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Review of our custom gi done by Da Firma

This is a video review of the custom gi that I had done for my students. Da Firma BJJ Kimono Company is the maker of the gi and I am incredibly pleased with the result. I was able to give my students a high quality gi with three patches for less than the price of the average high end kimono. The customer service was excellent as well! P.S I am terrible in front of the camera, so I apologize. But if you are looking for a top notch custom kimono, Da Firma is worth looking into.

www.dafirmabjj.com

Tackle and Grapple

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Today was my first women’s only class and it was great. I have a terrific group of women at Derby City and I wanted to give them a chance to have the mats to themselves. In fact, as men came in early to get a little drilling in. I would yell “penis” and motion them over to the other matted section of our gym. We had joked around before the session about the “Tackle and Grapple” skit done by Key and Peele thought that our interpretation of it made for a great picture.

 

From a coaching standpoint it was really insightful to watch them roll against each other because they were able to open up and go full speed. From a coaching standpoint this was fantastic. I was able to see what areas of their game lacked and what mistakes they made when they were going against one another at 100% effort.

If you don’t already have a female only mat time at your gym and you have a decent following of women, I would highly recommend starting one. 

Interview with Piet Wilhelm

Interview with Piet Wilhelm

Fellow Renato Tavares black belt, Piet Wilhelm, talks about his personal journey in the martial arts, current BJJ and shares some helpful training advice with me on the podcast. Starting off your training in grassy fields without a black belt to learn from isn’t most people’s ideal condition. But Piet managed to continue on and now runs a successful gym and affiliation, and he still steps out on the mat to compete.

I hope you guys enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed doing this interview.

Interested in getting your child into Brazilian Jiu-jitsu?

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Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is great for children. It helps them develop effective self-defense techniques, build self-confidence, increase their fitness and provides a great social outlet.  But, it is a bit different than many of the other martial art choices available. I’m writing this post for anyone who is interested in enrolling their child into a BJJ program but is unsure about what BJJ is or how it differs from other martial arts. First off, I am a black belt in BJJ and full time Brazilian Jiu-jitsu instructor to both adults and children. I absolutely love teaching kids and I’ve personally seen the positive impact it can have on a child’s life and that fires me up!

There are three main differences I tell parents about when they are planning on attending a BJJ class or when they bring their child in the gym for the first time.

First, there are no punches or kicks. That’s right, no punching and kicking unless it’s to explain how to defend against them. All the techniques in BJJ involve grabbing and what will appear as a form of wrestling. Sometimes it might even look a little weird, but I promise there is a reason for teaching these techniques.

Second, we have this thing called rolling. This is our version of sparring. During what we call a “roll”, students will use the techniques they learn in class and try to apply them against each other in a form of wrestling where both people are resisting. This is so useful for the child because it will help desensitize them to the stress of being grabbed. Rolling also helps the child understand how the moves work against a fully resisting opponent. Why are these things so important? Well if they are attacked by a bully at school for instance, a bully won’t be nice. The bully will grab and strike your child, if able, and if your child tries to fight back the bully will resist. This makes it imperative for your child to understand how to make their techniques work against a person who is fighting back.  

Third, in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu the belt system is way different than other martial arts. Most notably the fact that belts take longer to acquire, and children cannot obtain a black belt. We still have belts to provide an incentive for children but we do not have an overly saturated belt system with more belts and colors than you can ever hope to remember. Typically children will be promoted on a mixture of understanding and memorization, their ability to execute the techniques during rolling (most important) and attendance in class. In addition it’s not uncommon to see a child remain at the same belt level for 6 months or more depending on the belt level. In my eyes, this allows the child to develop work ethic and focus on the time spent training with their friends in class, rather than being constantly focused on a new belt to keep their attention. The child will still get a continuous supply of gratification. But instead of coming in the form of a new belt every month, it comes in the form of being able to successfully use new moves in class, being able to stand up to a bully at school or their noticing that their pants fit a little more loose than when they started.  I always tell my kids that belts alone are nothing but dyed pieces of cotton that anyone could buy. It’s the hard work they put into earning the belts that makes them something to be valued and respected.  

 

If done right, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu can be an amazing experience for your child. A life changing experience in some cases! In my own childhood, wrestling (which is very similar to BJJ and can be used as self-defense), filled me with an inner self-confidence that allowed me to feel comfortable being my nerdy, bookworm-self in high school. Instead of feeling like I had to fit in and do things that weren’t “me.” If you are interested in getting your child enrolled into BJJ be sure to take advantage of a free class that gyms offer. If they don’t offer a free class, I would personally pass. That free 1st class should be used to test your child’s enthusiasm for the martial art and allow you time to talk with the instructor and see if it’s the right fit for you and your family.

Oh and my last suggestion. If you do enroll your child into Brazilian Jiu-jitsu classes, you should try at least one BJJ class yourself. You may not like it and may not want to continue the training, but it will give you a deep respect for what your kiddo is accomplishing on the mat.

I hope this helps you with your decision on martial arts training for your child. If you have any questions feel free to email me at chewy (at) matwind.com and I would be more than happy to help you with any BJJ related question.

 

Thanks for reading!

Chewy

 

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Half Guard Sweep against a wrestler with an overhook

This is a half guard sweep that I’ve used and watched my students use both in the gym and in competition. Its a great option when you have an underhook but the opponent has a tight overhook and is forcing you into the mat. I see this a lot with wrestlers who will instinctively overhook in this position.

Teaching kids

I love teaching kids. I’ve said this before and I am positive I will say it again. Pretty regularly a parent will tell me how much their child has improved in some manner. Whether that be self-confidence, grades, behavior, etc and it really makes my day when I hear these sorts of things.  Here is a message one of my parents posted on Facebook.

“Joey is sooooo stoked about his belt testing coming up soon. I am so proud of how far he has come with his self confidence level @ Derby City MMA. His last stripe he earned was the highlight of his week, he was telling EVERYBODY :o) Can’t wait until his belt testing!!! Thanks for all you do Chewy and his other teachers/mentors!”

 

That pretty much made my night. Comments like that remind me why teaching children is a blessing and something to embrace, rather than something to shy away from because its difficult or uncomfortable compared to teaching adults. Even if I have a group of kids for a short time, that’s still enough time for me to have a positive impact on their lives. To etch positive images into their memories. Something that will stick with them, well into their adulthood. Think about all the things you experienced as a child and how the images are burned into your psyche. For better or for worse, many of the things we experience as youngsters have huge impacts later on in our lives in ways we would have never imagined. I would like to think that if I am able to instill a little self-confidence, mental & physical toughness, the skills necessary for basic self defense, and some discipline into a child, it will improve their lives as the grow older. Whether they continue to train with me or not.

 

 

 

 

 

New Podcast

New Podcast

Interview with Ezra Lenon. A guy from the midwest who received his black belt in 5 years and recently competed in the ADCC. I also know from personal experience that he is a tough dude to run into for a tournament. We had some fun back and forth matches. He shares some highlights and low points of his personal BJJ journey and shares a few tips for training and competitions. Thanks to Ezra for doing the interview.

http://matwind.com/2013/11/11/matwind-podcast-episode-4-ezra-lenon/

Suit Roll video!

A little video of the suit rolling sessions from this week!

Self Defense against Lawyers, Business Professionals and Hobos.

Last night was our 2nd annual suit rolling session. Once a year around Halloween we don suits that we bought at a Goodwill or any thrift store and . . . we roll. During this style of rolling it is important to submit your partner, but just as important is to rip their clothing. This is just a silly thing to do together and we had a blast. It is a lot of fun to see hard core competitors laughing till it hurt during a “rolling” session. If you ever want something stupid to do with your gym mates, try suit rolling, and if you do, please send me pictures! Enjoy the photos from the students and myself here at Derby City MMA in Louisville, KY!  😀

 

 

 Before rolling

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After rolling

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I’ll leave you with a mustachioed version of myself. Enjoy

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10 years in BJJ and 10 lessons I’ve learned (Part 5)

“Fortune favors the bold.” – Virgil

 

 

“Swift and resolute action leads to success; self-doubt is a prelude to disaster.” Joseph Addison

 

 

“Never mind about maneuvers, go straight at them” -Admiral Horatio Nelson

 

 

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There is more to Brazilian Jiu-jitsu than winning or losing; don’t be fearful of losing – Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is an amazing sport with a very competitive community. More and more tournaments and competitions pop up all the time. Even in the gym, practitioners roll hard to submit or out position their teammates. This healthy competition keeps BJJ an ever evolving and increasingly effective martial art. Despite it being labeled the “soft art”, in my eyes, true BJJ is rough. But its real and it’s honest. Without this competitive nature it would surely go the way of McDojo TMA’s where everything is linked to a hypothetical scenario that the instructor has never experienced (i.e stopping an armed gunman with a death blow to some pressure point).

This competitive streak is a double edged sword though. It can cause BJJ players to develop a fear of losing and make them shy away from opening up their game. Made a prisoner on the mat because of a faulty mindset and restricted to a select few techniques. I’ve personally been a victim of it and I’ve seen plenty of my students experience the same irrational fear. People will build up their opponent, and by the time the match comes around they are no longer focused on winning. Rather they are now concentrated on not losing. This misplaced fear and anxiety is detrimental to performance on the mats both in the gym and in competition. This post will focus on how it has personally affected me with some take away points at the end.

Unable to open up on the mat

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There are certain matches I can look back at where I was unable to open up with my game. These matches usually came as a result of a poor mindset walking out on the mat. The guy may have been a well-known competitor and I let it get to my head or maybe he had submitted me previously and I felt afraid of getting caught again. These matches, win or lose, are the worst. No matter the outcome I feel like I didn’t show my true self on the mat and that I didn’t perform to the best of my abilities.

Then there are those matches where I felt perfect. A strange sense of calmness took over my mind even if the match was going at a furious pace. I wasn’t worried about who my opponent was or the outcome of the match. Instead my concentration was completely centered on the moves I was trying to execute and the game I was trying to play. These matches are the best because, win or lose, I was able to display my game to the best of my ability because I wasn’t consumed by any inhibiting worry.

A few personal examples (I have so many more)

1. A few weeks ago was a match where I felt satisfied with the way the match played out even though I lost. Don’t get me wrong, I would have loved to come out with my arm raised, and I was close to doing so, but we can’t win them all. When the match started I was not worried about my opponent. I was just focused on engaging him and going after the win. The match between us was fantastic and at the end we were both exhausted. I was also able to see some of the things I need to work on leading up to bigger tournaments next year. It’s also worth mentioning that I received a sizable amount of recognition and admiration for this match even though it was a loss. People enjoyed that my opponent and I were moving and attacking the whole match instead of playing it safe. Granted I don’t think I could have played it safe against him even if I wanted! 

2. Last year I faced an opponent who had submitted me years ago as a purple belt. When we stepped on the mat I would be lying if I said the thought of being choked out years ago wasn’t running through my head. The match wasn’t anything to write home about. It was ugly, in the sense that neither of us really “went for it.” I ended up winning in overtime and I felt very disappointed with my performance. I knew I had more in me but I was being cautious because I didn’t want to lose again. Nothing worse than walking off the mat feeling like you lost, even though you had your hand raised. As luck would have it I had another match against the same opponent later on that day. This time I was not worried about the match that happened in 2008, instead I was solely focused on opening up my game to the best of my abilities. I didn’t want to feel disappointed after the match again. During this 2nd engagement I pulled guard, swept my opponent and secured a rear naked choke in less than 2 minutes. Nothing really changed between the two encounters that day except my mindset and my focus.  

3. When I was a white belt of 6 months I competed in the 2004 Arnolds. Relson Gracie ran the tournament back then and it was an incredible display of BJJ. Minus the fact that was poorly ran and you had no idea when you were going to compete. It was a two day tournament with gi and no gi running on different days. The no gi day was done in a way where white-purple belts made up the “amateur” division and brown/blacks made up the “pro” division. I was stuck in a mixture of guys who had been training from 6 months to 8 years. I know this because I talked with many of the guys in the warm up area and casually threw out the question, “how long have you been training?” When I walked out to the mat I was greeted with the face of a grappler who had been training for over 6 years. I remember smiling, shaking my head a little and laughing while I was walking out onto the mat. When we shook hands before the match I grinned a bit and told him, “don’t rough me up too bad.” Again the lack of fear came over me. I whole heartedly expected to lose this match and so I went into it with the mindset of “if I am going to lose, I am going to make him work for it.” During the match I was able to score several takedowns and managed to escape a few leg lock attacks. For some reason my opponent kept trying to wrestle with me for the takedown. I was clearly the superior wrestler in this match so I was more than happy to trade takedowns. If he would have played more of a ground based game I’m sure I would have been in trouble. The match ended with the points being 6-2 in my favor. This was probably the best moment I experienced as a white belt, beating a purple belt.  I was able to execute a great performance in this match because I had nothing to lose. I believed in my mind that I was going to be beaten and so my goal was simply to perform my best. This clear-headedness gave me the ability to get myself out of some nasty spots during the match and out position my technical superior for the win.

 

If you are reading this I would like you to understand that the idea of this post is to illustrate how harmful the fear of losing can be to a grappler. How so many of us get so wrapped up with the idea of just winning or losing, that it hinders our abilities. This can even happen in the gym sometimes as well. A little anxiety and nervousness before a tournament is necessary, it keeps us on our toes and gives our gives our minds an ultra-focused state. The problem arises when we worry about all the things that aren’t in our control. Our opponent’s abilities, how our students will look at us if we lose, the way our instructor will view us if we lose, how our teammates will look at the match if we lose, etc. I speak from experience when I say I’ve experienced all of these. I also speak from experience when I say that if you lose the probability of any of these things being affected in a negative way is almost nonexistent.  Instead we should focus on the things we can control such as our training leading up to the tournament, our skills and abilities and how we plan to win the match. We train hard and we do ourselves a disservice if we allow worry to make us hesitant on the mat, because I believe that the best way to put your true abilities on display in a tournament is to be aggressive with your techniques.

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Lose the fear

– Worrying about winning and losing too much leads to hesitation.

-Don’t build your opponents up. Before tournaments matches, be sure to focus on your strengths and abilities. Go into the match focused on using your game to the best of your abilities rather than worrying about simply winning or losing.

-Never be ashamed of a loss. But you should be disappointed if you were not able to engage your opponent to the best of your abilities because you felt worried or nervous.

-If you lose, learn from it. Figure out the mistakes you made and correct them. BJJ is about learning and self-improvement.

-Set up mock tournaments in the gym with teammates. Adding tournament style rules and points can make for highly competitive situations in the gym and can help prepare you for future tournaments. You’ll get a more mild version of that adrenaline dump you experience in actual tournaments.   

-Compete more often! The more you get out there the easier it will be to deal with the pressure of competing.  Just like any other game.

 

 

 

P.S. I’m sorry this post was so damn long.