jiu jitsu

“To get the armbar, you need to grab the elbow and lift it to your chest. Not here (he grabs the partner’s wrist), not here (he grabs his forearm), and not here (he grabs near the elbow, the students laugh). At the elbow! It makes a huge difference.” This...

The martial arts are truly an international community. However, the term “martial arts” is such a broad title that varies in popularity according to region. One thing is for sure though, the “Brazilian” expression of jiu-jitsu is rapidly growing all over the globe, and with that continues to grow...

Streetwear and the hype surrounding it is a fairly recent phenomenon that has been amplified through the proliferation of social media and 24/7 access to celebrities and news cycles. Fashion is highly disposable and pieces are acquired for an Instagram flex rather than long term utility which can give...

A famous Taoist parable goes something along these lines: One day a farmer’s horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. “Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically. “Who’s to say what’s good and who’s to say what’s bad?” the farmer replied. The next morning the...

Valentine’s Day. That special time of the year where people make an attempt to make special acknowledgments to their mate to show them how much they value their love towards one another. It is a commonly accepted notion that jiu-jitsu in some fashion is a “brother/sisterhood”. It is not...

Master the art of jiu-jitsu and you have mastered the science of anatomy. Understanding how the body moves and knowing what positions make us strong, and our opponents weak, is what jiu-jitsu is all about. Equally important is to know our anatomy and understand the components of the musculoskeletal...

Whenever I introduce a new student to Brazilian jiu-jitsu, I gently temper expectations. I try to explain that jiu-jitsu is a long journey. I talk about how the learning curve may feel impossibly steep and I let them know that the nature of experimentation is that they will fail;...

I’m sure you’ve heard of Zebra Mats before. They’re one of the largest manufacturers of training mats and can be found in several academies. Zebra has developed a portable mat that is useful for several on-the-go situations. This portable mat rolled up measures 24” x 6” x 6” and...

Sponsorship by a major brand might seem to be the pinnacle of BJJ lifestyle achievements. Sponsored athletes get a ton of free gear, appear in magazine advertising and videos, and all sorts of cool publicity, and some even get paid to travel the world and compete. Trying to earn...