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Jun
12
Finding Focus
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Sometimes I have a hard time staying focused. In jiu-jitsu it’s not a problem to stay focused—don’t get tapped, and try to tap your opponent—basically that’s it, simple really. If you’re not focused on the mat, you get tapped, but off the mat, an unfocused life is a hard life; it’s a life of circles, [...]
Jun
10
Jiu-Jitsu Skeptics
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. . . I remember when I first started jiu-jitsu. I questioned everything, maybe not verbally, maybe not to my instructor, but in my mind I was a skeptic. I was always trying to change techniques so that they made sense to me. Instead of accepting what I was being shown; I wanted it to [...]
Jun
6
. . I was fortunate enough to meet and train with a man named “Hog,” “Hog” Bear if you want the whole thing. He’s a jiu-jitsu man, a Creek/Winnebago/Sioux, a Heyoka, a sacred clown and a man on a mission. He has a dream to introduce jiu-jitsu to his native peoples; he thinks there are [...]
Jun
4
An Open Letter to a Theif:
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. . . An Open Letter to a Theif: I’m not sure you actually exist, I hope not, but if you do, this letter is to you. You stole a phone from someone at the academy tonight and although you may have gotten a phone, you have lost a school, you have lost a place [...]
Jun
3
Aoki vs. Gracie
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I’m super excited about this fight. I like the idea of dedicating yourself to jiu-jitsu and obviously these guys have done that. When you start seeing the world through the art of jiu-jitsu, it’s over for you, there is no going back. What I really like about this video is how Kron talks about balance, [...]
Jun
2
The Insult of Strength
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We often hear the phrase “He’s strong,” after someone has trained with an opponent that they had a difficult time with, but what does it really mean? The statement “he’s strong,” in some jiu-jitsu circles is kind of an insult, meaning he has no technique, he muscles everything, he’s stubborn, or a brute. It’s a [...]
May
30
The Limits of Labels
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It’s funny how labels can limit us. The ways we define ourselves can actually prevent us from experiencing new things, and it’s totally our own fault. For example, I’ll take the limiting labels of “gi guy,” and “no-gi guy.” I’m not talking about how other people label us; I’m talking about how we label ourselves. [...]
May
30
Every year I lose a ton of kids to summer, here’s a letter I sent to parents: Dragging your Kid to Jiu-Jitsu in the Summer Well, sometimes it’s hard to get your kid to jiu-jitsu in the summer. Many kids think of jiu-jitsu like they do school, they want a break in the summer time. [...]
May
29
The Concept of Control
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This week in jiu-jitsu class I wanted to introduce the concept of control, of controlling one’s opponent. I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately and these are some of the things that I think help us control the movement of our opponents: pressure hooks trapping grips (holding the gi) frames These are the things [...]
May
27
Summer Time
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Tomorrow’s my first official day of summer, and for a teacher, that’s big. Actually having a chance to rejuvenate is nice. Let’s see, what time should I wake up tomorrow? The answer is simply, whenever I damn well please. This attitude seems to piss some people off, and I am hated by most of my [...]
