Failure email pic

I’m a big pile of steaming hot failures

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Was dabbling around on Instagram yesterday responded to a young guy.

 

He said,
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“Why do people get caught up on if they get tapped in practice lol that’s the point”
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Now it’s easy to wag the finger at someone who’s struggling with failure. But we all go through it at some point don’t we? I know I sure as hell did.

 

My response to this message was . . .

 

Because we are conditioned to believe that if we aren’t successful at something then it was a waste. 

 

But success is usually built upon a pile of failures.  

 

And this is an important lesson on and off the mats.

 

Now perhaps you have a better track record than the Chewster and success has just come effortlessly to you. But it didn’t for me.

 

I didn’t get serious about the business side of running a gym till the gym almost folded back in 2010. It was a nice smack in the face to wake me up.

 

My first videos on Youtube sucked and didn’t get watched.

 

On the mats I lost my first ever grappling match. Got smashed for years in high school wrestling and struggled early on in BJJ.

 

And each one of my best techniques was sharpened with 1 failure after another.

 

Like my highest percentage takedown. The arm drag to inside trip.

 

I started using the technique with a little success. Then people figured it out and it started failing.  I didn’t give up on it though. Instead, I kept adjusting and making mistakes till I developed a new setup that worked like crazy.

 

In fact, if I can get the particular wrist control I use I’ve only missed the takedown once in competition. Not bad if you ask me.

 

And if you’re a member of my Wrestling for BJJ course. I just added this stealthy “thumb up, thumb down” setup to the arm drag to inside trip inside the “Chewy’s Takedown System” section yesterday. So roll on over and check it out.

 

If you’re not currently a member and would like to get your grippers on the setup along with the other tried and true takedowns specifically for BJJ then press ze link below.

 

 

To wrap this one up today. Treat failure as a normal part of growth so you can learn from it and crack open the lessons to be had.

 

Just an idea to chew on.
-Chewy
Bjj Clock Chokes

Increase Finishing Power with Bjj Clock Chokes (Focus On 1st Grip)

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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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Sacrifice Throw

My Modified Sacrifice Throw Saved Me At The Last Minute (No Gi BJJ Match In 2013)

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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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Wrestling

BJJ Black Belt Struggling to Sweep 2X National Wrestling Champion

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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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workout tip

Instant Tweak to Make Exercises More Difficult (No Equipment Required)

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If you’re stuck at home doing workouts for any reason whether it’s a corona virus or just your garden variety injury then you can use the tips I share in this video to get more bang for your buck from the exercises you use. In addition, it’s a really solid tip to incorporate into your regular lifting. You can also use this tip with your BJJ solo drills.

It’s a very simple idea that I share in this video but it’s one that can make any simple exercises way more difficult.

That tip is simply do the reps slower and with control. Seems easy but when you slow a repetition down to 5, 10, or 15 seconds it becomes much more taxing on the muscles.

The beauty of doing this is that it increases time under tension, make the exercise more difficult and increase the mind body connection formed during the movement.

Hope this video is useful to you especially if you’re stuck at home unable to workout like normal.

-Chewy

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Sneaky Ankle Lock

Sneaky Ankle Lock Finish When They Grab Your Gi to Defend

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Finishing a Straight Ankle Lock in the Gi can be tricky. The handles created by the lapels and grips can make it very hard to fully extend and finish the leg lock once you have a snag on the ankle itself. This is the BJJ technique question I got from our buddy Brian G.

I originally learned this Brazilian Jiujitsu technique with one of my students Jeff who hit me with it in training. In a similar situation I was preventing his extension with collar grips. Then once he switched his forearm down he was able to fully extend the foot down and finish the submission. And I’ve found the variation to be useful with my own Brazilian Jiu-jitsu training.

I assume if you’re watching the video you’ll understand the basics of how to get a straight ankle lock and how to get into a single leg X / ashi garami position.

So if you’re having trouble finishing the straight ankle in the gi because of the grips then 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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Wrist lock

Are Wrist Locks in BJJ Legit or a Dirty Cheater Technique?

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Are wrist locks a dirty submissions? Are they cheating? If you use them are you doing something wrong within the typical rules or culture of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu? This is the question I received from Kevin recently.

Kevin comes from a traditional martial arts background where he learned a lot of wrist locks and he wants to use them in his BJJ training. But he says his coach doesn’t allow White Belts to use them. In addition to that he says he gets the vibe that wrist locks are sort of looked down on in his gym. As if they are dirty in some way.

So he sent me a message to get his perspective which I share in the video.

The biggest issue with them, as I see it, isn’t that they are cheating, but that they are sneaky. Wrist locks in Brazilian Jiujitsu are sneaky submissions and I think thats why we laugh about them at times when we get caught with one. And I think it’s this “sneaky” nature about them that makes us call them “dirty” or say “prison rules”, but as I will explain in the video. It’s the same sneaky nature that makes them so valuable.

If you had a similar question to Kevin then I hope this video is useful to you!

Thanks for watching the video!
-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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Brown Belt Rob

240lbs Brown Belt Killing My Butterfly Guard With Acrobatic Passing (Chewjitsu Rolling)

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Today’s No Gi rolling video has a ton of great exchanges. Everything from Back Mount counters to leg locks to defending my guard against some big dudes! My favorite roll from this week’s rolling video is against my Brown Belt Rob who is 240lbs and moves like he is small guy at times and was shutting down my Butterfly Guard game with his hop overs and quick guard passing. It really is a fun exchange to watch.

I ended up bailing on the Butterfly and did a weird slide by to get around to the back. In case you’re wondering I finished the roll with a wrist lock.

Hope you guys enjoyed the video!
-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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Black belt

Gracie Jiu-jitsu Brown Belt Doesn’t Want A BJJ Black Belt

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Today’s Q&A question comes from our friend who is a Gracie Jiu-jitsu Brown Belt who recently had to move to a new area which doesn’t have a Gracie Jiu-jitsu gym. He said he started training at one of the local Brazilian Jiu-jitsu gyms and training is fine. That said, he says he wants to receive his Black Belt from his previous coach.

Now he’s curious as to my experience with a situation like this is where you have a new gym, new instructor but want a belt from your old coach.

In the video I talk about my ideas on the situation based upon experiences I’ve had as a coach with students who were still being promoted under other coaches and also with my own students who moved away and wanted to belted with me.

I also give some basic advice on how I would encourage our friend to proceed with the situation.

Hopefully if you’re in a similar situation this video is helpful.

Thanks for watching!
-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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Statue Of Liberty Grip

“Statue Of Liberty” Grip Makes Your Omaplata Easier to Finish

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Today’s BJJ technique video is a Oma Plata setup and finish in No Gi. With this technique I use Diamond Guard (you might have another name for it) to setup the submission.

You can watch this previous video I did to get more attacks from the position.

4 Effective Submissions for White Belts with a Weak Guard in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

I also share one of my favorite ways to control and break down the Oma Plata position in no gi which is the “Statue of Liberty.” It’s a simple queue of controlling the foot and extending it away from the persons body. This has helped me a ton with being able to keep the person from countering my Oma Plata attempt during Brazilian Jiujitsu competitions or rolling.

Lastly I encourage you if using the submission to be careful as it’s a Kimura with the legs and is attacking the shoulder. Be sure with your training partners to take it slow on the finish.

So if you’re looking for Oma Plata setups or finishes then I hope this video is useful to you and your training.

Thanks for watching!

-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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