My small unathletic White Belt swept someone 80lbs heavier
Want to know what makes me the happiest as a BJJ coach?
Watching a student hit a new technique that I KNOW I taught him. It’s the best!
And that happened yesterday, let me tell ya the story.
I have this young kid we’ll call Reginald.
Reginald started training with me in June after getting jumped. He’s not ultra athletic or anything but he’s dedicated and has grit.
Well, yesterday Reginald was rolling with a newer White Belt who outweighed him by about 80lbs. During the roll he immediately shot in to half guard with the outside hook and hit the Foot Grab sweep. And during the 6 minute roll he hit the same sweep several times.
I was pumped because we have been drilling half guard for the last 2 weeks and it was awesome to see him put the techniques into action. Against a much larger person no less.
Although I’m not surprised since half guard is my go-to position against bigger people.
And if you’d like to learn the exact style of half guard I use and teach my students then just press the link down below and I’ll teach you the ways of the Jiu-Jitsu Sweeper.
One takeaway to end our little BJJ chat this morning is that I’ve also watched Reginald fail miserably at the same sweep.
And maybe that’s what made it even better. Watching him fail, keep at it and then finally hit it. Because those are transcendent moments that carry over into everything else.
I hope that no matter what you do on or off the mat you do the same.
Hope you have an amazing weekend. Chat with you Monday.
-Chewy
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I’m a big pile of steaming hot failures
How to Setup a 1 Hour BJJ Training Session from Home / Open Mat
Can you train yourself effectively in BJJ from home or with open mats?
While I am always a proponent for training with a teacher, someone who has more knowledge than you do, it can still be beneficial to supplement your BJJ training with work from home or with a partner during an open mat.
Our friend Mike from the U.K said that he and his friend who is a fellow Brazilian Jiu-jitsu practitioner are only able to make the gym 1-2 days a week max.
So because of this he was wondering if there would be a benefit to doing some Brazilian Jiujitsu training from home with his buddy, and if there are any tips I could give.
In this video I outline a basic 1 hour (active time) BJJ drilling and training session. Focused on specific areas with BJJ techniques that someone already knows. It starts with drilling then situational rolling.
I also add in one of the most common mistakes I see people make when they come into the gym or get together for a drilling session at home. The mistake I talk about will eat away at the potential time for good purposeful work.
So if you’re planning on drilling or training from home. I hope this video is useful to you!
-Chewy
If you’d ever like to train with the team and I. Check out my gym Derby City MMA in Louisville, KY.
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Increase Finishing Power with Bjj Clock Chokes (Focus On 1st Grip)
I got a question about different types of submissions that can be used from the Turtle position in BJJ. So in today’s video I show the tried and true Clock Choke. But as you’ll see in the video. I place a huge amount of importance on the 1st grip you acquire.
In this video I also clip in a Brazilian Jiu-jitsu match I had back in 2017 where I used this principle. I got the finishing grip very quickly and while my body was moving all over the place I was still able to finish the choke at the end.
I wanted to show this because a lot of times people fail to recognize the importance of getting strong grips early on. They think about the choke, the finish but forget that strong grips setup the finish.
Hope this video is helpful to you!
-Chewy
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My Modified Sacrifice Throw Saved Me At The Last Minute (No Gi BJJ Match In 2013)
This match is from way back in 2013 at a time when I was still a young Black Belt. When watching the match you’ll see I struggled a ton early on to get my game going against a tough opponent.
This competition was at a team based competition in 2013 for the AGC. You’ll see in the match my opponent was a fellow Black belt and super quick Wrestler. He was able to score on me right out of the gate and dominate position for much of the match. Luckily I changed some things in my focus through the match that helped me secure the win. My sacrifice throw / butterfly guard pull that I used saved me in this one. And at the end of the match I was exhausted.
At the end if you listen closely you’ll hear me say “why does it take me 5 minutes to get my game going” and this was because I used to be a slow starter. This is in complete contrast to now where I typically start matches off very fast and aggressive.
You’ll also hear my training partners scream for submission. This is because we were doing a team tournament where submission wins were 3 points and point wins were 1 point for the team. So we really wanted the submission.
If you’d like to see more matches like this one with along with narrated breakdowns check out my Chewjitsu Vault at: www.Chewjitsu.net/Vault
This is where I focus on all sort of deeper techniques and lessons related to BJJ.
Hope you enjoyed the video!
Thanks for watching.
-Chewy
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BJJ Black Belt Struggling to Sweep 2X National Wrestling Champion
This BJJ rolling session was from the last no gi class I had before the quarantine. During the rolling you’ll see me roll with Brandon who is a 2X NAIA college wrestling champ not to mention he’s an absolute powerhouse of a human being.
Another big bummer about this whole lock down thing is that I was looking forward to having Brandon in the gym more often since wrestling season was over. And you can see him starting to try to engage from off his back which is good. If he ever has time to stick with Brazilian Jiujitsu it’s going to be scary.
You can check out some more videos of Brandon’s on his channel at: https://www.youtube.com/user/brandon44999 or just search Brandon Reed wrestling.
When you watch us roll you’ll see us doing situational rolling. Top person works for a submission or pass and bottom person works for the sweep. I struggled with Brandon’s base and balance and even if I got a sweep he quickly recovered his position. Also, I had to quickly switch from full guard, butterfly guard and half guard to try and find a position to work from.
This is one of the most valuable reasons you should roll with wrestlers when you get the chance. They don’t engage in the way Brazilian Jiu-jitsu players do and so it’s a great test to see how your BJJ works against someone of a different grappling style.
My other roll was with Stephen who is a young MMA fighter who wrestled in high school. He’s super scrappy and I’m excited to see how he develops once we get back to training.
If you’re wondering at the end I tap because I was stuck in a rough neck crank and wasn’t getting out. My neck was already a little funny that day so I tapped. When you roll I’d encourage you to be intelligent and do the same.
Also if you’re stuck at home and need some help with exercise, workouts or tips for preparing your BJJ for when you return.
Visit: https://www.chewjitsu.net/time-off
And get my free at home training guide.
Hope you enjoyed the video and I hope you and your family are well!
Thanks for watching.
-Chewy
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Philosophy and Expectations for White to Black Belt In BJJ
In this clip I talk about my expectations and what each of the 5 belt in BJJ mean to me. I explain what I would encourage people to focus on as a White Belt, Blue Belt, Purple Belt, Brown Belt and Black Belt.
Keep in mind these are my ideas and philosophies on BJJ training and if belts didn’t exist you could replace them with certain periods of experience.
Hopefully the video is helpful for you and your won path in Brazilian Jiu-jtisu.
the full podcast is available on all podcast platforms or you can check it out at www.thechewjitsupodcast.com.
Thanks to our podcast sponsors:
Charlotte’s Web CBD. Head over to www.charlottesweb.com and use the promo code Chewjitsu to get 15% off of your total purchase.
Epic Roll BJJ. Check out www.epicrollbjj.com and use the promo code Chewjitsu to get 15% off of your total purchase.
-Chewy
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Grappling Dummies Are Still A Waste (Even During Quarantine)
I made a video about grappling dummies about 3 years ago where I said they were a waste of time and money. Well recently because of the quarantine and lockdown most of us are experience I’ve gotten a lot of comments on that video. Most of the comments are something to the effect that, “Are grappling dummies still a waste now that we can’t roll?”
Now while everyone has their own opinion on this think I absolutely stand by my stance. You can roll with that grappling dummy till you’re blue in the face your Brazilian Jiu-jitsu abilities are still going to get worse. Just how it is.
But I believe there are other areas you could focus on that would be far more useful. So in the video I list 4 other things you could focus on, besides a grappling dummy, that I think will help you when you get back to BJJ training in the future.
Those 4 things are:
– Diet
– Stretching and strengthening exercises
– Meditation
– Watching videos
Focusing on those 4 things would be far superior for preparing a person’s physical and mental abilities when it’s time to come back to training.
Now all of that said, if you really like your grappling dummy then rock it out. I’m replying back to comments and if you enjoy it then good for you.
But from my experience over 20 years I see very few people actually use their grappling dummy with any real consistency. And without consistency you shouldn’t expect results.
Thanks for watching the video.
-Chewy
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The Special Story Behind The Red Square On My Blue Mats
There’s a story behind this red square of mats in my BJJ training area. Most people see this and think I ran out of money or didn’t order enough mats. But that’s not it.
You see, I grappled and rolled on those red mats for over 10 years. Much of who I am today was forged through the difficulties of BJJ and MMA training on those red mats.
And I keep that little piece of red mat to remind me everything from, all the difficulties I experienced during my early years of BJJ training to the countless hours spent developing myself and our gym so that it would be something special to the students inside, to being so broke when I first started coaching full time that I couldn’t afford my own place and I either couch surfed or on plenty of nights those red mats became my bed.
I keep memories like these in my back pocket so I don’t forget them.
They give me contrast and remind me of how lucky I am and keep me grounded so I don’t ever think I’m too good to answer a simple question. Because I remember I struggled with those same questions.
Even when we get through this mess (which we will get through this). Keep these experiences in your back pocket. Remember them. So that when life returns to it’s comfortable norm you don’t fall back asleep and take everything for granted.
Instead stay awake for your life, remember that tomorrow isn’t guaranteed and that safety and security is an illusion. Be grateful and appreciate the beautiful moments you experience and the amazing people you meet because they won’t be there forever. They may not be there tomorrow.
Appreciate the hell out of them and that everyday you have a chance to enjoy existence.
Hope you guys are well out there. Stay strong, take care of your neighbors and take a moment to appreciate something small in your life today.
-Chewy
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