This BJJ world champ almost quit completely

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Sometimes I’ll jokingly ask my students, “Raise your hand if you want to be mediocre at this stuff?”

 

And you know what? Not a single person raises their hand. Because we are in western society. Individualism! Shoot for the stars and land somewhere along the way, right?

 

I both love it and hate it . . . more love it though.

 

Anyways, 2 days ago Eugene and I had a conversation with Tim Spriggs on the podcast. If you aren’t familiar with him he recently won the No Gi Worlds and if that wasn’t enough. . . he submitted yours truly in the semi finals of the ADCC Trials.

 

During our podcast chat he talked about almost quitting BJJ back last year then rallying back to a World Title and he even shared how he got into BJJ because he was getting bullied.

 

Which is fun listening and inspiring in itself.

 

But if you’re like Ole Chewy, you’re listening to podcasts to get little takeaways for yourself. And there were several. But there was BIG one in this podcast.

 

When he began training at Lloyd Irvin’s gym (love him or hate him, he’s turned out some really good grapplers) he said it took his game to the next level.

 

And the biggest physical training difference was the drilling. 

 

For people looking to develop their own system of BJJ. This is how you do it! You drill till the technique sinks in and becomes almost automatic.

 

You’ll literally start doing the techniques in your sleep! No kidding, this happened once when I was practicing a collar choke. My girlfriend filmed me motioning the collar choke while sleeping.

 

It’s also how I became a good Half Guard player back in the day when my bottom game was garbage. I drilled it constantly, taught it to others and tried it during training.

 

And that’s where my Half Guard Sweeper Series came from. Years of blood sweat and effort.

So, if you have a trash bottom game like I did, you can change that by clicking below!

So go check out the podcast on Itunes, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. I hope you enjoy the talk!

-Chewy –

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Why You Should Do a Seminar as a New BJJ White Belt

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When is it too early in your training for BJJ seminars? This is the question for today. Our friend has a chance to go to a Roger Gracie seminar and he’s wondering whether or not he should do it because he hasn’t been doing Brazilian Jiu-jitsu for very long.

In this video I discuss the idea of doing seminars even if it’s very early in your BJJ training. One big example I share is from my own training.

Where as a newer White Belt I went to a seminar with techniques that were way over my head.

But after it was all said and done. Many of the BJJ techniques and ideas taught at the seminar made their way into my Brazilian Jiujitsu game. One of which was Butterfly Guard (which I still use today).

And maybe that doesn’t sound like such a big deal. But back in 2003. Butterfly Guard was some of the newer cutting edge stuff in BJJ.

If you’re thinking about doing a seminar, watch the video and I hope it encourages you to do the seminar regardless of your training time.

 

-Chewy –

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Simple Fix to a Big Problem when Breaking Guard in BJJ

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Do you have trouble maintaining good posture when breaking full guard? This is a big problem for a lot of people. . . not just White Belts.

In today’s video I’m addressing this issue as our friend is getting broken down constantly in his BJJ training when he tries to break the full guard so he can pass.

In the video I explain a little maxim or rule I have for Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. I picked it up from a friend and I’ve used it ever since. That is. . . the “Belly Button” rule. Basically this means.

Don’t let our body move over top of their belly button. To do so would mean that our center of gravity is right over top of their body and in a vulnerable position. This is No Bueno.

So in Brazilian Jiujitsu when we are breaking guard.

We want to make sure our body doesn’t move over their belly button or belt line. If you’re having trouble breaking the closed guard or even getting caught in certain sweeps. Then I hope this is useful to you.

-Chewy –

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Is wrestling or bjj better for self-defense?

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Here is a self-defense question I received from IG last night.

 

Keep in mind I’m speaking about hand to hand situations.

 

Wrestling can be incredibly effective for self-defense. 

 

I mean slamming and taking someone onto a hard surface is game-over. I originally stood up to my bullies in high school using wrestling. . . and it worked.

 

This is also why Judo awards the match to the person who plants the person flat on their back with a throw.

 

On concrete or hard ground. If you were thrown with full force. You’re going night-night. ZZZZzzzzzz

 

There are plenty of youtube videos taken on a smart phone to back up my claim on this.

 

One of my big gripes with some BJJ gyms is that they teach garbage takedowns or sometimes no takedowns at all. And takedowns are vital to street fights or competitions alike.

 

I cringe watching the videos of some BJJ guy going in for a slow double leg with his head down in a street fight situation.

 

Even if your goal is to defend the takedown so you can run away. You need experience using the right techniques for this.

 

 Learn my system of useful Wrestling based takedowns that blend quickly with BJJ.

Wrestling for BJJ

 

Here’s the issue with Wrestling for Self-Defense vs BJJ. It has less finishing power once on the ground. 

 

So I think BJJ is still more important for self-defense because it’s focused on the fight and not than the pin. 

 

But BJJ without proper takedowns is a weak form of self-defense. Unless you want to start every fight by being pummeled into the ground.

 

So I do think you need some takedowns in your game. But maybe that’s just the wrestler in me. 😉

 

Talk to you guys next time!

-Chewy –

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What CBD oil does Chewy use?

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Recently in an email I told you about how I was using CBD oil as part of my recovery regimen.

And I’ve gotten a flood of reply emails. (Which I typically respond to), and the question asked was, “Which CBD oil are you using?”

Currently, I’m making myself into a guinea pig. 

Wait, I should be careful not to offend someone with that term. I think PETA said I’m supposed to say “test tube.”

So I’m making myself into “test tube (I wonder when that somehow becomes offensive)?

For months I’ve tried different CBD droppers, balms and a liposomal version. I’ve went highand low with doses. I’ve played with timing of the CBD.

Some of them have worked like freaking miracles, and others were… meh. 

Here soon I’ll be ready to share the results of what I find with you and let you know which one gets the “Chewy-Stamp of Approval.”

Therefore the reason I’m so interested in testing all these versions is that whether you’re my student in person or you watch me through videos.

As a voice in the BJJ community I feel a certain obligation to you to be transparent and maintain integrity. I don’t have any interest in peddling bullshit products that don’t work.

I walk my walk, and that’s very important to me.

 And whether it’s my new Half Guard series I sell online.

It shows you my exact half guard style (I mean you can watch my matches and see it over and over again.) Or the eventual CBD brand I encourage you to check out. Which will be the one that I’m personally using.

As cliche as it sounds. Everything I do comes from a place of genuine desire to help. 

So gimmie a couple of weeks and I’ll have Chewy’s top CBD picks.

 

Talk to you next time.

-Chewy –

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My Top 5 Most Effective BJJ Submissions (Arm Annihilation Flow)

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What are my Top 5 Favorite Submission in BJJ? That’s the question for today’s video. In this video I’ll show you my favorite submissions.

They’re my favorite because of how effective they’ve been for me over the years. You’ll probably notice something. They’re all very simple techniques.

None of them are what you would consider on the “fancy” side of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. And that’s ok with me. The submissions shown in the video are. . .

1. Kimura

2. Wrist Lock

3. Straight Armlock

4. Armbar

5. Rear Choke from Back Mount

While I have some tricky submissions and techniques in my arsenal. I typically depend on a handful of highly effective submissions to be the work horses of my Brazilian Jiujitsu game.

My game being built around a more simplistic base has been helpful for me.

In this video I’ll also show how all 5 of these BJJ submissions chain together.

Which is an important aspect to consider. Having a submission flow makes for a nasty offensive ability. When 1 attack is stopped you move to the next. I hope the video is helpful!

-Chewy –

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I Didn’t Receive a Stripe in BJJ Until I was a Purple Belt

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How do you judge your progress in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu when your gym doesn’t give stripes? This is the question I received from one of the viewers.

His BJJ gyms doesn’t give stripes out and he’s wondering how do you judge progress when stripes aren’t a part of the equation. In this video I first share that the belts and stripes in Brazilian Jiujitsu are simply symbols.

Like the word “Tree” which is a symbol to represent what we call a tree. Now a tree is a collection of cells. It’s an organism with leafs, bark, etc.

The word TREE is simply a representation of what it is. And the belts and stripes are simply symbols to represent progression and skill.

I also share how I personally didn’t even receive a stripe until I was a Purple Belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. Along with this idea I also share some helpful tips on how to judge your progress in BJJ. If you’re in a similar situation. I hope this video is useful.

-Chewy –

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Flexibility myth of rubber guard

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Recently I had a 10th Planet Black Belt and now a friend out to the gym.

 

His name is Brandon Mccaghren. He did a seminar, we trained and filmed a few videos.

You can find more about Brandon here:

https://brandonmc.ninja/

https://www.instagram.com/brandonmc.n…

https://www.youtube.com/user/TenthPla…

During training we talked about the flexibility myth regarding Rubber Guard. 

I call it a myth because I felt like you had to be super bendy and flexible to make Rubber Guard work but Brandon assured me you don’t.

I was skeptical.

But after be showed me a few details I was so surprised about how easily you can hold the Rubber Guard, at least a basic version of it, by focusing on hip movement instead of knees.

 

So of course, we made a video of the details.

 

 

Now of course, if you’re more flexible, there are additional options for you.

 

But for those of us who are just a little tighter in the hips and knees. This is an option!

 

Hope you enjoy the video. Talk to you guys next time!

-Chewy –

 

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Open Mat Toy Donation

Don’t Underestimate the Kindness of Strangers

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You may not know this. But I grew up poor. Like really poor.

 

One memory is when I went with my mom and sisters to the grocery store. We paid for the groceries with this weird monopoly looking money called Food Stamps.

 

Afterwards we went out to this old station wagon my mom had. Fun thing about this car, none of the doors worked except the back hatch.

 

So my mom opens up the hatch. My sisters climb over the seats to get in and then my mom and I pile the groceries and get in.

 

Annnnnnd the car wouldn’t start!

 

I remember seeing the defeated look on my mom’s face as she turned the key again
to start the car up.

The Help of a Random Stranger

Luckily for us that day. A mechanic was packing his groceries nearby and heard the engine whining and he came up to help out.

 

He jumped under the car for few minutes, did something, and the car fired right up. My mom offered him what little money she had. He waved it off and smiled.

 

This was from a time where my mom had just gotten sober and was pulling it all together. And looking back at it now as an adult, I’m not quite sure how she did it.

 

One thing I know for sure is that she couldn’t have done it without the help of so many people. Sometimes family, but sometimes just kind strangers.

 

And this Sunday we are doing a Toy Drive for a local organization call the Scholar House. They do amazing work helping single parents get an education and skills so that they can provide for their children.

 

We gathering for a Open Rolling Session of BJJ. And we are gathering unopened toys to donate to the families for Christmas.

The BJJ Open Mat starts at 12pm (noon)

Click here to check out the Facebook event:
So bring a gift and let’s get some training in!

Our address is:

8021 Dixie Highway Ste 102

Louisville, KY 40258

Talk to you guys next time!
-Chewy

 

 

How Do I Keep up My BJJ Training with a Dying Father ?

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Have you ever experienced something off the mats that interfered with your BJJ training? This is the situation we are talking about today.

In this video I address a situation / question that comes from our friend who does Brazilian Jiujitsu and has a dying father. He says his father has been battling with cancer for a while and things have been ok.

During this period it did not affect his BJJ training at all. He was able to do competitions, teach and train with no issues. But recently things have taken a turn for the worst.

And now he says the stress of his father’s illness, teaching, training and competition is just so much. In the video I discuss how I dealt with a similar situation with my own mother back in 2010 – 2011.

And I discuss how my Brazilian Jiu-jitsu training and everything in my life was touched by the illness of my mother. If you’re in a similar situation. I know what you’re going through and I hope the video is useful for you.

-Chewy –

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