Apr 07
Recently, something significant happened in my life that will require me to make certain adjustments. It was unexpected and undesired, but I’ve been able to take a step back and really analyze the situation. I realized that there were specific choices that I made that heavily influenced the outcome. So I’ve decided to take the …
Jan 29
Are you a 3%er or a 97%er? Which side would you prefer to claim? What if I told you that there was information that you might not be aware of? Many who have chosen a side in this little false dispute have no idea what the concept actually means. I want to clear that up …
Jan 09
One thing that I really enjoy is taking ideas from diverse sources and applying them to Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. If you read enough posts here, you probably already noticed that trend. This post will be another example of that because I was recently exposed to a very interesting concept about business. It’s all about a simple …
Dec 05
That’s a question that you should ask yourself if you’re serious about mastering anything But who wants to look like a fool? We all want to look good. We want to impress. It’s hard to let go of vanity. It’s also hard to let go of habits that you’ve already formed. There’s a parable highlighted …
Nov 16
I don’t like using emoticons. It’s simply because it doesn’t feel natural. The reason that it doesn’t feel natural is because I haven’t done it enough. It’s quite the little paradox. Something isn’t done because it doesn’t feel right, but it doesn’t feel right because it isn’t done. The same kind of dynamic can be …
Nov 05
Imagine this. There are two entirely different individuals. One is extremely athletic with significant experience in sports. The other is out of shape and has never played in any sports seriously before. Now take both of those individuals and introduce them to Brazilian Jiu-jitsu at the same time and at the same gym. Inspire in …
Oct 25
Recently, I read a biography about Einstein, and one interesting thing was his use of thought experiments to work out solutions to complex problems and highlight scientific concepts. What if you applied that method to Brazilian Jiu-jitsu? Let’s see what happens. The Thought Experiment Two twins develop an interest in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu at the same …
Oct 23
We’re going to follow up on the principle of piecing it all together by looking at the technique equation from a different angle. So let’s start by restating that equation: Technique = Concept + Movement It’s a simple equation, and that’s why it’s useful as an intuitive framework for understanding how technique is learned and …
Oct 19
For several years now, I’ve been reducing computer systems to many bits and pieces then putting them all back together again with new parts. It’s one of my jobs. Lately, I’ve been thinking about that process and how it relates to Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. Now, I’m going to share my thought process with you, and I’m …
Oct 06
I have a little story to tell you. Several months ago, I had the opportunity to be present when Tom Brands gave a talk on the Iowa mindset at TLI HQ. There were many gems of wisdom in that speech, and I’m going to focus on one of them today. It’s the idea that the …
Oct 03
Recently, I was introduced to the concept of critical points in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. Josh Vogel wrote an article where he discussed his thought process on the concept. It made me think. You should check out his article as well because I am going to approach the concept from a slightly different angle. When is the …
Sep 07
I know I am. I realized early that understanding why a technique works makes it easier to figure out how to make it work for me. So I became a conceptual learner. Another factor in that choice of focus came as a result of a method that my coach, Mike Moses, used to use often …
Sep 04
This is a question that I’ve wondered about. Intuitively, I’ve felt that the answer was a clear and emphatic no. The issue was that I only had my own experience to draw from. Now from two different sources within a very small time frame, I’ve been introduced to a concept that has the potential of …
Aug 28
Think and Grow Rich was highly recommended to me. So I read once, I read it twice, and then I read several chapters over again. Now I’m going to take those 13 concepts of success and apply them to BJJ. First, let’s start off by listing the thirteen principles: Desire Faith Auto-Suggestion Specialized Knowledge Imagination Organized …
Aug 17
One of the recent books that I’ve read was Josh Waitzkin’s The Art of Learning. In it, there was a section on small circles. It’s a simple theory. The focus is on mastering simple subsets of a discipline in order to make the rest less complex. One example of how he applied that concept …
Aug 05
There are underlying concepts that hold the keys to success, and they aren’t only found in your chosen areas of interest. In this video that never once mentions Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, I heard several concepts that I could apply directly to my training. The one concept that stood out most of all for me is the importance of …
Jul 29
I would rather hear the truth told a thousand times and in a thousand different ways than hear a lie told once. I have no doubt that I am not alone in that preference, but I want to challenge the idea that wisdom can become trite blather if it is repeated. Repetition is how you …
Jul 14
I recently read the Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin, and in it there is a section about learning approaches and how they differ. Two categories were established. The first was labeled entity, and the second was called incremental. In the entity learning process, individuals determined their ability to learn or perform based on their …
