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Learning to be a better instructor by being a beginner

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Being a beginner at something new can be pretty terrifying. I think many instructors and experienced BJJ players forget this. Many people in teaching positions of all sorts sometimes forget this. Nothing makes you feel quite as out of place as being in a room with people who “seem” to know what they are doing. Meanwhile you’re struggling to grasp the most basic movements or concept. The problem is that many experts are so disconnected with how it felt to be new on the mats that they cannot empathize with new comers.

I write this post because one thing that  really gets under my skin is a teacher who gets short with a new person because they don’t pick something up right off the bat. I’ve seen it happen plenty of times in situations over the years. I look at it like this. . . Here you have an excited man or woman who is so pumped up about training. They’ve done their research on the sport and can’t wait to learn the art. Then once they step on the mat, that enthusiasm is blasted by an assault of negativity by their instructor. Small expressions like sighs of disdain or word usage like “no, you’re doing it wrong” go a long way in derailing the positive momentum this prospective student walked in with.  This is unfortunate and robs the would-be practitioner of the amazing benefits of BJJ because of a poor instructor. Why on earth would you treat a person this way??? New or old, there is no excuse for this if you’re an instructor. Remember being a good instructor is not about the medals and accolades you’ve won, it’s about your ability to convey a message or ability to your students.

 

A light bulb went off

There was an experience that I had which made that cartoon light bulb to flicker on above my head. I went salsa dancing with my girlfriend (just dating at the time). Now, she had been dancing for months and months by this time and knew what she was doing. I on the other hand . . . well. . . this was my first time and I was never the most adventurous person on the dance floor to begin with. Honestly I was nervous about the whole situation. EVERYTHING! I mean I was even searching for a guide on the correct attire to wear when Salsa dancing! It’s miraculous that I even made it there for the class, but I was fueled by attraction to this new beautiful young woman I met so I threw my nervousness aside.

When I arrived at the dance club and started moving around in the class, I did fine. I picked up the beginner moves rather easily and I have some rhythm so I wasn’t a lost cause. The eye opening moment occurred when we were switching partners during the class. There ended up being an uneven number of men and women for the class and during one of the switches I was left partner-less. There I was . . . moving my body in an awkward fashion to the latin music. I kept trying to do the movements we were practicing as if I still had a partner. I felt like I was trying to dance with some imaginary woman who was not too thrilled to be my partner. It’s hard to express how strange and out of place I felt.  I must have given off some sort of warning signal like the red light that goes off in a submarine. Because after 20 seconds or so my girlfriend came rushing over to save. . . I mean dance with me. She calmly pushed aside my imaginary partner and we began dancing together.  I was back into the safe harbor of the known and the proverbial red alarm ceased. 

Now during that 20 second period of partner-less dancing is when the light bulb went off. I thought to myself, “this is how new people must feel when they come to BJJ class for the first time”. Awkward, nervous, unsure of what exactly they are doing, etc. Not that I was ever short with people when I taught but I realized how important it is to make a new student feel at ease and how important it is to be as understanding as possible. The experienced also caused me to get very protective over new comers who must feel the same way I felt when I was dancing with my imaginary woman during my salsa lesson.

I started quizzing some of my students about how they felt when they came to their first lesson. Many of them had similar feelings. Fear and anxiety but that it looked really fun and they wanted to learn. One of my students was so nervous in fact, that he couldn’t even walk through the doors of the gym for 6 months. He would drive by and want to stop in but was just too nervous to come in. He said once he came in he was so excited and everyone was so inviting and patient with him. Heck, I remember my first time on the mats and I was incredibly nervous as well.

So whether you’re an instructor or just a higher belt on the mats, help build a helpful and positive atmosphere in your gym. If you are on the mats and you see a fresh new face, try and help them feel comfortable. Remind them that it’s ok to mess things up at first, just as its ok for all of us to mess things up from time to time. Remember, experts in BJJ are simply beginners that never quit.

If you enjoyed reading this then please take these 5 things away from the post.

  • Being a good instructor is not about how many tournaments you’ve won.
  • Being the new guy/girl on the mat can be terribly awkward, do your best to curb that feeling by being genuine and inviting.
  • Introduce yourself to a new person and learn their name. The power of hearing someone call you by your name is powerful.
  • Be patient!
  • I’m not a good dancer.

Thanks for reading!

 

1 thing every BJJ instructor and BJJ practitioner should always remember

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So this weekend I had the pleasure of competing alongside my student and one of my coaches. We competed in Ohio at the American Grappling Challenge (formerly the Ohio Grappling Challenge) and we had a blast. We were in the main event which was 4 teams made up of 3 men each facing off with one another. Each team was composed of a mixture of purple, brown and black belts from some of the best schools in the region.  The experience was a lot of fun and me and my guys were fortunate enough to come home as the winning team.

The best moment during this team tournament for me was watching my 17 year old purple belt go out and go toe to toe with a skilled black belt. He played a great game and ended up winning on points in a convincing manner. This was such a cool moment for me. I have been training with this kid since he was 11 year old. The transformation has been amazing to watch over the years, but its been a lot of hard work too.

 

Now whats the 1 thing we should all remember whether we are an instructor or practitioner?

Be persistent!

 

If you are a good instructor then you know that you are working a never ending job. I mean you can never get your students “too good” and the same goes for yourself. I personally work more hours now than I did when I worked in a office. I do a lot of work after the gym is quiet and the students have gone home. My classes only equate to around 1/3 of my actual work time. The other 2/3 of it goes towards the countless task I choose to tackle on any given week.Its all worth it when you see one of your students achieve something awesome. To see the result of your labor come to fruition in front of your eyes. Nothing feels quite like having one of your students do something great and knowing that you had a hand in that achievement. You helped another human do something amazing.This makes all the hours of labor worth it. 

Persistence is important for any practitioner as well. The student I wrote about at the beginning of this post is Chad. The funny thing about Chad is that he had a terrible performance at the Gi Worlds last year. He had slacked in his training leading up to it and it showed. He was beaten in the first rd of a single elimination tournament and was sent home with nothing. Chad isn’t from some super affluent family either. All the fund raising and saving he had did leading up to that tournament amounted to nothing.  Now he could have been discouraged and gave up on winning a big title like the Pans or Worlds, but he didn’t. We had a talk about his lack of training and he quickly kicked things in gear and ended up winning both the No Gi Pans and Worlds just a few months later.

 

So remember, whether you are a instructor or just a practitioner. . . DON’T GIVE UP! This sport can be difficult sometimes. You hit walls and feel like you’re getting worse, things interfere with training, your students aren’t grasping the techniques like you want, whatever it may be. Just remember that everyone encounters the relatively same hurdles. The overcome these obstacles by pushing on and continuing, even when things get tough. If you desire something that is worth having in BJJ or in life. Be prepared to work for it and be prepared to hit some speed bumps along the way.

Just know that every time you put forth a strong effort towards your goal, you’re inching just a little closer to realizing it.

 

Now enjoy a funny photo of us in ridiculous rash guards we bought for the team tournament.Image

A training weekend with an old friend

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A training weekend with an old friend

This weekend I was fortunate to train with my friend Tim Sledd at his gym in Bedford, In. Tim is a Atos black belt and is just one those really good guys you meet in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. Anytime I am around him he just seems to spew out positive energy and encouragement. We first met one another in 2006 at a small tournament here in Louisville, Ky. He was actually my first match as a purple belt and I still remember how strong his grip felt the first time we locked up. When I pulled away to break the grip my gi gave before his grip did. I heard a ripping sound and looked down to see a tear in my lapel. After this we had a great match and have been friends since. Periodically we talk, and here and there we‘ve able to squeeze in a training session together. Although I have to admit, now that his gym is closer I will probably make the trip more often.

Jiu-jitsu in a small town

While my students and I were driving through Bedford we couldn’t help but notice that it is quite a small town. Not that there is anything wrong with this, but I find it awesome that nowadays you can find highly trained instructors even in rather small towns. Tim and I spoke about this and how it’s a far cry from the days when we began our Jiu-jitsu journey. Back when we started, if you would have told someone that there were going to be two accomplished black belts training in the area, well. . . it would have been a big event! Now you have two black belts meeting up with their students casually for a nice training session as if it was no big deal.

We eventually arrived at Tim’s gym which was situated in what I assume to be kind of the downtown district of the area. All the buildings were made of brick and had the “window store” style appearance from the outside. His gym was easy to spot as the Small Axe BJJ symbol was displayed on the gym door, oh and because the windows of the gym were fogged up from the activity inside. This is always a good sign in my book. Once inside I figured out why the windows were so foggy. . . it was a sauna inside! The heat belching out of the air vents combined with the heat of bodies in motion made for a nice muggy, steamy training session. He was a great host to me and my students and we all enjoyed the techniques he covered. I had never seen some of the details that he showed so I was sure to write them down in my BJJ journal. The rolling went really well and when it was time to step off the mat there were pools of sweat to remind us of the effort we had just put out.

After the training session when my students and I got a bite to eat, we all talked about the great experience we had. The rolling was good, Tim showed some very solid techniques, and we learned a lot from the training.

BJJ Guys

One of the things I love about Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, is the people you meet. I’ve met so many awesome human beings over the years. Some of them didn’t even speak much English which posed a problem for holding conversation, but that didn’t stop us from forming a bond through training.

Tim is no exception and he is a person whom I have a good deal of admiration for. He seems to have a good balance in his life which is something I don’t possess quite yet. He is able to balance training, running a gym, having a demanding job and being a devoted father and husband to his family. This is no easy task!

Stay humble

Not all BJJ practitioners have such an endearing reputation though. Some tend to have a negative attitude fueled by their disrespect to others or arrogance, and this creates a less than favorable presence around others.

Now, if you are a seasoned BJJ practitioner then you are already aware of the great relationships you build through this sport. If you are a new comer to this sport then you will see as you continue your journey, the life changing relationships you will make along the way. That is of course, If you stay humble and respectful. The sport would be incomplete if you removed the amazing bond between its participants. But the only way to foster this bond and these relationships is to stay humble and respectful. To be blunt, no one wants to train with or be around an arrogant dick who is full of himself and rubs it in people’s face when he taps them out. Remember there is way more to this sport than being the bad ass on the mat ripping people’s limbs off.

So stay humble and respectful, this way you can get the full benefit of the Brazilian Jiu-jitsu experience. Remember, its more than just tapping people out.

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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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