Jiu-Jitsu in 20 Different Countries

A little over two years ago, Hillary and I closed the small gym we had opened, sold our mats, and decided to travel as much as possible. 2 years and 20 countries later, we have more than accomplished this goal. Thank...
Nelson Puentes
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The Balancing of Opposites

In Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, we are in a constant struggle to balance opposites. For example, you need to train hard enough to get better, but not so hard you get burnt out and injured. We’re constantly told to leave our ...
Matt Kirtley
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Ask a Panda: How do you deal with tapping to a lower belt?

Question: I just received my purple belt a couple of months ago, and I’m starting to feel more pressure to perform well, especially when I roll with lower belts. The other day I had to tap to a white belt. It was ...
Valerie Worthington
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Meet the Pandas – From YouTube to Paramount – Phil Mento

In the previous edition of Meet the Pandas, we introduced Chris Ulbricht of Garden State Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, black belt in jedi mind tricks. In this chapter, we talk to purple belt Phil Mento: guardeiro, part-time l...
Daniel Bertina
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I’ve Never Seen Ego Waiting at the Door

Many jiu-jitsu schools have a motto—sometimes unwritten but often scrawled on the wall as well—that goes “Leave your ego at the door.” The sentiment is sincere, and the intention seems to be one of encouraging studen...
Marshal Carper
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The 4 Stages of Learning

Over the last decade of writing about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, much of my work has been dedicated to understanding how students can learn faster and how instructors can teach better. We all only have so much time to spen...
Matt Kirtley
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Teaching Grapplers to Teach

If you train jiu-jitsu for long enough, you will likely be called upon to teach jiu-jitsu. Maybe your instructor needs to take a call just as class is starting and asks you to run the warmup. Maybe she or he is unexp...
Valerie Worthington
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Meet the Pandas – ‘Positive Mind Tricks’ – Chris Ulbricht

In our previous showcase of members of the Panda Nation, we spoke to videographer and purple belt assassin Kyvann ‘Guapinho’ Jimenez. In this episode, we introduce black belt Chris Ulbricht, owner and head coach at G...
Daniel Bertina
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The Orbit of Jiu-Jitsu Techniques

In even a single year of jiu-jitsu, a student will see a wide range of techniques. At two classes a week with an average of two techniques shown per class, a student will “learn” 208 techniques. Then factor in the od...
Marshal Carper
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Five Steps to Jiu-Jitsu Expertise

Want to be good at jiu-jitsu? That puts you in illustrious—and sometimes obsessed—company. Thousands of people are striving for the same thing, all over the world. Numerous theories about learning can help explain th...
Valerie Worthington
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5 Years at Black Belt

Last week was the five-year anniversary of my promotion to black belt, and next month marks my thirteenth year in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I wanted to take this opportunity to reflect on my journey through BJJ, how it ha...
Matt Kirtley
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Three Years at Black Belt: Still Learning

I got my black belt three years ago. For the first and second anniversaries of earning my black belt, I wrote blog posts about what I had learned in year one and year two. Time flies, but Panda Nation seems to enjoy ...
Nelson Puentes
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