Well look who decided to show up!

I finally returned after a month layoff. That is the longest voluntary lay-off I’ve had since I began in 2004. I can’t explain it well, but I just lost motivation to train. I know people who follow the blog will probably say, “I’d probably lose motivation too if I had been slammed on my face [...]

Butterfly Guard & Involuntary Newbie Slam Defense

Before I begin, I attempted a guillotine choke today. I didn’t get it but I can”t remember (since 2004) ever using it during rolling. Even though it is a very effective technique I’ve always viewed it as an easy ’sub.’ Plus, in my first academy we used to have this guy who studied Hapkido who [...]

Mouthguard: Taking a Break (BJJ Comic)

How do you improve in BJJ while you’re injured?

I spend so much time plotting and planning on trying to get better in BJJ. So it is especially difficult to cope with injuries when they occur. I have been practicing BJJ since 2004 with no major hiccups and have never had to take more than a week off. This time is different. I’m not [...]

BJJ Insights through Guitar Lessons

Last month, my wife and I purchased guitars. I have had many guitars in the past, both acoustic and bass, and never learned how to play them. My wife also has a violin (that she “really wanted”) collecting dust that I bought her a few years ago. To keep from repeating this cycle my wife [...]

Mr. Click Clack – BJJ

Last night I was a few minutes late to class and when I went in there were at least 30 guys in the no-gi class. The gi classes usually has fewer students and I hadn’t been to no-gi in a while so it was a shock. I immediately jumped in to the warm-up and we [...]

Dedicated to instructors…. (Click to make bigger)

Everything is Paying Off: BJJ

I mentioned in another post that I started a new regimen of lifting, running, stretching, performing calisthenics and working on BJJ techniques everyday. I had to quickly amend that to adjust for injuries. I made the mistake of coming home from practice last week and immediately lifted weights for my upper body. The next morning [...]

Judo Man ‘Got’ Judoed

Yesterday (Tuesday) was my first day back since last Tuesday. My wife and I went on a ‘mini-vacation’ so I didn’t have an opportunity to go to class.  My instructor (Smiley) noticed I hadn’t been there for a week.  I am trying to maintain consistency so I may have to dig a little bit deeper to attend [...]

Newbie Osmosis Knowledge and Differentiating Oneself in BJJ

When I first started taking no-gi BJJ in 2004 there was a good amount of interest in BJJ among the general population. And it seems in each year that passes the interest among the Gen Pop continues to grow. I noticed in each academy that I have trained the numbers continue to grow. Where I [...]