When Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock told us back in 1988 that “it takes two to make a thing go right/it takes two to make it outta sight,” they could have been talking about Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Sure, you can do solitary drills to supplement your training, but the good stuff—live rolling, technique drilling, troubleshooting—requires a partner. Of course we all want to train with the “good” partners, and we aspire to be good partners ourselves. There is a lot of discussion of what that means, and it usually involves admonishments like: don’t spaz, tap when necessary rather than forcing your partner to see to your well-being, wash your gi, maintain a good attitude, etc. It isn’t surprising that...

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If you’re interested in starting BJJ, you’ve come to the right place. This guide will arm you with the knowledge you need to pick the right BJJ school for you. When evaluating BJJ schools, these are the key factors to consider: Location - What schools are closest to you and how far are you willing to travel? Schedule - Do they run classes at times that are convenient for you? Classes - Do they offer what you want to learn: gi, no-gi, MMA, judo, wrestling, etc.? Instructor - Are the coaches qualified and do they have good reputations? Culture - Are the instructors and students friendly and helpful? Facility - Is the school clean and does it have any amenities?...

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A few years ago, jiu-jitsu concepts became all the rage, and for good reason. When YouTube jiu-jitsu hit a critical mass, we had no shortage of individual techniques. We could find hours and hours of footage of our favorite competitors and instructors famous and obscure teaching their secrets. With the volume of knowledge going up, students naturally craved a more meaningful way to stitch them together, to zoom out and think about the art at a level higher than individual techniques. So instructors started talking more the concepts and strategies that drive everything from biomechanics to competition strategies. For a while, this elevated jiu-jitsu learning, but now we have a similar challenge with concepts as we have with individual techniques:...

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10th Planet Chicago after 3 hours of crucifix shenanigans. This past weekend I had the adventure of teaching two Mastering the Crucifix seminars in Chicago--a gi seminar at Chicago Martial Arts and a no-gi one at 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu Chicago. I owe a big thanks to Javi and Dan for organizing this trip after meeting them back at the Rdojo camp, and thanks to Barry from CMA and Josh at 10PJJC for hosting me. Everyone was welcoming and friendly and eager to train jiu-jitsu. After both seminars, I was happy to get very positive feedback from students, first in person and later through Facebook messages. The most common praise was that they felt they really “got” the material and felt they would retain...

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Worlds has been my favorite tournament to watch for a long time. Since I first saw videos from the Tijuca Tennis Club, to the first time I got to watch the black belt finals live from the Pyramid at Long Beach. There's something very special about Sunday at worlds, and it’s something I believe every jiu-jiteiro should experience. Watching the lower belts during the days leading up to the big show on Sunday is great as well, but there is something electric about seeing the black belt brackets play out, especially when the team title is on the line. All the teams sitting together to cheer and chant. Coaches and training partners pace just as nervously as the athletes. Competitors...

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I found myself this week, on our way to a BJJ Globetrotters camp in Sardinia.We flew into Rome using a Portuguese airline with a layover in Lisbon, which allowed me to practice my Portuguese… Frango. Vinho tinto. Obrigrado. Chicken. Red wine. Thank you. You know, the essentials.The original plan was to spend a night in our room and head to Sardinia the next morning, but Hillary in her usual wise manner told me that we would need an extra day to explore. She was right.We arrived at the Leonardo da Vinci Airport, which is south of the city, and made our way to our hotel by shuttle. Once we settled in we walked around grabbed lunch. This might sound odd,...

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Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a strange sport. On the one hand, it’s a highly individual pursuit. We often talk about how comparing your progress to the progress of others is dangerous because so many variables can lead to one student advancing faster than other. So focus on yourself rather than the people around. At the same time, however, we talk about the importance of having a team and community. While debates around gym loyalty wage on, we seem to agree to on some level that belonging to something bigger than ourselves—a school or the jiu-jitsu culture at large—is a good thing.So there’s this odd balance between being highly individual and highly communal.Over the years, after swinging from either extreme—at one time...

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As a student or teacher of jiu-jitsu, it can help to break the martial art into four main contexts: gi, no-gi, self defense, and MMA. These categories let you to analyze the effectiveness of your training methods and inform how you select techniques. It can also help you understand conflicting opinions between people who may not realize they are training for different reasons.Let’s breakdown the four contexts to their specifics: Gi A sport with rulesRefereeNo strikingUniform to gripOne-on-oneNo weaponsNo environmental obstaclesKnowledgeable opponent No-gi A sport with rulesRefereeNo strikingNo uniform to gripOne-on-oneNo weaponsNo environmental obstaclesKnowledgeable opponent MMA A sport with rulesRefereeStrikingNo uniform to gripOne-on-oneNo weaponsCage with a fenceKnowledgeable opponent Self Defense No “rules” but legal concernsNo referee but maybe policePotentially strikingProbably...

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Last week, my phone exploded.I had been sent or tagged in a video dozens of times, which was unusual because at the time I was spending most of my day hailing cabs and catching flights. At first I thought that perhaps the “Go inverted!” scene from Top Gun was getting a new wave of attention, which always means that the Inverted Gear page gets a flood of GIFs and memes.Nope, that wasn’t it. The video was a Metamoris commercial making a joke about how Ralek owes his competitors money. Maybe their commercial budget was limited because they forgot to make a joke about the tournament staff that they owe money for as well. The community response to the commercial seems...

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Hillary and I have been married for two years, and yesterday was our wedding anniversary. About 4 years ago, we met at a Grapplers Quest event, which is weird because there’s a video of the first time I ever saw my wife. The video shows Hillary turning to address some giant purple belt. She tells him to be quiet or she will DQ him.   After the match, I introduced myself and asked her where she trained. We exchanged numbers and started dating soon after. We have trained together ever since. We have had a few BJJ people ask us for relationship advice over the years, so I thought this was as a good a time as any to write...

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