Nov 11
Take a moment and think about how Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is taught. There is generally a logical progression. You start off with drilling technique with no resistance then you drill it with varying amounts of resistance. One of the best examples of that last step is rolling. When you roll, you go against people with different …
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 …
Nov 05
I had a plan. It was simple and elegant. It just didn’t work out the way that I wanted it to. Oh, no no no, I’m not talking about the tournament yet. We’ll get there, but first we’re going to go a little further back in time to that Friday night. I arrived in Los …
Oct 29
One day, I walked into the library, and something quite unexpected happened.. By chance, my eyes fell upon a book, and it had a word on the cover that stood out to me. You could probably guess which one it was if you take just a moment to look up above. I picked it up, …
Oct 28
One of my definite goals is to go back to Abu Dhabi and return victorious. Now that I’m a brown belt, the challenges to achieving that goal have shifted. In some ways, it has become easier, and in others, it’s quite more difficult. The Challenge I had a seven man division of brown and black …
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 20
Let’s set the stage. I taught a class at Crazy 88 some time ago, and in that class, I implemented the thought process I’ve had on isolating movements in instruction. Today, we’re going to retrace the steps and clearly highlight the structure of that class. Warmup The warmup was split into two phases. The first …
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 08
I’m very self aware. I know when I’m performing to the best of my ability and when I’m not. There’s a clear difference. I’m telling you this not because I’m so special but because I spend a lot of time thinking about the connection between mindset and performance. There is no doubt that such a …
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 05
Let’s take a little trip. Through the Wormhole A few years ago, Evolve Academy decided to create a fight team for the WKA Nationals. The tryouts were set at a certain date and a certain time, and it was expected to be a really difficult and demanding test. At the time, I had been training …
Oct 04
I love half guard. I’ve been playing it since I was a white belt, and there is a reason for that. When I was getting smashed in the gym over and over again, it was half guard that became a refuge. The transition to half guard from most bad positions is only a step away, …
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 30
The dust has settled, and the 2012 No-Gi Pan has concluded. I had three goals going into the tournament. I accomplished one of them, but it was the lynchpin. All else depended on success in that one area. Simply put, success there was a must. What It All Depended On Several weeks ago, I decided …
Sep 25
Brazilian Jiu-jitsu isn’t popular. Deny it not. It’s the reason why all the big names in the sport as well as the martial art as a whole are barely known outside the small community of dedicated individuals who train. Now that’s not a problem. It’s an opportunity. The Great Challenge For those who are truly …
Sep 24
It’s interesting what you can learn from diverse sources. The Theory That Would Not Die is a mathematical history book that focuses on the controversies and successes of Bayes’ theory of probability. Now right away the question arises: How can that be applicable to training? The answer is that the underlying theory of Bayes in …
Sep 23
A few weeks ago I decided to challenge myself. I drew a hard line in the sand and set a goal. Now the deadline is fast approaching, and I started off the week from a deficit. I lost some ground as a result of not training much for two weeks due to sickness. Regardless of …
Sep 16
Many times, and in many ways, it has been said that in life there will always be things that are outside of your control but what matters is how you choose to respond. The whole Altanta Open experience reinforced this lesson for me. One of the Cards I Was Dealt Two weeks ago, I got …
Sep 09
Updated: April 07, 2013 There is a wealth of knowledge out there. The difficulty lies in finding what’s relevant to you. What I want to do here is help you out in that process to some degree. This is my personal reading list. It includes books I’ve read, the book I’m reading, and books that …
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 06
Updated: December 13, 2012 I’m a thief. I’ve never thought of it that way before, but after reading a certain book, I accept it. Hell, I’m even proud of it. What does it mean to be a thief though? It’s simply the willingness to learn from the experience of others. Why reinvent the wheel if …
Sep 04
Today, I’m going to talk about the lesson I learned the very first day I trained at Evolve Academy. I drove over an hour to get to the gym and I got lost at the end, since it was located off the main road. By some miracle though, I will still early. So I signed …
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 …
Sep 03
Sometime ago, I vowed never to write a straight review of a book ever again. I am tempted to do so here since this is a great book. It focuses on the concepts and strategies that Ben Askren has applied in order to achieve great results even with a less than ideal training environment. The …
