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How Bloodsport shaped my BJJ journey (yeah I know. . . Bloodsport)

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The Martial Arts Movie Factor and rather amusing analogy

So before you start reading this post I want you to think back to all the different martial arts movies you may have watched over the course of your life. My favorite martial arts movie when I was a kid was Bloodsport. That movie probably had more impact on me than any other movie I’ve ever watched. I remember being so impressed with the martial arts skills of Jean Claude Van Damme and I would ohh and awe at the sight of Bolo Yeung’s massive physique.  Now when you are thinking about your martial art movie, I want you to think about the training montage that it inevitably had at some point.  The main character of the film more than likely had been beaten or wronged earlier in the movie and at the time their skills were not sufficient to tackle the obstacle. After this is when the montage typically started. The wronged martial artist then goes into training with a feverous pace, pushing their body and mind to the breaking point. Once the adequate skills were acquired they go to accomplish their goal and make themselves and their teacher proud. In the case of Bloodsport, Jean Claude Van Damme trains with his instructor in seclusion. When the montage begins he is beaten up and thrown all over the place. Over the course of the few minutes (accompanied by music from Stan Bush. . .hell yea) you see Jean Claude progress and he begins to slowly get the better of his teacher. Eventually he exceeds the skills of his master and is ready to take on anything that stands in front him. Whether it be a 80s arcade game or an evil muscle bound martial artist in the Kumite.

The Headhunter Mentality

Throughout my time in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu I have always sought to better myself and push my body and my skill to their limits. An effect of this ambition is that I became a sort of head hunter when I would rolled. I wanted to beat higher belts and my instructors, and I wanted to attack them all out in order to prove that I could push them.  Even if I couldn’t submit them I might be able to pass their guard or get a close sweep. When I was a white belt I would roll with a purple or brown belt with the same “I want to win” mindset. While I knew my attempts would be futile, if I could just make them adjust or scramble then in my mind, I had won. I believed that if I could catch them off balance or execute a move on them then I was progressing.  Just like in the martial art movie montages.

Passing the mentality on to my students

Recently I was asked from a few of my less experienced students if it was ok to go after the higher ranking belts when rolling. After reading the previous paragraph you should know my answer was yes.  I feel like the atmosphere of everyone pushing one another to new levels is the best.  Another student asked if he visited another gym if it was ok to roll hard with their students just like he does with his training partners at our gym. I told him that as long as everyone was in agreement that it would be a full on roll, then sure.  I personally would encourage students from other gyms who are visiting to go after my students and try to beat them so that they could learn from one another.

Recently I was told by one of my students who switched to our gym from another; that his old gym frowned upon hard rolling. I thought this to be silly and irrational. Then I have also recently seen an influx of talk recently about flowing more than hard training. When I read things denouncing the benefits of hard rolling I couldn’t help but sit back and shake my head.  I mean there is a time and a place for flowing and lighter rolling, like when you are injured, working a new position, drilling, rolling with newer students, etc.  Even when I roll easier with less experienced students I expect them to attack me with their full effort.  Flow rolling can never teach the practical application of a technique like hard rolling, or teach a student how to deal with the natural stresses that a physical engagement brings.

What is hard rolling in my opinion?

When I say “hard rolling”, understand I don’t mean being a spaz or recklessly aggressive. Instead I mean pushing yourself and your partner with the full brunt of your technique fueled by your body’s athletic threshold in relation to grappling. Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is about technique first and foremost, and then the body enters the equation.

Is this mentality correct?

With all this said, I’m an open minded person and believe we can always improve, so I began to do a little introspection and see if my mentality was negative or disrespectful.  I thought pretty hard about this, talked to several of my students at all levels, and consulted my instructors as well as read interviews with successful BJJ practitioners.  The questions I was trying to answer for myself were. . .

1. Is the mentality of my training disrespectful?

2. Is this style of training productive and conducive to growth and skill?

3. Are my students happy?

4. Am I happy with what I have helped create?

Below are my answers and the thought process that went into them.

  • Is the mentality of my training disrespectful?

No, it is not disrespectful to train very hard and attempt to best your training partners and opponents. In the end this is a one on one sport and while we do belong to teams and affiliations, its all about personal growth.  How can you expect to push yourself and your friends if you never open up? I also looked around at my students after a hard training session where everyone had tried their best to submit one another and everyone is smiling, laughing and happy.  I also thought about my own journey. Did I ever attempt to beat my friends and training partners out of ill feelings or disrespect? Not even close, in fact it was the direct opposite! I respected their games so much that I felt forced to go hard and use my best techniques in order to best theirs.  Honestly I would find it disrespectful or out of place if the person did not roll hard with me, assuming this was that kind of training we engaged in at the time.  I was also always trying to show my instructors that I was a good student and that I was getting better, just like in the martial arts movies!

  • Is this style of training productive and conducive to growth and skill?

I believe the answer is an easy yes. By pushing one another we continually sharpen our skills and grow together. The old phrase “iron sharpens iron” would not be out of place to help explain my theory. We are also a competition school and have to continually test our game against other gyms and we consistently do very well.  Next , I read through interviews of well-respected and highly decorated BJJ players to see what they may have said on the subject of hard training. All the interviews revealed that they thought hard training was not an option but rather a necessity for Brazilian Jiu-jitsu to be effective and to learn how to apply it properly.  Lastly, training hard doesn’t mean you can’t experiment with your game. Mistakes and losing are necessary parts of growth and by having your techniques beaten you can see what sort of flaws are in your game.  Experimenting with new moves and techniques essentially allows you to plug holes in your game or to expose gaps that you may have not even noticed!

  • Are my students happy?

As stated earlier after hard training sessions my students all have smiles on their faces. Granted they are breathing heavily and pools of sweat lay at their feet, but they are all happy that they pushed themselves and their partners that day. Sure sometimes they will have ups and downs which are a common occurrence. Maybe a lower belt caught them in a submission or maybe they were just off that day or perhaps they’re hitting a plateau.  All this doesn’t matter because all in all the experience is positive. Also my competitors and fighters are happy with the results of their hard training when they return with medals, belts, prize money, bragging rights, etc.  My non competitors are happy with the weight loss, improvement of themselves and being a part of a successful team which they helped create.  Many of my students will train at other gyms from time to time, whether because of travel or because of curiosity. They always return very happy with the results and are excited to tell me how their styled fair against others. I would safely say that yes my students are happy.

  • Am I happy with what I have helped create?

I am incredibly happy with the gym and with my students. Our gym has produced champions and medalists in the Worlds, Pans, numerous IBJJF tournaments, Grapplers Quest, N.A.G.A, E.G.O, O.G.C, and the list goes on. Along with these impressive competition results we have help people of all walks of life achieve weight loss and fitness goals. More than this though, is the community we’ve built. When I see the brotherhood and unity between my students I can’t help but be ecstatic about the atmosphere we have created. A bond built with blood and sweat.

 Conclusion

After going through this and trying to examine the situation at all angles I have decided that for myself and my students that we will continue to train hard, push each other all in the confines of mutual respect and brotherhood for the betterment of ourselves. While some instructors may not agree or choose to take this approach I feel that it is the best way to train and the best way to build proper effectiveness in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. Also, I believe my job as a BJJ teacher is to make my students better than I am. When I eventually have one my students submit me when I am giving them my all then I have achieved, in my eyes, one of the ultimate accomplishments as an instructor. The only way this accomplishment is possible is through hard training and pushing one another. My student has to become like Jean Claude Van Damme in Bloodsport (or the main character of any martial arts movie) and go after his instructor with their full effort.

P.S. Sorry for the silly movie analogy, but I figured it would be a good way to relate to all the martial arts geeks out there.

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Open Guard Sweep with Mustache

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If you’re watching this open guard sweep video and thinking to yourself, “man, this guy looks like an idiot”, then you are a well adjusted human being. After No-shave November I decided to have some fun with the guys at the gym and dress up like. . . well like I am in the video. The goofy mustache got some serious laughs so it was worth it.

Now while I may look like a mega turd bag, the sweep is legit and myself and several of my students have used it in tournaments and rolling session.

Enjoy!

Why I got started in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu

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What got me started in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu?

In my last blog post I talked about how my students and I took a moment after training to share our reasons for taking on this sport. Well, while I was talking with my girlfriend she asked why I didn’t share my story about how I got started. I thought about it and figured it would be fun to share what actually got me started in BJJ.  Now before I can jump into Brazilian Jiu-jitsu I have to start with why I got into high school wrestling which would eventually lead into BJJ.

I was a chubby kid who got beat up

So all of this grappling and athletic stuff was sparked by an event that happened when I was in 7th grade. While it had a profoundly negative effect on my life at first, I am glad it happened because without it I am not sure if I would have been drawn to wrestling.

While walking home one day from school I was followed and eventually jumped by 3 teenagers ranging between the ages of 16-18, I was 12. They punched me in the nose and struck me with a bat which hit my arm. During the attack I suffered a broken nose and a fracture in one of the bones that runs through my forearms. I had no idea who they were or why they chose me, but the event had a huge impact on my life. First off I began to gain a considerable amount of weight because I was afraid to do simple things like go outside and walk or ride a bike. When I would go outside I couldn’t help but feel like everyone was a potential attacker. I also grew scared of confrontation because I was terrified of being attacked like that again. When I younger I had gotten into plenty of young boyhood scraps and had stood up to my bullies. This event was different though and it had absolutely drained my confidence. 

Beginning High School and starting wrestling

In high school I looked at all the upper classmen who were wrestled and played football. They all seemed strong, muscular and tough which is what I wanted to be. I loathed being fat and afraid and wanted desperately to join in on the sports. Unfortunately my confidence was lacking and I found myself too afraid to sign up because I figured I wouldn’t be good enough. One day one of the coaches asked me to come to try outs and that’s pretty much where I began my high school athletic career. I started first with football and then wrestling. When I started in high school athletics I was around 230lbs and 5’9.

I fell in love with wrestling and I was so mad at myself for waiting so long to start.  I loved everything from the grueling practices that would make the walls sweat to the brotherhood that formed with my teammates. I was also thrilled about the effect it was having on my physical appearance. After only a few weeks I had lost 15lbs and felt amazing.  My first wrestling match gave me my first nickname which was “Tugboat”. When I pinned my opponent in the 2nd period I came off the mat wheezing so hard from exhaustion that it made an almost blow horn like sound, and my coach dubbed me Tugboat.  I would go on to have a moderate amount of success wrestling as a sophomore and junior.

My Senior Year

Toward the end of my Jr season in wrestling my coaches and teammates told me I should drop to 189lbs, and that I would be a beast at that lower class. After the season was over I started hitting the weight room really hard. I had always enjoyed lifting ever since my friend’s father introduced it to me when I was younger as a way to help build some confidence. Once my summer break started I began researching how to eat properly and how to exercise with the equipment I owned. I spent the summer mornings going for runs, in the afternoon I would lift or do wrestling drills. The runs took a lot of will power because I was really nervous about being out and around by myself. I ate rice, chicken, veggies, oatmeal, eggs and choked down protein shakes for the entire summer. One of the things I remember really well was running with my mp3 player and listening to the Foo Fighters. I kept envisioning myself walking off the mat after winnings regionals with a gold medal dangling from my neck.

When I returned to school to start my senior year I was about 5’11 and weighed about 200lbs. All of my classmates were amazed at how I looked and I have to admit, the positive attention was a welcomed change to the negativity I was used to.

That year I wrestled well, winning or placing in every tournament I went to and I became incredibly confident in the process. One added benefit was that I found out my newly developed wrestling takedowns were great against would be bullies.

Regionals

Regionals rolled around as it always does and I was seeded well going into it. I ended up winning my first match easily. Then a terrible thing happened . . . as one of my teammates was close to winning a close match I quickly stood up to my feet to cheer. I had been sitting indian style and when I stood I felt a rip in my knee. My leg locked out and was giving a weird pain that is hard to describe. I kicked my leg forward and felt a pop followed by a quick shooting pain. Slowly the pain subsided but my leg was very stiff and beginning to swell and to make matters worse my teammate lost that match.

I ended up wrestling two more matches and winning regionals, and by the end of the night my leg was swelling and walking was a becoming difficult. None of that matter though, I had accomplished what I had set out to do and I was very satisfied. I had won regionals and successfully improved the musculature of my body. I had went from 230lbs at the beginning of my wrestling journey to eventually wrestle at the 189lbs weight class my senior year.

I was not fortunate enough to repeat the same success at state. A bum knee and ultra-prepared opponents don’t mix well. I ended up losing my last match at state to an opponent I had already beaten three times that year.

When I actually started BJJ

In May of 2003 while I was wrapping up my last year of high school and I had originally planned to join the military but was not allowed to because the United States was now at war. My mother told me she was not losing her only son and would not allow me to enlist. That meant I was now going to be attending college and get an education. The university I was planned to join did not have a wrestling program which was kind of depressing. I really wanted to continue to do something; I wasn’t ready to simply hang it up.

 I had always liked the UFC and was becoming really interested in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. BJJ seemed to mix with wrestling very well and in many ways, looked a lot like wrestling. I eventually began to look up different BJJ gyms that were in the area. I guess I should specify that an actual BJJ gym was either scare or non-existent at the time, and that all of my BJJ training from 2003-2006 would take place in various rooms inside weight lifting gyms. I wanted to compete just like I had done in wrestling, so I contacted an instructor who said he was competition oriented. His name was Mike Yanez and he would become my instructor from May 2003 till July of 2007. Accompanied by my two best friends (who also wrestled) I attended my first class. We went over attacks from side mount and scarfhold. Mike Yanez called them the “triple threat” series and I was during the class at the techniques. I instantly fell in love with the sport much in the same way that I had instantly taken to wrestling. I competed within two weeks of beginning my training and won a silver medal. After that first tournament I was hooked and have never looked back since.

Things to take away from this blog

  1. If you’ve never tried BJJ then you should. . . right now. .  yes right now!
  2. Life has a way of kicking the crap out of you. Sometimes figuratively and sometimes literally! Don’t let your losses define you and instead use the failures and setbacks as a catalyst for further improvement. Failures are merely the seeds of success.
  3. Desire is an amazing force and if you really want something and have the desire inside of you, then go after whatever it is you want.

 

Lastly I hope this post illustrates why I am such a fanatic about the positive aspects of BJJ and grappling, and why I believe what I am doing is more than merely teaching a martial art. The sport of wrestling and BJJ changed my life and took a terrified overweight youth and turned him into a confident man. I hope that I am able to make the same positive impact on my students and friends that my various coaches made on me.

Special thanks go to my BJJ and Wrestling coaches :

Coach Robert Vinegar

Coach Kenny Barnes

Coach Marshall Pomeroy

Instructor Mike Yanez

Professor Colin Cannon

Professor Tommy Wales

Professor Kyle Cannon

Professor Renato Tavares

 

Here is the picture of my first match in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

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BJJ . . .a vehicle for positive change

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-Making a difference

Since I started teaching full time in 2010 I have been able to help build up a large BJJ program. Our gym can boast 50+ students in a class, Pan-Am and World championship titles and one of the most amazing atmospheres I’ve ever experienced in a gym. We train incredibly hard and are incredibly supportive of one another day in and day out. With this positive atmosphere and hard training we have also been able to do something just as important as winning titles and recognition, and that is making a positive difference in people’s lives.

–A very cool moment as an instructor 

So the reason I decided to write this post is because at the end of our training tonight I had everyone circle up and share their story and why they started training. Each person answered the question about how they had stumbled upon the sport and they also began to share how the sport and the people they met had changed their lives. I didn’t ask them to do this but it just came out of each of them. They shared stories of how they lost weight, met new friends, became good at something, built confidence, stopped using drugs/alcohol and the list goes on. This was an incredibly uplifting moment, and the feeling to know that I get to be a part of that positive change was amazing! The whole time we were congratulating each other on our accomplishments and applauding one another, it was really awesome.

-Kids too!

I used to hate teaching kids. . . then as my kids got proficient at BJJ I was content with teaching them. I mean I loved the kids (partially because I am big one myself) but teaching them stressed me out. Then two things happened that completely flopped that feeling around. One day a student of mine who had been picked on in school came into the gym with a black eye. He was walking toward me with his mother leading the way and I started to think back to a few days before when I had told him a strategy for dealing with bullies. I was really nervous and just feared that maybe he had been hurt or perhaps his mother was mad at me for encouraging her son to fight in the necessary situation. I failed to see that he and his mother were both smiling from ear to ear. All I could see was the big bruise that seemed to swallow his eye whole. Once they were close enough they both hugged me and told him a story about how he stood up to his bully. His mother was so proud of him and my student felt liberated from the fear of the bully. Just for the record, the bully never messed with him again.

Then one day I had a student who had been on the larger side when he initially joined and had lost a considerable amount of weight, as well as getting very good at BJJ. Well, this student came up and hugged me after class was over. I asked him why he hugged me and he told me, “Thanks Mr Chewy for making me good at jiu-jitsu because I’ve never been good at anything before.” This moment really touched me.  These two moments happened very close to one another and made me realize the weight of what I was doing with the children. I wasn’t simply teaching a martial art to them, I was empowering these kids with confidence both physical and mental. I was building their physical fitness and improving their health. I was preparing them for an unfortunate reality of bullies and aggressive kids. Most importantly I was making a difference. This gave a new sense of purpose to my teaching and made me really love teaching kids BJJ.

–A most fortunate side effect

When I day dreamed about teaching/coaching BJJ I would often think about building champions and a tough competition school. I was able to help facilitate that with the help of my amazing students and its only getting better. What I was also able to do in the process is help make a positive impact in the lives of so many adults and children and I am so happy about that. However, it was a slight accident. I mean I am by nature a “glass is half full” kind of guy and I think that positivity rubbed off on my students, but I never really realized the impact I would have on others. Again this only possible because of a combined effort of myself and my amazing students.

-Side note to all higher belts

If you are a ranking belt in your gym and aren’t already doing so. . . be POSITIVE!! Lift up the lower belts and help make an incredible atmosphere for yourself and everyone that comes to your gym every single day you step foot onto the mats.Image

Another wrist lock for BJJ

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Wrist lock from butterfly guard

Failure, the price of ambition/in , , , /by

Failure strikes again. . .

I can’t breathe, and I begin to feel my consciousness slip. My opponents’ legs are locked tightly around my neck like a vice, and my arm is sticking through the lock dangling.  My body feels frozen in place, petrified that I am in a submission and that I am about to lose a match or pass out. I try to think of how to counter this attack as my opponent grips the back of my head to apply more pressure on the lock. My peripheral vision fades and blackness is beginning to close in to the center of my view.  My mind is clouded by a state of panic. I begin to slap the legs that are wrapped around my neck and shoulder to signal surrender, and the lock is released. I slump back to my butt then quickly fall to my back staring up at the ceiling lights. With a deep breath my vision is restored, my body calms and I begin to grasp what just happened. Out of the corner of my eye I see my opponent standing with his hands raised above his head in victory walking the mats while his team cheers. Then the feeling of losing sets in and I realize that I’ve been bested and I am the defeated grappler. I stand and walk towards the referee who then grabs both of our wrists and raises my opponents arm.  We shake hands and walk off the mat . . . head hung low knowing that I put myself into this position, and that this failure is simply the price of ambition.

Rough times as a purple belt

Failure is the price of ambition . . . what an interesting thing to think about. In order to succeed we must fail at some point? Seems kind of contradictory to what we might think, doesn’t it? However, this is the truth! In order to succeed we must fail. Whether this occurs in the gym during our training sessions or in tournaments and competition, it is a vital for progress. The story you just read was a description of a match I had years ago. I was being triangle choked in a purple belt tournament, and this would be the first of many losses I had as a purple belt. During my time as a purple belt I found my dedication to this sport tested but the failures that came worked as a catalyst for improvement and learning.

I clearly state I had no idea what to do, yet I was a purple belt? How can this be, surely a purple belt would have some idea as to what to do? My years spent as a purple belt were rough at times. I had been a constant competitor as a white and blue belt and I quickly climbed to my purple belt which was given to me by my instructor in just around 2 years. 2 years to purple belt, pretty good progress right? Well maybe not as much as you would think. With the new rank I had very mediocre results at first. I would win some tournaments after hard fought battles only to go to another tournament where I would be outclassed by a much more skilled opponent.  My game was very narrow and efficient and if you played into it I would win, but if you made me play a different game I was typically ill equipped for it. I ended up moving to another gym because my current instructor was not dedicated to helping me grow and get to the level I know I needed to get to. When I came to the gym that I would come to call home my new instructors Colin and Kyle Cannon instantly picked apart my weakness.

What was my biggest weakness you might ask?

Well, it was the reluctance to try new things, the fear to fail. I had been so competition oriented with my training even in the gym that it caused me never to open up. Even with lower belts my old instructor taught me not to give them an inch and continually grapple just to win.  This caused me to have a very narrow style that could be exploited easily if someone was to engage with me in a way I wasn’t prepared for.  I would see this happen numerous times as a purple belt. Skilled opponents would use techniques that I was unable to combat at the time. My new instructors made me try and explore positions that I was absolutely terrible from, and in the beginning I struggled a great deal! I was finding it tough being one of the “top” guys in the gym and getting my guard passed by a white belt as I clumsily fumbled with my de la riva or half guard. This continued for about 7 long and at times exhausting months and then it was as if a light bulb had been turned on. Suddenly I found myself was able to work proficiently from what were once my worst positions, and I was soon able to apply this newly developed group of techniques to high level guys in the gym and in tournaments. This came as a result of constant drilling and rolling from these positions that were lacking.

I cannot stress how amazing this felt.  I had finally emerged out of this long rebuilding phase of my Brazilian Jiu-jitsu journey, a time which was filled with a lot frustration.

Explore and open your game

The idea of this blog post is to understand that failure is a necessary part to progress. If you are not losing and aren’t being beaten then how do you know your weak points or where you need to improve? Even if you are a high ranking belt at a gym you can still play positions you are weak from to make yourself better.  My problem was that I never allowed to play with any position that wasn’t my “bread and butter” and this hindered my growth. I was stuck in the same old moves and techniques and my skills never grew to combat the new problems and evolving jiu-jitsu of the higher level of competition and skill I was now facing.

Now we must never accept failure as inevitable but simply as a possible consequence of us expanding our games and testing new techniques. You should never walk onto the mat with the mindset that you are going to lose but be prepared to make the adjustments if you do.  Think of an inventor or scientist. They rarely discover what they are looking for right off the bat, but with persistence and a bit of trial and error they will find what they are looking for.

3 important things to learn

So I know I did a lot of rambling in this blog, but here are the ideas I would like for you to take away from it.

  1. Don’t be afraid of failure and embrace new challenges and obstacles.
  2. Take every defeat in stride and dissect it to find the reason you lost so that you can correct them. Whether in the gym or competition.
  3. Be persistent, even when things get tough.

Btw here is a cool quote a friend sent me when I talked to him about this subject of failure relating to BJJ.  .  .

“I am not judged by the number of times I fail but by the number of times I succeed, the number of times I succeed is in direct proportion with the number of times I fail and keep trying.”

 

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How to pick a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu school

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How to pick the right BJJ School for you!

I am a Brazilian Jiu-jitsu instructor and I know going into a gym can be a very intimidating thing. Just going into a place and learning a skill from a complete stranger can be a challenging obstacle to overcome regardless of what that skill is.Now couple that with the fact gyms can sometimes be associated with meat heads/tough guys types and you’re going to be learning a potentially deadly martial art, and just stepping your foot in the door can seem terrifying. Now, don’t let your fears of getting started thwart your enthusiasm for learning Brazilian Jiu-jitsu because it will be an amazing experience as long as you pick the right gym.

How do I pick the right BJJ gym?

You want to make sure that you pick the right gym for you because this is going to become your sanctuary from all the regular stresses of life and you will make great new friendships with so many different people. Over the years I have talked to many of my new students and they have expressed some common concerns or questions that they had when going into the process of choosing a gym. Below is a step by step process I would follow if I was looking for a gym and some tips to consider as well.

  • How to find and decide on a school

1. Do a search and locate all of the BJJ gyms in your area.

2. Call these gyms, ask any questions you have and schedule a free class. If they don’t offer a free class than move on and “X” that school off your list.

3. Go into the gym and check it out. Meet the staff, student base and attend a class. You may feel a little awkward at first and this is natural, but you should feel respected and valued by the instructor and the student base should be friendly. If you at anytime feel disrespected then you should move on to another school.

4. After attending you first BJJ class you should have two things going through your head. Those thoughts should be about the awesome experience (i.e how friendly everyone was and the cool techniques you learned) and the great workout you had. If you finish class with a negative vibe then something is wrong. However, If you’re just feeling down on yourself because you didn’t tap anyone and/or you fudged up your moves during the technique portion of class, get over it! Hah, remember its your first night and this stuff takes years to master.

5. After you have tried the free class its time to make a decision. Think of the gym, the people, the instruction and how you felt. If you felt welcomed and enjoyed your time then its time to start training!

  • Is it that simple?

Yes its that simple. Remember. . . we as instructors and gym staff are here to serve anyone that walks through our doors. We want you to show up because we want to teach,help and share with people this amazing martial art that we love. Without students in our gyms we have no purpose and we are simply a building with a bunch of useless equipment. Mats are worthless if there aren’t students on them.

  • Dont

1. Don’t make your decision based only on location or price. If there is a great gym near you and has an affordable price then great, but don’t make your decision based only on those criteria. Would you rather pay more for a comfortable environment, better instructors, friendly student base and a place that you are going to want to go back to everyday, or pay less and get locked into a contract to a place that you don’t really enjoy ?

2. Don’t be afraid to ask any questions you may have. Remember we are here to serve YOU!

3. Don’t fall victim to false instruction. With the popularity of mma and the UFC more and more people are trying to make a quick buck off of new comers and its criminal! Do a search on the instructor at the gym on Google and see what you can find.

  • Miscellaneous Tips

1. You’re never too old. I have students that range from 5 – 70 in my gym. In fact, just recently I watch a 65 year old student of mine submit several young guys in class.

2.BJJ classes are typically filled with a very unique group of people. There aren’t many meat head types that stick with our sport, because its too humbling and doesn’t provide instant gratification.I say this because one of the biggest concern new students had coming into the gym is that they would be surrounded by a bunch of “tough guys”.

3.If you are interested in competitions be sure that your gym has competitors and if the high ranking belt is an active competitor that is even better.

4. Don’t expect much when you first start training, its like teaching your body a new language and takes time to settle in. The learning curve for BJJ in my experience is at least a month at bare minimum with an average of 3 months before you and your body have a general idea of what they are doing. Remember though, you’re still a beginner.

5. Once you are a student don’t be a belt chaser. Be a technique chaser. Just learn as much as you can and enjoy your journey.

  • What to expect for your first class

Most bjj class follow a pretty routine class format. Sometimes they are slightly different but they all involved a few key sections.

1. Warm up. This can be everything from a little running, push ups, movement drills, etc. Just something to get the body warm, blood flowing and mind ready.

2. Technique. This is the time of class that is devoted to a teaching a particular set of techniques.

3. Rolling. This is when you try to use the techniques you’ve been learning on a full resisting and fully active opponent. Typically rolling will either start on the knees or in one of the positions you were working in class.

4. Bow out. Typically after the rolling portion class is followed by the bowing out which concludes class. This is usually a few words from the instructor, maybe a recap of class and then a bow out followed by a hand shake with each instructor and student.

Happy gym hunting. If you are still having doubts and worries about trying BJJ just disregard them and go try a class, or if you have a concern that I didn’t address please send me a message or comment on this post so that I can help.

Metamoris

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This weekend the Metamoris Pro Jiu-jitsu Invitational is going on in San Diego, California. I cannot tell you how excited I am about this event! I love the idea of jiujitsu matches done in a way that showcases them much like an mma or boxing event. The organizers have been building up to the hype with videos and showcasing their grapplers leading up to the event just like you would see in the UFC or some Boxing pay per view. The best part of course, is the match ups! You have so many big names from the BJJ community competing, and with a submission only format its going to be insane!

Below is a list of the match ups and a little prediction on them.

Roger Gracie vs Buchecha
This is a great match up. Roger was a dominant world champion with an incredibly basic and brutally efficient game. Next you have Buchecha who is a very tough and incredibly active big guy. He was able to dethrone Rodolfo this year and took the absolute black belt division in a match that is regarded as one of the best of all time at a time when Rodolfo looked nearly invincible.
Prediction:I am going to take Roger. I think if it was a standard tournament with rules that it would favor Buchecha who I consider to be the more athletic of the two. Roger loses from time to time but he doesn’t get submitted and his game is very submission oriented, as seen with his numerous wins at high level tournaments. That being said I think Roger will need to watch for his legs because Buchecha has shown some nice leg locks.
Andre Galvao vs Ryron Gracie
This is an interesting match up. You are taking Galvao who is in the upper crust of BJJ competitors and then you match him up with Ryron who doesn’t compete yet is known as a very skilled BJJ fighter.
Prediction: I am going with Galvao. This match is hard to give an accurate prediction because we know what Galvao can do but we don’t have a great idea as to what Ryron can do. I have seen a few matches of Ryron competing and he always looked very skilled but those were years ago and against people who are not the caliber of Galvao.
Kron Gracie vs Otavio Sousa
I think this has the potential to be one of the most exciting matches of the event. You are taking two guys that are both top level competitors, both incredibly active and you’re tossing aside points and letting them go for the submission.
Prediction: I am going to take Kron in this one. I think the match will be back and forth but I am going to take him simply because the guy is always hunting for the submission even in point based tournaments.
Dean Lister vs Xande Ribeiro
You’re taking two of the old school guys that are still tearing it up. Dean Lister just tore up the Abu Dahbi and Xande is Xande who is always tough.
Prediction: I am going to take Dean in this one. Xande showed some hiccups against guys like Joao Assis with their leg lock attacks and I think that plays right into Dean’s game. We will see if Xande has made the adjustments because Xande has always continued to improved his game and is one of the reasons why he has been at such a high level of competition for so long.
Jeff Glover vs Caio Terra
RE-MATCH! Their first one was an excellent match with Glover pulling ahead at the end of the match. Now what happens with no points? I think it will change the dynamic of the match completely and provide for an exciting roll with two ultra talented grapplers.
Prediction: I’m taking Glover. Caio Terra is a monster on the mat but I think the crafty Glover will pull away with the victory.
Kayron Gracie vs Rafael Lovato
This match is a little hard for me to put a spin on. I have watched Lovato for years but I haven’t always watched Kayron as closely. I went back to watch some of Kayron’s matches to get a better idea of who he is and what kind of style he plays.
Prediction: I’m going with Lovato. The most decorated American BJJ competitor is always a force on the mat and I think his game will give Kayron some issues. That being said, after watching more of Kayron’s matches and catching up with his style I wouldn’t be surprised if he pulls out the submission.
So Sunday, go out and support Metamoris! Watch some great matches and help support this idea of having more events like it.
Here are the links to their website and youtube.
Their website is www.metamoris.com  and you can check out their videos on their youtube channel. – Give your students your undivided attention during class. Period!

Having a bad day?

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BJJ has so many benefits. Everything from physical fitness to mental well being. I think it’s one of the reasons it’s so popular and why people often get “bit by the bug” after training for just a very short time. I noticed these benefits when I first started training, and have noticed them with my students as well. They vary from person to person, but typically have a very positive effect on everyone’s physical and mental health.

One of the benefits that has always had an overall positive impact on my life is the stress relief that comes from a great training session.

On many occasions, I find myself troubled by all sorts of problems as I head to the gym. At times I feel overwhelmed and as if the proverbial “light at the end of the tunnel” is nowhere to be found, but nevertheless, as I walk through the doors of my gym, I am greeted by the contagious smiles of my friends and students. Almost immediately my body queues itself up for training, and seems to turn the tide on the bad mood I walked in with. I then take in the distinct smell of the gym — depending on the time of day, it may smell like bleach and cleaning supplies, or a sort of misty sweat. There is also the sensation of putting the gi on, as the kimono’s thick cotton construction brushes along my, and ends with tying the belt around my waist.

Likewise, the feeling of the firm, yet slightly giving mat below my feet, coupled with the unique sound of my feet touching the mat as I walk to greet my training partners and students. Finally comes the sound of a gi scraping across the mat as we perform warm up drills.  That sound. . . gives me a strange feeling of comfort. I know it may sound silly, but even when I watch an instructional or techniques demonstration from the seat of a chair at home, and I hear the sound of kimono moving along the mat, I instantly have a slight feeling of comfort. 

My body and mind is conditioned by these smells, sounds, and feelings since they are always followed by a training session. A good workout always leaves me more mentally relaxed and happier in general, but it also allows me to clear my head of negative thoughts and feelings that once seemed unbearable and to think more rationally. This side effect of training has been invaluable to me over the years. When I was 18, one of my old lifting mentors said to me, “Nicky, I never make a tough decision until after a good lift”.  Although he was referring to lifting weights, the same endorphin boosting properties of a good lift with friends, are fully present in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu training.

I like post relatable personal experiences, so I will do the same in this post. In August 2010 my mother was diagnosed with cancer. Over the next year I would experience the hardest thing I’d ever had to deal with in my life. I moved in with my mom to help provide better care and make sure she always had someone around. I would take her to treatments, cook her meals, talk to her, etc. Things that I know we would all do or have already done.  Without my students, gym and training, I am not sure what kind of mental state I would have been in. The whole ordeal was incredibly taxing and broke me down mentally more than people probably knew. Hell, more than I knew at the time. When you are in the middle of something like that you have no idea just how much of a toll it’s taking on you until it is over. Those hours that I spent on the mat teaching and training provided me with a release and a few hours for my brain to turn off. When it was over I would go back to reality to face the stressors, but I could face them with a renewed sense of strength and resolve that came from the stress relief of the training. Over the course of the year the cancer did what cancer does, and my mother passed away in July of 2012. The release provided from training allowed me to be there for my mother in any way I could be, and helped me to be happy and perky around her, even if deep down I wasn’t. Along with this, the support from my friends at the gym was amazing and it made things so much easier to bear.

So, next time you’re  feeling a little crummy, depressed, frustrated, overwhelmed, upset or just down right terrible, be sure to make it in to your BJJ Academy. Converse with your friends, perform the drills and techniques, roll and let your brain turn off for a while so that you can be clear headed for yourself and your loved ones.

Thanks for reading and as always be free to share your thoughts or experiences.

—Chewy

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BJJ is for Everyone!

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Hey guys, this being my first post and all I wasn’t really sure where to take it. I decided to go ahead and post something for beginners in our sport that may be getting a bit discouraged. This post is inspired from the experiences I’ve had with different students and friends who I have met over the years, and who at one point or another in their BJJ journey thought that Brazilian Jiu-jitsu was just not for them. I hope this proves useful to anyone who is at a rough patch in their BJJ and that it may provide a little encouragement to keep going . . . because believe me BJJ is for EVERYONE!

Having trained in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu since 2003 I have had the pleasure to train and interact with hundreds of people. With that said, I can say with full confidence that anyone can be proficient at Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and I think this is one of the great things about the sport. You do not have to be the biggest, tallest, or most athletic guy out there to be a good BJJ player.  I will use my gym for example for much of this post. Currently we have members who come from every walk of life and it is amazing to see just how diverse a class can be from day to day. Kids, adults. . . men, women, children. . .construction workers, accountants, students, lawyers. . . huge guys, small guys. . .  you get the idea.  Being their instructor I have had the pleasure to guide these members along and watch them grow over the years and its really interesting to watch. Each person’s body type or athletic ability poses different advantages and obstacles. 

Some of my most accomplished students at first were not your ideal candidates for any sort of athletic endeavors. Here are a few examples. . .

* One of my students started off at 270lbs and after a year and a half was a blue belt who had won numerous competitions and had his first MMA fight at 170lbs. Along with becoming a a great athlete he has changed his whole life around.

*The student at my gym who has competed more than any of us started off as a young  11 year old who didn’t have a muscle to his body. Now he is 17 years old, has won numerous IBJJF tournaments and is a fantastic blue belt who uses his lanky frame to his advantage.

*A female student who started with me in 2011 took third at the IBJJF Worlds in 2012. Not too shabby for under a year of training.

*Another one of my students started with his older brother. His older brother had wrestled in high school and in the beginning would routinely beat his younger sibling on the mat. Fast forward 4 years and the younger brother is able to dominate  his older brother  and is one of the best purple belts in the gym.

This is just to name a few. Even I cannot claim to be a whiz at jiu-jitsu right off the bat! When I first started I was not exactly destroying guys on the mat. I had wrestled in high school and could take down many of my peers in class, but I was helpless once it hit the mat. I would often consider it a successful training session if I was able to get a takedown and sit in guard without getting submitted.  BJJ didn’t click for me until about 5 months later. . . and 5 months seemed like an eternity! Once things clicked though, my skills grew exponentially and I’ve never looked back.  

 

The reason for this post is because it is easy to get discouraged when you first start training and maybe feel like it’s simply not for you.  You may feel like you are training and not getting anywhere, but I promise if you stick with it and endure the rough start that it only gets better. A saying used in all sorts of sports is “if it was easy, everyone would do it” and this is the truth!  Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is not easy. . . you may have to make sacrifices such as cleaning your diet and staying away from junk food or giving up leisure time that you might normally use for tv watching.  The payoff is well worth it because BJJ is an amazing sport and if you continue to train and remain mentally and physically focused things will eventually click.  You will form bonds with your gym mates and make lasting friendships, have a fun way to exercise and stay in shape, and have a sanctuary to relieve you of all the stresses of day to day life.  Heck, someday you may find yourself in the position of your trainers encouraging the new guys to stick with it and helping them achieve their goals.

Some great books that I would suggest reading that dive into the ideas of deliberate practice, talent vs hard work and the “ten thousand hour rule” are Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin and Outliers by Malcom Gladwell. Both are great reads and offer very helpful and motivating insights into the world of athletics as well as into aspects of careers and our daily lives.

I hope you this post is useful and feel free to post with your own experiences, thoughts, etc.

Thanks guys!

–Chewy

 

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