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One Grappler’s Secret Weapon
In the last newsletter we talked about what an arms race is, and how it can drive BJJ technique to higher levels. I a...
The Arms Race
Is there someone at your club that you are always battling against? One week you kick his butt, and the following wee...
The Two Meanings of the Tap
Tapping out is sending a message to your opponent. The most common message is “OK, you got me with that submission. N...
The Pre-Fight Check In
A few days ago, in class, it was time to spar. I walked over to an older white belt, new to the club, who was standin...
Balancing Mat Time with Conditioning
Forget the work-life balance! Let’s talk about something much more important: the balance between mat time and condit...
Short & Long Term Problem Solving
Grappling is problem solving, and part of improving in Brazilian jiu-jitsu is maintaining enough awareness during spa...
Always Injured, the Feedback
Several tips ago I gave some advice to a reader who had suffered a rather terrible string of orthopedic injuries whil...
An Alternative To Pulling Guard When Grappling On Your Knees
Many grapplers start their sparring sessions on their knees. From this starting position usually one of two things ha...
Keeping the Will to Fight
As is so often the case, Mark Twain said it best: “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fi...
The Berserker
There’s one at almost every club. The guy who can’t lose. The guy who always goes 100%. The guy who applies every sub...
How to Train Dangerous Submissions
In the previous article we discussed some of the most dangerous submissions in grappling, and ended with the question...
The Dangerous Locks
Not all submissions are created equal: some cause pain, some put you to sleep, and some do a lot of damage. Today I w...