateau, and the bad thing about them is that they can last from a few weeks to months. Hell, I heard about this one guy that plateau'd in 2003 and is still lost up there somewhere figuring out how to hip escape.

How do I get out of this rut, you say...well I actually don't know exactly. But here are 3 things that I have done, and hopefully they will work for you!

1. Take a break. Often times we try to break through our barriers in jiu-jitsu by training more. I know BJJ is all about the details, but plateaus are nothing to mess around with and sometimes you lose sight of the big picture when you only focus on the details. Sometimes it is good to just take a step back and breath in the hopes that some clarifying or potentially game-changing epiphany emerges. If not, at least you got to replenish your chakra in the process.

2. Change your approach. Maybe you are getting tapped out, passed, or controlled by everyone because you make the same mistake all the time and they just capitalize on it. Maybe that is the perfect time to disassemble your game and figure out where your flaws are and fix them. Even if you are not the type to ask questions, this is the perfect time to do so. If you're lucky maybe someone at the gym is good at doing exactly what you suck at and can open you up to a whole new world of opportunities.

3. Think outside your game. Maybe your technique is great, but your cardio sucks. You have excellent flexibility, but you are not explosive. These are things that can send you into a plateau without you even realizing it until months down the line. It's important to have great technique, but your physical attributes count just as much. Try dropping a few training days to go hit up the gym, the park, rock wall, etc. Not only will you be doing a little of #1, but you will also be improving yourself in the process.

The C in champion...

Anyone that competes in jiu-jitsu wants to win, even more they want to be champion. No matter what people say, there is no gu/girl going out there that wants to lose (and learn from the experience). Yet, at the end of the day only one person's hand is raised...what's up with that? Many people want to attribute it to skill, but everyone knows that is not the case all the time. Most of us going to Pans or even competing in a local tournament, train our asses off on a weekly basis. So what is needed to become a champion? Warning: Here comes my opinion. Personally, I think champions dissect the mental aspect of the game more that anyone else. Imagine if you are a blue belt training for Pans; you ran your ass off, drilled your armbars 100,000,000,000x, were shark tanked by Helio and Rickson Gracie, and spent 6 months in Brazil. Yet, you still lose. I have been here before countless times. Tournament after tournament I went back to the drawing board tightening up my skill and training ten times harder then I did the last time, only to lose again at the next tournament. The problem was I wasn't thinking about the C in Champion. The C in champion is all the characteristics you need to become one, Here they are:

Competitiveness: Champions love to compete. A competitor is someone who refuses to lose, and finds ways to win. Who shows up on match day and produces results. They don't quit. They take setbacks and mistakes, and turn them into gold. Gold medals that is.

Confidence: Champions are confident. In there mind they are the favorite to win. Confident athletes believe they can't be beaten and have a attitude that nothing can be thrown their way that they can't handle. Confidence keeps thoughts of defeat out of the heads of champions. If you believe you can't win, you won't.

Control: Champions have control. This to me is one of the most important characteristics to have in jiu-jitsu. Often times the main goal of your opponent is to overwhelm you with technique in order to catch you in a submission or bad position. Your ability to maintain poise, concentration, and emotional control will increase your chances of being able to handle whatever is thrown your way.

Committed: Champions focus all their time and energy on their goal. You shouldn't wonder why you are not black belt world champion if you are a doctor. Champions are committed to jiu-jitsu full time...24/7...365 days a year. The reason why is because they want it more. While you want to make more money at your job, appease your family, or finish school...champions are out there ensuring that one day jiu-jitsu can be their livelihood. They are 100% committed.

Courage: Champions are scared, but they still take risk. A courageous person knows what they have to do to succeed, and are willing to get there by any means necessary. They don't let fear stop them. Courage allows you to reach your full potential, and become a champion.

Consistency: Champions are consistent. You never see Roger Gracie losing his first match. Champions possess an inner strength that allows them even at their worst, to compete at their best. How many times have you said, I'm off today? How can you be off today if you wer eon yesterday...think about it. Champions don't make excuses.

Start a timeline

One thing I have noticed among my friends in the jiu-jitsu world is that they do not keep track of anything in their career. I know to some it is not important, but I firmly believe that it is important to keep track of all of your BJJ accomplishments, big and small. Sure you don't have to go as far as some of us addicts and start a blog, but something as simple as a Word document with dates and a little excerpt, will also do the job. When people ask you when you started training, how you got your purple belt, or how many times you have competed...you should know. Here is my jiu-jitsu timeline, it is still a baby:

March 9th 2010: Started BJJ @ Gracie Barra Ballard
April 14th 2010: Rcvd two stripes on white belt
May 2010: Competed at first inner school tourney (0-2)
June 9th 2010: 3rd stripe on white belt
July 17th 2010: Competed at first local Revolution tourney (1-1)
September 18th 2010: Competed at Texas Open (1-1)
September 29th 2010: Rcvd 4th stripe on white belt
October 2nd 2010: Competed at Seattle Open (2-1) 2nd Place
October 15th 2010: Competed at US Open (1-1)
November 13th 2010: Competed at Revolution tournament (2-1)
January 29th 2010: Competed at Seattle Open (1-1)

Simple. Give it a try.

Disassemble your game!

Very rarely do we disassemble our game to find the flaws. We often look at how well we do in competition or in the gym and assume our game is as reliable as ever. Others may make small adjustments, but they are only surface details that make them look good for awhile...but eventually everything breaks down. Like cars, sometimes a quick look under your hood just won't cut it. There will be times when you will be rolling, wondering why your game is lacking that horsepower it once had. This is the perfect timing for a complete overhaul of your game...where you disassemble, and check every crevice and nook looking for all the holes and defects you can find. Once you give it a good once over, it is imperative that you allow someone else to look over it also. The key to getting better in jiu-jitsu is being aware of when you are about to plateau and trying to find the problem before it hits. The warning signs are always there, don't wait!

Perks and Urks: Being a whitebelt

So I decided to add a new facet to my blog called Perks and Urks. Mainly these will be things I come across in jiu-jitsu that have their positives and negative sides. The first installment to this is going to be the perks and urks of being a white belt. It's where everyone starts and I'm sure everyone has felt some of these before. Enjoy.

Perks

1. No pressure or expectations: you're a white belt, nobody expects you to be good or know anything. If you compete and lose, who cares. If you win, who cares. It's not like people are even watching. What you do as a white belt, does not necessarily transfer over into other belts.

2. Everything you do gets a wow or nice: pass a blue belts guard and everyone is singing your praises! Nice pass, nice sweep, nice jumping jack form, etc etc. You are basically a baby, every time you do something remotely cool or advanced everyone claps their hands and say YAY!

3. People help you: Everybody wants to give you some sort of tip or suggestion. It really helps your game out so take everything in, and decipher it later. I've noticed that every time you get promoted you're more and more on your own.

4. It's the ego-free belt: You got your ass kicked 12 times on the first day. If you still have an ego, kill yourself.

5. You outnumber all the higher belts: Which means you always have people to bitch and moan to about problems you're having, injuries, so and so being too rough, etc. Your fellow white belts will always nod in unison with you.

6. None of your questions are dumb: As you move up, if you ask which way is the thumb supposed to be facing when doing an armbar from mount...kill yourself. Fortunately for us white belts we can ask questions like that all day everyday!

7. When you finally tap your first blue belt: You feel like a beast! Rawr!!!

Urks

1. Your opinions do not matter: People will look at you like you're crazy if you have any sort of opinion about jiu-jitsu. What I do, is say (Insert black belt name here) said that drinking coconut milk before competition kills nervousness. This makes everyone nod in unison and say that they read that somewhere on Sherdog.

2. Everyone can kick your ass: Next time there is a big class, look out from the line before you bow out and count everyone in front of you. That is the number of people who can mop the mats with you with their eyes closed.

3. You will probably get made fun of at least once or twice: It happens. You're a white belt. Be ready to be mocked, laughed at, and humiliated. If there are enough white belts, you may be safe from this one.

4. The 17 yr old purple belt, seems older than you: Probably has something to do with respect and stuff, but I still don't get it.

5. Girls at the national BJJ comps don't even look at you: Sigh! Some of them are so hawt too. All you can say is "can't wait till I'm a black belt".

6. When you reach 4 stripe white belt, the head hunters come out: Nothing like getting that 4th stripe on your belt. It means you are progressing and are close to blue belt. So what does this mean? Head hunters galore...other white belts who want to kill you and prove they are at that level too. This causes you to either A) always be on your guard. B) Murder every 1,2,3 stripe you see. Or C) avoid their stupid ass completely.

7. You will only tap, pass, or mount a higher belt once: the next time you roll with him, he will MURK you. Never think you did something good to someone who is only using their pinky toe to fight you.

8. You will probably get tapped 5,000 times: that's the average for a white belt. Unless you're a puss and you never roll.

The gym is a ecosystem.

An ecosystem is defined as a community of living and non-living things working together. If one thing in the ecosystem fails, everything will systematically fail also. In the gym everyone needs to work together to reach a common goal. There cannot be too many carnivores and their cannot be too many grazers. It's all about homeostasis. A balance is created through consistency, variety, and efficiency.

Consistency in training to keep the school running.

Variety in training partners and instructors.

Efficiency in the training received to produce skillful students.

In an ideal BJJ ecosystem, there would be one high belt for every white belt. Everyone who signed up would train frequently. 5-6 different black belts teaching weekly. A structured curriculum would be taught. Drilling and hard work outs would not be an option. Ahhh, if only things were perfect.

Think about it.

How to practice to get better and preventing plateus, Part 1

From my recent research and study I have come to the conclusion, that majority of jiu-jitsu practitioners do not practice correctly. Let me explain. The definition of practice is a systematic exercise for the purpose of acquiring skill or proficiency. The key word being systematic. Drilling is practice. Specifics is practice. Rolling could be practice, but most of the time is not! Now I know what you're saying...he has lost it, but keep reading.

The first thing we have to look at is, is our "practice" specifically designed to improve performance? Lets take a look at the class structure. Every day there is usually a fundamentals or advanced class specifically designed by the professor. During this segment of the class he/she presents a move, demonstrates it, then instructs the class to drill it. The keyword in the question is designed. The professor has designed this program, and when you are drilling the move he/she walks around and tells you what you are doing wrong. You cannot see yourself while rolling, the person you are rolling with cannot see you...and 9 times out of 10 nobody else can see you because they are also rolling.

The number 1 comment I receive after rolling with a higher belt is, you're moving really well. Rolling does not provide you with in depth analysis of your weaknesses especially at the lower levels. It is unrealistic to say that you can honestly make a clear assessment of your performance on a daily basis...and if you could, at this level you would not be able to design the best practice activity for that moment in your development.

Question: How many times have you been able to remember what you did wrong after a roll?

Practice is meant to stretch you beyond your current abilities and with the right tools and methods, development will steadily rise and go beyond what you thought was your peak. As obvious as that may sound, most of us do not practice this way...including me. We get on the mats after fundamentals class and we spar, using the same stale game...wondering why we haven't gotten any better. Remaining at the level of performance we reached months ago, and for some of you...years!

Deliberate practice first requires the individual to pin point his weakness, then work intently on them. This in our sport is called specifics. A good method to use before starting your specific training would be to draw three circles; labeling each comfort zone (middle), learning zone (outer), and panic zone (outer). In each circle write where you feel comfortable at, in the learning zone what you can improve, and in the panic zone where you feel the worst at. The learning zone is in your control...here you can put yourself in these positions and figure out ways to remove yourself from them. You should force yourself to stay in this zone continually till a light bulb goes of or you say Eureka! The comfort zone should be avoided completely, and the panic zone should be saved for privates or when your professor has time to work with you on these things.

When we practice, what is the number one thing we are trying to accomplish? Becoming proficient in BJJ, right? So in order to become proficient what do we have to do...rinse? No. Wash? No. Repeat? Yea man! But most of us really don't get exactly what repetition is, and it ends up wasting time and being highly ineffective. Take the example I used earlier. You drive your car everyday, up and down the highway...you zoom, you brake, you even hit corners hella fast just to scare your girlfriend. But does that mean you're ready to go qualify for the Indy 500? Hell no. Same thing applies to jiu-jitsu. Majority of the time when we do roll we are only working on what we normally do day in and day out. Very rarely are you repeating any technique at high volumes and very rarely are you focused on doing anything in particular other than rolling. Yes you are repeating this activity, but it is not the repetition you need in order to be successful.

The number one gripe I hear with new white belts and even some blues is that they aren't getting better. When I hear this I ask a few questions to help them figure out what the problem is. The questions I ask are; are you asking questions and are you asking people to watch your rolls or technique? If the answer is no, I say there lies your problem. There is a famous quote that says "practicing without feedback is like bowling through a curtain that hangs downs to knee level". You can work on technique all you like, but if you can't see the effects...you won't get any better. You can only rely on yourself for so long in jiu-jitsu. One day you will either get tired of sucking or you will open your mouth. The feedback from teachers and higher belts is just as important as repetition of technique. At some point in time you will need a sharp eye to help you identify the most minute detail in your technique. On some things you might be able to lift the curtain and see all the pins fall, but most of the time you will sit wondering why you never get a strike...and the answer is often times sitting right next to you.

What makes jiu-jitsu so fun is that we think the practice aspect of it is fun. Everyone looks at rolling and sparring as practice, but the way we do it makes it just plain ol' fun. Swimming is fun until you have to swim laps. Basketball is fun until you have to shoot 100 jump shots. Jiu-Jitsu is fun until you have to drill arm bars. See where I am going. Doing things we know how to do well is enjoyable. Practice is not inherently fun, it is doing the most painful and difficult task imaginable and repeating it over and over and over again...until it becomes fun. Then you move on. So a rule of thumb is, if you're having fun on the mats, you need to be doing something else.

Part 2 will be available after the Revolution this weekend....