Uncategorized Archives - Page 3 of 15

Don’t Underestimate the Kindness of Strangers

November 29, 2018/in Uncategorized /by Chewy

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

I Love BJJ But my Family Hates It!

November 19, 2018/in Uncategorized /by akatbreeziie

I love BJJ training but my family hates it! What should I do? This is the question I got from our friend Liz who is a White Belt in today’s Chewy Ramble.

I related to Liz because when I started Wrestling, BJJ and MMA. My mother was very much against the idea. Now she was super supportive. She always had my back. But she didn’t like the idea of me fighting.

I don’t think she was against BJJ or MMA because she hated it, but because she was concerned for me.

I remember when I won my 1st MMA fight. I showed my mom and after seeing the fight.My mom hit me and called me mean! And she would always ask me, “Why are you doing this?” Now even though she didn’t like it, she respected it. And she respected it because of the hard work I put into it and the dedication she saw.

In the video I share how I believe Liz’s family will slowly begin to respect her decision to get into Brazilian Jiujitsu and grappling. It happens overtime because they realize that it’s REAL, it’s not going away.

So Liz, I hope this video was helpful.

And if you’re into BJJ and having a similar issue, I hope it’s helpful to you.

-Chewy –

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Chewy pulls guard…

November 13, 2018/in Uncategorized /by akatbreeziie

After 40 minutes of rest and drinking a mixture of amino acids, electrolytes with fast digesting sugars.I was recovered from my brutal 2nd round match.

In the next match. I locked up and controlled position on the feet and my opponent pulled guard.

Immediately I worked for the pass and eventually took the back and was able to secure the rear naked choke.

I squeezed so hard that I ended up pulling my lat and bicep. Crazy!

After another round of my magic potion I was back on the mats again. This time up against, what seemed to be a tough wrestler.

I’ve been around wrestlers my entire adult life and they grapple a certain way. It’s hard to explain.

So for efficiency sake I pulled Half and Butterfly Guard. My students asked me why I did this. My takedowns were working so well.

I told them it’s because I felt like I would be just as effective on bottom or top against this guy. It’s a gamble of course, but it paid off.

I was able to sweep him and get to Half Guard. From there I waited till the points started and then passed to side control. And ended up having a good attempt on a armlock and almost took his back but just couldn’t quite get it and I won by 3 points.

2 takeaways from these matches are

1. When competing be strategic.

I could have taken the wrestler down I believe. But it would have been a lot more work.

I’m a believer in aggressive guard pulling as a means of standing techniques.

It’s why I include them in my Wrestling for BJJ Series.

Click above to see options I give for aggressive guard pulling.

You want to be multi faceted and have options from all positions. And more than likely you’ll face someone with better takedowns eventually.

I was also mindful of where I was at with the points round and waited to spring my guard passing attack. If I had passed before points started I would have missed this.

2. Commit!

Whether it’s pulling guard or going for a rear naked choke. When you go for something. COMMIT! 100%.

There will always be risk. But you’ll never know unless you commit yourself to what you’re doing.

Talk to you guys next time!

-Chewy –

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Louisville KY 40258
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My best & worst mindset for BJJ competitions

November 11, 2018/in Uncategorized /by akatbreeziie

I operate best when I feel like my back is against the wall.

My main goal is not to win, but more so to give it the best I have and lay it all out on the mats.

This weekend I stepped out into my 1st four matches with the mindset of,

“I’m not here to win, or lose.

I’m here to chase submissions and do the best BJJ I can do.”

And it worked terrifically!

Then as I hit the semifinals (the medal rounds) I began to feel good and think, “I might win this thing.”

Bad move for me. I got comfortable.

I met Tim Spriggs (a ferocious competitor) in the Semis and I came in with a mindset of focusing on the win and feeling good.

I had lost my back against the wall mentality. And I paid for it in the form of being guillotine choked quickly.

That’s not to say I would have won, but I could have given him a better go than that.

During my last match I begin to hone in and return to my “back against the wall” mindset.

I cared less about the podium and more about attacking.

I scored a takedown to a quick straight armlock.

I used that same straight armlock to finish 2 matches that weekend and nearly finished a 3rd before the ref intervened.

If you’d like to learn it. After purchasing my Wrestling for BJJ Series there is an offer for a 2017 Seminar Series.

My Straight Armlock is Lesson #6 on that series (which includes some of my favorite moves I showed in seminars).

If you see the smug face I have in the picture.

It’s not because I’m upset with third. But because for a moment I lost control of my mentality.

Success is great but it can create comfort. And comfort can be bad in a situation like a competition.

All and all it was a great event. And I want to thank you and everyone else for your support both in person and online.

Talk to you guys next time!

-Chewy –

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Specific Head Placement to Crush Butterfly Guard in BJJ

November 3, 2018/in Uncategorized /by akatbreeziie

The Butterfly Guard can be a tough position to deal with if you’re a Guard Passer. In a recent video where I was training with several tough Black Belts. I passed the Butterfly Guard.

In response to this video where I was passing. A lot of you were curious about how to stop the position of the Butterfly Guard.

In this video I show how to stop the sweeps and dismantle the Butterfly Guard position by a few specific adjustments.

The 1st being that I need to go to the opposite side that they are attacking. This will kill their position. Next to hold them in a bad spot. I use my head as a post against their neck.

This is a underutilized grip that does a great job of keeping people flat. Using the head is such an underutilized grip for most people in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. From there I talk about how to pass briefly.

While I don’t dive into it too deeply. If you’re able to control position in BJJ. The sweeps, submissions and passes come much easier.

So if you’re struggling to pass butterfly guard in Brazilian Jiujitsu. Try the tips I include in this video to stop the effectiveness of the position.

-Chewy –

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The Danger Of Scouting Out Your Opponents for BJJ Tournaments

October 12, 2018/in Uncategorized /by akatbreeziie

Today we got a question from Brad K. on Youtube and he wonders should you scout out your opponent for BJJ competitions or should you focus on your own gameplan?

And when preparing for a Brazilian Jiu-jitsu tournament does it change from White to Black Belt? It’s different for everyone. But for me, I don’t like scouting out my opponents too much.

First off, as the level of skill increases typically the amount of video footage increases, yet this is not always the case. But mostly Brown and Black belts have more film since they are performing at a higher level and have more people watching.

As I talk about in the video I typically do not like to scout my opponents for various reasons.

When I went to BJJ competitions and focused too much on what my opponent was going to do. I didn’t execute my own game plan effectively. And whenever I competed and didn’t have time to look people up.

I was able to perform much better. I will still glance at my opponent’s if I can, but only a glance. Just enough to know some of the techniques or strategy they may execute.

So if you’re like me. You might find it beneficial to not scout your opponents out too much and simply go in with a focus on your game plan, your techniques and jiu-jitsu abilities. Hope the video is helpful!

-Chewy –

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2 Bjj Arm Chokes They Won’t See Coming

September 19, 2018/in Uncategorized /by Chewy

Do you ever struggle with losing the Back Mount in BJJ?

If so then you know the frustration associated with it. You push yourself hard to get to the Back. Then once there, the person slips away from you.

It happens to everyone at some point. And I received a message from Andre who recently said he is losing Back Mount to both the under arm and the over arm of his harness grip during his BJJ training.

There are a lot of options that will help you maintain good positional control. But for the sake of addressing his exact question and situation he’s currently facing I didn’t want to dive into positional control.

Instead, I focus on a couple of Bjj arm chokes that you can use if you begin losing the Back Mount in Brazilian Jiujitsu.

2 BJJ Arm Chokes

In this video I’ll show you 2 BJJ arm chokes. The 1st is the Bulldog Choke if the person escapes to the under arm side of the seatbelt grip. This is actually one of my favorite chokes to hit in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu because of how unexpectedly it comes on.

And the second BJJ arm choke is the Arm Triangle Choke when they escape to the overarm side.

If you’re having a similar issue with losing the back and would like some submission options when they escape. Then I hope this video is helpful!

Thanks for watching!
-Chewy
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White and Black Chewjitsu Gis Available (Pre Order)

August 10, 2018/in Uncategorized /by Chewy

You know when we did the 1st Chewjitsu Gi Pre Order last year.

I was amazed. We were forced to close the site down a bit early and we ended up taking 100 gi orders from over 17 different countries.

It was crazy!

I loved seeing the pictures that flooded my IG and FB feeds of people sporting their gis during training.

And the best part were some of the stories of you rolling in your gis for the first time.

. . .Or if you were like Sara who was dealing with a new found illness, if lifted your spirits.

I even had 2 guys come to a seminar of mine. They both came in sporting their grey Chewjitsu gis.

They didn’t know each other or anything. But they instantly started chatting and hanging out.

That’s why this is more than a Gi. It’s about our big community. It’s not just a random brand. It’s us.

There was a problem though! The grey gis aren’t always competition or gym friendly. So this time we are doing White and Black! Also going to include some extra goodies to go with the gis.

A few special surprises for everyone who Pre Orders as part of this batch.

Anyways, I again, I cannot express how much I appreciate the support and positive vibes you guys send my way. I hope that you love your new Chewjitsu gi.

If you read the email earlier this morning I said I would send you the link around 8pm EST.

Well. . . I lied. I’m sending the link an hour early!!

Pre Order your Custom Black or White Chewjitsu Gi today!

Here’s the link! https://chewjitsu.myshopify.com/

Talk to guys next time!

-Chewy

P.S If you have any questions or issues ordering let me know. I’m using Shopify this time to make the process smoother and easier for faster shipping!

My Black Belt Opinion on Neck Cranks in BJJ Training

August 8, 2018/in Uncategorized /by Chewy

How do you tell your partner it was a Neck Crank during BJJ training and not a Choke without seeming whiny or upset?

Well technically I believe what we do is actually a strangle. As the definition of strangle is . . .
“squeeze or constrict the neck of (a person or animal), especially so as to cause death.”

But we’ll use choke to keep it simple for this BJJ video. 🙂

How to Bring Up Neck Crank Vs Choke

In this video I got asked how to bring up the somewhat taboo topic of letting your partner know that their choke was in fact a crank.

A lot of times people in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu dislike the neck crank and consider it a dick move. Primarily because it often just hurts and creates injury. Whereas a clean choke actually puts someone to sleep with typically no injury.

For some of you younger grapplers. Neck cranks may not seem like a big deal. But they can potentially damage the cervical spine and keep you off the mats for a while if not forever in some cases.

But as I talk about in the video. The neck crank is a legit submission and should be respected as such. And in gym training it may be a smart idea to tap to them to avoid risk of injury to your neck.

But that said, I think many of us would like to and probably should aim to secure that clean choke which puts someone to sleep rather than causing them to walk around stiff as a board for a week.

And in that case I believe it’s important for BJJ practitioners to communicate with their training partners. Sometimes during the submissions themselves. Help each other out so that you can make one another better.

In this video I discuss how to bring up the subject of whether or not it’s a choke or crank without coming across as a sore loser.

Hope the video helps!
-Chewy
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